Can the iQue games be played on the EverDrive 64?

[Grizzmeister]

I'd love to be able to play the Chinese iQue games on my ED64. Is it possible?

[supersign]

You can with all of them, but with compromises:

• All Some games do not save like the N64's typical format, they'll have to be pre-patched. Only Chinese Starfox has a patch for it. Unless of course Krikzz updates the OS with iQue save support.
  
  
• There may have graphical side-effects like random garbage on the border that shows on LCD displays. CRT's may hide this.
  
  
• Due to the iQue's power being bottle-necked by the N64, games like Chinese Starfox 64 that's less laggy then its N64 counterpart will run like the standard N64 version, albeit with graphical flaws.
  

More info: http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=7249.0

Edit: Welp, guess Wave Race doesn't work at all...!

[MockyLock]

You can with all of them, but with compromises:

• All games do not save like the N64's typical format, they'll have to be pre-patched. Only Chinese Starfox has a patch for it. Unless of course Krikzz updates the OS with iQue save support.
  
  
• There may have graphical side-effects like random garbage on the border that shows on LCD displays. CRT's may hide this.
  
  
• Due to the iQue's power being bottle-necked by the N64, games like Chinese Starfox 64 that's less laggy then its N64 counterpart will run like the standerd N64 version, albeit with graphical flaws.
  

More info: http://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=7249.0

Thank you for those interesting informations

[Grizzmeister]

Played around a little today and was able to get the iQue versions of F-Zero X and Super Smash Bros. working on my EverDrive 64. For the most part everything ran fine although Mario Kart 64 never really got beyond the title screen.

It'd be wonderful if some resourceful programmer cleaned up the ROMs so they'd run better on the ED64. I'm sure there are many others like me out there who want to own the iQue games for their historical relevance and novelty.

[supersign]

On my end, Mario Kart freezes when it fades to white after the spinning logo, so pressing Start immediately to the title screen and then pressing Start to the main menu works fine. When choosing the iQue cup for example, there's a bit of a pause when loading the first level. Surprisingly, it saved my iQue gold trophy after turning off my N64. I didn't patch it. Generally, the whole game just felt somewhat slower then the US/JP version.

One amusing tidbit: The memory pak manager is still in English!

[Grizzmeister]

I'm looking at these folder names and trying to figure out which one is Wave Race 64. 

Dongwu_Senlin_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
iQue_Mario_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Mario_Kadingche_CHN_iQP_REPACK-SUXXORS
Mario_Yisheng_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Shuishang_Motuo_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Xingji_Huohu_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Yoshi_Gushi_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Yueye_Motuo_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Zhi_Pian_Mario_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Zuhe_Jiqiren_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS
Zui_Yu_Fa_Diqiu_De_Jicheng_Zhe_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS

Going to give Mario Kart 64 another try with the instructions you provided, superbite.

I'm not really in to the iQue games so much for playing as I am for having them for archival purposes. Us collectors gotta catch 'em all! 

[ozidual]

It'd be wonderful if some resourceful programmer cleaned up the ROMs so they'd run better on the ED64. I'm sure there are many others like me out there who want to own the iQue games for their historical relevance and novelty.

Don't quote me on this, but I've tried to keep an eye on developments on the iQue front.  Maybe someone else can chime in if I'm wrong on anything.  From what I've read, the iQue is a lot more powerful than the plain N64.  So getting games to run as smoothly on the ED64 as they do in emulation or on the iQue probably isn't going to happen.  It's possible that they fixed some bugs which sped things up, but more likely that they just threw more resources at the problem.

I do have some experience with looking at the save issues.  I took a look at the 2 Zelda OoTs when they came out.  The save code is buried in the main code for the game, and they tore out huge chunks of code to put in the iQue code.  You see the N64 uses different code for accessing SRAM, Flash, EEPROM, and Controller Pak saves.  The iQue got around this by having a separate program running in the background to handle dumping the save data to a spot in the upper area of the Expansion Pak, and then having the game grab the data from there. 

While technically you could redo the code back to the old way, it will be a huge pain.  Just for one game, since each game handles things differently. 

It might be simpler for the ED64 to mimic the iQue code. Then again, the iQue has more resources available to run a secondary program in the background.  I think we may need to know more about how the iQue does stuff first (there are people working on this part).

By the way:

Dongwu_Senlin_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Animal Forest
iQue_Mario_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Mario 64
Mario_Kadingche_CHN_iQP_REPACK-SUXXORS - Mario Kart 64
Mario_Yisheng_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Dr. Mario
Shuishang_Motuo_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Wave Race
Xingji_Huohu_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Star Fox 64
Yoshi_Gushi_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Yoshi's Story
Yueye_Motuo_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Excitebike 64
Zhi_Pian_Mario_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Paper Mario
Zuhe_Jiqiren_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Custom Robo
Zui_Yu_Fa_Diqiu_De_Jicheng_Zhe_CHN_iQP-SUXXORS - Sin and Punishment

[Grizzmeister]

I've got good news and bad news. The bad news is that I couldn't get the Wave Race 64 iQue ROM to boot up at all.  However, the good news is that the F-Zero X code that unlocks all tracks, vehicles and difficulties in the North American and Japanese versions also works on the Chinese iteration as well. Here it is for those who aren't aware.

"At the title screen, press start to get the mode select, and enter:

L-Shoulder, Z, R Shoulder, Up-C, Down-C, Left-C, Right-C, Start.

You should here a sound, now choose GP Race and a new difficulty will open up."

This is EXTREMELY useful seeing as the iQue games don't save your progress.