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Frequently Asked Questions
Before trying any of these suggestions for the commonly faced issues, please make sure that your launcher and the game itself are updated to the latest version.
The game's current version is v2.2.0, and the launcher's current version is v2.1.1.
Also keep in mind that we don't offer support for the game on the Discord server anymore, but this FAQ should still cover 90% of the potential questions anyone might have.
- General
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Technical Issues & Troubleshooting
- I can't build and I'm on Windows. I'm getting an error!
- I can't build and I'm on Linux!
- I can't build and I'm on Steam Deck / Mac!
- I could get to the main menu, but the game doesn't launch when I choose "Start Game".
- My controller doesn't work in the game. What do I do?
- Some of the textures appear black and purple, how do I fix this?
- How do I fix only Mario appearing completely black?
- The game is running too fast!
- Modding / Hacks
- Suggestions
- Other
A: Simply run the installer and do what it says. Once the installation is complete, launch the game using the launcher and follow the instructions. It's a straightforward process that shouldn't take too long to complete.
A: You can install the latest version of the game on top of your existing installation without worrying about losing your save files or settings. Simply follow the installation instructions and the game will update automatically.
A: Yes, this is normal. The game is currently being built, and it may take some time to complete. Just be patient and wait until it's done. Once the build is complete, the game should launch automatically.
A: It seems like reinstalling both MSYS2 and/or the game itself fixes the issues for most people. There are also reports of certain antivirus software (like Avast) interfering with the building process, so disabling your antivirus temporarily could also help. If you're not comfortable with doing that, you can give this question a look for more information.
One other alternative is to use sm64pcBuilder2 instead to build the game, which is a very simple and straightforward process. You can also try building the game manually by following the instructions provided in the manual building guide. However, these instructions assume some basic knowledge of how this stuff works and may not be suitable for complete beginners.
A: The game is fully tested on Debian and Arch based distributions. If you follow the manual building guide exactly, you should be able to build the game without any problems.
Unfortunately, I cannot offer any help with other distributions.
A: I don't personally own a Mac or a Steam Deck, so I cannot offer any specific assistance with them. The manual building guide includes some instructions that might help you, but outside that you will be on your own. You've been warned!
Please note that even when successfully built the Mac build might contain issues not present on other platforms. Please report those!
The Steam Deck build might also contain some issues with textures. Please don't report those! I'm aware of it, I'm just not able to fix it since I cannot replicate the issue without the console.
A: First, try restarting your computer. If that doesn't work, navigate to the game's directory at GAME DIRECTORY/sm64plus/build/us_pc/ and try to launch the executable directly. If you receive an error message indicating that the game does not support your PC, try rebuilding the game from the main menu using the "Update" option.
If none of these solutions work, refer to the "I can't build" question above.
A: Although the game supports a variety of controllers, there may be compatibility issues with some, as it's impossible to have 100% compatibility with every single 3rd party controller ever made. Here are a few things you can try:
- Ensure that you have the latest version of the game.
- Add the game to your Steam library, which seems to make most controllers work.
- Ask Google. Keep in mind that if you're using a controller that was not made to be used on PC (like a DualShock 2, Wii Remote, or a Wii U Gamepad) there may not be a solution available without any 3rd party adapters.
Please note that it's normal for third-party controller button names to differ from their descriptions in the input config menu. Simply remap your buttons accordingly.
A: On Windows, delete the %LOCALAPPDATA%\SM64Plus\gfx folder. This will force the game to reload the original texture files from when you initially compiled the game. Once you've deleted the folder, restart the launcher, and the textures should load correctly.
As for non-Windows platforms, there is a known bug that can prevent textures from loading properly. Recompiling the game again from scratch might help resolve the problem, although it's not guaranteed. Alternatively, you can try specifying the path to the gfx directory as the first argument when running the game's executable. By default, the gfx directory is located at sm64plus/build/us_pc/gfx.
A: Follow these steps:
- Open the launcher and the settings menu.
- Get to the "Presets" page. It's the second leftmost one.
- Pick a preset ("Recommended" is the recommended one, obviously)
- You're good to go!
This should also fix a bug preventing the 100 coin stars from spawning.
A: Follow these steps:
- Open the launcher and the settings menu.
- Scroll down in the "Display" page.
- Change the graphics backend option to "OpenGL".
- Mamma mia!
Alternatively, you can also try to limit the game's FPS using Nvidia's control panel or other 3rd party tools. Make sure that you limit sm64.us.exe's frame rate, and not Super Mario 64 Plus.exe's.
A: Unfortunately, no. It's not possible to add support for ROM hacks without creating individual versions for every ROM hack out there.
