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Afr0
Created : 11 January 2011
Edited : 11 January 2011

Dolphin

Wii in your PC!

https://www.dolphin-emulator.com/
Have you always wanted to play the Wii, but never had the dough? Or simply never bothered to invest?

Now you can play Dolphin! The most remarkable feature of Dolphin is the fact that it actually supports resolutions that the original hardware just isn't capable of. Granted, you need a fairly good rig in order to do the games justice.

My current specs:

Intel Core 2 Duo CPU 4400 @ 2.00 GHZ
3,00 GB RAM
NVidia Geforce 8600 GT

I'm currently playing 'Super Mario Galaxy' at an average of 18 - 25 FPS at 640 x 480.
My weakest link in the chain is definately my graphics card, but I just ordered a new one with 1GB of RAM.

I also found I like the game so much that I'm going to buy the game to support Nintendo, but I am really glad that I now have the option of choosing which hardware I want to play on!!

 

Comments
Tuesday, 11 January 2011, 23:48
Afr0
 		Needless to say, you need a gamepad or a Wiimote + Nunchuck in order to play most games in a way they were designed for.
I bought an XBox 360 controller yesterday, mostly because I was afraid of the limited range of motion I might get from a Bluetooth Dongle with a Wiimote.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 02:33
Jayenkai
 		Current Gen emulators lack terribly.
Just get a Wii, it's an infinitely better experience.
Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 03:48
Afr0
 		I beg to differ.
When I get my new GFX card, I suspect I shall be able to play at (at least) 30FPS @ 800 x 600.

Dolphin has:

  • Multiplayer support
  • Control rumble support
  • Support for better resolutions than the original hardware (as already mentioned).
  • Support for older games (I've tried with Super Mario World).
  • Full sound support. At first I was puzzled as to why there was no music in Super Mario Galaxy, but I got it working today when I was fiddling with the Dolphin settings.

    • The only thing that Wii has that Dolphin doesn't, is out-of-the-box support for all Wii games to date. But Dolphin already supports many games and will support more in the future.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 03:55
    Jayenkai
         		When I first installed PSX on this system, it could happily play UmJammerLammy for the first time since I bought the game, about 10 years ago.
    Hurray!

    I've since changed a little setting somewhere, the game plays at about 2fps, and it's all fucked up.

    Can't play no more, and can't for the life of me remember how the fuck I did it in the first place.

    .. I'd rather have a Playstation.

    Just get a Wii, a bunch of controllers, and invite everyone round to play.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 05:35
    Afr0
         		That's really your fault though, not the fault of the software, hm?
    As for multiplayer, I never really cared much about playing with others except for in MMOs or when I'm drunk at parties.
    I might get a Wii when I move out just to have it as a 'party-gadget'.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 08:25
    steve_ancell
         		If your weak-link is your GFX card then fucknoze what it's going to run like on my machine then. At £129.99, it would be better to just go and buy a Wii and would be a lot less hassle.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 10:30
    Afr0
         		A GFX card + XBox 360 Console = About the third of the price of a Wii.

    You can get the Wii somewhat cheaper on eBay, but the shipping costs go through the roof, even from the UK.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 13:24
    spinal
         		Wii = cheaper than 'decent PC'
    Wii = 100% game compatibility
    Wii = Legal game playing (afaik Wii disks can not be read on a PC)

    Also Dolphin is quite old news and although playing Wii games at a higher resolution sounds good, even at 640x480 on a 42" TV it looks fine.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 17:46
    JL235
         		I believe Wii discs can be played in PC drives as they are just mini-DVDs, but only if you have a disk tray! If you have a slot loading drive (*cough* Mac *cough*) then DON'T PUT A WII DISC INSIDE! It will get jammed and won't come out. The Wii is the only device with a slot loading drive that can take mini-DVDs.

    However I'd second the other comments above that it'd be better to just play on the Wii. TVs are much bigger then monitors, you won't get a high resolution unless on a power (expensive) PC (even PS2 emulators run badly at high resolutions), and the Wiimote+Knunchuk is the controller to use. A 360 pad just won't give the same experience.

