Toy Pad Emulator for Lego Dimensions

Allows you to connect an emulated Toy Pad to your PC or video-game console.

Features

• Confirmed working on Cemu, real Wii U, RPCS3, real PS3, real PS4 and real PS5
• Supports all available characters and vehicles
• Saves vehicle upgrades
• Displays the Toy Pad's light effects
• Supports smart scrolling for mobile devices
• Can be run in a virtual machine on Windows, macOS and Linux
• No copyrighted game files are required, nor are any included
• Can be configured easily by following the instructions below

Demo

Videos

• First demo video on Cemu emulator: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7CBa9u2ip-Y

• Installation tutorial on a virtual machine: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PARAnrt1jU

• Quick usage showcase on RPCS3: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KIKDO0dxYl4

Installation

There are two options. Please choose the installation method that suits your needs best.

---

Option 1: Virtual Machine (only for emulators)

Prerequisites

• Either VMware Player (free), VMware Workstation Pro (paid) or Oracle VirtualBox (free)
• Debian 11.1 ISO (newer versions not tested)
• VirtualHere USB Client for Windows, Linux or MacOS

Guide

1. Make a new virtual machine with Debian in your software of choice. Select your ISO file and choose the appropriate operating system (Linux -> Debian 11.x 64-bit) if you're asked. To make sure your VM is accessible on the network, please follow the instructions in the troubleshooting section on this page (either for VirtualBox or VMware).

2. When first booting the Debian VM, select Graphical install. In the configuration, leave everything on default. Only change your language, set debian as hostname, don't set a root password, choose an account name and password, set partition to "yes" and /dev/sda for the GRUB bootloader.

3. After rebooting, log in with your password. Then click the menu on the upper left corner, search for "Terminal" and open it.

4. Run the following commands (you can copy and paste with right click):

   sudo apt update
   sudo apt install -y git usbip hwdata curl python build-essential libusb-1.0-0-dev libudev-dev
   echo "usbip-core" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   echo "usbip-vudc" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   echo "vhci-hcd" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   
   echo "dtoverlay=dwc2" | sudo tee -a /boot/config.txt
   echo "dwc2" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   echo "libcomposite" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   echo "usb_f_rndis" | sudo tee -a /etc/modules
   
   git config pull.rebase false
   git clone https://github.com/Berny23/LD-ToyPad-Emulator.git
   cd LD-ToyPad-Emulator
   
   printf '\necho "usbip-vudc.0" > UDC\nusbipd -D --device\nsleep 2;\nusbip attach -r debian -b usbip-vudc.0\nchmod a+rw /dev/hidg0' >> usb_setup_script.sh
   sudo curl https://raw.githubusercontent.com/virtualhere/script/main/install_server | sudo sh
   
   sudo cp usb_setup_script.sh /usr/local/bin/toypad_usb_setup.sh
   sudo chmod +x /usr/local/bin/toypad_usb_setup.sh
   (sudo crontab -l 2>/dev/null; echo "@reboot sudo /usr/local/bin/toypad_usb_setup.sh") | sudo crontab -

5. Reboot you device with this command:

   sudo shutdown -r now

6. Log in again and run the following commands in the terminal:

   curl -o- https://raw.githubusercontent.com/nvm-sh/nvm/v0.40.3/install.sh | bash
   export NVM_DIR="$HOME/.nvm"
   [ -s "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/nvm.sh"
   [ -s "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion" ] && \. "$NVM_DIR/bash_completion"
   
   nvm install 11
   sudo setcap cap_net_bind_service=+ep `readlink -f \`which node\``
   npm install --global [email protected]
   npm config set node_gyp $(npm prefix -g)/lib/node_modules/node-gyp/bin/node-gyp.js
   
   cd LD-ToyPad-Emulator
   npm install

Usage

1. Start the virtual machine if it's not already running. Then start the VirtualHere USB Client and double click on LEGO READER V2.10.

