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'''Project64''' is an a free and open source, plugin-based [[Nintendo 64 emulators|Nintendo 64 emulator]].

==DownloadsDownload==* {| cellpadding="4"|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big}}|'''[https://www.pj64-emu.com/public-releases Official Public releases]'''|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big}}|'''[https://www.pj64-emu.com/nightly-builds Official Nightly builds]'''|-|colspan="3"|<hr/>|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big}}|[http://www.emucr.com/search/label/Project64?&max-results=12 Unofficial Project64 dev builds.] Use with caution<br/><small>Compiled by emucr, as EmuCR does not test them and sometimes bundle may contain old, /deprecated plugins, if at all.</small>|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big}}* |[http://www.mediafire.com/download/61dvb4n9xk25oo6/Project64.rar This Unofficial bundle] includes <br/><small>Includes PJ64 1.6, PJ64 2.1 and various other plugins</small>|-|align=center|{{Icon|Win-big}}|[https://64dd.org/downloads.html 64DD.org builds]<br/><small>Recommended for 64DD emulation</small>|-|align=center|{{Icon|Android-big}}|[https://m.apkpure.com/project64-n64-emulator/emu.project64 2.3.3]|}

It first came out as a purely as an experiment for experimental emulator by developers zilmar and Jabo. It quickly revolutionized the N64 emulation landscape. For many years afterward, it was considered to be the best N64 emulator, with only Mupen64 and [[1964]] posing any real competition. By version 1.6, it was touted as being not only highly compatible but also the most stable of the lot.

In 2013, however, zilmar, now the lone developer of Project64, released version 2.0, including its complete source code. Quickly afterward, version 2.1 was released. However, these versions proved to be a mixed bag in comparison to the older, long-standing 1.6 release, and even the leaked 1.7 betas in some respects. Several compatibility issues were fixed, and the interface was cleaned up, but the default plugins were largely inferior to earlier iterations, and even the core itself saw compatibility regressions in some games. And though the source had been made public, there was no public repository for developers to contribute fixes or pull requests, leading resulting in the project to become becoming dormant again. In 2015, zilmar created a public Project64 repository on GitHub, officially at last opening the gates for public contributions. Development picked up at break-neck speed and has yet to cease. Many of the issues with earlier versions of Project64 have now been fixed. It has been mostly ported to 64-bit, and there is even an effort underway to make it more portable and eventually work on non-Windows platforms.

[[File:PJ64 fan .jpg|350px310px|thumb|right|A user complaining on the PJ64 forums after installing the bundled malware]]

Up to version 2.2, the official installer for PJ64 included opt-out malware in the installer. In July of 2016, the malware was removed from both the source code and installers.<ref>https://github.com/project64/project64/issues/468</ref> However, version 2.3 introduced a benign but irritating nagware screen that pops up when launching PJ64after starting it multiple times, which grows more persistent with successive launchesas a forced waiting period is installed. This can be disabled by modifying <code>project64.cfg</code> to appear as follows:<pre>[Support Project64]Run Count=-1</pre> Alternatively, you can type "'''thank you from project64'''" as the notification code.

<pre>[===Project64 2.4.0.1555 New Support Project64]Run CountCode Nag Scheme===-1</pre>

AlternativelyUPDATED MARCH 19, 2021 -There is now a per-machine ID that gets generated on the user side and requests a confirmation code associated with it. -Setting the Run Count to -1 in project64.cfg no longer stops the nag. -The "thank you can type from project64" code no longer works (obviously, since they are now unique for every machine). 9 JULY 2021 - Thanks for the heads-up, some notes. -You should be able to reset the new counter by removing registry key "user"in HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Project64 (this is just a reset though) -Project64's nag screen won''thank you t activate itself too quickly, making testing a little... interesting. -Any change that prevents reading the registry key should also stop Project64 from advancing the run counter. -Code validation is done with a server. Not possible to stop without proxy or patching. -Registry key is also machine ID keyed, however code MAY only be checked on first entry, and a dedicated program could easily generate the registry key for any given machine ID. -Those with even basic W32 API knowledge and C knowledge, consider studying https://github.com/project64/project64/blob/develop/Source/Project64/UserInterface/ProjectSupport.cpp -I think even a Python script could do it, just be sure to GPL the results so someone else can take over. It's just good practice, morals and transparency anyway. I feel like Project64 have just shown they want to wage a war on their users. But also me. 13 JULY 2021 - I said a Python script could do it, now I've done it... [[Project64/NagScreenBypassScript]] 23 JULY 2021 - Turns out emugen (thread 344228293, post 344459325) already knew of someone else's bypass script, https://github.com/Rosalie241/PJ64Launcher - don'" as t even bother with the notification code.above lol