I'll start with the main questions, the rest is just explanation:
For context, several of the special stages in Sonic Heroes consistently cause Dolphin to freeze:
Emerald Challenges 3, 6, and 7 (after BINGO Highway, Mystic Mansion, and Final Fortress) each freeze partway through.
Emerald Challenge 5 (after Lost Jungle) freezes when I reach the emerald... and before the game can save.
Emerald Challenges 1, 2, and 4 (after Ocean Palace, Power Plant, and Bullet Station) are playable to completion.
Also, all 7 bonus challenges freeze partway through, but I don't especially care because they aren't necessary to complete the game. As a refresher, the bonus challenges are the special stages after the first stage in each pair (Seaside Hill, Grand Metropolis, etc.).
I have run into this same issue in three versions of Dolphin: 5.0-16101, 5.0-15993, and 5.0-15105. My go-to fix when Dolphin doesn't work properly is to try running the game with and without Dual Core, but it's made no difference in this game. I'm using the US version of the game; I mention this because the wiki mentions various problems that appear exclusive to the PAL version.
If it's relevant, the system I'm using is as follows:
Windows 10 Pro x64
CPU: Intel Core i5-7200 @ 2.5GHz
Video: Intel HD Graphics 620
RAM: 8.0 GB
Sonic Heroes is the only game that consistently freezes for me.
- If anyone has emulated all 7 emerald challenges to completion, including writing to the memory card, which version of Dolphin did you use?
- Beyond enabling and disabling Dual Core, are there any config changes I could make to avoid freezing?
For context, several of the special stages in Sonic Heroes consistently cause Dolphin to freeze:
Emerald Challenges 3, 6, and 7 (after BINGO Highway, Mystic Mansion, and Final Fortress) each freeze partway through.
Emerald Challenge 5 (after Lost Jungle) freezes when I reach the emerald... and before the game can save.
Emerald Challenges 1, 2, and 4 (after Ocean Palace, Power Plant, and Bullet Station) are playable to completion.
Also, all 7 bonus challenges freeze partway through, but I don't especially care because they aren't necessary to complete the game. As a refresher, the bonus challenges are the special stages after the first stage in each pair (Seaside Hill, Grand Metropolis, etc.).
I have run into this same issue in three versions of Dolphin: 5.0-16101, 5.0-15993, and 5.0-15105. My go-to fix when Dolphin doesn't work properly is to try running the game with and without Dual Core, but it's made no difference in this game. I'm using the US version of the game; I mention this because the wiki mentions various problems that appear exclusive to the PAL version.
If it's relevant, the system I'm using is as follows:
Windows 10 Pro x64
CPU: Intel Core i5-7200 @ 2.5GHz
Video: Intel HD Graphics 620
RAM: 8.0 GB
Sonic Heroes is the only game that consistently freezes for me.