scda-nx v0.4.9

What's new

• The music sounds clean: it no longer sounds doubled, a little behind itself, or bouncing, in the main menu and
  in the mission, and the clicks are gone (about 4 a second before, one in 6 seconds at most now). The game streams
  its music through a short looping buffer (48 ms) it refills as it plays:
  • the position it may write from stood inside the 10 ms the mixer reads at a time, so part of each block was the
    music of one loop before;
  • the mixer ran in bursts of 40 ms each time the Switch's sound driver took its next 43 ms, past what the game had
    written; it now moves on with the clock, a block every 10 ms.
    Speech, ambience and cutscenes, which play another way, were clean before and are unchanged.
• Clocks after the HOME menu and sleep: the port sets its clocks (and CPU Clock) again when the game comes back.
  The system may still put its own back in game; clocks are best set with an overclocking tool's profile (README).
• Fewer wake-ups: waiting threads wake a core about 180 times a second instead of 1,400 (sleeps in one go,
  waits that only check every 50 ms when they must, a shorter spin in the frame rate cap). The battery drains the
  same where the game is busy; it is measured in the log with profiling = true now.
• For measuring: audio_dump = true in scda.toml writes the mixed sound to logs/audio.f32;
  SCDA_CODE_OPT="-O3 -flto=auto" builds the game code with link time optimization (not the default).
• README: the to-do list has the measured state of the performance and battery work.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Buttons and gyro: by default A confirms and B goes back, as on the Switch (Recomp Settings > General). Gyro
  aiming is off until you turn it on under Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/. profiling = true writes performance measurements instead (frame time, threads,
  where the time goes) without the full log.
• Clocks: the port runs Nintendo's official clocks. CPU Clock (Recomp Settings > Display) and Max Frame Rate
  (30 or 60) trade frame rate against battery; overclocking is up to tools such as sys-clk (see the README).
• Game code optimization: -O3 by default. SCDA_CODE_OPT=-O2 before the script builds it as before, for
  comparing; a change rebuilds the game code.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.8

What's new

• Faster on the Switch, the picture unchanged: about 6% less frame time at a fixed spot (JBA headquarters part 1,
  standing, 939 draws a frame: 42.7 to 40.2 ms), from measuring where the time goes on the console:
  • the game code is optimized at -O3 instead of -O2 (3.4% of it); SCDA_CODE_OPT=-O2 builds it as before;
  • the game's thread and the render thread each have a core of their own; they often shared one while another
    stood idle;
  • handing a draw's state to the render thread compares only what was written: the vertex shader constants by
    the registers set, the transforms by their writes (two check builds found every change marked);
  • the render thread makes about 100,000 fewer heap calls a second and measures its time once a batch;
  • files are read and written through their buffers instead of seeking before every call.
• Clocks: Nintendo's official clocks for games (CPU 1020, GPU 384 handheld or 768 docked, memory 1331 handheld
  or 1600 docked MHz), set again on docking and undocking. CPU Clock (Recomp Settings > Display) picks 1020 to
  1785 MHz. Overclocking stays with tools such as sys-clk; the README gives tested handheld values.
• Max Frame Rate on the Switch: 30 or 60.
• Performance measurements: profiling = true in scda.toml logs the frame time, the threads and their cores,
  where the time goes (a sampling profiler, logs/profile.txt), file and heap activity, without the full log.
• README: clocks and overclocking, and a to-do list.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Buttons and gyro: by default A confirms and B goes back, as on the Switch (Recomp Settings > General). Gyro
  aiming is off until you turn it on under Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/. profiling = true writes performance measurements instead (frame time, threads,
  where the time goes) without the full log.
• Clocks: the port runs Nintendo's official clocks. CPU Clock (Recomp Settings > Display) and Max Frame Rate
  (30 or 60) trade frame rate against battery; overclocking is up to tools such as sys-clk (see the README).
• Game code optimization: -O3 by default. SCDA_CODE_OPT=-O2 before the script builds it as before, for
  comparing; a change rebuilds the game code.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.7

What's new

• Aiming on the Switch turns as fast on a diagonal as straight along an axis. The game cuts a dead zone off each
  stick axis, made for the Xbox's sticks; on the Switch's round sticks that made the camera fast only straight left,
  right, up and down and slow in between. The right stick now has a round dead zone (0.15, or the Deadzone
  setting) and turns as far as it is pushed in every direction. The left stick and Windows are as they were.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Buttons and gyro: by default A confirms and B goes back, as on the Switch (Recomp Settings > General). Gyro
  aiming is off until you turn it on under Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.6

