Netplay Guide: Difference between revisions

Netplay is a defining feature of Dolphin: it allows you to set up online sessions for any GameCube or Wii title with a local multiplayer mode, without the problems or limitations of the [[Wii Network Guide|Nintendo WiFi Connection]] or hassle of the [[Broadband Adapter|BBA]]. It is improving regularly, and GameCube Netplay should be painless. Wii Netplay is much more temperamental and should be treated as an experimental feature for advanced users.

*Bandwidth requirements are very light: any DSL or Cable internet connection should do. However, the internet demands rapidly increase as more players are added. Because the latency (ping) of the internet connection determines how low input latency can get, using Ethernet instead of Wi-Fi usually improves the gameplay experience.

*Each player must have their own copy of the game, and the region and game revision of all copies must match.  While most compressed game formats are compatible with standard ISOs (with NKit being a notable exception), it is heavily recommended that all players use identical dumps.

*All players must use the same Dolphin version. Newer Dolphin versions are more likely to have fixes for Netplay. Many users opt to use the latest beta versions from the [https://dolphin-emu.org official website]. It can be isolated from your main Dolphin profile by using [[Help:Contents#Portable.txt|"portable.txt"]] or creating a [[Help:Contents#Command Line Options|special shortcut]]. Dolphin will not allow users to use mismatched versions for Netplay, to prevent desyncs.

*Deterministic Dual Core Netplay is now merged into master. While compatibility is not perfect, it should allow more games to work on dual core with three exceptions. Games that require '''Skip EFB Access to CPU''', '''Store EFB Copies to Texture Only''' and/or '''Store XFB Copies to Texture Only''' unchecked in the Graphics > Hacks settings are not guaranteed to run correctly. Deterministic Dual Core can be faster than Single Core in some games, but may also be much slower if a game relies on certain visual effects. Single Core mode in Netplay is the same single core mode used outside of Netplay and has no compatibility penalty.

As of {{revision|5.0-8502}}, most settings that affect determinism will be synced to other clients, so only the host needs to ensure correct settings. Games which use EFB reads or EFB to RAM are likely to desync with mismatched graphics settings, therefore '''Strict Settings Sync''' should be used, which will additionally sync most graphics settings except for backend.   

*Most settings under Enhancements menu can mostly be turned on or off without incident on higher end processors. The only exception to this is when an enhancement breaks a game, such EFB Copy readback. If a game requires EFB Access from CPU or EFB Copies Stored to RAM for game mechanics, the game may freeze or run slowly unless you use Single Core. It is highly recommended you do not change these settings while Netplay is actually in session, however.

Because input on the GameCube and Wii are polled by non-frame intervals, buffer does not directly relate to frames and can even vary per game. Lower the buffer as much as possible without causing slowdown for an optimal experience, ideally in areas that insure there isn't computer related slowdown such as a menu. In most games, add roughly 1 pad buffer per 15 ms of latency per client. Two players at 50 ms latency would be roughly 3 - 4 buffer, where as three players at 50 and 65 ms would be roughly 7 buffer.

A Spectator is a connected computer that has no controllers assigned to them. Any player can be turned into a spectator by going to the "Configure Pads" window (only host has access to it) and remove the their name from the controller ports. The spectator will not cause lag or latency but can still watch the Netplay session.

This addition to Host Input Authority allows the player with no input latency to change mid-game. This is incredibly useful for games where only one player is playing at a time, like a golf game. Do note that all other players experience a latency penalty in this mode, so it should only be used for games where only one player is playing at a time.