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Dolphin - Emulating Wii and Gamecube Games

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
Alright so, props to gumby_trucker for some help. (heads up, the pack you sent me doesn't seem to have ALL of the games textures, but it does have a large portion which was a great place to start)

I've got some more examples, and this stuff isn't a HUGE difference, but it does make it look cleaner.

GIF below, so the quality isn't IDENTICAL to how it would be different in game

I think I'm sort of alright with how the results are for some of the bigger picture stuff right now, though it is still far from perfect.

Nicely done!
I played around with the various hq*x scalers last night, and the results were quite disappointing, much more pixelated than the smooth vectored look you've achieved.
This little investigation has got me interested in professional scalers like GenuineFractal aka Perfect Resize.

Regarding the missing textures, could they possibly be a result of the way Dolphin handles texturing which can result in many redundancies? (like we've seen with the telescope) or are they unique textures that are unaccounted for?
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Nicely done!
I played around with the various hq*x scalers last night, and the results were quite disappointing, much more pixelated than the smooth vectored look you've achieved.
This little investigation has got me interested in professional scalers like GenuineFractal aka Perfect Resize.

Regarding the missing textures, could they possibly be a result of the way Dolphin handles texturing which can result in many redundancies? (like we've seen with the telescope) or are they unique textures that are unaccounted for?

From what I've seen, it seems less like redundant textures and more like just ones that the original dump accidentally left off - or perhaps I skipped over running them through the script.

I don't think it's a redundancy thing because it's the type of texture "ground texture for an island" that typically doesn't have redundancies.
 
I'm trying to get he custom textures for Wind Waker going. I have it set to load custom textures, but only some of the new textures are showing up. Link and some effects have theirs, but most of the environment hasn't changed. Anybody have any idea what is going on with that? I'm using Dolphin 3.5-367.

Edit: Ok, I fixed it. I had to set texture cache to safe instead of fast.

Now I'm getting a lot of freezes when I go from outside to indoors or after cutscenes. Hmm, my computer should be perfectly capable of running this. What settings are you guys using?
 

Terra

Member
anybody?

Also, what's the best kind of controller to use? I'm really only interested in Xenoblade.

From what I've heard from others, the Classic controller is good with Xenoblade. Personally, I use the nunchuck as much as possible, and it's perfect with Xenoblade.
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
iiDmh8ubHSaxZ.gif


I've got a couple more here.

Dolphin is so great. It's got to be my favorite emulator by far.
 

Hypatia

Member
It looks great, I've often skipped HD texture packs because they often look out of place but this one looks fantastic.
My God, it's full of stars. Just... gorgeous.
=D Thank you both!

Alright, so I found a way to sort of automate making textures look better in high res. It's really not perfect and not the same quality as Hypatia's work done by hand, but the end result does at least look sharper. Ahh it's not perfect, but it's much, much quicker and doesn't look bad.

I've actually been trying to incorporate filters more to speed up my work flow without it being obvious and paint daubs is the one I use the most. :)

Honestly though your pics make me wonder if there's much point in me continuing to make them. Would most people even notice the difference? ¬___¬

But then I remember how much I love Wind Waker so I keep working on it anyway.

gzle01-20o5ucb.jpg
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Honestly though your pics make me wonder if there's much point in me continuing to make them. Would most people even notice the difference? ¬___¬

I'm the one doing the automated textures and yeah, there's definitely a noticeable difference. Yours are much higher quality and i definitely commend it.

Also I've been using the Pixellate facet filter and then adding a half pixels worth of blur, doing two passes of that per texture. It provides decent results but I'll check out the paint daubs one and see how that looks in comparison.

Edit: What program are you editing in?
 

Hypatia

Member
Ah, thank you =]

Paint daubs is handy but I have to tweak it for each texture depending on the amount of detail it has. And I still end up painting loads anyway so it's probably not much better than what you've already used.

And I've been editing in Photoshop CS5. Not the best program for painting in but I like it :)
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Ah, thank you =]

Paint daubs is handy but I have to tweak it for each texture depending on the amount of detail it has. And I still end up painting loads anyway so it's probably not much better than what you've already used.

And I've been editing in Photoshop CS5. Not the best program for painting in but I like it :)


See, I've been tweaking the script and for every texture that comes out acceptable like this

ikhM7NEZY4Svh.png
iD56xHfHSpKMw.png


There's another one that comes out terrible like this.

iJee0gHMYxowI.png
iVrZV2AMXbP3L.png


Scripts aren't perfect, but your work is incredibly impressive.

Also for those curious what the difference is between the older script and the updated one, the newer one ends up with much sharper image without feeling jaggy and over sharpened. .

Old script

New script
 
guys im sure this has been asked but how the fuck do i "twist the wii remote" if im using KB+Mouse??

