Edit: Please replace NOA in the thread title with NCL - aside from service techs not bothering to preserve data, this rant/thread is entirely dedicated to oversights made by NCL... as pointed out to me, quite clearly, by a GAF friend.
As some of you may recall, my Wii system froze... then died.
I got back a repaired unit today... with the flash memory erased, of course. As I sit here retransferring saved games and Miis (for the various folks who play), I feel extremely irked at several design choices which just make like more annoying. Never mind that the flash memory was wiped when it was the drive unit that was bad... certain aspects of the firmware design make little to no sense, or serve only to make things more annoying if you have a problem with the system.
I thought I'd do two things today... vent, and list some "lesser known" odd choices in Wii firmware design. Perhaps someone on GAF with some connections will decide to pass this information on to someone -- there's always a chance NCL doesn't KNOW about a few of these, I suppose.
Anyway, here we go.
1. Why can't I actually backup my save data?
Yes, you can copy (nearly) any saved games to an SD card. However, some games (Wii Play, Wii Sports, and possibly Mario Party 8) also tie your saved game to individual Miis. Delete the Mii associated with saved progress in Wii Sports and the entire profile is gone - permanently. The same goes for online stats/progress/friend codes for Mario Strikers players -- delete the Mii (OR HAVE YOUR MEMORY WIPED DUE TO REPAIR) and your online stats are all lost... even if you import the Mii back into system memory and restore the saved data.
As best as I can tell, in the reserved (and hidden) system memory, there must be a special database kept of all active Miis on the system... and, presumably, some sort of data is kept in the system regarding some games (Wii Sports?). If you delete the Mii (or wipe the memory), this "hidden" internal record is lost. Now, for all I know, Nintendo is using internal game tracking for some long term project or later Channel Release, and the "hidden" Mii stats are for that; however, it makes little sense to make backup saves useless by deleting the "real" save record in memory.
Is it too much to ask for the ability to do a "real" system backup? Nintendo encrypts the data like crazy anyway... let me do a COMPLETE data record on an SD card, just in case.
2. Why is the Wii system ID (used for Wii address book "friend codes") changed when the memory is formatted?
The Wii has two internal "permanent" IDs that I know of -- the MAC address (used to lock Store purchases to your system) and another internal Wii system code (used to identify the system a Mii was created on, among other things). Wiping flash memory doesn't change these - I know, because I had to format my system. If you do wipe the memory, your store purchases can still be downloaded and you can transfer Miis back to the system for editing, but your entire address book is gone. Why? What sense does that make?
3. Why do your repair centers replace Wii "guts" and wipe/replace the memory while making no effort to preserve any of the data?
Yes, I've heard that there are magical repair centers sequestered away at NOA in Washington -- at these places, competent servicemen will backup/transfer your data to a new system before replacing old components. You'd think this would be a standard occurence, or that the regional repair centers NOA routes repair orders to would be able to do this as well, right? Pfft.
4. FIX THE STUPID SYSTEM-CRIPPLING E-MAIL GLITCH!
Okay, so I broke from my listing convention, but I'm a tad annoyed by this. As you know, you can link the Wii to a standard e-mail address for exchanging pictures and messages. Some e-mails sent to the Wii can, however, freeze the Wii... very, very badly. The system keeps the downloaded message in memory, and will attempt to display/process it every time the system is turned on - and freeze every time, rendering the Wii useless. (Please Drinky, no commentary here.)
Is the glitch rare? Yes -- I've only come across 9 cases of this so far, but in every case it was caused by the same thing, an e-mail sent from a computer. Something is wrong in the parsing/display engine for external messages, and it would be nice for NOA/NCL to fix that little problem... or at least provide a way to "clear" message memory without eternally erasing all other data on your system AND changing your Wii address code.
...
Now, thanks to the glories of would-be hackers out there, I'm busily importing backup copies of Miis to my Wii (after manually changing their hidden system ID code, thus reenabling editing and such). I next plan to contact all the folks who USED to be on my address list, so as to reenable Metroid Prime activity and to be prepared for future games. However, I'm irritated that there appears to be no way to ACTUALLY back up your system information, saved games, and Mii / Mii profiles on the Wii. Now, I'm somewhat hopeful that the "Mii game data stored in hidden memory, not the save file" thing isn't going to happen in future titles (Wario Ware and Metroid Prime both keep all your save data and let you reassign a Wii to the saved game), but I can't be sure... and that makes it a bit frustrating to look forward to several years of Wii gaming. I don't LIKE having to create new Miis, replenish my address book, and restart entire games because the Wii locks up (randomly) or gets repaired... and there really should be a reason I have to.
Thanks for reading. If any of you used to be on my Wii list, feel free to add my new system code (6533 9124 2037 5193) and give me yours again. If anyone wants to pass along this troubled gamer's problems to NOA, feel free to use your industry or press connections to do so. Maybe, just maybe, NCL/NOA can fix a few of these things.
