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Dolphin - Emulating Wii and Gamecube Games

Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
So has anyone found a particular Dolphin version that allows you to play Skyward Sword without the awful audio skipping (every 1-2s)? It's not an issue of hardware, and I can't find a version from 3.0 to current that doesn't have this really bad skipping. This is the only game that does it too.
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Sanctuary said:
So has anyone found a particular Dolphin version that allows you to play Skyward Sword without the awful audio skipping (every 1-2s)? It's not an issue of hardware, and I can't find a version from 3.0 to current that doesn't have this really bad skipping. This is the only game that does it too.
Click to expand...

Why are you certain it isn't an issue of hardware? Dolphin running perfectly is really, really demanding.
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
Alo81 said:
Why are you certain it isn't an issue of hardware? Dolphin running perfectly is really, really demanding.
Click to expand...

It wasn't a hardware issue (4670k@4.4ghz and a GTX 780). I actually figured it out, and now I feel dumb. It was simply the enable Vbeam Speed Hack option. Most suggestions for audio or framerate issues mention making sure that's ticked. There's only one game though (that I have anyway) where that should be ticked, and Skyward Sword is not it. With that option on, the audio skips constantly, and with it off it's pretty smooth with the occasional light crackle here and there. I'm not sure how that was ticked from the start, but it was.
 
E

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
Platy said:
Anyone have Wario Ware Smooth Moves on Dolphin ?

I have a REALLY simple screenshot request ....

7LBkwDZ.png

This from Ashley's intro in the biggest quality possible

I would be eternaly thankfull to you =x
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to get this for you but it seems I don't have a save for Wario Ware on my computer and I don't want to go through unlocking it just for the sake of a screenshot.

But if you link me to a (virus-free) save file from dolphin I'll get you the shot ;)

edit: I have the european version
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
Platy said:
Anyone have Wario Ware Smooth Moves on Dolphin ?

I have a REALLY simple screenshot request ....

7LBkwDZ.png

This from Ashley's intro in the biggest quality possible

I would be eternaly thankfull to you =x
Click to expand...

I just looked into it and apparently that's a pre-rendered thing so the maximum quality is 640x480. It isn't rendered so you can't render it larger.
 
C

chaosblade

Unconfirmed Member
You could probably rip the file from the game and upres it with a decent filter. With that graphical style it would probably turn out okay. At least better than that image with horrible JPEG compression.

But that doesn't really have anything to do with Dolphin.
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
chaosblade said:
You could probably rip the file from the game and upres it with a decent filter. With that graphical style it would probably turn out okay. At least better than that image with horrible JPEG compression.

But that doesn't really have anything to do with Dolphin.
Click to expand...

That's what I was hoping but nope.

It doesn't everything with alpha differences so the frames dolphin spits out are just grey alpha differences, and they're compressed themselves already. No really much room for improvement unfortunately.
 
F

FlyingSaucer

Banned
Hello everyone!
As I'm too lazy to switch on again the wii, I tried to install Dolphin and play some classics in glorious HD graphics. So far, I've only tried Wind Waker, and the game (especially the audio) stutter horribly; it get worse during combat, to the point the game is near unplayable.
Is there something I could do to improve the experience ?

Specs :
i5 2500K (not OC)
GTX 560 Ti
8 GB of RAM

I already tried most of the recommended settings (EFB to RAM, etc) on the Dolphin wiki page
https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker
 
L

lensoftruth

Member
FlyingSaucer said:
Hello everyone!
As I'm too lazy to switch on again the wii, I tried to install Dolphin and play some classics in glorious HD graphics. So far, I've only tried Wind Waker, and the game (especially the audio) stutter horribly; it get worse during combat, to the point the game is near unplayable.
Is there something I could do to improve the experience ?

Specs :
i5 2500K (not OC)
GTX 560 Ti
8 GB of RAM

I already tried most of the recommended settings (EFB to RAM, etc) on the Dolphin wiki page
https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker
Click to expand...
Right click, set audio to HLE
 
H

Hasney

Member
FlyingSaucer said:
Hello everyone!
As I'm too lazy to switch on again the wii, I tried to install Dolphin and play some classics in glorious HD graphics. So far, I've only tried Wind Waker, and the game (especially the audio) stutter horribly; it get worse during combat, to the point the game is near unplayable.
Is there something I could do to improve the experience ?

Specs :
i5 2500K (not OC)
GTX 560 Ti
8 GB of RAM

I already tried most of the recommended settings (EFB to RAM, etc) on the Dolphin wiki page
https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker
Click to expand...

I have the exact same spec and also get the same results. I gave up trying to fiddle around about 6 months ago and just played it on my Wii U. Pity really.
 
