F-Zero GX

F-Zero GX
Developer(s)	Sega, Amusement Vision
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Series	F-Zero
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release date(s)	JP July 25, 2003 NA August 25, 2003 EU October 31, 2003
Genre(s)	Racing
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Input methods	GameCube Controller
Compatibility	4 Playable
GameIDs	GFZE01, GFZP01, GFZJ01
See also...	Dolphin Forum thread Open Issues Search Google GX Wikipedia page

F-Zero GX is a futuristic racing video game for the Nintendo GameCube console. Developed by Sega's Amusement Vision department and published by Nintendo, it was released in Japan, Europe and North America in 2003. F-Zero AX, the arcade counterpart of GX, uses hardware conceived from a business alliance between Nintendo, Namco and Sega. F-Zero GX runs on an enhanced version of the engine that powered Super Monkey Ball. F-Zero GX/AX was the first video game collaboration between Nintendo and Sega. The game received critical acclaim as one of the best racers of its time and the greatest racer on the GameCube platform.

Problems

NTSC-J version not booting

Activate "Enable MMU" or "MMU speed hack" to make the game boot.

Random Crashes with DirectX

With EFB to Ram, D3D9 and D3D11 may crash randomly. D3D11 is far worse than D3D9, but it still does it. Since the GameINI is set to use EFB to Ram, the only fix for this problem is to alter the GameINI to allow EFB to Texture, and then set the emulator to EFB to Texture in the graphics options. But the GameINI was set this way purposefully: EFB to Texture has tons of glitches. The crashes appear predictable, crashing in certain races or modes, so you could juggle between backends as needed to clear certain crashes. Otherwise, just use OpenGL.

Dual Core Resets

When Dual Core mode is enabled, the game may reset randomly. It has improved considerably over time however, and is generally playable. Because of this problem, Dual Core mode is currently disabled in the GameINI, and has to be enabled in the game properties if you wish to use it. Use at your own risk.

EFB to Texture

The GameINI is set to prevent EFB to Texture, but if you set the emulator to EFB to Texture some of the glitches of the game slip through despite the GameINI. Which glitches happen depend on the backend:

• OpenGL has the notorious car shadow bug.
• D3D9 has odd track shadows, which remove all texture from areas they are under.
• D3D11 turns things lots of things white, and has the odd track shadows similar to D3D9.

Set the emulator to EFB to Ram to avoid these problems. Note that turning on EFB to Texture in the GameINI is a very bad idea, and results in all of the above and then some.

File:F-ZeroGXEFBtoTex.jpg

GameINI set to allow EFBtoTex, shows all errors

Heat Effect/Blur

Sand Ocean's heat effect cuts speed in half on even the most powerful computers. The effect can be disabled by turning on "Skip EFB Access from CPU", but this will disable other effects as well.

Custom Cars

Custom cars show only the pilot floating in mid air and the main body component. All graphics backends have this problem. It doesn't affect the car in any way, just looks bizarre.

How custom cars display in Dolphin

Rain on Lightning Track

Rain on the Lightning tracks appears incorrectly on the D3D9 backend. It is present, but more difficult to see compared to the other backends, to the point where it is nearly invisible for most of the race. OpenGL and D3D11 display the effect correctly, so use one of them if you wish to see it better.

16:9

This game has 16:9 display capability, but requires setting the game to the "Widescreen" screen mode in the game's internal options, and setting Dolphin's Aspect Ratio setting to "Force 16:9".

Configuration

Only configuration options for the best compatibility where they deviate from defaults are listed.

Graphics

Config	Setting	Notes
Video Backend	OpenGL	D3D9 and D3D11 has crashing problems with EFB to Ram

Version Compatibility

The graph below charts the compatibility with F-Zero GX since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.

r4865

r7398

r7473

Δ

5.0-21455 (current)

Δ

Δ

Δ

Δ

Δ

2.0 (r5384)

Compatibility can be assumed to align with the indicated revisions. However, compatibility may extend to prior revisions or compatibility gaps may exist within ranges indicated as compatible due to limited testing. Please update as appropriate.

