OP with step by step guide on setting up Primehack. Updated 11/5/2022 due to images missing in OP due to host aging them out.
Intro:
For years I had wanted to play the Metroid Prime series but for whatever reason never got around to playing it even though I owned the Trilogy version on the Wii and Wii U. I have been a long time user of the Dolphin Emulator but due to the first person motion controls and performance issues playing the series on the emulator never really was something that you could do.
Fast forward to last year. I posted a thread here asking the status of playing the series on Dolphin and Solid clued me in on the specialized fork of Dolphin called Primehack. It was made to specifically optimize Dolphin to run the games using the mouse and keyboard, and included several quality of life upgrades such as being able to adjust the FOV. It truly was a revelation.
I finally played through Metroid Prime on Primehack at 4k 60 FPS and with a texture pack to make the game look amazing. I am playing through Prime 2 at the moment and its also amazing. I cannot recommend enough using this method to play the games. Once you use the mouse and keyboard with this it is impossible to go back.
End result of setting everything up
Also since I am starting my first ever play through of MP2 again here is the opening of that game as well:
Prerequisites
Below you will find a step by step guide to get the game running. Some things you will need before we start:
A computer that can run the game. My specs are as follows but I was able to run the game on lesser hardware when I played through Prime 1.
Intel 11600k
32 GB RAM
Nvidia RTX 3080
Win 10
A copy of the trilogy. Piracy is illegal and is not supported. If you try to get help with a pirated copy I will not assist and neither will the developers of Primehack.
PRIMEHACK DOLPHIN DOWNLOAD AND INSTALLATION
Download the Primehack fork of Dolphin from https://github.com/SirMangler/PrimeHack-Updater/releases
Install where ever you would like.
I highly recommend creating a blank text file named portable.txt in the main folder for Dolphin. This will cause the configuration of the emulator to save in the same folder as the emulator instead of saving it in your users folder. This is extremely helpful if you plan on running normal Dolphin for other games.
Open Dolphin.
Choose not to automatically open Prime Trilogy if prompted.
Once installed choose where you have the game saved at when prompted.
CONFIGURATION UPDATED 10/21/2021
Below is my Dolphin configuration. Please note I have only posted the sections that I made some changes in. Obviously your performance using the settings below will depend on the power of your PC. If you experience performance issues lower the settings such as Internal resolution:
Lastly right click the game in the main menu and go to Properties. Make sure you general tab looks like mine below:
Now you should be good to go in regards to setup. Obviously you can change the controls to your liking!
EXTRAS
TEXTURE PACKS
There are multiple texture packs available to make the game look better. Please note you should only install these if you have a powerful rig and already are having no issues with performance. To install a texture pack follow the directions below per https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-how-to-install-texture-packs-custom-textures-info:
LINKS TO THE TEXTURE PACKS I INSTALLED:
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-metroid-prime-1-2-3-and-trilogy-hd-texture-pack
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thre...-hd-interface-textures-v-1-6-december-05-2020
UPDATED 10/21/2021 UNIVERSAL DYNAMIC INPUT TEXTURE PACK
Credit goes to Abaddon for making me aware of this. Essentially this texture pack automatically detects your controller configuration and inserts the mouse button and key textures to override the ones in game. It is extremely helpful since you can map the keys to your liking and still have the correct keys show up in game. Note that if you have any inputs set to 2 different keys you will need to define just 1 key or the texture pack will just show a ? for that key in game.
https://github.com/Venomalia/UniversalDynamicInput
Auto HDR NEW AS OF 10/21/2021
Credit goes to Puppulent Succulent for making me aware of this. If you are running Windows 11 if you turn on HDR and auto HDR it makes a significant visual difference for MPT. Please note you will need to make sure to select Direct X 12 for this to work in your graphics settings. See below for my HDR settings in Windows 11. Please note you have to have Windows 11 to have the Auto HDR feature.
SAVE FILES
A very useful feature is you can import Wii saves into Dolphin. To import saves into Dolphin go to tools > import wii save and point to the save you download.
I am going to link to 2 different saves and give a description of each:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/960329-metroid-prime-trilogy/saves/22827 I recommend at the bare minimum to use this save if you are wanting to 100% the game. As you play the game you get credits as you play. That being said there are different categories for the credits are for friend vouchers which only could be collected by connecting to the Wii online system which obviously has been down for years. This save will start you off with 0 progress in your save but with the 15 friend credits so you are able to 100% the game.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/960329-metroid-prime-trilogy/saves/19673 Per Solid recommendation I have linked a save that is 100% complete. This save would be for someone who wants to be able to play hyper difficulty right away (it's locked first play through), or don't want to scan everything.
GREEN DOT IN MIDDLE OF SCREEN WHEN IN MORPH BALL MODE
When increasing internal resolution above the native game resolution a tiny green dot is visible in the middle of the screen in morph ball mode. There is a fix for this. It has came out so there can be side effects to it. Also if you use the texture packs are installed that I linked above you will need to remove the .dds file that are named the same as the files you install for this fix or the dot will remain.
My recommendation if you are new to emulation is to leave it be. If you want to install this fix please check out the announcements section of the discord (discord is linked below)
SUPPORT WIKI
The link below will take you to the wiki created by the devs to support the emulator. Check there for fixes for issues.
https://github.com/shiiion/dolphin/wiki
PRIMEHACK DISCORD
The link below will take you to the discord created by the devs to support the emulator. Check there for fixes for issues.
https://discord.gg/hYp5Naz
That's it folks! I look forward to hearing feedback on this guide and how the game is running for you!
