Support NeoGAF

[jediyoshi]

Cemu is a Wii U emulator capable of playing a number of games at full speed already. In the most recent Patreon news update, it details "graphic packs", their solution to finally being able to adjust things like internal resolution.

The issues with trying to implement a global solution to resolution is detailed here.
https://www.reddit.com/r/emulation/comments/4bodqt/has_the_cemu_team_commented_on_resolution/

Graphic packs are to be thought of like mods for specific games. They can adjust things like resolution/shadows/post processing/AA/etc. Cemu will come with a number of graphic packs pre-installed, but ultimately these are aimed to be made/maintained by the community.

Mario Kart 8
720p
1080p
4k

Pikmin 3
720p
1080p

Super Mario 3D World
720p
1080p

Splatoon
720p
1080p

720p
1080p

Xenoblade Chronicles X
720p
1080p
4k

1080p
1080p

Wind Waker HD reduced bloom graphic pack
Default
New

The release is available to donators tomorrow and the public on the 16th.

Website - http://cemu.info
OT - http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=1326636

 

[Toadthemushroom]

Time to find out whether those 5k Mario Kart 8 renders from Nintendo were 100% identical to the in-game visuals. My guess: Yes.

 

[Aeana]

I would definitely like to play Wind Waker HD without the bloom.

 

[nynt9]

A lot of Nintendo games tend to use assets that are way higher quality than the system can actually render, so I expect that when this matures, it will eventually lead to amazing looking emulation.

 

[KingBroly]

I'll never understand how they got Mario Kart 8 to look so good on Wii U.

 

[Daedardus]

Looks really good! Will need to try it out someday. Need to be able to rip my games though, but last time I checked the current method is really cumbersome, or did they release some new tool already?

 

[KingSnake]

Xenoblade Chronicles X
4k

This is exactly what I was waiting for.

 

[Eolz]

That's pretty impressive. Still a lot to work out, but that's some nice progress.

 

[GhostTrick]

A lot of Nintendo games tend to use assets that are way higher quality than the system can actually render, so I expect that when this matures, it will eventually lead to amazing looking emulation.

In fact, I think it'll show the opposite. Higher res will show the low poly/low res textures in a lot of their Wii U games.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

A lot of Nintendo games tend to use assets that are way higher quality than the system can actually render, so I expect that when this matures, it will eventually lead to amazing looking emulation.

Need for Speed: Most Wanted U will be an interesting third party game - it used the high resolution textures only found on PC, but you would struggle to notice the difference when playing the game at 720p.

 

[Toadthemushroom]

In fact, I think it'll show the opposite. Higher res will show the low poly/low res textures in a lot of their Wii U games.

I agree with this in general when running games that artists and programmers designed for a particular hardware config and resolution, but he has a point - there have been some (I wouldn't say many) Nintendo games which have included assets that still look good at higher resolutions.

On 3DS it'd be Mario 3D Land, Zelda and the two Kirby games. They still look "normal" at 480p, or 4x the resolution.

But yeah, you often end up seeing the polygonal structure of character models, for instance Xenoblade on Wii does not scale up well at all. You end up with a game that looks like a bunch of flat polygons with textures pasted on top, instead of something that looked (at 480p), more defined and similar to the target art renders.

Even a game with higher quality assets can show imperfections at higher resolutions too. Take Kingdom Hearts 3D's character models. They are super high quality for 3DS and 240p resolution - Mickey Mouse's ear even appears perfectly round, because there aren't enough pixels to expose the polygonal structure of his ears. Same with his face. But in HD the polygonal structure is exposed bare -- also note that the 3DS screenshot is heavily upscaled to match the other one.

 

[castaction]

mario 3d and mario kart 8 :O

 

[takriel]

Oh boy. I might just have to wait for Breath of the Wild 4K to play it.

 

[Lime]

So this basically means that Bayonetta 1 and 2 will be playable in higher rendering and on the PC, right?

 

[jayu26]

If they can get Bayonetta 2 running at 60fps 100% of time then we will be in business. I think I should donate.

 

[hohoXD123]

Xenoblade X tops the list of games which we need to see in 4k

 

[Card Boy]

Do you still need the tablet for Cemu?

 

[Stabby McSter]

So this basically means that Bayonetta 1 and 2 will be playable in higher rendering and on the PC, right?

last i saw, it was still broken. but yes, one day

 

[GhostTrick]

I agree with this in general when running games that artists and programmers designed for a particular hardware config and resolution, but he has a point - there have been some (I wouldn't say many) Nintendo games which have included assets that still look good at higher resolutions.

On 3DS it'd be Mario 3D Land, Zelda and the two Kirby games. They still look "normal" at 480p, or 4x the resolution.

But yeah, you often end up seeing the polygonal structure of character models, for instance Xenoblade on Wii does not scale up well at all. You end up with a game that looks like a bunch of flat polygons with textures pasted on top, instead of something that looked (at 480p), more defined and similar to the target art renders.

