Anyone planning installing Gentoo on Nintendo Switch?

[Zucca]

... because it's now possible.
If it had GPS, it could be awesome hackable navigator device for example.

[pjp]

Does it completely replace the gaming functionality? A previous effort appeared to result in running Linux almost as an app of some kind. It didn't appear to prevent playing games.

I've been thinking about buying one since its release, and I have to say, when I first saw this, it made me think about it more. I suspect I'd only buy a couple of games, which makes it a pretty expensive toy.

[Zucca]

I suspect I'd only buy a couple of games, which makes it a pretty expensive toy.

Hey, I've been thinking of buying this because of the new Zelda game alone.

Switch supposedly runs some variant of FreeBSD so booting the gaming UI inside the Linux host should not be impossibly difficult task (Gentoo-FreeBSD anyone?). If that comes true some day, people will see me rushing to the nearest store at near speed of light.

[pjp]

Zelda for me as well. (I quit paying attention with Ocarina and don't recall the ones between it and the original).

Metroid is one I'm waiting to see. I suppose I probably ought to buy a console so I have whatever flaws allow it to be used for something else.

[ChrisJumper]

... because it's now possible.
If it had GPS, it could be awesome hackable navigator device for example.

No it has not. If you like that Device and don't need Nintendo Software or the Joycons, just use Nvidia Shield directly.

[Zucca]

If you like that Device and don't need Nintendo Software or the Joycons, just use Nvidia Shield directly.

Switch supposedly runs some variant of FreeBSD so booting the gaming UI inside the Linux host should not be impossibly difficult task (Gentoo-FreeBSD anyone?). If that comes true some day, people will see me rushing to the nearest store at near speed of light.

The shield has the connectivity I want, but it lacks the controller support.
What I want is Switch with Gentoo (or other suitable distro) running on it AND be able to game the offical games on it.
If I'm lucky it will be possible some day with not too much effort.

[sao98021]

If you like that Device and don't need Nintendo Software or the Joycons, just use Nvidia Shield directly.

Switch supposedly runs some variant of FreeBSD so booting the gaming UI inside the Linux host should not be impossibly difficult task (Gentoo-FreeBSD anyone?). If that comes true some day, people will see me rushing to the nearest store at near speed of light.

The shield has the connectivity I want, but it lacks the controller support.
What I want is Switch with Gentoo (or other suitable distro) running on it AND be able to game the offical games on it.
If I'm lucky it will be possible some day with not too much effort.

how's this going?

i haven't heard anything for a month or two, since the last "nintendo is banning everyone!!!!" headlines

so i assume the current state of nintendo homebrew/linux is = if you hax you will be perma banned and never able to use your console online again ever ""even if you own two switches and only hack one""

also, theres still no controller support for the joycons

[Zucca]

I think I have given up, unless I can get one for very cheap price. Then I might start tinkering with it.

[sao98021]

I think I have given up, unless I can get one for very cheap price. Then I might start tinkering with it.

i was looking around, came across https://github.com/natinusala/painless-linux

which installs arch, but i think a few mods it could do gentoo,

i'm almost positive you could get it booted, just as far as nintendo bans go if all the shit is true then its like 99% sure your getting banned preventing you from ever playing newer titles

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What works / what doesn't work
Wi-Fi : works after a reboot

After each cold boot, you should reboot (it will reboot to RCM) and run the exploit again to enable Wi-Fi
Bluetooth : works partially

Keyboards and mice work
Joy-Cons, speakers and headphones don't
Touch screen : works

Audio : not working, even through Bluetooth headphones or speakers

Hardware graphics acceleration : works

You have to select a power profile manually at each reboot using the switchpower script
Wired Joy-Cons : to be implemented

Volume buttons : recognized but don't do anything since there is no audio device

Power button : only works to halt the system with a long-press

no graceful shutdown
no sleep mode
USB : not working

Dock : to be implemented

Power management : works partially

No graceful shutdown
No reboot to Linux, only reboot to RCM
GPU profile has to be selected by hand
Battery level correctly recognized
Be careful as staying for a long time in Linux desyncs the battery calibration on Horizon and can cause the console to shutdown unexpectedly (at 50%)
Gnome-terminal : Tofix ! It crash use xterm instead .

[pjp]

i'm almost positive you could get it booted, just as far as nintendo bans go if all the shit is true then its like 99% sure your getting banned preventing you from ever playing newer titles

After reading one report, it appears that the bans apply to user accounts associated with a hacked device. Using separate accounts for device hacking and regular use seems like standard practice.

