Dolphin Online - Melee Netplay

[Y-L]

So I got Dolphin a little bit ago and I have a few problems.

Problem number one is input lag. It's not as bad as playing on an HDTV, but it's not quite a CRT either. I'm using a Mayflash GC adapter and just running it full screen on my laptop, but I don't know what I should or can be doing to try to reduce this feeling.

Problem two is choppiness. Sometimes the game can get visually choppy and even though my inputs don't feel different than when it's not choppy it's annoying. I can't run FoD at all, 2/3 of the screen becomes purple and the game runs very very slowly. Are there any settings I can mess around with to make this better or do I just need a better graphics card?

Problem number three is Netplay. With my internet I don't seem to be able to connect to other people but at my friend's house it's fine (except he gets horrible ping). What do I look into for this?

I'm generally more of a GameCube and Melee disc and CRT kind of guy, so any help would be greatly appreciated.

Are you using the 4 port or 2 port mayflash adapter? The 4 port is none to be lagless if set to wii u mode, the other is quite laggy. If you have the 4 port set to wii u mode, the only input lag stems from your screen's input lag if you're in fullscreen mode. The only thing you can do about that is hook up a crt screen to your laptop and play through that. If you do this it should theoretically be lagless.

As for the chopiness turning on vsync may help but it adds a bit of input lag. If that fixes it it means your screen can't refresh fast enough.

Dolphin and most emulators rely on the CPU, not GPU so if the game is laggy you can't do much if your CPU is running at full speed. But you said the graphical defect happens so it may be the GPU. Try updating your graphics driver and if it doesn't work then switch graphics backends in Dolphin. Make sure your power settings are set to high performance under battery options.

If these don't fix it, there's nothing you can do rely since overclocking and upgrading the CPU /GPU on a laptop aren't feasible.

Try connecting directly to the router/modem and disabling any firewalls. If it doesn't work you may have to port forward and host with direct instead of traversal. Some routers have incompatibilities with Dolphin. Use a wired connection.

Any other questions?

 

[Dolla Pills]

Are you using the 4 port or 2 port mayflash adapter? The 4 port is none to be lagless if set to wii u mode, the other is quite laggy. If you have the 4 port set to wii u mode, the only input lag stems from your screen's input lag if you're in fullscreen mode. The only thing you can do about that is hook up a crt screen to your laptop and play through that. If you do this it should theoretically be lagless.

As for the chopiness turning on vsync may help but it adds a bit of input lag. If that fixes it it means your screen can't refresh fast enough.

Dolphin and most emulators rely on the CPU, not GPU so if the game is laggy you can't do much if your CPU is running at full speed. But you said the graphical defect happens so it may be the GPU. Try updating your graphics driver and if it doesn't work then switch graphics backends in Dolphin. Make sure your power settings are set to high performance under battery options.

If these don't fix it, there's nothing you can do rely since overclocking and upgrading the CPU /GPU on a laptop aren't feasible.

Try connecting directly to the router/modem and disabling any firewalls. If it doesn't work you may have to port forward and host with direct instead of traversal. Some routers have incompatibilities with Dolphin. Use a wired connection.

Any other questions?

Thanks for the suggestions, I should be able to give all that a shot. The only thing is I have the 4 port adapter and when it's on WiiU mode it crashes Dolphin, so what do I do about that?

EDIT:
Also as long as I'm asking questions how would I go about hooking up my laptop to a CRT?

 

[Y-L]

Thanks for the suggestions, I should be able to give all that a shot. The only thing is I have the 4 port adapter and when it's on WiiU mode it crashes Dolphin, so what do I do about that?

EDIT:
Also as long as I'm asking questions how would I go about hooking up my laptop to a CRT?

You need to use zadig to install the driver, there's a bug in this build of dolphin (it's gone next time we update) that crashes dolphin if you don't have the driver installed. The adapter will be laggy if it's not in wii u mode. There's a guide on smashladder.

For the TV, you'd need an av to vga adapter or whatever. Alternatively, you could just pick up a crt monitor.

 

[Dolla Pills]

You need to use zadig to install the driver, there's a bug in this build of dolphin (it's gone next time we update) that crashes dolphin if you don't have the driver installed. The adapter will be laggy if it's not in wii u mode. There's a guide on smashladder.

For the TV, you'd need an av to vga adapter or whatever. Alternatively, you could just pick up a crt monitor.

