MIRLO 64 v0.4

This release brings audio, save and graphics fixes.

Install: unzip tortuga.Mirlo64_0.4.zip onto the root of the Pocket's SD card, merging with the folders already there. Put your N64 games (in .z64 format, big-endian) in Assets/n64/common/, then launch openFPGA > Console > Nintendo 64. The core and its runtime (Assets/n64/common/n64rt.sys) go together: always update both from the same zip.

Updating from v0.3: unzip over the old one; nothing to move.

What's new:

• Music and sound effects: volume ramps were stuck in about 170 games that use the N64 audio library's envelopes. Notes that should fade in stayed silent, and notes that should fade out were cut off dead, so music came out as isolated hits with silence between them.
• Saves: a game that looks for its save slots where the cartridge has nothing now reads what the console reads. This fixes Paper Mario showing the one file you created in all four slots after a reboot.
• Graphics (by @fsegouin):
  • texture LOD (mip-mapping) and the console's perspective divide;
  • 32-bit colour images;
  • a coverage fix in the RDP;
  • a VI fix for an origin written in the second field.
• Black screens instead of garbage: when a game blanks the picture, for example while it loads, the screen is now black as on the console, instead of vertical bars from the last picture. This fixes Killer Instinct Gold's transition before each fight.
• CPU: the data cache drops a line that another part of the console writes into (D-cache snoop, by @fsegouin).

Games tested for this release:

• Killer Instinct Gold
• Paper Mario
• Quake II
• Automobili Lamborghini
• Micro Machines 64 Turbo
• Superman 64

Many other games may now work, though I have not done extensive testing and some may show issues.

This core is a work in progress. If you encounter any issues, feel free to let me know in the issues page of this project. Thanks a lot, and enjoy!

MIRLO 64 v0.3

This release focuses on performance. Both the CPU and the RSP have seen improvements, and they should behave more closely to how the N64 works.

Install: unzip tortuga.Mirlo64_0.3.zip onto the root of the Pocket's SD card, merging with the folders already there. Put your N64 games (in .z64 format, big-endian) in Assets/n64/common/, then launch openFPGA > Console > Nintendo 64. The core and its runtime (Assets/n64/common/n64rt.sys) go together: always update both from the same zip.

Updating from v0.2: unzip over the old one; nothing to move. Your controller settings may need a look: some lists have new choices.

What's new:

• More games boot and run, including those with a CIC-6105 chip.
• Faster: the RSP issues two instructions at once and has eight vector lanes, and more of the CPU's 64-bit instructions run in hardware.
• Graphics fixes: gaps between rectangles, a picture that jumped down for a frame, crashes of the graphics processor.
• Controller fixes: the controller is read at the console's speed, which fixes games that hung at a black screen.
• New controller options: the stick can be set to None, the C buttons can come from the L or R stick now. Z, L and R can be assigned to any button, and C-up can be mapped in Controls (note: by default, it is assigned to Start, which clashes with the Start button. Either reassign C-up or Start for it to properly work).

Games tested for this release:

• Donkey Kong 64
• Banjo-Tooie
• Jet Force Gemini
• Gauntlet Legends
• Body Harvest
• Mega Man 64
• Mario Tennis (perf improvement)

Many other games may now work, though I have not done extensive testing and some may show issues.

This core is a work in progress. If you encounter any issues, feel free to let me know in the issues page of this project. Thanks a lot, and enjoy!

MIRLO 64 v0.2

Install: unzip tortuga.Mirlo64_0.2.zip onto the root of the Pocket's SD card, merging with the folders already there. Put your N64 games (in .z64 format, big-endian) in Assets/n64/common/, then launch openFPGA > Console > Nintendo 64. The core and its runtime (Assets/n64/common/n64rt.sys) go together: always update both from the same zip.

Updating from v0.1: the platform is now n64. Move your games from Assets/mirlo/common/ to Assets/n64/common/, and your saves from Saves/mirlo/ to Saves/n64/. You can then delete Assets/mirlo/, Platforms/mirlo.json and its image.

What's new:

• ROMs of any size are now supported.
• More resolutions are supported: 640x240p and 640x480i are now supported.
• Graphics fixes: depth, palettes, YUV textures, 8-bit colour images, and more.
• More games boot, including those with a CIC-6106 chip.
• CPU fixes: the TLB, open bus and timers.
• New setting: Expansion Pak (on by default). Turn it off to give games 4 MiB instead of 8.

Games tested for this release:

• GoldenEye 007
• Mario Tennis
• F-Zero X
• Yoshi's Story
• Star Wars Episode I: Racer
• Beetle Adventure Racing!
• Ogre Battle 64
• Conker's Bad Fur Day
• Starcraft 64

Many other games may now work, though I have not done extensive testing and some may show issues.

This core is a work in progress. If you encounter any issues, feel free to let me know in the issues page of this project. Thanks a lot, and enjoy!

MIRLO64 v0.1

First public build of MIRLO64: A Nintendo 64 core for the Analogue Pocket.

Install: unzip tortuga.Mirlo64_0.1.zip onto the root of the Pocket's SD card, merging with the folders already there. Put your N64 games (in .z64 format, big-endian) in Assets/mirlo/common/, then launch openFPGA > Console > Mirlo.

The zip adds Cores/tortuga.Mirlo64/ (the core), Platforms/mirlo.json and its image, and Assets/mirlo/common/ (the games folder, with the runtime n64rt.sys and the save-type database). Check the download with SHA256SUMS.

This build: It supports PAL and NTSC video modes, Controller and Transfer Pak, 4p multiplayer through the Dock, Joysticks, and more.

Please note many games may not work or show issues. This core is a work in progress. If you encounter any issues, feel free to let me know in the issues page of this project. Thanks a lot, and enjoy!