Are you a rhythm game enthusiast looking to take your Frets on Fire experience to the next level? Imagine ditching the keyboard and truly feeling the beat with a drum kit. If you have a Wii Drum set gathering dust, you’re in luck! This guide will walk you through exactly how to use your Guitar Hero Wii Drums to rock out on Frets on Fire, bringing a new level of immersion and fun to your gameplay. While Frets on Fire is designed for keyboards or guitar controllers, with a little software magic, you can transform your Wii drums into the ultimate rhythm game controller.
Gear Up: What You’ll Need to Connect Wii Drums to Frets on Fire
Before we dive into the setup, let’s ensure you have all the necessary equipment to make this happen. Playing Frets on Fire with guitar hero wii drums requires a few key components:
- Wii Drum Set: The star of the show! Any standard Wii drum kit should work.
- Wii Remote and Nunchuk: These are essential for connecting your drums to your PC and for navigating menus.
- Windows PC: Frets on Fire is a PC game, so you’ll need a computer running Windows.
- GlovePie Software: This ingenious piece of software is the bridge between your Wii drums and Frets on Fire, allowing you to map the drum inputs to keyboard commands. You can find GlovePie easily online through a quick search.
Setting Up GlovePie to Recognize Your Wii Drums
GlovePie is the key to making your guitar hero wii drums compatible with Frets on Fire. Here’s how to get it set up:
- Install GlovePie: Download GlovePie from a reputable source and follow the installation instructions.
- Connect your Wii Remote: Ensure your Wii Remote is connected to your PC via Bluetooth. There are many guides online that can walk you through this process if you’re unfamiliar with it. Make sure your Nunchuk is connected to the Wii Remote as well.
- Open GlovePie and Paste the Script: Copy the script provided below into the GlovePie script editor window. This script is specifically designed to translate Wii drum inputs into keyboard presses that Frets on Fire understands.
// anthman852's wii drum script for Frets on Fire!
// Make sure your Nunchuk is connected BEFORE you start the script.
// If you are not experienced with GlovePie set your keys to the ones below BEFORE you start the GlovePie script
// If you set your keys correctly then you can start playing as soon as you start the script.
// Drum Keys:
// Drum #1 = Q
// Drum #1 = A
// Drum #2 = W
// Drum #2 = S
// Drum #3 = E
// Drum #3 = D
// Drum #4 = R
// Drum #4 = F
// Bass Drum = Space Bar
// ALL OTHER SETTINGS SHOULD BE SET AT THE DEFAULT SETTINGS!!!!
// This will ensure that your wiimote can conrol the menus and that no key settings are the same.
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
// ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
// Here is how you will play:
// To start, the bass drum will be the space bar so you will have to put the keyboard on the ground and step on your keyboard.
// All the other notes will be activated by a "drum motion" of the wiimote or nunchuk. The wiimote and the nunchuk can each control every drum(expect the bass drum).
