Project M 3.6 Online via Dolphin Netplay Setup + Optimization Guide

[muleet]

Ok, maybe you should make it more clear in your tutorial, when you speak of the wiimote in the FAQ/Troubleshooting, specifying that anyway this build cannot be used for anything else than the netplay and not wiimotes. I'm not sure it was clear enough, to just remind to disable wiimotes. (Or maybe this is specified somewhere else and I just misread...)
Anyway, thanks again.

 

[GaReKr]

Like other people, I was having issues with choppy netplay despite my friend and I both having more than sufficient computers (core i5 2500k with gtx 770 and core i5 3570k with radeon 6850) and on the same ISP within 20 miles of each other. After spending a bit of time troubleshooting our settings, trying without audio, without streaming to twitch.tv, etc., I finally found the answer. Unfortunately, it's not a satisfying one.

I had my friend give me his IP address, then I used pingplotter to run a ping to his computer twice a second. What I found was that while the game was smooth, we had 19-30ms pings to eachother. Every time the game chopped, there was a nasty spike to 160-260ms. Watching the pingplotter program coincide exactly with the chops in game convinced me - it's network lag plaguing our play.

After looking into it closer, the hop just before his IP doesn't jump at all for me. His network connection isn't being used for anything else, so it's just an issue with his Internet connection. It always sucks trying to convince your ISP that there is an issue with your connection when it works 99% of the time, so I'm not overly hopeful of it being fixed. He's looking into getting another router, so maybe that will solve the issue - but I kind of doubt it.

That said, I know these sorts of ping deviation issues can sometimes be resolved in Quake by using a console command, "cl_packetdup [#]" that forces the game to send out multiple copies of an update so that if one gets delayed, maybe the second will make it there in time. As far as I can tell, there isn't a setting to get Dolphin to do that. That said, it is open source...

 

[luxmivozi]

getting a iso is easy i am able to get one in less than a hour

 

[SUTOruin]

Best tutorial EVER!

Intel Core 2 Duo E6700 (hiccups here and there)
4GB DDR2 RAM
Nvidia GT 630 (2GB)
Windows 7-64

 

[QuickRat]

Hi. I don't know if this is the correct thread to ask this, but maybe you can help. I'm having two problems with Dolphin and Project M.

First of all, sound. I don't know what happens, but it's kind of "choppy". You know... it's like it's having micro-silences, pretty annoying thing I would LOVE to remove. I put XAudio2 and DSP HLE Emulation, so it should work correctly, but it doesn't...

Then, the performance. I've tried every single option. Even in 800 x 600 px, Project M will have some framerate problems. It depends on the attack and stage. For example, Skyloft (Skyward Sword Stage) is directrly impossible to play due to very low framerate. I checked everything just like Y-L says in his OP.

My computer:

4 GB RAM
Ati Radeon HD 5770
AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3,2 GHz)

So, problems I think it may have are: 1) no dedicated sound card, 2) I need a better CPU/GPU, 3) my hard disk is certainly slow, 4) maybe there's somekind of graphic bug and I didn't know it.

Interesting fact is regular Brawl runs perfectly in my computer. 60fps and 1440p in every single stage and attack combinations. Just a couple of times I noticed it's running at 56 fps for a couple of seconds, but that's all. If there's some kind of problem between SD.raw and Dolphin, maybe it could be fixed with an ISO builder...

In any case, could anybody help? Thank you all.

 

[Y-L]

Hi. I don't know if this is the correct thread to ask this, but maybe you can help. I'm having two problems with Dolphin and Project M.

First of all, sound. I don't know what happens, but it's kind of "choppy". You know... it's like it's having micro-silences, pretty annoying thing I would LOVE to remove. I put XAudio2 and DSP HLE Emulation, so it should work correctly, but it doesn't...

Then, the performance. I've tried every single option. Even in 800 x 600 px, Project M will have some framerate problems. It depends on the attack and stage. For example, Skyloft (Skyward Sword Stage) is directrly impossible to play due to very low framerate. I checked everything just like Y-L says in his OP.