I have no problem with them banning devices from their network. My concern is if there's an online requirement to play the games (aside from games specifically dedicated to that format which I'd never buy).

[sao98021]

i'm almost positive you could get it booted, just as far as nintendo bans go if all the shit is true then its like 99% sure your getting banned preventing you from ever playing newer titles

After reading one report, it appears that the bans apply to user accounts associated with a hacked device. Using separate accounts for device hacking and regular use seems like standard practice.

I have no problem with them banning devices from their network. My concern is if there's an online requirement to play the games (aside from games specifically dedicated to that format which I'd never buy).

the problem is, in a bunch (most of) the cases, newest games come with an update and they use to ship the update with the actual physical disc, but these days they do it online - which requires you to connect to them

;(

unless this has changed with the whole "any switch can be hacked no matter the fw"

[pjp]

the problem is, in a bunch (most of) the cases, newest games come with an update and they use to ship the update with the actual physical disc, but these days they do it online - which requires you to connect to them

;(

Oh well. Maybe they'll still be around (and usable) some day at $99 or less. I'd be OK with having to manually download an update. I returned 2 Nooks because they required internet access. And I have a Kobo with its original "film" still on its screen for the same reason.

[sao98021]

the problem is, in a bunch (most of) the cases, newest games come with an update and they use to ship the update with the actual physical disc, but these days they do it online - which requires you to connect to them

;(

Oh well. Maybe they'll still be around (and usable) some day at $99 or less. I'd be OK with having to manually download an update. I returned 2 Nooks because they required internet access. And I have a Kobo with its original "film" still on its screen for the same reason.

staying away from it was probably for the best, people got sued over the holidays https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/thr-e ... es-1168690


notice that article doesn't really go into the full extent, it just talks about that one guy, but in reality a bunch of people were lumped into it who had no affiliation or use of pirated games or plans of piracy. They really don't want people to have an open console, it's understandable to an extent.. i mean they worked hard on the software and want you to use it as they put it out... i just wish they did that but also allowed you to do whatever the hell you wanted with it afterwards, but thats the norm.

likely to never change with the future of these things are intertwined with massive teams of people in it for generations of profit.

personally i think the 'you will fry your console' if you attempt to modify it via those jtag fuses was enough of a deterrent... suing people seems like a step over the imaginary line

they really wen't after people for piracy like a day after christmas. Even a friend i knew got a subpoena in the mail from a pornography company talking about he's probably guilty of downloading one of these torrents, now they want to search his house lol, the torrent world is kinda a murky water rightnow anyway, seems like every other file is phoning home. People i have known that have been Downloading since napster and beyond are only just now in 2018 getting warnings and subpoenas (he got a subpoena because he's already had dcma warnings from his isp)

So for the thousands of thousands of downloads between them all, they are getting flagged for dumb shit, one person some porn he doesn't even remember... another person was mortal kombat for ps1. even though they've participating in the distribution and usage of uncountless numbers to that prior

the isps included so far by people i personally know have only been att and comcast, Another funny thing is it's not even a remotely leveled playing field, for instance 1 friend comcast years, another friend, comcast also for years, Both downloading constantly, First friend received his first warning 3 years ago. 2nd friend still at 0 warnings.

I often see an argument over which isp does it and which does not, i always see people coming in and claiming so and so does not do it, but that's not the case.

they do it, these people getting flagged or worse (subpoena) were also using whatever vpn they have been using since the early days, or it least cases tor, with the transmissions being encrypted. So who knows, i know the company that went after dude for downloading mortal kombat is based in australia and now the biggest anti-piracy corporation on the planet. My theory is they just put out files themself, or collect, modify, and re distribute with homing devices, but that still doesn't explain to me how it got traced back through the onion dirs and all the bounces.. dont know.

moral of the story is be safe, if your a person who has downloaded stuff for years... maybe now is a time to bounce out of it with your hands unscathed.

i wont judge other people, i just want them to be safe. Like driving after you've had a fifth, just dont do it.

[Muso]

In related future litigation, SouljaBoy put his name on some dodgy Chinese emulator boxes preloaded with many Nintando games. He's been launching a "brilliant" legal strategy of goading Nintendo.

[Ant P.]

This just seems like an expensive and fragile way of avoiding buying an nVidia Shield.

