Announcement: Cycle-accurate N64 development underway.

[Durza007]

Question: There is no input plugin right? I mean, when I need to push "Press start", there is no way to do it for now right?

Last time I checked cen64 does read input from glfw's gamepad input. I have tested it myself and it does respond to input if you use a gamepad.
The button mappings are most likely gonna be off though. You should be able to change the mappings manually in the code if you would like to.
This is where the emulator reads input: https://github.com/tj90241/cen64-pif/blob/master/Actions.c#L115.

 

[Fanatic 64]

This is like a case in which the output is pixel-accurate, but cannot be replicated on real hardware

OK seriously, was this linked on some other forum or website or something? The sudden influx of newer commenters is a bit strange if you ask me.

A quick Google search returns the following referrers:
https://emulation-general.wikia.com/wiki/CEN64
http://board.byuu.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=3877&sid=484af26cc5552865a79ad9529eeeedb7
http://www.ngemu.com/forums/showthread.php?p=2102210
http://www.emucr.com/2013/09/cen64-git-20130912.html

I guess this is getting popular.

And hey, I got another test for you: Try to run a Super Mario 64 hack. If it runs... Then CEN64 is buggy. SM64 hacks do not work on the real N64.

 

[ShizZy]

Yo MarathonMan, haven't heard from you in a while! - just wanted to pop in and let you know what awesome work you are doing here The progress you have made in the past 6 months is amazing. Keep it up, I look forward to seeing this advance even further.

 

[ShadowFX]

I was a bit surprised to hear people didn't have any input method by default. I happened to have a USB gamepad connected to my PC, so I assumed CEN64 just used whatever USB controller is connected and go with that.
Just so people know there actually is input possible right now.

In any case, awesome progress as always MM
Might as well re-test my earlier compatibility list soon.

 

[Nintendo Maniac]

Try to run a Super Mario 64 hack. If it runs... Then CEN64 is buggy. SM64 hacks do not work on the real N64.

Is this a case of the hacks taking advantage of hardware that an N64 doesn't actually have, or is it a case like ZSNES where they're taking advantage of bugs and inaccuracies in the emulator?

 

[Nintendo Maniac]

Almost certainly the latter, imagine making SMB hacks using Nesticle as your development platform. Your timing would be off, certain register read behaviors would be broken, etc.

I never dabbed much into NES emulation, but I know about many of the issues with ZSNES-exclusive hacks only working in, well, ZSNES. It's gotten bad enough that someone has even made RetroArch frontend using the ZSNES GUI in order to try to get hack-makers to NOT use ZSNES:
http://www.smwcentral.net/?p=viewthread&t=67975

 

[Fanatic 64]

Supposedly it's the decompressor that thrashes the ROM, but since Project64 is so inaccurate it can still open it. (Also, I doubt Super Mario Star Road would run at a playable framerate on the real Nintendo 64.)

Someone even made a version of PJ64 that allows to use 20MB of RDRAM, and planned to add a feature to allow ROMs to interact with the Windows GUI (basically the idea is that the ROM could receive mouse clicks and generate message boxes and stuff like that). I doubt he cares much about keeping compatibility with the real N64...

P.S. Super Mario World Central banned stuff that breaks with Snes9x/bsnes a while back, through they also recently banned stuff that breaks in ZSNES. The later is the reason we don't have near-CD quality music in SMW hacks already...

 

[Nintendo Maniac]

they also recently banned stuff that breaks in ZSNES.

So they essentially banned Super Mario RPG?

*facepalm*

In other news, a while back MarathonMan mentioned that CEN64 technically uses plugins, but they're integrated in a behind-the-scenes manner. Therefore would it to blasphemous to say that we could see GLideN64 as an alternative renderer in the future?

 

[ShadowFX]

In other news, a while back MarathonMan mentioned that CEN64 technically uses plugins, but they're integrated in a behind-the-scenes manner. Therefore would it to blasphemous to say that we could see GLideN64 as an alternative renderer in the future?

It would go against the very goal of CEN64, being (cycle) accurate in all possible fronts would make GLideN64 not suitable when included (somewhat in line with point 2 in the original post of this thread). Now I read somewhere it *is* possible to mix HLE and LLE, but I imagine MM will eventually use his own video renderer to be fully independent.

 

[mrmudlord]

It would go against the very goal of CEN64

And that is so bad how? >_>

 

[Extremist]

OK seriously, was this linked on some other forum or website or something? The sudden influx of newer commenters is a bit strange if you ask me.

There've been a couple posts about it in an N64 thread on the Something Awful forums...

Anyhow, I have a question for MM.

This "pixel-accurate" RDP that you're apparently using - is it 100% accurate to the N64's hardware as of today, or does it still need tweaking?

 

[MarathonMan]

There've been a couple posts about it in an N64 thread on the Something Awful forums...

Anyhow, I have a question for MM.

This "pixel-accurate" RDP that you're apparently using - is it 100% accurate to the N64's hardware as of today, or does it still need tweaking?

100% accurate, if not it's a bug.

 

[RockmanRotti]

Super Mario 64 - Title only
Rockman Dash - Title but I cannot press Start on keyboard at all.

Good job for an accurate N64 Emulator! XD

 

[Alegend45]

Super Mario 64 - Title only
Rockman Dash - Title but I cannot press Start on keyboard at all.

Good job for an accurate N64 Emulator! XD

Correction: Super Mario 64 hits an assert in RREADIDX32 and crashes CEN64. Once removed, however, it completes the title sequence, but after that, the graphics are gobbleygook.

 

[RockmanRotti]

Correction: Super Mario 64 hits an assert in RREADIDX32 and crashes CEN64. Once removed, however, it completes the title sequence, but after that, the graphics are gobbleygook.

Yes, that's correct.

 

[MarathonMan]

Yo MarathonMan, haven't heard from you in a while! - just wanted to pop in and let you know what awesome work you are doing here The progress you have made in the past 6 months is amazing. Keep it up, I look forward to seeing this advance even further.

Yo! Hope Gekko is going well and that you guys met the Spring release goal!

Super Mario 64 - Title only
Rockman Dash - Title but I cannot press Start on keyboard at all.

Good job for an accurate N64 Emulator! XD

There are unimplemented instructions, and I am aware of a bug...

Just because it's cycle-accurate (and it technically isn't yet, since as Hackturax and others have pointed out there are many unimplemented delays), doesn't mean that it's free of bugs...

If you think I'm not aware of the SM64 issue, you must be crazy.

 

[GPDP]

I can confirm Pokemon Snap boots up and works just fine with the latest commits. It even avoids the dreadful "missing red dot" issue, though I am pretty sure that's thanks to the accurate RDP emulation.

 

[Extremist]

100% accurate, if not it's a bug.

I do hate to bother with trivial questions like this, but as of now, what % of known, unfixed bugs are in the RDP, and what % are in the other sections?

 

[RockmanRotti]

There are unimplemented instructions, and I am aware of a bug...

Just because it's cycle-accurate (and it technically isn't yet, since as Hackturax and others have pointed out there are many unimplemented delays), doesn't mean that it's free of bugs...

If you think I'm not aware of the SM64 issue, you must be crazy.

Heh. You have a good sense of humour.

 

[mrmudlord]

Why not aiming for accuracy off the bat is a bad idea.

Oh how charming. And your C# drivel is better, how?