What's new

• Sharper picture on the Switch: Render Resolution (Recomp Settings > Display) now works in the Vulkan
  renderer. The game is drawn at that share of the output's height: at 100% (the default) 960x720 at 720p and
  1440x1080 at 1080p, instead of the Xbox's 640x480 stretched up. Text and edges are no longer blurry. About 67%
  at 720p gives the old 640x480. The shadow map stays at the console's 512x512.
• SMAA on the Switch: the SMAA setting smooths edges in the Vulkan renderer too. It costs frame rate on the
  Switch, as does anisotropic filtering; both are off by default.
• Fewer stalls while a level starts: the game reads a small surface back every frame then, and each read waited
  for the GPU (up to 170 ms at a time). A finished copy is now ready for it instead.
• Gyro: Invert gyro X axis (on by default on the Switch, where turning right turned the view left).
  Calibrate gyro no longer leaves the gyro dead: it now measures in the menu too, and gives up after 10 seconds
  if the console is not lying still.
• No more false "out of GPU memory" errors in the log.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Buttons and gyro: by default A confirms and B goes back, as on the Switch (Recomp Settings > General). Gyro
  aiming is off until you turn it on under Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.5

What's new

• Gyro aiming on the Switch: the Joy-Con (handheld or as a pair) and the Pro Controller turn the view by their
  motion sensors. Off by default: Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro > Gyro Aiming. Gyro only while aiming (on by
  default) lets it turn the view only with the weapon raised or through the sniper scope, the camera stays on the
  right stick otherwise. Sensitivity, axis and calibration as on Windows.
• Switch button layout: Use Switch button layout for A/B and ... for X/Y (Recomp Settings > General, both on
  by default) make the face buttons work by their labels: A confirms and B goes back, in the game and every menu.
• Changing between 720p and 1080p works: it flickered wildly without changing size, the swap chain being rebuilt
  every frame at the window's old size.
• Versus is gone from the main menu on the Switch: it is another program, with no NRO on the Switch.
• Settings that did nothing on the Switch are gone: MSAA, shader model 3.0 with HDR rendering and tone mapping,
  the soft shadow filter, ambient occlusion, HDR output, display mode and monitor (the Switch is always full
  screen), the mouse and keyboard page, and the gyro button rows (they name buttons its controllers have not). They
  stay on Windows, where its renderer draws them.
• CI runs on main and on pull requests into it only; work goes on in dev.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Buttons and gyro: by default A confirms and B goes back, as on the Switch (Recomp Settings > General). Gyro
  aiming is off until you turn it on under Recomp Settings > Controller > Gyro.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.1

What's new

• The shadow calibration in the game's settings works. The slider sets the game's gamma ramp, which the port
  dropped so far; it is now applied to every frame, as on the Xbox, before the port's own brightness and contrast
  (tested on a Switch V1).
• Earlier NROs are kept: a build moves the scda.nro it replaces to BAK/scda_v<version>.nro beside the
  switch folder (so it does not end up on the SD card), instead of overwriting it.
• The NRO carries its release: the Homebrew Menu shows the version (0.4.1) instead of 0.1.0, from the version in
  CMakeLists.txt; the release workflow checks that a new tag matches it.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed. The NRO it
  replaces is kept in out/BAK/, named after its version (scda_v0.4.1.nro).
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.4.0

What's new

• Quitting the game no longer crashes the Switch. Exit in the main menu now leaves the way a relaunch does (the
  game's threads paused, the GPU, audio and network services closed in order) and returns to the HOME menu instead
  of crashing (tested on a Switch V1). The same goes for the game's own shutdown calls.
• CI without the game: every push and pull request compiles the Linux port (Vulkan, OpenGL and null renderers)
  and the Switch port, checks the shell scripts, and runs build-nro-windows.bat on a real Windows runner up to
  the point where it needs Docker. Nothing is linked and no NRO is made: the one header from the game the sources
  include, image_symbols.h, is made from config/scda_v2.toml (tools/ci/, SCDA_CHECK_ONLY).
• SCDA_NO_PAUSE=1 makes build-nro-windows.bat close at once instead of waiting for Enter.
• Windows is still only partly tested: CI starts the script on Windows, but a full build with Docker Desktop on
  a real Windows PC has not been done yet.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

Windows has not been tested yet. build-nro-windows.bat was written for Windows 10 and 11 but has not been
run on a real Windows PC: in the test VM, Docker Desktop could not start (nested Hyper-V). Only the Linux builders
were run from start to finish. If you try it on Windows, please report how it went in an issue.