P

PirateKing

Junior Member
Hey guys I have finally got Xenoblade and Metroid Prime to work 99% perfectly on 3.5. I absolutely did everything but 4.0 is in every way inferior on my PC. If anyone hasn't got these two games to work properly, I'll tell you what to do step by step. Hopefully it'll work on your specs.

For some reason no matter what I do I can't fix Pandora's Tower's sound stuttering. It's the most annoying thing. If anyone has a solution to this, please tell me what you did.
 
V

VivaciousSoul

Member
Pirateking said:
Hey guys I have finally got Xenoblade and Metroid Prime to work 99% perfectly on 3.5. I absolutely did everything but 4.0 is in every way inferior on my PC. If anyone hasn't got these two games to work properly, I'll tell you what to do step by step. Hopefully it'll work on your specs.

For some reason no matter what I do I can't fix Pandora's Tower's sound stuttering. It's the most annoying thing. If anyone has a solution to this, please tell me what you did.
Click to expand...

I'd like to know. I know they are trying to make improvements but I guess things have to go down before they can go up. I feel like every revision I try has some issue with certain problem games.
 
B

Boulotaur2024

Member
FlyingSaucer said:
Hello everyone!
As I'm too lazy to switch on again the wii, I tried to install Dolphin and play some classics in glorious HD graphics. So far, I've only tried Wind Waker, and the game (especially the audio) stutter horribly; it get worse during combat, to the point the game is near unplayable.
Is there something I could do to improve the experience ?

Specs :
i5 2500K (not OC)
GTX 560 Ti
8 GB of RAM

I already tried most of the recommended settings (EFB to RAM, etc) on the Dolphin wiki page
https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=The_Legend_of_Zelda:_The_Wind_Waker
Click to expand...
Weird the game runs smoothly for me on HLE provided I don't set the AA too high. I have the same CPU... Using the x64 build though but I don't think it makes that much of a difference
 
P

PirateKing

Junior Member
VivaciousSoul said:
I'd like to know. I know they are trying to make improvements but I guess things have to go down before they can go up. I feel like every revision I try has some issue with certain problem games.
Click to expand...

For Xenoblade on revision 3.5-367 Dolphin;

Open up Dolphin > Right Click on ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' > Properties> TICK ''Enable Dual Core'' and '' Enable Idle Skipping'' > TICK OFF ''Skip DCBZ clearing'' and ''Accurate Vbeam emulation''. Leave the rest on default setting.

Config;

General;
Basic Settings: Make sure both ''Enable Dual Core'' and ''Enable Idle Skipping'' are both TICKED.
Framelimit: 30fps and TICK ''Limit by FPS''

Advanced Setting: JIT Recompiler

Audio;

DSP Emulator Engine: DSP HLE emulation (fast)

TICK ''DSP LLE Thread''

Graphics;

Backend: ''Direct3D11''
(my adaptor is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 so keep that in mind)

Fullscreen Resolution: Mine is on 1920x1080 (reminder, if by the end of this configuration your computer can't handle it, bring down the resolution and see if there will be any changes if there are FPS issues.)

Aspect Ratio: Force 16:9

V-Sync: OFF
Use Fullscreen: OFF (optional)

Enhancements;

Internal Resolution: 4x Native ( makes a huge difference on Xenoblade especially if you have a 20inch monitor or above)

Anti-Aliasing: NONE

Antisotrophic Filtering: 4x

Scaled EFB Copy TICKED
The rest of the boxes UNTICK (blank)

Hacks;
EFB Copies: Texture
Texture Cache: Fast (max)

Other;
TICK ''OpenMP Texture Decoder''
Leave the rest of the boxes UNTICK


Please post if this worked for you. Best of luck. I'll post Metroid Prime config if the Xenoblade worked for you.

EDIT: The game should work between 29-30fps with no sound issues in battle or not. Rarely the sound issues will occur where the sound stutters. Simply change the time to day or night to change the music. This rarely happens, it happened after I tried to make gems, changed weapons, upgraded my skills and looked at the ''Friendship'' stars of people and companion then went back to controlling my character. Even then the stuttering only happened to my right headphone.
Post your results and tell me if there are any issues.
 
T

The Red Wizard

Member
Pirateking said:
Hey guys I have finally got Xenoblade and Metroid Prime to work 99% perfectly on 3.5. I absolutely did everything but 4.0 is in every way inferior on my PC. If anyone hasn't got these two games to work properly, I'll tell you what to do step by step. Hopefully it'll work on your specs.

For some reason no matter what I do I can't fix Pandora's Tower's sound stuttering. It's the most annoying thing. If anyone has a solution to this, please tell me what you did.
Click to expand...

I'd like some advice on getting those two games working if you don't mind.
 
