Changes

The N64 emulation scene has had previously been described as a broken mess, the very definition of plugin hell. With recent developments in the scene, however, the situation has markedly improved, and it is no longer considered necessary to have multiple emulators and plugins on hand to get most games to work. This page is an attempt to make sense of will outline the madness best plugins currently available for the benefit of both the casual and enthusiast looking to get their N64 emulation fix.

Note ==The Plugin Specs==To understand the current plugin situation, and why there are several competing emulators that these all appear to use the same plugins but said plugins will NOT work on [[Mupen64Plus]]are not compatible across emulators, a bit of history is in order. As suchfor the terms HLE and LLE, it has its own pluginswhich will occur with frequency throughout this page, and recommendations can be found at its own section on the difference between them, it is recommended to read this pageon [[High/Low level emulation]] beforehand.

To illustrate the point, [http://wwwbhemuhelp.pj64-emuunaux.com/downloadsn64mgcl/project64/binaries/ Project64 2N64ConfigList.2html here] - The most recent version of Project64is a site that, as late as 2012, was dedicated to documenting the exact emulator, now public plugin and open source (though the official download asks you settings combination necessary to install useless toolbars). After years of dormancy, development has rapidly picked up get each and most of the issues with earlier releases have been fixed. Some users (particularly those using Windows 10) have reported problems with BSODs, though recent development versions have fixed them. The emulator is also prone every game to crashing at times. The user interface is quite least a bit nicer and easier to useplayable state, and switching between RSP plugins is far easier than in 1if at all possible.6. It also fixed Unsurprisingly, this situation often led to a number lot of games that confusion from users, who often wondered why there were completely broken in 1.6so many plugins, such as Kirby 64. For general and which ones were the best to use, only to find out it is now considered often depended on the best game, and most compatible N64 emulatoreven then, though due some games would refuse to some stability issueswork as intended no matter what was tried. Hence the label "plugin hell" was coined, it may be handy to keep and stuck as a copy description of 1.6 just in casethe travails of trying to emulate N64 games well into the 2010's.

[http://wwwHowever, as time went on, things began to change, though slowly at first.pj64-emu1964's development eventually ceased, and it completely fell off the radar.com/downloads/project64/binaries/ Project64 1.6Mupen64 was forked into [[Mupen64Plus]] - The older but more stable version. The interface is slightly clunkier, and switching between RSP plugins is a pain (the desired RSP developed its own plugin must be named rsp.dll for spec that was incompatible with the emulator older zilmar spec, making it unable to see it and use existing plugins unless they were specifically ported to it). It is This left only Project64 as the only relevant and active emulator still a good emulator for general useusing the zilmar spec. For some time, then, this left the fledgling Mupen64Plus missing out on most cutting-edge plugin development, as it has good compatibility with most of the popular gamespeople were still using Project64.

A semblance of parity began to come about as a result of several major developments: first, Mupen64Plus itself was forked by the [[http://1964js.com/ 1964libretro]] - An open source team, which made many changes and improvements to the core emulator , and long-time competitor to Project64integrated its plugins into the core itself. Some Second, gonetz, the developer of its iterations (such as 1964 Ultrafast) have Glide64, unveiled his newest plugin, GLideN64, which would officially support both the zilmar and Mupen64Plus specs from the ability to overclock beginning. Third, the N64's CPUAngrylion plugin, which results in smoother framerate on games that have a lot of slowdownis the most accurate and compatible (and slowest) video plugin there is but was initially only available for the zilmar spec, such as Perfect Dark was ported to Mupen64Plus and Conker's Bad Fur Day. The last stable version released by integrated into the original team was 1libretro fork.1Finally, who then went on to remake it as a web emulator written in JavaScriptThemaister, though some community members kept it going up to version one of the creators of libretro and [[https://code.google.com/p/emu-1964/ 1.2 r146RetroArch]], with mixed results. It is generally recommended began developing a unique plugin initially exclusive to stick to version 1.1 except libretro known as ParaLLEl-RDP, essentially Angrylion running on certain special casesthe GPU through Vulkan compute shaders, enabling near-perfect N64 graphics emulation at actually playable speeds. Overall, it is Add to this the least compatible fact that most PCs and many mobile devices are now more than capable enough of running the big three emulatorsmost advanced plugins, and the plugin situation, once considered a labyrinth, only being useful has been greatly simplified to just needing a few for a handful the vast majority of games or if using very weak hardwareuse cases.

