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Wiki/wiki-rtd/docs/wiki_emulator_guides/dolphin-primehack/dolphin-primehack-guide.md
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2025-02-20 09:44:32 +01:00

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Dolphin / Primehack - General Guide

Dolphin feature rich a GameCube and Wii Emulator.

Primehack is a fork of Dolphin intended just to give Metroid Prime Trilogy mouselook controls and other improvements.

Dolphin Links:

Dolphin - Webpage

Dolphin - Wiki

Dolphin - Game Compatibility

Dolphin - Performance Guide

Dolphin - Github

Primehack Links

Primehack - Wiki

Primehack - FAQ

Primehack - Github

Where to put the games?

Gamecube:

Should be put under the retrodeck/roms/gc/ directory.

Wii:

Should be put under the retrodeck/roms/wii/ directory.

What file formats does Dolphin / Primehack support?

.ciso
.dff
.dol
.elf
.gcm
.gcz
.iso
.json
.m3u
.rvz
.tgc
.wad
.wbfs
.wia
.7z
.zip

NOTE:

.wbfs and .wad are the original format supported by the Wii console.

Does Dolphin require BIOS or Firmware?

Optional IPL.bin for GameCube boot intros.

Where to put the GameCube BIOS?

Dolphin looks for the IPL.bin in the save folders. Put each region's IPL.bin in the corresponding saves folder.

Type Folder Flatpak Source Emulator Folder Comment
GameCube Saves EU retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/EU/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/EUR/ dolphin-emu/GC/EUR/
GameCube Saves US retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/US/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/USA/ dolphin-emu/GC/USA/
GameCube Saves JP retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/JP/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/JAP/ dolphin-emu/GC/JAP/

Folder structure

Dolphin

This shows what folder corresponds to each folder in the standard Dolphin structure

Type Folder Flatpak Source Emulator Folder Comment
GameCube Saves EU retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/EU/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/EUR/ dolphin-emu/GC/EUR/
GameCube Saves JP retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/JP/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/JAP/ dolphin-emu/GC/JAP/
GameCube Saves US retrodeck/saves/gc/dolphin/US/ var/data/dolphin-emu/GC/USA/ dolphin-emu/GC/USA/
Mods retrodeck/mods/Dolphin/ var/data/dolphin-emu/Load/GraphicMods dolphin-emu/Load/GraphicMods/
ROMs Gamecube Folder retrodeck/roms/gc/
ROMs Wii Folder retrodeck/roms/wii/
Screenshots retrodeck/screenshots/ var/data/dolphin-emu/ScreenShots/ dolphin-emu/ScreenShots/
States retrodeck/states/dolphin/ var/data/dolphin-emu/StateSaves/ dolphin-emu/StateSaves/
Texture Packs retrodeck/mods/Dolphin/ var/data/dolphin-emu/Load/Textures/ dolphin-emu/Load/Textures/
Wii Saves retrodeck/saves/wii/dolphin/ var/data/dolphin-emu/Wii/ dolphin-emu/Wii/

PrimeHack

This shows what folder corresponds to each folder in the standard PrimeHack structure

Type Folder Flatpak Source Emulator Folder Comment
GameCube Saves EU retrodeck/saves/gc/primehack/EU/ var/data/primehack/GC/EUR/ primehack/GC/EUR/
GameCube Saves JP retrodeck/saves/gc/primehack/JP/ var/data/primehack/GC/JAP/ primehack/GC/JAP/
GameCube Saves US retrodeck/saves/gc/primehack/US/ var/data/primehack/GC/USA/ primehack/GC/USA/
Mods retrodeck/mods/Primehack/ var/data/primehack/Load/GraphicMods primehack/Load/GraphicMods/
ROMs Gamecube Folder retrodeck/roms/gc/
ROMs Wii Folder retrodeck/roms/wii/
Screenshots retrodeck/screenshots/ var/data/primehack/ScreenShots/ primehack/ScreenShots/
States retrodeck/states/primehack/ var/data/primehack/StateSaves/ primehack/StateSaves/
Texture Packs retrodeck/mods/Primehack/ var/data/primehack/Load/Textures/ primehack/Load/Textures/
Wii Saves retrodeck/saves/wii/primehack/ var/data/primehack/Wii/ primehack/Wii/

Where do I change the language of Dolphin / Primehack?

  1. In the Configurator open either Dolphin or Primehack.
  2. Navigate to Options -> Configuration -> Interface .
  3. Select preferred language in the drop-down menu.
  4. Close the Emulator, Configurator and return to RetroDECK.

Gamecube Controls

The controls here are described as an Xbox Layout style controller.

Action Button Comment
A A
B B
X X
Y Y
Z R2 or L2
START START
Control Stick Left Stick
C Stick Right Stick
D-Pad Up D-Pad Up
D-Pad Down D-Pad Down
D-Pad Left D-Pad Left
D-Pad Right D-Pad Right

Wii Controls for Controllers

The controls here are described as an Xbox Layout style controller.

There are hotkeys in the Radial Menus to change the Wii Mote from Upright / Sidways.

