PortalNXPlugin

Allows you to build and load server plugins on the Nintendo Switch versions of Portal (v1.0.3) and Portal 2 (v1.0.3).

Caution

I have no idea if using this online would get a Switch banned. Stick with EmuMMC!

How loading it works

• By default, Portal and Portal 2 on Switch protect against loading random .nro modules. (Basically .dll/.so files for Switch)
  • This is done by checking against a whitelist of SHA-256 file hashes stored in romfs/.nrr/launcher_main.nrr.
• In order to bypass this, we modify that file by...
  • incrementing the number of whitelisted binaries stored at offset 0x344 by one.
  • overwriting the start of the 00 byte repetition (that lasts to the end of the file) with the plugin's hash, thereby whitelisting the plugin.
• Interestingly, both Switch games only load modules only through one directory, romfs/nro/, so we pack the plugin here.

Commands added

Note that all commands are off by default when the plugin is loaded.

Name	Default	Description	Supports
nx_cvar_unhide_all	cmd	Unhide all FCVAR_HIDDEN and FCVAR_DEVELOPMENTONLY convars	Both
nx_enable_keyboard_support	0	On Switch, enables keyboard input reading.	Both
nx_enable_ladders	0	Enables ladder usage for all players.	Portal 2
nx_enable_mouse_support	0	On Switch, enables mouse input reading.	Both
nx_enable_printing_in_console	0	Fixes text output in the console not appearing by default.	Portal
nx_enable_touchscreen_support	0	On Switch, enables touchscreen input reading.	Both
nx_max_players_override	0	1-33: Max player count when starting a MP server. Otherwise: Game decides.	Portal 2
nx_open_on_screen_keyboard	cmd	Execute commands via the on-screen keyboard.	Both
nx_toggle_autojump	cmd	Toggles the autojump ability for all players.	Both
nx_toggle_coop_loading_dots	cmd	Shows the coop loading progress on map transitions.	Portal 2
nx_toggle_floor_reportals	cmd	Toggles the floor reportal ability for all players.	Portal 2
nx_toggle_force_max_fps	cmd	Forces r_dynres_enable and nvn_swap_interval to 1. (Won't be 30 FPS in splitscreen)	Portal 2
nx_toggle_loading_orange_dots	cmd	Fixes the orange dots not showing when fully loaded into maps.	Portal 2
nx_toggle_menu_controller_button_visibility	cmd	Toggles the visibility of the menu game console helpers on screen.	Portal 2
nx_update_footer_buttons	cmd	Run init logic missing from the game if needed and update the menu footer.	Portal 2

Building

Note

It's highly recommended to use PortalNXSideLoader, as the build steps are optimized for it. If you're not using this, you will need to mimic the paths and manually repackage game.zip after each compilation.

1. Install devkitPro for the current platform. (Required for Switch dev)
2. Place the target game's original romfs/.nrr/launcher_main.nrr file in switch/(game_name)/launcher_main.nrr.
   • A modified version can be used to support multiple plugins.
3. Configure the parameters at the top in build.sh.
4. Run build.sh.
   • Creates the plugin .nro at the root.
   • Creates the modified launcher_main.nrr files for both games.
   • Automatically moves these to the correct locations.

Hooking it up to the game

This assumes you have already have a plugin and its associating launcher_main.nrr. (Completed the building step)

1. Create an autoexec.cfg file and configure it:
   • Include the plugin_load (plugin_name) command first.
   • Include any other commands after that you'd like to run automatically when launching the game.
   • Example contents:

     // Load the plugin
     plugin_load "nx_plugin"
     
     // Automatically enable some custom features
     nx_cvar_unhide_all
     nx_enable_printing_in_console "1"
     nx_enable_keyboard_support "1"
     nx_enable_mouse_support "1"
     nx_enable_touchscreen_support "1"
     

2. Exclusive to Portal 2, the developers left in -nomouse in romfs/nxcontent/rom_boot_params.txt
   • If you specifically want the mouse support to work for this game, dump the game's original file and remove that argument.
3. Finally, make sure that all files are placed in these relative directories to your install:
   • The plugin: romfs/nro/(plugin_name).nro
   • launcher_main.nrr: romfs/.nrr/launcher_main.nrr
   • autoexec.cfg: romfs/portal/cfg/autoexec.cfg for Portal, romfs/portal2/cfg/autoexec.cfg for Portal 2.
   • rom_boot_params.txt: romfs/nxcontent/rom_boot_params.txt
4. If you are not using PortalNXSideLoader, repackage your archive with the new files into game.zip.
5. Run the game.