Dolphin Tutorial Help

[LucidK]

Hi there! I'm completely new to SSBB hacking, but I am infinitely curious and would like to learn how to do it. I understand that this is a time-conisuming process, and I'm not asking anybody to devote hours to me and hold my hand. All I am asking for is a point in the right direction.

You see, all of the tutorials I have found are for the Wii. There dont seem to be any tutorials that start from the ground up for complete noobs that involve dolphin. Before the forum police come in, yes, I own a Wii and a copy of SSBB. Problem is that my wife plays the wii all the time, and hates SSBB, so I use dolphin to get my fix.

Thank you in advance for your help.

[KingJigglypuff]

Sounds like your wife's a hardcore Melee player.

Joking aside, setting up Brawl mods for Dolphin should be simple. It involves using a Virtual SD Card.

From my understanding, you need the following, alongside your folders set up.

Virtual SD Card Maker: https://sites.google.com/site/anon4453/tools/easy-dolphin-sdcard-maker
WinImage: http://www.winimage.com/download.htm
Gecko OS: http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Gecko_OS
A later version of Dolphin Emulator: https://dolphin-emu.org/download/

You used to need to download a specific IOS with an NUS Downloader, but I don't think you need to do that anymore with later versions of Dolphin.

This is the version I use: https://www.smashladder.com/guides/view/264m/dolphin-ladder-build-4-0-7840

1.) Create a Virtual SD Card using the Virtual SD Card Maker program. You can go as low as 64 MB or as high as 2 GB, though 2 GB is highly recommended (I believe you can use a cmd function to make the file over 2 GB, but this is just for the basics). Make sure the file produced is named sd.raw and place the file under "C:\Users\*Name*\Documents\Dolphin Emulator\Wii". If there's already an sd.raw file in there, delete it before inserting your newly created file.

2.) Open WinImage and open your sd.raw with it. At this point, you should have all of your files, codes, and Gecko OS inside their respective folders as if you were going to use a Wii. You would also place everything into a dummy folder (Just create a new folder and put everything in it). In WinImage, go to Image > Inject a Folder and search for your dummy folder before injecting it. Save and close afterward. You'll also need to place the boot.elf file from Gecko OS into a folder of your choice.

3.) Now in Dolphin, right click on your Brawl entry before clicking on "Set as Default IS0." After that, open up Config, go to Wii, and make sure Insert SD is enabled.

4.) To boot modded Brawl though Dolphin, you can do one of two things.

4a.) Click Open before searching for your saved boot.elf file.

4b.) Browser for the folder that contains your saved boot.elf like if you're going to add a new IS0. This entry will stay in your Dolphin window for quicker access.

That should be it.

[LucidK]

That seems rather logical. Much like mounting an iso on a virtual drive, we're replacing an sd card with a virtual one. Easy enouo+gh.

So, would I be correct in saying that if I were to open a tutorial that was intended for the HBC on an actual Wii, I can follow that tutorial exactly, except instead of mounting it on a real SD card in the HBC, I would mount it virtually and run it via boot.elf? I use the boot.elf that is inside of the Gecko1931 folder, correct?

I've been doing research on this for a small amount of time, and I think this seems like something I could do. I'm just not sure what step one is. I actually downloaded a pretty awesome pack with a ton of characters, and I don't even know how to play it.

[Ebola16]

Not quite, the HBC is specifically coded to crash Dolphin. Dolphin doesn't need the HBC though since it can directly load .elf and .wad files. KingJigglypuff's tutorial sounds correct and does not involve the HBC. You'll also need to change the hook type setting after loading boot.elf to match what you're trying to load (AXNextFrame for most mods but I think Project M wants VBI). I also recommend Dolphin's latest developmental build for offline play since it has a few bug fixes that are Brawl relevant. Use KingJigglypuff's suggested build if you want to play online.

And don't use a virtual SD card larger than 2GB. Doing so causes read errors and the problem has been accepted on Dolphin's issue tracker.

[LucidK]

Ok, that makes sense. So gecko basically is my "HBC." So, with this tutorial: http://forums.kc-mm.com/index.php?topic=12169.0  I can go through and follow the tutorial exactly the same way, except I can ignore the stuff about HBC, because gecko and dolphin will take care of that when I run the boot.elf in my gecko folder, right? Assuming I follow KingJigglypuff's tutorial correctly, of course.

[Ebola16]

Still not quite right on HBC's function. Its primary function is to load custom .elf/.dol files. HBC isn't Gecko codehandler but rather the software that allows Gecko to load. Dolphin doesn't need the HBC to load those files though. The tutorial you found is technically correct but it contains outdated information and does not mention the Dolphin settings that need to be changed. For what you want, KingJigglypuff's tutorial supplemented with my info is better than the other tutorial you found.

[LucidK]

Okay, awesome. I'm sorry, I'm not trying to disregard your information, only to say "well, what about this one?" What I'm trying to do is turn my SSBB into my own custom roster of awesomeness. Mario vs Spiderman vs Rayman vs Dixie Kong. That kind of stuff. I don't want to replace the existing characters, I want new ones. Like in Nebulons pack. I know it'll be a LONG process, but I don't even know where to begin to learn how to do all of this stuff.

