- See also: Glossary
Playing SM64 ROM hacks: A How-To[]
So... Where do I start?
Here's an overview of what you need to play Super Mario 64 ROM hacks:
- Any software capable of emulating the Nintendo 64 console.
- A ROM file for the game you want to play.
- A way of patching .bps files onto ROMs.
- Any computer that is at least slightly more powerful than a potato.
How do I know what kind of emulation software I should get?
That should and probably will be a whole separate article. But the answer is almost certainly Parallel Launcher, regardless of what computer you're using.
I have my emulation software of choice set up. How do I start playing games?
Quick answer: Upload any game's ROM file to the emulation software.
Long answer: In order to play games, you first need to select a game file for your emulator to run. For Parallel Launcher, it will only accept game files in the .z64 file format (see below for what to do with a .bps file); this is because Parallel Launcher only emulates the Nintendo 64 console. If you are using another form of emulating software that emulates games for other consoles, such as OpenEmu, you will need to consult the software's guide to find out which file formats it will accept.
This is because each gaming console interprets information differently, sort of like its own language. A game that was made to be run on a Nintendo 64 system console would not be able to run a GameCube console- it would need to be fully translated into the GameCube's system language to be interpreted. The file types we use for ROMs represent the different languages used by different consoles. The .z64 format is a language understood by the Nintendo 64 system. Each console system likely has multiple file formats it can interpret (Nintendo 64 ROM files can also use the extension .n64), but sometimes emulation software is not capable of understanding every language. Parallel Launcher is very good at interpreting .z64 files, but struggles a great deal with .n64 files, hence why we recommend using .z64 files for playing Super Mario 64.
Where do I get ROM files for games from?
The distribution of ROM files for copyrighted games, including Super Mario 64, is illegal.
...But simply possessing a ROM for a copyrighted game is not illegal. We can't post instructions for how to obtain one here, nor can we recommend any websites to check out or else we risk having the Mario 64 Hacks Wiki shut down for violating Fandom's Terms Of Services. However, it is not illegal to recommend places to discuss such activities, given that words are simply words. Consider joining some ROM hacking discord servers, or for more general inquiries, have a chat with the folks on Reddit.
Where do I get .bps files from?
The distribution of .bps files is not illegal, thankfully. Hence why hacks are distributed in that form rather than complete ROM files. .bps files can be downloaded from websites such as romhacking.com, smwcentral.net, ROMhacking.net, sm64romhacks.com, or you can even check out archive.org.
I have a .bps file. What now?
Now you need to patch it onto a ROM file. Here are two easy methods:
Using Parallel Launcher:
- Open Parallel Launcher.
- Click on the hamburger menu and select + Add Single ROM. This should open your file explorer.
- In the file explorer, select the .bps file.
- The program will now complete the function, but it may not necessarily start up the newly-made ROM. If it doesn't seem like it has done anything, repeat steps 1 and 2.
- This time in your file explorer, you should see a new file in the same location as the .bps file. This new file should be in a .z64 format.
- Select the .z64 file, and it should appear in Parallel Launcher's interface.
- If you cannot see it in Parallel Launcher, first try switching to the standard interface (the one that does not show images for each game and has a paintbrush icon in the top right corner) and searching for it.
- If the ROM you are adding is a different version of a ROM that you have already added to Parallel Launcher, it may not appear as a newly added ROM. On the standard interface, different versions may appear to be duplicate files with very little differences in the information displayed for each one. In the romhacking.com interface, find the original ROM that was added first on Parallel Launcher and select the Version dropdown menu on the right, then check to see if the new ROM has been added as another version. See the example below:
In this example, I have attempted to add a new version of a hack to Parallel Launcher- B3313 version 1.0. However, upon adding it, the new ROM isn't appearing when I search for it by name in the romhacking.com interface. But by selecting the dropdown menu for the older version of B3313 (outlined in a red box here), we can see that it has been added as a new version of a pre-existing ROM on its menu- see the version indicated by the arrow. We know that this is the same ROM as the one we have been trying to add because it shares the same name as the .z64 file that was created after patching with the .bps file.
Using Floating IPS:
- Click "Apply Patch" and select the original Super Mario 64 (US) ROM file from the file explorer that opens, which should be in a .z64 file format.
- After selecting the ROM, it will once again open the file explorer- select the file you want to patch onto it. This file should be in a .bps format.
- Doing this does not alter the ROM file itself, nor the .bps file. Instead, it will create an entirely separate file. It should also come up with a third file explorer window to let you choose what to name this new file and which location it will save to.
