- How To Install And Load Games For Dolphin On Mac Free
- How To Install And Load Games For Dolphin On Mac Download
I was one of those guys that bought the Wii off of eBay shortly after its release at a scalper's ransom. For months my roommates and I would drink beer, talk trash, and play Wii Sports bowling for hours on end. Of course the Wii never got many quality games but the console was worth the price alone for all the fun we had with Wii Sports.
A decade later my Wii doesn't work very well; the discs are scratched and the Wii usually spits out any disk I put into it, which is a shame because my four year old is just getting into gaming. After a bit of research I've found that Dolphin, the emulator I found to play Gamecube games, can also emulate Wii games. It took a few hours of experimentation but I finally figured out how to play Wii games on my Mac. Let's have a look!
Step 1: Get Dolphin
How To Install And Load Games For Dolphin On Mac Free
Wii Lite only changes music compression to fit on a 2 GB SD card. The Cosmetics Pack includes files for custom build creation, such as stage imagery templates and full resolution HD textures.
The Dolphin app is an emulator for both Gamecube and Wii. Download and install Dolphin emulator and you should see this screen when you open the app:
How To Install And Load Games For Dolphin On Mac Download
Step 2 (Optional): Get the Wiimote Dependencies
This step is only required if you want to use real wiimotes to play wii games on your Mac. Many gamers have mentioned that the Xbox controller is an excellent alternative.
Start by opening System Preferences > Bluetooth and ensuring Bluetooth is turned on. Despite being a bluetooth device, the wiimote does require a bit of extra software to work as desired:
- foodhid: OSX IOKit driver for implementing virtual HID devices (joypads, keyboards, etc.)
- WJoy: Nintendo Wiimote driver for Mac OS X. Unfortunately the current version of the original repository has an immediately disconnecting defect so use this forked version which contains fixes so your Wiimote can stay connected.
The WJoy utility may not be needed to play games with Dolphin but it's a very useful app for using a Wiimote for any purpose on Mac. WJoy displays in the menu bar and allows you to open or close Wiimote discoverability. Click the 'Begin Discovery' menu item, then grab your Wiimote and hold the red pairing button near the Wiimote's batteries; WJoy will quickly discover and pair your Wiimote!
Step 3: Configure the Wiimote or Other Remote within Dolphin
Dolphin does not initially detect your Wiimote so you'll need to manually configure your Wiimote (or Xbox controller) within the Options > Controller Settings menu. Find the 'Wiimotes' heading and choose either 'Emulated Remote' (for a controller other than Wiimote) or 'Real Wiimote' if you have a Wiimote.
Notice that you can use up to four real Wiimotes (it works!). You'll also want to turn on the 'Continuous Scanning' option under the 'Real Wiimote' heading.
After initial setup, Dolphin will remember any configuration you've created. Once Dolphin recognizes your Wiimote, the Wiimote will rumble and make the typical Wiimote chime.
Step 4: Load an ISO and Play!
Click Dolphin's 'Open' icon and choose an Wii game ISO file. The game will start and you're ready to play!
My 2017 13' MacBook Pro plays Wii Sports flawlessly, even without the Wii sensor bar. The swinging and other Wiimote motions are just as responsive as my old Wiimote. Kudos to the developers of Dolphin and the Wiimote drivers for making all of this Magic happen!
The Global User Directory was brought to Windows in 3.5-2381 and release 4.0. Now, like Linux and macOS before it, Windows builds have a central location where saves, settings, screenshots, themes, etc are kept. All builds will have the same settings and saves, and updating from one revision to another will be much easier.
- 1Choose the Location of the Global User Directory
- 3Use Local User Directories on Windows
Choose the Location of the Global User Directory
Windows
- Open the registry. Simply type 'regedit' in the search bar of the Start Menu and hit enter.
- Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
- Right click Software and select New > Key. Name the key Dolphin Emulator.
- Right click the new Dolphin Emulator key, and select New > String Value. Name the value UserConfigPath.
- Double click the 'UserConfigPath' value and an Edit String dialog appears. Under 'Value Data', enter the path to the custom User directory. Make sure that the 'User' folder is explicitly specified, since Dolphin will assume whatever path it is directed to is the User folder. If it is pointed to Desktop for example, the Desktop will be flooded with folders unnecessarily.
Linux and macOS
On Linux and macOS, the Global User Directory's location can be changed with the command:
Disable the Global User Directory for a Specific Build with 'portable.txt'
To make a build use a local user directory, create a text file named 'portable' next to the executable files of the build. With the extension it should be named 'portable.txt'. Dolphin will check if that file exists in the same directory, then it will not use the global user directory, instead it will create and use the local user directory in the same directory.
This will work on Windows and Linux (as of 5.0-148). macOS and Android are not supported for this method.
Use Local User Directories on Windows
The Global User Directory system can be disabled entirely with a registry key. The key is global, so it is a 'once and for all' change.
When done editing the Windows Registry, and before launching Dolphin, be sure to move the User folder along with Dolphin executable files (or check if it's placed correctly). Otherwise, Dolphin will create a new one instead.
Manual Registry Editing
- Open the registry. Simply type 'regedit' in the search bar of the Start Menu and hit enter.
- Expand HKEY_CURRENT_USER.
- Right click Software and select New > Key. Name the key Dolphin Emulator.
- Right click the new Dolphin Emulator key, and select New > String Value. Name the value LocalUserConfig.
- Double click the 'LocalUserConfig' value and an Edit String dialog appears. Under 'Value Data', type the number 1.
Automatic Process with .REG Files
These registry keys can be created and removed with .reg files to make the process easier.
To create the LocalUserConfig registry key, open notepad, paste the following in it and save it as a .reg file:
To remove the LocalUserConfig registry key and revert back to the Global User Directory system, open notepad, paste the following in it and save it as a .reg file:
The first key will set all Dolphin builds to use a Local User Directory, whereas the second will remove the Local User config and return to the Global User Directory system.