Picture: Zion Grassl / Time Extension The N64 will quickly flip 30 years outdated, however hackers and homebrew builders are nonetheless discovering new {hardware} – and a revered member of the neighborhood, Kaze Emanuar, simply dropped a bombshell: the N64 has so much. RAM than we up to now idea. It’s been believed that Nintendo’s 64-bit console can get entry to 4MB of RAM, with an extra 4MB being presented by the use of the Growth Pak. Then again, as Kaze Emanuar explains within the superb video beneath, there could also be an extra 0.5MB of RAM from each resources – giving the gadget a complete of 9MB. The place does this additional reminiscence come from? Smartly, it will possibly all be traced again to Silicon Graphics, the corporate that made the N64 {hardware}. The console has 4.5MB of RAM hooked up the usage of a 9-bit knowledge bus – with the ninth bit reserved for the GPU. The whole lot aside from the GPU simplest will get 4MB of RAM – except you in finding some {hardware} problems, which Emanuar explains within the video. Subscribe to Time Growth on YouTube2.2k Just one recreation that makes use of 9-bit correctly, and that’s the reason Zelda: Majora’s Masks as a result of its “Lens of Reality” impact. Probably the most the reason why it has now not been used such a lot is the good effort required to take away what, on paper, is a small reminiscence (we will be able to now not attempt to faux that we perceive the whole lot, then again, so you’ll want to watch the video intimately and tell the central a part of the entire image). Can this additional reminiscence be utilized in, say, Donkey Kong 64 to steer clear of the usage of the Growth Pak? Kaze Emanuar’s analysis displays that it would not impact the quantity of reminiscence had to run Uncommon’s 3-D identify, which is already the usage of 7MB of to be had RAM. Every other factor, which is progressing, is that lately’s builders who use this extra reminiscence are restricting their target audience, as a result of this present day they just paintings on actual N64 {hardware} – even probably the most correct N64 emulator can’t replica this. It is still observed if the FPGA in response to the Analogue 64 will permit this to occur, however for now, this little hack is restricted to the unique N64 consoles.
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Damien has been writing professionally about skilled video games and video since 2007 and manages all Hookshot Media websites on a piece of writing foundation. He’s additionally the editor of Time Extension, the community’s new website, which – satirically – is set sports activities historical past.