FAQ[]
Can I play on an operating system other than Windows, such as MacOS or Linux?
Yes! Parallel Launcher is fully compatible with both of those and many other operating systems. However certain other programs, such as Floating IPS, are Windows only, so other operating systems likely won't have access to the full range of tools.
Can I play on my phone?
Apparently yes! I have heard users discussing their setups that use an android phone, and at its very basic function, a smart phone is essentially just a small computer. But given that phones aren't designed with playing ROM hacks in mind, it's likely that some jailbreaking (AKA phone hacking) will be needed.
SD Card Set-Up[]
A small number of hacks require the use of an SD card. Luckily, with Parallel Launcher, we can forego the difficulties of manually setting one up, and instead set up a virtual SD card. If you're familiar with Parallel Launcher, the quick how-to guide below should easily guide you through the process of setting one up. If you're not confident with navigating Parallel Launcher, then try the detailed how-to guide below the quick one.
Quick How-to:
- Go to Settings, and select Emulation.
- Click on the box labelled Emulate SD card interface and make sure it is ticked.
- Exit Settings and return to the main window for Parallel Launcher. There should now be a new option labelled SD Card on your emulator settings.
- Click on the settings icon next to the SD Card dropdown menu, and click + Create New.
- Recommend not changing any of the SD card set up options unless the hack author has specifically requested it. Click Create and exit the SD card settings window.
- Back on the main window, use the SD Card dropdown menu to select the SD card you just created. You should now be able to properly play the hack that requires it.
Detailed How-to:
- In the top right corner of the Parallel Launcher window, clicked the hamburger menu ☰ and click on "Settings". This will bring up the settings window for Parallel Launcher.
- In the panel on the left, select the second option down called "Emulation".
- Find the tick box labelled "Emulate SummerCart64 SD card interface" and click on it if it is not ticked. It should appear as ticked: ☑
- Exit Settings by closing the window. There should now be a new dropdown option on the emulator options on the main interface for Parallel Launcher. On the default interface, this will be below your ROM library, likely under
"☑ Sync save files between hack versions" and the "Input mode" dropdown menu. On the romhacking.com interface, the emulator options are laid out the same, but located to the right of your ROM library. - On your new "SD Card" dropdown menu, click the settings icon directly right of the dropdown box, which resembles an equals sign = with a couple dots on it. This should bring up the "Manage Virtual SD Cards" window.
- On this window, click the button on the bottom left labelled "+ Create New". This will slightly alter what's going on on the right side of the window.
- On the right side of the window, leave the options as their default and click the button labelled "💾 Create", then exit the window.
- Back on the emulator options on the main window/interface, use the dropdown menu to select the SD card you just created. You should now be able to play any hack that requires you to have an SD card set up!
Glossary[]
| ROM | This is an acronym that stands for "Read-only Memory". It is a file medium for storing digital data that can only be read by a computer, not altered (at least not without some difficulty). |
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| .z64 | This is the file format most commonly used for games that were designed to run on the Nintendo 64. A file ending in this extension that contains a complete game is referred to as a ROM. There are many file extensions used for game ROM files, but in this community, .z64 is pretty much the only one that's relevant. |
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| .bps / patching | This is a type of file that contains instructions for performing modifications on a ROM file. The act of using a .bps file to alter a ROM file is referred to as "patching". Note that the act of altering a ROM file with a .bps file does not actually alter the ROM file, but instead clones the ROM file and alters that one instead. |
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| Emulator | An emulator is a piece of software that is capable of simulating real-life hardware. In the context of Super Mario 64 ROM hacking, we use emulation software to simulate the Nintendo 64 console. This allows us to play games designed to run on a Nintendo 64 from our own computers, thus making those games much more accessible.Here is a more comprehensive guide to emulation as a topic. |
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| File Explorer | Called Finder on MacOS. This is the interface a user can use to view the files on their computer. It can also be used to make changes to files, move them, duplicate them, delete them, and open them. |
| K | K |
| Operating System | An operating system is a program that controls and manages the hardware and software on a computer. If you're reading this from a desktop computer or a laptop, it is quite likely that your computer's operating system is Windows. However, if your computer has come from Apple, then it'll be MacOS. And if you're on any of the others such as Linux, chances are you haven't bothered to read this bit anyway since those operating systems are typically only used by quite advanced users. Here's a WikiHow article to help users figure out which operating system they're on. |