Emulation Help & Fixes - PJ64 v1.7

[Desert Drifter]

--Reader’s Note: These are settings that may work on lower-end PCs without lagging problems, though settings I said not to use, since they may lag performance, might not be a problem on higher-end PCs. Project64 v1.6 is very similar to v1.7 then what I marked that is not. The purpose of this is to help newbies to this emulator and to improve the quality of game play on lower-end PCs, though bumped into a few unfixed errors here and there…

-Running:
*PJ64 v1.7.0.49 (Beta)
(The only problem with v1.7, they took out the "Self-Mod Code Methods" dropdown selections from v1.6, making the CPU run a lot slower on lower-end PCs. Checking "Check Memory Advance" runs it at super speed in v1.6, though you might need "Limit FPS" checked... Though the new version fixes all known graphic errors in most games, though a glitch here and there, but harder to run perfect, speed wise, getting lots of lagging. They took a small step back on the CPU, but did fix a lot of known graphic errors. Don’t forget their new fancy icon.)

-On PC:
*PIII 866 w/384Ram w/Win2000 Pro
(No service packs installed)

-W/Video:
*Nvidia GeForce4 MX440-SE DDR AGP 4x 64MB
(Used a Nvidia GeForce2 MX/MX 400 AGP 4x 32MB - Worked pretty well, just a tad bit slower then the Geforce4. New card shows better texture displays (sun and glare effects) though shows a blacked out graphic hear and there (Majora's Mask/a couple of others) though whiteout graphic textures here and there no longer show (Pilotwings/a couple of others).

-Using Directx:
*8.1

-Using Plugins:
*Jabo's Direct3D 8.1.7.0.53 – (PJ64 v1.7 only)
(The one that fixes the known graphic errors in the past while 6.1.5.2 may be a little glitchier.)
*Azimer's HLE Audio v0.56 WIP 2
(Still the best)
*N-Rage’s Direct-Input8 V2.1.82
(Still the best)
*RSP Plugin 1.7.0.2 – (PJ64 v1.7 only)
(RSP emulation Plugin 1.6 runs a tad slower actually, while the one above runs at better quality.)

Updated: 10/13/2007

[Desert Drifter]

NOTE: TO FIDDLE WITH SETTINGS I LISTED BELOW, YOU MUST UNMARK “HIDE ADVANCED SETTINGS” IN THE “OPTIONS - SETTINGS (MENU) – OPTIONS (TAB)”…

-Options – Settings (Menu) – Plugins (Tab):
*High LV GFX – (PJ64 v1.7 only) Check
(Will crash without)
*High LV Audio – (PJ64 v1.7 only) Check
(On RSP Plugin 1.7.0.2, it disables the sound in 007-TWINE & Gauntlet Legends with it on, though will improve sound quality in a lot of other games with it checked.)

(Advanced (Tab), set to: CPU Core Style/Recompiler, Function Lookup Method/Physical Lookup Table, Default Memory Size/4MB, Advanced Block Linking/Off, & all other options checked but "Protect Memory" & "Enable Debugger", which both seem to slow down performance.)

-Options:
(Configure Graphics Plugin (Menu), set to: Jabo's Direct3D 8/Windowed Resolution/640x480 Full Screen Resolution/640x480 Full Screen Sync/Triple Buffer Anisotropic/2x & all other options checked off. Setting Full Screen to 512x384 actually runs a lot faster and applies a pixelate filter to it, but may not display well on higher resolution desktops, mine is at: 800x600 for Dual-view support. Setting Anisotropic as high as it lets you, improves graphic clearness and quality, if your video card enables it, but with it checked off, it might run the emulator a tad bit faster, though doesn’t slow it down that much, so try it at least 2x. Checking “Super 2xSaI textures” & “Always use texture filter” will fix and improve pixelled graphics and text but will slow down big time on lower-end PCs Jabo's Direct3D 6/NOT YET TESTED.)

(Configure Controller Plugin (Menu), set to: Deadzone of 50% & Analog Stick Range of 100% + Real N64 Range checked, seems to work best without movement problems and delays, though Kirby 64 has a problem with it...)

(Configure RSP Plugin (Menu), set to: RSP emulation Plugin 1.6/Have both "Send Audio & Display to Plugins" checked, but noticed in 077: TWINE & Gauntlet Legends sound is disabled, so must check off "Audio to Plugin" to enable it, though slows down sound performance in lot of other games. RSP Plugin 1.7.0.2/Can’t be configured.)

-System (Menu): (Shows when a game is running only)
(Limit FPS: off - runs faster without, though may “flicker” & have “second pauses” here and there since games will be running past the speed they should be on extremely fast PCs. I have it on for a couple of reasons, lockups mostly.)

