# Installing N64 Texture Packs

> How to install an N64 texture pack with GLideN64: where the texture pack folder is, why it needs the game's internal name, and what to check when it fails.

Web page: https://emulationking.com/nintendo/n64/texturepacks/how-to-install/
Page updated: 2026-11-03

N64 texture packs are loaded by the emulator's video plugin, not by the emulator itself. Most packs on this site are in the Rice format, which GLideN64 loads. GLideN64 comes with Rosalie's Mupen GUI (RMG) and Mupen64Plus, and works as a plugin in Project64. The game's ROM is never changed, so a pack can be removed at any time.

> [!NOTE]
> A pack page says when a pack needs something else. A few packs are for Rice Video 6.1.1 or Jabo's plugin, which use their own settings, and a few are for the Wii Virtual Console releases and load in Dolphin instead. For those, see [Installing GameCube and Wii Texture Packs](/nintendo/gamecube/texturepacks/how-to-install/).

## 1. Use GLideN64 as the video plugin

In RMG and Mupen64Plus, GLideN64 is already the video plugin. In Project64, download [GLideN64](/nintendo/n64/plugin/gliden64/), extract it into Project64's `Plugin` folder, and pick it as the video (graphics) plugin under **Options > Settings > Plugins**.

## 2. Put the pack in the texture pack folder

Open GLideN64's settings and go to the **Texture enhancement** tab. The **Texture pack path** box shows the folder GLideN64 loads packs from. In Project64 it is `Plugin/hires_texture` by default. Other emulators set their own folder, so check this box rather than guessing.

Inside that folder, each pack needs a folder named after the game's internal name. This is the name stored in the ROM's header, in capitals, such as `THE LEGEND OF ZELDA` for Ocarina of Time or `SUPER MARIO 64`. Most packs already come in a folder with that name, so extract the download into the texture pack folder as it is.

- Project64's game list can show an **Internal Name** column (choose the columns under **Options > Settings**).
- Releases from different regions can have different internal names. A pack made for one release may need its folder renamed for another.

> [!WARNING]
> Check that extracting doesn't create an extra folder level, such as `hires_texture/SUPER MARIO 64/SUPER MARIO 64/`. The textures, or the pack's own subfolders, should sit directly inside the game's folder.

## 3. Turn on the texture pack

On the same **Texture enhancement** tab, tick **Use texture pack**. GLideN64 loads the pack the next time the game starts. A big pack can take up to a minute the first time.

> [!TIP]
> **Save enhanced texture cache to hard disk** keeps the loaded pack in a cache file, so later starts take a few seconds instead. If you change or update the pack, delete the old cache file from the texture cache folder (the **Texture cache path** box), or the old textures stay.

## When a pack doesn't load

- Check that the folder name matches the game's internal name exactly, and that **Use texture pack** is ticked. Then restart the game.
- Older Rice packs may need **Alternative CRC calculation (for old Rice Video packs)** ticked. If a pack loads only partly, try switching this option.
- If transparent parts of a texture look wrong, try switching **Use full transparencies**. Newer packs want it on, older packs off.
- Very large packs need a lot of memory. Use a 64-bit emulator. If the game stutters or crashes while loading, tick **Use file storage instead of memory cache**.