It’s faster, it’s more compatible, it supports 64DDD, native widescreen and hd hack, texture switching and, thanks to RetroArch, it’s much more portable, plus all the other toys we have available, real time translation, overlays and shaders by the hundreds, switch crt, etc, etc…
Ares looks great and maybe it’s the best in the future, but, do you think it’s a better option today?
It depends on what do you mean “better”?
If you want a faithful representation of how some N64 games run, Ares is the only option atm.
A lot of games run at the wrong speed or/and frame rate in Mupen and pretty much every other emulator.
This is not about RetroArch, it’s about the core. Which is a great core but now Ares is going to top every other option. Which is why i hope for an Ares core for accuracy and keep Mupen for performance.
But that only applies if you do not use the software renderer in Mupen, right? Most of the “problems” with Mupen comes from the hardware renderer plugins, if I am not mistake. How does AngryLion plugin compare to Ares?
Edit: I totally forgot that ParaLLEl-RDP is based on AngryLion plugin. Here a bit history to understand the relationship and how it came to be: https://emulation.gametechwiki.com/index.php/Recommended_N64_plugins
Ares uses ParaLLEl-RDP, too. The timing differences are in the other bits. CPU/RAM, bus timing, fetch stalls, etc.
No, these problems you are referring to are about graphics emulation. But ever since Parallel RDP was released, that’s a thing of the past. Now every emulator that uses it has pretty much near perfect graphics emulation. And the RA core uses it as well. You can attach this plugin to any emulator that supports it and the graphics will be fine.
The issue is the emulators themselves though and their incorrect timing issues. They are highly inaccurate. For decades nobody really cared about differences in speed/frame rates VS the real console. And that’s the legacy PJ64 and Mupen64 left. They were good enough for the standards we had 20 years ago, but i think it’s time for a more accurate core to finally replace them.
Think of how ePSXe was the only viable emulator for the Playstation for many years. This is where the N64 stands. PJ64 and Mupen are in the same league as ePSXe, with very good compatibility (and maybe helped by some good plugins) but very low accuracy. Ares is going to be like the N64’s Mednafen/Beetle PSX or Duckstation.
Yeah, pre-ParaLLEl-RDP, there wasn’t really any point in messing with most of that stuff because the RDP was so out of whack that it hardly mattered anyway. Post-ParaLLEl-RDP, that other timing stuff is suddenly the accuracy bottleneck and people (e.g., rasky et al working on Ares) are trying to get it nailed down.
Not entirely true. Example you can use snes9x2010 with a modern interface like RA. Or puae2021 that is faster than winuae, runs full speed on a 2013 cellphone. Or the latest hatari core that improved much. Some cores yes, they are dead slow like the Amstrad cpc Caprice. In general I agree RA is at it’s best on Linux. Only thing I am missing is an easy way on OS to push some custom resolutions on pal cores like amstrad, puae, fuse, hatari etc. On windows it’s very easy.
This is not about personal taste. In marketing and advertising there is a commandment, and everything that is done is based on that. "The best product/service is the one that gives more for less (or, more for equal in some cases)".
I look at the end user experience in a general overview, I’m not focusing on a single feature.
If you want to play with the best graphics in 4K, or if you want to play on a Switch in widescreen, on a high or low gamma Android, use the native output for your TV CRT, use a custom texture pack, etc.
You have several options, but the only "product "that gives you all those “services” together is RetroArch.
But if we’re going to focus on absolute precision, to be fair, we have to throw in CEN64, Larper64 and of course include MAME.
I got this list, which I’m going to share here because I find it interesting:
The best for old school PC gamers who are only interested in playing GE or PD? 1964GEPD
The best for “PC Master Race”? ParaLLEl-N64 or Mupen64Plus-Next with Vulkan + ParaLLEl RDP + ParaLLEl RSP
The best for Real PC Master Race? MAME
The best for shaders? ParaLLEl-N64 or Mupen64Plus-Next or (Project64 / Mupen64Plus) + ReShade
The best for HD texture packs, ReShade, Path Tracing, etc? Project64 or Mupen64Plus (not m64p) with GLideN64
The best for Cheaters? Project64
The best for users without technical knowledge? m64p or Mupen64Plus-Next
The best for “accuracy”? MAME
The best for “accuracy pretenders” (no variable frame rate, no frame drops, no correct timings.)? MAME, CEN64, Larper64, Ares, etc…
The best for “my computer is shit”? Project64 1.6.1 and more, many many more…
The best for users with technical knowledge? Anyone
The best recreating the true hardware experience? None
This has nothing to do with my personal tastes, It’s honestly not my favorite console and I’ve never played it on emulator.