For years I had wanted to play the Metroid Prime series but for whatever reason never got around to playing it even though I owned the Trilogy version on the Wii and Wii U. I have been a long time user of the Dolphin Emulator but due to the first person motion controls and performance issues playing the series on the emulator never really was something that you could do.
Fast forward to last year. I posted a thread here asking the status of playing the series on Dolphin and Solid clued me in on the specialized fork of Dolphin called Primehack. It was made to specifically optimize Dolphin to run the games using the mouse and keyboard, and included several quality of life upgrades such as being able to adjust the FOV. It truly was a revelation.
I finally played through Metroid Prime on Primehack at 4k 60 FPS and with a texture pack to make the game look amazing. I am playing through Prime 2 at the moment and its also amazing. I cannot recommend enough using this method to play the games. Once you use the mouse and keyboard with this it is impossible to go back.
End result of setting everything up
Also since I am starting my first ever play through of MP2 again here is the opening of that game as well:
Prerequisites
Below you will find a step by step guide to get the game running. Some things you will need before we start:
A computer that can run the game. My specs are as follows but I was able to run the game on lesser hardware when I played through Prime 1.
Intel 11600k
32 GB RAM
Nvidia RTX 3080
Win 10
A copy of the trilogy. Piracy is illegal and is not supported. If you try to get help with a pirated copy I will not assist and neither will the developers of Primehack.
PRIMEHACK DOLPHIN DOWNLOAD AND INSTALLATION
Download the Primehack fork of Dolphin from https://github.com/SirMangler/PrimeHack-Updater/releases
Install where ever you would like.
I highly recommend creating a blank text file named portable.txt in the main folder for Dolphin. This will cause the configuration of the emulator to save in the same folder as the emulator instead of saving it in your users folder. This is extremely helpful if you plan on running normal Dolphin for other games.
Open Dolphin.
Choose not to automatically open Prime Trilogy if prompted.
Once installed choose where you have the game saved at when prompted.
CONFIGURATION UPDATED 10/21/2021
Below is my Dolphin configuration. Please note I have only posted the sections that I made some changes in. Obviously your performance using the settings below will depend on the power of your PC. If you experience performance issues lower the settings such as Internal resolution:
Lastly right click the game in the main menu and go to Properties. Make sure you general tab looks like mine below:
Now you should be good to go in regards to setup. Obviously you can change the controls to your liking!
EXTRAS
TEXTURE PACKS
There are multiple texture packs available to make the game look better. Please note you should only install these if you have a powerful rig and already are having no issues with performance. To install a texture pack follow the directions below per https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-how-to-install-texture-packs-custom-textures-info:
LINKS TO THE TEXTURE PACKS I INSTALLED:
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thread-metroid-prime-1-2-3-and-trilogy-hd-texture-pack
https://forums.dolphin-emu.org/Thre...-hd-interface-textures-v-1-6-december-05-2020
UPDATED 10/21/2021 UNIVERSAL DYNAMIC INPUT TEXTURE PACK
Credit goes to Abaddon for making me aware of this. Essentially this texture pack automatically detects your controller configuration and inserts the mouse button and key textures to override the ones in game. It is extremely helpful since you can map the keys to your liking and still have the correct keys show up in game. Note that if you have any inputs set to 2 different keys you will need to define just 1 key or the texture pack will just show a ? for that key in game.
https://github.com/Venomalia/UniversalDynamicInput
Auto HDR NEW AS OF 10/21/2021
Credit goes to Puppulent Succulent for making me aware of this. If you are running Windows 11 if you turn on HDR and auto HDR it makes a significant visual difference for MPT. Please note you will need to make sure to select Direct X 12 for this to work in your graphics settings. See below for my HDR settings in Windows 11. Please note you have to have Windows 11 to have the Auto HDR feature.
SAVE FILES
A very useful feature is you can import Wii saves into Dolphin. To import saves into Dolphin go to tools > import wii save and point to the save you download.
I am going to link to 2 different saves and give a description of each:
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/960329-metroid-prime-trilogy/saves/22827 I recommend at the bare minimum to use this save if you are wanting to 100% the game. As you play the game you get credits as you play. That being said there are different categories for the credits are for friend vouchers which only could be collected by connecting to the Wii online system which obviously has been down for years. This save will start you off with 0 progress in your save but with the 15 friend credits so you are able to 100% the game.
https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/wii/960329-metroid-prime-trilogy/saves/19673 Per Solid recommendation I have linked a save that is 100% complete. This save would be for someone who wants to be able to play hyper difficulty right away (it's locked first play through), or don't want to scan everything.
GREEN DOT IN MIDDLE OF SCREEN WHEN IN MORPH BALL MODE
When increasing internal resolution above the native game resolution a tiny green dot is visible in the middle of the screen in morph ball mode. There is a fix for this. It has came out so there can be side effects to it. Also if you use the texture packs are installed that I linked above you will need to remove the .dds file that are named the same as the files you install for this fix or the dot will remain.
My recommendation if you are new to emulation is to leave it be. If you want to install this fix please check out the announcements section of the discord (discord is linked below)
SUPPORT WIKI
The link below will take you to the wiki created by the devs to support the emulator. Check there for fixes for issues.
https://github.com/shiiion/dolphin/wiki
PRIMEHACK DISCORD
The link below will take you to the discord created by the devs to support the emulator. Check there for fixes for issues.
https://discord.gg/hYp5Naz
That's it folks! I look forward to hearing feedback on this guide and how the game is running for you!
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