Homebrew Question Status of homebrew?/noob.

[the19thbear]

Hi. I have been lurking for a while and wanting to do this.
Now I think is the time I think
I have a switch that is labeled "can possibly be patched", but have not investigated further.
I want to mainly be using it running linux with retropie. (have seen others do this).
So what is the status.
Do I still need an RCM jig? no matter what?
My understanding is that I need to use the jig every time I reboot the switch, right? And do I need the USB C payload hardware device as well and use that every time?

Would love to have a solution where I can enable homebrew mode once I boot up (using jig or whatever) and then be able to access both my "normal" switch with normal games I bought and also access retropie, without rebooting. Is that doable?

Is there still a physical device that I can solder inside the switch to bypass all this?

Sorry for all the noobness
Thanks.

 

[masagrator]

Do I still need an RCM jig? no matter what?

If it's patched, jig is useless and you won't be able to use linux and android.

 

[the19thbear]

Ok thanks. Will check if it is patched then.

 

[Tomato123]

Hi. I have been lurking for a while and wanting to do this.
Now I think is the time I think
I have a switch that is labeled "can possibly be patched", but have not investigated further.
I want to mainly be using it running linux with retropie. (have seen others do this).
So what is the status.
Do I still need an RCM jig? no matter what?
My understanding is that I need to use the jig every time I reboot the switch, right? And do I need the USB C payload hardware device as well and use that every time?

Would love to have a solution where I can enable homebrew mode once I boot up (using jig or whatever) and then be able to access both my "normal" switch with normal games I bought and also access retropie, without rebooting. Is that doable?

Is there still a physical device that I can solder inside the switch to bypass all this?

Sorry for all the noobness
Thanks.

Only way to check if it's patched when it's in the grey area of serial numbers is to try boot into RCM which you need the jig for (There are more janky methods but just get a jig). And it's possible to enable AutoRCM so the jig isn't required after the first successful RCM boot. I haven't touched my RCM jig since I bought it probably around 2 years ago.

 

[the19thbear]

HORAAAYYYY. Its not patched
Just ordered a 128gb card and rcmloader+jig.
Can't wait to play the good old games on my swittch

 

[Basketto]

Only way to check if it's patched when it's in the grey area of serial numbers is to try boot into RCM which you need the jig for (There are more janky methods but just get a jig). And it's possible to enable AutoRCM so the jig isn't required after the first successful RCM boot. I haven't touched my RCM jig since I bought it probably around 2 years ago.

Im guessing you dont update your sysnand much? I love autorcm, but if you update officially, its auto-disabled.

 

[Tomato123]

Im guessing you dont update your sysnand much? I love autorcm, but if you update officially, its auto-disabled.

I update through daybreak so I do keep AutoRCM. I have no reason to touch stock firmware or the official updater.

 

[BigOnYa]

I update through daybreak so I do keep AutoRCM. I have no reason to touch stock firmware or the official updater.

Agreed I haven't had to to use my jig or reboot my switch with a payload for months now (AutoRCM and payload reboot.bin set to Hekate)..on 11.1 CFW Atmos and just put to sleep when done...don't play online at all, and any games that require a higher FW, I just patch them with "renxpack" to work on my FW. Many options are available, so don't settle! Game On!

 

[the19thbear]

Thanks for the answers. I have continued another thread here: https://gbatemp.net/threads/best-universal-emulator.587231/
Feel free to chime in.

Thanks again

 

[Tomato123]

Ok, so while waiting for the things to arrive in the mail, I have some questions about emulation.
I want to run at least SNES, scummvm, sega megadrive and maybe something else.
I really like the GUI of retropie, but it seems kind of overkill to install ubuntu just to be able to run retropie. Also, It's kind of annoygin that you have to start up ubuntu, use the touch screen feature to enter retropie. I play mostly from dock and dont want to that.
Is there any other "universal emulator" (meaning an emulator app that run lots of different systems), with a nice GUI?
I know about retroarch, but the GUI is really bad I think.

I could also just use single emulator apps for each system, like a snes app for the snes games and so on, but would prefer to keep things tidy and have them all in one universal app. Would like to keep everything as "Kids friendly" as possible, in the sense that things should be easy to navigate.

Thanks!

Retroarch is the easiest as it can run inside of the Switch's OS itself or even as a seperate OS through Lakka. The UI isn't really that bad and you can even use this to have games show up as normal games in the Switch OS: https://gbatemp.net/threads/nro2nsp-retroarch-rom-nro-forwarders.519915/

 

[the19thbear]

Uh THANKS! Tomato123! Just what I have been looking for!

