Halo 64 v0.3.2 - ROM Builder for Windows

The Halo 64 ROM Builder for Windows makes the Halo 64 ROMs from your own copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox. You don't need WSL, a compiler or the command line.

v0.3.2 makes campaign ROMs that work again, reworks the campaign level and adds a VEHICLES setting (see New in v0.3.2). v0.3.0 brought ROMs with the first outside contribution to Halo 64, from @kaboggs (#1). It adds new options, fixes Xbox sound decoding and makes the converters more robust (see What's new).

No Halo data comes with this download. The builder converts the maps from your own Xbox copy on your PC. The ROMs it makes contain data converted from the game, so keep them to yourself.

New in v0.3.2

The campaign cartridge works again. ROMs from v0.3.0 and v0.3.1 stopped either at boot ("a game state allocation after the game state was locked, or past its size") or when the level loaded ("no memory to resize map arena: 3072 -> 3145 KB"). Both are fixed.

The campaign level, reworked:

• Covenant only. There are no Marine squads and no Marines placed around the level.
• No enemies outside the map. Squads that arrive in a vehicle the N64 doesn't have, such as the Banshee pilots, are left out; they used to stand where their vehicle would be. Every squad now appears only at its starting points inside the map.
• Lighter scenery. About a quarter of the trees and large boulders are left, half the gigantic boulders, and no small ones: 79 scenery objects instead of 293.
• A Warthog by the Marine base, on flat ground.
• Blue water. The rivers and waterfalls were drawn as grey slabs; they're now see-through water, blue like the original's.
• Lower CPU use. Enemies you've left far behind are switched off, and come back when you return. Before, every squad kept running for the rest of the level.

VEHICLES on the multiplayer Content screen: MAP DEFAULT, or NONE for games without any vehicles. Firefight keeps its own.

Fixed in v0.3.1

• Multiplayer games could fail to start with "ASSERTION FAILED: no memory to resize map arena: 2664 -> 3072 KB". A memory change in v0.3.0 made the map's memory grow past what the game had set aside for it. Whether that worked depended on what happened to sit next to it. Rebuild your ROMs with this version.

What's new in v0.3.0

On the multiplayer cartridge:

• New Content options (Multiplayer → game setup → Content):
  • BIG HEAD: larger heads; hit detection stays the original.
  • PAINTBALL: coloured impacts at each weapon's decal size.
  • IMPACT FX: Original, or Enhanced weapon, grenade and impact feedback.
• GOLDEN STYLE, a new control scheme alongside Standard, Bumper Jumper, GoldenEye and North.
• Bots take their names from Halo's own list of random player names (Hambone, Caboose, Noodle…) instead of Nintendo characters.
• Two rare special bots, ChaoticSP1 and KodeBrkr16. Each has a 1-in-32 chance of joining a match.
  • ChaoticSP1 fights at Legendary skill.
  • Either one may spawn with active camouflage.

In the builder and its converters:

• Xbox sounds decode correctly. The Xbox's ADPCM sound blocks are now decoded with the right predictor and nibble order. The sound cache was reset with this fix, so your first build with v0.3.0 converts every sound again, even if you used an earlier version.
• The converters check their input more thoroughly: Xbox map decompression and collision trees are bounds-checked, so a damaged file stops the build with a message instead of making a bad ROM.
• A failed or oversized build leaves your existing ROMs alone. The builder also checks each ROM against the cartridge's 64 MB limit before saving it.

Also new:

• If a game ever hangs on a real console, libdragon's crash screen now shows the real error. Before, it could fail with "Out of memory". Please photograph every page and open an issue.