[http://mupen64.emulation64.com/ Mupen64] - An open sourceAll that said, multiplatform N64 emulator. Even though its last update by its original author was in 2005, it is possibly even more compatible than Project64 1.6, particularly with more obscure or less discussed titles, though it has incompatibilities of its own. Its modern, currently active successor the issue is [[Mupen64Plus]], which improves upon the original's compatibility, but chose to depart from Zilmar's that there are now three plugin spec, rendering it incompatible with the plugins discussed in this page. It is also less accessible than its forebearer, owing standards to its lack of a native GUI.account for:

*The zilmar spec - Utilized by Project64 and most other legacy emulators; only Project64 still uses it today.* *The Mupen64Plus spec - Utilized by Mupen64Plus and most of its forks. *Libretro - Not really a spec per se, as the plugins are integrated directly into the libretro core, so there's no DLL files to download or add. As of right now, not all plugins are readily available on all three. Consult the tables below for reference: {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"! scope="col"|Name! scope="col"|Latest Version! scope="col"|Project64! scope="col"|Mupen64Plus! scope="col"|Libretro! scope="col"|HLE! scope="col"|LLE! scope="col"|Widescreen Hack! scope="col"|Custom Texture Packs! scope="col"|Recommended|-!colspan="13"|Video Plugins|-|ParaLLEl-RDP|[httphttps://wwwgithub.mediafirecom/Themaister/parallel-rdp git]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|-|GLideN64|[https://github.com/downloadgonetz/GLideN64/releases/tag/github-actions github-actions]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|-|Angrylion RDP Plus|[https://github.com/ata4/angrylion-rdp-plus/releases/tag/nightly-build Nightly builds]<br/>[https://github.com/ata4/angrylion-rdp-plus/releases/57bgvkraykpylswtag/N64_Emulator_Packv1.rar This pack6 1.6] has these four |{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|-|Glide64**|Final|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{~}}|-|Jabo's Direct3D8|1.7.0.57-ver5|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|Rice Video|0.4.4|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|-|glN64|0.4.1|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|z64gl|R17|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|Angrylion (Official)|r114|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|} <nowiki>*</nowiki>It should be noted that Project64 after version 2.x made some changes to the zilmar plugin spec, and while it remains backwards compatible with the older version of the spec (meaning most older plugins will still work with Project64), plugins targeting the newer version will not work on older versions of Project64 or other zilmar spec-based emulators. <nowiki>**</nowiki>Funnily enough, Glide64 actually DOES have LLE code (much of it apparently comes from z64gl) and can technically run in LLE mode by using it alongside an LLE RSP plugin such as CXD4. However, it is not a few older complete implementation, and special or modified versionsactually trying to run it in such a mode results in massive visual glitches, making it unusable. Practically speaking, then, Glide64 cannot be considered a true LLE plugin, and more obscure will not be designated as such, nor was it ever meant to be. {| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"! scope="col"|Name! scope="col"|Latest Version! scope="col"|Project64! scope="col"|Mupen64Plus! scope="col"|Libretro! scope="col"|HLE Compatible*! scope="col"|LLE Compatible*! scope="col"|Recommended|-!colspan="13"|RSP Plugins|-|Project64 RSP|1.7|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|-|Mupen64Plus HLE RSP|[https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-rsp-hle git]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|-|Static Interpreter/CXD4|[https://github.com/cxd4/rsp git]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|-|ParaLLEl-RSP|[https://github.com/Themaister/parallel-rsp git]|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|-|Mupen64 HLE RSP|0.5.1|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|-|z64|r17|{{✓}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|{{✗}}|{{✓}}|{{✗}}|} <nowiki>*</nowiki>These terms signify whether an RSP plugin can work alongside HLE and/or LLE audio and largely irrelevant emulators added only video plugins. As for specific fringe casesthe type of emulation employed by the RSP plugins themselves, as well as every plugin discussed all but the Mupen64/plus HLE RSP plugins are LLE in this page nature. The LLE RSP plugins that can work with HLE plugins do so by passing the N64 display and moreaudio lists onto the plugins themselves.