Updated: 10/13/2007

[Desert Drifter]

-Games that work fine: (For you to see how my system runs w/ settings)
*007-TWINE (Actually works perfect. Crappy speech? Who cares, I turn it off.)
*Aidyn Chronicles (A tad bit slow at menu animations - no big deal)
*Armorines (A tad bit slow at times)
*Banjo-Kazooie (Actually works perfect)
*Body Harvest (A tad bit slow at times + jittery menus)
*Castlevania (Lags, drives me nuts. Did work perfect on v1.6 though.)
*Castlevania: L.O.D (Lags, drives me nuts. Thought the first was bad…)
*Donkey Kong (A tad bit slow at times + startup screen appears off-screen, though plays okay.)
*Earthworm Jim 3D (Actually works perfect, though a graphic may not appear here and there correctly)
*Extreme-G (Actually works perfect)
*Glover (Actually works perfect)
*Goemon (Lags a little during stage play, drives me nuts.)
*Goldeneye (A tad bit slow on loading screens, though plays not too bad during missions - no big deal)
*Harvest Moon (Actually works perfect)
*Mortal Kombat 4 (Actually works perfect)
*Hybrid Heaven (Actually works perfect)
*Jet Force Gemini (v1.7 missing file (pif2.dat) from v1.6, causing “Copy protection failure LUT” error & crashes, though when restored, plays fine, though lags at movie screens)
*Kirby 64 (Actually works perfect, though seems to work with Controller Plugin: Jabo’s DirectInput 7 and not too well on N-Rage’s Direct-Input8…)
*Load Runner 3D (A tad bit slow at times - no big deal)
*Majora's Mask (Actually works perfect - though on a Geforce2: it turned day and night perfect and no floors where black in certain areas - now does on Geforce4)
*Ocarina of Time (Actually works perfect)
*Mario Golf (A tad bit slow at startup - no big deal)
*Mario Kart (Actually works perfect)
*Mario Party (Actually works perfect)
*Paper Mario (A tad bit slow at certain animations + glitches before battle screen - no big deal)
*Perfect Dark (Lags hard on the demo screen though a tad bit slow here and there during game play - no big deal)
*Pilotwings (Actually works perfect)
*Quest (Sprite whiteout problems, though plays fine - no big deal)
*Rayman 2 (A tad bit slow at times - no big deal)
*S.C.A.R.S (Actually works perfect)
*Starwars EP1 Racer (Menus displays half off monitor/TV, though game plays perfect during game play – no big deal)
*Star Fox (Lags only on map screen - no big deal)
*Super Mario 64 (Actually works perfect)
*Super Smash bros. (A tad bit slow at times - no big deal)
*Turok 1, 2, & 3 (1 & 2 actually works perfect, though the third one might be a tad slow here a there.)
*Yoshi's Story (A tad bit slow at times during screen changes + Black line graphics on water/fire levels - no big deal)

--Problem with games: (Ones that pest me)
*Banjo-Tooie (v1.7 missing file (pif2.dat) from v1.6, causing “Copy protection failure LUT” error & crashes, though when restored, plays fine, though lags like hell. - The fix to "No Controller" Set: Options - Settings (Menu)- Rom Settings (Tab) Though may need to run game to access) - & “Default Save Type” to: "16kbit Eeprom".)
*Gauntlet Legends (Lags, flickers continuously, and blacked out graphics everywhere - Don't play cause of it)
*Mario Tennis (Lots of blacked out graphics and lags like hell – Don’t play cause of it)
*Spiderman (Lots of sprite visibility problems, buildings, you name it - though plays fine but looks like hell)
*Vigilante 8 & 2nd Offense (Menus messed up, appears half off monitor/TV, & lags like hell - Don't play because of it)

--Final Note: I have a minimum system here, as you can see, so maybe this could help someone else with the same problems, though just found that "Advanced Block Linking" prevented a lot of games from running, giving them constant “Break Point” errors. Some games have delayed music and sounds, though play fast but haven't played every game all the way though, so might be a glitch here and there, but emulation isn't perfect, eh? PJ64 seems to have fixed a lot of missing graphics in many games plus runs a lot smoother then most emulators, and yet still working on the next project... Maybe someone knows the deal, with the problem games, maybe I’m missing something… Will test more games, settings, & plugins, down the line but don't have much time other then what I messed with so far. Was very slow on most games when first tried it, but fiddled a little over time to get where it is now, though will work on the lagging and problems I listed, but can’t guarantee it, might have to wait for the next version, but then again, maybe I need a system upgrade…

[Desert Drifter]

-Configuring a Nintendo 64 Controller:
(For those who don’t know how to setup the right buttons for it. Seems to be a known problem lately…)

There is the Analog, the middle control stick (Usually the control that moves the main character or vehicle), a directional pad, the up/down/right/left pad (Usually not used for anything, though Kirby 64 uses it to move instead of the Analog), Two action buttons (A and B. A is blue and B is green), four C buttons, the four yellow up/down/right/left buttons (used for extra action buttons or moving game-view camera around), two shoulder buttons (L and R), a Z-trigger button (Used for firing, etc.) and a Start button (used to pause, quit, or set game options) to program and completely control the game.

