Off-Topic: Mupen64plus on Mac Silicon - finally here

Update Christmas 2022: I created a script for a fully fledged compile of mupen64plus. 

Please download the zip file under this link:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1EG6fMN-NmQl5cPZ20SNFGdych-wGmxNa/view?usp=sharing

After extraction, please check whether it is executable; if not:

chmod 755 mupen64plusSilicon.sh

With this script, you get all built automatically as described below. Be sure to have all the dependencies installed as explained below.

Only one warning: Although the Rice plugin builds successfully, it fails in my testing with several errors. For the time being, it does not work.

And if you want a frontend: That one works well, even if only an Intel binary (take the latest development build):

https://github.com/dh4/mupen64plus-qt#development-builds

Original post from 3 October 2022:

This is major (at least for me), thus I post these non-MAME news as a change: It runs on Apple Silicon, and quite well!

 

As we all know, Nintendo 64 emulation is a challenge, and modern Macs have long time been virtually excluded from proper emulation. Though OpenEmu has a N64 core based on mupen64plus, the current limitations are too big (for me), and on Apple Silicon, there is no OpenEmu binary available. But finally, you can at least compile your own mupen64plus binary, and thanks to a user, even the crucial GlideN64 plugin can be compiled now!

What you get from this adventurous compile:

• a (nearly) fully functional mupen64plus core with GildeN64 GFX, SDL joypad support and two optional RSPs (HLE and CXD4)
• very decent performance at 1280x1024 (I did not yet test higher resolutions)
• fully functional hires texture packs (crucial for me)
• everything is still considered 'experimental', but very good for me to go so far
• run it out of a directory, so I do not mess around with an app image

Requirements: Besides XCode, you need a bunch of packages to be installed (via Homebrew or via Macports). These instructions for MacOSX seem outdated. With Homebrew, an installation of the requirements is rather straight-forward:

• Homebrew (initial install)
• sdl2 (with all associated dependencies)
• libpng
• freetype2
• zlib
• cmake
• nasm

If you have already Homebrew up and running, it's very likely that you already meet these requirements.

I keep it short for the time being, but will expand if necessary. Basic Terminal knowledge and MacPorts/Homebrew will be required.

(To-do: I acknowledge that a script is overdue here, that's next. But at least you figure out what's happening here ;-)

Step 1: Download all components into an empty directory, e.g. from within "mupen64plus compile"

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-core

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-ui-console

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-input-sdl

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-audio-sdl

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-rsp-cxd4

git clone --recursive https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-rsp-hle

git clone --recursive https://github.com/gonetz/GLideN64

Note: You need all downloads in this structure, so that the components find each other during compilation.

Step 2: Compile the components separately

mupen64plus-core: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

library libmupen64plus.dylib is created

mupen64plus-ui-console: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

executable binary mupen64plus is created

From now on, it is entirely repetitive:

mupen64plus-input-sdl: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

library mupen64plus-input-sdl.dylib is created

mupen64plus-audio-sdl: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

library mupen64plus-audio-sdl.dylib is created

mupen64plus-rsp-cxd4: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

library mupen64plus-rsp-cxd4.dylib is created

mupen64plus-rsp-hle: from within the subdirectory /projects/unix

make all

library mupen64plus-rsp-hle.dylib is created

Finally the glideN64 gfx plugin: from the the subdirectory projects/cmake 

cmake -DMUPENPLUSAPI=On -DCMAKE_CXX_FLAGS=-std=c++11 ../../src/

and then

cmake --build . -j6

library mupen64plus-video-GLideN64.dylib is created in /plugin/Release

Step 3: Create a Program Directory Structure

Create a separate directory for the actual program for launching, e.g. Games/mupen64plus-bundle-Silicon; get the test ROM from here: https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-rom and put it into the same folder as the mupen64plus binary; content should be as follows:

So in the root folder, only the ui console gets in

The Frameworks directory contains all the libraries.

