SuperModel NX 1.3.0 brings Sega Model 3 arcade games to Switch with cover art
SuperModel NX 1.3.0 adds game covers and runs Sega Model 3 arcade games on Switch with a PowerPC to ARM64 recompiler. Needs Atmosphère.
SuperModel NX 1.3.0 is out, and it runs Sega Model 3 arcade games on a Nintendo Switch. It’s a standalone homebrew .nro port of Supermodel, built on Libretro-Supermodel, with a PowerPC to ARM64 recompiler (JIT) doing the heavy lifting. You need Atmosphère for it to run.
The big new thing in 1.3.0 is game covers. The main menu shows the cover of the selected game next to the list. The covers aren’t included. You drop your own PNG or JPEG into /switch/supermodel/Covers/, named after the ROM set. Clones use their parent’s cover. The settings tabs also fill the full width now, and the list shows TITLE, ROM NAME and VERSION.
Performance is the real question. The author tested on a v1 Switch with an overclock. Scud Race holds 60 FPS in races. Daytona USA 2 runs at around 47 FPS in races at 960x540, so it’s not full speed yet. The release credits Thorhax for the audio and performance work: crackle-free sound and no more render stutter. The author says that work has been included since 1.2.1.
How to try it:
- Install Atmosphère and extract the zip to the root of your SD card.
- Put your own MAME-style ROM zips in
/switch/supermodel/ROMs/. - Optional: add NVRAM files in
/switch/supermodel/NVRAM/, or set each game up once in its test menu (Test = right stick click). - Launch games in title mode: hold R while opening a game.
- For demanding games, pick 960x540 in Settings → Video. Overclocking (sys-clk, for example) is recommended for Step 2.x games.
Limitations: some Step 2.x games aren’t full speed. It’s only been tested on real hardware, and Ryujinx and Eden aren’t supported. One user reports the hotkeys set in the .ini don’t save or load save states. The thread doesn’t show a fix yet. No ROMs, NVRAM or covers come with it, and the thread asks people not to request them.
The interesting part is the setup. Model 3 is PowerPC hardware, and this runs it on a Switch’s ARM chip through a JIT. Hitting 60 FPS in some races is a good sign. Watch the Step 2.x list next.
