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SwitchWakerHD 0.4.3

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@Pulpparty Pulpparty released this 10 Oct 19:55
· 108 commits to main since this release
v0.4.3
dd54176

SwitchWakerHD runs The Wind Waker HD (Wii U, version 0: USA 00050000-10143500 or Europe 00050000-10143600) natively on a Switch with custom firmware: the game's code is statically recompiled to C and drawn with deko3d. No emulation.

No game inside, no binaries. Every build carries the game's code recompiled from your own dump, so you build it on your computer with one script and copy the result to your SD card. Do not share what you build.

Install

  1. Download SwitchWakerHD-v0.4.3.zip below and unzip it.
  2. Follow INSTALL.md: one command builds everything from your dump: 
    python3 tools/switch/make_sd.py --image game.wux      # or --wua game.wua, or --game-dir <extracted game>
  3. Copy build/sd/ to the root of the SD card and start the Homebrew Menu in title mode (hold R while starting any game).

Updating from 0.4.2: build the same way and copy wwhd.nro over the old one. Saves, settings.ini and the graphics already compiled on the console stay.

What's new since v0.4.2

Fixed: graphics that stayed black until a restart

  • Sometimes one of the game's graphics never finished loading: it stayed black for the rest of the session, and only closing and starting the game again brought it back. Fixed in this version.

Plays like a Switch game: the GamePad, on one screen (thanks to @l0nkDev, #5)

  • The controllers now act as the Wii U GamePad, in Off-TV Play from the first frame: the console's screen shows the game at full resolution with its HUD, and the touch screen is the GamePad's: drag items onto Y, X or R, tap the map, the bottles. Gyro aiming works as before.
  • Straight into the game: no "GamePad or Pro Controller?" question at file select, and Back on the save list returns to the title screen.
  • Plus or Minus pauses with the item menu (buttons or touch). Minus no longer switches to the Wii U's "TV mode", which has no meaning on one screen; holding Minus still opens the settings menu.
  • The title screen is sharp and at 30 fps (it was drawn twice and shown at 854x480, ~20 fps).
  • No Wii U leftovers: no Controller option in the pause menu's Options, no touch-conducting guide over the picture while the Wind Waker is out (conducting by stick or touch still works).
  • A little faster: the TV picture nobody sees is not drawn. Measured on a stock console in handheld: Outset 29.9 fps (29.2 with the old Pro Controller setup), Dragon Roost 29.4 (28.8).
  • The old setup stays in the settings menu (Switch tab, Debug): Wii U Pro Controller, or the Wii U GamePad with the game's own behaviour. A console that chose the Pro Controller before keeps it.
  • Tested on hardware with both the USA and the European game.

The first start prepares the graphics

  • On a console with no compiled graphics, the first start shows a "Preparing the graphics" screen: the console reads the graphics programs of your own copy of the game and compiles about three quarters of them, about 20 minutes (best docked), once. B plays now; the rest goes on gently in the background. No computer step and nothing shipped.
  • Optional and experimental: Prepare graphics (settings menu, Switch tab) has the game visit every place by itself for the remaining quarter (30-40 minutes). Players who update are offered it once.
  • Start-up screens in the game's language (English, Spanish, French, German, Italian).

Also

  • Warp tab: places a warp cannot reach are no longer listed.
  • HOME-screen forwarder: one shared file for its title ID and pinned sources, for both the Docker and the Windows build scripts (thanks to @digdat0, #8).
  • Bug reports: issue forms for the Switch (console mode, setup, SD card paths).

Thanks

  • @l0nkDev, a new contributor: welcome, and thank you for the GamePad on one screen (#5), traced through the game's own code and tested on the console in every mode.
  • @digdat0, back again after the Windows build in 0.4.1: the forwarder's shared settings (#8).

Known limits

  • The first visit to a place not prepared yet compiles its graphics in the background: an object may appear a moment late, once per console.
  • The sun's corona and lens flare are not drawn yet (the renderer does not read depth back).

Credits, licenses and how AI was used: see the README. Built on ZeldaWWHDRecomp by Lukas S and its contributors. License: MPL-2.0.

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