Content of the Frameworks directory

Now Resources: That's a bit cumbersome, but also not so difficult:

From your mupen64core download: copy Data content (font.ttf, upen64plus.ini, mupencheat.txt) 

From your mupen64plus-input-sdl download: copy Data content (InputAudioCfg.ini)

From your GlideN64 download: copy ini content (GLideN64.custom.ini, GlideN64.ini)

Resources folder content

Step 4: Launch mupen64plus for the first time

Get the test ROM from here: https://github.com/mupen64plus/mupen64plus-rom and put it into the same folder as the mupen64plus binary

From within your program directory, shoot from the Terminal:

./mupen64plus --gfx mupen64plus-video-GLideN64 m64p_test_rom.v64

You should get something like this animated in a window:

This creates a new directory: /Users/--username--/Library/Application Support/Mupen64Plus with the following content:

Congratulations - you made it through the basic mupen64plus configuration! Now comes the fine tweaking.

Step 5: Configuration within mupen64plus.cfg

For a fully functional emulation, several steps are still required, so don't stop reading! So let's configure the newly generated configuration file properly.

In line 67:

SharedDataPath = ""

must point to the Resources directory of your applications folder, e.g. /Users/--username--/Games/mupen64plus-bundle-Silicon/Resources/

In line 389 (optionally):

RspPlugin = "mupen64plus-rsp-hle.dylib"

You can switch to "mupen64plus-rsp-cxd4.dylib" if you want to experiment with the other RSP.

From line 386 onwards:

ScreenWidth = 640

ScreenHeight = 480

VerticalSync = False

I use 1280, 1024 and True.

From line 168 onwards: Controller Setup

This is a potentially difficult topic, as in MacOS, an automatic controller configuration seems difficult. Here I post as an example my manual controller configuration of a PS4 Controller via USB cable:

Most important changes: mode = 0 (Fully Manual), then all mappings of DPad, Analogue Joypads and keys.

[Input-SDL-Control1]

# Mupen64Plus SDL Input Plugin config parameter version number. Please don't change this version number.

version = 2.000000

# Controller configuration mode: 0=Fully Manual, 1=Auto with named SDL Device, 2=Fully automatic

mode = 0

# Specifies which joystick is bound to this controller: -1=No joystick, 0 or more= SDL Joystick number

device = 0

# SDL joystick name (or Keyboard)

name = "Wireless Controller"

# Specifies whether this controller is 'plugged in' to the simulated N64

plugged = True

# Specifies which type of expansion pak is in the controller: 1=None, 2=Mem pak, 4=Transfer pak, 5=Rumble pak

plugin = 2

# If True, then mouse buttons may be used with this controller

mouse = False

# Scaling factor for mouse movements. For X, Y axes.

MouseSensitivity = "2.00,2.00"

# The minimum absolute value of the SDL analog joystick axis to move the N64 controller axis value from 0. For X, Y axes.

AnalogDeadzone = "4096,4096"

# An absolute value of the SDL joystick axis >= AnalogPeak will saturate the N64 controller axis value (at 80). For X, Y axes. For each axis, this must be greater than the corresponding AnalogDeadzone value

AnalogPeak = "32768,32768"

# Digital button configuration mappings

DPad R = "button(14)"

DPad L = "button(13)"

DPad D = "button(12)"

DPad U = "button(11)"

Start = "button(6)"

Z Trig = "button(9)"

B Button = "button(2)"

A Button = "button(0)"

C Button R = "axis(2+)"

C Button L = "axis(2-)"

C Button D = "axis(3+)"

C Button U = "axis(3-)"

R Trig = "button(5)"

L Trig = "button(4)"

Mempak switch = ""

Rumblepak switch = ""

# Analog axis configuration mappings

X Axis = "axis(0-,0+)"

Y Axis = "axis(1-,1+)"

A really helpful online tool for your button configuration:

https://gamepad-tester.com/

The results from this page exactly fit with this mapping here.

Further recommended tweaking of mupen64plus.cfg:

Display FPS and rendering resolution during gameplay:

In line 549:

ShowFPS = True

In line 557:

ShowRenderingResolution = True

Step 6: Hires Textures

With the GlideN64 plugin, activation of hires textures is easy.

In /Users/--username--/Library/Application Support/Mupen64Plus create a cache directory:

Place hires textures in the .htc format in there.

In line 511 of the cfg:

txHiresEnable = True

If done properly, that should activate Hires Textures.

Step 7: Launch games from Attract Mode

(quite good, however in windowed mode with some quirks, to be completed)

(I still like running mupen64plus in Windowed mode just in case that something freaks out)

Known limitations on Apple Silicon (my personal experience during testing and playing):

• After a larger number of starts/stops, mupen64plus tends to run slowly. A restart of your Mac brings everything back to speed.
• Line 410: MSAA does not work.
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