Thank you that is much better now

EDIT:
Actually I have another question and I feel kinda embarrassed to be asking this, but how are you supposed to quit out of Dolphin if you have full screen on? I used to ctrl alt delete and then it would exit full screen but with Windows 10 that crashes my computer.

 

[Y-L]

Thank you that is much better now

EDIT:
Actually I have another question and I feel kinda embarrassed to be asking this, but how are you supposed to quit out of Dolphin if you have full screen on? I used to ctrl alt delete and then it would exit full screen but with Windows 10 that crashes my computer.

You just hit the esc key. On the direct 3d backend there is a bug that causes dolphin to hang when exiting fullscreen that has since been fixed though.

 

[Raize]

Is it possible to play Netplay with the keyboard instead of a Gamecube remote?

 

[Y-L]

Is it possible to play Netplay with the keyboard instead of a Gamecube remote?

Certainly is, just config your keyboard in the controller settings. Imo the controls suck on keyboard though with the amount of analog stick you need for the game.

 

[Spak]

I've always run the GCN Adapter app (with the black controller icon) fine on Windows 8.1, but when I upgraded to 10, it started giving me problems. Then I remembered about the native support that Dolphin now has and tried to make it work, but it won't detect my controller. I uninstalled vJoy and the GCN Adapter, followed the Dolphin native support instructions, and it still isn't working. I have the official Nintento adapter and am using Zadig 2.1.2 and Dolphin 4.0-652. Is there anything I can do to make it function properly?

 

[pagedMov]

This may come off as a stupid question, but will using a 20XX iso against a player using the default melee iso cause desynchs?

 

[Y-L]

I've always run the GCN Adapter app (with the black controller icon) fine on Windows 8.1, but when I upgraded to 10, it started giving me problems. Then I remembered about the native support that Dolphin now has and tried to make it work, but it won't detect my controller. I uninstalled vJoy and the GCN Adapter, followed the Dolphin native support instructions, and it still isn't working. I have the official Nintento adapter and am using Zadig 2.1.2 and Dolphin 4.0-652. Is there anything I can do to make it function properly?

It's because you're using 4.0-652 which is over a year old and doesn't natively support the gc adapter. Update to the latest standard, 4.0-7161 and you'll notice it works fantastically.

This may come off as a stupid question, but will using a 20XX iso against a player using the default melee iso cause desynchs?

Absolutely.

 

[Spak]

It's because you're using 4.0-652 which is over a year old and doesn't natively support the gc adapter. Update to the latest standard, 4.0-7161 and you'll notice it works fantastically.

Thanks, it worked perfectly!

 

[Spak]

Now I'm having a slightly different problem. 4.0-7161 seems VERY unstable. I've tried with multiple different ISOs and on 20XX it's fine for about 10 seconds before crashing and with Melee it gets to the opening cutscene and then crashes after the first 5-ish seconds. Do you know what could be causing this? I downloaded the new Dolphin from here.

EDIT: Also, I know that the ISOs are good because I went back and checked them on the old 4.0-652 build.

EDIT 2: Just tested Brawl; doesn't get past the opening cutscene.

EDIT 3: Switched graphics backends and other than a two-frame hiccup every now and then, it's better. That said, it's completely taken over my machine. Escape doesn't work, Ctrl+alt+delete doesn't work, and I have to close and reopen my laptop lid for it to respond to anything on the keyboard.

 

[Y-L]

Now I'm having a slightly different problem. 4.0-7161 seems VERY unstable. I've tried with multiple different ISOs and on 20XX it's fine for about 10 seconds before crashing and with Melee it gets to the opening cutscene and then crashes after the first 5-ish seconds. Do you know what could be causing this? I downloaded the new Dolphin from here.

EDIT: Also, I know that the ISOs are good because I went back and checked them on the old 4.0-652 build.

EDIT 2: Just tested Brawl; doesn't get past the opening cutscene.

EDIT 3: Switched graphics backends and other than a two-frame hiccup every now and then, it's better. That said, it's completely taken over my machine. Escape doesn't work, Ctrl+alt+delete doesn't work, and I have to close and reopen my laptop lid for it to respond to anything on the keyboard.

Two frame hiccups are likely because it's generating the shader cache. When you use a new build of dolphin it will stutter the very first time something is loaded as it generates the shader.

You could check to make sure your hotkeys are set (esc to end emulation ect). Can you alt-tab? Are you using fullscreen? If you are/aren't try switching?

