rpynx v0.1.0pre-release

Getting started

Your first game

Import a DRM-free Ren'Py game on your computer, put it on the SD card, and launch it from the library.

Source docs/IMPORTER.md, docs/INSTALL.md
On this page

The steps below use the desktop importer. A game folder copied to games/ by hand also works, but without a manifest the loader cannot check it first, and it gets no cover.

1. Get a game

Use a Ren’Py game you own in DRM-free form, as a folder, .zip, .7z or .rar. Ren’Py 8 games are the best start. The Question, the demo that comes with the Ren’Py SDK, was the first game to run on a Switch (run 5).

2. Import it

Open the importer window (see Desktop app), drop the game on it, and read the report. Or use the command line:

bash
python3 importer/rsl_import.py ~/Games/the_question --out /Volumes/SD

The report gives the title, the Ren’Py version, the status and anything that needs attention:

text
The Question  (id: the-question)
  Ren'Py:  8.5.3.26051504   Python: 3
  Status:  EXPERIMENTAL on runtime renpy-8.5.3

The game is written to switch/renpy-loader/games/the-question/: the game/ folder, a manifest.json, and a cover and background when the importer could make them.

tip

No card reader? Choose Switch over Wi-Fi (FTP) in the window, or pass --out ftp://192.168.1.20:5000. See Upload over FTP.

3. Launch it

  1. Put the SD card back in the Switch.
  2. Start rpynx with full memory (hold R on a game).
  3. The game is in the library. Press A for its details, then Launch.

When you quit the game from its own menu, you are back in the library. A Ren’Py 7 game exported with --recompile compiles its scripts on its first launch, which is slow once.

If it does not start

The details page says why a game cannot start (Can’t launch), for example an unsupported status or a missing runtime. See Common problems.

↑↓ move↵ openesc close