About "PC expansion (optional)": the window shows a third cartridge with six more PC maps, PC pickups, Rocket Hogs and Banshees. It's greyed out in this download, because making it needs Windows builds of Invader's tools and FFmpeg, which aren't included. See tools/n64/ROMBUILDER_PC.md if you want to build it from source.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with about 3 GB of free memory and 3 GB of disk space while it builds
• Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox: an image of your disc (.iso, either trimmed/xiso or a whole-disc image) or its maps folder. The PC version's maps don't work here.
• To play: a Nintendo 64 with the Expansion Pak and a flash cartridge, or an emulator (the port is developed on ares)

How to make the ROMs

1. Download Halo64RomBuilder.zip below and unzip it. Don't run it from inside the zip.
2. Run Halo64RomBuilder.exe. The program isn't signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". If it does, click More info → Run anyway.
3. Drag your Halo disc image (or its maps folder) onto the window, or use Choose disc image… / Choose maps folder…. A green ✔ line confirms it found Halo for Xbox.
4. Tick the cartridges you want:
   • Multiplayer → halo-n64.z64: all 13 maps, split screen for up to four players, bots and Firefight
   • Campaign: Halo → halo-campaign.z64: the level "Halo" on its own cartridge
5. Choose where to save them and press Build ROMs. A build takes 20–40 minutes. Tick Show details to see what it's doing.
6. When it says Your ROMs are ready, press Open folder.

If you used an earlier version, unzip this one into a new folder.

Optional: if the fan-made "Halo" font (Halo.ttf) is installed in Windows, the "64" in the title logo is drawn in it. Without the font, the title shows Halo's own logo.

Playing

• The ROMs need the Expansion Pak (8 MB). Settings and controls are saved on the cartridge's 4 Kbit EEPROM.
• Up to four controllers are supported. The controls, settings and game types are described in the README.
• TERRAIN DETAIL (in Settings):
  • Full shows the ground's detail at every distance.
  • High fades the detail with distance.
  • Medium and Low are faster.

If something goes wrong

• "these maps are not in …": the image or folder isn't Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox, or the folder isn't its maps folder.
• If a build fails, the builder shows the converter's message. Tick Show details to see the whole log, and please open an issue with it.
• The builder keeps its work files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Halo64RomBuilder, including the converted sounds that make the next build quicker. Delete that folder to start afresh.

Also in this version (since v0.1.0)

• Bots cost less to run (v0.2.0):
  • They're animated and think less often when far away or out of sight.
  • Each bot thinks on its own schedule.
  • With four bots or more, they move every other tick.
• The natural ground is drawn from tiles of its colour map, using Halo's detail-map colours. Blood Gulch has a blue sky and haze.
• The campaign cartridge has:
  • The Covenant with the N64's simplified AI
  • Squads and waves that appear as you come near, and switch off when you've gone far on
  • Checkpoints and four difficulties
• See port/n64/HISTORY.md for the details.

Known limits:

• There is no networking.
• The campaign is the level "Halo" only, without its cutscenes or scripts.
• The level's second half isn't on the cartridge yet.

Licences

Halo 64's code is CC0. The builder includes:

• libdragon's mksprite, audioconv64, mkdfs, n64tool and ed64romconfig (public domain, built for Windows)
• Invader's tag definitions and P8 palette (GPL-3.0, source)
• Original paint-splatter artwork made for Paintball (see PROVENANCE.md)
• Python, Pillow, tkinterdnd2/tkdnd and sv-ttk, packaged with PyInstaller

The README and licence files in the zip have the details.

This is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or 343 Industries. Halo is a trademark of Microsoft.

Halo64RomBuilder.zip SHA-256: 426419d3bf86e0a2499ad1ea7592dac0542f587688b43da81c84211da4247fac

Halo 64 v0.3.1 - ROM Builder for Windows

The Halo 64 ROM Builder for Windows makes the Halo 64 ROMs from your own copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox. You don't need WSL, a compiler or the command line.

v0.3.1 fixes a crash at the start of a game in v0.3.0 (see Fixed in v0.3.1). v0.3.0 brought ROMs with the first outside contribution to Halo 64, from @kaboggs (#1). It adds new options, fixes Xbox sound decoding and makes the converters more robust (see What's new).

No Halo data comes with this download. The builder converts the maps from your own Xbox copy on your PC. The ROMs it makes contain data converted from the game, so keep them to yourself.