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed.
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock. The
  NRO was built with the Linux builders; the Windows builder has not been tested yet.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).

scda-nx v0.3.0

What's new

• Windows builder: build-nro-windows.bat. Double-click it and choose your game's .iso, or drag the .iso or
  the extracted disc onto it. It needs only Docker Desktop, starts it if needed, builds the NRO and opens the finished
  SD card folder.
• The build scripts come with each release. build-nro-windows.bat, build-nro-docker.sh and a short
  HOW_TO_BUILD.md are attached to the release, so you do not need git or the whole repository to build.
• The builder stays up to date: both scripts fetch the newest builder image each run, and keep using the one
  already downloaded when you are offline.
• An icon beside the script: an icon.jpg next to the script is used for the Homebrew Menu.
• Copying an extracted disc into the build no longer copies owners or permissions, which Windows folders do not take.
• A step-by-step guide for Windows and Linux in the README and in docs/HOW_TO_BUILD.md.

---

How to build scda-nx (Windows and Linux)

scda-nx is Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Xbox) for the Nintendo Switch. There is no ready-made download of the game
for the Switch, and there never will be: you make it yourself, on your own computer, from your own, legally
acquired copy of the Xbox game. The scripts below do that for you in a few clicks. Nothing of the game is
downloaded or uploaded.

What you need

• Your copy of Splinter Cell: Double Agent for the Xbox, as a disc image (.iso) or as the extracted disc (the folder
  with default.xbe, Default/ and Media/). Tested with the USA/Europe release.
• A Nintendo Switch that runs homebrew (the Homebrew Menu).
• About 20 GB of free disk space and an internet connection (the first run downloads the builder, several GB).
• Docker: the builder runs inside it, so nothing else gets installed on your computer.

The first build takes a while (from about 20 minutes to over an hour, depending on your PC). Later builds are much
quicker.

Windows (10 or 11)

1. Install Docker Desktop and start it once. Let it
   set up WSL 2 if it asks, and restart your PC if it asks.
2. Download build-nro-windows.bat and put it in a folder of its own, for example C:\scda-nx\.
3. Double-click build-nro-windows.bat and choose your game's .iso (or the default.xbe in your extracted disc).
   You can also drag the .iso or the folder onto the .bat.
   • If Windows warns about the file ("Windows protected your PC"): click More info, then Run anyway. It is a
     plain text file, so you can open it in Notepad and read what it does first.
4. Wait until it says Your SD card folder. A window opens with the folder switch.
5. Go on with On the Switch.

Linux

1. Install Docker (how) and allow your user to use it:

   sudo usermod -aG docker $USER

   Then log out and back in.
2. Download build-nro-docker.sh, make it runnable and start it with your game:

   chmod +x build-nro-docker.sh
   ./build-nro-docker.sh "/path/to/your Splinter Cell Double Agent.iso"

   The extracted disc's folder works as well as the .iso.
3. Wait until it says Your SD card folder: it is out/switch beside the script.
4. Go on with On the Switch.

On the Switch

1. Copy the folder switch (from out\ beside the script) onto the root of your SD card. It holds
   switch/scda/scda.nro and the game files in switch/scda/game/.
2. Start the Homebrew Menu with title takeover: hold R while you start any game, not from the album. The
   album (applet mode) leaves too little memory.
3. Start Splinter Cell: Double Agent from the list.

On the first start the shaders are built while you play, so things can be missing or see-through for a moment. They
are saved on the SD card and load at once from then on.

Good to know

• Please do not share the .nro. It holds code made from your copy of the game, so it is for you only.
• Read before you run. Both scripts are plain text. If you are skeptical (that is a good thing), open them and read
  what they do first, or build by hand as the README describes.
• An icon in the Homebrew Menu: put a 256x256 JPEG named icon.jpg beside the script before building.
• Updates: run the script again. It fetches the newest builder and rebuilds only what changed.
• Disk space: the builder and the build cache live in Docker. To remove them:
  docker volume rm scda-nx-cache and docker image rm ghcr.io/itouchdennis/scda-nx-builder:latest.
• Logs for a bug report: add logging = true to sdmc:/switch/scda/scda.toml; the log is written to
  sdmc:/switch/scda/logs/.
• Tested only the single player campaign, on a first-model Switch (V1), handheld, with a light overclock.
• macOS may work with Docker Desktop too, but it has not been tested (and on Apple Silicon it runs emulated and slowly).