====[https://github.com/ata4/angrylion-rdp-plus/releases Angrylion RDP Plus]====This is a fork of Angrylion's RDP that supports multithreading. It is included in [https://64dd.org/downloads.html this build] of Project64 and in both N64 libretro cores. The standalone plugin version uses OpenGL 3.3 for drawing the picture and also supports Linux. The multi-threading helps boost performance significantly, as does using it alongside an RSP plugin with a recompiler such as ParaLLEl-RSP, but some games are still not full speed even on a Core i7-8700K. It also allows you to disable VI filters for slightly better performance. This fork has at least one accuracy regression compared to the official version of Angrylion. Since it is a CPU-bound, software-rendered plugin, it has no enhancement options of any kind - what you see is what you get, exactly like on a real N64. Use this only if running a relatively fast CPU and ParaLLEl-RDP does not work with your GPU for whatever reason. ====Glide64====The former best general-use plugin. Versions of this are included in Project64, mainline Mupen64Plus, and the ParaLLEl-N64 libretro core. While it is no longer updated and is far less accurate and compatible than the newer offerings, it still has a few use cases, such as better support for older ROM hacks. It works relatively well for many (most?) games, has support for hi-res textures, and it is also faster than the newer plugins, which makes it suitable for slower devices such as the older Raspberry Pis. Otherwise, to ensure the highest possible compatibility, stick to either ParaLLEl-RDP or GLideN64. Note that the Project64 version of Glide64 has been renamed to Project64 Video and has undergone some changes and rewrites since it was initially forked, and thus may contain regressions compared to the last official standalone release of the plugin by Gonetz. Since this fork only works with current versions of Project64, should you wish to use this plugin on an older zilmar-spec emulator like 1964 or the original Mupen64, or if you want to avoid potential regressions with the Project64 version, use [https://storage.googleapis.com/google-code-archive-downloads/v2/code.google.com/glidehqplusglitch64/Glide64_Final.zip Glide64 Final] instead. ===Deprecated Plugins===The following video plugins are old and deprecated, and should not be used or considered unless you have a VERY old or underpowered device that cannot handle the recommended plugins, or there's a very specific use case not covered by modern implementations. *Jabo's Direct3D Direct3D8 - Comes with Project64, and was once its default video plugin. Very speedy, has built-in AA and AF options, and is one of the only plugins with includes a [[Widescreen_Hack|widescreen hack]]. The most recent version included with the most recent versions of Project64 2.x (1.7.0.57-ver5) is somewhat buggy and has regressions, however, so the version included in . [http://www.jabosoft.com/articles/114 Jabo's 1.6.1 patch] is recommended instead for most casesbetter, though the former 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 there is talk of replacing it with either Glide64 or GLideN64 as Project64's default video plugin, or even removing it outright.*Glide64 - Also comes with Project64 as of version 2.1. Often much more accurate and compatible than Jabo's plugin, and has a wealth of options, though it can be slower on lower end machines, and may not work on integrated graphics. Still, it is overall the best and most compatible plugin for general usestill included in Project64 to this day, though it is by no means issue-freelonger the default, and it is very likely little to no further improvements will should not be made to it. The version bundled with Project64 2.x is only really meant to work with those versions of Project64, however, so if used unless you're using another emulator, try [https://code.google.com/p/glidehqplusglitch64/ have a very old PC that cannot handle Glide64 Final] insteador GLideN64.*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/54166-Rice-Video-Community-version Rice Video] - A very fast, highly configurable video plugin primarily based around the Direct3D API. It was once famous for its ability being the first plugin that allowed the user to load [[Texture_Packs|custom hi-res textures]], making which made it a popular plugin within the N64 emulation community. The 1964 team eventually at one point annexed it as its official video plugin, renaming it 1964Video. There are many versions and forks of it floating around, either all aiming to fix issues or add features(one fork even featured early shader support), and forks of it are included in mainline Mupen64Plus and in the ParaLLEl-N64 libretro core. For the most part, howeverHowever, even during its heyday it has fallen lagged behind Glide64 and even Jabo in comparison both compatibility and accuracy, and once Glide64 gained the ability to Glide64, which can now also load hi-res custom textures, there remained little reason to use it beyond its speed. A "Community Version" popped up that aimed at improving it and fixing its issues, but it ended up introducing many regressions compared to older versions and the effort was eventually abandoned. 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) or you're are trying to emulate on a toastervery old and/or severely underpowered PC or handheld device. If you are absolutely resolved to try it out, seek out the original versions by Rice, primarily 6.1.0 or 6.1.1b, and stick to the Direct3D renderer, as the OpenGL backend included in some versions is buggy and incomplete outside of the Mupen64Plus fork.*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/40640-Z64-a-LLE-graphics-plugin z64gl] - A hardware-acceleratedrendered, low-level plugin developed by ziggy, derived from MAME's N64 driver. It has A fork is maintained by the capability to render at the N64's native resolution Mupen64Plus team, though not included in case you don't like super sharp polygons with low-res texturestheir official releases. It also includes experimental multi-threading supportwas once notable for being one of the only plugins that could play games without an HLE microcode implementation such as Rogue Squadron. Requirements are heavier However, it was rather glitchy, had higher system requirements than Jabo's plugin and Glide64the HLE plugins, and configuration requires editing the config file directly. Needs needed an LLE RSP plugin, to work (such as the bundled z64 RSP or Project64's RSP plugin set to LLE graphics. Overall), it tends to be quite glitchy with many games, but it is one of and configuration required editing the only plugins capable of properly displaying difficult games such as Rogue Squadronconfig file directly. After years of abandonment, a A [https://github.com/purplemarshmallow/z64/tree/angrylion-integration recent fork] has cropped up that aims aimed at improving this pluginit, but it did not get very far. Nowadays, it's obsolete, as GLideN64 can now play every game through HLE (thus subverting z64gl's accuracy only selling point), and fixing its bugs LLE has been surpassed by incorporating code from Angrylion-derived plugins and even GLideN64's plugin and improving the overall code qualityLLE mode.*[httphttps://www.emutalksourceforge.net/threadsp/55481angrylions-angrylion-s-Per-Pixel-RDP-with-OpenGL HatCatstuff/code/HEAD/tree/Official Angrylion's Pixel-Accurate N64 PluginRDP] - A software-rendered, hardware-accurate plugin, developed by Angrylion angrylion (though derived from MAME, much like z64gl), and currently being optimized by HatCat. As This is the most accurate N64 renderer video plugin in existence (as well as , emulating almost* every facet of the slowest), N64's RDP precisely and thus making it is capable of playing almost every single game in the N64 library with no issues, fixing even notorious cases such as the Pokemon ''Pokémon Snap '' red dot and the ''Body Harvest '' bridge. HoweverThis, however, because 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 sheer intensivenessfull, vaseline-covered glory. Since this particular version is single-threaded, uses DirectDraw and is Windows only, it is currently little recommended to use Angrylion RDP Plus or ParaLLEl-RDP instead, which offer much more than a curiosityreasonable performance. Try 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. Options include being able 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. As of recent versionsAlso, it now this version uses OpenGL, 1.x instead of Direct Draw and supports Linux.Obsoleted by newer forks such as Angrylion RDP Plus. *[http://gliden64Below 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.blogspotPay 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.com/ Only GLideN64] and the Angrylion-derived plugins emulate it correctly: <gallery widths="300" mode="packed">Mario Tennis Rice.png|Mario Tennis running on ParaLLEl- A plugin developed by the maker of N64 using Rice. Missing various effects, heavily glitched court.Mario Tennis Glide64, though its code is actually originally based .png|Mario Tennis running on gln64 (with combiner hacks from ParaLLEl-N64 using Glide64 . Missing various effects and LLE code from z64gl)shadows, some glitches.Mario Tennis glN64. The plugin currently supports mippng|Mario Tennis running on ParaLLEl-mappingN64 using glN64. Missing various effects; shadows are present, emulation of lowbut glitched.Mario Tennis GLideN64 HLE.png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-level triangles, microcode Next using GLideN64 in HLE mode with 16xMSAA. Minor text cutoff on bottom of some games, gamma correction, flat and prim shading, VI emulation, and scoreboard.Mario Tennis GLideN64 LLE graphics (though defaults to HLE). It currently fixes numerous longpng|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-standing issues Next using GLideN64 in games, and is capable LLE mode with 16xMSAA. Minor text cutoff on bottom of smoothly emulating advanced framebuffer effects in hardware that Glide64 and Jabo could scoreboard. Has slight polygon jitter not without resorting to software and murdering the framerate present in the processHLE.Mario Tennis ParaLLEl 1x. It also supports several enhancements, such as hipng|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-res custom texture supportRDP at native resolution. Identical to Angrylion, AA and AF, thus a widescreen hack, and even some shaderspixel-perfect representation of real hardware.Mario Tennis ParaLLEl 4x Downsampled. However, it requires png|Mario Tennis running on Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-RDP rendering at least OpenGL 3.x4x resolution, and OpenGL 4then downsampled back to native resolution.x for some advanced functions, making this plugin very toaster-unfriendlyMario Tennis ParaLLEl 4x. It is also not without its share of issues and regressions png|Mario Tennis running on some games compared to Glide64Mupen64Plus-Next using ParaLLEl-RDP rendering at 4x resolution. Its Has very slight polygon jitter, though less than GLideN64 in LLE mode .</gallery> <nowiki>*</nowiki> There is also much slower than even z64glat least [https://sourceforge.net/p/angrylions-stuff/tickets/10/ one known, and some of the plugin's features are broken relatively minor graphical glitch in this modePokemon Snap] (go figure) using Angrylion that requires currently-unimplemented cycle-accurate behavior to fix without resorting to hacks.

