Mardy (Posts about curiositates)

Teaser: connecting Nintendo Switch controllers to the Wii

Alberto Mardegan — Sat, 11 Apr 2026 13:13:06 GMT

A few months ago I started playing with the Bluetooth controller embedded in the Nintendo Wii, to see if it was possible to get it to connect to other devices than just the Wii remotes. If you ask internet forums, you might fall into the impression that the Wii is not using a standard Bluetooth controller, or that it has been somehow "crippled" in order to restrict it to connect to the Wiimotes only, but that's not the case: it's an ordinary controller from its era, it's just that the Wii software (both the official SDK and the homebrew libogc) only uses it for the Wiimotes.

I first started looking into lwBT, the bluetooth stack used in libogc, but I quickly realized that it was impossible to get full control over the controller via this library: it has been adapted to work with the subset of the HID protocol used by the Wiimotes, and even if you can issue bluetooth commands to the controller via the HCI layer, you cannot receive the replies, since they are already intercepted by lwBT and there's no way to hook into them.

So I started writing my own little bluetooth stack, bt-embedded which from the ground up has been designed to be used by embedded devices and covering the use case of serving different clients running in a single process, and I've integrated it into embedded-game-controller (though this is not merged into the master branch yet) in order to allow connecting to bluetooth controllers. And in the last couple of days I've written a little ugly program to visualize the controllers in a 3D scene, in order to better test them:

Yes, the 3D model sucks, it was a nice model when I downloaded it from a free site, but then heavily reduced the number of polygons using Blender and went a bit too far; I'll do a better model later. The accelerometer information is not shown yet (I'd like to use it to actually tilt the controller, instead of using the joystick), but that will not be hard.

At the moment, the only supported controllers are the Nintendo Switch Pro controller (I'm using a clone here) and the Joy-cons, so there's still quite some work to do to add more.

It's been a journey in which I learned a lot about Bluetooth and USB and, who knows, maybe this will come handy in the future too.

libSDL2 and VVVVVV for the Wii

Alberto Mardegan — Fri, 02 Feb 2024 17:50:44 GMT

Just a quick update on something that I've been working on in my free time.

I recently refurbished my old Nintendo Wii, and for some reason I cannot yet explain (not even to myself) I got into homebrew programming and decided to port libSDL (the 2.x version -- a 1.x port already existed) to it. The result of this work is already available via the devkitPro distribution, and although I'm sure there are still many bugs, it's overall quite usable.

In order to prove it, I ported the game VVVVVV to the Wii:

During the process I had to fix quite a few bugs in my libSDL port and in a couple of other libraries used by VVVVVV, which will hopefully will make it easier to port more games. There's still an issue that bothers me, where the screen resolution seems to be not totally supported by my TV (or is it the HDMI adaptor's fault?), resulting in a few pixels being cut at the top and at the bottom of the screen. But unless you are a perfectionist, it's a minor issue.

In case you have a Wii to spare, or wouldn't mind playing on the Dolphin emulator, here's the link to the VVVVVV release. Have fun! :-)

Pensatas in interlingua - 2019-06-30 - Dracon in le parco

Alberto Mardegan — Sun, 30 Jun 2019 16:14:43 GMT

Quando vos imagina un cosa que ha nulle senso, e vos es secur que iste cosa non pote exister in ulle parte del mundo, il ha un bon probabilitate de trovar lo in Russia.

Incontros in le metro

Alberto Mardegan — Sun, 05 Jun 2016 04:19:00 GMT

In le scalas del metro de Sancte Petroburgo.

Un adorabile furetto!

Le reporto de Transparency International

Alberto Mardegan — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Transparency Internation ha publicate le tabula del “Indice de Perception de Corruction” (CPI, in anglese Corruption Perception Index), que mesura le grado de corruption del officieros e del politicos, derivate per un quantitate de fontes differente.

Iste anno, le situation de Finlandia e Italia se ha pejorate; Finlandia ha passate del prime placia que illo teneva in le 2007, a un misere e vergoniose quinte position, durante que Italia ha precipitate del 41me al 55me placia, que es comocunque un position dignitose pro un pais como le nostre.

