Paper Mario DX

Paper Mario DX is a modified version of the Paper Mario decompilation specifically tailored for making mods.

Requirements

You will need:

• A computer running Windows 10+, macOS, or Linux
• The Paper Mario (US) ROM in .z64 format
• Visual Studio Code (or a different editor)

Installation

Windows

1. Install Git for Windows, keeping all the installer's default options.
2. Install Visual Studio Code.
3. Open VS Code, press Ctrl+Shift+P to open the command palette, type Git: Clone, and press Enter.
4. Paste https://github.com/bates64/papermario-dx.git, choose a folder to clone into, then click Open when VS Code asks whether to open the cloned repository.
5. Get a Paper Mario (US) ROM in .z64 format, rename it to baserom.z64, and put it in the ver/us folder inside the project.
6. Press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the game.

macOS

1. Open Terminal and run xcode-select --install to install the Xcode Command Line Tools, which provide git. Follow the prompts, then wait for the install to finish.
2. Run git clone https://github.com/bates64/papermario-dx.git && cd papermario-dx.
3. Get a Paper Mario (US) ROM in .z64 format, rename it to baserom.z64, and put it in the ver/us folder inside the project.
4. Install Visual Studio Code, then open the papermario-dx folder you just cloned (File > Open Folder...).
5. Press Cmd+Shift+B to build the game.

Linux

1. Open a terminal and install git and curl using your distribution's package manager, for example on Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt install git curl.
2. Run git clone https://github.com/bates64/papermario-dx.git && cd papermario-dx.
3. Get a Paper Mario (US) ROM in .z64 format, rename it to baserom.z64, and put it in the ver/us folder inside the project.
4. Install Visual Studio Code, then open the papermario-dx folder you just cloned (File > Open Folder...).
5. Press Ctrl+Shift+B to build the game.

Nix

1. Install Nix, using the default (multi-user) installer options.
2. Get a Paper Mario (US) ROM in .z64 format, rename it to papermario.us.z64, then run nix-store --add-fixed sha256 papermario.us.z64 to add it to the Nix store.
3. Open a terminal and run git clone https://github.com/bates64/papermario-dx.git && cd papermario-dx.
4. Run nix --extra-experimental-features "flakes nix-command" develop --profile .nix-profile --accept-flake-config. This downloads all dependencies and copies the ROM into the project, so it can take a while the first time.
5. Install Visual Studio Code, then run code . (still inside the shell from step 4) to open the project.

Build with Ctrl+Shift+P > Tasks: Run Task > Build Mod (Nix) instead of Ctrl+Shift+B, so the build runs inside the Nix environment.

Build and run

With Visual Studio Code focused, press Ctrl+Shift+B (Cmd+Shift+B on macOS) to build the game.

The output ROM is located at ver/us/build/papermario.z64. Load it in an emulator to play it. We recommend the accurate emulator ares. If you don't regularly test with ares and/or real hardware, your mod may not work correctly for others.

If you prefer real hardware, you can copy the output ROM to a flashcart.

Troubleshooting

If you run into any issues, you can ask for help in the #papermario-dx channel in the Star Haven Discord.

I closed VSCode! How do I open it again?

You can reopen it by using the 'Recent' menu on the VSCode Welcome screen.

If you can't find it, you can open VSCode from a terminal. Open a terminal in your project folder and run code ..