*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/27610-Audio-v0-56-WIP2-Download-Feedback Azimer's HLE Audio] - This popular HLE audio plugin boasts high compatibility. Version 0.56WIP2 is old as hell, but it is the tried and true standard to which audio plugins are compared against. Recently, [https://github.com/Azimer/AziAudio Azimer open sourced his plugin], and there are were plans to integrate it into Project64 and eventually replace Jabo's as its official audio plugin, though this has yet to happen. The While the latest development versions have a few issues, howeverit now works in LLE, and has integrated code from Mupen64Plus's HLE RSP plugin, allowing it to work with the Factor 5 and BOSS games even in HLE.*[http://forum.pj64-emu.com/showthread.php?t=3644 Shunyuan's HLE Audio] - An audio plugin, apparently based on 1964Audio and HatCat's RSP plugin. Can run in both LLE and HLE modes despite the name, though the HLE mode just makes it run a an outdated, baked-in version of HatCat's RSP, which makes it not a true HLE plugin. Has been abandoned after charges of just taking others' code without revealing a source. If games run at a weird speed using this plugin, go to the ROM's Game Settings, and disable Fixed Audio Timing and Sync using Audio. Despite Though it worked surprisingly well despite its Frankenstein nature, it actually works surprisingly well, although modern development versions of Project64 no longer work with it, apparently due to it depending on a bug that has now been fixed.As such, it is probably better to use Azimer's plugin instead.

