For the longest time, people doubted that the MiSTer FPGA system could ever host an N64 core – but that has now become a reality.
As we reported a while back, Robert Peip / FPGAzumSpass has been working tirelessly on an N64 core for MiSTer, and it recently got to the stage where it can be made available to the general public. If you use the 'update_all' script on your MiSTer, you'll notice Peip's core is now available to download – a truly amazing achievement.
"I'm very happy with the result," Peip tells Read Only Memo. "When I started, it wasn't even sure if the core could fit at all, let alone run at those high clock speeds. My initial minimum goal was to have the Mario 64 decompiled version running on the MiSTer, maybe even compiled for a different CPU if required. But it turned out that nearly everything was possible and working, and that was a big surprise and a great outcome."
With that done, Peip has announced that he's taking some time off from FPGA development and is instead focusing on creating his very own video game.
Peip reveals to Read Only Memo that he's currently working on GBA development, but that doesn't necessarily mean his game will be on that particular console:
Working on a game for a console that I recreated myself just makes sense for me, as I know the inner workings of them and how to use all of their power to my advantage. Also it's something unique. With all those indie titles for modern platforms, it's very hard to stick out. Compared to that, the amount of full games being released for older platforms is very low.
Tools today are so much more advanced so that the development time can be cut down significantly, making it even possible to do this by myself. However, I hope to get some assistance at some point for sound and pixel art. But first I have to prove myself to be able to tackle it and see if those type of games will find some audience today.
Peip's Patreon account has been closed down following his decision, and the developer left the following message:
It doesn't mean that I will never work on my old cores or new ones again, with potential new hardware coming up enabling new possibilities, but for the next 6-12 months that will not be the case. You probably noticed over the last years that I can only follow one project and give it full focus, it's just the way I work. Therefore I decided it's not fair to keep that account here open and let so many people spend money every month. I would have a bad feeling all the time.