Dolphin Manual: Difference between revisions

Jump to navigation Jump to search
No edit summary
No edit summary
Line 5: Line 5:
See the talk page for notes and a TODO list, or to talk about it. This is a huge undertaking, so please give any advice you may have.
See the talk page for notes and a TODO list, or to talk about it. This is a huge undertaking, so please give any advice you may have.


== Getting Started ==
= Getting Started =


Before running Dolphin, users should consider the following:


=== Operating System ===
=== System Requirements ===
 
===== Operating System =====
Dolphin will work on Windows, Linux, and OS X environments. For Windows, anything from XP and up will handle the emulator, preferably a 64bit version (post Vista). For OS X, anything from Lion (10.7) and up will do the job. Given the sheer number of available Linux distros, Linux users cannot rely on a specific minimum version of their OS. For the best results, the distro's packages, libraries, and kernel should be relatively up-to-date.
Dolphin will work on Windows, Linux, and OS X environments. For Windows, anything from XP and up will handle the emulator, preferably a 64bit version (post Vista). For OS X, anything from Lion (10.7) and up will do the job. Given the sheer number of available Linux distros, Linux users cannot rely on a specific minimum version of their OS. For the best results, the distro's packages, libraries, and kernel should be relatively up-to-date.


=== Hardware ===
===== Hardware =====
The bare minimum for Dolphin to work is the following. All modern systems should have these specifications.
The bare minimum for Dolphin to work is the following. All modern systems should have these specifications.
*A CPU that supports SSE2
*A CPU that supports SSE2
Line 22: Line 23:
Users should ask questions about their hardware on the [http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/ Dolphin forums] or check the [[Main Page|Dolphin Wiki]] to see the results other systems had for specific games.
Users should ask questions about their hardware on the [http://forums.dolphin-emu.org/ Dolphin forums] or check the [[Main Page|Dolphin Wiki]] to see the results other systems had for specific games.


=== Additional Software ===
===== Additional Software =====
Windows users must install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable (SP1) and the [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35 DirectX End-User Runtime]. The Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable comes in [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8328 32-bit] and [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13523 64-bit] versions; choose according to your operating system. Generally for any OS, keeping drivers up-to-date is the best practice.
Windows users must install the Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable (SP1) and the [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=35 DirectX End-User Runtime]. The Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 Redistributable comes in [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=8328 32-bit] and [http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/download/details.aspx?id=13523 64-bit] versions; choose according to your operating system. Generally for any OS, keeping drivers up-to-date is the best practice.


Linux users have more extensive software requirements (see Section 2.1).
Linux users have more extensive software requirements (see Section 2.1).


=== Games ===
=== Games ===
Users “dump” or “rip” their Gamecube and Wii discs to get an exact 1:1 copy of the game data. The best method is to use homebrew software on a hacked Wii. For more information, see [[Ripping Game Discs]].
Users “dump” or “rip” their Gamecube and Wii discs to get an exact 1:1 copy of the game data. The best method is to use homebrew software on a hacked Wii. For more information, see [[Ripping Game Discs]].


== Obtaining the Dolphin Emulator ==
 
=== Obtaining the Dolphin Emulator ===


For users of Windows, OS X, and Ubuntu, the main Dolphin website provides both the latest builds and the last stable release online at [http://www.dolphin-emu.org/download http://www.dolphin-emu.org/download]. Windows users must choose between x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions according to their operating system.
For users of Windows, OS X, and Ubuntu, the main Dolphin website provides both the latest builds and the last stable release online at [http://www.dolphin-emu.org/download http://www.dolphin-emu.org/download]. Windows users must choose between x86 (32-bit) and x64 (64-bit) versions according to their operating system.
Line 38: Line 41:
Non-Ubuntu Linux users have to compile the source code themselves or rely on the repositories set up for their specific distros in order to obtain Dolphin. See [[Building Dolphin on Linux]] for instructions.
Non-Ubuntu Linux users have to compile the source code themselves or rely on the repositories set up for their specific distros in order to obtain Dolphin. See [[Building Dolphin on Linux]] for instructions.


== Starting Dolphin ==
 
=== Starting Dolphin ===
'''Windows:''' Windows builds come in archives in the 7z format, so an appropriate program such as [http://www.7-zip.org 7-zip] or [http://peazip.sourceforge.net PeaZip] is necessary to extract it. Users need only extract the archive and double-click on the Dolphin.exe file to launch the emulator. Opening the emulator while it is in the archive will lead to errors.  
'''Windows:''' Windows builds come in archives in the 7z format, so an appropriate program such as [http://www.7-zip.org 7-zip] or [http://peazip.sourceforge.net PeaZip] is necessary to extract it. Users need only extract the archive and double-click on the Dolphin.exe file to launch the emulator. Opening the emulator while it is in the archive will lead to errors.  


Line 79: Line 83:


'''Status Bar:''' Very bottom of Dolphin's screen, reserved for small message such as when a real or emulated Wiimote has been connected, FPS, VPS, and game speed.
'''Status Bar:''' Very bottom of Dolphin's screen, reserved for small message such as when a real or emulated Wiimote has been connected, FPS, VPS, and game speed.
=== Adding Games ===
When users first run Dolphin, the program will not see their games. It will display the following message in the game list: “No ISOs or WADs found. Dolphin could not find any GC/Wii ISOs. Doubleclick here to browse for files...” Users can add game directories in several ways:
*Double-click the above message to open up a file browser to select the directory containing the games.
*Click the Browse button in the Toolbar.
*Go to the Menu and select File -> Browse for ISOs...
*Go to the Menu, select Options -> Configure, click the Paths tab, and click the Add button. (see Section 3.6 for more details).
Dolphin will recognize '''.iso''', '''.wad''', '''.gcz''', '''.gcm''', '''.wbfs''', '''.dol''' and '''.elf''',  files as games. Users can add as many directories as they want. Once the directory has been added to Dolphin, the emulator will check those directories every time it launches and automatically add new games to the list. If the user adds games to a directory while Dolphin is running, the list can manually updated by:
*Press the Refresh button in the Toolbar
*Go to the Menu and select File -> Refresh List
=== Starting, Stopping, and Resetting Games ===
To launch a game, choose from one of the following actions:
*Double-click on a listed game.
*Select a listed game with a single-click and press the Play button in the Toolbar or the F10 key
*Go to the Menu, select File -> Open and then browse to the game's file. Note, this can play games that are not listed.
*Select a listed game with a single-click, go to the Menu, and select Emulation -> Play.
To stop a running game, choose from one of the following actions:
*Click the Stop button in the Toolbar
*Press the Escape key
To pause a running game instead of completely stopping it, choose from one of the following actions:
*Click the Pause button in the Toolbar
*Press the F10 key
To reset a running game go to the Menu and select Emulation -> Reset. Dolphin by default does not have a hotkey for this action, however users can specify their own by editing the hotkeys (see Section 3.2 for more details).
= Configuration =
Retrieved from "https://wiki.dolphin-emu.org/index.php?title=Dolphin_Manual"