N64: Recompiled - Turn any N64 game into a native PC port (Majora's Mask currently playable)
- Thread starter amara
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Recompile tool takes in a n64 file as an elf, interprets each instruction writing it out in C code. Said C code uses the libraries built from things like SM64 decomp and OOT recomp. You can also say you want to patch specific functionality by configuring the toml file to provide override instructions. If you have a patches, you write the code for the patch. You then compile the code into an executable and people can provide the assets by providing their backups. Basically what a JIT emulator does, this does too except thanks to the work from previous decomps it can generate whole executables.
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Thanks, I can follow most of that explanation. Incredible stuff.
Honestly, the good version of MM at even 30fps feels like a dream.
Wait how are you doing this? I recompiled MM from my PAL ROM and now I don't know what to do
This system decouples simulation framerate from visual updates. Basically the framerate of the games doesn't actually change(stabilizing aside) they just render faster with interpolation (essentially - not unlike what frame-gen does, another level down on the rendering stack).
okay good to know, might wait and see what features get added anyway
Oh, in Nerrel's video (in the OP) he mentions you should use a US ROM.
According to the github you need the North American version of the game
Just the idea of being able to run Conker's Bad Fur Day at a stable, modern frame rate is delighting me. I've only played through it once and I've longed to play through it again, but the frame rate was just dire. It was too ambitious a game for the hardware.
Things like improved graphics and modern controls are just a nice shiny cherry on top of the rest of the cake.
Things like improved graphics and modern controls are just a nice shiny cherry on top of the rest of the cake.
How moddable would recompilation be beyond just framerate and resolution? Like for example, with Banjo-Kazooie, would it be possible to add the option to a recomp to make notes save like they do in the XBLA remaster? Or would only a decompilation make that possible?
2 hours just disappeared - the game is so much fun! Runs comfortably at 90fps on Steam Deck almost all of the time. I've just opened up the entrance to the Woodfall temple and called it a night for now.
The game is so dense with stuff, structured so weirdly and beautifully (especially considering its age) and it was developed in a year?! Wild stuff.
The game is so dense with stuff, structured so weirdly and beautifully (especially considering its age) and it was developed in a year?! Wild stuff.
The analog stick's range isn't corrected -- the N64 controller's analog stick has a shorter range than modern controllers, so when you use a modern controller with N64 games, everything is far too sensitive. I was having issues with the camera moving too fast while aiming my arrows at the shooting gallery, for example.
Unfortunately this port doesn't currently have a setting to fix the range, but the developer wrote on the GitHub that it's a planned feature. So I'm sure it'll be there soon.
Already looked at a video testing 120fps.
Everything looks great except the intro which is kinda sound desynched
Everything looks great except the intro which is kinda sound desynched
You can do it with any game just be aware you may have to do some programming. It's not just run and go. However, you can get games running in about a day.
This is precisely the game I would replay with this. BAR has been hit-or-miss across various emulators for decades now.
Rockstar's DMCAs went through because those projects presumably had leaked source code in them.
The project leaders claimed that that wasn't true but they didn't have the legal resources to fight Rockstar.
I imagine if another team was to clean room reverse engineer those games again from scratch, it could work.
I would love to see something like this for the PS1, especially because it has so many abandoned-but-great IPs like Bushido Blade, Tobal, Ergheiz, etc. that I'd love to play with a more modern presentation. Is this N64 engine something that could be repurposed for other consoles, or is it purpose-built stuff just for the N64 hardware?
Stupid question: If this is possible for N64 games, how is there not a similar tool for less complex consoles like NES, SNES and GB? Can a similar tool even exist for those platforms, or is this a N64 only thing?
I'd love to play Pokemon Red on the PC. That Link's Awakening DX port that got C&D'd was so awesome.
View: https://twitter.com/VinciusMedeiro6/status/1734968463754494057
I'd love to play Pokemon Red on the PC. That Link's Awakening DX port that got C&D'd was so awesome.
View: https://twitter.com/VinciusMedeiro6/status/1734968463754494057
Here's your guide:
1) open desktop mode on your Deck, go to the Github in the OP using the web browser. There's a Linux version in the Github page, no Windows or Proton needed.
2) Download the recompilation tool, unzip it somewhere. Have the USA ROM for Majora's Mask somewhere and run the compiler, point to the ROM.
3) After that, right click the compiler, "add to Steam", then open gaming mode
4) Enjoy MM PC, press the select button I believe to open settings or toggle them from the menu before playing.
Because N64 games were largely written in C, so translating calls is, simple isn't the word, it is far from simple, but there is a knowledge base there to work from to get from N64 to Vulkan.
Older consoles were straight assembly. Every piece of software is doing something uniquely by and large. Not 100% obviously, they are building on each other, but it isn't nearly as straightforward
I think a lot of people are confused by the high frame rate in MM. The game will render a unique frame for whatever refresh rate your monitor supports, but the game is still only running at 20 fps under the hood. It's similar to what the diablo 2 remaster did. It's amazingly smooth in motion now, but you are still fundamentally limited by everything in the game taking place at 20 fps. The biggest improvement, other than the high frame rate rendering, is the complete elimination of slow down. You are far less likely to have your inputs eaten which could happen during points where the game lagged due to a poor frame rate.