Of course, on 3DS it's obvious how the screen actually hide some nice assets. The best exemple might be Zelda Majora's Mask or Ace Attorney. Same for some Wii or GC titles. But for Wii U though, I actually believe (and the screens shown so far, even if not properly emulated) doesn't give the same effect as these GC/Wii games on Dolphin.

 

[orochi91]

Do the XBX textures hold up well at 4K?

Or will it require HD texture overhaul, like the first game?

 

[Teletraan1]

I have a pretty large digital library on Wii U (I know right). Is there a way to get my digital versions to be playable on my PC with this emulator? I don't think I have the PC grunt for it now but I am planning on building a new PC around the 1080Ti if that ever materializes and would love to try some of these games at high resolutions.

Edit It seems there is. Very interesting stuff.

 

[scitek]

If they can get Bayonetta 2 running at 60fps 100% of time then we will be in business. I think I should donate.

Not sure that's possible.

 

[Lunarwhale]

hooot damn those xenoblade shots. While playing it, I couldn't stop thinking about how good it would look as a PC game, with a higher res and better draw distance. And now that may kind of be possible.

Is it possible to transfer a save from my Wii U to Cemu?

 

[jediyoshi]

So this basically means that Bayonetta 1 and 2 will be playable in higher rendering and on the PC, right?

Yes, Bayo2 is already running in some cases at full speed. I'd guess by the end of the year for it to be performing better than on real hardware.

Do you still need the tablet for Cemu?

No, you hold a key to swap between gamepad/tv view. Touch is controlled by clicking on the screen. Ultimately a large number of games simply mirror the display, so for something like Mario Maker, the points you touch match up exactly and you don't need to see the gamepad screen.

Looks really good! Will need to try it out someday. Need to be able to rip my games though, but last time I checked the current method is really cumbersome, or did they release some new tool already?

Assuming you're talking about ddd, the only other homebrew app I could point you to is wudump, which dumps to WUD format which is still supported by Cemu.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/wudump-dump-raw-images-from-a-wiiu-game-disc.451736/

Is it possible to transfer a save from my Wii U to Cemu?

Unfortunately you'd need a homebrew capable Wii U
https://gbatemp.net/threads/release-saviine-wiiu-savedata-tool.399833/

 

[dmix90]

Yes, Bayo2 is already running in some cases at full speed. I'd guess by the end of the year for it to be performing better than on real hardware.

Amazing! Too bad there was no Vanquish WiiU port
Bayo 1 + 2 in 4K......damn

 

[Daedardus]

ssuming you're talking about ddd, the only other homebrew app I could point you to is wudump, which dumps to WUD format which is still supported by Cemu.
https://gbatemp.net/threads/wudump-dump-raw-images-from-a-wiiu-game-disc.451736/

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks. Wasn't really comfortable with having to dump files over my Wifi network and having to set up a remote control, but a local dump is perfectly fine. As long as I can play it on Cemu it's ok for me.

 

[jediyoshi]

I would definitely like to play Wind Waker HD without the bloom.

The funny part is that for a majority of Cemu's time, it looked like it did without the bloom only because it wasn't implemented yet.

That's exactly what I was looking for! Thanks. Wasn't really comfortable with having to dump files over my Wifi network and having to set up a remote control, but a local dump is perfectly fine. As long as I can play it on Cemu it's ok for me.

From there I'd still suggest looking into how to extract WUD backups into their normal files, it can potentially speed up loading times and it's needed to be able to update the game.

 

[BigEmil]

I agree with this in general when running games that artists and programmers designed for a particular hardware config and resolution, but he has a point - there have been some (I wouldn't say many) Nintendo games which have included assets that still look good at higher resolutions.

On 3DS it'd be Mario 3D Land, Zelda and the two Kirby games. They still look "normal" at 480p, or 4x the resolution.

But yeah, you often end up seeing the polygonal structure of character models, for instance Xenoblade on Wii does not scale up well at all. You end up with a game that looks like a bunch of flat polygons with textures pasted on top, instead of something that looked (at 480p), more defined and similar to the target art renders.

Even a game with higher quality assets can show imperfections at higher resolutions too. Take Kingdom Hearts 3D's character models. They are super high quality for 3DS and 240p resolution - Mickey Mouse's ear even appears perfectly round, because there aren't enough pixels to expose the polygonal structure of his ears. Same with his face. But in HD the polygonal structure is exposed bare -- also note that the 3DS screenshot is heavily upscaled to match the other one.

Since the games are mostly just coloured polygons and not much textures and that, that way the visuals age really well, most Nintendo games hardly use demanding textures and goto more simpler graphics

What could stand out negatively is low polygon count. Nintendo are very efficient with techniques to make games look good on weak slow hardware using simple bright colours and all is good enough and works for them

 

[LelouchZero]

OMG this is amazing! The developers are amazing!

