It's a linux system designed for emulation. I installed it on a drive and boot into it from a Mac or PC (can be a thumbdrive or a full external harddrive. Supports controllers. Runs Dolphin as well as many other emulators and is way more slick than launching games from a file menu with the mouse/keyboard.
Steps
- Check if your computer is powerful enough to run Dolphin Emulator. Dolphin runs best on a 3 GHz or higher dual core processor, and with a graphics card that supports the latest version of DirectX or OpenGL. Graphics cards manufactured by ATI or NVIDIA are recommended. Integrated graphics cards (like the Intel HD series) are not recommended. If you have a powerful CPU but an integrated graphics card, you still might be able to achieve decent speeds by tweaking the settings (see below). A 64 bit CPU with a 64 bit operating system is also recommended, because they can address more memory and perform faster calculations. If possible, use Windows, because Dolphin's DirectX is faster than OpenGL.
- Install homebrew on your Wii using this guide: http://www.wikihow.com/Install-Homebrew-on-Wii-Menu-4.3
- Find an SD card or USB drive that has enough space for a Wii or Gamecube disc on it. Wii discs are 4.7 GB, dual layer Wii discs (like Super Smash Bros. Brawl) are 7.9 GB, and Gamecube discs are 1.4 GB. Your device needs to be formatted with FAT32 or NTFS.
- Download CleanRip from http://cleanrip.googlecode.com/files/CleanRip-v1.0.5.zip You will need it to make a copy of your Wii or Gamecube disc that you can play on Dolphin. Extract the ZIP file and copy the apps folder to your SD card or USB drive.
- Put your SD card or USB drive into the Wii. Then launch the Homebrew Channel. You should see CleanRip come up as one of the options. Select it and choose Launch.
- After you get past the disclaimer, it will ask you whether you want to rip the game disc to a USB drive or SD card. Choose whichever device you plan to use to rip your game disc to. Then select whether your device is formatted with FAT32 or NTFS. Press A to continue.
- When it asks you to download the Redump.org DAT files, select No. You can download them if you want, but they are not required and they will only work if you have an internet connection.
- CleanRip will ask you to insert your GC/Wii disc. If it's not already inserted, put it in now. Once you put the disc in, press A to continue.
- Select the chunk size that you want. When you dump the game disc, it will divide the disc into a few smaller chunks. Choose either 1 GB, 2 GB, 3 GB, or full. Please note that you can only choose full if your SD card or USB drive is formatted with NTFS, because FAT32 has a file size limit of 4 GB. Also select whether your disc is single layer or dual layer, and if you want to get prompted for a new device every time a chunk finishes. The only known dual layer Wii disc is Super Smash Bros. Brawl.
- Wait for the game to finish ripping. Once it has, press B to exit CleanRip and go back to the Homebrew Channel. Take out your SD card or USB drive.
- Put your SD card or USB drive into your computer. Now it's time to put all your chunks together to form a full game disc that can be read by Dolphin. If you dumped the full disc, you can skip this step. Copy all the chunks to your hard drive. Then start either the Command Prompt (if you're using Windows) or the Terminal (if you're using Mac or Linux). Use CD to get to whatever directory you copied the chunks to. Then follow this command to combine all of the chunks: Windows: copy /b <title_id>.part*.iso <game_title>.iso Mac or Linux: cat <title_id>.part*.iso > <game_title>.iso
- Download Dolphin emulator. It can be found at: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/
- Open Dolphin Emulator. Go to Config->Paths and add the directory where your ISO is located. Click refresh and your ISO should appear. Now you're almost ready to play the game you ripped. All that's left is to set up the Wii Remote.
- Click Wiimote on the top bar of the screen. From here, you can set up your Wii Remote. If you want to control Wii games with your keyboard, choose Emulated Wiimote and click configure to choose which keys correspond to the buttons on the Wii Remote. If you want to use a Wii Remote to control Dolphin, choose Real Wiimote. Then connect your Wii Remote to your computer using Bluetooth. After it's connected, choose Pair Up. Once it's paired, click Refresh. The LED on your Wii Remote should show whichever player you are.
