Building Super Mario 64 on Android

This guide expands on chronoreverse's guide with my own discoveries and additional information. This guide covers building the game using VDavid003's Android port with optional features such as a 60 FPS patch, Render96 (high-poly) models, and other enhancements not present in the original game. These instructions should also work on other Android devices. Performance will vary on different devices with different features enabled.

Updates

Nov 9, 2022: OTA update 1.0.0.50.
Dec 7, 2022: Added DynOS and Render96 info and additional performance info. Added more screenshots. Added short section on the GUI builder.
Jan 11, 2023: Checked newest OTA update 1.0.0.75 on RP3 and everything appears to work just fine. Also added a note in the Building the game section about extra steps RP3+ users may need to perform.
Jan 29, 2023: Added an additional pkg requirement for RP3+ users. Thanks to NoodlesAteMyBaby for figuring it out. Moved SSH guide to its own page so that I can reference it in other guides. Cleaned up mirror instructions a bit since they may no longer apply.
Feb 2, 2023: Cleaned up old OTA and ex/master info. Most users should be on an OTA capable of running the ex/nightly branch now.
Feb 16, 2023: Additional notes on accessing the game's files folder for DynOS and External Data. Generalized info for Android devices. Added link to build helper.
Apr 4, 2023: Changed to custom repo that fixes a build error caused by recent clang updates and adds an app icon.
Apr 16, 2023: Added note and fix about touch screen taps triggering B button inputs on some devices.

Experimental Builder Helper

I have created a web page that generates a script to help automate some of this process.

You can try it out here: https://samutz.com/sm64/

Or continue below to build the game manually.

Requirements

An Android device with internet access.
Termux from F-Droid on that device. The Google Play Store version is out of date.
A clean US SM64 rom in .z64 format.
I can not provide a link to this rom for legal reasons.
Tool64 can be used to convert the rom from other formats.

Preparing Termux

Updating selected mirror (optional)

If you receive repo errors when running pkg commands, you may need to update your preferred mirror using the termux-change-repo command to make sure the Bintray mirror is not selected. You can also select mirrors in your region. The Bintray mirror appears to have been removed from the available mirrors in late 2022, but users that have had Termux installed since 2022 or earlier may still have it enabled.

Setup SSH (optional)

Entering commands with the Android touch screen can be a pain. You can either connect a keyboard or setup SSH to remotely connect from a computer instead. This also allows you transfer files to your device using a SFTP client.

The guide to set this up can be found here: Setting up SSH on Termux

Installing build requirements

In Termux or SSH, run pkg update and pkg upgrade if you haven't already.
Install the X11 repo (required to get mesa package):
pkg install x11-repo
Install the rest:
pkg install mesa mesa-dev binutils git wget make python getconf zip apksigner clang
Place your SM64 rom in a folder in either your Internal device storage or SD card, such as Download.
Give Termux access to your Internal storage and SD card:
termux-setup-storage

Termux mounts your internal storage to /sdcard/. So if you place your rom in your Internal storage's Download folder, it will be in /sdcard/Download/ according to Termux. You will need to remember this location when it's time to build the game. In the below examples I use /sdcard/Download/.

Building the game

Clone the ex/nightly branch from my fork of VDavid003's port:
git clone https://github.com/Samutz/sm64-port-android --branch ex/nightly
Change to the new folder:
cd sm64-port-android
Copy your rom to the current folder. It must be named baserom.us.z64, baserom.eu.z64 or baserom.jp.z64:
cp /sdcard/Download/sm64.z64 ./baserom.us.z64
Download SDL requirements:
./getSDL.sh
Build the Audio File Library:
make -j $(nproc) -C tools/audiofile

Performance warning

Before getting in to the optional features and enhancements, I want you to be aware that the game may have performance issues when combining multiple features. The features that impact performance are the Render96 model pack, no draw distance, and HD texture packs. Combining any of these with the 60 FPS patch can result in the game running slower, not just a lower framerate.

Combining these features can also make the game use more RAM, resulting in Android frequently closing apps in the background, including your home/launcher app, to free up RAM.

For example, here are some of the tests I ran on my Retroid Pocket 3. The FPS usually maintains about 60 FPS in the castle areas, but will dip and slow down in the levels depending on what's being rendered on screen.