If you really want to play SM64 ROM hacks on the PC port, check out this question for an alternative.
A: You can install custom texture packs by following the guide here. As for custom models, you can install those easily using sm64pcBuilder2 but they are not officially supported.
There is no direct support for other kinds of mods, including audio packs. Check this question to learn more about the reasoning behind that.
A: Short answer: No.
Long answer: The official Render96 texture pack kind of works with SM64Plus, only with the exception of skybox textures. The models and other features of it are not supported.
Once again maybe give this question a read too.
A: At this point, SM64Plus is considered feature complete, so the answer is probably a no.
That being said, I still continue to update the game with minor changes, additions, and bug fixes. It's only significant new features that are no longer being considered, and for those I do not accept any requests.
If you have suggestions involving smaller scale changes (such as bug fixes), you're welcome to share them on our Discord Server. No guarantees on if they will ever get implemented though.
Please also note that with this project I'm limiting myself to the assets provided by the original ROM, such as the models and textures. There are also certain things that I cannot change without making those changes permanent and non-toggleable, such as the level design. So even if I was accepting feature requests, many of the common requests such as "new levels" and "new playable characters" would've been waaaaay outside the scope I set.
A: No.
Adding online multiplayer to any game is already a rather difficult task, but adding it to a game that's not already built with multiplayer in mind is even harder. So that alone would take as much effort as everything else that's already in this fork, combined.
There's another fork of the PC port that aims to add online co-op into the game, so you might as well give that a try instead. Check this question if you need a link.
A: Also no.
These fan projects are things I make during my free time, and they do take a lot of effort to make. I can't really take on such a commitment just because a few people asked me to. If I'm already interested in making something, I'll probably make it eventually, if it's possible that is.
"If it's possible" is the key phrase here. I based my work here on the existing SM64 PC Port and the SM64 Decompilation Project. Things like those don't really exist for most games.
A: Not exactly. There are multiple forks (different versions made by different people) of the original PC port of Super Mario 64, each with their own goals and changes to the base game.
The main goal of SM64Plus is to give people an easy way to play the game with modern quality of life improvements, while staying true to the original N64 version. One of its unique features is that it allows players full control over these improvements, enabling them to customize the game's look and behavior.
Because of this, however, SM64Plus is rather lacking in a few areas. As mentioned in other answers, the mod support is rather limited, there are very few graphical enhancements, and there's no extra content beyond some extra game modes. The approach taken with SM64Plus prioritizes "quantity" over "scope" (not quality!!), which means that there is a limit to the complexity of individual settings and the number of quality of life updates that can be included.
Thankfully though, there are quite a few other forks of the original SM64 PC port out there, with different goals compared to SM64Plus.
To heavily simply...
- For casual playthroughs: SM64Plus, but the other forks mentioned here are also good.
- For modding: sm64ex, sm64ex-alo, or Moon64.
- For best visuals: Render96ex or sm64rt.
- For playing ROM Hacks: Different branches and forks of jesusyoshi54/sm64ex-alo.
- For multiplayer: sm64ex-coop.
- For creating machinimas: Saturn.
- For a more vanilla experience: SM64Plus with the Vanilla preset, or just an emulator.
You can install most of these with sm64pcBuilder2.
(Disclaimer: I am only sort of a contributor for Render96ex, and am not associated with the rest at all. Don't blame me if anything happens with them!)
A: In the launcher there are a few pages of settings that are not normally accessible by default.
To access them you have to hold down the backspace key (or the select button of your controller) on the disclaimer screen until the screen goes white. You will then get a message that tells you that you have enabled the hidden categories. You have to do this every time you run the launcher if you want to change any of those settings.
A: There you go! Full credit goes to Benial for it, he did an amazing job. :)
A: It's available on SoundCloud. I held Catonator hostage and forced him to compose this for me. I keep him in my basement and only feed him whenever he composes a new song for me. So far he seems to be still alive.
A: Not yet. A 3DS port is something I'd want to attempt, but it's very low priority at the moment.
A: I'd say so! As long as you downloaded the launcher from MFGG, you're good to go!
If your antivirus software raises any warnings, it is highly likely to be a false positive. Chrome, in particular, has a tendency to flag things as suspicious, often for little to no reason.
That being said, nobody is forcing you to play the game. If you don't trust it, then you don't have to. There are other ways to play SM64, you know.
A: Nintendo hasn't taken down the repositories of any of the other PC port forks yet, and it's been over a year since the release of this fork, so I doubt it, but cannot say anything for sure.
They did take down compiled assemblies before though, hence why with SM64Plus you have to build the game yourself, using an original ROM file of the game.