 

[Spak]

Two frame hiccups are likely because it's generating the shader cache. When you use a new build of dolphin it will stutter the very first time something is loaded as it generates the shader.

You could check to make sure your hotkeys are set (esc to end emulation ect). Can you alt-tab? Are you using fullscreen? If you are/aren't try switching?

I cannot alt-tab while fullscreen but can when windowed, I checked hotkeys and they're all the same as 4.0-652, and I discovered that ctrl+alt+delete actually works, but the screen doesn't refresh so you're navigating the menus blind.

EDIT: Also, it keeps saying "Executable memory ended at above 2GB!" after I've been playing for about half an hour. Is there a memory leak emulator?

 

[Y-L]

I cannot alt-tab while fullscreen but can when windowed, I checked hotkeys and they're all the same as 4.0-652, and I discovered that ctrl+alt+delete actually works, but the screen doesn't refresh so you're navigating the menus blind.

EDIT: Also, it keeps saying "Executable memory ended at above 2GB!" after I've been playing for about half an hour. Is there a memory leak emulator?

You could try alt-enter to exit fullscreen when you're done playing and then you'll probably have more control over your computer. Dolphin uses exclusive fullscreen now which takes a lot more control but also reduces input lag and GPU overhead which is a good thing. As long as you alt-enter before you exit/do something I think you'll be fine.

For that error, I'm not sure if it's referring to RAM or VRAM. You could try disabling panic handlers (which just turns off error messages) because I think it will allow you to keep playing and it's not a big deal. See for yourself what happens.

 

[Dolla Pills]

If my laptop screen can only refresh at 40 fps and I hook it up to a CRT monitor will that refresh rate transfer over or will it be displaying 60 fps?

EDIT:
And would I be able to have the game show up full screen on the monitor but have the other Dolphin window on my laptop? Because I still can't exit full screen without holding the power button on my laptop, so when I've been using Dolphin I just don't have it full screen and then I can X out of it with the mouse.

 

[Parttimenoob]

So, i wanted to update my Dolphin to the Native support off the GC-adapter, but i cant find the right dolphin versions. I need the Winx86 builds, and anything past 4.02 i find is only x64, linux or iOS. can someone help me?

 

[Y-L]

So, i wanted to update my Dolphin to the Native support off the GC-adapter, but i cant find the right dolphin versions. I need the Winx86 builds, and anything past 4.02 i find is only x64, linux or iOS. can someone help me?

x86 isn't supported anymore as it limited the emulator and there's really no reason to not have x64 anymore, since you can deactivate your windows and install x64 with your same product key for free.

 

[Dolla Pills]

So I found a ViewSonic 15GS monitor in my mom's basement, and I have it hooked up to my laptop but there are still some issues.

Number one is it doesn't feel like a normal CRT in terms of input lag. I am using direct connect with the for port mayflash adapter and I am using exclusive full screen on the monitor (and I tried having it on both and that didn't help). Not sure what the problem could be so I would appreciate some help.

Number two is it is dropping frames sometimes. Before I got the monitor the game was generally okay except I couldn't run fountain and my laptop screen refreshed at 40fps so it was a bit choppy. Now I can run fountain fine and the monitor is refreshing at 60fps, but every once in a while the game seems to drop frames. Is this a CPU problem? I have an Intel i5-3380M processor and according to task manager I'm not using more than 20% of my CPU at any time and only 34% of my memory. I really don't know anything about this stuff though.

Also, I've been trying stuff out while typing this and I switched from OpenGL to D3D on Dolphin and for whatever reason the game feels a bit smoother (still drops frames though). Is that just the placebo effect or would that ever actually lower input lag?

EDIT:
And while my setup is pretty playable right now my monitor seems to be super dark even at 100% brightness, so is there any chance I can up the brightness on my monitor from my laptop? I'm prepared for FD and Battlefield to just be huge pains but it would be nice if there was a way around this.

 

[Y-L]

So I found a ViewSonic 15GS monitor in my mom's basement, and I have it hooked up to my laptop but there are still some issues.

Number one is it doesn't feel like a normal CRT in terms of input lag. I am using direct connect with the for port mayflash adapter and I am using exclusive full screen on the monitor (and I tried having it on both and that didn't help). Not sure what the problem could be so I would appreciate some help.