Now you know this fact, lets program them… A control stick is best for the Analog, since it handles movements of 180 degrees, which a directional pad cannot. A directional pad for the barley used control pad, two free shoulder buttons for L and R, two free action buttons for A and B, though need six total to cover the C buttons, though I programmed them to another free control stick like the Gamecube controller, since I only have four action buttons. Now the Z-trigger, I programmed that to a free shoulder button (have four on mine). Don't forget the Start Button; set that to a middle button if possible. (Using a: two Analog, one directional pad, four action button, four shoulder button, two middle button, controller, so keep this in mind…) Should be set after this, hope this helps.

[Desert Drifter]

Feel free to post an ideals, the more, the better. I'll work on Jabo's Direct3D 6 Plugin for those who can't use the 3D 8 version, maybe it might work better with those laggers I listed above...

[Wongass]

Hi Desert, just wondering coz my current version 1.7.0.55 is always crashing when using any of the plug-ins. I can't seem to load any game.

I am currently using nVidia Xtreme-G 163.67 Vista 32bit on my vista Ultimate x86. All other drivers are also updated. My specs are Opteron 180, MSI 8800GTS 320mb. The Kaillera and 1.6 seems to run fine but I'm really hoping for the graphical updates of 1.7 which 1.6 lacked

[FatTrucker]

Hi Desert, just wondering coz my current version 1.7.0.55 is always crashing when using any of the plug-ins. I can't seem to load any game.

I am currently using nVidia Xtreme-G 163.67 Vista 32bit on my vista Ultimate x86. All other drivers are also updated. My specs are Opteron 180, MSI 8800GTS 320mb. The Kaillera and 1.6 seems to run fine but I'm really hoping for the graphical updates of 1.7 which 1.6 lacked

There are lots of broken or hacked versions of 1.7 floating about. The only way to get a properly working version of 1.7 is to donate and download it from the PJ64 site.
If you are using a version you found on the net, chances are it won't have any of the compatibility or functionality that the real 1.7 version enjoys.

If you are using a legitimate version of 1.7 from the PJ64 site then as a donator the guys over there should be willing and able to tell you if any of your hardware or software is incompatible or unsupported.

[Desert Drifter]

Wongass:

Well, never used .55 yet, only got to .49. Anyhow, could be the graphic
plugin: Jabo's Direct3D 8, though known to not work on some chipsets,
forcing you to use the 3D 6 one, but has graphic glitches in a lot of
games. Not sure of the error your getting, but sounds like you can run
the program, just not a ROM, hence guessing the video plugin... I
downloaded mine from the donation page, just before they went down, so
then again, it's a beta I'm using, which like I said, runs slower on
lower end PCs while v1.6 ran at full speed. Still experimenting with it, but after talking to EMUtalk about my lagging (that I listed above) they suggested using another RSP plugin, which I am at the process of working on.

[DonnyTaylor6060]

If you use the exact audio video & rsp plugins with Mupen64 0.5.1 & play 007 T.W.I.N.E there are no speech glitches. Try Resident Evil 2 with Mupen also. If only the depth errors were corrected, RE 2 would be perfect!

[Desert Drifter]

So far, nothing new, though lags on certain games (Forgot to mention the lagging on large areas of Majora's Mask/Banjo-Kazooie/& Hybrid Heaven - which is driving me nuts, though fast on v1.6... go figure eh?... though missing graphics...) and can't seem to find a solution for it, but they work, so can't argue with that. I'm done with testing for now, probably wait for the final release of v1.7, so until then, don't know what else too do, but if I do find a better setting or plugin that makes it run faster, I'll let you know, but for now, I'm hitting a wall here... Like I said above: v1.7 is a step back on the CPU for lower-end PCs but a step forward on the graphics, though they might fix it in the final, but won't stop here, so give me some time. Until then, some advice: try to keep your FPS rate (VI/s) at 50 - 60 to keep the ROMs at average speed to make them run perfect, but I know: Hard to accomplish, but did get it too run the best I can with the settings above, though might update a few things... Until then, take care and if you find a solution here, don't be afraid to post it, it helps all of us.

NOTE: Will explain in a post above of settings that are around (Debugger features/graphic options) at some point for those whom are curious. Also: might work on a manual for ZSNES & VirtualBoyAdvance for beginers...