12-06-2014, 08:38 AM
This one is fairly simple. Please vote on what you think is the best new feature of the year! If I missed your favorite new feature, please let me know and I can add it.
DolphinBar Support - When the DolphinBar reached the market, it wasn't compatible with the latest versions of Dolphin! One of the bigger changes this year was to revise and fix up Dolphin to support this hardware. While the fix itself may not be interesting to people, the DolphinBar itself is an important feature in making Real Wiimote usage widely available to users without hardship, especially the -TR variants. Read more here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/08/23/...ar-review/
GCI Folder - GCI folders are an evolution forward from the typical memory card. Instead of using a file that has all of the information stored within it, Dolphin can now just use a folder on your computer! You can take GCI file ripped from your GameCube or Wii, put it into your computer, and use it directly in Dolphin without any kind of intermediate software or memory card manager. It's a very nifty feature that allows us to, in essence, have an infinitely big memory card as well! Normally, memory cards can only hold 127 files at once, but by using the GCI folder, we can selectively choose what files to load and which ones not to. This allows users to store as many saves as they want on their memory card while Dolphin loads the necessary ones. Never run out of space again! Read more here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/06/30/...june-2014/
Exclusive Fullscreen - This is a neat feature that allows Dolphin to interact with the monitor more directly. Sometimes, users were running into a problem where a game would be running full speed show 60 fps on the title bar, but appear to be choppy despite that. Exclusive Fullscreen ended a lot of issues like that, allowing tons of game to show up in crisp, clear, 60 fps without tearing or problems. The only blemish is that there are some compatibility issues with it (especially in multi-GPU and optimus systems.) Read more about the feature here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/07/31/...july-2014/
Deterministic Dualcore - This is a very, very large change to Dolphin that allows dualcore to be deterministic without sacrificing too much speed. This more or less allows a majority of games to be played on netplay with the dualcore option on. This is mainly a feature for netplay, but users can use it to increase stability in dualcore sensitive games without having to drop down to single core mode. So, it's both a nice feature for netplay, and a nice feature to avoid single core when possible. To read more about it, please check it out here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/09/30/...mber-2014/
Customizable Post Processing Shaders - Customizable shaders give users more freedom in configuring their shaders. While a majority of our post processing shaders were made before that, there are several new shaders (including the expansive DolphinFX Shader Suite) that take advantage of these features!
Allow Arbitrary Internal Resolutions - This is a simple change that no one had taken care of for some reason. It allows users to set internal resolutions above 4x through the INI system. This is the feature for you if you're into super high resolution gameplay! Read more about it here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/10/31/...ober-2014/
Wiimote TASing input - Because RachelB will kill me if I don't put it here. But also, seriously, Wiimote TASing is a really cool feature, and will help produce some awesome TASes in the future, along with help us discover new glitches and tricks in some of our favorite games!
DolphinBar Support - When the DolphinBar reached the market, it wasn't compatible with the latest versions of Dolphin! One of the bigger changes this year was to revise and fix up Dolphin to support this hardware. While the fix itself may not be interesting to people, the DolphinBar itself is an important feature in making Real Wiimote usage widely available to users without hardship, especially the -TR variants. Read more here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/08/23/...ar-review/
GCI Folder - GCI folders are an evolution forward from the typical memory card. Instead of using a file that has all of the information stored within it, Dolphin can now just use a folder on your computer! You can take GCI file ripped from your GameCube or Wii, put it into your computer, and use it directly in Dolphin without any kind of intermediate software or memory card manager. It's a very nifty feature that allows us to, in essence, have an infinitely big memory card as well! Normally, memory cards can only hold 127 files at once, but by using the GCI folder, we can selectively choose what files to load and which ones not to. This allows users to store as many saves as they want on their memory card while Dolphin loads the necessary ones. Never run out of space again! Read more here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/06/30/...june-2014/
Exclusive Fullscreen - This is a neat feature that allows Dolphin to interact with the monitor more directly. Sometimes, users were running into a problem where a game would be running full speed show 60 fps on the title bar, but appear to be choppy despite that. Exclusive Fullscreen ended a lot of issues like that, allowing tons of game to show up in crisp, clear, 60 fps without tearing or problems. The only blemish is that there are some compatibility issues with it (especially in multi-GPU and optimus systems.) Read more about the feature here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/07/31/...july-2014/
Deterministic Dualcore - This is a very, very large change to Dolphin that allows dualcore to be deterministic without sacrificing too much speed. This more or less allows a majority of games to be played on netplay with the dualcore option on. This is mainly a feature for netplay, but users can use it to increase stability in dualcore sensitive games without having to drop down to single core mode. So, it's both a nice feature for netplay, and a nice feature to avoid single core when possible. To read more about it, please check it out here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/09/30/...mber-2014/
Customizable Post Processing Shaders - Customizable shaders give users more freedom in configuring their shaders. While a majority of our post processing shaders were made before that, there are several new shaders (including the expansive DolphinFX Shader Suite) that take advantage of these features!
Allow Arbitrary Internal Resolutions - This is a simple change that no one had taken care of for some reason. It allows users to set internal resolutions above 4x through the INI system. This is the feature for you if you're into super high resolution gameplay! Read more about it here - https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2014/10/31/...ober-2014/
Wiimote TASing input - Because RachelB will kill me if I don't put it here. But also, seriously, Wiimote TASing is a really cool feature, and will help produce some awesome TASes in the future, along with help us discover new glitches and tricks in some of our favorite games!
