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Recommended N64 plugins

339 bytes added, 01:01, 6 November 2021
More info on availability of ParaLLEl-RDP, added a link to download the zilmar-spec version
[[File:SuperMario64-Comparison.png|thumb|right|Jabo's Direct3D8 (left) compared with angrylion's RDP with OpenGL (right), while playing ''Super Mario 64''.]]
====[https://github.com/Themaister/parallel-rdp ParaLLEl-RDP]====
An LLE video plugin based on Angrylion's RDP plugin, ported to run on the GPU through the use of the Vulkan API's compute shaders. Currently It was introduced in the ParaLLEl-N64 libretro core, is also available in the newer Mupen64Plus-Next core, and is included in [[m64p]] and [https://www.64dd.org/downloads.html this build] of Project64 (if you just want the plugin for Project64, grab it [https://www.mediafire.com/file/neig4q7r788puj3/pj64-parallelrdp.rar here]). This is currently considered the best video plugin by most measures. It is just as accurate and compatible as Angrylion's RDP, but much faster. Like most Angrylion forks, it allows disabling of VI features such as anti-aliasing and blur. Unlike the software-rendered Angrylion, however, it also allows a number of enhancements, including hi-res upscaling, resulting in a sharp, high-definition picture while simultaneously retaining accuracy, essentially what the N64 output would look like if the original console could render in HD. It has higher system requirements than the other plugins, however. It requires a GPU with Vulkan support (most GPUs from 2014 onwards are covered) and up-to-date drivers, and upscaling increases the GPU requirements even further, far more than GLideN64. At native resolution, however, a modest PC with Vulkan support can handle it without much issue, even on integrated graphics. Due to its LLE nature, it does not support widescreen hacks or high-res textures - try GLideN64 if you seek to use such features. 
====[https://github.com/gonetz/GLideN64/ GLideN64]====
A hybrid HLE/LLE plugin developed by the maker of Glide64, though its code is actually originally based on gln64 (with combiner hacks from Glide64 and LLE code from z64gl). This is the best HLE plugin by far. The plugin currently supports mip-mapping, emulation of low-level triangles, microcode of every game, gamma correction, flat and prim shading, VI emulation, and LLE graphics (though defaults to HLE). It is the only plugin that has [[Nintendo_64_emulators#High-level_vs._low-level_graphics|implemented HLE support]] of microcodes for every N64 game (including the infamous Factor 5 and BOSS games) to enable fast performance and graphical enhancements. It currently fixes numerous long-standing issues in games and is capable of smoothly emulating advanced framebuffer effects in hardware that Glide64 and Jabo could not. It also supports several enhancements, such as hi-res custom [[Texture_Packs|texture support]], AA and AF, a [[Widescreen_Hack|widescreen hack]], and even some shaders. There is support for an "[[Overscan]]" feature that helps the users to [[Widescreen_Hack#Nintendo_64|remove black borders around a game's visual output]]. It requires at least OpenGL 3.3 in the latest versions to run, and OpenGL 4.x for some advanced functions, making this plugin more demanding than the plugins that came before it, though modern GPUs should be ok, even on mobile. It is not without its share of issues to this day, however. There are still several HLE bugs left to resolve, and its LLE mode, while much improved over z64gl's, is still not quite as developed as its HLE mode, and some of the plugin's enhancement features are disabled in this mode. Since it is hardware-rendered even in LLE, there are issues that may never be quite resolved due to inherent differences between the N64 hardware and the OpenGL API. It is advisable to use this over ParaLLEl-RDP only if you are unable to run the latter in HD at full speed or if further enhancements such as widescreen hacks and hi-res textures are desired.
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