Number two is it is dropping frames sometimes. Before I got the monitor the game was generally okay except I couldn't run fountain and my laptop screen refreshed at 40fps so it was a bit choppy. Now I can run fountain fine and the monitor is refreshing at 60fps, but every once in a while the game seems to drop frames. Is this a CPU problem? I have an Intel i5-3380M processor and according to task manager I'm not using more than 20% of my CPU at any time and only 34% of my memory. I really don't know anything about this stuff though.

Also, I've been trying stuff out while typing this and I switched from OpenGL to D3D on Dolphin and for whatever reason the game feels a bit smoother (still drops frames though). Is that just the placebo effect or would that ever actually lower input lag?

EDIT:
And while my setup is pretty playable right now my monitor seems to be super dark even at 100% brightness, so is there any chance I can up the brightness on my monitor from my laptop? I'm prepared for FD and Battlefield to just be huge pains but it would be nice if there was a way around this.

Not sure about your issues or if you can do anything about the brightness issue. Maybe you can play with color settings on the monitor?

About the CPU usage, Dolphin is a dual core program so it will only use 50% CPU max.

The backend could possibly make it smoother depending on hardware but I doubt it would affect input lag.

 

[Dolla Pills]

Not sure about your issues or if you can do anything about the brightness issue. Maybe you can play with color settings on the monitor?

About the CPU usage, Dolphin is a dual core program so it will only use 50% CPU max.

The backend could possibly make it smoother depending on hardware but I doubt it would affect input lag.

I've been toying around with it and it feels pretty good right now, I can't really notice a difference from my TV so I'm happy. Just one last question, if I use a different texture for the dark stages will that mess up Netplay?

 

[Y-L]

I've been toying around with it and it feels pretty good right now, I can't really notice a difference from my TV so I'm happy. Just one last question, if I use a different texture for the dark stages will that mess up Netplay?

Nope. Texture replacement is netplay safe. It will say you're desynced (because technically not everything is the same) but it's all safe.

 

[Dolla Pills]

Nope. Texture replacement is netplay safe. It will say you're desynced (because technically not everything is the same) but it's all safe.

Okay thank you, you've helped me a lot and now I finally have good Melee running on my computer. Much appreciated

 

[sihalanick]

Mac user here, i got melee a couple weeks ago and it runs just fine! if you have a mac with decent hardware, i would recommend at least trying netplay to see how it is!

Which Mac do you have? I've got a Macbook Pro 13" with retina display... should work fine for me, right?

Edit: Currently running OS X Yosemite v. 10.10.5

 

[Jim_P]

Thanks, it worked perfectly!

What exaclty did you do? I tried uninstalling everything that has to do with vJoy and Gamecube USB driver.. whatever and after following the instructions on the dolphin wiki (using zadig) I still can't use my adapter

 

[Dolla Pills]

What exaclty did you do? I tried uninstalling everything that has to do with vJoy and Gamecube USB driver.. whatever and after following the instructions on the dolphin wiki (using zadig) I still can't use my adapter

What version of Dolphin are you using? Older versions don't support direct connect

 

[Jim_P]

After setting it all up on my laptop and copying the dolphin folder using protable.txt it works somehow.
Absolutely no idea why it works xD thx for your help!

 

[Dolla Pills]

After setting it all up on my laptop and copying the dolphin folder using protable.txt it works somehow.
Absolutely no idea why it works xD thx for your help!

Interesting, glad it's working

 

[Chainz]

So I've been a having this annoying desync issue. I have the 7161 version of Dolphin. I'm using Melee Netplay Community Build. And doubled checked to make sure all the Dolphins settings are set.

I think it could be that my MNCB iso an old version? Not sure if it was updated recently? The file i'm using, i've had it since early July. But if that's not the problem, what else should I be looking at?

 

[Y-L]

So I've been a having this annoying desync issue. I have the 7161 version of Dolphin. I'm using Melee Netplay Community Build. And doubled checked to make sure all the Dolphins settings are set.

I think it could be that my MNCB iso an old version? Not sure if it was updated recently? The file i'm using, i've had it since early July. But if that's not the problem, what else should I be looking at?

Most people don't use the MNCB, just normal vanilla melee. There's a desync troubleshooting guide on smashladder.