[sao98021]

In related future litigation, SouljaBoy put his name on some dodgy Chinese emulator boxes preloaded with many Nintando games. He's been launching a "brilliant" legal strategy of goading Nintendo.

i've been watching this situation since the first little video went up with claims of the console just being a package of roms, time will tell what will happen

[Zucca]

In related future litigation, SouljaBoy put his name on some dodgy Chinese emulator boxes preloaded with many Nintando games. He's been launching a "brilliant" legal strategy of goading Nintendo.

And it get even better.

[pjp]

people got sued over the holidays

The devil's in the details, which I personally wouldn't rely on that site having. Not liking something being illegal is fine. Choosing to break the law is fine. Complaining about the consequences is hilarious. I'd have no worries about modifying my own personal device. However, I'm not interested in the always on connectivty and tracking. I have no need for or interest in their online "community."

[sao98021]

people got sued over the holidays

The devil's in the details, which I personally wouldn't rely on that site having. Not liking something being illegal is fine. Choosing to break the law is fine. Complaining about the consequences is hilarious. I'd have no worries about modifying my own personal device. However, I'm not interested in the always on connectivty and tracking. I have no need for or interest in their online "community."

well again in the case of the switch you are basically forced into being part of their online community if you want to play any switch game since 2017, or atleast once, to update to a certain fw before modding. i'm not honestly sure what the status is right now but i think last i heard was any switch on any fw is hackable (i'm not sure if a ufw spoofer was ever relased to enable custom fw + games). if you don't plan on playing nintendo stuff you might as well just buy a tablet known to work with a full distro. That's basically all the switch is anyway, a glorified user-mode tablet with attachable controllers, and there have been rivals over it Nintendo got sued by a company not too long ago because they released just that, a tablet with attachable controllers and the switch was banned(or considered banning) from shipping to certain areas due to patent laws or someshit, can't remember the outcome

(https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/gamevic ... esign.html) it's unfortunate all articles are from so long ago, no follow ups yet

i wish the same could be said for ps4, i've been waiting for years, you can do it on 4.05.. 5.01 and i think 5.05 but that's it https://github.com/valentinbreiz/PS4-Linux-Loader

they have full(i think full) gpu functionality, and it's better than this laptops gpu, and it can run steam.

and now considering steam-proton is a thing, you could be running all your windows games on ps4 in theory, i'm sure some would be iffy but there's been some demos of decent functionality.

but if you want to play red dead 2,... your gonna have to be on 6.20.

so until someone releases a fw spoofer like on the old ps3 days, you can't have the best of both worlds

and i do not see that happening for quite a while, wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen till the latest and greatest console from sony.

i've considered buying a ps4 on ebay with vintage FW, but they are expensive and scams are-a-ripe.

[pjp]

well again in the case of the switch you are basically forced into being part of their online community if you want to play any switch game since 2017, or atleast once, to update to a certain fw before modding.

I understand that, which is why I won't buy one. Which is a shame, because this is the first Zelda since the original that I thought looked good. And I was guessing Mario and Metroid would also be pretty good. Oh well.

if you don't plan on playing nintendo stuff you might as well just buy a tablet known to work with a full distro.

I probably wouldn't have hacked it, but it would have been a nice bonus if it was pretty effortless / without much real risk.

That's basically all the switch is anyway, a glorified user-mode tablet with attachable controllers,

Sure, but it is the refinement that makes it worth using more than the "generic" alternative.

(https://www.cnbc.com/2017/08/11/gamevic ... esign.html) it's unfortunate all articles are from so long ago, no follow ups yet

This is somewhat amusing. If that photo isn't too distorted, they look pretty different, so this seems like an attention seeking lawsuit. Doubly amusing to me because I was most disappointed in the controllers when I first saw the Switch. One of my first thoughts was about aftermarket controllers, which I never bothered with on any other system I owned (which I guess was just the Super & 64. GameBoy too, but not relevant).

i wish the same could be said for ps4, i've been waiting for years, you can do it on 4.05.. 5.01 and i think 5.05 but that's it https://github.com/valentinbreiz/PS4-Linux-Loader

they have full(i think full) gpu functionality, and it's better than this laptops gpu, and it can run steam.

and now considering steam-proton is a thing, you could be running all your windows games on ps4 in theory, i'm sure some would be iffy but there's been some demos of decent functionality.

but if you want to play red dead 2,... your gonna have to be on 6.20.

so until someone releases a fw spoofer like on the old ps3 days, you can't have the best of both worlds

and i do not see that happening for quite a while, wouldn't be surprised if it didn't happen till the latest and greatest console from sony.

i've considered buying a ps4 on ebay with vintage FW, but they are expensive and scams are-a-ripe.