My computer:

4 GB RAM
Ati Radeon HD 5770
AMD Phenom II X4 955 (3,2 GHz)

So, problems I think it may have are: 1) no dedicated sound card, 2) I need a better CPU/GPU, 3) my hard disk is certainly slow, 4) maybe there's somekind of graphic bug and I didn't know it.

Interesting fact is regular Brawl runs perfectly in my computer. 60fps and 1440p in every single stage and attack combinations. Just a couple of times I noticed it's running at 56 fps for a couple of seconds, but that's all. If there's some kind of problem between SD.raw and Dolphin, maybe it could be fixed with an ISO builder...

In any case, could anybody help? Thank you all.

Okay so using the virtual SD card method I find creates more lag and the audio problem you're referring to. That's why I recommend using the method used in this guide (injected iso) and that allows you to Netplay. I only use virtual SD for testing mods.

Changing the resolution of the game won't help your performance from a cpu bottleneck. Your dedicated video card should be able to do ~3x IR. Not having a sound card would never cause that to happen, nor your hard disk.

Your cpu is slow for Dolphin (gpu doesn't matter much except for IR/AA) however you should be able to run the game at full speed under most circumstances. Skyloft is going to lag no matter what because it has a huge background that is constantly moving (the background is gigantic). I actually created a lagless Skyloft and we use it in our Netplay community build. You may also have trouble on smashville or other stages with moving large backgrounds. Also lag may occur while swapping between menus or big animation moves (I. e. Ike's neutral b) or on the character select screen. However you should notice a performance/sound quality increase with injected iso. If you want 0 fps lag then you can overclock or upgrade cpu's. The game should be pretty solid 60 fps for the most part though.

 

[QuickRat]

Thanks!! Yeah, I supposed it was SD issue, but I couldn't take out any possibility. So, a Project M ISO should fix the sound problem. And those stages are both CPU and design problems, aren't they? Thank you very much!!

By the way, what AMD cheap CPU do you recommend for both Project M and gaming (I play lots of games of Steam and GOG from different times).

 

[Y-L]

Thanks!! Yeah, I supposed it was SD issue, but I couldn't take out any possibility. So, a Project M ISO should fix the sound problem. And those stages are both CPU and design problems, aren't they? Thank you very much!!

By the way, what AMD cheap CPU do you recommend for both Project M and gaming (I play lots of games of Steam and GOG from different times).

They are hard to emulate because of the large moving backgrounds. 80 percent of the size of the file of skyloft is the background.
Do not get an amd cpu. They have very bad single threaded performance which is what Dolphin needs. Instead get the Intel pentium anniversary edition (g3258). That is cheaper than any amd cpu and will outperform amd cpus that are twice as expensive as it. It's only 75 dollars. Plus if you want to overclock that baby will overclock like a beast.

Don't let the amount of cores/clock speed of a cpu deceive you into thinking it's good. For example the intel dual core Pentium g3258 @ 3.2ghz will outperform a quad core AMD Athlon 760k @ 3.4ghz in every way.

 

[Chris Le]

Hello, I try to connect with friends via netplay and after I attempt to join their lobby after a few seconds it just says "disconnected". Likewise, I tried to host and similar result. We all have Dolphin 4.0-652 build, and they connected to each other no problem. My copy of the whole PM build and iso are the same hash for one of my friends because I literally gave it to him via flash drive. I think the problem is in my network, and I have already tried to disable the firewall and allow the program into the firewall.

 

[Y-L]

Hello, I try to connect with friends via netplay and after I attempt to join their lobby after a few seconds it just says "disconnected". Likewise, I tried to host and similar result. We all have Dolphin 4.0-652 build, and they connected to each other no problem. My copy of the whole PM build and iso are the same hash for one of my friends because I literally gave it to him via flash drive. I think the problem is in my network, and I have already tried to disable the firewall and allow the program into the firewall.

Its definitely a network issue. Check the FAQ about network issues.

