Hi all!
I've managed to complete the game yesterday. It was an interesting experience, since I was a big fan of Rogue Squadron 3D back in the day (man, I feel old), but I didn't own a gc at the time, so I couldn't play any of the sequels.
It took quite a bit of effort to get it to work, but the experience was worth it. The biggest issue was the audio jittering caused by fps drops. The crashes only happen in specific situations (using the targeting computer and pausing the game) and can be easily avoided.
Here are the steps to get it working:
1. get the zfreeze branch:
https://dolphin-emu.org/download/list/zfreeze/1/
2. go to config->audio, set the DSP Emulator Engine to DSP LLE Recompiler (it fixes the music going bad problem)
3. go to graphics, set backend to Direct3D11. In "Hacks" tab disable fast depth calculation.
4. go to gcpad, remap button Y to something you won't accidentally press. Do the same for "start"
5. start the game. If the screen jitters, toggle fullscreen to fix it (press alt+enter two times)
6. fly a mission. If you can see things that are far away, you are done. Otherwise do the following:
7. save a state while in-flight (you can use shift+F1), stop the emulation
8. go to graphics, change backend to opengl
9. restart the game, load the state by pressing F1. The problem will not be fixed.
10. stop the emulation, go to graphics, change backend back to Direct3D11.
11. start the game and press F1. The problem should be fixed now.
The emulator crashes if you activate the targeting computer. It's not a big problem, but in one mission you are supposed to use it to find a weak spot on a target. In that scenario, I recommend the following procedure:
1. save a state, stop the emulation
2. go to graphics->hacks, set EFB copies to RAM. (it will allow the targeting computer to kind-of work)
3. restart the emulation, load state. press the targeting computer button and keep it down. Look at the target until you see the weak spot. Remember its position and shape.
4. let go of the targeting computer button, the emulator will crash.
5. Restart dolphin, you can go to graphics settings and switch the EFB copies back to texture.
6. restart the game, load state. You will now know where to aim.
The targeting computer crash is interesting because it varies from mission to mission (and possibly from craft to craft?) In some missions you can use the computer freely without any crashes (Prisons of Maw space part) while on others it will crash either in the exact moment the targeting overlay appears on screen (Death Star Attack) or when you let go of the button (Vengeance on Kothis)
The fps drop is strictly related to the number of things present on the screen. In space missions (without the terrain) fps count is even twice as high as in the other missions. If a terrain is present, you can pitch straight up to get the ground out of the view and gain a momentary speed-up (which is useful when trying to understand the dialogue)
As for the game itself, perhaps my expectations for the sequel were too high after enjoying the previous game so much. Rogue Leader felt a bit shorter and less content-rich than the other game. Also, some levels are very similar to the ones from Rogue Squadron. Namely: the prison train mission, raid on bespin, and disabling the sensors before an attack. Especially the bespin mission feels like copy-pasted with minor alterations and a different goal. On the other hand, the improved technology has really let the game shine brighter. The ships look better, the effects are nicer, and people are finally not flat anymore. The levels are bigger, have more action, and there is a lot happening on the map at any given moment. I especially liked the wingman commands, even though in "form up" mode they are not really useful, other than as decoys for the AI to shoot at. The AI itself flies better, but shoots much less accurately. It's a welcome change tough, since the enemies come in such great numbers that if they fired accurately, the game would be impossible to play. The camera that moves back to show the fighter sitting on your tail is a very nice addition, even though it makes aiming a little difficult. All in all, it's a good game, and definitely worth the effort of getting the emulator to work with it. I know it is unfair to judge a game based on a half-working emulated experience, but the fact that I still enjoyed playing it speaks for itself.