Dolphin Online - Melee Netplay

[Puca Readabook]

Im interested in joining the netplay group, but i'm very sketchy about my computer's abilities to run the game.

i5 processor @ 2.50Ghz 2.50Ghz
6.00GB ram (5.89 usable)
64bit

But heres the catch:
Intel HD 4000 Graphics ()
Windows 8 (8 = always aero = lag? )

also i'm a braindead technical player so i would really like a means of using my GC controller with NO frame delay

Also how is the general trend with Connection latency? I'll have to compromise here...

 

[Upke]

With Win8, there's not really anything you can do for NO frame delay (thanks, Microsoft). As for latency, I typically play with people with a pad buffer of 3 or 4 which is approximately a frame's worth of lag. For this, you should probably be within the same or adjacent timezones (ex. EC-EC, EC-central, WC-WC, Spain-France, etc.).

 

[Puca Readabook]

whats ur opinions on that gfx card?

 

[Upke]

As far as I know, the CPU is more important for emulation as of now. I couldn't tell you the specifics, I'm not very tech-savvy. Maybe jmc or nmn will pop in here.

 

[Massive]

CPU is the biggest thing, your GPU only really matters for directX/OGL compatibility and video buffer switching space.

As far as CPUs go, I've been able to get 60fps on FD in single core mode with my AMD Vishera (8 cores @ 4GHz) but most people seem to hover around 35-50 fps depending on stage.
My old Intel Q6600 (4 cores @2.4Ghz) was able to do 35-45fps on most stages (45-55 on FD) without much issue.

Since single core is currently the only way to go, it's probably good to note that more cores does not make a faster game. It's going to be clock speed/ops per second that really makes the game run better.

 

[pokemongeof]

I use a Raphnet N64/GC combo adapter, and it supports the C-Stick, analog L/R, and rumble with no issues. However, the 1-2 frames of input lag are annoying, and the lag is a lot worse if Windows Aero is enabled. For the purposes of lag, Windows 8 always has Aero enabled; avoid it like the plague.

I've also heard good things about Mayflash adapters; however, I assume the input lag issue is still present, and I vaguely recall v1 Mayflash adapters having issues with either Rumble or analog L/R. A page or two back in the thread, people mentioned how to tell the revisions apart.

The only controller that I know doesn't have input lag on Windows is the wired XBox 360 controller. They work surprisingly well; they'd be my favorite if the control sticks had the guides for the common directions like Left, Up, etc.

So wait Raphnet has lag?

Does mayflash have lag? Is it worse than Raphnet?

 

[Upke]

Ah, giving example specs is a good idea. I have an Intel Core i7-3610QM @ 2.3GHz, and it can run all the neutral stages barring FoD at 60fps. I think I get around 58fps on FoD which is pretty good compared to most.

 

[Massive]

So wait Raphnet has lag?

Does mayflash have lag? Is it worse than Raphnet?

I have one of these, and there is some minor lag; I'm not sure if it's a driver issue or a hardware one.

A good comparison of low-lag dongles is probably a good idea for anyone who wants to play online in the future.

 

[Gatoray]

There seems to be a problem with the skype group on my end. Does anyone else have a problem sending and loading messages? Maybe we should migrate to a new group or figure out a better way to keep in contact.

 

[Snoupii]

Hey, someone add me on skype, and into the smash online group please.
My skype name is Snooupii ... so if you could just add me that would be great

 

[AGLET]

requesting to be added to the skype group; my skype name is crescendopocoapoco

 

[downbfordays]

For me when i use opengl I get a lot of slowdown and weird graphical glitches, but direct3d9 works just fine, has anyone else encountered this?

 

[Upke]

Do you have an Nvidia card? If not, D3D9 is typically better.

 

[downbfordays]

i don't, but does that mean I can't netplay with people using opengl?

Also can you add me to the skype group? Username: Kaptinkillem

 

[Upke]

Using different video backends will not cause a desync. Go ahead and stick to D3D9.