 

[lavagolem123]

I'm thinking about buying a new laptop and thought I might as well get something that can run Netplay well too. Would this one have adequate technical specs? I'm not super computer-parts savvy, so I'm not entirely sure of how to compare them to what is the minimum to what's on Ebay lol. It's a wee bit pricey (and refurbished), so if I can find something that's less powerful but still runs Netplay without problems, I'm all for it. This is the laptop: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c03754267
If anyone could recommend certain types of processors and video/sound (ie. Intel Pentium series, AMD Athalon series, etc) card to look for that are better than the minimum, that'd be a great help for me to thin out the search results on Ebay.

Thanks!

 

[Y-L]

I'm thinking about buying a new laptop and thought I might as well get something that can run Netplay well too. Would this one have adequate technical specs? I'm not super computer-parts savvy, so I'm not entirely sure of how to compare them to what is the minimum to what's on Ebay lol. It's a wee bit pricey (and refurbished), so if I can find something that's less powerful but still runs Netplay without problems, I'm all for it. This is the laptop: http://h10025.www1.hp.com/ewfrf/wc/document?cc=us&lc=en&dlc=en&docname=c03754267
If anyone could recommend certain types of processors and video/sound (ie. Intel Pentium series, AMD Athalon series, etc) card to look for that are better than the minimum, that'd be a great help for me to thin out the search results on Ebay.

Thanks!

The processor is the most important thing for dolphin. You need strong single threaded performance, which is why you should stay away from any and all AMD processors.
The i7 4700mq (that one you picked out has one) is great for dolphin and is one of the best choices. I would shoot for a laptop with that. However if you can't afford that, i5 4xxxm should work. Basically you want a haswell i5 or i7. A good way to see if is look on sites like cpuboss or cpuworld and look at the single threaded performance compared to other processors.

A dedicated video card is not necessary for dolphin (will just make cpu overheat faster, they share heatsink in multimedia laptops) and Intel integrated graphics should be sufficient for 2.5x IR.

I have the 15 inch version laptop of the one in your link and it's perfect for my needs.

 

[lavagolem123]

The processor is the most important thing for dolphin. You need strong single threaded performance, which is why you should stay away from any and all AMD processors.
The i7 4700mq (that one you picked out has one) is great for dolphin and is one of the best choices. I would shoot for a laptop with that. However if you can't afford that, i5 4xxxm should work. Basically you want a haswell i5 or i7. A good way to see if is look on sites like cpuboss or cpuworld and look at the single threaded performance compared to other processors.

A dedicated video card is not necessary for dolphin (will just make cpu overheat faster, they share heatsink in multimedia laptops) and Intel integrated graphics should be sufficient for 2.5x IR.

I have the 15 inch version laptop of the one in your link and it's perfect for my needs.

For future reference @ Y-L , how would I be able to tell if the laptop has a dedicated video card? I found another that seems like it could work just fine and it's about $100 less. This is it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181397186337?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Sorry for asking so many questions, I just wanna make sure I don't needlessly blow so much money on this.

 

[ketchup799]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this (move if it is not), but I am having an issue with Dolphin. It was working fine a couple days ago, but today I was able to open it once, and then after I close and try to reopen it doesn't open at all. I checked Task Manager and it wasn't in there. The only way I am able to get it to work is if I delete and reinstall Dolphin (doesn't always work) OR restart my computer. I've found several threads (https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-dolphin-runs-one-time-and-after-closing-won-t-start-again) on the Dolphin forums of people having the same issue, but it is never solved. I have tried both the 648 and the 652 versions of Dolphin and it happens for both. It seems like people usually recommend getting the latest version of Dolphin, but on here it is recommended to use certain versions for PM. Does anybody have any insight towards this?

I have:
updated my graphics card drivers
installed new directX and C++
turned off all firewalls

I am using Windows 7, 64 bit and using a 64 bit version of Dolphin.

 

[Y-L]

For future reference @ Y-L , how would I be able to tell if the laptop has a dedicated video card? I found another that seems like it could work just fine and it's about $100 less. This is it: http://www.ebay.com/itm/181397186337?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT

Sorry for asking so many questions, I just wanna make sure I don't needlessly blow so much money on this.

That laptop should work fine.

You can tell if it has a dedicated card if it says it includes GTX XXXm. Whenever it says it has intel integrated graphics (HD 4600 in this case) that is the integrated graphics without the dedicated card.

