PJ64 FAQ - Guide - Tutorial - Everything You Need To Know

What is a Nintendo 64 emulator?

It is a program that makes your PC the Nintendo 64 console.

Is an emulator better than the actual console?

Yes it is. In fact, you will be blown away at the details in Perfect Dark that you missed because you were playing on a TV and not on a computer monitor. Beyond that, if you lined out your PC video to a television while playing Perfect Dark on an emulator, you will be amazed at the better clarity, especially across large areas like in the Temple. Framerate is another thing. Processing power of a PC can do things that your Nintendo 64 console can't.

How good of a computer do I need?

1 GB of ram minimum. Go to Control Panel > System and it will tell you there how much you have. How about the rest of your computer? Almost an impossible question to answer. You need to test and fiddle around to see if your computer can play Perfect Dark. My system plays it as fast as imaginable and my computer isn't new. I have a 3200+ AMD Athlon XP, 1.5 gigs ram, and an ATI All in Wonder 800XL. Just try to run it on your computer and see what happens is my best advice.

What type of controls can I use playing Perfect Dark on an emulator?

How about the authentic Nintendo 64 controller? Yes, it is true. Buy a USB adapter here. Aside from that you can use a mouse/keyboard setup just like a regular FPS, however this is not the proper way of playing Perfect Dark. Right? Perfect Dark deserves to be played like it was intended. Having said this, you can configure practically any controller you own to play Perfect Dark on the PC.

What are ROMS and aren't they illegal?

An emulator needs a Perfect Dark ROM to play. It's like an Mp3 player needing Mp3 files to play. Read this here about legalities. A ROM (a backup of your actual Perfect Dark cartridge) can be made using a Gameshark Pro with a working parallel port hooked up to your PC. Is that illegal? Not sure. You can make Mp3s from your cd's right so is that different? I'm not sure. To me, it's my game and I can play it on console or on the PC now. It isn't somebody else's game that I'm using.

What are plugins?

These are files that tell the emulator how to handle graphics (called video plugin), audio (called audio plugin), and input configuration (input plugin). There are many different authors out there for plugins and there is also a wide range of quality. That means, you can test many different plugins for each aspect of emulation. That is video, sound, and input. This is where emulation gets complicated. You have to copy and paste these plugins (usually consisting of only one .dll file) into your emulators plugin folder. Once you have added them into your emulator plugin directory, you are able to simply select and change plugins using an emulators settings menu. That is the easy part!!

Adding to the plugin complication is the fact that there are many different releases or versions of the same plugin. So, take Jabo's video plugin. Just because it's Jabo's video plugin, you need to know which of the 4 or 5 different versions it is. Confused yet? Bringing this explanation into the Perfect Dark online subject, you need to be running the same plugins as all of your opponents or likely problems will arise! IMPORTANT: You need to know what plugins and what versions you are using and ensure your opponents online are using the same!

Can I play online with Anisotropic Filtering on?

This is an option in Jabo's Video Plugin and will likely cause a desynch with online gameplay. Sure it makes the game look very pretty, but it will cause problems. So, keep the setting to OFF.

Can I play online using full screen or with a large windowed resolution?

Yes you can play at full screen, although I would strongly recommend a size of 800x400 out of respect for the other players. If your system can't play fast at the full screen resolution, the online performance for everyone will suffer. Large windowed resolution of 1024 or 800 max is what I recommend for the reasons stated earlier. Be considerate of the other players!

Can I still use Mirc or instant messaging while playing Perfect Dark online?

Yes, these programs use very little system resources and will not cause problems for you playing online.

How do I send a text message to my opponents when I'm playing Perfect Dark Online?

Ctrl-M and then type your message, which will appear in the lower left corner of the window.