I considered a PS4 once, just for that capability (never cared for their game focus). But then they cracked down with more effort, so I decided it wasn't worth the trouble for a probably marginally useful device.

I'm sure its all about pirating games, which is unfortunate, because an authorized but unsupported "alternate, non-gaming mode" would be really cool. But there's always a "few" who ruin things for everyone else. This is why we can't have nice things.

EDIT:

OK, so it seems like it isn't the general look and feel of the controllers, which makes it seem less like infringement to me.

Gamevice was granted a patent for the Gamevice controller in 2015, titled "Combination Computing Device and Game Controller with Flexible Bridge Section," on which the company alleges the Nintendo Switch is infringing.

The major glaring issue with this accusation of patent infringement is right in the title of the patent, namely: "Game Controller with Flexible Bridge Section." The Nintendo Switch's Joy-Con controllers are not attached to each other in any way, and can even be used separately from one another. They have no flexible bridge section.

Gamevice alleges that the body of the Nintendo Switch itself is the bridge section, when in fact it is actually a separate device with which the Joy-Cons communicate and can optionally attach onto.

https://mashable.com/2017/08/11/nintend ... af6mbCMaqc

[sao98021]

Which is a shame, because this is the first Zelda since the original that I thought looked good. And I was guessing Mario and Metroid would also be pretty good. Oh well.

zelda was the biggest reason i wanted/got it. wont lie its amazing, probably best since ocarina of time which was my favorite. 2nd would be snes link or twilight on gamecube.

was worth it, i still have my switch. doesn't do much for me anymore, family gets mario party out of it though.

if you had the money to spare, yeah its still worth it if zelda brings back those memories for you.

can always sell it afterwords in the long run

i dont like the controllers by themselves, but when you use them together with the controller hookup that comes with it isn't so bad, kinda like an oddly shaped gc controller or mixed with other nintendo controllers over time, it doesn't feel all that alien, rather a slight familiarity that you cant quite pinpoint.

i ported my old warframe pc account to it just to check it out, was fun but i've been burnt out on warframe for like 2 years,

i'm sure they will soon release another title that'll make you excited to want one. A new fire emblem is coming out, that will probably be worth checking out mostlikely amazing. along with super metroid 4, ff vii, and animal crossing. http://www.nintendolife.com/nintendo-sw ... s=upcoming

[pjp]

After I wrote the list of games, I started thinking about only connecting via Tor or something

I may. Metroid may be the one that convinces me, by virtue of having at least a third option. Mario U looks like its probably a rehash from the Wii, but it'd be new to me. I never got into FF on S/NES. Having to interact with a party of characters just seemed to cumbersome. Hmm. Just watched the E3 trailer for Fire Emblem, and it demonstrates what I don't like about modern gaming. I want my games to look like games, not movies (yes, I know I'm in an virtually non-existent minority).

[sao98021]

After I wrote the list of games, I started thinking about only connecting via Tor or something

I may. Metroid may be the one that convinces me, by virtue of having at least a third option. Mario U looks like its probably a rehash from the Wii, but it'd be new to me. I never got into FF on S/NES. Having to interact with a party of characters just seemed to cumbersome. Hmm. Just watched the E3 trailer for Fire Emblem, and it demonstrates what I don't like about modern gaming. I want my games to look like games, not movies (yes, I know I'm in an virtually non-existent minority).

i never got into ff either tbh, which is odd. i love rpg's like chrono trigger and golden sun

there wil be two marios to play, the one released last year which is also good, and this one coming out soon.

the tor idea is quite interesting, but i know that some things just dont even connect it either because tor latency or whatever the reason, buuut that may only apply to actually trying to play things online, not simply connecting to their update service... needa get someone with an already altered switch to give it a shot.

if i blew mine up the sister would be so pissed, besides my wii is modded

edit: yeah i think that actually may work, id have one concern, linux on switch is segregated from itx native os, so when first booted its just nintendo, (icould be wrong but i think there's also of method of cold booting linux while the switch is attached to your pc but may not make a diff for the following reasons) then you boot linux which will i think give it a different mac addr and ip if using dynamic almost like a vm, i know what your saying is only connecting to tor while in linux mode, but the issue i see, is that nintendo may or may not be able to tell just by snooping your sys info or seeing the blown jtag fuses or god knows what else while you are simply passing through nintendo mode which you have to deal with to boot tux, i think they could but not sure.... would be better to somehow encapsulate the nintendo side of things to live within linux mode so the whole system only talks to them through tor... dont know if that makes sense, just woke up.