 

[Y-L]

Not sure if this is the correct place to ask this (move if it is not), but I am having an issue with Dolphin. It was working fine a couple days ago, but today I was able to open it once, and then after I close and try to reopen it doesn't open at all. I checked Task Manager and it wasn't in there. The only way I am able to get it to work is if I delete and reinstall Dolphin (doesn't always work) OR restart my computer. I've found several threads (https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-dolphin-runs-one-time-and-after-closing-won-t-start-again) on the Dolphin forums of people having the same issue, but it is never solved. I have tried both the 648 and the 652 versions of Dolphin and it happens for both. It seems like people usually recommend getting the latest version of Dolphin, but on here it is recommended to use certain versions for PM. Does anybody have any insight towards this?

I have:
updated my graphics card drivers
installed new directX and C++
turned off all firewalls

I am using Windows 7, 64 bit and using a 64 bit version of Dolphin.

Have you tried getting the latest windows service packs?

 

[ketchup799]

Have you tried getting the latest windows service packs?

Just checked and I have the latest windows service pack. =/

 

[Y-L]

Just checked and I have the latest windows service pack. =/

I guess my suggestion is to just try to post it again in the support section of the Dolphin forums. They probably will be much more helpful than I can be.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

Hey, I am planning on getting my own laptop soon. I also want to get project m online working soon so I can stop playing CPU's. However, rather than using my lack luster laptop or home cpu (neither of which are mine, so its hard to have a consistent time) and take the time to do it again, I wanna get it set up on my laptop. This is the laptop I plan on getting:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-13-3-I...404097052&sr=8-3&keywords=lenovo+ideapad+u430

Will that work relatively well with P:M? Not that I will be able to afford much more expensive, just curious if it is worth getting the GC controller adapter for it. Anyways, any input is welcomed, thank you in advance.

 

[Y-L]

Hey, I am planning on getting my own laptop soon. I also want to get project m online working soon so I can stop playing CPU's. However, rather than using my lack luster laptop or home cpu (neither of which are mine, so its hard to have a consistent time) and take the time to do it again, I wanna get it set up on my laptop. This is the laptop I plan on getting:

http://www.amazon.com/Lenovo-13-3-I...404097052&sr=8-3&keywords=lenovo+ideapad+u430

Will that work relatively well with P:M? Not that I will be able to afford much more expensive, just curious if it is worth getting the GC controller adapter for it. Anyways, any input is welcomed, thank you in advance.

I highly recommend that you do not get that laptop. It has a i5-3337u, the u stands for ultra low voltage. Dolphin requires a lot of cpu power and with ultra low voltage that thing will not draw much power. I would shoot for a laptop with an i7 4700mq. Basically ignore all laptops with a cpu that doesn't have m, mq, or hq.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

I highly recommend that you do not get that laptop. It has a i5-3337u, the u stands for ultra low voltage. Dolphin requires a lot of cpu power and with ultra low voltage that thing will not draw much power. I would shoot for a laptop with an i7 4700mq. Basically ignore all laptops with a cpu that doesn't have m, mq, or hq.

Any recommendations with around that price off the top of your head?

 

[Y-L]

Any recommendations with around that price off the top of your head?

maybe something like this?

 

[kaner32]

Hey I am trying to get the project M iso on my mac, I followed all of the steps up until it says to run the builder, I assume this means to run the Build_ISO v3.1.bat file but when I click on it finder says "There is no application set to open the document “Build_ISO v3.1.bat”. Is there anything I can do to run the builder or like an app I can download? This stuff is 1000x worse on mac.

 

[kaner32]

Update: I right clicked the document and had it opened with terminal, however it went through the whole build immediately and did not allow me to select 1121 for the options. Any Ideas?

 

[Y-L]

Update: I right clicked the document and had it opened with terminal, however it went through the whole build immediately and did not allow me to select 1121 for the options. Any Ideas?

Macs cannot run .bat files. Read the faq about what to do if you have a mac.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

@ Y-L

Thanks for the advice. That looks like it will do.

 

[Y-L]

@ Y-L

Thanks for the advice. That looks like it will do.