Fixed in v0.3.1

• Multiplayer games could fail to start with "ASSERTION FAILED: no memory to resize map arena: 2664 -> 3072 KB". A memory change in v0.3.0 made the map's memory grow past what the game had set aside for it. Whether that worked depended on what happened to sit next to it. Rebuild your ROMs with this version.

What's new in v0.3.0

On the multiplayer cartridge:

• New Content options (Multiplayer → game setup → Content):
  • BIG HEAD: larger heads; hit detection stays the original.
  • PAINTBALL: coloured impacts at each weapon's decal size.
  • IMPACT FX: Original, or Enhanced weapon, grenade and impact feedback.
• GOLDEN STYLE, a new control scheme alongside Standard, Bumper Jumper, GoldenEye and North.
• Bots take their names from Halo's own list of random player names (Hambone, Caboose, Noodle…) instead of Nintendo characters.
• Two rare special bots, ChaoticSP1 and KodeBrkr16. Each has a 1-in-32 chance of joining a match.
  • ChaoticSP1 fights at Legendary skill.
  • Either one may spawn with active camouflage.

In the builder and its converters:

• Xbox sounds decode correctly. The Xbox's ADPCM sound blocks are now decoded with the right predictor and nibble order. The sound cache was reset with this fix, so your first build with v0.3.0 converts every sound again, even if you used an earlier version.
• The converters check their input more thoroughly: Xbox map decompression and collision trees are bounds-checked, so a damaged file stops the build with a message instead of making a bad ROM.
• A failed or oversized build leaves your existing ROMs alone. The builder also checks each ROM against the cartridge's 64 MB limit before saving it.

Also new:

• If a game ever hangs on a real console, libdragon's crash screen now shows the real error. Before, it could fail with "Out of memory". Please photograph every page and open an issue.

About "PC expansion (optional)": the window shows a third cartridge with six more PC maps, PC pickups, Rocket Hogs and Banshees. It's greyed out in this download, because making it needs Windows builds of Invader's tools and FFmpeg, which aren't included. See tools/n64/ROMBUILDER_PC.md if you want to build it from source.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with about 3 GB of free memory and 3 GB of disk space while it builds
• Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox: an image of your disc (.iso, either trimmed/xiso or a whole-disc image) or its maps folder. The PC version's maps don't work here.
• To play: a Nintendo 64 with the Expansion Pak and a flash cartridge, or an emulator (the port is developed on ares)

How to make the ROMs

1. Download Halo64RomBuilder.zip below and unzip it. Don't run it from inside the zip.
2. Run Halo64RomBuilder.exe. The program isn't signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". If it does, click More info → Run anyway.
3. Drag your Halo disc image (or its maps folder) onto the window, or use Choose disc image… / Choose maps folder…. A green ✔ line confirms it found Halo for Xbox.
4. Tick the cartridges you want:
   • Multiplayer → halo-n64.z64: all 13 maps, split screen for up to four players, bots and Firefight
   • Campaign: Halo → halo-campaign.z64: the level "Halo" on its own cartridge
5. Choose where to save them and press Build ROMs. A build takes 20–40 minutes. Tick Show details to see what it's doing.
6. When it says Your ROMs are ready, press Open folder.

If you used an earlier version, unzip this one into a new folder.

Optional: if the fan-made "Halo" font (Halo.ttf) is installed in Windows, the "64" in the title logo is drawn in it. Without the font, the title shows Halo's own logo.

Playing

• The ROMs need the Expansion Pak (8 MB). Settings and controls are saved on the cartridge's 4 Kbit EEPROM.
• Up to four controllers are supported. The controls, settings and game types are described in the README.
• TERRAIN DETAIL (in Settings):
  • Full shows the ground's detail at every distance.
  • High fades the detail with distance.
  • Medium and Low are faster.