2. Run the emulator server with this command if you are in the correct folder (otherwise run cd LD-ToyPad-Emulator first):

   npm run start

3. Type http://debian in a browser to use the emulator.

   If you want to turn it off, just press Ctrl + C in the terminal, then use the command sudo shutdown now to power off the virtual machine or just pause it from the host.

4. Finally, start your console emulator and the game itself (e.g. Cemu).

---

Option 2: Single Board Computer

Prerequisites

• Raspberry Pi Zero W ($10) or Raspberry Pi 4 B (with USB/Power Splitter for Raspberry Pi from Ali or USB-C/PWR Splitter from pishop.us) or similar single board computer with Network support
  • NOTE: Will NOT work with Raspberry Pi: 2, 3, 3A, 3A+, 3B, 3B+. These models lack the ability to become a USB gadget.
• USB Type-A to micro-USB 2.0 Type-B cable that supports data transmission (e. g. your phone's charging cable)
• 2 GB+ Micro SD card
• Internet connection on your PC and single board computer

Installation

1. Flash a recent edition of Raspberry Pi OS Lite (either 32-bit for the Zero (W) or 64-bit for RPi 4/5)

2. Connect your device to your PC via USB cable (don't use the port on the edge of the Pi Zero!).

3. Use SSH to run the following command (Don't know the IP address? Try this IP scanner.) - this will prepare your Raspberry Pi to work as a USB gadget:

curl -sSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/Berny23/LD-ToyPad-Emulator/master/pi_setup.sh | bash

4. Reboot you device with this command:

   sudo shutdown -r now

5. Reconnect to SSH, change the directory to LD-Toypad-Emulator and build the container using this command:

podman build \
  -t ld-toypad-emulator:latest \
  --platform=linux/your-platform \
  .

NOTE: Raspberry Pi OS 64bit uses linux/arm64/v8 as platform, Raspberry Pi OS 32bit uses linux/arm/v7 as platform, the Raspberry Pi Zero uses linux/arm/v6 as platform, and x86_64 based machines will use linux/amd64 as platform.

If you have any issues using podman, you can try and use docker instead, see Podman build issue.

Especially on the RPi Zero the build can take a very long time (20+ minutes). If pulling the base images succeeds and the build proceeds to higher stages (i.e. RUN npm install) you probably just need to be patient!

6. Once the container is successfully build run start the container:

podman create \
  --name ld-toypad-emulator \
  -p 8080:80 \
  --device /dev/hidg0:/dev/hidg0 \
  # Optional: mount a host folder for persistent images
  # -v /path/to/images:/app/server/images:Z  \
  ld-toypad-emulator:latest

Usage

1. Start the emulator container:

   podman start ld-toypad-emulator

2. Type your single board computer's IP address in a browser to use the emulator.

   If you want to turn it off, just stop the container (podman stop ld-tyopad-emulator) in the terminal window, then use the command sudo shutdown now to safely power off the device.

Update

To update this software, just get the latest changes by running the following commands while inside the LD-ToyPad-Emulator folder:

git pull
podman stop ld-toypad-emulator # only if the container is currently running
podman rm ld-toypad-emulator
podman image rm localhost/ld-toypad-emulator:latest

Then rebuild and recreate the container starting from step 5 above.

Adding Images

If you would like your tags to have custom images over them to personalize your experience, name your image (ID).png and place them in server/images inside the Toypad Emulator folder. If you want them to cover the entirety of the tag with no blank space, make sure your image is either 100x100 or can be scaled to that size.

Character IDs can be found here

Vehicle IDs can be found here

Troubleshooting

RPCS3 cannot detect the Toy Pad

This solution works only for RPCS3 and will break the Toy Pad detection with every other emulator!

Download and run Zadig.

Click on Options and tick List All Devices. Select LEGO READER V2.10 in the dropdown menu, then select WinUSB if it's not already selected, click on the Replace Driver button and on Yes in the dialog.

After the installation has finished, exit Zadig and restart RPCS3. If you get stuck on the main menu, just close the game, right-click on it in the RPCS3 games list, select Change Custom Configuration, switch to the Network tab and choose Disconnected in both drop-down menus. The game will now correctly detect the Toy Pad.

