Newbie just looking for a quick overview of what I should do when I first start

[PhilTheStampede]

I've read about needing UIC II installed, and the latest operating system and some other things to make DD and Arcade games work properly. What should my initial setup on my SD card be to get this up and running 100% so I dont have to worry about anything save for a few issues stickied?

I've also read that saving in certain games is weird.

Lastly, I have to ask because I've seen this in more than one place. The battery. What is the deal with it? What is it for? How long does it last? And are my saves stored on the actual rom on the SD meaning they are safe if the battery does need to be replaced?

P.S. What controller are people rocking these days? I'm fond of the original style, but I've had a bad experience with 3rd party controllers. They all have that issue when the joystick is either full on or off. Example being I can't walk in a game. I'm either not moving or I'm sprinting. I'm considering the Hyperkin Captain. Does that work well? Better options?

[ozidual]

Which ED64 did you get?  None of the new ED64s need anything installed after the fact.

1. Download the OS
2. Unzip it somewhere on your computer (creates an ED64 folder)
3. Create a file called save_db.txt on your computer.
4. Copy everything from OFF=0 to the end of the main post here (https://krikzz.com/forum/index.php?topic=6126.msg47751#msg47751) and paste it into save_db.txt
5. Copy save_db.txt and overwrite save_db.txt in your ED64 folder
6. Download this formatting program (https://www.sdcard.org/downloads/formatter/) and format your card
7. Copy the OS folder over (the ED64 folder)
8. Copy ROMs over either directly to the SD card or into folders there

That should fix saving and give you a good solid start.  You'll need a Controller Pak for any games that use that for saving.  Otherwise all the rest are covered by the ED64.

A lot of people like the Brawler, but I've stuck with the original.  If you're looking for 3rd party that are 100% accurate, the Hori controller seems to be one that everyone likes.  I personally like the Ascii Pad since it's the original controller with auto-fire added to it.  It looks like they took original N64 board and soldered an autofire board to it.

[SaturnX]

The only thing I'll add is in response to your battery question.

The EverDrive v3 and X7 have a battery that supplies power to the volatile memory that stores your save when you turn off your console until you power it on again, at which point it'll be written to the SD card.  It also powers the real-time clock (RTC).

Here's an example of how it plays out:

1. You're playing a game with cartridge based saving (i.e. Ocarina of Time, Banjo-Kazooie)
2. When you're done, you save in game as you usually would..
3. You turn off your console - at this point the battery kicks in to power the volatile memory where you cartridge save is currently stored.
4. Later that day you fire up your EverDrive again - at this point, the EverDrive will copy the save from the volatile memory onto your SD card.

Note: As ozidual mentioned, any games that require a controller pak still require one, the EverDrive does not replace the need for a controller pak.

In short, the save from the last played/stored game is only written to the SD card when you reboot and enter the EverDrive menu again.

This is one of the biggest differences between the EverDrive v2.5 and V3/X7.  The V2.5 does not have a battery (therefore no RTC either), and after you're done playing, rather than powering down your console, you HAVE to hit Reset to get back into the EverDrive menu so it can store your save onto the SD card.  Powering down a V2.5 without hitting reset would result in a lost save.

In terms of how long it'll last... well I'm sure it'll last a while (haven't had to replace mine yet), but the EverDrive will give an error when the battery is low/drained.  But a dead battery won't have the same impact as a stock cartridge (i.e. you won't lose all your saves, as they're written to the SD), the only issue would be if you had a dead battery and powered off your console, then you'd lose THAT particular save.

Back on to the OS, depending on the version you got, download the latest OS:

EverDrive-64 X7: http://krikzz.com/pub/support/everdrive-64/x-series/OS/
EverDrive-64 v3 or v2.x: http://krikzz.com/pub/support/everdrive-64/v2x-v3x/os-bin/

Finally... in all honesty, you can't beat the stock controllers.  3rd party ones just don't come close and don't have a proper dead-zone so they end up being hyper-sensitive.

I've actually just ordered some new gears, bowl, and stick from Kitsch-Bent to restore some old worn-out controllers.  Several folks on Reddit have had good experience with the parts, so I figured I'd give them a go.

However, I just tried out the Retro-Bit Tribute controller (looks similar to the Hori), and it not too bad, slightly more sensitive than stock, but better than most 3rd party.

Enjoy the EverDrive! The community here is great if you run into any issues, and krikzz is awesome if you run into any hardware issues.

[PhilTheStampede]

Thanks, guys. These were really thorough responses and helped with exactly what I wanted to know. I appreciate it.

As for the controllers, I'll look into the hori and the other one mentioned with the turbo. I hadn't even heard of them. I'll also save the info on replace parts and maybe stock up.

Kind of weird that you have to power off and on to store your save but that's just what I'll do I guess. This is THE COOLEST thing I've found in gaming so far. Beats the hell out of Mupen's crappy emulators lol.

[Kerr Avon]

I've never liked the official N64 controller, and when I realised that I wasn't going to get used to it, I went out and bought the third party controller that most looked like a more usual controller design, and I was extremely fortunate to get the Makopad 64. It is BY FAR the best joypad for the N64, much much better than the official one. That's just my opinion, of course, but I love the pad - it's laid out much better than the official pad, with every control accessible without moving your hands, is very responsive, and VERY reliable - I've had mine for over twenty years now, and it has been hammered by me for endless hours at Perfect Dark, Super Smash Bros., Goldeneye, etc, and yet is just as responsive now as it was when it was new. And since the analogue stick's shaft is metal (not plastic, unlike the official controller's) it doesn't wear away.

It comes in two versions; the Makopad 64 (otherwise known as MakoPad 64), which is transparent plastic, and an opaque black version, called the Super Pad 64. For a review of the Super Pad 64, see:

http://s9.zetaboards.com/Nintendo_64_Forever/topic/7186633/1

NOTE: there are two different controllers named the Super Pad 64. The one I recommend is the two-pronged, black one, the top right hand controller pad in the first photo on the page I link to above (which is a pure black version of the transparent one below).


Here's the transparent version of the Makopad 64







I really can't recommend this joypad enough, but of course if you want one then you'll almost certainly have to buy one used, since it's no doubt been out of production for more than a decade.

[SaturnX]

Kind of weird that you have to power off and on to store your save but that's just what I'll do I guess. This is THE COOLEST thing I've found in gaming so far. Beats the hell out of Mupen's crappy emulators lol.

It may sound strange, but think of it this way. Once you select and load a ROM from the Menu, for all intents and purposes, the N64 is now behaving as if you put that cart into your system and turned it on to play. 

Since Krikzz’s software (menu) isn’t running anymore, there’s no way for it to read the save from the volatile memory and write it back to SD card. The only way to do that is to put the system back into the menu. So that means hitting reset (for EverDrive v2.x users) or powering off or resetting (for V3.x / X7 users) since the battery keeps the save “alive” until you get back into the menu again.

The process happens in reverse when you load a ROM, if a save exists, it’ll move it into the memory so that the ROM can read it, since the ROM can’t directly access the SD card (since it behaves as it were an actual cartridge and expects the save state to exist in specific memory registers).

So in the end and thanks to Krikzz’s brilliant design, the cart is able to mimic being a real cart.

[Immorpher]

It comes in two versions; the Makopad 64 (otherwise known as MakoPad 64), which is transparent plastic, and an opaque black version, called the Super Pad 64.

I had the Super Pad 64 variant! I always prefered it much more than the Hori controller. Since I no longer have my original "two prong" Super Pad 64, I use the new Brawler 64 and I like it just as much.