 

[Roukiske]

Since I find this to be a general Netplay thread I'll ask this here:

I would consider myself a mid level player, if anything let's just say, I know how to play. After discovering netplay and getting my friends to go on it I'm seeing some weird habits by players. Most of the time, I will assume someone is really good so I won't hold back and if someone gets wrecked for a stock, I am getting a lot of pause quits from many many players and I only play friendlies. Personally I don't like pause quit, but at the end of a match I understand. However, in the middle of a match? Sometimes at 2-3 stocks left? I mean, why give up? We're playing the same match up next anyways. Do people just not want to get better? One time someone straight up said, I think I'm done playing against Luigi after 2 matches and I thought he was decent so I offered to switch (to Fox heh...). In my short experiences, I feel like there's a lot of salt out there. I have to say I didn't expect that coming from players who seem to love this game to death. Don't get me started with what my friends tell me, one being a CC down-smash happy Samus, one being a very on point tech chasing Falcon, and a Jiggs (well I understand that one).

Every now and then someone lower level than me will ask for tips (which I love to give if I know anything), while putting themselves down saying they "suck". I try to encourage them and give them helpful tips. Are most people these 2 types of players? Why? No one I met in person through locals or conventions does this. It's rare I get a smiling friendly face online, win or lose.

 

[necrotisim]

add me on skype im working on making a group chat for smash online dolphin netplay, be sure to include in ur add message why u are adding me, skype name ( kieranm1280 )

 

[Y-L]

add me on skype im working on making a group chat for smash online dolphin netplay, be sure to include in ur add message why u are adding me, skype name ( kieranm1280 )

We already have a whole website dedicated to this.

 

[necrotisim]

We already have a whole website dedicated to this.

can you give me a name?

EDIT: realised that was a link.

 

[-smuffy-]

Hey, I'm in the process of looking for a new laptop, and i'm hoping to run netplay on it. This is the computer i'm looking at, i think it should be good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315065

My main question is about the GPU, which is the NVIDIA GeForce 940M 4 GB. Is that gonna be able to handle dolphin?

Edit: I'll be playing melee. i'm not too worried about pm

 

[Y-L]

Hey, I'm in the process of looking for a new laptop, and i'm hoping to run netplay on it. This is the computer i'm looking at, i think it should be good.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16834315065

My main question is about the GPU, which is the NVIDIA GeForce 940M 4 GB. Is that gonna be able to handle dolphin?

Edit: I'll be playing melee. i'm not too worried about pm

You shouldn't worry about the GPU. With emulation, it is mostly CPU reliant as opposed to pc games which rely on the GPU. The CPU on this one has a relatively low clock speed and it is the U series which means ultra low voltage which means it will throttle to save power, but it is a 5th gen Intel processor so it should be good enough.

 

[-smuffy-]

You shouldn't worry about the GPU. With emulation, it is mostly CPU reliant as opposed to pc games which rely on the GPU. The CPU on this one has a relatively low clock speed and it is the U series which means ultra low voltage which means it will throttle to save power, but it is a 5th gen Intel processor so it should be good enough.

Ok, cool. Just out of curiousity though, what would be a good clock speed to aim for if this is on the slower side?

 

[Y-L]

Ok, cool. Just out of curiousity though, what would be a good clock speed to aim for if this is on the slower side?

A 4th generation Intel i5/i7 M/MQ/HQ processor is ideal

 

[Enz0wn]

Hey Y-L , I hope you can help me with these lag spikes I get when I play Melee over netplay. It's strange, because I'll play with people under 50ms ping, and one player I play will just have these bad FPS drops for a second or two, and another player I match will be perfectly smooth. It just seems completely random as to who gets these drops and who doesn't. I watch their ping as we play when we get these FPS drops and their ping doesn't budge. It stays low.

Is this just a side effect of trying to play a local multiplayer game online? Or perhaps a graphics setting between the two players aren't matching? It's just frustrating how it seems so random when almost everyone I play against has a ping under 60ms.

Thanks for any advice!

 

[Y-L]

Hey Y-L , I hope you can help me with these lag spikes I get when I play Melee over netplay. It's strange, because I'll play with people under 50ms ping, and one player I play will just have these bad FPS drops for a second or two, and another player I match will be perfectly smooth. It just seems completely random as to who gets these drops and who doesn't. I watch their ping as we play when we get these FPS drops and their ping doesn't budge. It stays low.

Is this just a side effect of trying to play a local multiplayer game online? Or perhaps a graphics setting between the two players aren't matching? It's just frustrating how it seems so random when almost everyone I play against has a ping under 60ms.

Thanks for any advice!

Set the buffer to 100 and see if it still lags. If it doesn't, then it's a connection issue, if it does continue to lag, it's hardware.