Lakka Switch, L4T edition
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I am proud to finally release the L4T version of Lakka Switch!
New kernel, new logo, new drivers, audio... everything is fresh and clean.

Did I mention Rayman 3 was full speed on Dolphin? ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

General system updates

• New Linux kernel and underlying operating system, based on Linux4Tegra and Jetson Nano drivers
  • mainline kernel has been deprecated
  • system features should now be on par with the L4T Ubuntu distribution, except for dock support
  • Bluetooth was lost in the battle and needs some rest to come back stronger
• aarch64 is now the default and mainly supported architecture
  • arm has been deprecated since L4T doesn't support it
• New logo made with the help of jaames and the R:S community

New features and improvements

• Audio now works through the internal speakers and headphones
• The new GPU driver supports both Vulkan and OpenGL
• RAM is now locked at full speed (1600Mhz), was 800MHz before
• The system is now way more stable and should boot for everyone with a decent SD card (no more black screen of death)
• RetroArch has been updated to add menu widgets (fancy onscreen notifications)
• Overclock profiles have been updated :
  • Renamed all profiles
  • Added more overclock profiles
  • Added underclock profiles

New cores

• mupen64plus-next (N64 emulator)
  • The core is full speed, even on aarch64 thanks to the new dynarec
  • Includes the updated version of the GlideN renderer
• picodrive (various Sega consoles)
  • The core replaces Genesis Plus GX (Game Gear support has been dropped)
• Beetle PSX HW (PSX emulator with OpenGL and Vulkan renderer)
  • The core performs worse than PCSX ReARMed for now, even with Vulkan
• reicast (Dreamcast emulator)
  • The core is full speed on all commercial games, no visual glitches
  • The OIT renderer works (better accuracy), speed is still good on 1x resolution
  • The core needs the Dreamcast BIOS files to be placed in /lakka/storage/system/DC
  • WinCE games are currently not supported - there is a WinCE version of the reicast core in the works but the aarch64 dynarec is too slow for the games to be playable (for now)
• Yaba Sanshiro (Saturn emulator)
  • The core is full speed on all commercial games
  • Yabause and Kronos were also added but both perform worse than Yaba Sanshiro
• theodore (Thomson MO/TO emulator)

Updated cores

• Dolphin : Vulkan support
  • With Vulkan, Dolphin runs decently - some games are playable, some are full speed... see for yourself, try it and experiment with different games and settings!
• PCSX ReARMed : Switch optimizations and CHD support
• PPSSPP : doesn't crash anymore when closing content

Removed cores

• mupen64plus
• parallel-n64
• Genesis Plus GX
• Ishiiruka
  • It might come back once the core is updated with the (beta) Vulkan renderer

Credits

• Kernel and drivers work: NVIDIA, switchroot team (especially ByLaws and langerhans)
• Lakka Switch work: natinusala and plaidman
• RetroArch, original Lakka distribution: libretro team
• mupen64plus-next: Gillou and m4xw
• PCSX ReARMed: Switch optimizations by m4xw, CHD support by aliaspider
• Dolphin core: aliaspider
• reicast core: flyinghead

Download link

The Lakka Switch website has been updated with the new version: https://lakka-switch.github.io/documentation/

Please note that you can't dual boot Ubuntu and Lakka Switch for now (it will always boot Ubuntu).

 

[enderer]

I understand that emulators get better in Horizon, but as long as they continue to run in Applet Mode and do not support external storage they will be useless. And using it in NSP is still just as prohibited.

Now that LineageOS17.1 is closer, the emulators have greater compatibility, support and performance in it.

there's also title override (hold R) that works on any installed NSP (even demos)... or emuNAND

 

[urherenow]

Cant beat Lakka for some n64 titles and of course dolphin

You need a qualifier for that statement (like, "on a hand-held console", or "on the Switch"). Provenance emu on iOS is far superior for playing N64 games, if not on the latest release, then certainly on the latest source that you can build.

 

[Benja81]

You need a qualifier for that statement (like, "on a hand-held console", or "on the Switch"). Provenance emu on iOS is far superior for playing N64 games, if not on the latest release, then certainly on the latest source that you can build.

Yes. *On the Switch mean to say

 

[Rahkeesh]

You're posting on a Switch homebrew forum in a thread about the Switch port of Lakka. It hardly needs to be qualified.

 

[urherenow]

You're posting on a Switch homebrew forum in a thread about the Switch port of Lakka. d.

on a site that covers many systems, most of which have emulators available, with the statement "Can't beat Lakka". Not a specific N64 emulator for Lakka. But Lakka. Ummm ok then .

 

[ucupetuks]

is this works for mariko sxos?