*Project64 Input - Comes with Project64 as of the latest versions. Very simple input plugin which looks suspiciously a lot like Jabo's, but at least has XInput support, which is nice.*[https://sourceforge.net/projects/nragev20/ NRage Input] - Also comes with Project64 as of version 2.2. Hands down the best input plugin as it is more feature complete than Jabo's DirectInput. Has a ton of options and great controller compatibility, including XInput support for use with Xbox 360 controllers. It can't emulate the microphone that is required by ''Hey You, Pikachu'' or the printer required for the ''Pokémon Snap Station''. It has the ability to emulate Controller Pak (''Mario Kart 64'''s ghost saves), Rumble Pak (''Star Fox 64''), and Transfer Pak (''Pokémon Stadium'' series) functionality fairly well. Version 2.3 of Project64 introduced a version of the plug-in that can emulate the N64's mouse accessory designed for the 64DD to coincide with Project64's newest ability to emulate the 64DD accessory. Surprisingly, ''Mario Artist: Paint Studio'' can use the Japanese ''Game Boy Camera'' (called ''Pocket Camera'') in Transfer Pak mode, but the camera function doesn't work as it displays static, although importing captured images still works technically.*Jabo's DirectInput - Comes Used to come with Project64, but now removed in favor of NRage Input. It isn't too bad, but it may have some compatibility problems with some controllers. Should work just fine with the keyboard if you're one of those masochists who emulates without a controller. Only standard controller emulation with nothing attached to it. As usual, do not expect any updates.*[https://sourceforgewww.raphnet-tech.netcom/products/projectsraphnetraw/nragev20index.php/ N-Rage InputRaphnetraw] - Also comes with Project64 as This open source plugin allows streamlined use of version 2N64 controller(s) via raphnet [https://www.raphnet-tech.2com/products/n64_usb_adapter_gen3/index. Hands down the best input pluginphp N64-to-USB v3+ adapters]. Has a ton of options It supports rumble and is available for Project64 and great controller compatibility, including XInput support mupen64plus. Also contains various DLLs for use with Xbox 360 controllersspecial port arrangements [https://www.raphnet.net/programmation/mupen64plus-input-raphnetraw/index_en.php#4 (link)].