Edit: It's worth noting that I -did- get my system repaired in returned in one week. I do commend NOA and their repair facilities for that.
As some of you may recall, my Wii system froze... then died.
I got back a repaired unit today... with the flash memory erased, of course. As I sit here retransferring saved games and Miis (for the various folks who play), I feel extremely irked at several design choices which just make like more annoying. Never mind that the flash memory was wiped when it was the drive unit that was bad... certain aspects of the firmware design make little to no sense, or serve only to make things more annoying if you have a problem with the system.
I thought I'd do two things today... vent, and list some "lesser known" odd choices in Wii firmware design. Perhaps someone on GAF with some connections will decide to pass this information on to someone -- there's always a chance NCL doesn't KNOW about a few of these, I suppose.
Anyway, here we go.
1. Why can't I actually backup my save data?
Yes, you can copy (nearly) any saved games to an SD card. However, some games (Wii Play, Wii Sports, and possibly Mario Party 8) also tie your saved game to individual Miis. Delete the Mii associated with saved progress in Wii Sports and the entire profile is gone - permanently. The same goes for online stats/progress/friend codes for Mario Strikers players -- delete the Mii (OR HAVE YOUR MEMORY WIPED DUE TO REPAIR) and your online stats are all lost... even if you import the Mii back into system memory and restore the saved data.
As best as I can tell, in the reserved (and hidden) system memory, there must be a special database kept of all active Miis on the system... and, presumably, some sort of data is kept in the system regarding some games (Wii Sports?). If you delete the Mii (or wipe the memory), this "hidden" internal record is lost. Now, for all I know, Nintendo is using internal game tracking for some long term project or later Channel Release, and the "hidden" Mii stats are for that; however, it makes little sense to make backup saves useless by deleting the "real" save record in memory.
Is it too much to ask for the ability to do a "real" system backup? Nintendo encrypts the data like crazy anyway... let me do a COMPLETE data record on an SD card, just in case.
2. Why is the Wii system ID (used for Wii address book "friend codes") changed when the memory is formatted?
The Wii has two internal "permanent" IDs that I know of -- the MAC address (used to lock Store purchases to your system) and another internal Wii system code (used to identify the system a Mii was created on, among other things). Wiping flash memory doesn't change these - I know, because I had to format my system. If you do wipe the memory, your store purchases can still be downloaded and you can transfer Miis back to the system for editing, but your entire address book is gone. Why? What sense does that make?
3. Why do your repair centers replace Wii "guts" and wipe/replace the memory while making no effort to preserve any of the data?
Yes, I've heard that there are magical repair centers sequestered away at NOA in Washington -- at these places, competent servicemen will backup/transfer your data to a new system before replacing old components. You'd think this would be a standard occurence, or that the regional repair centers NOA routes repair orders to would be able to do this as well, right? Pfft.
4. FIX THE STUPID SYSTEM-CRIPPLING E-MAIL GLITCH!
Okay, so I broke from my listing convention, but I'm a tad annoyed by this. As you know, you can link the Wii to a standard e-mail address for exchanging pictures and messages. Some e-mails sent to the Wii can, however, freeze the Wii... very, very badly. The system keeps the downloaded message in memory, and will attempt to display/process it every time the system is turned on - and freeze every time, rendering the Wii useless. (Please Drinky, no commentary here.)
Is the glitch rare? Yes -- I've only come across 9 cases of this so far, but in every case it was caused by the same thing, an e-mail sent from a computer. Something is wrong in the parsing/display engine for external messages, and it would be nice for NOA/NCL to fix that little problem... or at least provide a way to "clear" message memory without eternally erasing all other data on your system AND changing your Wii address code.
...
Now, thanks to the glories of would-be hackers out there, I'm busily importing backup copies of Miis to my Wii (after manually changing their hidden system ID code, thus reenabling editing and such). I next plan to contact all the folks who USED to be on my address list, so as to reenable Metroid Prime activity and to be prepared for future games. However, I'm irritated that there appears to be no way to ACTUALLY back up your system information, saved games, and Mii / Mii profiles on the Wii. Now, I'm somewhat hopeful that the "Mii game data stored in hidden memory, not the save file" thing isn't going to happen in future titles (Wario Ware and Metroid Prime both keep all your save data and let you reassign a Wii to the saved game), but I can't be sure... and that makes it a bit frustrating to look forward to several years of Wii gaming. I don't LIKE having to create new Miis, replenish my address book, and restart entire games because the Wii locks up (randomly) or gets repaired... and there really should be a reason I have to.
Thanks for reading. If any of you used to be on my Wii list, feel free to add my new system code (6533 9124 2037 5193) and give me yours again. If anyone wants to pass along this troubled gamer's problems to NOA, feel free to use your industry or press connections to do so. Maybe, just maybe, NCL/NOA can fix a few of these things.
Edit: It's worth noting that I -did- get my system repaired in returned in one week. I do commend NOA and their repair facilities for that.