138
edits
Changes
Jump to navigation
Jump to search
Added info on availability of Rice and z64gl, a few added notes on Mario Tennis gallery
*Jabo's Direct3D8 - Comes with Project64, and was once its default video plugin. Very speedy, has built-in AA and AF options, and includes a [[Widescreen_Hack|widescreen hack]]. The version included with the most recent versions of Project64 (1.7.0.57-ver5) is somewhat buggy and has regressions, however. [http://www.jabosoft.com/articles/114 Jabo's 1.6.1 patch] is better, though version 1.7 can run in LLE mode, which can help with a few games. Sadly, it will likely never see another update again, and though it is still included in Project64 to this day, it is no longer the default, and should not be used unless you have a very old PC.
*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/54166-Rice-Video-Community-version Rice Video] - A fast, highly configurable video plugin once famous for its ability to load [[Texture_Packs|hi-res textures]], making it a popular plugin within the N64 emulation community. The 1964 team at one point annexed it as its official video plugin, renaming it 1964Video. There are many versions and forks of it floating around, either to fix issues or add features, and one such version is included in mainline Mupen64Plus and in the ParaLLEl-N64 libretro core. It eventually lost favor to Glide64, which can also load hi-res textures, and its compatibility as a whole is subpar even for an HLE plugin. The latest version is also full of regressions compared to older versions, even as it attempted to fix issues with those. As such, none of its variations are recommended for general use unless there's a very specific fringe case (such as some really old texture packs or ROM hacks), you're using a very, very old toaster, or are trying to emulate on a severely underpowered mobile device or handheld.*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/40640-Z64-a-LLE-graphics-plugin z64gl] - A hardware-rendered, low-level plugin developed by ziggy, derived from MAME's N64 driver. It is only included with mainline Mupen64Plus. It was once notable for being one of the only plugins that could play games without an HLE microcode implementation such as Rogue Squadron. However, it was rather glitchy, had higher system requirements than the HLE plugins, needed an LLE RSP plugin to work (such as the bundled z64 RSP or Project64's RSP plugin set to LLE graphics), and configuration required editing the config file directly. A [https://github.com/purplemarshmallow/z64/tree/angrylion-integration fork] cropped up that aimed at improving it, but it did not go very far. Nowadays, it's obsolete, as GLideN64 can now play every game through HLE (thus subverting z64gl's only selling point), and its LLE has been surpassed by Angrylion-derived plugins and even GLideN64's LLE mode.
*[https://sourceforge.net/p/angrylions-stuff/code/HEAD/tree/ Official Angrylion RDP] - A software-rendered, hardware-accurate plugin, developed by angrylion (though derived from MAME, much like z64gl). This is the most accurate N64 video plugin in existence, emulating every facet of the N64's RDP precisely and thus making it capable of playing almost every single game in the N64 library with no issues, fixing even notorious cases such as the ''Pokémon Snap'' red dot and the ''Body Harvest'' bridge. This, however, comes at the cost of insane CPU requirements while making games look like, well, N64 games running on real hardware, which means native resolution, no widescreen, no hi-res textures - just the N64 in its full, vaseline-covered glory. Since this particular version is single-threaded, uses DirectDraw and is Windows only, it is recommended to use Angrylion RDP Plus or ParaLLEl-RDP instead, which offer much more reasonable performance. Only try it out if you have a tricked-out rig and want to test your CPU's mettle, or if you can compile it from source and need it for testing/debugging purposes, as the latest updates are always made to this version first.
*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/55481-angrylion-s-Per-Pixel-RDP-with-OpenGL HatCat/angrylion's Pixel-Accurate N64 Plugin] - This is a fork of Angrylion's RDP, done by HatCat. It has some optimizations not present in the official code, but is outdated and lacking some accuracy improvements and optimizations written by Angrylion. It has the option to disable the VI filters (which gives a speed boost), as well as the ability to set custom resolutions. Also, this version uses OpenGL 1.x instead of Direct Draw and supports Linux. Obsoleted by newer forks such as Angrylion RDP Plus.
Below is a gallery comparing how many of these plugins handle Mario Tennis, a hard-to-emulate game with many special effects that few plugins get right. Pay attention to the scoreboard on the top left, the MPH indicator on the top right, the NPCs on the back, shadows below the characters, and the trail and sparkle effects on the tennis ball and rackets. Only GLideN64 and the Angrylion-derived plugins emulate it correctly:
<gallery widths="300" mode="packed">
Mario Tennis GLideN64 HLE.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using GLideN64 in HLE mode with 16xMSAA. Minor text cutoff on bottom of scoreboard.
Mario Tennis GLideN64 LLE.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using GLideN64 in LLE mode with 16xMSAA. Minor text cutoff on bottom of scoreboard. Has slight polygon jitter not present in HLE.
Mario Tennis ParaLLEl 1x.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-RDP at native resolution. PixelIdentical to Angrylion, and thus a pixel-perfect representation of real hardware.
Mario Tennis ParaLLEl 4x Downsampled.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-RDP rendering at 4x resolution, then downsampled back to native resolution.
Mario Tennis ParaLLEl 4x.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-RDP rendering at 4x resolution. Has very slight polygon jitter, though less than GLideN64 in LLE.