If something goes wrong

• "these maps are not in …": the image or folder isn't Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox, or the folder isn't its maps folder.
• If a build fails, the builder shows the converter's message. Tick Show details to see the whole log, and please open an issue with it.
• The builder keeps its work files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Halo64RomBuilder, including the converted sounds that make the next build quicker. Delete that folder to start afresh.

Also in this version (since v0.1.0)

• Bots cost less to run (v0.2.0):
  • They're animated and think less often when far away or out of sight.
  • Each bot thinks on its own schedule.
  • With four bots or more, they move every other tick.
• The natural ground is drawn from tiles of its colour map, using Halo's detail-map colours. Blood Gulch has a blue sky and haze.
• The campaign cartridge has:
  • Marines and Covenant with the N64's simplified AI
  • Squads and waves that appear as you come near
  • Checkpoints, four difficulties and the warthog
• See port/n64/HISTORY.md for the details.

Known limits:

• There is no networking.
• The campaign is the level "Halo" only, without its cutscenes or scripts.
• The level's second half isn't on the cartridge yet.

Licences

Halo 64's code is CC0. The builder includes:

• libdragon's mksprite, audioconv64, mkdfs, n64tool and ed64romconfig (public domain, built for Windows)
• Invader's tag definitions and P8 palette (GPL-3.0, source)
• Original paint-splatter artwork made for Paintball (see PROVENANCE.md)
• Python, Pillow, tkinterdnd2/tkdnd and sv-ttk, packaged with PyInstaller

The README and licence files in the zip have the details.

This is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or 343 Industries. Halo is a trademark of Microsoft.

Halo64RomBuilder.zip SHA-256: 8c705202eca1c3b9c8d367599dce20208fceb8b8197de54dd938a89cbffa0c18

Halo 64 v0.3.0 - ROM Builder for Windows

The Halo 64 ROM Builder for Windows makes the Halo 64 ROMs from your own copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox. You don't need WSL, a compiler or the command line.

This version builds ROMs with the first outside contribution to Halo 64, from @kaboggs (#1). It adds new options, fixes Xbox sound decoding and makes the converters more robust (see What's new).

No Halo data comes with this download. The builder converts the maps from your own Xbox copy on your PC. The ROMs it makes contain data converted from the game, so keep them to yourself.

What's new in v0.3.0

On the multiplayer cartridge:

• New Content options (Multiplayer → game setup → Content):
  • BIG HEAD: larger heads; hit detection stays the original.
  • PAINTBALL: coloured impacts at each weapon's decal size.
  • IMPACT FX: Original, or Enhanced weapon, grenade and impact feedback.
• GOLDEN STYLE, a new control scheme alongside Standard, Bumper Jumper, GoldenEye and North.
• Bots take their names from Halo's own list of random player names (Hambone, Caboose, Noodle…) instead of Nintendo characters.
• Two rare special bots, ChaoticSP1 and KodeBrkr16. Each has a 1-in-32 chance of joining a match.
  • ChaoticSP1 fights at Legendary skill.
  • Either one may spawn with active camouflage.

In the builder and its converters:

• Xbox sounds decode correctly. The Xbox's ADPCM sound blocks are now decoded with the right predictor and nibble order. The sound cache was reset with this fix, so your first build with v0.3.0 converts every sound again, even if you used an earlier version.
• The converters check their input more thoroughly: Xbox map decompression and collision trees are bounds-checked, so a damaged file stops the build with a message instead of making a bad ROM.
• A failed or oversized build leaves your existing ROMs alone. The builder also checks each ROM against the cartridge's 64 MB limit before saving it.

Also new:

• If a game ever hangs on a real console, libdragon's crash screen now shows the real error. Before, it could fail with "Out of memory". Please photograph every page and open an issue.

