Homebrew RetroArch Switch

[Legend Of Kay]

Is it recommended to update by downloading the nightlys or by updating the cores in the app? Or does it not matter?

 

[mesakagi]

Is this emulator safe to use now or dose it still slowly erode and corrupt system files?

 

[ElConsolero]

I run Retroarch on my NSW (OS 6.0.1 & latest SX OS 2.1beta) for a while and never had any real big issues with corrupt system files on my exFat formatted 128GB SD card.

 

[Clydefrosch]

never in my life will i understand the point of the playlist feature...

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I run Retroarch on my NSW (OS 6.0.1 & latest SX OS 2.1beta) for a while and never had any real big issues with corrupt system files on my exFat formatted 128GB SD card.

well, exiting homebrew through the build in exit options goes a long way to keep corruption at bay.
but you may already have issues you're not aware yet.
a file here, a file there, you're not constantly checking every game installed, every save made etc

 

[Lethal_NFS]

never in my life will i understand the point of the playlist feature...

Probably a broken favorites tab.

 

[LibretroRetroArc]

Just thought I'd leave this here in case somebody else runs into the same problem I did.
I installed RetroArch on a fresh install of Reinx on firmware 6.0.1 (A few Nintendo accounts had been linked and WiFi was enabled but other than that and the fimware upgrade, the Switch was basically brand new) and tested a game or two and everything was working fine. I opened the Video settings menu just to peek at what was in there and I'm pretty sure I didn't change anything. Immediately after exiting the Video settings menu the backlight started flickering really bad. I got really worried when the flickering continued even after I exited RetroArch and went back to the Horizon menu. Power cycling didn't fix the problem. Booting into the OFW didn't fix the problem. I searched around online but couldn't find anybody else reporting the same problem. There were a couple people stating it might have to do with the battery and let it completely drain then recharge but nothing stating what caused it to start happening. Luckily, I did find a program in the homebrew app store named ScreenTester-NX. Using that program, I was able to have it run through the rapid color change mode for a bit and that seems to have fixed the flickering problem. Thanks Marice Lamain (the author of that package), I was close to restoring my NAND backup and returning this console back to the store.

Don't use features like Black frame insertion at least in Video Settings, I imagine the relative low specs of the Switch display aren't really built for that. This feature is meant on PC for monitors that have 100/120Hz or more.

We might have to try hiding such options away for Switch, right now it's just there on any OpenGL-enabled build (since most of the code for RetroArch assumes a PC environment).

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

Is this emulator safe to use now or dose it still slowly erode and corrupt system files?

Only exfat formatted cards will do that and it's not exclusive to Retroarch but all homebrew

 

[zacly]

i made an interesting discovery earlier today. I thought why don't i try the NEW nsp and the latest nightly. BAM bad audio in psx rearmed. Across the board too. Rolled back BAM back to what I like. So methinks something broke in latest nightlies so I would roll with stable not latest nightly. Nightly that works fine for me is 10/07 hope this helps others.

zenjiki I have no idea what that last post means (like what you ended up doing etc) but oddly I do always play with a pro controller. Is this part of the magic formula?

I will try that one and hope it fixes my audio. Thanks for letting me know what nightly you're using

 

[Bedant]

Only exfat formatted cards will do that and it's not exclusive to Retroarch but all homebrew

should i format
my sd card to fat32 to prevent corruption?

 

[Purple_Shyguy]

should i format
my sd card to fat32 to prevent corruption?

Its recommended, yes. Fat32 with 32kb clusters.

I formatted my exfat because I was getting constant crashes in homebrew. It seems to have fixed it so far.

 

[Bedant]

Its recommended, yes. Fat32 with 32kb clusters.

I formatted my exfat because I was getting constant crashes in homebrew. It seems to have fixed it so far.

I just encountered my first one right after i posted my question, i was wondering if there is anything to know before formatting the sd to fat32, like, im assuming theres some drawbacks?, otherwise no one would have any problem shifting from exfat to fat32.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

Anyone know why some MAME ROMS crash the Switch but work fine on the Windows version of Retroarch?