- Launch the game by double clicking on it. Now you can play it! Try it out. If your computer isn't as good, you can try adjusting the settings to disable some of the more CPU or GPU intense features. Follow http://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Performance_Guide
Tips
- The process of connecting your Wii Remote varies depending on whether you use Windows, Mac, or Linux. On Windows, go to Bluetooth in your System Tray and choose Add a Device. Hold down the 1 and 2 buttons until Nintendo RVL-CNT 01 shows up. Select the device and choose Pair Without Using a Key. Then follow the instructions above. On Mac or Linux, first connect with Bluetooth by holding down the Sync button inside the battery cover. Then disconnect it, and pair it up again in Dolphin.
- If you don't have internal Bluetooth in your computer, you can buy a Bluetooth USB Dongle. Search Amazon or another online store for them.
- On Windows, you can open the Command Prompt in the directory where your chunks are by holding down Shift and right clicking on the directory, then choosing Open Command Window Here.
- If you download a game from a website, usually the game will be in a .rar format. When you open the .rar file you will be confronted with another .rar file inside the main file. This will usually be named .iso. You CANNOT extract this file. Instead, drag and drop this file into a folder. This will allow it to be read by Dolphin and allow you to play it.
Progress Continues We've already had 13290 updates since Dolphin 5.0. Keep up with Dolphin's continuing progress through the Dolphin Blog: October and November 2020 Progress Report. |
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As of 4.0-4599, Dolphin has built in support for the Nintendo GameCube controller Adapter for Wii U, the only official USB GameCube adapter available. With Dolphin's implementation, the GameCube controller is auto-configured and calibrated, with full rumble support. Wireless controllers and bongos are supported.
This method of connecting controllers is intended to work with all adapters that are compatible with Super Smash Bros. for Wii U, but certain third-party adapters don't seem to work with this method. Adapters by Nintendo and Mayflash are known to work.
Compatible third-party adapters generally have a switch for choosing between PC mode and Wii U mode. If your adapter has such a switch, you have to set it to Wii U mode before following these instructions. Official Nintendo adapters don't have a switch.
- 1Installation
- 1.2macOS
- 1.3Windows
- 1.4Android
- 2Dolphin Setup
Linux
Linux support does not require any special drivers, as long as Dolphin was built with libusb support. However, a udev rule must be created to allow access to the device.
Paste the following in the /etc/udev/rules.d/51-gcadapter.rules file (/lib/udev/rules.d/51-gcadapter.rules if making a package):
SUBSYSTEM'usb', ENV{DEVTYPE}'usb_device', ATTRS{idVendor}'057e', ATTRS{idProduct}'0337', MODE='0666'
Reload udev rules with:sudo udevadm control --reload-rules
How To Run Dolphin Emulator
Then re-insert the adapter. Dolphin should now detect it in the controller settings (refer to #Dolphin Setup below).
If you want to change the rule, links for instructions are available on the libusb FAQ.
macOS
Due to the nature of Apple's HID implementation, all HID devices (including non-standard ones) are intercepted by IOKit's HID driver. Since the adapter does not supply a valid report descriptor, this makes the IOKit driver useless for direct communication.
Instead, IOKit's behavior may be manipulated via a codeless .kext to simply ignore the adapter and permit a lower-level connection (like the one Dolphin makes):
Easy Install
Terminal Install
Once installed, Dolphin should be able to recognize that the adapter has been plugged in. You do not need to configure the controllers manually within Dolphin's controller settings but any controllers plugged into the adapter should work immediately.
For questions on any of these macOS connection techniques, please see the forum thread.
macOS with System Integrity Protection (SIP)
On El Capitan (10.11) and later, the unsigned Kernel Extension will fail to load.The only current workaround is to disable kernel-extension signing verification, which can be done in macOS Recovery Mode.This will lessen security, and is not recommended.
See this StackExchange thread for more details.
Windows
On Windows, the GameCube controller adapter will need a certain driver to let Dolphin detect it and use it. If you are using 5.0-2472 or newer, you need to either install a filter driver using Zadig or install UsbDk. (Doing both is unnecessary, but doesn't lead to any problems.) If you aren't sure which one to pick, use Zadig. If you are using 5.0-2341 or older, using Zadig is required.
Avoid vJoy
The software that utilizes vJoy drivers, such as GameCube USB Adapter Driver, can treat the GameCube controllers as generic gamepads for Windows. They can be configured in Dolphin like any other controller. Unlike vJoy, Dolphin's native support will offer more straightforward and added missing supports from vJoy (i.e. force feedback), and offer better latency. vJoy and Dolphin's native support conflict with one another, so to use the native support in Dolphin, driver services must be stopped through GameCube USB Adapter Driver 's window. You probably already have ran Zadig setup if the GameCube USB Adapter Driver version is v3.0 or later. Skip to #Dolphin Setup below if you haven't encountered any problems with it.
