KarPur adds DLC and controller support to the native Pokémon Scarlet and Violet port for Windows
KarPur translates the Switch code of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet into a Windows program that draws with Vulkan, with no emulator. Versions 0.3.2 and 0.3.3 add DLC, experimental mods and a launcher you can use with a controller. The project is on the last of its six milestones.
How it works
KarPur converts the ARM64 code of Pokémon Scarlet and Violet, the 2022 Switch game, into C code that compiles as an x86-64 Windows program. The console's system and its graphics API are replaced by a runtime of the project's own, and the game draws through Vulkan. The launcher does the whole process on your PC from your copy. The repository started on November 1, is MIT-licensed and has 33 stars.
It's on milestone 6 of 6, the PC extras. The game is playable from the title screen into the open world, with battles, picnics, fast travel and saves. It runs at 60 fps, with 90, 120 and 144 as experimental caps, and prepares about 36,000 shaders during the build to avoid stutter. It supports DLSS, DLAA and frame generation, 2x on RTX 40 cards and up to 4x on RTX 50, as well as keyboard and mouse and more wild Pokémon. For AMD and other non-NVIDIA cards there's FSR 1 and the console's Handheld mode at 1280x720.
Versions 0.3.2 and 0.3.3
Version 0.3.2, from November 10, shows your team's icons on the Home page, taken from your own game files during the build. It debuts an experimental Mods tab, tested so far only with mods that change existing files, such as Improved Dynamic LODs and PokePopulation. It also brings fixes for AMD cards and a test build for older processors.
Version 0.3.3, from November 11, confirms DLC activation, story areas included: you just point setup at the .nsp. It adds a quit button with confirmation in the F1 or Esc menu, the performance overlay selectable from that menu, a launcher you can use with a controller and a setting to pick the graphics card when you have several.
The maintainer has no AMD card and asks for help from anyone who knows Vulkan. Known issues remain, such as a crash on some RDNA 3 cards during character creation.
What you need
Your own copy of the game: Pokémon Violet as an .xci is the tested version, and Scarlet works according to community reports, untested by the maintainer. Update 4.0.0 as an .nsp is the only supported update, and DLC is optional. You also need the keys from the same console. On the PC, 64-bit Windows 10 or 11, Vulkan 1.3, a CPU with AVX2, 16 GB of RAM recommended and about 30 GB free during the build, 13 of which stay in use. DLSS and frame generation need an RTX card. Linux and Steam Deck are untested.
