N64 PS1 Comparison

N64–PS1 comparison

The ports share strong source/data lineage, but they do not share executable addresses, overlay placement, file containers, patch sites, free-memory claims, or checksum behavior.

For how to turn these transfer rules into an actual phased port once N64 1.0 is finished, see N64 -> PS1 port planning and strategy.

Concept	N64 USA Rev. 0	PS1 SLUS_004.76	Transfer status
Executable base	Cartridge segments/overlays; main overlay base 0x802ECE30	Payload 0x80010000, overlay base near 0x80130FF8	Concept only
Stage selector	0x8000D0B8, index 0x800C11E0	0x8002A688, index 0x800D8150	Same label order; separate activation
Ordinary pickups	84 records, manager 0x80038ACC	84 records, manager 0x8005499C	Record grammar strongly shared
Pickup record	0x30 bytes; identity +0x10..+0x2B	Same structure	Field semantics transferable; addresses are not
Inventory	0x800A600C, insertion 0x80075448	0x800ACE28, insertion 0x8004C0B0	Ten-word design shared
Enemy chain	71500 -> 719F0 -> 71B20 -> 2FCDC	3955C -> 39A3C -> 39B50 -> 41BF0	Architecture shared
Enemy streams	Global table region 0x800B...	Overlay/start region 0x80010000...	Grammar/ordering shared; bytes endian/platform-specific
Type 1 descriptor	0x22AD8, file 0x89	0x22AD8, file 0x92 MONK2	Descriptor offset conserved, resource ID differs
Type 9 descriptor	0x2C084, file 0x25	0x2C084, file 0x28 HULK	Same caveat
Type A descriptor	0x20FC8, file 0x20	0x20FC8, file 0x20 FAST	Strong shared lineage
Text	0x80073E74, width 0x80074084	0x8004ACD4, width 0x8004AEEC	Similar service, different implementation
Save	Native cartridge save paths; N64 research fields differ	0x900 memory-card image, 0x78 records, XOR checksum	Platform-specific
Output checksum	N64 header CRC1/CRC2	PS1 file/disc layout and save checksum	Never reuse

Shared type-specific AI/control data

A particularly strong cross-port data match exists in the Test Scorpion/type-0x12 synthetic-control system:

Data	PS1	N64
per-type AI/control table	0x80010FC8	0x800AF340
type-0x12 list	0x800114E8	0x800AF860
first type-0x12 condition	0x80011554	0x800AF8CC
common sentinel	0x80012B08	0x800B0E80

The descriptor bytes match after endian conversion. This is direct shared game-data lineage, not merely similar high-level behavior. It still does not make the PS1 and N64 evaluator code addresses interchangeable.

Safe conclusions

• The 0x30 pickup grammar, 84-location boundary, item-ID family, ordinary-enemy stream concept, and several fighter descriptor offsets are common lineage.
• PS1 can use N64 discoveries as search signatures and semantic hypotheses.
• Each port still requires its own guarded patch sites, resource residency proof, runtime allocation plan, and validation.

Unsafe conclusions

• An N64 virtual address cannot be transplanted to PS1.
• N64 stage-local resource slot numbers are not PS1 global file IDs.
• A matching descriptor offset does not prove identical surrounding binary data.
• Apparent space between PS1 overlay end and stack is not automatically free.
• N64 CRC logic, KSEG alias rules, and MIPS instruction patches do not define PS1 disc/save handling.

First PS1 runtime sequence

The bounded order is: guarded selector activation, runtime overlay/memory observation, safe eight-stage mapping, one same-stage Fire enemy substitution, one stage pickup/resource mapping, then a port estimate. Jumping directly to a full randomizer would conflate platform and gameplay unknowns.