# n64

Published articles for n64.

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## Why this obscure audio codec is a perfect fit for the N64

DevFeed: [Why this obscure audio codec is a perfect fit for the N64](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/why-this-obscure-audio-codec-is-a-perfect-fit-for-the-n64-121631.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://blog.adafruit.com/2026/11/06/why-this-obscure-audio-codec-is-a-perfect-fit-for-the-n64/>)

Author: Anne Barela

Published: 2026-11-06T20:59:17Z

Content type: article

Language: en

Sources: [Adafruit Industries](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/adafruit-industries-makers-hackers-artists-designers-and-engineers.md>)

Topics: [FFmpeg (Fast Forward Moving Picture Experts Group)](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/ffmpeg.md>)

Tags: [audio](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/audio.md>), [codec](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/codec.md>), [gaming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gaming.md>), [history](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/history.md>), [libdragon](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/libdragon.md>), [n64](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/n64.md>), [nintendo](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/nintendo.md>), [reverse-engineering](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/reverse-engineering.md>), [ulc](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/ulc.md>), [vintage-computing](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/vintage-computing.md>)

### AI overview

ULC suits N64 audio playback because it provides full-band transform coding without entropy coding, keeping decoding relatively simple for a constrained system. Its 4-bit coefficient nibbles reserve values for zero fill, noise fill, or quantizer changes; unpacking a block takes about 150 lines of C. On N64, the inverse modified discrete cosine transform (IMDCT) was moved to the RSP, whose data and instruction memories are each 4096 bytes, resulting in about 1400 lines of 16-bit fixed-point MIPS assembly. A 44.1 kHz stereo track uses about 4% of CPU time and 5% of RSP time. The excerpt says the recent Half-Life N64 port uses ULC for 2,500 sounds and 27 music tracks; it does not provide comparative performance figures for other codecs.

### Source excerpt

The N64 had poor options for recorded audio. Cartridge space was tight, the CPU ran at 93 MHz, and Nintendo kept third parties away from the RSP vector co-processor for years. Most games built music from short samples like a tracker. Libdragon, the open source alternative to Nintendo's library, has an ADPCM decoder and even [...]

## Making Xibalba 64, a New N64 Release in 2026

DevFeed: [Making Xibalba 64, a New N64 Release in 2026](<https://devfeed.tech/articles/making-xibalba-64-a-new-n64-release-in-2026-120851.md>)

Original publisher: [Read original article](<https://hackaday.com/2026/11/06/making-xibalba-64-a-new-n64-release-in-2026/>)

Author: Donald Papp

Published: 2026-11-06T09:00:03Z

Content type: news

Language: en

Sources: [Hackaday](<https://devfeed.tech/sources/hackaday.md>)

Topics: [Game engine](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/game-engine.md>), [3D](<https://devfeed.tech/topics/3d.md>)

Tags: [console](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/console.md>), [demo](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/demo.md>), [engine](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/engine.md>), [fps](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/fps.md>), [game](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/game.md>), [game-engine](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/game-engine.md>), [gameplay](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gameplay.md>), [games](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/games.md>), [gaming](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/gaming.md>), [hardware](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/hardware.md>), [memory](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/memory.md>), [music](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/music.md>), [n64](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/n64.md>), [nintendo-hacks](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/nintendo-hacks.md>), [raycasting](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/raycasting.md>), [screen](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/screen.md>), [sound](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/sound.md>), [stable](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/stable.md>), [xibalba](<https://devfeed.tech/tags/xibalba.md>)

### AI overview

Xibalba 64 is a new physical Nintendo 64 FPS built with Dominic Szablewski's MIT-licensed high_impact engine, originally made for 2D content. To use it for 3D, he designed flat levels with no elevation, avoiding a dimension the engine cannot handle. The game supports two-player couch co-op and four-player deathmatch, and runs at a stable 60 frames per second, with some slowdown in four-player split-screen. Developing the full release also required revisiting level and gameplay design, sound, and music. The excerpt describes a boxed release with cartridge, manual, and art.

### Source excerpt

[Dominic Szablewski] created something that we don't see every day: a no-kidding new physical Nintendo 64 game for sale, complete with cartridge, manual, and box art. He wrote about what ...read more