Optimal set-up to play Melee on Netplay?

[Shadow Light Master]

So I've decided to get into Melee seriously. But, I don't own a CRTV, and I read that one is necessary to get frame-perfect inputs down... Which kinda boggles my mind. Does that means pros are executing moves with 1/60th of a second precision? Is that small a window usually relevant?

Anyway, I have a MacBook Pro. I was wondering if this could work for lagless netplay, I heard that with the right set-up, it's easy to get. If Macs are bad for this, I have no problem going out and buying a cheap/crappy laptop solely for Melee.

I was also wondering about controllers. What kind should I get? I have crappy 3rd party ones. Can I make my GCN controller compatible with Netplay? If so, how? I am brand new to this, I don't know how Netplay or Dolphin works.

Thanks for the answers to all my n00by questions.

 

[EPsilon933]

A lot of top players are able to do things that have 1 frame timings. It's not impossible, just really difficult

What are your mac's specs? Have you tested Melee on Dolphin with it yet? It just needs to be good enough to always run in 60 frames/second

There are Gamecube-to-usb adapters you can buy online. I can't recall what it's called

Dolphin is really simple to use. Just download it from the official site, find a Melee ROM, and try it. There is a net play guide somewhere in the Melee general discussion board. Search for it

Also, use a wired connection when playing online. It noticeably reduces lag

 

[Shadow Light Master]

A lot of top players are able to do things that have 1 frame timings. It's not impossible, just really difficult

What are your mac's specs?

 

[Y-L]

I think your laptop is probably too old to run Dolphin. The Intel hd 3000 graphics don't meet dolphin's minimum requirement, or if they do just barely. There might be graphical defects. It also suggests the cpu is old so that will probably bottleneck you (the CPU is the most important thing in emulation).

If you decide to get new hardware for Netplay, don't buy a cheap laptop. You need a laptop with a 4th gen i5 for a good experience those are cheap/crappy. The best thing you can do is build a budget desktop as those are very cost efficient. You could have a good experience with a 400 dollar build at the minimum.

That being said, for the best Netplay experience you'll want the following:


-First, get a first party controller. Nobody uses third party controllers for smash in general, all third parties are really crappy.

-Like I said, you need capable hardware. I can go into more detail if you want to get new hardware and/or provide me a budget. You can try it on your existing hardware to see if it runs though.

-The Nintendo or 4 port Mayflash Wii U adapter. Dolphin has native support for these adapters when using the zadig driver (mayflash must be set to wii u mode not pc mode) which makes them lagless.

-Use the latest Dolphin version that is standard for Netplay (currently 4.0-6554) set to fullscreen mode. Fullscreen bypasses Windows Aero's vsync which adds lag.

-If you have all of this, the only input lag is from your monitor. The best monitors for Netplay can have as low as half a frame of lag. You can find out how much lag they have at displaylag.com Remember that response time =/= input lag.

When you actually play on Netplay, you have to have a buffer (intentional input delay) to account for the time it takes to send your inputs to your opponent and vice versa. This buffer depends on your ping to your opponent which will differ based on who you play. Generally, people that live closer to you have less ping. You set the buffer by dividing the ping (will be in the Netplay window) by 16 then rounding up. (i.e. 35 ping, 35/16 = 2.19 = 3 buffer). 1 buffer = half a frame of lag. That's how much lag there is on Netplay excluding your local hardware.

You can message me or find guides for Netplay on smashladder.com

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Wow! Thanks for such a thorough answer. I have no idea how to build a PC... I guess I'll make my budget $500. I appreciate any help I can get, I'm dumb as a doornail. All I want it to do is run Netplay optimally.

 

[Y-L]

Wow! Thanks for such a thorough answer. I have no idea how to build a PC... I guess I'll make my budget $500. I appreciate any help I can get, I'm dumb as a doornail. All I want it to do is run Netplay optimally.

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dhmtFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dhmtFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $492.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-13 18:30 EDT-0400

Explanation of parts:
CPU: This is the most important part for Dolphin. Emulation, unlike pc gaming, relies heavily on a cpu with good single thread performance. Dolphin can only use two cores (one to emulate the CPU one to emulate the GPU) The G3258 is the best choice for Dolphin because it's very inexpensive but has amazing single thread performance, comparable to an i5/i7. It is also overclockable and it can overclock very high.
CPU Cooler: The most renowned best/cheapest air cooler on the market.
Motherboard: Cheap, Z97 chipset to overclock and has a good upgrade path.
Memory: Cheap, 8GB is generally the best amount to have for the cost.
Storage: Lots of room, low price.
Video Card: One of the best price/performance cards. Will do well in pc games as well as some nice graphical enhancements for Dolphin.
Case: Solid case, good price.
Power Supply: EVGA is a good brand, has enough wattage, good price.


Building a pc is very simple, it's mostly just plugging things in. You can find a ton of guides on youtube, toms hardware, or /r/buildapc .