// To change which drum your stick is hitting you have to push a button on that stick to make it change(see below) such as:
// Wiimote swing = red note
// B-Button + Wiimote swing = yellow note
// A-Button + Wiimote swing = blue note
// A-Button + B-Button + Wiimote swing = Orange note (green in Rock Band)
// And for the Nunchuk:
// Nunchuk swing = red note
// Z-Button + Nunchuk swing = yellow note
// C-Button + Nunchuk swing = blue note
// Z-Button + C-Button + Nunchuk swing = Orange note (green in Rock Band)
// Jurgen Power:
// Plus button = Jurgen Power (The wiimote will rumble when you activate it)
// Menus:
// The d-pad on the wiimote controls the menus
// Minus-Button = Escape/Cancel/Pause
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
//~~
// ^^^^^To ensure everything works properly DO NOT edit anything below this line^^^^^
var.xOffset = 8
var.yOffset = -37
var.zOffset = 12
var.xRot = Wiimote.RawForceX + var.xOffset
var.yRot = Wiimote.RawForceY + var.yOffset
var.zRot = Wiimote.RawForceZ + var.zOffset
var.Nunchuk = Wiimote1.Nunchuk.RawForceY + var.yOffset
// Debug
debug = "X=" + var.xRot + "  Y=" + var.yRot and var.Nunchuk + "  Z=" + var.zRot
// Wiimote script
if var.yRot > 30 then
Q = not(Wiimote.A or Wiimote.B)
W = Wiimote.B and not (Wiimote.A)
E = Wiimote.A and not (Wiimote.B)
R = Wiimote.A and Wiimote.B
else
Q = false
W = false
E = false
R = false
endif
// Nunchuck script
if var.Nunchuk > 50 then
A = not (Wiimote.Nunchuk.ZButton or Wiimote.Nunchuk.CButton)
S = Wiimote.Nunchuk.ZButton and not (Wiimote.Nunchuk.CButton)
D = Wiimote.Nunchuk.CButton and not (Wiimote.Nunchuk.ZButton)
F = Wiimote.Nunchuk.ZButton and Wiimote.Nunchuk.CButton
else
A = false
S = false
D = false
F = false
endif
//Menus
Key.Up = Wiimote.Up
Key.Down = Wiimote.Down
Key.Left = Wiimote.Left
Key.Right = Wiimote.Right
Key.Escape = Wiimote.Minus
Key.Enter = Wiimote.A
Key.RightControl = Wiimote.Plus
if Wiimote.Plus then
Wiimote.Rumble = true
wait 750 ms
Wiimote.Rumble = false
endif
Wiimote.Led1 = 1- Run the Script: Click the “Run” button in GlovePie. GlovePie will now be actively translating your Wii drum inputs.
Drumming in Frets on Fire: Understanding the Controls
With the script running, you can now use your guitar hero wii drums to play Frets on Fire! Here’s how the controls are mapped:
- Bass Drum: The script utilizes the Space Bar for the bass drum. You’ll need to place your keyboard in a position where you can comfortably tap the space bar with your foot.
- Drum Pads (Red, Yellow, Blue, Orange/Green): Instead of directly hitting specific drum pads, the script uses motion sensing from the Wii Remote and Nunchuk. Think of your Wii Remote and Nunchuk as virtual drumsticks.
- Basic Drum Hit (Red Note): Swing either the Wii Remote or the Nunchuk.
- Yellow Note: Hold the B button on the Wii Remote and swing the Wii Remote, or hold the Z button on the Nunchuk and swing the Nunchuk.
- Blue Note: Hold the A button on the Wii Remote and swing the Wii Remote, or hold the C button on the Nunchuk and swing the Nunchuk.
- Orange/Green Note: Hold both A and B buttons on the Wii Remote and swing the Wii Remote, or hold both Z and C buttons on the Nunchuk and swing the Nunchuk.
- Jurgen Power (Star Power): Press the Plus button on the Wii Remote to activate Jurgen Power and rock those special sections! The Wii Remote will even rumble to let you know it’s activated.
- Menus: Navigate the Frets on Fire menus using the D-Pad on the Wii Remote. The Minus button acts as the Escape/Cancel/Pause button, and the A button is Enter.
Fine-Tuning Your Drumming Experience
Playing Frets on Fire with guitar hero wii drums might take a little getting used to, especially with the motion-based drum hits. Here are a few tips to enhance your experience:
- Sensitivity Adjustment: If you find the drum hits are not registering reliably, you can try adjusting the
var.yRotandvar.Nunchukvalues in the GlovePie script. Lowering these values might make the motion detection more sensitive. - Practice Makes Perfect: It will take some practice to get comfortable with the motion controls and button combinations. Start with easier songs and gradually increase the difficulty as you get the hang of it.
- Keyboard Placement: Experiment with different keyboard placements to find a comfortable position for hitting the space bar bass drum.
With this guide and a little practice, you’ll be drumming your way through your favorite Frets on Fire tracks using your guitar hero wii drums in no time! Get ready to unleash your inner rock star and experience Frets on Fire in a whole new way.