So did that work? And any updates on laptops?

 

[TheGravyTrain]

So did that work? And any updates on laptops?

I will not be getting it until fall.
What do you think the chances of the official Nintendo GC adapter being able to work for a computer (with community modding...)? I really don't want to buy 2 adapters within 3 months..

 

[Y-L]

I will not be getting it until fall.
What do you think the chances of the official Nintendo GC adapter being able to work for a computer (with community modding...)? I really don't want to buy 2 adapters within 3 months..

It could be possible considering it goes through 2 usb ports. Someone would just have to create drivers for it.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

It could be possible considering it goes through 2 usb ports. Someone would just have to create drivers for it.

It would be dumb to have to buy 2, so I will probably wait for the Nintendo one, because that has more promise of being compatible than the unnofficial for the Wii U.

 

[Y-L]

It would be dumb to have to buy 2, so I will probably wait for the Nintendo one, because that has more promise of being compatible than the unnofficial for the Wii U.

If you have to wait until Fall for your laptop I would wait too.

 

[TheGravyTrain]

If you have to wait until Fall for your laptop I would wait too.

Thats what I figured

 

[Y-L]

Just a heads up to all you NetPlayers, we're working on a new update to our community build of Project M that features less resource demanding stages, character unlocks on startup (i.e. don't have to fight Ness after X matches), and possibly items off by default and 16:9 by default. There are also cool custom songs and stage reskins. I'll link it to the op when the update is released. Keep in mind it is not compatible with vanilla pm but you can have both and use them interchangeably as we changed the game id.

 

[Tremendo Dude]

Looking forward to it, Y-L!

By the way, where should we go to find people to play against? Is there a thread I should head to? I've done some light searching but can't seem to find anything.

 

[Roguay]

Trying to DL the PM ISObuilder, and chrome is blocking it because it thinks it's malware... is this normal??

 

[Remo]

No matter what I do when I build the ISO it always comes out as 32837a034ab643dc17673492ae6f40e1.
But my Brawl one matches the good one to use. What can I do?

 

[Y-L]

Looking forward to it, Y-L!

By the way, where should we go to find people to play against? Is there a thread I should head to? I've done some light searching but can't seem to find anything.

Look in the OP and head to anther's ladder, there's 80+ people on every day at any given time!

Trying to DL the PM ISObuilder, and chrome is blocking it because it thinks it's malware... is this normal??

Yeah I noticed this too.. I find it very strange but I tried downloading it anyways and it is not malware. I think Chrome doesn't like the website anymore, but I'm not sure what the cause of this is. I can assure you it is safe though, it's the same link used in the reddit guide.

No matter what I do when I build the ISO it always comes out as 32837a034ab643dc17673492ae6f40e1.
But my Brawl one matches the good one to use. What can I do?

How do you know your brawl is good? Is it NTSC 7.2 gb? If so then you had a problem with the files.

 

[Remo]

Look in the OP and head to anther's ladder, there's 80+ people on every day at any given time!

Yeah I noticed this too.. I find it very strange but I tried downloading it anyways and it is not malware. I think Chrome doesn't like the website anymore, but I'm not sure what the cause of this is. I can assure you it is safe though, it's the same link used in the reddit guide.

How do you know your brawl is good? Is it NTSC 7.2 gb? If so then you had a problem with the files.

I checked the MD5 and matched it with the code of ones others are using. My Brawl is 8.9. My PM comes out at 7.4 and yes NTSC.

 

[Y-L]

I checked the MD5 and matched it with the code of ones others are using. My Brawl is 8.9. My PM comes out at 7.4 and yes NTSC.

Then you did something wrong with the files. You are using the 3.02 homebrew full set? Did you replace rsbe01.gct with the one in the codes folder of the 3.02 homebrew full set?

 

[Remo]

Then you did something wrong with the files. You are using the 3.02 homebrew full set? Did you replace rsbe01.gct with the one in the codes folder of the 3.02 homebrew full set?

I did download 3.02 Full. However I did not replace the RSBE01. I will try that now.

EDIT: Still came out 32837a034ab643dc17673492ae6f40e1 and 7.4 Gigs.