Super Smash Bro. Melee ONLINE Tutorial

[sheHATEme2]

What you need: (adapted from Psychoticworm's guide at SmashBoards)
* Broadband Internet Connection
* Router (wired or wireless, doesn't matter)
* 2 straight-thru network (CAT5) cables (NOT crossover): one for router to hook to the computer, and one for GameCube to hook to the router.
* GameCube
* 1 WIRED Controller (must be wired)
* GameCube Broadband Adapter

* 1 method of loading .dol files to your GameCube (see below)
* A supported game (see below)



What games are supported?
Right now, the supported games are Sonic Adventure 2: Battle (USA) and Super Smash Bros. Melee v1.0 (USA). Ikaruga (USA) is supposedly supported as well, but hasn't been tested. Don't complain if Ikaruga doesn't work.

What version of SSBM do I have?
There's some small writing on the inside ring on the disc. If it says "DOL-GALE-0-00", then you have v1.0 and you're good to go. If the last two numbers are 01 or 02, then you have a different version, and you unfortunately won't be able to play online. Sorry.

What is a .dol, and how do I load it?
A .dol file is the GameCube equivalent of a .exe file; it's a program that runs on your GameCube. GCARS-CS, the program by Fuzziqer Software that allows you to play games online, is a .dol. There are various ways to load a .dol, as the following list demonstrates:

Method: PSO
Description: The game Phantasy Star Online Episode 1&2 (NOT 3 or the 1&2 Plus version) allows the Sega server to patch the game. Hackers have been able to use this to run arbitrary code on the GameCube, which allows .dol files to be loaded. This is the original method of loading .dol files, and is still very popular.
Benefits: Cheap. PSO costs about $20-$30 on eBay.
Drawbacks: You have to wait for PSO to boot (about 45 seconds) to get GCARS-CS running. You also need to have your computer send the file to PSO, which can be annoying. But since you're playing online, you'll probably need a PC to IM your opponent anyway.

Method: SDLoad
Description: Uses Action Replay to boot a .dol file off an SD card.
Benefits: Fast. Takes about 10 seconds from when you turn on the Cube to when GCARS-CS boots.
Drawbacks: Expensive. You'll need an Action Replay ($15 or so), an SD Card Adapter for your GameCube ($30 or so), an SD Card (price depends on capacity), and an SD Card Reader for your PC ($10 or so).

Method: Samson's Loader
Description: Uses Action Replay to boot a .dol file off a standard memory card.
Benefits: As fast as SDLoad. Doesn't require any extra hardware, just an Action Replay.
Drawbacks: You'll need another .dol loading method to intialize the memory card. So this won't work unless you can get a friend to set it up for you or you can rent PSO.

Method: Max Drive Pro
Description: Datel product specifically designed for loading .dol files.
Benefits: Very user-friendly, fast.
Drawbacks: Expensive; costs about $40.

Method: Modchip, e.g. Viper or Qoob
Description: Involves hardware modifications to your GameCube.
Benefits: Fast
Drawbacks: Not user-friendly, will void your GameCube's warrenty.

Unless you have a reason not to, I recommend PSO.

How do I load a .dol using PSO? (Adapted from Psychoticworm's tutorial on SmashBoards)
Be sure that everything is connected correctly, the computer in slot one of the router and Gamecube hooked up to whatever else.

Download PSOLoad 2.0a from GCDev.com. (Note: GCDev appears to be down at the moment; an alternative download location is MAXCONSOLE - Playstation 2 Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Nintendo DS PSP Gamecube Nintendo WII Revolution - To the MAX!)

If PSOLoad does not work for you for some reason, try PSUL 1.0, which you can download from MAXCONSOLE - Playstation 2 Playstation 3 Xbox 360 Nintendo DS PSP Gamecube Nintendo WII Revolution - To the MAX!. I do not recommend this as it is much slower, and lacks some of PSOLoad's features, but if it's the only one that works, use it.

Only do the following once for setup:

Step 1: open up command prompt(Start>Run>command> type "ipconfig" and leave it open

Step 2: put in PSO, got to Options, Network Options, Provider Option
press yes, press yes, click on network setup, edit menu, press Next, choose "Manually set an IP address" and "Do not automatically Disconnect" , choose next and choose the IP you want the Gamecube to have, however it must be on the same network as your Router. Fill in Subnet Mask, Default Gateway and Primary DNS. Then click next and save. (Don't worry abou the rest.)

Step 3:Start an Online Game then choose it, press Confirm, press agree enter ANY serial number, any access key, and any password press ok, register, then wait at that screen.

Step 4: At the "Game Certificate Confirmation" screen, select "Yes".

Step 5: At the "Save your password to the Memory Card?" screen, open command prompt (Start --> Run --> cmd) and type "psoload -s" (no quotes). Select "Yes" on the GameCube. The game will show error No. 100 (Line Disconnected) and tell you to press Start. Do so. Some data will be saved to the memory card. PSOLoad will give an "it worked" message.


You have now set up PSO to load .dol files.

Now, to load a .dol file, just drag and drop the .dol file (gcars.dol in this case) onto PSOLoad.exe. Then go into PSO, start an online game, and voila! GCARS-CS has started.

How do I start an online game once I've loaded gcars.dol? (Adapted from Psychoticworm's tutorial on SmashBoards)
Step 1: choose Control Simulator from the list. You want to make sure that whoever you're playing with has the same cheats on as you do. This will prevent the game from dsyncing. To do that, first go to Edit Game List > choose SSBM > select the option "Number of codes" > and turn the cheats you want on. After you're done with that press B twice to get back to the Controlsim screen.