 

[kidkat210]

Just be careful with nro2nsp. I've been hearing of reports that forwarders dont work on ofw 12 0

 

[Basketto]

You probably wan’t to do some research before going full speed ahead, because running a bunch of homebrew online on custom firmware without an emunand, you risk a ban. Being banned for emulation is not that common, but its not unheard of either.
You may want to consider what you want to emulate also, because systems from the playstation 1 upwards will run better on your dual boot systems like Android/ubuntu, with gamecube/wii emulation only available on those & Lakka. The exception is 3ds emulation which does have the best performance of custom firmware.

 

[Draxzelex]

Hi. I have been lurking for a while and wanting to do this.
Now I think is the time I think
I have a switch that is labeled "can possibly be patched", but have not investigated further.
I want to mainly be using it running linux with retropie. (have seen others do this).
So what is the status.
Do I still need an RCM jig? no matter what?
My understanding is that I need to use the jig every time I reboot the switch, right? And do I need the USB C payload hardware device as well and use that every time?

Would love to have a solution where I can enable homebrew mode once I boot up (using jig or whatever) and then be able to access both my "normal" switch with normal games I bought and also access retropie, without rebooting. Is that doable?

Is there still a physical device that I can solder inside the switch to bypass all this?

Sorry for all the noobness
Thanks.

There are plenty of modchips and trinkets that you can solder into the console to avoid using the jig if you want. Which one to use will depend if your console is patched or not. Unpatched units can be hacked with any available modchip while patched and Mariko consoles can only be hacked with the SX Core/Lite.

 

[the19thbear]

Hmm, used the rom forwarder and it said compiled successfully, then created a folder called nsp in the root of my sd card. Copied the newly created nsp file to the nsp folder on the card. Fired up atmosphere but the game doesnt show up. (metal slug via the retroarch forwarder) Still have to go into retroarch to launch the game.

Any hints?
Thanks

 

[CompSciOrBust]

Im guessing you dont update your sysnand much? I love autorcm, but if you update officially, its auto-disabled.

Atmosphere preserves autorcm if you update through the settings.

Hmm, used the rom forwarder and it said compiled successfully, then created a folder called nsp in the root of my sd card. Copied the newly created nsp file to the nsp folder on the card. Fired up atmosphere but the game doesnt show up. (metal slug via the retroarch forwarder) Still have to go into retroarch to launch the game.

Any hints?
Thanks

I wouldn't use NSP files if you don't want to get your Switch banned. Use NRO files and title override. The reason the NSP file didn't show up on your home menu is because you need to use an installer like Gold Leaf or Tinfoil, again though, unless you don't care about bans stay away from NSPs.

 

[the19thbear]

Ok, the forwarder can create both nsp and nro files. created both and placed them on my sd card. No cigar. Then used goldleaf and managed to install the nsp file and the icon showed up on my "desktop". But upon launching, it crashed. No option in goldleaf to install nro file only to launch it, and then it crashed as well.
Thanks!

 

[pinbi7]

Ok, the forwarder can create both nsp and nro files. created both and placed them on my sd card. No cigar. Then used goldleaf and managed to install the nsp file and the icon showed up on my "desktop". But upon launching, it crashed. No option in goldleaf to install nro file only to launch it, and then it crashed as well.
Thanks!

Most homebrew don't support nsp

1. The RetroArch NSP, NSP forwarders of any kind, or launching HBL through the Album (or any) applet are NOT supported.
   Launching N64 through the album is also NOT supported, and will cause your switch to fatal.
   
   
2. The only supported method for launching RetroArch (used specifically for Mupen64/Flycast/PCSX Rearmed, or any JIT core or 3D core) is through title redirection:
   Use Atmosphere to access FULL RAM with homebrews WITHOUT NSP

 

[the19thbear]

Hmmm can't say I fully understand since, on the top of the guide it says that it's deprecated? So I shouldnt follow the guide you just linked to?
Just to explain again.
i'm running atmoshpere on emmummc. Running retroarch.
I want to have icons of my retroarch games on my "desktop".
Also running scummvm (not through retroarch, since it doesnt have the newest version) and would like to have those games appear on my desktop as well.

These should appear next to my normal switch games that i bought (that I have had to redownload from "alternative stores").

Would like to just be able to launch them all (real swithc games/scummvm/retroarch) from the desktop. No going into homebrew menu etc. No pressing R to access games.
I would like a clean and easy build, that my kids can use as well.

Thanks!

 

[the19thbear]

used this https://gbatemp.net/threads/gui-for-nsp-forwarder-tool-for-12.588018/page-2
for a GBA game and it seemed to work perfectly.
Hooray!