About "PC expansion (optional)": the window shows a third cartridge with six more PC maps, PC pickups, Rocket Hogs and Banshees. It's greyed out in this download, because making it needs Windows builds of Invader's tools and FFmpeg, which aren't included. See tools/n64/ROMBUILDER_PC.md if you want to build it from source.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with about 3 GB of free memory and 3 GB of disk space while it builds
• Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox: an image of your disc (.iso, either trimmed/xiso or a whole-disc image) or its maps folder. The PC version's maps don't work here.
• To play: a Nintendo 64 with the Expansion Pak and a flash cartridge, or an emulator (the port is developed on ares)

How to make the ROMs

1. Download Halo64RomBuilder.zip below and unzip it. Don't run it from inside the zip.
2. Run Halo64RomBuilder.exe. The program isn't signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". If it does, click More info → Run anyway.
3. Drag your Halo disc image (or its maps folder) onto the window, or use Choose disc image… / Choose maps folder…. A green ✔ line confirms it found Halo for Xbox.
4. Tick the cartridges you want:
   • Multiplayer → halo-n64.z64: all 13 maps, split screen for up to four players, bots and Firefight
   • Campaign: Halo → halo-campaign.z64: the level "Halo" on its own cartridge
5. Choose where to save them and press Build ROMs. A build takes 20–40 minutes. Tick Show details to see what it's doing.
6. When it says Your ROMs are ready, press Open folder.

If you used an earlier version, unzip this one into a new folder.

Optional: if the fan-made "Halo" font (Halo.ttf) is installed in Windows, the "64" in the title logo is drawn in it. Without the font, the title shows Halo's own logo.

Playing

• The ROMs need the Expansion Pak (8 MB). Settings and controls are saved on the cartridge's 4 Kbit EEPROM.
• Up to four controllers are supported. The controls, settings and game types are described in the README.
• TERRAIN DETAIL (in Settings):
  • Full shows the ground's detail at every distance.
  • High fades the detail with distance.
  • Medium and Low are faster.

If something goes wrong

• "these maps are not in …": the image or folder isn't Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox, or the folder isn't its maps folder.
• If a build fails, the builder shows the converter's message. Tick Show details to see the whole log, and please open an issue with it.
• The builder keeps its work files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Halo64RomBuilder, including the converted sounds that make the next build quicker. Delete that folder to start afresh.

Also in this version (since v0.1.0)

• Bots cost less to run (v0.2.0):
  • They're animated and think less often when far away or out of sight.
  • Each bot thinks on its own schedule.
  • With four bots or more, they move every other tick.
• The natural ground is drawn from tiles of its colour map, using Halo's detail-map colours. Blood Gulch has a blue sky and haze.
• The campaign cartridge has:
  • Marines and Covenant with the N64's simplified AI
  • Squads and waves that appear as you come near
  • Checkpoints, four difficulties and the warthog
• See port/n64/HISTORY.md for the details.

Known limits:

• There is no networking.
• The campaign is the level "Halo" only, without its cutscenes or scripts.
• The level's second half isn't on the cartridge yet.

Licences

Halo 64's code is CC0. The builder includes:

• libdragon's mksprite, audioconv64, mkdfs, n64tool and ed64romconfig (public domain, built for Windows)
• Invader's tag definitions and P8 palette (GPL-3.0, source)
• Original paint-splatter artwork made for Paintball (see PROVENANCE.md)
• Python, Pillow, tkinterdnd2/tkdnd and sv-ttk, packaged with PyInstaller

The README and licence files in the zip have the details.

This is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or 343 Industries. Halo is a trademark of Microsoft.

Halo64RomBuilder.zip SHA-256: 8b24184d08f59711001612918ac68611c363692f520a44051d62aff672824e91

Halo 64 v0.2.0 - ROM Builder for Windows

The Halo 64 ROM Builder for Windows makes the Halo 64 ROMs from your own copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox. You don't need WSL, a compiler or the command line.

This version builds ROMs whose bots cost less to run, especially in large numbers (see What's new). The builder itself works as it did in v0.1.0.

No Halo data comes with this download. The builder converts the maps from your own Xbox copy on your PC. The ROMs it makes contain data converted from the game, so keep them to yourself.