Using Zadig
Plug in the GameCube controller adapter if it hasn't been already. Download and launch Zadig. If you're using the Mayflash adapter, make sure you switch it to 'Wii U' or Zadig won't pick it up properly.
1. From the 'Options' menu in Zadig, select 'List All Devices'
2. In the pulldown menu, select 'WUP-028'. Ensure that its USB ID is '057E 0337'.
- If it does not appear in the list then try inserting the adapter (specifically its black USB cord) into another USB port.
3. On the right column, select 'WinUSB' then click 'Replace Driver'. Select 'Yes' to modify the system driver.
When it said the driver is installed successfully then you can close the Zadig setup and continue to #Dolphin Setup below.
Problem with Zadig?
If there is a problem in the installation process, you can completely restart Zadig by following these instructions.
Reverting the adapter's driver back to vanilla state
How To Install Games On Dolphin Emulator Mac 10
- Open Device Manager (or simply run 'devmgmt.msc'), look for the 'WUP-028' device which is usually under the 'Universal Serial Bus devices'(WinUSB) or 'libusbK devices'(libusbK). Open its context menu (right-click) and select Properties. Click 'Uninstall' under the 'Driver' tab. Check box 'Delete the driver software for this device' then proceed. Then re-insert the adapter. The steps for driver installation can now be followed.
Delete temporary setup files (Fixes 'Driver installation failed')
- Kill installer_x64.exe or installer_x86.exe from the Task Manager then delete %userprofile%usb_driver and run Zadig again.
Android
Android doesn't require anything special to make the adapter work. Under the gamepad controller settings; For each controller that you want to use the adapter with, change the selection from Emulated to Gamecube Adapter. After that point, make sure to start the game with the adapter plugged in and Android will ask if you want Dolphin to have permission to use the device.
Input doesn't work
There is a bug in Android's USBManager framework that sometimes causes Dolphin to be incapable of reading the adapter. In these instances a toast window will pop up asking you to unplug and replugin the adapter. Do so and Dolphin will be able to read the adapter after that.
The left slot on the adapter (while engraved 'Wii U' facing up) is the first port, and so on, so don't mistake it for being the other way around!
Before Dolphin 4.0-4599
The GameCube controller adapter is not supported in versions older than 4.0-4599. Updating to a newer version is necessary.
Dolphin 4.0-4599 to Dolphin 4.0-8593
With any necessary installation complete, run Dolphin, and check Direct Connect under GameCube Adapter in the Controller Settings, then restart Dolphin. Set GameCube ports to Standard Controller corresponding to each port on the adapter that is plugged in with the actual GameCube controller. The setup for the adapter is now completed. To test, simply start a game that uses GameCube controllers.
- DK Bongo controllers are supported. With DK Bongo controllers plugged in, select 'TaruKonga (Bongos)' in the Controller Settings.
- Dolphin supports hot-plug, so the pads can be unplugged and plugged into other ports. If a pad is unplugged from the adapter, Dolphin will use what is configured (PC keyboard/mouse, PC gamepad etc).
- Dolphin might not show the correct status of the adapter if Direct Connect is unchecked. If you are having this problem, check that then restart Dolphin.
Dolphin 4.0-8601 and Newer
With any necessary installation complete, run Dolphin and click the GameCube controller dropdown. Select GameCube Adapter for Wii U on any slot that you wish to use the adapter for. Hitting Configure when this is selected allows you to turn rumble off/on per controller, as well as a toggle for using the DK Bongos.
Adapter Not Detected
It's worth noting that only the first instance of Dolphin Emulator will detect the adapter. Another instance will detect the second adapter if inserted, and so on. If the Dolphin Emulator couldn't detect the adapter, it's possible that you already have another one running.
If the adapter is successfully detected when no game is running but flickers between detected and not detected when a game is running, update to 5.0-12263 or later.
If the adapter is not detected at all, then it may only be a matter of changing USB ports and restarting Dolphin, or its driver/setup might have recently been changed/overridden. You should follow the instruction again from one of the sections for your system.
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