Edit: ok just kidding im just an idiot and didnt see that the settings were blank.
 
What bluetooth dongle do people recommend that's compatible with both Wii controllers and the DS3? Preferably something that lasts more than a week, I've gone through two shitty rocketfish one's from best buy, so I'm willing to pay a little extra for build quality and functionality.
 
What bluetooth dongle do people recommend that's compatible with both Wii controllers and the DS3? Preferably something that lasts more than a week, I've gone through two shitty rocketfish one's from best buy, so I'm willing to pay a little extra for build quality and functionality.

Do note, you can't use 1 adapter to work with both wii controllers and DS3 at the same time (unless there is an alternative to motion-in-joy that works with native bluetooth drivers I don't know about)

Never get anything from rocketfish though, they are the epitome of cheap crap... I personally just got a $10 one from walmart 3 years ago that still works great. Some no-name knock-off chinese brand. Still works great.
 
Do note, you can't use 1 adapter to work with both wii controllers and DS3 at the same time (unless there is an alternative to motion-in-joy that works with native bluetooth drivers I don't know about)

Never get anything from rocketfish though, they are the epitome of cheap crap... I personally just got a $10 one from walmart 3 years ago that still works great. Some no-name knock-off chinese brand. Still works great.

Motioninjoy generally works with every bluetooth dongle I've tried, but it's the Wiimotes I hear that need specific ones or bluetooth stacks to function on PC. All things considered, though, do you have a recommendation for a good brand that would work with dolphin?
 
Motioninjoy generally works with every bluetooth dongle I've tried, but it's the Wiimotes I hear that need specific ones or bluetooth stacks to function on PC. All things considered, though, do you have a recommendation for a good brand that would work with dolphin?

Really? I haven't had any problem with either adapter I've used for wiimotes. Microsoft's default stack in windows 8 works perfectly. I forget which stack I used for Windows 7, but I'm thinking it was toshiba's stack. In which case, I'd recommend any blutooth that works via it (most should, and many non-toshiba branded devices used the same hardware, unfortunately I don't have a list off the top of my head, but at least it should be a good lead).

(edit) To be clear, my two adapters were both cheap walmart adapters, no name. Neither were toshiba and they worked fine with the toshiba stack. I'm not sure if it's "universally" compatible, or just enough chipsets use the same hardware and are thus compatible with it though.

(edit 2) And yes, I've used them both for dolphin wiimotes and MiJ DS3 support.
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
So, I was watching the Giant Bomb Fortune Street TNT and started thinking about the game.

I decided I'd play it with some friends on my computer, but it would be easier to just use a 360 controller.

If I played this with friends however, they would "Press 2" on the screen, when they should press A. So I replaced the UI icons with 360 icons.

As I was playing though, I noticed the UI just kinda looked terrible in 1080p, so I decided to update the text of everything as well.

So if anyone wants the pack I'll post it.

Here's the difference.

iXeHGOZRyvKge.png

ibzl0RGk98DtCT.png


Vanilla
Modded

Vanilla
Modded
 

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
You know what this thread really makes me wish?

With all the updating of textures, some translations of games never localized, plus all the other stuff in the homebrew thread, I really wish we could do more mods of Wii games.

We've got Project M and NSMB extra levels and there's Galaxy 2.5 in the works (haven't checked on it for a while), but those were fantastic to begin with. What I'd really love is to be able to go back to some Wii games that didn't quite hit the mark and see if some of them could be salvaged.

Games like Zack & Wiki, where maybe it would be possible to hack it so you don't have to restart entire puzzles after every mistake (perhaps an "infinite continue doll" hack?) or others that just seem to be missing content, like Crystal Bearers.

Is replacing models or levels significantly harder than replacing textures? And would running the games' code on an emulator make it any easier to make changes to the game's logic? I wonder..

Just thinking about a hack of Other M enabling custom nonlinear levels with new environments and enemies... the possibilities!
 

Ledsen

Member
You know what this thread really makes me wish?

With all the updating of textures, some translations of games never localized, plus all the other stuff in the homebrew thread, I really wish we could do more mods of Wii games.

We've got Project M and NSMB extra levels and there's Galaxy 2.5 in the works (haven't checked on it for a while), but those were fantastic to begin with. What I'd really love is to be able to go back to some Wii games that didn't quite hit the mark and see if some of them could be salvaged.

Games like Zack & Wiki, where maybe it would be possible to hack it so you don't have to restart entire puzzles after every mistake (perhaps an "infinite continue doll" hack?) or others that just seem to be missing content, like Crystal Bearers.

Is replacing models or levels significantly harder than replacing textures? And would running the games' code on an emulator make it any easier to make changes to the game's logic? I wonder..

