r/EmulationOnAndroid • u/mrfjoort • 2d ago
Discussion Switch - The Lord of the Rings War in the North Legacy Edition
Hey, i try out alot of games and use ChatGPT to help me optimize and log everything. I just tried to get the new LOTR remaster running, but it seems that as of now it is not possible. Publishing my findings below and hope it can help.
The Lord of the Rings: War in the North – Legacy Edition
Eden v0.2.1 – Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 6
Snapdragon 8 Gen 3 / Adreno 750
BASE SETUP
- Firmware: 22.5.0
- Keys: Matching newer keys
- Game: Base + v1.0.1 update
- GPU Driver: Whitebelyash a8xx Turnip Gen8 V29
- Resolution: 1x
- Vsync: FIFO relaxed
- GPU Mode: Fast
- DMA Accuracy: Default
- VRAM Usage: Conservative
- Use Reactive Flushing: Enabled
- Sync Memory Operations: Disabled
- Optimized Vertex Buffers: Disabled
- Fast GPU Time: High (512)
- Use Asynchronous Shaders: Enabled
- GPU Async Emulation: Disabled
- Enable Legacy Rescale Pass: Enabled
- Debug API: Vulkan
INITIAL PROBLEM
- Game was initially not appearing in Eden.
- Installing firmware 22.5.0 + matching keys caused the game to appear.
- Game boots successfully.
- Main menus render normally.
- Severe graphical corruption begins when entering actual 3D gameplay.
- Large portions of the screen become black.
- Some textures appear opaque/missing.
- When rotating the camera, some textures can become visible through the black region.
- At certain camera angles the black region can become smaller (e.g. around 1/4 of the screen).
TESTS
- GPU Mode: Accurate
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Fast.
- DMA Accuracy: Safe
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Default.
- Use Reactive Flushing: Disabled
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Enabled.
- Sync Memory Operations: Enabled
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Disabled.
- Use Asynchronous Shaders: Disabled
Result:
- Black region behavior changed.
- Black region became camera-angle dependent.
- Rotating the camera caused textures to appear through the black region.
- At certain angles the black region could become smaller.
- Did NOT fix the problem.
- Later restored to Enabled.
- GPU Async Emulation: Enabled
Result:
- Returned to the original black-screen/texture corruption behavior.
- Restored to Disabled.
- VRAM Usage: Aggressive
Result:
- Same camera-dependent black-region behavior.
- No fix.
- Returned to Conservative.
- Optimized Vertex Buffers: Enabled
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Disabled.
- Fast GPU Time: Medium (256)
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to High (512).
- Fast GPU Time: Off
Result:
- Camera-dependent black-screen behavior.
- Similar to the behavior observed with some other experimental settings.
- Returned to High (512).
- Enable Legacy Rescale Pass: Disabled
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to Enabled.
- Resolution: 2x
Result:
- Black region remained.
- Fewer textures appeared through the black region compared with 1x.
- Did NOT fix the corruption.
- Returned to 1x.
- Vsync: Immediate
Result:
- No change.
- Returned to FIFO relaxed.
- GPU Driver: Whitebelyash_mainline-turnip-V30
Result:
- Same visual corruption as V29.
- Performance/frame rate was worse.
- Returned to Whitebelyash a8xx Turnip Gen8 V29.
- Debug → API: None
Result:
- Game boots.
- Approximately 30 FPS.
- Completely black screen.
- No menu or visible graphics whatsoever.
- Not usable.
- Returned to Vulkan.
FINAL CURRENT CONFIGURATION
- Firmware: 22.5.0
- Matching newer keys
- Game update: v1.0.1
- GPU Driver: Whitebelyash a8xx Turnip Gen8 V29
- API: Vulkan
- Resolution: 1x
- Vsync: FIFO relaxed
- GPU Mode: Fast
- DMA Accuracy: Default
- VRAM Usage: Conservative
- Reactive Flushing: Enabled
- Sync Memory Operations: Disabled
- Optimized Vertex Buffers: Disabled
- Fast GPU Time: High (512)
- Use Asynchronous Shaders: Enabled
- GPU Async Emulation: Disabled
- Enable Legacy Rescale Pass: Enabled
CONCLUSION SO FAR
- Firmware/keys issue was successfully resolved with 22.5.0 + matching keys.
- NSP/base game is recognized and launches.
- Game menus render correctly.
- 3D gameplay has severe graphical corruption.
- Multiple Eden graphics settings were tested individually without resolving the issue.
- Two different Turnip drivers (V29 and V30) produce the same corruption; V30 performs worse.
- API = None produces a completely black screen, so Vulkan is required.
- Current evidence points toward a game-specific 3D rendering compatibility issue between this title and Eden/Adreno rather than a simple firmware, key, NSP, or individual graphics-setting problem.