Dolphin VR Quick Setup Guide and Tips
Note: before getting any VR device make sure you buy or have a computer that is VR ready. It is recommended that your computer have at least 3 3.0 usb ports and a high end graphics card.
This quick setup guide is meant to answer various questions many users have when they come to this forum or want to setup Dolphin VR in general. If anyone wants to elaborate with more detail feel free:
Dolphin VR download:
https://dolphinvr.wordpress.com/downloads/
How to set up Dolphin VR:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k9YRzQ_YG4c&t=103s
How to Change Camera Positions within any game Using Hotkeys (Forward, Backward, Up, Down, Left, Right and Reset: (Create custom camera angles!)
You can zoom the camera backward or past the HUD (2D plane or square blocking your view) in most games. You can do this by going to "Options" at the top and selecting "Hotkey Settings". Set "Freelook, up, down, left, right, zoom in, zoom out and freelook reset to whatever you want on your keyboard. Then just tap that key you set for whatever direction for continuously, in whatever direction you want and the camera will moderately or sometimes slowly, move forward, backward, up, down, left or right. If you mess up just hit freelook reset to reset the camera.
Manipulating the camera like this also gives you custom first person views otherwise not possible in the original games. You can also use this to look around the eviornments!! Note: Free look reset will reset and realign the camera to its original position. There have been many cases where people have complained that when they start a game their character is too small, off to the side, out of view, or in front of you. Free look reset, will correct this and reposition the camera to where it's supposed to be.
Note: once your freelook camera keys are mapped to your keyboard, you can change the intensity of how fast or how slow the camera moves with each button press. You can do this by going into "VR" options and then raising or lowering the number value within the "Free Look Sensitivity" option. If you bring it too high the default is around 1.25.
Using Hide Object/Culling Codes (A necessity for almost every game):
A Hide Object Code is meant to clean up or erase graphics and or flat objects that are in the way due to the VR interface; which might be blocking your view in many games. With every game you play in Dolphin VR make sure you check if there are any hide object codes. Most games are unplayable without these.
Right click a game listed below in your list and go to properties. Within this menu go to the "Hide Objects" codes tab. Make sure everything is checked off. Should fix like %95 of the problems.
This video shows you how to insert and activate Hide Object codes within the Dolphin VR emulator:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5yqw2KPpNwg
Also, check the AR tap for Culling codes. Culling is what developers used to do to save memory in older games. Basically, whatever your character was not looking at would be invisible. But in VR when you look around to the left, right and behind you, all or most objects will be invisible, because of this exploit the developers used to use. Culling codes make it so none of the geometry/grahics disappear when you look around. So check any of these off!
Culling Codes Forum:
https://www.reddit.com/r/DolphinVRcullin/
Getting Gamecube/Wii Controllers to Work with Dolohin VR:
You can connect an actual Wiimote to your computer with bluetooth as well as a Gamecube controller, through the usb adapter that came with Smash bros Wii U (more information below). Also you will need a Wii sensor bar (A wirless one will work too) that you can plug in and put on your tv. Press the red button inside the Wii Mote and connect in through Bluetooth, also make sure in the "Controllers tab" you have "Real Wii Mote" selected as well as "Continous Scanning" selected.
This video shows you how to set up the Gamecube Controller:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsJ6Ewxd-bY
Getting Graphics/VR Settings Just RIght:
Almost all the games you play will need to be adjusted graphically in the Graphics tab. Certain things might look off. So, go into "Graphics" and then "Hacks". Selecting and deselecting EFB Copies, Disable, Remove Blank EFB Copy Box, switching between Texture and Ram etc.
In the VR tab you might want to play around with Pullup 60 to 90fps/Timewarp 60 to 90fps. To see if things run smoother. If not, deselect them.
Also, some games like Zelda Skyward Sword and Kirby Return to Dreamland have parts where the screen goes upside down. So, play around with the Roll, Pitch and Yaw. Another strange occurance is in Skies of Arcadia Legends, where you have to have "Disable Opcode Warnings" (bypasses an error messege right after leaving Valua) and "Hud on Top" (brings text forward from the background) selected.
Lastly, you might get better quality depending on which backend your using in the "General" tab within the graphics settings. Try switching between Direct3D11 and OpenGL. Whatever works best for your setup.
Sound/Sound Issues:
If you are having sound lag go to "Emulation" at the top and select "Frame Skipping". Set it to 2. This will fix some sound issues, but you will lose a couple FPS, but your eyes will adjust. Not a big deal if you want to improve the sound.
If there is ever a time when you still have this selected and reload a game from a save state and things start looking all blurry, set frame skipping back to 0, close out Dolphin and restart the game fresh from the games menu and load a real save you made within the in-game save system. Then proceed to put Frame Skipping back on to 2.
Note: I learned these sound/lag issues aren't do to computer issues as my computer is pretty powerful and i have plenty of ram. It's do to the Dolphin Emulator itself. Something with internal game Shaders and the emulator not storing the operational processes of any one game you're playing within your own computers ram.....Some dev builds of the regular Dolphin emulator had an option called "Ubershaders" This allowed for the game processes to be stored in your computers ram if it could handle it. But, sadly Dolphin VR doesn't have this option, so you'll have to stick with frame skipping to 2...
Also, in "Config" in the "Audio" tab make sure you have "DSP LLE recompiler" with audio backend "XAudio2" selected. I found this is the best compromise to get decent audio. You will probably have to use this in conjunction with frame skipping.
WARNING!!
Settings that can make games NOT WORK!!:
Fake completion Setting:
In config, under Enble Dual Core Speedup, I had "Fake completion" selected. By selecting this almost all of my games stopped working!! I Changed it back to auto. I'm telling you guys be careful and remember what you're playing around with. One wrong selection and you can &*%k up everything!! I guess if anything can be derived from this it's that: not all games will work with Enble Dual Core Speedup/fake completion selected. So, be warned!
Games that take a few times to start up:
I'm not sure why this happens (using Oculus) but there are a few games that might take a few tries to boot up. Just make sure to turn off all VR settings like "Pullup 60 to 90fps" and uncheck all hide object and AR codes before you boot up the game. That might help. Otherwise just keep trying until the game starts.
-Zelda: Collector's Edition.
-Super Mario Galaxy 2
Some extra stuff you might want to buy for your computer and Oculus Rift:
Note: before getting any VR device make sure you buy or have a computer that is VR ready. It is recommended that your computer have at least 3 3.0 usb ports and a high end graphics card. I also recommend getting two of these so you can properly space and extend your two sensors however far away from you. Depending on your setup.
SuperSpeed USB 3.0 Active Extension Repeater Cable Type A Male to Female 30ft:
(These USB 3.0 extension cables will give you more distance, so you can have a more customizable setup.)
And one of these to have a few extra usb ports:
Another VR program you might want to try with Oculus/Vive
(VorpX):
lets you play certain compadible PC games in VR!! It's a program called VorpX. It Iets you play games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic 1 and 2, Jedi Knight 2, Jedi Academy, Mass Effect series, Deus Ex Human Revolution, Halo and many others in VR!
Supported Games:
https://www.vorpx.com/supported-games/
Posted Dec 12, 2018, 9:08 PM UTC · edited