60 FPS alone: 60 FPS stable.
60 FPS + No Draw Distance: 60 FPS stable.
60 FPS + No Draw Distance + SM64 Reloaded: Frequent framerate dips as low as 30 FPS with slowdown.
60 FPS + Render96: Frequent framerate dips as low as 30 FPS with slowdown.
60 FPS + Render96 + No Draw Distance: Frequent framerate dips as low as 20 FPS with slowdown.
60 FPS + Render96 + SM64 Reloaded: Frequent framerate dips as low as 20 FPS with slowdown.
Render96 + SM64 Reloaded: Stable 30 FPS with occasional dips to about 25 FPS when a lot is on screen.
Render96 + SM64 Reloaded + No Draw Distance: Frequent framerate dips as low as 15 FPS.

More powerful devices may get better performance.

Optional patches

You must apply these patches before running the build command if you want to use them.

You can revert a patch using:
tools/revert_patch.sh (patch file)

60 FPS Patch

This patch interpolates new frames to try to match 60 FPS. It does not change the speed of the game logic. It will not skip interpolated frames when the devices struggles to keep up, so it will slow down the game when the framerate dips below 60 FPS.

To apply this patch run:
tools/apply_patch.sh enhancements/60fps_ex.patch

DynOS Patch

Required if you want to use custom model packs, such as Render96. This adds DynOS to the game, a mod that adds a framework to make it easier to load other mods. It also includes some options to warp to levels. The DynOS menu can be accessed in the game's pause menu by pressing Z (L1 or R1 on a controller).

You will be unable to add mods unless you have access to the Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files folder. See the Folder access warning below for more information. Without this access, you will only be able to use the Warp menu.

To apply this patch run:
tools/apply_patch.sh enhancements/DynOS.1.0.patch

Build options

Almost time to build, but this is where we have some options we can pick from. These options will be included in the build command in the format of NAME=VALUE, such as TOUCH_CONTROLS=1. There will be an example of this in the build command section below.

TOUCH_CONTROLS (0, 1)

These are on screen touch controls, meant for phones and tablets. This is enabled (1) by default. Set to 0 for devices that have hardware controls such as a Retroid Pocket device.

EXT_OPTIONS_MENU (0, 1)

An expanded options menu on the pause menu. This is enabled (1) by default. I recommend leaving it on as it gives you more game options such as control, display, and sound options. Use 0 to disable it.

BETTERCAMERA (0, 1)

Disabled by default (0), but I recommend enabling it (1). This implements PuppyCam in to the game to give you smoother camera control using the R analog stick, similar to modern 3rd person games. However, there are some quirks such as the camera often clipping through walls and turning unexpectedly after using doors. This is going to be entirely up to you if you want to use it or not.

TEXTURE_FIX (0, 1)

Disabled (0) by default. Enabling it (1) fixes some known texture glitches in the game, such as the smoke texture.

NODRAWINGDISTANCE (0, 1)

This is disabled (0) by default, and like the better camera option, it is up to you if you want to use it. With it enabled (1), all NPCs and objects on the current map are always loaded and active. For example in this screen shot you can see the chain chomp always lunging toward Mario even at long distance. This may have unintended side effects on the gameplay, but I haven't run in to any so far.

EXTERNAL_DATA (0, 1)

Disabled (0) by default. Enable (1) if you want to load texture packs. See the Adding texture packs section below for more information. Do not enable this unless you can access the Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files folder. See the Folder access warning below for more information. Without this access, you will be unable to copy a required file to the folder and the game will not run.

The build command

Use the make command to build with your preferred options. For example:
make -j $(nproc) TOUCH_CONTROLS=0 BETTERCAMERA=1 NODRAWINGDISTANCE=1 TEXTURE_FIX=1 EXT_OPTIONS_MENU=1 EXTERNAL_DATA=1
Building can take several minutes. Make sure Termux remains running during this time.

If the build finishes without any errors, an APK file will be available in build/us_pc. Copy it to your Internal storage or SD card.
cp build/us_pc/sm64.us.f3dex2e.apk /sdcard/Download/

Open your Files app, navigate to the folder where you copied the APK file, and open it to install it. If you enabled EXTERNAL_DATA, do not run the game just yet and read the Adding texture packs section.

Adding mods

Folder access warning

Adding mods requires you to have access to the game's files folder. Starting with Android 11 this folder is not accessible via Termux and some Files apps, such as Files by Google. Check if you can access this folder before enabling these options. Rooted devices should already be able to access this folder. Check out this reddit thread for other options if you are unable to access the folder.

The folder you need access to is Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files.