 

[evil_santa]

No didn't work on Mariko device's.

 

[SexiestManAlive]

Will this ever be updated to have wireless controller support? It's useless for me because one of my rails don't work

 

[Snomannen_kalle]

Will this ever be updated to have wireless controller support? It's useless for me because one of my rails don't work

The screenshot is from the RetroNX discord. Not sure who the person is or on what authority they speak, but it's at least something. No idea about any time frames were talking or when/if we might expect a release either.

That said, if you don't mind me asking, why not use RetroArch for HOS, or, if you want Dolphin or doesn't want to run homebrew in HOS, use Ubuntu or Android?

 

[evil_santa]

Yes atm Gavin Darklider and the Great Wizard Azkali working on the next Lakka version.

 

[SexiestManAlive]

The screenshot is from the RetroNX discord. Not sure who the person is or on what authority they speak, but it's at least something. No idea about any time frames were talking or when/if we might expect a release either.

That said, if you don't mind me asking, why not use RetroArch for HOS, or, if you want Dolphin or doesn't want to run homebrew in HOS, use Ubuntu or Android?

didnt have an sd to use with android, but decided to just backup and reformat my 256 gb and use it for emunand and android instead of just emunand

 

[Basketto]

The screenshot is from the RetroNX discord. Not sure who the person is or on what authority they speak, but it's at least something. No idea about any time frames were talking or when/if we might expect a release either.

That said, if you don't mind me asking, why not use RetroArch for HOS, or, if you want Dolphin or doesn't want to run homebrew in HOS, use Ubuntu or Android?

People generally use ubuntu/lakka/android because.....
with the exception of Citra, emulation is superior on the dual boot systems. Its pretty clear cut for quite a few aswell. I understand peoples love for having everything on horizon, but being pretty frank it just does not compare in most cases.
Also they come with the added benefit that they don’t dirty the nand.

 

[tabnk]

Lakka 3.0 for Switch

http://www.lakka.tv/articles/2021/05/22/lakka-3.0/

 

[Benja81]

Lakka 3.0 for Switch

http://www.lakka.tv/articles/2021/05/22/lakka-3.0/

Thanks for the link. The download is slow going, so probably gonna try it out tomorrow. I noticed they recommend a clean install so need to delete the Lakka folder and paste in the new one (save any playlists/config files you need first). Also need to dump joycons it says. If anyone tries this let me know how it goes!

Edit: Ouch I got a bunch of corrupted data errors from the 7z file

 

[pcwizard7]

Lakka 3.0 for Switch

http://www.lakka.tv/articles/2021/05/22/lakka-3.0/

my guess this will only run on V1 switch and not V2 but i could try as I have both

 

[Reynardine]

my guess this will only run on V1 switch and not V2 but i could try as I have both

No luck with Mariko units, sadly. I have a Switch Lite and tried to run Lakka from hekate.

With modchips being hard to get and no warmboot exploit in sight I guess there isn't much interest in making Lakka work on the new Switch models.

 

[ErnieBall]

Seems like Lakka 3.0 doesnt have a Vulcan driver for switch, at least i can't find it.
Unfortunatey that means that, for example, Phantasy Star Online on Dolphin runs a lot worse than with L4T.

What's cool:
- sleep mode works
- reboot to payload is there (L4T only reboots to rcm, which means you still need to inject a payload somehow)

I hope either L4T adobts these features, or Lakka 3 gets Vulcan in the next update

 

[Budsixz]

Is lakka still relevant? I mean don't we get better fps with retroarch?

 

[ErnieBall]

Is lakka still relevant? I mean don't we get better fps with retroarch?

Lakka uses retroarch, but i guess you are comparing Lakka versus Retroarch on Horizon.

I can't say which performed better, in which cores, but the reason i do use Lakka is the dolphin core.

That core is not available on Horizon

 

[bad361]

Seems like Lakka 3.0 doesnt have a Vulcan driver for switch, at least i can't find it.
Unfortunatey that means that, for example, Phantasy Star Online on Dolphin runs a lot worse than with L4T.

What's cool:
- sleep mode works
- reboot to payload is there (L4T only reboots to rcm, which means you still need to inject a payload somehow)

I hope either L4T adobts these features, or Lakka 3 gets Vulcan in the next update

Vulkan implementation is being worked on by the dev, wait for the future updates.

Is lakka still relevant? I mean don't we get better fps with retroarch?

Lakka is linux based retroarch. Horizon RA at this point is at very good state with great compatibility overall, you pretty much wanna use lakka either for GC/Wii (but i guess android/l4t is still superior for that) or for some certain games that just don't perform well on HOS RA (like some DC 2d fightings like mvsc2 or garou).