Nintendo 64 emulator
A Nintendo 64 emulator is a computer program that emulates the Nintendo 64 game console on a PC and thus enables N64 games to run on a PC. In addition to simply emulating the original system, members of the emulator scene are also trying to improve the graphics and sound quality through extensions. In addition to higher resolutions , completely new textures are sometimes introduced into the games.
Overview and development
The first emulator for N64 was UltraHLE in 1999, three years after the console was released. The project was based on the Glide interface developed by 3dfx . The functions of the N64 were not all emulated, but adapted to the PC architecture with their own libraries . This high-level emulation made the emulators quite unstable and led to frequent adjustments for individual games. Adjustments ( hacks ) were made to the HLE emulators again and again in order to get games to run, whereby the exact emulation was skipped, but the function was simply reproduced by means of abbreviations and returns. A low-level emulation, in which the entire hardware of the system is simulated, was only possible with significantly more powerful PCs. The UltraHLE team gradually managed to run Super Mario 64 and a few other games, but development soon stopped. In 2002 the source code of UltraHLE, which has not been released, was stolen and has been on the Internet since then . Meanwhile, the development of N64 emulators is moving away from incomplete emulation using high-level emulation towards the development of low-level emulation, which represents the entire hardware.
Well-known current emulators
Project64
The Project64 is the most widely used free emulator of the Nintendo 64 gaming system under Windows . The first version of the emulator appeared on May 26, 2001. The emulator version 2.3 is now available. The source code of version 1.4 and 2.2 is also available. Project64 is widely known as a great Nintendo64 emulator and is especially popular with newbies. The latest version is available under the GNU GPLv 2+ (license).
The Project64 has a modular structure, which means that it is composed of several modules that can be written and expanded by other developers. For example, it is possible to look for and use graphic modules that offer the possibility of using high-resolution textures. According to the manufacturer, the software offers up to 95 percent compatibility with the original system. The Fork Project64k is based on version 1.4 of Project64 and extends the program to include network support, especially for the Kaillera network.
1964
1964 is one of the best known and most popular emulators, as this emulator offers support for almost all games ever published. The emulator has not been further developed for a long time because it has reached a level where the developers see a solid base. The developer Rice is one of the best known, because he is actively developing what is now the most widely used plug-in for graphics, which was developed for Nintendo 64 emulators.
1964 has a high base load, which goes back to the still difficult and computationally intensive emulation of the MIPS R4300i of the Nintendo 64. The use of Windows NT -based operating systems is generally recommended, since the emulator under Windows 9x systems has the property of causing the system to crash if unsupported opcodes are to be emulated.
Mupen64
Mupen64 was originally only developed for GNU / Linux and slowly turned into a free project, which has set itself the task of being portable and thus being able to run on different systems. An essential contribution to making this possible is the use and utilization of SDL .
This project is also plug-in compatible, which means that the graphics and sound plug-ins developed can be used. Mupen64 so far for Windows , GNU / Linux , BSD , Android and Mac OS X appeared. This is only intended to represent a selection, because Mupen64 is designed so that the project can be compiled on all systems that offer the SDL library. Since the development of Mupen64 has meanwhile been stopped (last release August 26, 2005), a fork was created with Mupen64Plus , which was initially only available for Linux systems. Since May 2008 there has also been a port for Windows systems. The current version 2.5 of Mupen64Plus was released on April 17, 2015 and is licensed under the GNU GPLv2 +. Like Project64k, the Mupen64K fork mainly offers network support, but also other improvements.
Daedalus
Daedalus is a Nintendo64 emulator that was originally developed as an emulator for PC systems and was also ported to the Xbox by the author. However, this was later given up due to lack of support and interest. Since the source code was open and easy to understand, the development of Daedalus for the PlayStation Portable was resumed. Daedalus works on every PSP up to firmware 6.20 and can be executed with the help of an exploit or a custom firmware. The emulator runs smoothly and stably and supports a large number of games. Since March 2011 Daedalus has also been available for download in a signed version and can therefore be played on any PSP model (even without CFW).
Sixtyforce
The Sixtyforce is an emulator for Macintosh systems using Mac OS X. The specialty of this emulator is that it is commercial and you have to pay a license fee for it ( shareware ). Until a license has been acquired, N64 programs can still be executed with the emulator, but without the option of saving, with gamepad support limited to 5 minutes per game and the programmer's logo at the bottom. Regardless, the emulator only supports a small number of games.
Virtual Console
The Virtual Console was the multi-system emulator built into the Wii by Nintendo . A Classic or GameCube controller is required there for Nintendo 64 games. This was a service that was officially supported by Nintendo until it was discontinued.
Individual evidence
- ↑ Mupen64Plus in the Google Code Archive , accessed April 20, 2019