To the Screen with Hybrid XFB

[Kurausukun]

Honestly, I wouldn't really mind if "release" builds stopped existing. The feature freeze is really frustrating, and there isn't anything special about the "releases" except that they come with an installer, and if you really want the installer that badly, we give a way to make your own.

[Ivybridge11]

I read somewhere that release builds are mainly used by the more conservative limux distros that are allergic to anything without 'stable' or 'LTS' in the name. Is that true, and if so I think it would probably be fine to remove anyway, since the first bit of advice for linux users is often to compile a dev version themselves anyway.

[DrHouse64]

Well, I wish them fun with broken NANDs.

[Techie Android]

I'm not getting any nes games working in acgc (gafe01). Any ideas?

Spoiler:

[AnyOldName3]

I read somewhere that release builds are mainly used by the more conservative limux distros that are allergic to anything without 'stable' or 'LTS' in the name. Is that true, and if so I think it  would probably be fine to remove anyway, since the first bit of advice for linux users is often to compile a dev version themselves anyway.

Debian (and therefore in most cases, anything Debian-based, meaning anything Ubuntu-based too - which covers a huge chunk of desktop Linux machines) don't allow any unstable packages (meaning ones which have bugs that previous versions did not). The justification is that anyone who was already using a package could cope with the bugs that exist already via workarounds or not caring in the first place (otherwise they wouldn't be using it) but a new bug may completely destroy their setup or workflow

[themanuel]

Another amazing article. Great job on both, the new feature and the article itself.

Leaving out the "Immediately Present XFB" option, it seems like the choice between using or not using an external frame buffer is now gone so the only decision users need to make is whether to store XFB copies to textures only or the default texture and RAM for a balance between accuracy and performance, correct?

All games that previously required disabling the Store XFB copies to textures only option, still require it to render certain effects or work properly, correct?

[JosJuice]

Leaving out the "Immediately Present XFB" option, it seems like the choice between using or not using an external frame buffer is now gone so the only decision users need to make is whether to store XFB copies to textures only or the default texture and RAM for a balance between accuracy and performance, correct?

If you leave out Immediately Present XFB, then yes, that's true. But enabling Immediately Present XFB is similar to the old "Disabled" option.

All games that previously required disabling the Store XFB copies to textures only option, still require it to render certain effects or work properly, correct?

Many of the games that required Real XFB in the past (the equivalent of turning off Store XFB Copies to Textures Only) don't require Store XFB Copies to Textures Only now, in particular games that required it for playing videos. That's the beauty of Hybrid XFB

[Techie Android]

I compiled the latest Dolphin master from scratch and it's not working. I've tried everything I can think of. Could there be a conflicting option aside from the xfb options causing it to not work properly?

[themanuel]

If you leave out Immediately Present XFB, then yes, that's true. But enabling Immediately Present XFB is similar to the old "Disabled" option.


Many of the games that required Real XFB in the past (the equivalent of turning off Store XFB Copies to Textures Only) don't require Store XFB Copies to Textures Only now, in particular games that required it for playing videos. That's the beauty of Hybrid XFB

This is even better than I thought, despite your and May's incredible effort at explaining things in the article.  I read it intently but must admit that half of it went over my head :-).

Is there a list for dummies that shows which games still require a decision to be made by the user between using Store XFB Copies to Textures Only for performance or disabling it to enable certain effects?

For example, Metroid Prime used to require disabling the feature for the visors to work but kicked my PC in the nuts during the asteroid field intro.

[JosJuice]

This is even better than I thought, despite your and May's incredible effort at explaining things in the article.  I read it intently but must admit that half of it went over my head :-).

This article was written by JMC and May, not me and May.

Is there a list for dummies that shows which games still require a decision to be made by the user between using Store XFB Copies to Textures Only for performance or disabling it to enable certain effects?

I don't think there's a definite list, but the article does a pretty good job of pointing out which games have problems when it's turned on.

For example, Metroid Prime used to require disabling the feature for the visors to work but kicked my PC in the nuts during the asteroid field intro.

No, it used to require disabling Store EFB Copies to Texture Only. That's an entirely different setting.