Secundo le studio, paises como Botswana, Oman, Bahrain e Bhutan, que io vos defia a locar exactemente in un mappa geographic sin nomines, es minus corrupte que Italia; ma iste studio es obviemente non veritabile, perque illo es in total contrasto con le facto que nulle citatano italian cognosce alicun persona que ha essite effectivemente in prison a causa de corruption!

Ma pro le credulones, ecce le tabulas pro le 2007 e pro le 2008

Poste Italiane: servicio de fama international

Alberto Mardegan — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 20:00:00 GMT

Iste vespere io curiosava in Ebay, inter le multitude de offertas de objectivos photographic, sin un particular idea. Mi interesse esseva captivate per alicun lentes Zenitar, in quanto Made in Russia, e immediatemente io cliccava pro satisfacer mi curiositate e vider le detalios del offerta. Le venditor es un boteca electronic de Moskva, e quasi tote le material que illes ha es manufacite in Russia. Ma io sape que vos non es interessate in isto. Le ration pro le qual iste offerta es tanto interessante pro me (e le ration pro le qual io scribe iste lineas in loco de vader a dormir) es un nota in grande characteres rubie que es presente in tote le insertiones de iste venditor:

Sin emphatisar le errores grammatical del nota, io lo traduce pro illes qui non comprende anglese: “Attention! Nos non face expeditiones a Italia. Il ha grande retardos e multe paccos ha essite perdite. Tote le compras per compratores italian essera cancellate. Nos spera que vos comprendara”. Io memora que ante alicun tempore io trovava annuncios simile in Ebay, ubi on diceva que on non expediva a Italia e China. Ma ora, nos ha remanite sol. Le sol pais in le mundo al qual le russos non invia paccos es Italia, perque nostre servicio postal non es considerate efficiente e digne de confidentia. Isto pote apparer sensational pro illes qui non ha vivite in Italia; ma pro nos, ubi es le surprisa?

Miraculos del evolution

Alberto Mardegan — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 21:00:00 GMT

Reguarda iste photographia con attention: Illo es un Cebus capucinus, o “capucino del capite blanc”, un simia que habita in le forestas del America del sud. Perque io es interessate in iste animal? Le responsa es in mi jardin (le catto rubie es mi adorate Pastiglio): Vamos aggrandir le photo del ospite... Ah!!! Le catto-simia!!!

Illes qui vole vider mi jardin, con Pastiglio e le catto-simia, es benvenite in le galleria.

Le calide sol de mediedie

Alberto Mardegan — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Dominica io me trovava in le placia del mercato, kauppatori (del qual on pote vider un animation panoramica a 360 grados), e post que il esseva un bellissime die de sol, io prendeva un photo pro capturar le sensation. Lo que forsan non es evidente, es que le sol esseva quasi perfectemente a sud: le hora esseva 13:46.

Augurios de bon Natal

Alberto Mardegan — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Iste matino io ha recepite un carta postal de augurios de bon Natal, totalmente inexpectate. Gratias! Ma... qui es le author? Oh! Illes es mi amicos de K-RAUTA, un negotio de equipamentos pro le casa, que io ha sovente visitate durante iste estate, quando io renovava mi appartamento. Io lo visitava tanto frequentemente, que mi amicos burlava in dicer que tote le personal de K-rauta me cognosceva personalmente. Mmmm... que dicera illes post saper de iste carta postal?

Un information sportive

Alberto Mardegan — Sun, 18 Nov 2007 21:00:00 GMT

Un bon parte del italianos qui io cognosce a Helsinki es amicos incontrate in partitas de calcetto (io non cognosce le vocabulo anglese, ma io intende le partitas de football que on joca con 5-6 jocatores pro equipa — mini football?); quasi omne sabbato postmeridie nos va jocar un partita. Purmente amical, sin agonismo e tension. Io es un pexime jocator, ma nonobstante isto io ama iste sport e io cerca de non mancar ulle incontro.

Durante le hiberno nos joca in un sala coperite, pro evitar le risco de congelamento. ;-) Le sala es optime pro nos, e offere duchas e sauna. Toto ha sempre essite perfecte.

Le ultime sabbato nos debeva interrumper le incontro pro alicun minutos, durante le quales tote nos teneva lor oculos a reguardar le tecto del sala: Le palla esseva bloccate inter le cavos que rege le lampas!

Pro le cronaca, nos continuava le partita con un altere palla, perque nos non succedeva in recuperar le nostre.