Notice the audio in the intro video, sound is wrong.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OKRWLswu-o
Other than that, it's cool. Probably the person in charge can imrpove on this issue.
View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4OKRWLswu-o
Other than that, it's cool. Probably the person in charge can imrpove on this issue.
You can play the Xbox version (I don't know if it runs on a Xbox Series console). Or maybe they can match that version with mods.
I'm sure it's possible. Anything possible in a decomp is possible in a recomp; just a lot harder to read because of how the code is translated. The Banjo-Kazooie decomp is pretty far along though, so a modder may be able to reference that.
Live & Reloaded is Enhanced, so runs 4k (technically 1920p, the 4:3 equivalent) 60fps on Series X and One X. 1440p on Series S and 1080p (960p) on Xbone. However, the script was heavily toned down, to the point many people prefer the N64 game. No realistic amount of mods will put the N64 release on-par with Live & Reloaded visually though since it was a full remake.
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It's super easy, barely an inconvenience. In desktop mode, download the Linux version, unzip, add the executable to Steam, launch and point it at your MM rom. Voila.
Oh man Banjo Kazooie PC mods with Stop n Swop restored is gonna be awesome.
I'd also appreciate a mod in the style of Render 96 for SM64 where someone takes/creates models that look just like the CG art from the 90s and plop it into the game itself.
This is going to be a lot of fun for the N64 kids :)
I'd also appreciate a mod in the style of Render 96 for SM64 where someone takes/creates models that look just like the CG art from the 90s and plop it into the game itself.
This is going to be a lot of fun for the N64 kids :)
That makes a lot of sense. I tried it with a Flydigi Vader 3 Pro and a GameSir T4 Kaleid and both exhibit this behavior in both Switch and Xinput mode. I might be able to create a Majora's Mask profile for the controller in the mean time. I found the Deku rupee mini game in northern Clock Town especially challenging.
Yeah to be clear I am terrible at stuff like this but this could not be simpler, it's fantastic.
I don't have an XBox and from memory, the script was toned down. I originally played it on the N64 and to be honest, I'd love to play that version again with the original graphics, if enhanced. I honestly preferred the original look to the changes they made with regard to colour tones, lighting and the added fur. Of course technically the XBox version destroys the N64 original, but for me they changed the look of it too much. The lighting for example is technically miles ahead, but it gave the game this slightly realistic look over the pure cartoony bright colours of the original.
An excellent comparison of the two with the different approaches to lighting and tone are in this video -
View: https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kLwExBwI4u4
I don't know if the later versions that came out on more modern hardware are any different but having never played the XBox version I'll have no nostalgia for it. As far as I'm aware the XBox game cut out some of my favourite multiplayer modes and I'd love to introduce my nephews to those if I can finally get the original game running at a decent clip.
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Yeah, a very simplified take on the general difference between a decomp and a recomp as I understand them:
Decompilation:
- Tends to start with an automated decompilation via software to get some base code that's ugly but compiles to an exact duplicate of the original ROM file.
- Teams then take years going through that ugly autogenerated code to figure out what everything actually does, document it, and rename variables, functions, etc. to the point where they are easily understood.
- Typically another team then comes in and converts certain N64 calls into equivalent calls for modern systems.
I don't see decomp's going away any time soon because that specific segment of interest will likely remain because most decomp projects stop at the point of generating a ROM because THAT is their goal rather than a PC port. They want to be able to build something that runs natively on the original hardware and NOT elsewhere.
In terms of what gets mass online attention though, I definitely see recomps becoming the internet at large's darling.
Here's one made for the NES: https://github.com/andrewrk/jamulator
Though, the creator of that project personally concluded he'd rather go with JIT compilation: https://andrewkelley.me/post/jamulator.html#conclusion
So basically, rather than end users waiting for years for the decompilation to be finished to get a working PC port, now recompilation will allow that in a fraction of the time, with the trade-off being that the port will be fairly simple and we'll still have to wait for the decomp to get mods on the level of the SM64 or OoT ports?
Either way I'm excited, because the Banjo-Kazooie decomp has been stuck at 98% for a year at this point and I don't even think Tooie has a decomp started yet, but a recomp could see BK or even both playable on PC by the end of the year.
Depends on how complicated any issues with the recompilation are since they have to be fixed before a playable version is viable. This becomes simpler with games that are completely or largely decompiled already like Majora's Mask or Banjo-Kazooie since you can reference the decomps and potentially use them to help you solve the problem. So, it is still going to be a case-by-case on how viable recomps are as well.
As a general rule, however, it certainly looks like that is potentially how things could go in the future.
There's also nothing technically stopping somebody from modding from the base recomp as well, it's just not something I'd imagine is very fun to do.
I'd say your description is more fitting static recompilation than reverse engineering the code. When manually re-creating a source code, I'm pretty sure it's step 1 that takes the longest amount of time, and you would combine it with 2. That, or I'm doing something seriously wrong with my approach trying to reverse engineer Prince of Persia 2. I wish there was a way to get an automatic decompilation that I could immediately compile and run. Once you get to the point you can compile and run something, it becomes drastically easier and faster to document the code.