WindowSmash on PC: build Ultimate, fix missing fonts and launch local matches
ItsOOGWAY · PC guides & recorded tests
WindowSmash on PC: build Ultimate, fix missing fonts and launch local matches
Learn how to set up Super Smash Bros. Ultimate on PC using WindowSmash, fix the missing-fonts error, and launch the finished build. This walkthrough shows the actual setup and local gameplay with the FPS overlay visible.
The key checkpoint: Check the game, keys and extracted firmware as separate inputs. A compatible firmware/key combination resolves the recorded font-stage failure.
Before you start
- Recorded game version: 13.0.5.
- Keep your own game, update, key and firmware folders identifiable.
- Use Play SSBU after the build completes rather than reinstalling for every session.
Resources from this video
Links, downloads & documentation
Every original URL from the video description is collected here, including recorded releases, setup discussions and related videos. Use the version-specific notes when following a recorded build.
Watch the complete video
Open this video on YouTube ↗. Screenshots below link to their exact recorded moments.
Walkthrough 01
Download the complete WindowSmash source package
Open the WindowSmash GitHub page linked in the resources section. Use the green Code button, choose Download ZIP, and extract the whole archive to a folder on a drive with enough space. Open the extracted folder until you can see Install WindowSmash.bat. Keep the other folders beside it. That batch file is the starting point for this walkthrough. Before running it, let's get its inputs ready. We're using a project called WindowSmash. It prepares a Windows version from your own copy of the game.
The installer handles the build tools and the build process, while you select the folders it needs. I'll show the successful route, including the point where mine stopped and what I changed to continue. Before downloading the project, get your own game dump ready. This setup uses Super Smash Bros. Ultimate version 13.0.5. If your base game isn't already updated to that version, keep its thirteen point zero point five update alongside it. An update file on its own isn't the complete game.
You'll also need your console's keys and firmware. Any DLC should come from content you own; it isn't needed for the basic match I'm showing here.
Walkthrough 02
Organize game, keys and firmware inputs
For the files we're selecting, think of three locations: your game folder, your keys folder, and your firmware folder. The game folder holds the base game and its update. The keys folder holds your prod dot keys file, with title dot keys if your dump needs it. The firmware folder holds the extracted firmware files. Keeping those locations separate makes the setup window much easier to check. You also need enough room for the build, not just the original game.
In my recording, the installer checks the processor, memory and available storage before going further. Don't put this in a nearly full drive and assume the small source download represents the finished size. Use the requirements on the project's page, and leave room for both your original files and the work the installer creates. This is the shortcut that saves the extra work. During my first attempt I went through manual extraction and game-data configuration.
For the automatic route shown here, you can point the installer at the original supported game files instead. You don't need to repeat my separate extractor steps just to follow this method. Start with the game and update together, and let this installer prepare them.
Walkthrough 03
Run automatic setup and check the selected folders
Double-click Install WindowSmash.bat. A terminal opens and starts checking what is already available. In my recording it downloads the compiler components and prepares the controller support. If it asks you to accept the download terms, read the prompt and continue if you agree. Leave the window open while those downloads finish. The text moving through the terminal is the installer doing its work; you aren't expected to type out all of those commands yourself. Next, the setup window asks where your files are.
For Game files, browse to the folder containing the base game and its thirteen point zero point five update. Choose the folder itself. Read the information underneath it before moving on. This is a useful checkpoint: if the version or files aren't recognised, correct this selection now instead of carrying the problem into the build. For Keys, choose the folder containing your console's key files. For Firmware, select the extracted folder containing the firmware's N C A files.
Selecting the ZIP itself, or stopping one folder above the actual files, isn't the same thing. Browse into the extracted location and check its contents. Use the Check files button to review what the installer has found.
Walkthrough 04
Resolve the recorded missing-fonts stage
The window also has an online name and options for a desktop shortcut, the firewall and shader preparation. A desktop shortcut makes the next launch easier. The shader option prepares graphics work ahead of play. The firewall option relates to network play; the matches in this video are against the computer. Once your folders are recognised, click Set up and build. Here is the error I want you to recognise, because restarting the whole process would have wasted time.
My installer reached the font stage and stopped with a message saying the required fonts weren't found. Those fonts come from the firmware files. The message also tells you to check that the folder contains the firmware files and that your keys are recent enough for them. First, check the path you selected and make sure the firmware is fully extracted. Then check that the key set can read that firmware. In this recording, my attempt with firmware twenty-three point zero point one failed at this stage.
After I selected firmware twenty-two point five point zero with the keys I was using, the installer extracted the fonts and continued. That is the combination that worked here, rather than a version everyone needs to copy. The useful rule is to use a complete firmware dump that your own keys can read. After correcting that selection, run Install WindowSmash.bat again and check the folders. You can see it picking up the work instead of making me redo the entire setup.
This time, the font names appear in the terminal and it moves into the next stage. That change is the confirmation we're looking for: the previous error has cleared and the build can continue. From here, give it time. The installer prepares the game data and compiles the game and fighter modules. There can be long stretches with similar-looking text, so don't close it just because one stage is taking longer than the last. I'll speed up the waiting in the video.
On your computer, wait for the completion message or read the error if it actually stops. Keep the game files in their selected location while it works.
Walkthrough 05
Complete the build and use the play shortcut
At the end of my build, the terminal reaches one hundred percent and says the executable is ready. It then tells me to start the game with Play S S B U. This is the point to launch. Use Play SSBU.bat in the project folder, or the desktop shortcut it created. For later sessions, start with that play shortcut rather than running the installer again. The launcher shows game version 13.0.5 at the top. I'm leaving its initial settings as shown: a twelve-eighty by seven-twenty window, Steady sixty frame pacing, and the game's nineteen-twenty by ten-eighty render scale.
The window size and render scale are separate settings. Starting with these settings gives us a clear baseline before experimenting with anything else. Check your controller or keyboard player assignment, then press Play. Let the opening sequence finish, enter Smash, select a ruleset and stage, and choose your fighter. The first test here is Link against a computer-controlled Yoshi. Reaching a menu is useful, but getting into a match is where we can actually check movement, combat and the frame-rate readout.
Walkthrough 06
Test local matches and interpret the result
This is the result from the recording. The overlay shows sixty frames per second at the moments you're seeing, and the match continues through the stage changes. I also tried Pikachu against Fox on another stage, so we have a second match to look at. These are local matches. A lobby status on the overlay doesn't mean I've demonstrated an online match, and these two tests don't establish how every fighter or mode will behave.
If your setup stops, keep the message and the install log so you can identify the stage that failed. For the issue in this walkthrough, the useful fix was checking the firmware and keys, then rerunning the installer. Once the build finished, the play shortcut took me into the game. Keep your original game files and your saves rather than deleting them just because the build has completed.
If your result differs
| Situation | Next useful check |
|---|---|
| Required fonts were not found | Check the extracted firmware contents and whether your own keys can read that firmware. |
| Copying the recorded firmware version | 22.5.0 worked with the recorded keys after 23.0.1 failed; it is not a universal required version. |
| Assuming online play works | The recorded tests are local computer-opponent matches, not demonstrated online matches. |
Comments
Post a Comment