===Recommended Plugins===*Zilmar's Project64 RSP - Comes with Project64, and until recently was usually known simply as zilmar's RSP. Very Reasonably accurate, quite fast in Recompiler mode(enabled by default), and will work fine for most the majority of games, but may need to be set to Interpreter for only having issues with a difficult few, games in which case you may as well use HatCat's RSP pluginLLE. The version included in Project64 2.x and beyond can work with both LLE and HLE plugins by toggling the relevant options in the Plugins settings menu. This plugin is exclusive to the zilmar spec.*Mupen64Plus HLE RSP - Comes with Mupen64Plus. Based off of the old Mupen64 HLE RSP plugin, but much improved. Though it is only compatible with HLE audio and video plugins, when paired with GLideN64, it can play almost every single N64 game without issues, and it now has MusyX support as well for games that used it. If you wish to use it with Project64, a zilmar-spec port is available and can be obtained by using [https://github.com/Rosalie241/BetterMajorasMaskInstaller/releases/tag/4.0.2 this installer]. It works out of the box with both the default Project64 Audio plugin as well as Azimer's, but it will not work with Jabo's, as that is a pure LLE audio plugin and requires LLE RSP emulation.*[http://www.emutalk.net/threads/56919-quot-Static-quot-RSP-Interpreter-Plugin "Static" RSP Interpreter/CXD4 RSP] - Made by HatCat/CXD4 and originally released in [http://forum.pj64- emu.com/showthread.php?t=3618 Project64 Forum]. Comes with some forks of Mupen64Plus as well as both libretro cores, and is included in [https://64dd.org/downloads.html this build] of Project64. For whatever reason, the zilmar-spec version usually goes by Static Interpreter, while the Mupen64Plus-spec and libretro versions go by CXD4. As of the most recent release version, it is one of the most accurate RSP plugins, though Project64 RSP in Recompiler mode as well as ParaLLEl-RSP both trump it in speed. It can take advantage of SSSE3 for greater performance, though it also comes in SSE2 and non-SSE variations in case your PC does not support those instruction sets. In both the zilmar and Mupen64Plus versions (though not in libretro, it seems), it is capable of working with both HLE and LLE audio and video plugins via the following settings:**Simulate RSP graphics from external plugin - Check if using an HLE graphics plugin, uncheck if using LLE**Simulate RSP audio from external plugin - Check if using an HLE audio plugin, uncheck if using LLE**Force semaphore locking - Check to fix issues with Mario no Photopie. Only works with Project64 2.x and beyond.*ParaLLEl-RSP - A fast and accurate RSP written by [https://github.com/Themaister/parallel-rsp Themaister], though it borrows heavily from both CXD4 and CEN64's RSP code. It is about as accurate and compatible as the Static Interpreter/CXD4 RSP, while being much faster owing to its inclusion of a dynamic recompiler. It is an RSP option mainly used in the [https://www.libretro.com/index.php/parallel-n64-with-parallel-rsp-dynarec-release-fast-and-accurate-n64-emulation/ ParaLLEl-N64 and Mupen64Plus-Next libretro cores]; however, it is also possible to use it with Mupen64Plus, its forks [[simple64]] and [[RMG]], and now even Project64 as a plugin ([https://64dd.org/downloads.html this version] comes bundled with it). Note that it only works with LLE video and audio plugins, though it is highly recommended if using such. ===Deprecated Plugins===*Mupen64 HLE RSP - Comes with the old zilmar-spec Mupen64. A very fast and compatible HLE RSP plugin. Written by Hacktarux and Azimer. Has issues with some games, particularly those using MusyX microcode. MusyX support was and many other compatibility fixes were later added to the Mupen64Plus version, but those changes have yet to be backported which has now been ported to the zilmar-spec after years of exclusivity on the Mupen64Plus side of things. As such, this versionis officially obsolete.*z64 RSP plugin pack - Largely deprecatedby the Static Interpreter/CXD4 RSP plugin. This set of RSP plugins comes with the z64 video plugin, each with their own purpose:**Ziggy-z64RSP - This RSP is based on the MAME/MESS RSP code. It is slower, but more accurate.