Action Button Comment
1 Y
2 X
A A or Left Mouse Click
B B
C R1
D-Pad Down D-Pad Down
D-Pad Left D-Pad Left
D-Pad Right D-Pad Right
D-Pad Up D-Pad Up
Home R3
+ Start
- Select
Shake Nunchuck L1 + L2
Shake Wii Mote L1
Z L2

Wii Motion - Pointer Emulation

  • Mouse movement is the general way to to get the pointer emulation.
  • Left Mouse Click that correspons to a press of the A button (as that one is the one mostly used for Wii games that are based around pointing as the primary button).
  • That also means if you run RetroDECK on a computer you could also use your mouse.

External Controllers - Joystick as Temporary Mouse

For all external controllers without a touchpad (this can also be used for those with touchpad if wanted).

By holding SELECT and moving the Right Joystick you can use it as a mouse for various systems that uses mouse input.

Function Button / Combination Comment
Joystick as Mouse SELECT + Right Stick Cursor Movement
Right Mouse Click SELECT + L3
Left Mouse Click SELECT + R3

Steam Deck

Function Button / Combination Comment
Right Touchpad The entire touchpad acts as a mouse
Right Touchpad Press Left Mouse Click

The Steam Deck uses the Right Touchpad for mouse movement and Wii Pointer emulation, clicking on the Touchpad will produce a Left Click and send the press of the A button.

Dualshock 4 and DualSense

The touchpads acts as a mouse and can be used to navigate mouse based inputs and be used for Dolphin.

Function Button / Combination Comment
Full Touchpad The entire touchpad acts as a mouse
Left Touchpad Click Right Mouse Click
Right Touchpad Click Left Mouse Click

Steam Controller - Gordon

You can use the general:

Hold SELECT or L4 and move the Right Touchpad while holding if you don't want to switch modes.

Right Touchpad: Joystick Mode / Mouse Mode Switch

By pressing R4 you can switch the right touchpad between semi-permanent Right Joystick Mode or Mouse Mode.

Function Button / Combination Comment
Left Click - Mouse Mode R3 Left Click
Touchpad as Mouse / Joystick Switch R4 The entire touchpad acts as a mouse or the right joystick

Wii Motion - Tilt Emulation

Tilt emulation is made possible by holding the L2 button and moving the Right Joystick.

Action Button Comment
Tilt Down L2 + Right Joystick Down
Tilt Left L2 + Right Joystick Left
Tilt Right L2 + Right Joystick Right
Tilt Up L2 + Right Joystick Up

How-to: Use a Real Wii Remote with Dolphin / Primehack?

To get a Wii Remote working on Dolphin / Primehack and Linux read more here in this in-depth guide:

Wii Remote - Guide

How-to: Adding Mods

The ~/retrodeck/mods/dolphin/ / ~/retrodeck/mods/primehack/ that represents the /load/GraphicMods folder.

Note:

Some texture packs could made for a specific version or region of a game.

Make sure you have the right game and textures for it.

GAME_ID is different for every game.

Enable Mods

  1. Open up Dolphin or Primehack inside RetroDECK Configurator by pressing Open Emulator - Dolphin / Primehack.
  2. Press Options -> Graphic Settings.
  3. Enable Graphics Mods and set it to On.

Add the mods

  1. Extract any mod files from compressed .zip or any other format into folders.
  2. Go into mods folders, they contain folders that are all named by GAME_ID.
  3. Move the mods into the right folder:

Dolphin: ~/retrodeck/mods/dolphin/<GAME_ID>

Primehack: ~/retrodeck/mods/primehack/<GAME_ID>

If all is correct the mods should be loaded on next game launch.

How-to: Add Texture Packs?

Primehack is based on Dolphin so the method is the same.

The ~/retrodeck/texture_packs/dolphin/ & ~/retrodeck/texture_packs/primehack/ represents the /load/Textures folder.

Some texture packs could made for a specific version or region of a game. Make sure you have the right game and textures for it.

GAME_ID is different for every game.

Enable Custom Textures

  1. Open up Dolphin or Primehack inside RetroDECK Configurator by pressing Open Emulator - Dolphin / Primehack.
  2. Press Options -> Graphic Settings
  3. Load Custom Textures & Prefetch Custom Textures and set them to On.

Add the textures

  1. Extract any texture pack files from compressed .zip or any other format into folders.
  2. Go into texture pack folders, they contain folders that are all named by GAME_ID.
  3. Move the textures into the right folder:

Dolphin: ~/retrodeck/texture_packs/dolphin/<GAME_ID>

Primehack: ~/retrodeck/texture_packs/primehack/<GAME_ID>

If all is correct the textures should be loaded on next game launch.

How-to: Enable GameCube Boot Main Menu

Prerequisite: Place the GameCube IPL.bin BIOS in the save folders (see above).

  1. Open Dolphin or Primehack in RetroDECK Configurator by selecting Open Emulator -> Dolphin / Primehack.
  2. Go to Options -> Configuration -> GameCube and uncheck Skip Main Menu.