Nintendo Switch

OpenAoK runs as homebrew, from the Homebrew Menu, on a Switch that runs custom firmware. The game is one file, OpenAoK.nro, which holds none of the game's data; the data is a folder made on a computer from your own CD and copied to the SD card beside it. Nothing needs building for the Switch itself.

1. Put the game on the card

Download OpenAoK-switch-<version>.zip from the releases and unpack it onto the SD card's root. It holds switch/openaok/OpenAoK.nro and the licenses.

2. Make the game's data

Download the same release's source code (or clone the repository) and copy your CD into its original_game_1999/. Preparing the data needs Python 3, cabextract, CMake and a C++ compiler, as for Android. Then, with the card in the computer:

python3 switch/package.py --out "/Volumes/SWITCH SD"

It prepares the game's data as build.sh does and writes switch/openaok/game/ on the card, beside the .nro: about 390 MB on a FAT32 card. Run it again after an update; only what changed is copied. Without --out it writes to build-switch/sd/, to copy to the card yourself.

Card readers

Some USB card readers damage what they write to large cards. Hekate's USB mass storage (Tools, USB Tools, SD Card) writes through the Switch's own card slot instead.

3. Play

Hold R while starting any game: the Homebrew Menu opens with all of the console's memory, which OpenAoK needs. Choose OpenAoK. Started from the Album instead, it says so and returns to the menu.

On its first start after a copy, OpenAoK checks every data file against game/manifest.txt: a few seconds, with the progress on the screen. A file that is missing or damaged on the card is named, and copying the folder again mends it.

The profile, saved games and scenarios are kept in switch/openaok/ beside the data, and what the engine prints goes to switch/openaok/openaok.log.

In handheld mode the touch screen plays as on a phone; the controller plays as a mouse and the game's hotkeys: see Controls.