In a recent livestream, Pixel Cherry Ninja was joined by Murray Aickin (known online as Mazamars312), the lead developer behind the Nintendo 64 core for the Analogue 3D. The conversation provided a fascinating look into the technical hurdles and personal journey of bringing the first dedicated FPGA based N64 to market.
Here are some of the interesting facts and highlights from their discussion:
The Road to the Analogue 3D
- A Seven-Year Secret: Murray revealed that he has been working on the N64 FPGA core for roughly seven years. Originally a solo project called “Ultra FP64,” it eventually transitioned into the official core for the Analogue 3D. He had to keep his partnership with Analogue a secret from almost everyone, including his close friends, for years.
- Overcoming the RDRAM Hurdle: One of the hardest parts of the project was simulating the N64’s unique RDRAM. Because modern DDR RAM is significantly faster but has different latency behaviors, Murray had to write complex code to ensure the timing matched the original hardware exactly, otherwise, games would crash or glitch.
- The “Unleashed” Mode: The console features an “Unleashed” mode which allows for overclocking. Murray explained that this eliminates the “lag” or frame drops seen in games like GoldenEye 007 and Perfect Dark, providing a smooth 30 or 60 FPS experience that was impossible on original hardware.
Personal Facts about Murray Aickin
- The Story Behind the Name: Murray shared the origin of his handle, Mazamars312. “Maza” comes from a nickname, and “312” was the ear tag number of his favorite cow from when he grew up on a farm in New Zealand.
- Development During Hardship: Murray was remarkably candid about his personal life, noting that the seven-year development period included the loss of his mother and a difficult breakup. He credited his work on the N64 core as a way to stay focused during those times.
Future Projects and the Analogue Pocket
- Virtual Boy and Atari Jaguar: Murray is far from finished with FPGA development. He confirmed he will be working on cores for the Analogue Pocket, specifically the Virtual Boy and the Atari Jaguar at some point in the future. He noted that the Virtual Boy’s CPU logic is largely complete, while the Jaguar is “booting” but still requires significant bug fixing.
- CD-ROM Improvements: He is also focusing on a “Framework” update for the Pocket that will improve how the device handles large storage and CD-based games, potentially opening the door for more complex systems in the future.
Technical Tidbits
- Wi-Fi Potential: While the Analogue 3D hardware contains a Wi-Fi chip, its full functionality hasn’t been enabled yet. Murray hinted that while it’s there, the current priority is perfecting the gaming experience before rolling out internet-based features.
- Controller Recommendations: During the stream, the Nintendo Switch Online (NSO) N64 Controller was cited as the best way to play by Pixel Cherry Ninja. It was revealed that the NSO controller can actually “wake up” the Analogue 3D from sleep mode, a feature that was very welcomed.
- The “Ultra FP64” Name: The original name of his project was a clever pun. “Ultra 64” was the original name of the N64, and “FP64” sounds like “FPGA” when spoken aloud.
This conversation highlighted the immense amount of work required to preserve gaming history through FPGA technology, showing that the Analogue 3D is the result of years of trial, error, and personal dedication.
For the full conversation, a replay of the live stream is available below.
Too bad I missed this one.
I would have asked about why it didn’t get a built-in game, like the SuperNT and MegaSG had and the Pocket has available for download on the Analogue website. Maybe if one still might come 😉 😉
btw “FP64” sounds like “FPGA” when spoken aloud…that’s not what he said and meant. It looks like FPGA when you read it, similar to how Anime0t4ku writes his name 🙂