VBA Next Switch

VBA-next
File:Vbanextswitch.png
General
Author	RSDuck
Type	Handheld
Version	0.7
License	GPL-2.0
Last Updated	2018/07/14
Links
Download
Website
Source

The VBA-next switch is essentially a version of the Game Boy Advance emulator VBA-M that has been modified to work on the Nintendo Switch. Although it uses the libretro version of VBA-M, it operates independently of libretro.

Thanks to its foundation in VBA-M, it boasts an exceptionally high level of compatibility, with nearly all games running smoothly and at full speed.

It's important to note that this project has been discontinued for some time now and may not be compatible with the latest firmware updates. As an alternative, we recommend using either the mGBA standalone emulator or the vba-next libretro core.

Features

• Quite high compability(haven't tried many games)
• Save games and save states
• Frameskip

Problems

• In rare occasions the audio has problems
• Video and Input not frame accurate(see Speed hack)

Media

HOMEBREW Nintendo Switch (NEW GAME BOY ADVANCE EMULATOR) (VBA NEXT) VERY IMPRESSED (Part 1) - (MrHomebrew)

Screenshots

Speed Hack

Note: Some of the information presented below may be outdated or inaccurate.

The emulator experienced frequent slowdowns before the implementation of the "speed hack." Although the following discoveries were made independently, they may be common knowledge among emulator developers. The two factors that were found to contribute to the emulator's sluggish performance were the thread/core it was running on and the use of VSync.

To address the first issue, the entire emulator was shifted to a second thread with high priority and pinned to a core not currently in use by the system.

Eliminating the wait for vertical synchronization caused visual artifacts, so the emulator was restricted to the second thread and locked at 60 Hz using sleep thread. Meanwhile, the main thread was locked by the VSync, receiving the framebuffer and sending input while leaving the audio in the emulator thread.

However, this led to the issue of the two threads, despite being locked at 60 Hz, occasionally running out of sync. Consequently, a frame's input or graphics might be skipped or become unsynchronized.

Changelog

0.7

• Cheat support. They can be directly entered from the emulator, just enter the cheats menu from the pause menu.
• Fullscreen UI in docked mode(though the implementation isn't optimal, also currently not tested)
• Some minor improvements and adjustments, seriously

0.6

• Complete UI overhaul. Now it looks almost native!
• Setting to offset the real time clock

0.5

• UI improvements
• Fast forward is now on the R button
• There's an option to swap the function of the L and R buttons with ZL and ZR's function.
• Some minor adjustments and bug fixes

0.4

• Reduced lag from emulator and main thread image synchronisation
• Increased filename buffer
• Filenames are sorted alphabetically

0.3

• Better audio in almost all situations
• More robust string and path handling
• Added autosaving
• Added settings menu (press Minus to open it)
• Added screen scaling (Options: Nearest Integer, Nearest Fullscreen, Bilinear Fullscreen. The last one is a bit slow so I don't recommend it)
• Added RTC support
• Fixed #8 (analog sticks can be disabled via the settings)

0.2

• fix audio.

0.1

• First Release.

Credits

• jakibaki and dene- who helped massively with their Pull Requests
• BernardoGiordano for the great keyboard in Checkpoint.
• VBA-M and libretro devs
• shinyquagsire23 and Steveice10 for 3DSGBA
• libnx devs

External links

• Official Website - https://gbatemp.net/threads/vba-next-for-switch-works-4-1.504947/
• Github - https://github.com/RSDuck/vba-next-switch