 

[Mike231]

Skype name, Blingo9x, please add

 

[danny135]

http://smashboards.com/threads/online-melee-tournament-lag-athon.337899/

 

[Dubforce]

Please add me to the skype group.
skype name: Ellondu

 

[JMC4789]

We're going to try and relocate the skype chat to a personalized server to make things easier. That will let us expand past a small skype chat, as well as add features for easier match-finding, tournament setup, and hopefully be a lot less draining on the processor than skype. Some people lose several fps from running it O.o

 

[KayJay]

Brawl+ Gold, Dolphin Netplay with 3 Players, no desyncs (Online Buffer set to 5, when playing 1on1 we can even set it to 2 without fps drops). I almost forgot how much fun Brawl+ was.

 

[JMC4789]

Everyone; we're moving to an IRC based client instead of using skype because Skype has been really bad to us recently. Tons of dropped people, tons of problems. I know the IRC channel has been up for a while, but we're recommending everyone go there now. As such, please note if you want help setting things up in IRC, I'm not watching it 24/7. If you say hey, and then leave one minute later, I will not notice you in all likelihood. If you ping my username, it will make it flash, and the next time I'm at my computer I will see the message.

And for that Brawl+ netplay... Wow. I had trouble getting Brawl to work with even two players. What steps did you go through? Is there anything I can add to the guide to apply it? How would you compare the latency to Brawl Wifi?

 

[Leviathan741]

Can someone add me to the skype group?

My skype name is

navneet.hundal1



Also we are having a hard time connecting. My friend says he cant connect. It says "Failed to connect" when i am hosting. I have ports open and everything.

 

[Bob1337]

Hi can someone add me as well?

Skype name is: michael.lee592

 

[danny135]

Skype group is closing/dead. Go on IRC.

 

[JMC4789]

Apparently RoyalSyrup disbanded the Skype Group prematurely. Everyone is currently hanging out in the IRC room until the site launch is done. Sorry for the inconvenience.

For now, please use the webchat, or connect to us from your preferred IRC client. I'll add more information to the main post.

 

[wmo]

Can anyone post screenshots of what L/R button setup should look like for a gamecube controller? I bought the ralphnet adapter and I feel like trying to hit L doesn't work sometimes. It feels like it's not registering sometimes, but I don't know if it's because I'm not hitting L hard enough, or if it's because the threshold or settings are making it more difficult.

 

[Fishaman P]

Can anyone post screenshots of what L/R button setup should look like for a gamecube controller? I bought the ralphnet adapter and I feel like trying to hit L doesn't work sometimes. It feels like it's not registering sometimes, but I don't know if it's because I'm not hitting L hard enough, or if it's because the threshold or settings are making it more difficult.

The adapter itself takes more pressure for light shielding than the console. I think it's a hardware limitation, not a configuration setting.
However, my other theory is that when the calibration tells you go move the slider to the edges, the large range is interfering with granularity.

tl;dr Light shielding can be problematic, and regular shielding should be fine. If the digital L is giving you problems, it's probably the controller, not the adapter.

 

[wmo]

The adapter itself takes more pressure for light shielding than the console. I think it's a hardware limitation, not a configuration setting.
However, my other theory is that when the calibration tells you go move the slider to the edges, the large range is interfering with granularity.

tl;dr Light shielding can be problematic, and regular shielding should be fine. If the digital L is giving you problems, it's probably the controller, not the adapter.

It's the "hard" L that's giving me issues (the digital one?). Light L seems to be fine, it's just the full L that seems to be iffy. I'll just try it more and if the issue still exists I'll just get a new controller or something (or maybe I just need to practice more)

 

[JMC4789]

You can make it act like console actually by messing with the range on Dolphin. You do that by right clicking the the box during configuration. On my controller, rather than zero, I ended up putting it at 100 on one side, and 90 on the other, but on other controller 2 it needed different values. I think it is indeed a hardware limitation, but luckily dolphin has a way around this. That is not adjusting threshold, btw, that's something different. Hopefully that helps out for those of you with trouble.

 

[wmo]

You can make it act like console actually by messing with the range on Dolphin. You do that by right clicking the the box during configuration. On my controller, rather than zero, I ended up putting it at 100 on one side, and 90 on the other, but on other controller 2 it needed different values. I think it is indeed a hardware limitation, but luckily dolphin has a way around this. That is not adjusting threshold, btw, that's something different. Hopefully that helps out for those of you with trouble.

Thanks, I'll try this later. My threshold is 90, which seems to be the "default". I just want as close to the actual GC settings as possible so I can go back and forth between PC and console without it feeling different.