 

[Shadow Light Master]

PCPartPicker part list: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dhmtFT
Price breakdown by merchant: http://pcpartpicker.com/p/dhmtFT/by_merchant/

CPU: Intel Pentium G3258 3.2GHz Dual-Core Processor ($64.89 @ OutletPC)
CPU Cooler: Cooler Master Hyper 212 EVO 82.9 CFM Sleeve Bearing CPU Cooler ($27.99 @ NCIX US)
Motherboard: ASRock Z97M Pro4 Micro ATX LGA1150 Motherboard ($86.98 @ Newegg)
Memory: Corsair Vengeance 8GB (2 x 4GB) DDR3-1600 Memory ($46.99 @ Amazon)
Storage: Western Digital Caviar Blue 1TB 3.5" 7200RPM Internal Hard Drive ($47.99 @ Best Buy)
Video Card: EVGA GeForce GTX 750 Ti 2GB Superclocked Video Card ($139.99 @ B&H)
Case: NZXT Source 210 (Black) ATX Mid Tower Case ($32.99 @ Micro Center)
Power Supply: EVGA 500W 80+ Bronze Certified ATX Power Supply ($44.99 @ NCIX US)
Total: $492.81
Prices include shipping, taxes, and discounts when available
Generated by PCPartPicker 2015-07-13 18:30 EDT-0400

Explanation of parts:
CPU: This is the most important part for Dolphin. Emulation, unlike pc gaming, relies heavily on a cpu with good single thread performance. Dolphin can only use two cores (one to emulate the CPU one to emulate the GPU) The G3258 is the best choice for Dolphin because it's very inexpensive but has amazing single thread performance, comparable to an i5/i7. It is also overclockable and it can overclock very high.
CPU Cooler: The most renowned best/cheapest air cooler on the market.
Motherboard: Cheap, Z97 chipset to overclock and has a good upgrade path.
Memory: Cheap, 8GB is generally the best amount to have for the cost.
Storage: Lots of room, low price.
Video Card: One of the best price/performance cards. Will do well in pc games as well as some nice graphical enhancements for Dolphin.
Case: Solid case, good price.
Power Supply: EVGA is a good brand, has enough wattage, good price.


Building a pc is very simple, it's mostly just plugging things in. You can find a ton of guides on youtube, toms hardware, or /r/buildapc .

Oh man, I literally have to build it? Well, at least you listed me the parts! That's really nice of you.

Just curious, but will this laptop also be able to play Steam and stuff of that nature? I know this sounds stupid, but I figure if I'm buying a laptop for gaming, might as well get into PC gaming, right?

 

[Y-L]

Oh man, I literally have to build it? Well, at least you listed me the parts! That's really nice of you.

Just curious, but will this laptop also be able to play Steam and stuff of that nature? I know this sounds stupid, but I figure if I'm buying a laptop for gaming, might as well get into PC gaming, right?

Yeah, you have to build it but it's very simple. You only need a screwdriver. All you do is screw and plug things in. This is a desktop, not a laptop. But you should be able to stream/do some medium level pc gaming.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Yeah, you have to build it but it's very simple. You only need a screwdriver. All you do is screw and plug things in. This is a desktop, not a laptop. But you should be able to stream/do some medium level pc gaming.

Is it impossible to make a laptop suited for Dolphin? I wanted a set-up so I can train wherever I go, but is this feasible?

 

[Y-L]

Is it impossible to make a laptop suited for Dolphin? I wanted a set-up so I can train wherever I go, but is this feasible?

No you can build a laptop. If you really want a laptop you will have to increase your budget. I would look for one with an i5 4200m processor since it is a fast processor and the integrated graphics are good enough to not need a graphics card in the laptop. This will be good for Dolphin but not for pc gaming. You'd probably only be able to do pc gaming. You could probably get a laptop like this for about 600 dollars. If you want one good for dolphin/streaming/pc gaming you'll probably have to spend about 800-1k. This is why I recommend a desktop. For cheaper than the 600 dollar laptop, you get way better performance.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

No you can build a laptop. If you really want a laptop you will have to increase your budget. I would look for one with an i5 4200m processor since it is a fast processor and the integrated graphics are good enough to not need a graphics card in the laptop. This will be good for Dolphin but not for pc gaming. You'd probably only be able to do pc gaming. You could probably get a laptop like this for about 600 dollars. If you want one good for dolphin/streaming/pc gaming you'll probably have to spend about 800-1k. This is why I recommend a desktop. For cheaper than the 600 dollar laptop, you get way better performance.

I read that it's possible to get Melee running on a $100 Chromebook. Is this possible?

 

[Y-L]

I read that it's possible to get Melee running on a $100 Chromebook. Is this possible?

Maybe? But you need to do a bunch of hacky stuff and fountain of dreams (and made pokemon stadium) probably wont run fullspeed. Plus if you do this you can't play on netplay due to all the hacky crap you need to do. If you can't play on Netplay then just play on a console tbh.

 

[Nice_FZPSC.42]

I have a Samsung chrome book. Will netplwy work on that?