To undo the changes from Zadig, you have to rollback the driver:

1. Open Device Manager, scroll down to USB devices and expand the section.
2. Double-click LEGO READER V2.10.
3. Switch to the Driver tab, click Previous Driver, select the first option and click yes.

Solution for Linux systems

In order to fix this, you will need to add a custom udev rule in your system, so the software can communicate with the game. The udev rule is in the root of the server folder. (thanks to wof for sharing the rule).

To add the rule, simply just move the 99-dimensions.rules file to /etc/udev/rules.d/ (a reboot might be required)

If moving the file is not allowed, just open a terminal inside the rules.d folder and run this command: sudo nano 99-dimensions.rule, open the rule file in the server root in a text editor, copy the contents and paste it in the terminal then press Ctrl + X to save the file.

Webpage not reachable (Oracle VirtualBox)

Shutdown your virtual machine (icon in the upper right corner). In VirtualBox's manager, click your image and open Settings. Under Network change Attached to: to Bridged Adapter and click ok. Start your virtual machine.

Webpage not reachable (VMware)

Shutdown your virtual machine (icon in the upper right corner). Right-click on your virtual machine's name in VMware Workstation or VMware Player and click Settings.... Click on Network Adapter and select Bridged. Click OK and start your virtual machine.

Error: listen EADDRINUSE: address already in use :::80

Either close any other software that is using the port 80 or manually edit the last line of index.js (with nano index.js, edit the line, then press Ctrl + O, Enter and Ctrl + X).

If you did this, you may need to append your selected port to the address in the browser (like http://debian:500 or http://192.168.0.165:500 if your port is 500).

VirtualHere USB Client doesn't show LEGO READER V2.10

When installing the virtual machine, you have to set the hostname to debian.

Alternatively, copy the following command and replace YOUR_IP_ADDRESS with your virtual machine's IP address (it looks like 192.168.X.X, run hostname -I to show it). After you've done this, run the modified command while you're inside the LD-ToyPad-Emulator folder.

git reset --hard ; printf '\necho "usbip-vudc.0" > UDC\nusbipd -D --device\nsleep 2;\nusbip attach -r YOUR_IP_ADDRESS -b usbip-vudc.0\nchmod a+rw /dev/hidg0' >> usb_setup_script.sh ; sudo cp usb_setup_script.sh /usr/local/bin/toypad_usb_setup.sh

VirtualHere shows LEGO READER V2.10, but fails with "Operation not permitted"

When double clicking on "LEGO READER V2.10", if it returns Error "Operation not permitted" (-1) trying to use this device.. Try these steps:

1. Right click the device in the VirtualHere Client and select "Custom Event Handler..."
2. Add onReset.$VENDOR_ID$.$PRODUCT_ID$=

Then try using the device again.

Webpage not reachable under http://debian/

If you're using a virtual machine, make sure you've applied the solution specific to your software first (VirtualBox or VMware)!

After that, run the command hostname -I in your virtual machine (or on your single board computer) and type the IP address that looks like 192.168.X.X in your webbrowser.

Podman doesn't build image

If you encounter any errors regarding image creation using podman, please try and install docker (Docker Docs) and then replace podman with sudo docker. Try starting again from step 5. Note that docker most probably does not need the --platform flag when building (docker should set the necessary arguments automatically).

Acknowledgements

• ags131 for writing one of the main NodeJS libraries I'm using: https://www.npmjs.com/package/node-ld. My project would've been impossible to create without this guy's research.

• cort1237 for implementing writing data (like vehicle upgrades) to toy tags, as well as several user interface updates and support for saving toy tags locally.

• benlucaslaws for improving the user experience and implementing a complete filtering system for vehicle/character abilities and game worlds.

• DaPiMan for helping with missing or misplaced vehicle IDs and other improvements.

• Euniemeansme for adding/fixing character and vehicle abilities and other data improvements.

• VladimirKuletski for creating/updating CI workflows for automated testing via GitHub Actions.

License

MIT