Using the Wii Guitar Hero III Guitar with the PC Version

Contents

1. Introduction
2. Requirements
3. Bluetooth Set-Up
4. GlovePIE
5. Setting-Up Guitar Hero III
6. Playing the game

Introduction

Why did I want to do this? Well, having played the game on the Wii I wanted to see what the game was like on the PC as the graphics are better, you get stereo sound and it's possible to add custom songs to the game unlike the Wii version. However, I didn't want to have to pay for a whole new guitar!

This short guide will show you how to get your Wii Guitar Hero III guitar working with Guitar Hero III for the PC.

Up to contents

Requirements

Here's what you will need to get things up and running:

• A copy of Guitar Hero III for the PC
• GlovePIE from http://carl.kenner.googlepages.com/glovepie_download
• gh3.PIE (right click -> Save As)
• A Bluetooth adapter for your PC or laptop (your computer may have Bluetooth built-in)
• A Nintendo Wii Guitar Hero III Les Paul guitar controller
• A Nintendo Wii remote

Note: Before continuing, make sure you have installed Guitar Hero III on your PC and have installed your Bluetooth adapter.

Up to contents

Bluetooth Set-Up

Note: In this guide I have used a Belkin Bluetooth adapter under Windows XP Pro SP2.

1. Make sure your Bluetooth adapter is enabled and working - you may have a Bluetooth icon in your system tray

2. Go to "My Bluetooth Places" and choose "Add a Bluetooth Device" (you're adapter may use different terms)

3. Choose "Search for devices" and at the same time hold down the 1 and 2 buttons on your Wii remote until it is found by your adapter.

4. Once the remote has been found, choose to connect to it. If you are prompted for a pass key, choose the "skip" option.

5. You will now be presented with a list of service provided by the Wii remote. There should only be one service listed. Choose to add this service and choose "Finish" to end the wizard. You no longer have to hold down the 1 and 2 buttons on the Wii remote.

6. If successful, the blue lights on the Wii remote may continue to flash. This is normal. We will see how we can change this with GlovePIE in the next section.

Up to contents

GlovePIE

GlovePIE is a very powerful application that allows you to customise how a controller interacts with your PC. A controller can take many forms, including game control pads, joysticks and the Wii remote! The application requires no installation. It can be downloaded from here.

You will also need to download gh3.PIE (right click, save as) which is a PIE script for GlovePIE that defines how the Wii Guitar Hero guitar will interact with your PC.

Once you have downloadeded GlovePIE, extract the Zip archive to a folder on your PC. Then browse to the folder and open "GlovePIE.exe".

Now choose "File -> Open" and browse to the location where you saved gh3.PIE and open it.

In the gh3 tab (see below) you will the code for the script. You can modify it if you wish to change which keys are bound to the Wii Guitar Hero guitar buttons, when the remote should vibrate, which LEDs light up etc.

Next click "Run" and the script will be executed. If successful, the first LED on the Wii remote should be lit up. If no LEDs are lit up, repeat the Bluetooth steps above.

Now go to the controller set-up to set-up the up and down strumming keys and the star power. Use the arrow keys on the keyboard to go to the up and down strumming keys, hit enter and then strum-up. Repeat for strumming down. For star power, navigate to the star power entry, hit the enter key and then shake the Wii guitar. This should set the entry to "space".

You're now ready to fire-up Guitar Hero III!

Up to contents

Setting-Up Guitar Hero III

Once the game has loaded you need to go to the options section and enable player 1 lefty flip, otherwise the frets will appear in the wrong order when you go to play a song.

Now your ready to play! Enjoy!

Up to contents

Playing the game

Watch a video (7.4 MB) of myself using my Wii Guitar Hero III Guitar with the PC version. In the video you will see the whammy and star power features in action.

Up to contents