**Angrylion angrylion - This RSP is a simple Interpreter, and is required for a few games like World Driver Championship to work correctly with z64gl.*[http://forum.pj64-emu.com/showthread.php?t=3618 HatCat's RSP Interpreter] - As of the most recent release version, it is not only one of the most accurate RSP plugins, but also one of the fastest if using the SSSE3 version, though zilmar's RSP in Recompiler mode trumps it in speed. It also comes in SSE2 and non-SSE variations in case your PC does not support those instruction sets. It is capable of working with both HLE and LLE audio and video plugins via the following settings:**Send display lists to the graphics plugin - Check if using an HLE graphics plugin, uncheck if using LLE**Send audio lists to the audio plugin - Check if using an HLE audio plugin, uncheck if using LLE**Force CPU-RSP signals synchronization - Check if playing Gauntlet Legends, World Driver Championship, or Stunt Race 64. Only works with Project64 2.x.**Support CPU-RSP semaphore lock - Check to fix issues with Mario no Photopie. Only works with Project64 2.x.-- If using HatCat's RSP Interpreter with Project64 2.2+, you will have to use [https://github.com/cxd4/spconfig/releases his spconfig.exe file] to change these settings, as Project64 2.2+ uses a different plugin spec.

Project64 comes bundled with the following plugins:*Video: Jabo's Direct3D8, Project64 Video (Glide64 under another name), GLideN64*Audio: Jabo's DirectSound, Project64 Audio*Input: NRage for Project64, Project64 Input*RSP: Project64 RSPShould you wish to use other plugins, they must be downloaded from a third party source and dropped into their respective plugin folder categories in the Project64 directory. Video plugins go under Plugin/GFX, audio plugins under Plugin/Audio, etc. *'''Commonly UsedGeneral Use'''**Glide64 2.0.0.1GLideN64**ShunyuanAzimer's HLE Audio NEW (set to LLE)**HatCat's RSP or Zilmar's Project64 RSP**Either For the majority of games, the default Project64 RSP plugin should be will work just fine for most games. HatCat's RSP is more accurate and compatible. However, zilmar's is faster and doesn't require HatCat's spconfigat least in HLE mode.exe Should you wish to switch between HLE/use GLideN64 in LLE mode (or any LLE video plugin for that matter) with Project 2.2+. Keep the Project64 RSP, simply uncheck "Graphics HLE" in mind that Glide64 2.0.0.1 is the same as Glide64 Final. Glide64 2.0.0Plugin configuration screen.1 is just a merge of Glide64Alternatively, GlideHQuse ParaLLEl-RSP, and Glitch64 (which of course the final version has) to be one filethough that only works in LLE, but limits you to certain settings that cannot so GLideN64's HLE mode will be changed unavailable with the emulatorthat plugin.*'''Best Performance'''**Project64 Video or Glide64 Final

**Zilmar's Project64 RSP or Mupen64Plus HLE RSP**Make sure you configure the graphics plugin to show texture enhancement options. Then you'll have an extra tab to change more options. Goto Go to the texture enhancement tab and click on the button that gives the best performance and it should improve framerate once you saved the settings. There's also another button for best texture quality. ThereRecommended for the older zilmar-spec emulators as well (replace Project64 Video with Glide64 Final for those, though you may want to do that even with Project64 should you run into a regression). If you absolutely need more performance, you can try Jabo's no need plugin (specifically version 1.6.1, NOT the buggy version bundled with Project64), though it comes at a cost to touch compatibility. Also, try out the other plugins. Recommended for most emulatorsMupen64Plus HLE RSP if you'd like to eke out that extra bit of performance.