Just thinking about a hack of Other M enabling custom nonlinear levels with new environments and enemies... the possibilities!

http://wiird.l0nk.org/forum/index.php?topic=618.0
 

Seronei

Member
I'm trying to get he custom textures for Wind Waker going. I have it set to load custom textures, but only some of the new textures are showing up. Link and some effects have theirs, but most of the environment hasn't changed. Anybody have any idea what is going on with that? I'm using Dolphin 3.5-367.

Edit: Ok, I fixed it. I had to set texture cache to safe instead of fast.

Now I'm getting a lot of freezes when I go from outside to indoors or after cutscenes. Hmm, my computer should be perfectly capable of running this. What settings are you guys using?

I also got those problems, would also appreciate some settings/dolphin revision where this doesn't happen.

Edit: It seems that save stating seem to cause some of those crashes when loading?
 
If I played this with friends however, they would "Press 2" on the screen, when they should press A. So I replaced the UI icons with 360 icons.

As I was playing though, I noticed the UI just kinda looked terrible in 1080p, so I decided to update the text of everything as well.

Wow, is it really that easy to just update textures in Dolphin? I don't like some of the UI 2D elements on some games stretching and I want to pre-stretch it for widescreen. How would I get started?
 

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Wow, is it really that easy to just update textures in Dolphin? I don't like some of the UI 2D elements on some games stretching and I want to pre-stretch it for widescreen. How would I get started?

In the graphics settings of Dolphin there is a "Dump textures" option. Dolphin will dump any textures it loads into a

"*dolphin install*/User/Load/Textures/*GameID*" folder.​

Dump textures must be enabled BEFORE the texture loads in, so if there's only a specific thing you want to load, then it would be smart to save state where the texture is, close the game, enable "Dump Textures" then load the game, load the save state, and when it finishes loading close the game.

Then, go to that folder I mentioned above and edit the texture to your hearts content.

For actually installing your edited textures, I already did a write up for that in the Screenshotters Compendium. The relevant information and my full write up on Dolphin is at this post.

Here is the relevant information.

Custom Textures​

Dolphin allows you to use custom textures which replace the default ones used in games. This lets you apply HD texture packs, or other variants that have been created.

Installation​

Before installing a texture pack for a game, you must know it's game ID.

To find it,

  1. In Dolphin, right click a game in your list and select “Properties”
  2. Select the “Info” tab
  3. Under the header “ISO Details” you should find “Game ID” with the games ID right next to it

With that information, you are ready to install your texture pack.

To install,

Go to:

*Your Dolphin Folder*\User\Load\Textures\*Your Games ID*
Put the texture packs files into that folder
(Note: if the texture pack is in an archive file {.zip, .rar, .7z} it must be uncompressed before it can be used.

Enabling Custom Textures​

With the textures installed, now you must enable games to use custom textures.

To enable custom textures,

  1. Open the “Graphics” options within Dolphin
  2. Click on the “Advanced” tab
  3. Under “Utility”, tick the “Load Custom Textures” box.

If all was done correctly then upon loading a game, it should be using the custom textures you installed.

Troubleshooting​

If your custom textures are not loading, then adjusting the texture cache may correct the issue

To do so,

  1. Open the “Graphics” options within Dolphin
  2. Click on the “Hacks” tab
  3. Under “Texture Cache”, slide the “Accuracy” slider to Safe(the left)
 
Does anyone know how to get SweetFX working? I have the files in the root of the Dolphin folder but when I start a game, it just runs the same as it always does.
 

tsab

Member
Fan Reception:
"I have to say it doesn´t work for me."
"I gotta say I'm not feeling this at all."
"Doesn't fit the dark gritty feel of the game. I hate it."
"Now, all we need to do is make SS with TP grapichs :3"
"Basicly I'm trying to say that TP's graphics were like that for a reason, if they were skyward sword style, it would change the whole story…"


"It looks like a map in TF2."
"Pretty cool, but doesn't look very good. I prefer the original."
"I doesn't fit with the dark tone of the game."

Hahahahahaha
 

luca_29_bg

Member
Guys please someone can explain me why kirby epic yarn slowdown really bad with the level when kirbi transform into a tank and shoot missiles ? I have an i7 860 oc 3.7 ghz 8 gb ram and a 5850 and whatever setting i try is always the same, with the last build. I can run other 3D games that are much more heavy than this game. I know that with an emulator it doesn't work in this way but it's my cpu or the emulator ? Someone can enlighten me about this ? It's absurd O__O
 

Harro

Member
I started last year a retexturation of Luigi's Mansion, but I stoped. I lost my patience :p Searching for the right texture you want to edit is laborious.
However, I completed the mansion hall, here's some screenshot.

1368109060-dolphin-2013-05-09-16-14-21-87.jpg

1368109056-dolphin-2013-05-09-16-12-37-42.jpg


 
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