Project64 is a free and open-source software

Nintendo 64 The (N64) is a home video game console developed by Nintendo. The successor to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, it was released on June 23, 1996, in Japan, on September 29, 1996, in North America, and on March 1, 1997, in Europe and ...

emulator In computing, an emulator is hardware or software that enables one computer system (called the ''host'') to behave like another computer system (called the ''guest''). An emulator typically enables the host system to run software or use pe ...

written in the programming languages C and

C++ C++ (pronounced "C plus plus") is a high-level general-purpose programming language created by Danish computer scientist Bjarne Stroustrup as an extension of the C programming language, or "C with Classes". The language has expanded significan ...

for Microsoft Windows. This software uses a plug-in system allowing third-party groups to use their own plug-ins to implement specific components. Project64 can play Nintendo 64 games on a computer reading

ROM image A ROM image, or ROM file, is a computer file which contains a copy of the data from a read-only memory chip, often from a video game cartridge, or used to contain a computer's firmware, or from an arcade game's main board. The term is frequen ...

s, either dumped from the

read-only memory Read-only memory (ROM) is a type of non-volatile memory used in computers and other electronic devices. Data stored in ROM cannot be electronically modified after the manufacture of the memory device. Read-only memory is useful for storing sof ...

of a Nintendo 64 ROM cartridge or created directly on the computer as homebrew. Project64 is considered one of the top performing emulators used today and the most popular Nintendo 64 emulator. The program is licensed under the

GNU General Public License The GNU General Public License (GNU GPL or simply GPL) is a series of widely used free software licenses that guarantee end users the four freedoms to run, study, share, and modify the software. The license was the first copyleft for general ...

version 2.

Compatibility and features

Project64 is considered a highly compatible emulator which does not require the use of a Basic Input/Output System ( BIOS). The emulator has basic features, supports multiplayer, and allows alternating the aspect ratio without cropping or quality drop.

Development history

Development of Project64 began in March 1998 with a small team consisting of Zilmar and others. In September 1999, Zilmar was introduced to Jabo, who was developing an N64 Emulator of his own. In December 1999, Jabo was invited to join Zilmar on a collaborative effort for Project64. Jabo initially did not intend on being the RDP/Graphics developer, having a greater interest in assembly language and the

central processing unit A central processing unit (CPU), also called a central processor, main processor or just Processor (computing), processor, is the electronic circuitry that executes Instruction (computing), instructions comprising a computer program. The CPU per ...

(CPU) but found himself often working on the graphics aspects. The authors have released certain parts of the

source code In computing, source code, or simply code, is any collection of code, with or without comments, written using a human-readable programming language, usually as plain text. The source code of a program is specially designed to facilitate the w ...

for the now unsupported version 1.4. Project64k is a modified version of Project64 1.4 which provides multiplayer ''netplay'' abilities via integrating the

Kaillera Kaillera is middleware designed to aid networked multiplayer play for emulators. The word "Kaillera", also spelled "kaïra", is the verlan of the French word '' racaille'' which is used in reference to "hooligans". History Kaillera was develop ...

networking client. Players are able to join servers where multiple games may be hosted with other features remaining consistent with Project64 1.4. In July 2011, Jabo decided to stop developing Project64 and released a modified version of 1.6 with some improvements. He also stated that no more releases of the source code were going to happen. However, in April 2013, Zilmar released both Project64 2.0 and an official repository of its source code that was made available on the Project64 website making the software fully open-source and accessible to everyone. It was mentioned that a major part of the code was rewritten in this version. Then about a month later, Project64 2.1 was released. In April 2015, Project64 2.2 was released along with its source code in a

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repository. From May 2015 onwards Project64 2.2 was able to play

64DD The is a magnetic floppy disk drive peripheral for the Nintendo 64 game console developed by Nintendo. It was announced in 1995, prior to the Nintendo 64's 1996 launch, and after numerous delays was released in Japan on December 13, 1999. The ...

disk roms. On August 1, 2016, Project64 version 2.3 was released, eventually being updated to version 2.3.2 in January 2017. On May 27, 2021, Project64 version 3.0.0 was released to celebrate its 20th anniversary.

Reception

In 2014'',

PC World ''PC World'' (stylized as PCWorld) is a global computer magazine published monthly by IDG. Since 2013, it has been an online only publication. It offers advice on various aspects of PCs and related items, the Internet, and other personal tech ...

'' praised the emulator for offering more "advanced settings" than Nintendo's official Nintendo 64 emulation available through the

Virtual Console A virtual console (VC) – also known as a virtual terminal (VT) – is a conceptual combination of the keyboard and display for a computer user interface. It is a feature of some Unix-like operating systems such as Linux, BSD, illumos, Uni ...

, such as the ability to change the game's aspect ratio, but criticized the emulation for being imperfect, describing it as "rough around the edges". However, up to version 2.2, there were major safety concerns of installing Project64 through its official installer after numerous reports on social media websites of the installers containing malware. Fortunately, in July 2016, this malware code was removed from both the source code and its installers. When Project64 2.3 was released, a harmless yet irritating

nagware Shareware is a type of proprietary software that is initially shared by the owner for trial use at little or no cost. Often the software has limited functionality or incomplete documentation until the user sends payment to the software developer ...

screen began to occur after a number of uses of the software which grew more persistent with successive launches as a forced waiting period is installed. The

emulation Emulation may refer to: *Emulation (computing), imitation of behavior of a computer or other electronic system with the help of another type of system :*Video game console emulator, software which emulates video game consoles *Gaussian process em ...

community, however, has managed to find a way around this issue.

References

External links

* *
Jabo's website
{{Portal bar, Video games, Free and open-source software 2001 software Free video game console emulators Free software programmed in C++ Nintendo 64 emulators Windows emulation software Windows-only free software

Compatibility and features

Development history

Reception

See also

References

External links