E

efyu_lemonardo

May I have a cookie?
FlyingSaucer said:
And I do use the x64 build already.
Maybe I should switch to an older version of Dolphin to see if I've more luck.



Well, I already own the GC disc, and I really don't want to play on my TV, so...

Ps : Should I use Intel Turbo Boost Technology Monitor ?
Click to expand...

did you try OpenAL and adjusting latency?
 
V

VivaciousSoul

Member
Pirateking said:
For Xenoblade on 3.5 Dolphin;

Open up Dolphin > Right Click on ''Xenoblade Chronicles'' > Properties> TICK ''Enable Dual Core'' and '' Enable Idle Skipping'' > TICK OFF ''Skip DCBZ clearing'' and ''Accurate Vbeam emulation''. Leave the rest on default setting.

Config;

General;
Basic Settings: Make sure both ''Enable Dual Core'' and ''Enable Idle Skipping'' are both TICKED.
Framelimit: 30fps and TICK ''Limit by FPS''

Advanced Setting: JIT Recompiler


Audio;

DSP Emulator Engine: DSP HLE emulation (fast)

TICK ''DSP LLE Thread''

Graphics;

Backend: ''Direct3D11''
(my adaptor is NVIDIA GeForce GTX 670 so keep that in mind)

Fullscreen Resolution: Mine is on 1920x1080 (reminder, if by the end of this configuration your computer can't handle it, bring down the resolution and see if there will be any changes if there are FPS issues.)

Aspect Ratio: Force 16:9

V-Sync OFF
Use Fullscreen OFF (optional)

Enhancements;

Internal Resolution: 4x Native ( makes a huge difference on Xenoblade especially if you have a 20inch monitor or above)

Anti-Aliasing: NONE

Antisotrophic Filtering: 4x

Scaled EFB Copy TICKED
The rest of the boxes UNTICK (blank)

Hacks;
EFB Copies: Texture
Texture Cache: Fast (max)

Other;
TICK ''OpenMP Texture Decoder''
Leave the rest of the boxes UNTICK


Please post if this worked for you. Best of luck. I'll post Metroid Prime config if the Xenoblade worked for you.

EDIT: The game should work between 29-30fps with no sound issues in battle or not. Rarely the sound issues will occur where the sound stutters. Simply change the time to day or night to change the music. This rarely happens, it happened after I tried to make gems, changed weapons, upgraded my skills and looked at the ''Friendship'' stars of people and companion then went back to controlling my character. Even then the stuttering only happened to my right headphone.
Post your results and tell me if there are any issues.
Click to expand...

Much appreciated. I'm going to give this a try.

Edit: Is there a particular revision of Dolphin 3.5 that you are using? Official 3.5 doesn't have skip DCBZ clearing, but it does have accurate vbeam emulation. Some of the later revisions of 3.5 have skip dcbz clearing but I'm not sure if they have accurate vbeam emulation, it looks like it could have been renamed to vbeam speed hack in some of the later revisions. I'll experiment when I get some more time. I think I'll start with DX9 because I'd like to keep these HD textures. Load custom textures doesn't work with DX11.

I hope they restore it in 4.0+, I know the Dolphin team is just trying to move the project forward but they gave DX9 the boot and haven't brought back this feature.
 
P

PirateKing

Junior Member
VivaciousSoul said:
Much appreciated. I'm going to give this a try.

Edit: Is there a particular revision of Dolphin 3.5 that you are using? Official 3.5 doesn't have skip DCBZ clearing, but it does have accurate vbeam emulation. Some of the later revisions of 3.5 have skip dcbz clearing but I'm not sure if they have accurate vbeam emulation, it looks like it could have been renamed to vbeam speed hack in some of the later revisions. I'll experiment when I get some more time. I think I'll start with DX9 because I'd like to keep these HD textures. Load custom textures doesn't work with DX11.

I hope they restore it in 4.0+, I know the Dolphin team is just trying to move the project forward but they gave DX9 the boot and haven't brought back this feature.
Click to expand...

No worries. Sorry I forgot to say which revision it was, my fault. It's revision 3.5-367. Give it a try and report back what happens.

I tried OpenGL and DX9 but both played horribly on whatever config I used. Obviously there could be a better config or if you can actually code in your own and try to stabilize it yourself.

If this worked for you, I'll post my Metroid Prime config.
 
Sanctuary

Sanctuary

Member
VivaciousSoul said:
Much appreciated. I'm going to give this a try.

Edit: Is there a particular revision of Dolphin 3.5 that you are using? Official 3.5 doesn't have skip DCBZ clearing, but it does have accurate vbeam emulation.
Click to expand...