Step 2: You are VERY CLOSE NOW!!: If you are first player, you set Local Controller to 1 and have all other players do the same for whatever controller are going to be. Set the Network Game ID to whatever number you want, but MAKE SURE all the players have the same exact number. Set the first IP address to who player one is going to be. Also have all other players put in who player 1 is.

LAST STEPP!!!: press B, and go to Autodetect and Start then open disc drive, put in the game, WAIT UNTIL ALL PLAYERS SAY Connected. After everyones screen says all people playing are connected, press A to change status to Ready! "Player 1 press start!"

What can I do to reduce lag?
First off, the laws of physics say that lag can never be totally eliminated. That said, there are some ways you can reduce it. For one thing, playing with someone with a low ping (<100ms is good, and lower is better) will make it much less noticible. Also, if you have SSBM, there is another method that some people use. GCARS-CS's default SSBM scripts have each player send XYZ coords, etc., to the other Cubes. This means that local players will not lag at all, but other players will rubber-band. Some people don't like this, so they moved all the scripts' codes to P1's script. This modification was created by DJ Veeman and me. With this modification, there is little to no rubber-banding, but all players other than P1 will lag. Which you use is mostly personal preference. If you don't like the idea of reentering all of the scripts, you can use the save file that DJ Veeman posted at http://texas.teamxlink.co.uk/forum/v...a94a 9fb3ad69

Transfer it to your memory card containing your GCARS-CS save file using CTR-GCS, which is a memcard backup program. You can download CTR-GCS and a GUI frontend for it at http://www.btinternet.com/~s_f_colli...e/download.htm

Will it desync?
Because of lag and randomness, the games will frequently desync if only controller data is being synced. Because of this, GCARS-CS syncs game-state data (called scripts), such as a player's XYZ coords, etc. This will prevent most desyncing. However, some randomness is not adjusted for in the scripts, so desyncing may occur. Examples of desyncing that can occur in SSBM are: items, random attacks, stages with random occurrences, etc. The solution is simple: just avoid using those features. Turn off items, don't use characters or stages with randomness.

What happens if I accidentally use a random game feature in SSBM?
(This answer is speculative; I haven't actually seen any test reports; this is all theoretical) As the previous question outlined, the game will likely desync. However, that doesn't necessarily mean the game is ruined. If it's just an attack, chances are that it just will affect your opponent in a way different from the way it affected him/her on your screen. But since it syncs damage percentage, that won't last long. As soon as the attack is over, you will see the same damage percentage for him/her that he/she has. Random stages are similar in many cases. You may see your opponent doing something weird (e.g. accumulating damage without being hit), but other than that, nothing bad should happen. The only time anything unusually weird happens is when a random element affects a variable besides the variables that are synced by the script (see the script for a list of synced variables). Under very limited, if any, circumstances should the game crash; if something weird happens, you should just be able to pause, end the game, start again, and forget it ever happened.

Will wavedashes, triangle jumps, and/or L-cancels in SSBM be affected by lag?
If it affects your XYZ coordinates (i.e. is used for moving), health (i.e. is used for defending), or other variables of yours, it should work fine. If it's used to attack opponents, it may be ineffective, depending on what they saw on their screen. It certainly shouldn't crash the game or anything like that; if anything, it just won't have any effect.

Can you allow more than 4 players or give each player their own screen?
It's possible. This feature is in tentative plans for the GCARS-CS server. It basically involves syncing a human player on one Cube to a CPU-controlled player on another Cube. Obviously, this will only work in a game that supports CPU players. Using this, it would be possible to play 6-player SSBM, or 30-player F-Zero GX with everyone having their own screen. However, 30 players could slow down the game, since GCARS-CS has to process 29 packets for each update, rather than the usual 3.

VIDEOS OF SUCCESSFUL MATCHES PLAYED ONLINE!

Super Smash Bros. Melee online

Probably the first online match to go to sudden death!
Cool Video showing psychoticworm demonstrating online play:

SSBM 2P Online battle 03

A more complex tutorial of where the (above) tutorial was adapted from can be found here: psychoticworm's Tutorial

Originally Posted by GoNintendo

I do not condone methods of playing this game online that are done so in an illegal way, but I know tons of you will want to know how to do this

Credit goes to psychoticworm from SmashBoards and biolizard89 from Fuzziqer Software.


Please don't be discouraged from all the big words. This can also be done by playing through XLink Kai which I'm still researching and trying to find out.
Also, please don't flame me about all the lag questions and lag issues. Surprisingly enough, by watching the online videos, they were little to no lag.
(I spent a long time on this tutorial...it wasn't just copy and paste. I had to edit a bit myself)

[TheBerto]

that's a pretty nice tut. might try it myself if i get some time. I appreciate that you put in the time to share the info with us gj. =)

[Verity Farseer]

i tried to hook up my gamecube for PSO, but i couldn't find that internet adapter anywhere

[sheHATEme2]

Originally Posted by Verity Farseer

i tried to hook up my gamecube for PSO, but i couldn't find that internet adapter anywhere

A few months after the release of the adapter, shortages occurred, causing the product to become somewhat rare and resulting in high prices on eBay. Most stores no longer stock the accessory, but Nintendo continues to make the adapter available through their online store.

Broadband Adapter

^If I were you...I would keep searching for one on e-bay for a lower price than the retail that is being sold from the Nintendo website.

[ViPeR]

lol glad i found this tut, mine will be hooked up within a week, but could u make this kind of tut for wii considering tha built in network adapter?

[sheHATEme2]

Originally Posted by ViPeR

lol glad i found this tut, mine will be hooked up within a week, but could u make this kind of tut for wii considering tha built in network adapter?

To be honest. I have no idea. I haven't heard anything about the wii. Brawl will be out soon and I'm pretty sure there will be online for it.

Are you talking about Melee on the wii?