according to redit =

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Switches being produced/sold past July 2018 are no longer vulnerable to the BootROM exploit currently relied upon. If your switch is patched, keep it on or below 4.1.0, or risk not getting CFW.

https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHaxing/c ... alflife_3/

but there is also https://github.com/Cease-and-DeSwitch/fusee-launcher which claims ALL switches are still vulnerable to.

a custom FW has been relased https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosphere

and the same team is working on a reimp of the switches kernel https://github.com/Atmosphere-NX/Atmosp ... mesosphere

apparently 'By staying on a firmware that is lower then the latest, you're locked out of online functionality, no way around it.' which we already knew, but i wonder if this will change with the new cfw, or when the kernel releases, i.e spoofing capabilities and if that happens, tor would just be an extra security measure lol

feels like a year since this thread was made, and inevitably there has been progress and will in all likeliness continue probably only for the better. Every device i ever bought (aside from phones) i had to wait more than a few months to do things like this i wanted to do with them. threads are like time traveling, when this was made that cfw wasn't in existence, no one was working on it nor a kernel now fast forward to jan 2019 whatever day it is and you can do things that at one point in time were just proof of concept code loaders.

this is why i continue to hold out hope for ps4, i've owned 2, sold the first one when i was broke af, big mistake considering i just bought another the next season anyway. Progress with the switch gives me hope for the ps4, only a matter of time.

You may remember a time when ps3 shipped with a full-on linux distro that you could boot without doing anything outside of their tos, basically you just go hit the checkmark in the settings, they removed the feature about a quarter into the ps3s lifecycle. Hell even ps2 had the feature.i wish sony would go back to this, it was an opposite event of how microsoft history went, 'we hate open source to we love opensource here we're putting linux layer on windows 10 yay!" (but this is somewhat different, i'm sure console manufacturers are more concerned with their games being pirated, if you buy a console your most likely doing it to play games, and only a small portion of the pc world buys a pc specifically for games, it's actually alot of people, but only a fraction of actual pc users, i think Microsoft sees that and just accepts the losses, tries to implement things to help devs protect their games but in the long run MS know's it isn't only video games that keeps it's business afloat, plus they know for most games, for most people, your going to have to own windows one way or another to play the game you want, and it seems they try to protect their os more than partner products they host)

sony since the 90s was like yea you can use linux. but 2014-now, they are like nooop. that also coincides with the 'rise' of piracy, so there you have a direct example of a few people getting a whole class detention for a week.

[pjp]

I would have expected the hacking crowds to have tested with Tor, at least to some degree.

For me, I was mainly thinking of the obligatory phoning home.

I skimmed through released and upcoming titles, and on names alone, nothing really grabbed me. Most I have no idea what they are. After seeing the Metroid teaser, I'm less enthused about it now, but maybe it'll be good. My initial thought on Zelda was also disappointing due to the format, but demos showed some interesting game mechanics.

[sao98021]

found https://www.teamxlink.co.uk/forum/viewt ... 85306bfa09

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XLink Kai is a global gaming network - bringing together XBox, XBox 360, XBox One, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation 4, PSP, PS Vita, Gamecube, and Switch, users, in one integrated community. It is software running on your PC or Macintosh that allows you to play system-link enabled games online for free. Kai is the only service that is not console specific, and boasts one of the friendliest communites available.

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Only games with LAN mode are supported! Games with only "Local Wireless" mode are not supported unless you have a modded console with Wireless to Lan kip 

Supported games so far: 
ARMS 
Bayonetta 2 
Mario Kart 8 Deluxe 
Mario Tennis Aces​ 
Pokkén Tournament 
Splatoon 2 
Titan Quest 

News posts: 


https://gbatemp.net/threads/xlink-kai-7-4-32-released-with-nintendo-switch-lan-support.526903/ 
https://gbatemp.net/threads/nintendo-switch-support-on-next-release-of-xlink-kai.524235/ 
https://www.reddit.com/r/SwitchHaxing/comments/a0de7o/update_next_version_of_xlink_kai_will_support_the/

so that would offer some alternative in the least, the switch support is very recent, about the end of november