    In 10 years time this would be an excellent option, but for now a Wii beats it hands down.

    Finally a Gefore 9800 GT + XBox Controller is about two thirds of the cost of a Wii, but you could probably get the Wii for less. So clearly out of the two of them the best option would be to head to Cash Converters and pick up an old DC + Shenmue. Much better.
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 18:12
    Jayenkai
         		DD needs a Wii, too!
    Wednesday, 12 January 2011, 19:12
    JL235
         		There is no need to ever buy any more consoles, we've already had the best console ever produced.
    Thursday, 13 January 2011, 04:47
    Afr0
    Wii = cheaper than 'decent PC'


    If you don't have a PC at all from before, then yes.
    Friday, 14 January 2011, 10:27
    Afr0
         		Ok, new graphics card arrived.
    Result: Near constant 35 FPS. Not actually sure about the resolution, but I think it is the same (640x480). However I downloaded the newest build of Dolphin and all the graphical glitches are gone.
    Unfortunately no music, because the LLE plugin doesn't seem to like my soundcard. But that's a small price to pay for the fun I'm having.
    Friday, 14 January 2011, 16:16
    JL235
         		No sound is a small price to pay???
    Saturday, 15 January 2011, 03:05
    Afr0
         		There IS sound!
    And even music at the beginning of the game. But it stops. For some reason.

    Edit: Not the sound, just the music.
    Saturday, 15 January 2011, 03:17
    JL235
         		No music is still pretty major. I can't imagine wanting to play Mario Galaxies with silence behind the sound effects.

    I also can't imagine any other Wii games.
    Saturday, 15 January 2011, 04:02
    Afr0
         		SMG 2 ^^
    Epic Mickey
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 03:41
    rockford
    I believe Wii discs can be played in PC drives as they are just mini-DVDs


    Wii discs are not mini-DVDs (GameCube games came on mini discs). Wii games are full sized, so shouldn't be a problem for any DVD drives.

    A GFX card + XBox 360 Console = About the third of the price of a Wii.
    Where are you shopping? An Xbox 360 base system isn't that much less than a Wii.

    Unfortunately no music, because the LLE plugin doesn't seem to like my soundcard. But that's a small price to pay for the fun I'm having.


    So even with a new gfx card you are still getting a much worse performance than a real Wii AND without full sound and music. And pc emulation is better than the real thing? LOL

    Much as I love emulation (for MAME, GBA and 8Bit (esp CPC)), I think I'll stick with the original consoles for console gaming a while longer yet.
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 04:02
    JL235
    rockford Wii discs are not mini-DVDs (GameCube games came on mini discs). Wii games are full sized, so shouldn't be a problem for any DVD drives.

    Aggggh, yes your right. I was thinking of the gamecube when I typed that. Dispite having played on them loads I (obviously) don't actually own a Wii.
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 04:24
    Afr0
    Where are you shopping? An Xbox 360 base system isn't that much less than a Wii.


    I meant CONTROL!
    I bought an XBox 360 Controller.

    So even with a new gfx card you are still getting a much worse performance than a real Wii AND without full sound and music. And pc emulation is better than the real thing? LOL


    I have full sound thank you very much. And I also have severe problems with believing that the Wii's framerate is locked to 60 FPS. In which case, the performance can be debated.
    IMHO 35FPS isn't that bad.
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 04:31
    JL235
         		You said you weren't getting music, that's a part of sound. It also has a huge effect on being able to play a game well.
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 05:20
    rockford
         		How can you even compare the cost of a controller and a gfx card to a Wii system?? :S

    An awful lot of enjoyment and atmosphere comes from the music - without that you are missing a lot of the game.

    As for framerate - that depends how it's rated.

    However, if you're enjoying your experience, that's all that matters at the end of the day.
    Thursday, 20 January 2011, 07:02
    Afr0
    It also has a huge effect on being able to play a game well.


    I disagree. In a game like Mario, music can even be a distraction when dealing with bosses.