Dolphin 4.0 is out (w/ GameCube wheel support)

[Fursphere]

https://dolphin-emu.org/blog/2013/09/22/dolphin-40-release-announcement/#cuthere

Wii Balance Board and GC Steering Wheel support
Support for these two devices was added respectively by Matthew Parlane and skidau. The Wii Balance Board is not emulated and requires the real device to be used.

I really don't know what this means for us yet.  But its an interesting update.

[Fursphere]

F-Zero GX is actually playable now too (out of the box - I didn't have to tweak anything - before it was a sound stutter mess).

I'm not sure if this is due to the fact that I installed a Geforce 660 Ti in this PC, or the emulation is just that much improved.  But I'm hopeful its the later. 

NFS: Carbon is playable, but the cut scenes inbetween levels are scrambled.  Just click through them.   (didn't work very well in Dolphin 3.5)

NFS: HP2 is not playable.  The sound is still jacked up to hell.

Spy Hunter is playable now as well.  (didn't play at all in Dolphin 3.5)

Simspons Hit and Run plays great.  I have no idea if it worked in 3.5 or not.     (How have I never played this game before?   DOH!)

4x4 Evo 2 has the same sound issues that NFS: HP2 has.  Playable, but the sound is so bad you don't want to play.

Mario Kart Wii and Mark Kart Double Dash play fine - but they played fine in 3.5 as well, so nothing new there.

[gpasko]

That's awesome.  I remember trying Dolphin on a CoreDuo a while back and it was too slow playing some side scrolling Wii Mario game.  Your system sounds like it's running it pretty well.  What CPU are you running?  I'll have to line-up a decent PC to compliment my scratch build racing cabinet (PS3 primarily as my current plan allow).  I'd love to have Mario Kart playable too!

[Fursphere]

That PC was:  Windows 8 x64
Intel Core i5 3570k, 8GB Ram, ASUS Geforce 660 Ti OC (factory overclocked...  I don't know how much that actually gains you in the real world honestly, but it was on sale.  )

My Driving Cabinet is: Windows 7 x64
Intel Core2Duo 3.0ghz (e8400), 4GB Ram, EVGA Geforce 460 v2.  If the kids leve me alone long enough I'll be able to try it out on this system tonight.  Mario Kart played find on it before. 

I've also got my MAME Cabinet I could try it on too if its relevant:  Windows 7 x64
Intel Core2Duo 2.8ghz (e7400, it might be an e8400, can't remeber if I swapped it out), 4GB Ram, Geforce 8800 GT (that card just won't quit on me!)

[Fursphere]

My Driving Cabinet is: Windows 7 x64
Intel Core2Duo 3.0ghz (e8400), 4GB Ram, EVGA Geforce 460 v2.  If the kids leve me alone long enough I'll be able to try it out on this system tonight.  Mario Kart played fine on it before. 

Finally got a chance to test Dolphin 4.0 on this cabinet.

No dice!  CPU is maxed at 100% at all times during game play.  It just can't keep up. 

F-Zero GX is almost playable, but the sound is totally hosed due to the CPU constraints.  So....  maybe I'll look into upgrading this system in the future.

[BadMouth]

So what does "Gamecube wheel support" actually mean?

Does it mean that you can connect an original gamecube wheel to the PC and it will work the same as it did on the console?
or
Does it mean that the wheel is emulated, the game reports it as connected, and you can map a different PC wheel or controller to it?

[Fursphere]

I found a thread that explained that it reports to the emulator that the wheel is connected.  I also read that FFB emulation was possible.   

But it doesn't run well on my cabinet... so...  ya. 

[Fursphere]

My Driving Cabinet is: Windows 7 x64
Intel Core2Duo 3.0ghz (e8400), 4GB Ram, EVGA Geforce 460 v2.  If the kids leve me alone long enough I'll be able to try it out on this system tonight.  Mario Kart played fine on it before. 

Finally got a chance to test Dolphin 4.0 on this cabinet.

No dice!  CPU is maxed at 100% at all times during game play.  It just can't keep up. 

F-Zero GX is almost playable, but the sound is totally hosed due to the CPU constraints.  So....  maybe I'll look into upgrading this system in the future.

So my Core i5 3570k CPU machine runs F-Zero GX near perfectly and the CPU runs about 60% - 70% during gameplay.   Just to give you an idea of what kind of CPU to expect you'll need to run this thing.

Mario Kart Wii only runs about 55% though.  Which is strange.

[huwman]

So what does "Gamecube wheel support" actually mean?

Does it mean that you can connect an original gamecube wheel to the PC and it will work the same as it did on the console?
or
Does it mean that the wheel is emulated, the game reports it as connected, and you can map a different PC wheel or controller to it?

I've just tried this and it supports my g25 with full force feedback effects on f zero gx! So I've finally got it running over 3 screens at full speed with force feedback! Tight!