**Angrylion's Pixel-Accurate N64 Plugin or Shunyuan's SoftGraphicRDP Plus**ShunyuanAzimer's HLE AudioNEW**HatCat's Static RSPInterpreter**Do not expect If you have a decent quad-core CPU, you can run many N64 games with pixel-perfect graphics at full speed, thanks to run the emulator with these plugins without a powerful PCnew multithreaded version of angrylion's software plugin. Audio can mislead easily if itThe new Azimer's not plugin (still WIP) works well in sync LLE. To use the Static Interpreter RSP in LLE, you'll have to run the spconfig.exe that comes with the that plugin, and tell it to NOT "simulate RSP graphics when using from external plugin" (in other words, type "0"). Since there's almost no accuracy difference, you may as well use ParaLLEl-RSP to get better performance, and/or move to ParaLLEl-RDP outright for even greater speed and upscaling options to boot (though it goes without a powerful PCsaying upscaling would no longer be accurate). Gives best Conversely, if you want even greater accuracy, disable "Hide advanced settings" under Configuration, then enable "Always use interpreter core" under Advanced, and most accurate appearanceunder Angrylion's options, disable multi-threading and set compatibility to "Slow". Performance WILL crash, but will give up a big amount of framerates just to run hey, it.'ll be accurate!

The official releases of Mupen64Plus only come bundled with a handful of video and RSP plugins, namely Glide64mk2, Rice, and the HLE RSP. The developers also maintain forks of the CXD4 RSP and the z64 video and RSP plugins, but they are not included in the official release bundles for some reason. Should you wish to use those plugins or third party ones such as GLideN64 or the ParaLLEl plugins, you must build them yourself or get them from outside sources. Due to this fact, the mediocre nature of the "official" video plugins, and the overall lack of user-friendliness, it may be better to use a fork such as [[simple64]] or [[Mupen64PlusRMG]] has its own set of , though note that simple64 only comes and works with the ParaLLEl plugins which are incompatible , so RMG is a better choice if you wish to use something else, as that comes with more plugins used and allows you to use whichever ones you want.*'''General Use'''**Video: GLideN64 or ParaLLEl-RDP**RSP: RSP-HLE (for GLideN64) or ParaLLEl-RSP (for ParaLLEl-RDP)**Either one of these combinations will enable you to play the vast majority of N64 games while having reasonable system requirements. GLideN64 is faster and has more enhancement options, but ParaLLEl-RDP is much more accurate to the real console. You can also use the CXD4 RSP with GLideN64 if you want, but be sure to set it to pass display lists to the graphics plugin in other emulatorsmupen64plus. Here cfg, else GLideN64 will switch to its LLE mode, which is an overview of not generally recommended setupsto use.*'''Commonly UsedPerformance'''

**RSP: cxd4-ssse3**Glide64mk2 is just Glide64 with additional tweaks and enhancements for use with Mupen64Plus. cxd4 is one of HatCat's many names. The cxd4 plugin is a port of his RSP for zilmar-spec emulators. This appears to be the best combination for use with most games, though toasters may have performance issues.*'''Best Performance'''**Video: Rice**RSP: rsp-hleHLE**These are Mupen64Plus's default plugins. Rice's Video Glide64mk2 is a plugin used based on other N64 emulatorsGlide64 Final, most known for its support for hi-res texture packsand is named so as to differentiate it from the original, now enhanced for Mupen64plusobsolete fork of Glide64 that Mupen64Plus used at its inception. It is not quite up to Glide64GLideN64's level, but it does well enough for many games and is quite fast. The default RSP plugin appears to be just an enhanced port of vanilla Mupen64's RSP. Use this combination if you have a lower end PC and that can't handle the Commonly Used General Use setup. If your device STILL can't handle this setup, try the Rice video plugin, but expect many missing effects, glitches and incompatibilities.*'''Accuracy/Rogue Squadron'''**Video: z64 Angrylion Plus or angrylion's PerParaLLEl-Pixel RDP with OpenGL**RSP: cxd4CXD4-ssse3or ParaLLEl-RSP**z64 is a port Any combination of z64gl, a low-level emulation video plugin for N64 emulatorsthese should result in very high accuracy. It comes with its own accompanying z64 RSPTechnically, but cxd4 (a port of HatCat's RSP Interpreter plugin) appears to be more the most accurate and very well optimized. This setup is capable of playing difficult games like Rogue Squadron Angrylion combined with very few graphical glitchesCXD4, but the difference between these and faster than on Project64 the ParaLLEl plugins is almost negligible, while being a lot slower. Be sure to set the CPU core to bootPure Interpreter for even greater accuracy, along with plummeting framerates.