Texture packs

If the game is built with EXTERNAL_DATA enabled, a base.zip file can be found in build/us_pc/res/. This must be copied or extracted to /sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/res/ and then texture packs can be extracted to this same folder. If you do not copy the base.zip file you will get the error "Fatal error, could not load sound data from 'sound/sequences.bin.le.64'" when trying to load the game.

mkdir -p /sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/res/
cp build/us_pc/res/base.zip /sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/res/

Here's an example using GhostlyDark's SM64 Reloaded texture pack. Note that the version I use in this example may be out of date, so check the linked website for the latest version before copying and pasting these commands.

wget https://evilgames.eu/texture-packs/files/sm64-reloaded-v2.4.0-pc-1080p.zip
unzip sm64-reloaded-v2.3.0-pc-1080p.zip -d /sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/res/

The game may take longer to load with texture packs installed. With SM64 Reloaded's 1080p pack, the game takes me about 20 seconds to start.

Render96 models

This requires the DynOS patch from the Optional patches section above. Note that the version I use in this example may be out of date, so check the linked github page for the latest version before copying and pasting these commands.

To unzip a 7z file in Termux, you need the p7zip package: pkg install p7zip

Change to the dynos/packs folder. You may need to create the folder if it doesn't exist.
mkdir -p /sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/dynos/packs/
Download the latest release from https://github.com/Render96/ModelPack/releases
wget https://github.com/Render96/ModelPack/releases/download/3.2/Render96_DynOs_v3.2.7z
Unzip the file to the packs folder.
7z x Render96_DynOs_v3.2.7z -o"/sdcard/Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/dynos/packs/"
(Optional) Remove the 7z file:
rm Render96_DynOs_v3.2.7z
Run the game and load/start a save
Pause the game and press Z (L1 or R1 on controller) to open the DynOS menu
Select Model Packs
Enable Render96 DynOS v3.2

Cleaning up

If you want to rebuild with new options, you will need to run make clean in the sm64-port-android folder first.

To remove the entire cloned repo, return to the Termux home folder using cd ~ and run rm -Rf sm64-port-android.

Other notes

Touch screen triggering B button

Some devices will treat tapping anywhere on the screen as pressing the B button. This can happen regardless of whether or not touch controls are enabled. To fix this, enter the game's pause men and go to Control settings.

If you are playing with only touch screen controls, unbind the B buttons by highlighting each of the 3 numbers and pressing the T button to set them to none. The touch screen controls will still work.

If you are using physical controls, you can set one number to your intended button by pressing A then pressing your intended physical button to bind it. Then set the other 2 bindings to none by pressing your button that's bound to the Z button.

Alternatively, if you have access to the game's data folder in Android/data/com.vdavid003.sm64port/files/user, you can try to edit the game's settings file, sm64config.txt. Replacing a binding in it with ffff will set it to none.

The game has a cheats menu included, but I believe you must build with the expanded options menu enabled (EXT_OPTIONS_MENU=1) to use it. To enable the cheats menu on press L three times (L3 on some devices). You will hear a sound effect confirming that it has been enabled. You can then find the CHEATS menu in the R options menu under EXIT GAME.

The moon jump cheat says to press L to use it, but it is L3 on some devices.

GUI Builder

VDavid003 has also made a GUI Builder that is supposed to be able to build the game for you, however I was unable to get it to work as it seemed to be missing some files or unable to download files that it requires. If you want to check it out for yourself, his video guide is here and the download link is in the description.

Questions? Need help?

There are a couple of ways to contact me:

Join either the Retroid Pocket Official discord or the Retro Handhelds discord and ping me (@Samutz) in an appropriate channel.
Message me on Reddit at u/MrSamutz.
Open an issue on the Github page for my fork.

Building Super Mario 64 on Android

Updates

Experimental Builder Helper

Requirements

Preparing Termux

Updating selected mirror (optional)

Setup SSH (optional)

Installing build requirements

Building the game

Performance warning

Optional patches

60 FPS Patch

DynOS Patch

Build options

TOUCH_CONTROLS (0, 1)

EXT_OPTIONS_MENU (0, 1)

BETTERCAMERA (0, 1)

TEXTURE_FIX (0, 1)

NODRAWINGDISTANCE (0, 1)

EXTERNAL_DATA (0, 1)

The build command

Adding mods

Folder access warning

Texture packs

Render96 models

Cleaning up

Other notes

Touch screen triggering B button

Cheats menu

GUI Builder

Questions? Need help?