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The implementation depends on native ARM code on top of the Zune HD’s OS, using OpenZDK. The device’s firmware is not modified, but the port, according to the developer, should only be used “at your own risk,” a standard disclaimer. It leverages an OpenGL ES 2 renderer derived from Fast3D with prebuilt shader variants, using Nvidia’s cgc and shaderfix tools, because the Zune’s graphics driver can’t compile OpenGL Shading Language (GLSL) shaders. Blending is compiled into the fragment shaders as well, since the GPU lacks fixed-function blending hardware. These workarounds are what make the project interesting.
The game’s logic runs at 30 ticks a second, but some lag is present when the Zune is unable to keep up. There is also no official FPS number. The game renders at 480×272 in landscape, with the device rotated to match. The audio synthesis runs on its own thread at a higher priority than the game, so it is not impacted by a slower frame rate. The touch control overlay provides a facsimile analog stick as well as the A, B, Z, R, four C, and Start buttons, with customizability for button style and opacity.
The project itself relies on a Super Mario 64 decompilation effort completed by fans in 2019, with a C source that rebuilds a matching ROM. The decompilation doesn’t include all of the game’s assets, and extraction requires a copy of the game. The ROM is read on the PC during the build, and the finished game can later be moved over to the device through USB. The build runs on Docker in Linux, so no Windows PC is required. The repo has no releases, and the port, which applies 14 patches to a pinned version of sm64ex, has only been tested on firmware 4.5.
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Reference reading
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/SPONSORED_LINK_URL
- https://www.tomshardware.com/video-games/retro-gaming/programmer-ports-super-mario-64-to-microsofts-zune-hd-media-player-the-2009-ipod-rival-runs-the-game-natively-on-its-nvidia-tegra-chip-with-touchscreen-controls-and-saves#main
- https://www.tomshardware.com/membership
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