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[VGEsoterica]

Like back in the day when there was that video of a kid ripping open wrapping paper to find a N64 boxed and ready to play today Nintendo 64 got another xmas present with a 1.28x clock speed boosted core on MiSTer FPGA, giving games like Goldeneye, Perfect Dark, Banjo Kazooie and Tooie, Donkey Kong 64 and more better and more stable frame rates all around. Basically playing how everyone hoped the games would have played back in the day! Which is not a christmas gift to scoff at.

Getting Goldeneye near to 30fps on the regular just makes for such an infinitely more playable experience compared to stock hardware and for the purists out there the Turbo core sits along side the standard recreation of an N64 in FPGA so its just more options.

But GAF...what gaming gift do you have on your list this year?

 

[bender]

 

[Ulysses 31]

Hope the Analogue N64 FPGA Console will have this turbo feature!

 

[SlimeGooGoo]

.

 

[VGEsoterica]

shut up baby I know it

 

[nkarafo]

This only affects games with unlocked frame rate like Goldeneye, or games with a lot of slowdown. OOT doesn't drop below 20fps on Kokiri forest on real hardware, KI runs at 60fps on real hardware too, not sure about drops though.

There's simply no difference between OOT and real hardware and it's weird when i hear you saying it looks so different. I assume you have a real N64 to test and report these things?

 

[BouncyFrag]

But GAF...what gaming gift do you have on your list this year?

I just need time to actually game.

 

[Ulysses 31]

This only affects games with unlocked frame rate like Goldeneye, or games with a lot of slowdown.

That's pretty much the majority of N64 games. I'm tinkering with N64 games on a HDMI modded N64 and a retrotink 4K and most modern players would be shocked at the performance a lot of games run at, especially when using "high res" option in expansion pack games.

 

[VGEsoterica]

This only affects games with unlocked frame rate like Goldeneye, or games with a lot of slowdown. OOT doesn't drop below 20fps on Kokiri forest on real hardware, KI runs at 60fps on real hardware too, not sure about drops though.

There's simply no difference between OOT and real hardware and it's weird when i hear you saying it looks so different. I assume you have a real N64 to test and report these things?

I’ll have to do side by sides because while it’s capped there are moments I’ve seen dips in the intro that don’t exist now on turbo. So I’ll look into showing them back to back

 

[Scotty W]

I have no idea what this thing is

 

[nkarafo]

That's pretty much the majority of N64 games. I'm tinkering with N64 games on a HDMI modded N64 and a retrotink 4K and most modern players would be shocked at the performance a lot of games run at, especially when using "high res" option in expansion pack games.

OOT is pretty stable 20 fps though.

 

[VGEsoterica]

I have no idea what this thing is

This should explain a lot

MiSTer FPGA 2023 Build Guide and Software Setup! Build the BEST Retro Gaming Device Around!


Basically it’s a recreation of original console hardware in logic elements. Written in verilog or VHDL. It basically “becomes” the hardware the code targets. Think of a mini console from
Nintendo or Sega …except it’s not using software emulation but “hardware replication”

 

[Scotty W]

Is it a board you put in your computer, or a box you attach to the tv?

 

[Deerock71]

Here's the whole video.

 

[SScorpio]

Is it a board you put in your computer, or a box you attach to the tv?

It's standalone. There are FPGA dev boards for PCs, but using one would still have the same issues a software emulator has in terms of OS overhead and process switching.

The MLiG MiSTer video is long, but really well done if you want more information.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Is it a board you put in your computer, or a box you attach to the tv?

Stand-alone device running a tiny OS which is not taking any overhead on the replication.

Think of it like a console. Except it can become over 100 different pieces of hardware in logic replication vs software emulation

 

[Scotty W]

Stand-alone device running a tiny OS which is not taking any overhead on the replication.

Think of it like a console. Except it can become over 100 different pieces of hardware in logic replication vs software emulation

If I want to play, say, a Saturn game, do I have to use an original cd, or can I use a usb or sd card?

 

[VGEsoterica]

a whole host of new speed improvements!

 

[BlackTron]

Not gonna lie, NATIVE 64 games with better framerates is pretty nuts and nothing I ever saw coming.

 

[VGEsoterica]

Not gonna lie, NATIVE 64 games with better framerates is pretty nuts and nothing I ever saw coming.

It’s absolutely fun to get all these new things

 

[Calverz]

The Nintendo 64 was special

 

[BlackTron]

The Nintendo 64 was special

Was and still is. I still use a real one during gatherings for all my fam's favorite classic MP games. In November I went to an airbnb with a gaming laptop, a Switch, and...a Nintendo 64 with 4 controllers. A real one is better than the emulation headaches for what we're doing with it, I tried...even have all the USB adapters for the gamepads. If I can get all the benefits of native games without being trapped on original res and framerates on a 55" TV, that would solve everything.