What's new in v0.2.0

• Each bot has a level of detail.
  • A bot you've seen lately within 15 units of a player is animated and thinks at the full rate.
  • A bot that is far away or out of sight is animated less often.
  • A bot that is both far away and out of sight is animated least, and thinks half as often.
  • A bot that is shooting is always animated at the full rate, because its shots leave from its gun.
• Each bot thinks on its own schedule, so their thinking spreads across the game's ticks (Halo runs 30 a second) instead of landing on the same one.
• More bots means fewer shots in the air. Bots pause longer between bursts as their number grows, and with more than eight bots their bursts are a quarter shorter.
• With four bots or more, each bot's movement and physics run every other tick, covering two ticks' worth of distance each time. The bots take turns, so roughly half of them move in any given tick. In the air or landing they still move every tick.

These changes are in the multiplayer cartridge. The campaign cartridge is rebuilt from the same code, but it has no bots, so it plays as before.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit, with about 3 GB of free memory and 3 GB of disk space while it builds
• Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox: an image of your disc (.iso, either trimmed/xiso or a whole-disc image) or its maps folder. The PC version's maps don't work.
• To play: a Nintendo 64 with the Expansion Pak and a flash cartridge, or an emulator (the port is developed on ares)

How to make the ROMs

1. Download Halo64RomBuilder.zip below and unzip it. Don't run it from inside the zip.
2. Run Halo64RomBuilder.exe. The program isn't signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC". If it does, click More info → Run anyway.
3. Drag your Halo disc image (or its maps folder) onto the window, or use Choose disc image… / Choose maps folder…. A green ✔ line confirms it found Halo for Xbox.
4. Tick the cartridges you want:
   • Multiplayer → halo-n64.z64: all 13 maps, split screen for up to four players, bots and Firefight
   • Campaign: Halo → halo-campaign.z64: the level "Halo" on its own cartridge
5. Choose where to save them and press Build ROMs. A first build takes 20–40 minutes, because every sound is converted once; later builds are quicker. Tick Show details to see what it's doing.
6. When it says Your ROMs are ready, press Open folder.

If you used v0.1.0, unzip this version into a new folder. It reuses the sounds v0.1.0 already converted, so the build is quicker.

Optional: if the fan-made "Halo" font (Halo.ttf) is installed in Windows, the "64" in the title logo is drawn in it. Without the font, the title shows Halo's own logo.

Playing

• The ROMs need the Expansion Pak (8 MB). Settings and controls are saved on the cartridge's 4 Kbit EEPROM.
• Up to four controllers are supported. The controls, settings and game types are described in the README.
• TERRAIN DETAIL (in Settings):
  • Full shows the ground's detail at every distance.
  • High fades the detail with distance.
  • Medium and Low are faster.

If something goes wrong

• "these maps are not in …": the image or folder isn't Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox, or the folder isn't its maps folder.
• If a build fails, the builder shows the converter's message. Tick Show details to see the whole log, and please open an issue with it.
• The builder keeps its work files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Halo64RomBuilder, including the converted sounds that make the next build quicker. Delete that folder to start afresh.

Also in this version (since v0.1.0)

• The natural ground is drawn from tiles of its colour map (a megatexture) using Halo's detail-map colours. You get green grass, sand paths and shadows instead of a beige blur, and Blood Gulch has a blue sky and haze.
• The campaign cartridge:
  • Marines and Covenant with the N64's simplified AI
  • Squads and waves that appear as you come near
  • Checkpoints, four difficulties and the warthog
  • Scenery created near the players, so the encounters have room
• TERRAIN DETAIL has four settings: Full, High, Medium and Low.
• See port/n64/HISTORY.md for the details.

Known limits:

• There is no networking.
• The campaign is the level "Halo" only, without its cutscenes or scripts.
• The level's second half isn't on the cartridge yet.

Licences

Halo 64's code is CC0. The builder includes:

• libdragon's mksprite, audioconv64, mkdfs, n64tool and ed64romconfig (public domain, built for Windows)
• Invader's tag definitions (GPL-3.0, source)
• Python, Pillow, tkinterdnd2/tkdnd and sv-ttk, packaged with PyInstaller

The README and licence files in the zip have the details.