What I'm using for Xenoblade is 3.0-72. It was said to be one of the best, so I simply use that version specifically for that game alone. I also just tried copying the settings on the wiki of someone who said the game ran flawlessly, and so far it has for me.

Constant 30 FPS, *except* for barely noticable pauses when entering new areas (texture access slowdown?) . No audio problems.

Game config: check Enable Dual Core, uncheck Enable Idle Skipping, check Accurate VBeam, uncheck DSP HLE emulation.

General config: Enable Dual Core, Framelimit - Audio, JIT Recompiler. Audio: DSP LLE recompiler, DSP LLE on Thread, XAudio.

Graphics: D3D9, Fullscreen, Auto Aspect Ratio, 4x Native, 16x AI Filtering, Scaled EFB Copy, Ignore Format Changes, EFB Copies - RAM - Enable Cache, EFB On - Virtual. Anything not specifically listed is unchecked/turned off.
Click to expand...
 
F

FlyingSaucer

Banned
Okay, I've resolved my problem with Wind Waker.

Hasney said:
I have the exact same spec and also get the same results. I gave up trying to fiddle around about 6 months ago and just played it on my Wii U. Pity really.
Click to expand...

I switched to the 3.5 release, it works flawlessly : no more audio drops, no more slowdowns during combat. It's fantastic.
Maybe you should give it a try too ?
 
J

JakeD

Member
guys it never fails...i get a new game going on dolphin, i take screenshots because i am amazed by how good it looks on my TV, then when i bring it over to my laptop i am disappointed. oh well, ill share it anyway

MM7SMws.jpg
Click to expand...
 
A

Alo81

Low Poly Gynecologist
JakeD said:
guys it never fails...i get a new game going on dolphin, i take screenshots because i am amazed by how good it looks on my TV, then when i bring it over to my laptop i am disappointed. oh well, ill share it anyway
Click to expand...

It would probably help you to capture the image lossless in a PNG, but I get what you mean. It does look better in motion.

Though, with a lot of AA and a lossless image, you can get some great looking shots.

i8JzZpa.png
 
J

JakeD

Member
Alo81 said:
It would probably help you to capture the image lossless in a PNG, but I get what you mean. It does look better in motion.

Though, with a lot of AA and a lossless image, you can get some great looking shots.
Click to expand...

what do you use to get PNG files? i've just been using dolphins default screenshot button
 
O

Otakumegane

Member
Really damn wish Xenoblade didn't stutter on me every 10 sec or so.

Max CPU ghz is 3.4, but it's limited to 3.2 cause heat. I should repaste immediately and try again.
 
J

JakeD

Member
Alo81 said:
I use Fraps usually, but there are free alternatives like MSI Afterburner.
Click to expand...

cool thanks, its definitely JPEG compression bringing my shots down most, i just took a shot at 4x res 9x AA (i was getting 1-3 FPS) and the pic still looked a little ugly.
 
A

aktham

Member
I got Xenoblade running nearly 100%, but I'm having issues running Skies of Arcadia Legends. I'm having lots of popping with the audio and the music speeds up in battles. Any ideas? I'm on the 4.0.1 version btw
 
F

Fudgepuppy

Banned
So what's best, DirectX 9 or DirectX 11? I've got the occasional slowdowns in Smash Bros Brawl and changed to DirectX 9 which seems to work better, but then I've got Timesplitters 2 which has some weird graphical glitches and insane slowdowns that seems dependent on automatic weapons and their soundeffects.

Any tips on how to best configure Timesplitters and Smash?
 
N

News Bot

Banned
Fudgepuppy said:
So what's best, DirectX 9 or DirectX 11? I've got the occasional slowdowns in Smash Bros Brawl and changed to DirectX 9 which seems to work better, but then I've got Timesplitters 2 which has some weird graphical glitches and insane slowdowns that seems dependent on automatic weapons and their soundeffects.

Any tips on how to best configure Timesplitters and Smash?
Click to expand...

Pretty sure OpenGL is the best, actually.
 
jediyoshi

jediyoshi

Member
JakeD said:
is simply replacing the EXE file an acceptable way of upgrading? i've been putting off upgrading to 4.0
Click to expand...

If you want to use dev builds to update, copying and pasting the entirety of the archive onto your dolphin folder and overwriting everything is fine. The only issue might be if you're manually editing individual game's config files, but I imagine a majority of people don't bother.
 
J

JakeD

Member
Gvaz said:
Where can i get a cheapo sensor bar and bluetooth adapter for my pc?
Click to expand...

the monoprice sensor bar from amazon is pretty nice. seems about as accurate as the real wii one. i would probably prefer one that just ran off usb power but last i checked that required some cutting and soldering, so battery it is. just have to remember to turn it off
 
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