If Ares becomes the best I will be very happy. Abundance does not bother. And it makes its appearance in RetroArch much better.
According to that github page, no.
This project is a revival and complete rewrite of the old, defunct paraLLEl-RDP project…
While paraLLEl-RDP uses Angrylion-Plus as an implementation reference, it is not a port, and not a derived codebase of said project…
ParaLLEl-RDP is an original project of RetroArch?
It is based on a specific implementation on the Angrylion and reading its code to understand how things are done. So it is based on Angrylion as a documentation I would say, not directly on the code itself. It even uses the Angrylion test cases to make sure it behaves exactly like it. Give me at least that.^^
But in the end, you are right, my wording “based on” is not 100% correct without this important detail.
yeah, it was done by maister as a proof of concept of using compute shaders to do hardware-accelerated software rendering. ParaLLEl-N64 core was the original implementation (hence the name) but he generalized it enough to make it easy to use in other projects.
I disagree about MAME. It’s goal is accuracy but at it’s current state is not nearly as good as Ares.
I’m also using texture packs just fine in RetroArch. I just select GlideN64 as the plugin for those. No need for a standalone.
m64p has been renamed to Simple 64. I agree it was the simplest “out of the box” emulator but Ares does the same thing. You don’t need to configure anything other than resolution and controls. There are no plugin shenanigans.
I will also argue that PJ64 is better for Goldeneye/PD at 60fps. It’s more recent versions have the best overclocking feature that will make these games run at smooth 60fps at all times, without needing to rely on an ancient, hacky 1964 build that i remember had issues with the sound. And you can easily configure these games for dual analog by merging the native double pad/stick scheme into a modern dual analog controller.
In my case, the N64 was one of my favorite consoles and i have been emulating since the early 00’s. And, IMO, Ares is the most important project after Parallel RDP perfected the graphics side of things.
nope’
LOOOL
These things are good to remember every so often, people downplay the project and it turns out it’s moving the industry. It’s like what they did with PSX, can’t remember the name, that makes it very fast, even on an android.
I have tried several games and everything perfect, only that you need a core i15+5x2^ to move it well.
It is good that info you share. The important thing is that there are these alternatives and the future looks bright.
Actually I liked the console at the time, I played Mario Kart and Golden Eye until I got tired, but I was very influenced by the arcades and graphics level had nothing to offer me, soon after Counter-Strike and Dreamcast came out and that made me totally forget the n64, although I would like to play Zelda, Mario and some Party games with the original controller in the future.
i used to use pcsx on its own but retroarch does have some nice features like rewinding
For platforms supported in retroarch, I use PCSX2 and Dolphin. The standalone versions just work much better and have a lot more functionalities.
Then of course you have still many platforms not in RA.
But I would always prioritise RA over standalone…unified menu, auto configured controls, option files/overrides, shaders, rewind… It just makes sense to me.
It’s always nice to try 4:3, 2D sprite based games using PCSX2, Dolphin and PPSSPP in Retroarch, though, the shaders alone make it worth looking into, the PSP and many of these 6th gen consoles also have a decent amount of vertical shoot 'em ups and things like that, also, many Wiiware, PSN and Xbox Live games can benefit from it, such as the Konami Rebirth series and the like.
Unfortunately many emulators outside retroarch because they are mainly Windows focused, they are not low res friendly and have issues running at anything lower than 800x600 or even 1024x768.
That is a huge deal if you want to play on an old vga monitor. Newer Windows unfortunately blocked all resolutions below 640x400, requiring software and hardware shenanigans. On Linux you can still use low resolutions without any extra steps or external apps.
Out of the emulators I tested, the ones that run fine at 240 on Linux are Redream and Scummvm.
Every other emulator shows distorted images and unaccessible menus.
Though in cases like gzdoom, vkquake and nblood etc if you can skip the menus, games run fine at low res.
I use Retroarch mostly on Linux. There I also use Scummvm, Redream and Dosbox Staging. Staging provides the best and smoothest experience for dos games at 640x480 and 640x400 resolutions.
On Windows I use RA mainly for the shaders and the gsync monitor but because gsync also makes a difference in non-Ra emulators I use those too.
Mainly mame (arcade64 front-end), mesen, ootake, nanoboy, psp Gold, flycast, dosbox x and Staging etc Also Sega model 2 and 3 with wide-screen and ultra wide screen support
But main reason is that I do not want to overstrain a 20+ year old vga monitor, so I use it sparingly,more focusing on Windows.