SOLAR64 races on Mario Kart 64 and Cruis’n Exotica tracks with up to eight players. This guide follows the creator’s play page and downloads page as of 14 October 2026 (desktop release 2026.10.13-r27). New to mods? Read Start here first.
1. What you need
Two ROMs, dumped from your own Nintendo 64 cartridges. Both are required, even if you pick a custom car or track:
- Mario Kart 64 (USA): 12 MiB (12,582,912 bytes), usually
mk64.z64. European, Japanese and modified versions don’t work. - Cruis’n Exotica (USA) for the N64, not an arcade ROM or another Cruis’n game: 16 MiB (16,777,216 bytes), usually
cruisn.z64.
.z64, .v64 and .n64 all work, since the byte order is converted for you. Extract .zip or .7z archives first. The game checks the data, not the file name, and your ROMs are read on your device and never uploaded.
2. Play in the browser
- Open the play page in a browser with hardware acceleration on (it uses WebGL2).
- Choose your Mario Kart 64 ROM, then your Cruis’n Exotica ROM. Tick Remember these files to keep them in this browser.
- The game starts in Performance mode.
On a phone, you can add it to your home screen: in Chrome on Android use Install app / Add to Home screen, and in Safari on iPhone use Share > Add to Home Screen. Turn the phone sideways; the touch controls overlay the game.
3. Or download it
The downloads page has a Windows game EXE, an installer, a ZIP, a diagnostic EXE that starts with lower graphics settings, and a Linux build. Windows builds need 64-bit Windows and check for signed updates on launch. Older GPUs have two test builds: an OpenGL compatibility build and a DX12 tier-1 build, both updated by hand.
4. Controls (keyboard)
| Key | Does |
|---|---|
| ↑ | Gas |
| ↓ | Brake, or dive in the air |
| ← → | Steer / dodge |
| Space | Boost |
| Shift | Drift |
| Z | Item (Brake + Item fires shells backward) |
| J | Join online |
| G | Ready |
| Enter | Race |
| F2 / F7 | Diagnostics / Performance mode |
Click the game first so it has focus.
5. Race online
Choose a car and press J to open the room browser. Quick Join creates a room when needed, or you can create or join your own. Rooms hold up to eight players, and each host chooses the track and rules (the host’s F6 returns everyone to the lobby). The browser and desktop versions share the same server.
6. Optional racers
Each one is imported from your own copy and stays on your device. Other players need their own import to see the model.
- Sonic: from the European Dreamcast BIN/CUE of Sonic Adventure. The desktop importer creates
sonic.bin.z. - Shadow: from the European Dreamcast BIN/CUE data track of Sonic Adventure 2, creating
shadow.bin.z. - Devil Jin: from a raw ISO of Tekken 5 (USA, SLUS-21059), with
python3 tools/import-racer.py deviljin.
On desktop, place the file at assets/<name>/<name>.bin.z beside the app. In the browser, choose the extracted .bin.z file (not the disc image) under the matching Optional racer picker.