This is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or 343 Industries. Halo is a trademark of Microsoft.

Halo64RomBuilder.zip SHA-256: 3c0232567ae8eee07de60c8a5dbfc951e2d215b5d1459f59091dd76d09754a4e

Halo 64 v0.1.0 - ROM Builder for Windows

The first release: the Halo 64 ROM Builder for Windows, which makes the Halo 64 ROMs from your own copy of Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox — no WSL, compiler or command line needed.

No Halo data comes with this download. The builder converts the maps of your own Xbox copy on your PC. The ROMs it makes contain data converted from the game: keep them to yourself.

What you need

• Windows 10 or 11, 64-bit; about 3 GB of free memory and 3 GB of disk while it builds
• Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox: an image of your disc (.iso — trimmed/xiso or a whole-disc image) or its maps folder. The PC version's maps don't work.
• To play: a Nintendo 64 with the Expansion Pak and a flash cartridge, or an emulator (the port is developed on ares)

How to make the ROMs

1. Download Halo64RomBuilder.zip below and unzip it (don't run it from inside the zip).
2. Run Halo64RomBuilder.exe. The program isn't signed, so Windows SmartScreen may say "Windows protected your PC": click More info → Run anyway.
3. Drag your Halo disc image (or its maps folder) onto the window, or use Choose disc image… / Choose maps folder…. A green ✔ line confirms it found Halo for Xbox.
4. Tick the cartridges you want:
   • Multiplayer → halo-n64.z64: all 13 maps, split screen for up to four, bots, Firefight
   • Campaign: Halo → halo-campaign.z64: the level "Halo" on its own cartridge
5. Choose where to save them and press Build ROMs. A first build takes 20–40 minutes (every sound is converted once; later builds are quicker). Show details shows what it's doing.
6. When it says Your ROMs are ready, press Open folder.

Optional: if the fan-made "Halo" font (Halo.ttf) is installed in Windows, the title logo gets its "64" drawn in it; without it the title shows Halo's own logo.

Playing

• The ROMs need the Expansion Pak (8 MB). Settings and controls are saved on the cartridge's 4 Kbit EEPROM.
• Up to four controllers; the controls, settings and game types are described in the README.
• TERRAIN DETAIL (Settings): Full shows the ground's detail at every distance; High fades it with distance; Medium and Low are faster.

If something goes wrong

• "these maps are not in …": the image or folder isn't Halo: Combat Evolved for the original Xbox (or the folder isn't its maps folder).
• A build that fails shows the converter's message; tick Show details for the whole log, and please open an issue with it.
• The builder keeps its work files in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Halo64RomBuilder (the converted sounds are kept to make the next build quicker); delete that folder to start afresh.

What's in this version

• The natural ground drawn from tiles of its colour map (a megatexture) with Halo's detail-map colours: green grass, sand paths and shadows instead of a beige blur; a blue sky and haze on Blood Gulch
• The campaign cartridge: Marines and Covenant with the N64's simplified AI, squads and waves as you come near, checkpoints, four difficulties, the warthog; scenery made near the players so the encounters have room
• TERRAIN DETAIL as Full / High / Medium / Low
• See port/n64/HISTORY.md for the details.

Known limits: no networking; the campaign is "Halo" only, without its cutscenes or scripts, and the level's second half isn't on the cartridge yet.

Licences

Halo 64's code is CC0. The builder carries libdragon's mksprite, audioconv64, mkdfs, n64tool and ed64romconfig (public domain, built for Windows), Invader's tag definitions (GPL-3.0, source), Python, Pillow, tkinterdnd2/tkdnd and sv-ttk, packaged with PyInstaller — see the README and licence files in the zip.

This is a fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Microsoft, Bungie or 343 Industries. Halo is a trademark of Microsoft.

Halo64RomBuilder.zip SHA-256: 44a4dc3a363e641b9eed006199128b33f9c7351ecf84cc8f3687cf75fcd7cd0e