GameCube Main Menu

GameCube Main Menu
Type	Pre-installed
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Platform(s)	GameCube
Release date(s)	JP September 14, 2001 NA November 18, 2001 EU May 3, 2002 AUS May 17, 2002
Genre(s)	Utility
Input methods	GameCube Controller
Compatibility	4 Playable
See also...	Dolphin Forum thread Open Issues Search Google Search Wikipedia

The GameCube's Main Menu, commonly known as the GameCube BIOS, is the Initial Program Loader (IPL) of the GameCube and its top level interface, allowing the player to load discs, change settings, and manage up to two memory cards at once. To access these features, the player must either hold A on controller 1, have no disc inserted, or have the lid open as the GameCube logo animates.

Dolphin does not include the GameCube Main Menu by default, and it doesn't need it; it is able to launch games straight from the Dolphin GUI. However, the GameCube Main Menu is fully functional and even capable of launching games.

Emulation Information

Accessing the Menu

As a prerequisite, you must first dump a copy of IPL.bin from a GameCube console. Then disable Skip BIOS in the Dolphin settings. To access the menu from launching a GameCube game, load any GameCube game of the appropriate region, and hold A as the GameCube logo animates. 5.0-3902 added the ability to boot directly to the menu from the Dolphin menu.

Inserting a Disc / Changing Discs

To insert a disc or change discs, right click on any game in the game list and select "Change Disc", or use File > Change Disc. The GameCube menu has regional lockout mechanism in place, so when there's a region difference between the GameCube menu and disc, you will receive the message "The disc could not be read".

Problems

Cheats, Savestates, Game INIs Not Working After Disc Change

When emulating a GameCube, Dolphin only recognizes the first thing loaded as the game that is being played. So while changing the disc during the GameCube BIOS menu, for example, Super Smash Bros. Melee was loaded from the Game List, and then change disc and load Super Mario Sunshine, the game cheats, game-specific settings, and even any savestates made will be for Melee and not Super Mario Sunshine.

Flickering/Stretchy Menu

The start up animation and menu will stretch and distort unless XFB is enabled, either virtual or real will correct for this issue. Fixed with Hybrid XFB in 5.0-5874.

Stretchy and flickers

What should display

Missing Music/Incorrect Audio

Despite the fixes 4.0-7286 made to the DSP HLE sound by more accurately emulating Zelda ucode, music and effects in the IPL are still missing or distorted. Needs DSP LLE for proper audio. Refer issue 7980. Fixed in 5.0-4452

Configuration

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

General

Config	Setting	Notes
Skip GC BIOS	Off	Run BIOS, hold A as the GameCube logo animates to enter

Version Compatibility

The graph below charts the compatibility with GameCube Main Menu since Dolphin's 2.0 release, listing revisions only where a compatibility change occurred.

2.0

3.0

4.0-7286

5.0-4452

5.0-4452

Δ

5.0-21393 (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
4.0-5952	Windows 10	Intel Celeron J1900 @ 1.99GHz	Intel Graphics HD	At recommended settings on a VPS of 60, The performance of this is at least playable, 60 FPS for the intro. drops down to 30 FPS once you move the cube, and climbs up to 41 FPS. Transitions and editing a file on the virtual memory card makes the FPS die to 15 FPS, and steadies at 25 FPS. Everything else is good and works fine.	Muffin
4.0-6180	Windows 8.1	AMD A8-5500 @ 3.2GHz	AMD Radeon HD 7400m	Works fine with said recommended settings. Good for the proper GameCube feeling to your Dolphin Emulator.	JMTestinTest
4.0-6247	Windows 8.1	Intel Core i5-3210M @ 2.5GHz	NVIDIA GeForce 610M	FPS: 60 VPS: 60 Works fine under recommended settings. Slightly slower frame rates when managing my virtual memory cards. Screen Position settings do not work.	Wildgoosespeeder
4.0-7286	Windows 8.1	Intel Core i5-3210M @ 2.5GHz	NVIDIA GeForce 610M	It's so nice and not startling to not hear screeching under HLE! Too bad the sounds aren't perfect but hey, progress!	Wildgoosespeeder
5.0	OS X 10.11.6	Intel Core i7 @ 2.66 GHz	NVIDIA GeForce GT 330M 512 MB	It works very well! Works almost perfectly with recommended settings. Sound is a bit choppy, but it's nothing major. As previously stated, screen position settings do not work.	TheGamingStar

Gameplay Videos

GC Main Menu on Dolphin