Testing

This title has been tested on the environments listed below:

Test Entries
Revision	OS	CPU	GPU	Result	Tester
r4865	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core 2 Quad Q9505 @ 2.83GHz	nVidia GeForce 9800 GT	With recent fixes, game is now playable at good speed with perfect graphics (except bug with shadows, you can fix by switching EFB Copy to system RAM). Speed varies from 40 to 60 FPS (out of max 60). It's highly recommended to use x64 or IL version, because usual x86 doesn't work yet. Sound and controls work perfectly fine. F-Zero GX (GC) on Dolphin Wii/GC Emulator 720p HD	nosound98
r7035	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core 2 Duo E8500 @ 3.16GHz	ATI Radeon HD 5850	Slows down to 20 FPS at the start of a race sometimes, but runs at a solid min. 35 FPS during the race
r7612	Windows 7 x64	Intel Quad Core @ 3.33GHz	nVidia GeForce 9600 GT	Between 40-60 FPS depending the race track, big slow down in sand ocean. Crash when using recording device (Fraps & Xfire)	Sonic1993
r7670	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core i5-2500K @ 4.1GHz	AMD Radeon HD 6850	Works totally fine. Only slowdown is on Sand Ocean, FPS drops to 42 max.	MegaJump
^3.0	Windows 7 x64	Intel Pentium E5400 @ 2.7GHz	nVidia GeForce GTX 460	Barely playable, 20-30 FPS	parasite64
^3.0	Windows 7 x86	Intel Pentium E5400 @ 2.7GHz	AMD Radeon HD 3850	Barely playable on DX9 plugin, native resolution, AA 9x , MMU speed hack, Dual Core On (It's work normal now) 30-45 FPS	Dark Bard
3.0-177	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core i5-2500K @ 3.3GHz	nVidia GeForce 8800 GT	60 FPS when "Skip EFB Access from CPUs" is off. Shadows are broken. DX9 supports Dual Core.	M
3.0-228	Windows 7 x64	AMD Phenom 2 X4 @ 3.2GHz	nVidia GeForce 9600 GT	Runs between 50-60 Fps. NO Slowdown at Sand Ocean, NO Shadow Error. Skip EFB Access from CPU ON( Hook in there) / EFB Copies RAM / Direct3D9 Back-end / Disable per pixel depth OFF / It works on 1600x900 Fullscreen 2x Native and Widescreen Hack	Shyvo
3.0-267	Linux Mint 11 x64	Intel Core i5 2500K	AMD Radeon HD 6670	In 50Hz game mode, runs between 48-50 Fps. Some slowdowns and some shadow errors. Dual Core ON / Accelerate disc transfer rate ON / Skip EFB Access from CPU ON / EFB Copies Texture / It works on 1280x800 Fullscreen Auto Native	yg2f
3.0-684	Windows 7 x64	AMD FX-4100 @ 4.5GHz	nVidia GeForce GTS 250	(tested with DX9). In the demo video is initially loaded much. In the selection of the starships of the screen is very slow when being dumped in this screen, the graphic shall have no end that Dump!. After a few crashes of the Dolphin emulator works then most of the "Dual Core" option. Best emulation speed, the "external frame buffer" would be (REAL), but very unstable. (sic, Google Translate)	Serverbot777
3.0-697	Windows 7 x64	AMD FX-4100 @ 4.5GHz	nVidia GeForce GTS 250	(tested with DX9). Fixed a bug with the speed-problem-in vehicle selection. In the game, when the shadow vehicle will not be correctly displayed (Faulty shadow). And in the game during the procedure, the FPS quite sharply between 30 FPS and 50 FPS.(only in the dolphin-hashless version).	Serverbot777
3.0-763	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core i5-760 @ 2.8GHz	nVidia GeForce 560 Ti	DirectX 9, dual core, locked threads to cores, 1080p. 33% speed decrease when all vehicles are on screen, or when large portions of the track are visible. Dolphin just can't crunch this many vertices, as determined by the same speeds being reached using the original EFB size. In all other circumstances, game runs at a full 60 FPS. Dual core causes occasional soft locks, but locking threads to cores seems to dissuade this from happening as often. Dual core is required to reach 60 FPS on this rig.	CptnOblivious
3.0-787	Windows 7 x64	Intel Core i5-760 @ 2.8GHz	nVidia GeForce 560 Ti	DirectX 9, dual core, locked threads to cores, 1080p. UPDATE: This revision sees an increase in speed between 6-10 FPS under full loads in the same scenarios as the previous entry. Everything else remains unchanged.	CptnOblivious

Gameplay Videos

F-Zero GX (GC) on Dolphin Wii/GC Emulator 720p HD