 

[KayB]

You can make it act like console actually by messing with the range on Dolphin. You do that by right clicking the the box during configuration. On my controller, rather than zero, I ended up putting it at 100 on one side, and 90 on the other, but on other controller 2 it needed different values. I think it is indeed a hardware limitation, but luckily dolphin has a way around this. That is not adjusting threshold, btw, that's something different. Hopefully that helps out for those of you with trouble.

I personally had trouble configuring the threshold. aka I have no idea how to map the analog L and R buttons on to my controller using Dolphin. I have a Mayflash GC to PC adapter.

 

[JMC4789]

I wasn't talking about threshold. I was talking about the menu that comes up when you right click the buttons for setting the configuration on the L analog and R analog. Try that, and adjusting that number until you get it to a satisfactory sensitivity.

 

[Upke]

Good news, everyone! We will be holding an online tournament today.
The stream will be available at: www.twitch.tv/JMC4789
Tune in and check it out!

 

[KEURQUE]

Hey hey guys! I watched the tournament stream tonight, good games and all (nice job on the production as well)!

Anyways, I'm really interested in playing/being a beta tester for the Melee netplay (this stuff is just wayyy too good)! Just a couple of questions though about setting up Dolphin:

• Would it be useful to get a GameCube to PC USB adapter, or will a Wii U Pro Controller just do the job (it should connect with bluetooth am I right? Are there desyncs or anything)?
• If I understand correctly, even if I have a quad-core CPU, the emulator won't use them all unless I specifiy it to right (i.e. enable dual core and put a separate audio thread and all)?

Thanks in advance, hopefully we can play someday!

 

[JMC4789]

By default, Dolphin will be configured for a mixture of speed/stability. Netplay requires us to turn off Dualcore so that it stays synced. A Quadcore CPU is really the best for dolphin, because at most, it uses around three cores. One for video, one for CPU, one for audio, and then Windows and your other programs and F-off on the fourth core out of the way and prevent lag spikes while you're playing. But, for Melee and netplay, we use single core, no separate audio thread, because with those set, the emulator doesn't care about accuracy quite as much, and produces non-stable results. Playing normally, this is not a problem, but when you're syncing up to another emulator, it's a very, very bad idea.

 

[Fishaman P]

Would it be useful to get a GameCube to PC USB adapter, or will a Wii U Pro Controller just do the job (it should connect with bluetooth am I right? Are there desyncs or anything)?

If you can use the controller with Dolphin, it's fine for netplay. Dolphin doesn't see the underlying communication*, just the input.
That being said, if wireless controllers introduce input delay, you might wanna refrain from using them, since netplay has its own input lag.

*An exception is using Wiimotes, and possibly the Wii U controller too, if Dolphin supports it. Dolphin has its own Wiimote libs for this.

 

[KEURQUE]

If you can use the controller with Dolphin, it's fine for netplay. Dolphin doesn't see the underlying communication*, just the input.
That being said, if wireless controllers introduce input delay, you might wanna refrain from using them, since netplay has its own input lag.

*An exception is using Wiimotes, and possibly the Wii U controller too, if Dolphin supports it. Dolphin has its own Wiimote libs for this.

Well, huh, I tried playing with a 360 controller and it wasn't so bad. I could get used to it, since if I'm really considering playing with a Wii U Pro Controller, the control scheme is going to be pretty much the same. Besides, gotta prepare for Smash on Wii U/3DS, which will use the same "Classic Controller"-like scheme anyways.

 

[JMC4789]

Dolphin cannot use the Wiimote communication for Gamecube mode as of this time; while it is possible, no one has done it. You need to use third party applications to translate the button presses into something GCpad can read.

 

[Fishaman P]

Dolphin cannot use the Wiimote communication for Gamecube mode as of this time; while it is possible, no one has done it. You need to use third party applications to translate the button presses into something GCpad can read.

Yeah, I forgot to mention that. But, I'm pretty sure Wiimotes work fine for, say, Brawl netplay.

 

[JMC4789]

Wiimotes are not compatible with netplay as of this time; you can only use a gamecube controller with Brawl. Though, the devs are working on adding wiimote support for netplay to help with other games, since a majority of Wiigames don't support the gamecube controller.