TP on Dolphin 4.0 Settings Help

01-05-2014, 10:01 PM #1

hey everyone, ive been using dolphin for years now but ive never played Twilight Princess on it and ended up giving my GC to a friend. ive googled several different settings and have read many of these posts regarding FPS issues with this game. i understand that Hyrule Field will be slower no matter what due to the fact that it loads the whole area at once (as explored) to reduce loading times etc. However, im still running into VERY Frequent FPS lag and im not really sure what to do about it. ive done the ZTP speed hack and have followed other peoples settings and kinda messed with them to see if they really mattered or not. My PC should have ZERO trouble handling this emulation. i mean, i can play ANY and ALL new games on MAX/ULTRA settings with no video lag at all. the core i5 i have doesnt even have integrated graphics so i assure you that im running off my designated graphics card.

so what im really asking is, that if there is anyone here that is using Dolphin 4.0 and plays Twilight Princess (and Wind Waker) and has solved the FPS lag, can you please get back to me with what settings are the best for optimal experience. I also have GameBooster, but it doesnt seem to do anything at all, if im using that wrong, can you also please post some settings etc i need for that as well.

Thank you for your Time,

SkullKidMM

**Anti-Ultimate** · 01-05-2014, 10:08 PM #2

What i5 exactly?

01-05-2014, 10:11 PM #3

(01-05-2014, 10:08 PM)Anti-Ultimate Wrote: What i5 exactly?

intel Core i5 3350P

**LordVador** · 01-05-2014, 11:52 PM #4

(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: im still running into VERY Frequent FPS lag and im not really sure what to do about it

Sudden speed drops or regular low speed periods?

(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: i can play ANY and ALL new games on MAX/ULTRA settings with no video lag at all

If you mean PC games it isn't relevant. Emulation being very different from PC gaming.

(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: if there is anyone here that is using Dolphin 4.0 and plays Twilight Princess (and Wind Waker) and has solved the FPS lag

Same scenario with Wind Waker? Make sure you aren't overheating

01-06-2014, 12:09 AM #5

(01-05-2014, 11:52 PM)LordVador Wrote: there are just spots here and there. especially when the the teleport spots open up and monsters fall, that whole battle is around 15 fps. my lowest fps is 12. i dont really see how my pc which is at least a decade above the GC is failing to run this game as it was meant to be played. i just dropped about 13oo for this pc (extra non gaming performance items).

im simply asking for other peoples settings for this so i can adjust them. honestly, i dont see why this is an issue. i havent messed with emu's other than playing games but it sounds like a programming error with dolphin. i have about 12 years experience in programming and if they need help feel free to ask.

overheating is not the issue here lol. i run CoreTemp and my max load temp is usually 70ish. and wind waker, depending where im at, runs slow as a glacier.
(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: im still running into VERY Frequent FPS lag and im not really sure what to do about it

Sudden speed drops or regular low speed periods?

(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: i can play ANY and ALL new games on MAX/ULTRA settings with no video lag at all

If you mean PC games it isn't relevant. Emulation being very different from PC gaming.

(01-05-2014, 10:01 PM)SkullKidMM Wrote: if there is anyone here that is using Dolphin 4.0 and plays Twilight Princess (and Wind Waker) and has solved the FPS lag

Same scenario with Wind Waker? Make sure you aren't overheating

***Shonumi*** · 01-06-2014, 02:11 AM #6

SkullKidMM Wrote:there are just spots here and there. especially when the the teleport spots open up and monsters fall, that whole battle is around 15 fps. my lowest fps is 12. i dont really see how my pc which is at least a decade above the GC is failing to run this game as it was meant to be played. i just dropped about 13oo for this pc (extra non gaming performance items).

Emulation takes orders of magnitude more processing power than the original system. The fact of the matter is that your PC has to run through many more steps than a console would ever have to do in order to produce the same effect. A single CPU cycle on the GC will probably be emulated in many more cycles on your own PC because your PC has to figure out what a GC is doing and then how it can adequately perform a similar action. Not to mention that the GC's hardware is actually "tightly" integrated and specialized in comparison to consumer hardware. It's not simply a matter of having better specs on paper. This is explained thoroughly on the main site's FAQ.

Additionally, Dolphin is heavily reliant on the CPU for much of it's performance in many cases. This is in contrast to modern PC games which are heavily reliant on the GPU for much of their performance in many cases. Some PC games are demanding on the CPU and some games in Dolphin are GPU intensive, but for the most part, these are two different types of programs that stress two different computer components. This is what LordVador meant by PC performance being irrelevant.

SkullKidMM Wrote:im simply asking for other peoples settings for this so i can adjust them. honestly, i dont see why this is an issue. i havent messed with emu's other than playing games but it sounds like a programming error with dolphin. i have about 12 years experience in programming and if they need help feel free to ask.

As for settings, post your current settings as screenshots, then we'll see what needs to be changed. Without seeing what you have set, try using OpenGL and enable the Vertex Streaming Hack. It makes quite a speed difference in this game. Also try the latest development builds (4.0-5xx at the moment) instead of the stable 4.0 build. The latest revisions contain a number of speedups.

As for programming Dolphin, contact an existing dev (hop onto #dolphin-dev on Freenode to talk to someone right away) if you feel like joining the project. I've been programming for just as long as you have, but emulation is a completely different beast from anything I'd ever done until I sunk my teeth into it. Not trying to discourage you or anything, but emulation is (imo) one of the most challenging/rewarding/frustrating areas of programming you can choose. It's no cakewalk, but it's certainly an interesting journey if you're up to it. I don't regret getting involved in it, personally.

01-06-2014, 07:57 AM #7

ok thanks for the info. ill shoot them an email seeing what all i can do to help out. heres a collage of screenshots from my settings. i think i managed to grab all the tabs that mattered. if not, id appreciate some help haha.

http://i1311.photobucket.com/albums/s675/Fraea1/DolphinSettings_zpse303bccd.png