I think, between you and KingJigglypuff, I've gotten a fairly good idea of how to use Gecko to run custom codes through mounting an sd card that has those codes loaded onto it. Thank you for that, it has been an incredible help. Default ISO, codemanager, etc. I just don't know how to get any of the stuff to put on the card. Do i have to make it myself? How do I learn that? What about packs? I have Pikezer's 4.4.1 pack, but I haven't the foggiest idea what to do with it. There's like 7 folders, not 3. I tried finding a tutorial on that, but only got one for Wii/HBC.

This is what I mean. I'm 100% new at this, but I want to learn

[Ebola16]

Easy Dolphin SD card maker and Winimage will cover everything you need for getting files onto the virtual SD card. Just place your files exactly as you would on a real SD card.

You already found the Brawlex thread, which sounds like it best matches what you want to do with Brawl. The best way to figure Brawlex out is lots of trial and error with an already functional pack. Things will start making sense... eventually. I believe you can just drag the right contents of Pikezer's pack into your virtual SD card and you'll be ready to go, if you did it right the codes and private folder should be in the root of your virtual SD card.

[LucidK]

Easy Dolphin SD card maker and Winimage will cover everything you need for getting files onto the virtual SD card. Just place your files exactly as you would on a real SD card.

You already found the Brawlex thread, which sounds like it best matches what you want to do with Brawl. The best way to figure Brawlex out is lots of trial and error with an already functional pack. Things will start making sense... eventually. I believe you can just drag the right contents of Pikezer's pack into your virtual SD card and you'll be ready to go, if you did it right the codes and private folder should be in the root of your virtual SD card.

Very well, then. I will see what I can do to get Pikezer's to work. I'll get that working, then start trying to modify that pack, and see what I can learn from it. You both have been a great help, and I'm sure I'll be reaching out to you again shortly. Thank you.

[xirtamehtsitahw]

Here is the step-by-step process I used to (unsuccessfully) set up Brawl Infinity (BrawlEx mod) on Dolphin:

1. Put Private and codes folder on root of sd.raw
2. Put gameconfig.txt on root of sd.raw
3. Put RSBE01.gct file inside the codes folder
4. Put st folder inside the rsbe folder
5. Set Gecko OS's hooktype as either OSSSleepThread or AxNextFrame

Doing EVERYTHING correctly still yields that aggravating "No SD Codes Found!" error. What the heck am I doing wrong here? I'm at my wits' end... 

Please note that I'm using the GameCube controller version of the hackless codes. Should I be using a different version?

[KingJigglypuff]

Did you make sure to enable the "Insert SD" function under the Wii tab of the general Config?

[xirtamehtsitahw]

It wasn't anything to do with Dolphin's settings. It had to do with not setting the virtual disk as removable media in ImDisk. As an extra precaution, I removed write caching on the virtual disk to MAKE SURE that the contents I inserted would stay put. The disk kept pseudo-erasing itself (still showed as having 1.40 GB of space being used...yet saying it was "empty"), but setting it as removable media took care of that stubborn problem.

Going to enjoy playing as Lugia in event matches...^w^

Edit: Seems I was using the wrong VERSION of the Super Smash Bros. Infinite mod. I was using the hackless version, and should have used the version marked "Dolphin.rar".

Hopefully this clears up any extra bugs, glitches and errors.

Another Edit: So much for "hoping". The stupid game still freezes at certain places, and I CANNOT use Lugia at all. I may have to hunt down a version of dolphin that I KNOW runs the game almost flawlessly: Dolphin XP+. It has extra options not normally available in the "standard" Dolphin emulator. Essentially, it's an advanced debugger version of Dolphin.

[Ebola16]

I'm not sure how much dolphin XP+ will help you but I'm currently using Dolphin 4.0-8779 with no problems.

[xirtamehtsitahw]

I don't know why I get game freezes when I set things up the way everyone else does (and they don't experience freezing, and they often have weaker PCs/laptops than mine). I guess I''m just doomed to experience "me only" game freezes. :p

But, I may need to use the VERY LATEST Dolphin emulator, because it might just address the very issue(s) I may be having, but have no idea how to fix.

Update: Even on the latest Dolphin emulator, 4.0-8790, I STILL get a persistent error when using certain characters (most notably and aggravatingly, Lugia):

An error has occurred.

Line 230
File: VertexShaderGen.cpp

Ignore and Continue?

Yes    No

If I click yes, the error window pops up INSTANTLY, again and again and again. It refuses to go away. How do I force this stupid thing to stop showing up?

Another Update: Turns out I "fixed" the problem by simply unchecking the box marked "Use Panic Handlers" in the Config settings. That VertexShaderGen.cpp "error" went away. It wasn't an error, but a simple assert message, albeit one which caused major gameplay disruption.

Now I can play as Lugia just fine. He's just an alternate (bigger) skin of Dragonite, anyway, so why shouldn't he be playable?