 

[Eila]

Not sure that's possible.

Game has an unlocked framerate so it should be possible if they implement overclocking.

 

[dezzy8]

So would bayo 2 be able to run at a smooth 60fps?

 

[bomblord1]

If you take screenshots with this please and thank you post in the emulator screenshots thread so I can gawk at them

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=963952

 

[Vuze]

Absolutely fantastic solution to the problem! Cemu Team putting in work

 

[StrikeFirst117]

Oh my Xenoblade X in 4K is something I really want to see properly.

 

[Jawbreaker]

Wind Waker looks much better with reduced bloom.

 

[Eila]

So would bayo 2 be able to run at a smooth 60fps?

Hell lot more likely than a 30 fps game getting a 60 fps patch, as the game has an unlocked framerate. As long as the emulator keeps aiming for improvements to the original it should be worked on eventually. I imagine the focus for now is to gain good compatibility, though.

 

[Madao]

Of course, on 3DS it's obvious how the screen actually hide some nice assets. The best exemple might be Zelda Majora's Mask or Ace Attorney. Same for some Wii or GC titles. But for Wii U though, I actually believe (and the screens shown so far, even if not properly emulated) doesn't give the same effect as these GC/Wii games on Dolphin.

GC/Wii's 480p output was probably damaging the game's quality on top of the games being low res. also, pixel ratio wasn't 1:1.
on Wii U the output is pretty clear so the effect of higher res rendering is not as dramatic since the original signal was pretty clear already. it just had low res.

 

[TheCongressman1]

IT'S TIME. Glad this is happening right before BoTW.

 

[BHK3]

Have they made any strides in games running any better yet though? I haven't seen any FPS increases in months in a lot of games, just glitches and textures issues getting ironed out but I'd like Smash Bros. to stop crashing on me and running like garbage nonstop.

 

[Eila]

How do I go about ripping Wii u games from my discs?

The process sucks. Takes like 9000 hours to rip a game as you don't make just one .iso file. It's like a million files in a folder. Oh and you can only rip into an SD card so that makes it that much slower.

 

[pizzacat]

Youd need a tablet right?

Looking to sell my wii u but not sure if I need the tablet or not

 

[RichiRamjag]

Youd need a tablet right?

Looking to sell my wii u but not sure if I need the tablet or not

Playing it now with two x1 controllers.

 

[Yarbskoo]

4K Xenoblade?

Wind Waker with less bloom?

Yes please.

 

[gngf123]

Wind Waker with reduced bloom looks so much better.

 

[-shadow-]

Bayonetta and Bayonetta 2 at 4K!?

 

[sanstesy]

Holy hell...

So everyone who is using cemu is going through this process?

Of course.

 

[spons]

This emulator is one heck of an achievement. If only there were more complete design documents available for Xbox (and to a lesser extend PS2), maybe people could get working on something that actually plays games properly.

I still have an OG Xbox around I could rip games with, it's just insane that after so much time so little progress has been made.

 

[Nerrel]

Interesting to see how differently the games fare. Mariokart 8 seems to benefit the least from the resolution, which is surprising given that it's a fast moving game. 3D World is more of a jump at 1080. Splatoon really needs the extra res and AA badly... even at 1080p, it's jaggedy as hell.

The clarity in Xenoblade is a great improvement, but why is the brush/grass changing positions in the shots?

 

[jediyoshi]

Youd need a tablet right?

Looking to sell my wii u but not sure if I need the tablet or not

No, touch is controlled with mouse. There's no real practical means of connecting a gamepad to use its real functionality on a PC iirc.

Have they made any strides in games running any better yet though? I haven't seen any FPS increases in months in a lot of games, just glitches and textures issues getting ironed out but I'd like Smash Bros. to stop crashing on me and running like garbage nonstop.

Releases are basically monthly so there aren't really a lot of them to be able to refer to going back a few months. November's release saw 100% performance increase in most areas of Xenoblade, >100-150% increase on Bayo1 performance, and Smash in regards to low performance moves. October's release saw improvements for Xenoblade, Splatoon, MK8 (and by extension games that share tech with it like SM3DW/Capt Toad).

The clarity in Xenoblade is a great improvement, but why is the brush/grass changing positions in the shots?

I can only assume they designate areas in the game where grass exists and their actual position gets generated on the fly. Completely randomly guessing it helps on sizes when every pane of grass isn't hard coded.

 

[Teletraan1]

How do I go about ripping Wii u games from my discs?

I just followed this linked from the cemu reddit sidebar labeled how do I rip my games.

http://pastebin.com/WVqrbWg2

It was fairly painless. I am ripping XCX right now. It is digital but I assume discs work the same way. I have a few disc games I might give a try.