Tried playing NARC (Rev 7.00 and 3.20) using the Mame 2003 (and 2003 Plus) core and no matter what I do - it instantly crashes the Switch. Those same ROMs at least launch on the PC version. Using the Homebrew launcher, not the NSP and an ExFAT SD.

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I just encountered my first one right after i posted my question, i was wondering if there is anything to know before formatting the sd to fat32, like, im assuming theres some drawbacks?, otherwise no one would have any problem shifting from exfat to fat32.

Max file size is 4.5GB on FAT32 which will affect things like NAND backups (they'll be split into chunks) and other large files like Homebrew. Other than that, not much else.

 

[Bedant]

Its recommended, yes. Fat32 with 32kb clusters.

I formatted my exfat because I was getting constant crashes in homebrew. It seems to have fixed it so far.

I just encountered my first one right after i posted my question, i was wondering if there is anything to know before formatting the sd to fat32, like

Anyone know why some MAME ROMS crash the Switch but work fine on the Windows version of Retroarch?

Tried playing NARC (Rev 7.00 and 2.00) using the Mame 2003 (and 2003 Plus) core and no matter what I do - it instantly crashes the Switch. Those same ROMs at least launch on the PC version. Using the Homebrew launcher, not the NSP and an ExFAT SD.

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Max file size is 4.5GB on FAT32 which will affect things like NAND backups (they'll be split into chunks) and other large files like Homebrew. Other than that, not much else.

Will it also affect nsp files? if so, for example if i put a 14 gig nsp file, will they be split into different parts? if it will, how does this affect tinfoil?

 

[Flying Scotsman]

I just encountered my first one right after i posted my question, i was wondering if there is anything to know before formatting the sd to fat32, like

Will it also affect nsp files? if so, for example if i put a 14 gig nsp file, will they be split into different parts? if it will, how does this affect tinfoil?

It affects all file types - not just NSPs etc. You'll have to split the NSP yourself using this very handy Python script. Dump all the parts into the Tinfoil folder like normal and it should install them in order automatically.

 

[Bedant]

It affects all file types - not just NSPs etc. You'll have to split the NSP yourself using this very handy Python script. Dump all the parts into the Tinfoil folder like normal and it should install them in order automatically.

how does it affect game files, or for that matter, how does this affect the switch files that are already installed/in the sd card?
PS: Sorry if i'm asking too many or stupid questions.

 

[zacly]

It affects all file types - not just NSPs etc. You'll have to split the NSP yourself using this very handy Python script. Dump all the parts into the Tinfoil folder like normal and it should install them in order automatically.

Remember to change the folder to Archive so tinfoil can see it. Also usb installs are a thing now to get around this, it just needs some cleanup and a nice GUI to make it more user-friendly. That will come with time.

 

[Flying Scotsman]

how does it affect game files, or for that matter, how does this affect the switch files that are already installed/in the sd card?
PS: Sorry if i'm asking too many or stupid questions.

It shouldn't affect them much. It's just more of a pain to split large NSPs manually every time you want to install something.

It will affect large files which can't be split however but I've not seen many of those so far.

 

[zacly]

how does it affect game files, or for that matter, how does this affect the switch files that are already installed/in the sd card?
PS: Sorry if i'm asking too many or stupid questions.

Make sure you copy all files to your computer, format the card the fat32 with 32kb clusters, copy the files back. Nsps are split after install, so if you have a larger game that's installed already it will fit on the Fat32. Unfortunately, it sounds like your files are already corrupt, so you will most likely have to start over.

 

[Bedant]

Make sure you copy all files to your computer, format the card the fat32 with 32kb clusters, copy the files back. Nsps are split after install, so if you have a larger game that's installed already it will fit on the Fat32. Unfortunately, it sounds like your files are already corrupt, so you will most likely have to start over.

How are my files already corrupt? ._." i'm lost. I haven't had a single crash, except the one, like half an hour ago, and that i'm thinking might be something to do with the preview version of mgba that i launched and then exited.

 

[q9p]

I'm clueless on what is going on with RetroArch on my Switch. For some reason when I save in-game it never actually saves. The savefile directory is the default one that RetroArch points to.

 

[grabman]

I'm clueless on what is going on with RetroArch on my Switch. For some reason when I save in-game it never actually saves. The savefile directory is the default one that RetroArch points to.

exfat?