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Citron Switch emulator updated to v0.7 with a complete rewrite

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One of the very few, and still active, Switch emulators, Citron, has seen a recent updates as of a few hours ago.

For those on the unknown, since Nintendo took down both Yuzu through a DMCA lawsuit, and Ryujinx by reaching an alleged agreement with the main developer, Switch emulation has been shaky, to say the least, jumping back and forth between many, many forks, and the few ones that did manage to achieve a decent amount of progress and further development, eventually reached a halt, be it due to the lack of interest from the developers that picked up the project, or due to online scene drama, which is a known occurrence in certain emulator scenes.

Since then, only three main ones have been growing steadily, Ryubing, a fork and continuation of Ryujinx, and both Citron and Eden, which are both based on Yuzu, with Eden being a separation of Citron devs due to some drama months ago to make their own Switch emulator.

Citron has certainly seen a frequent update schedule, and the developers that remained after the Citron/Eden separation have continued work to bring forth bugfixes, compatibility improvements as well as performance updates, and this latest v0.7 update aims to be an important one, with many rewrites and implementations.

Here's the main changelog for the updated v0.7 of Citron:

Major Implementations:​

  • Complete Vulkan rendering pipeline overhaul
  • Advanced ZBC table management with GPU memory integration
  • Enhanced Nintendo SDK crash detection and recovery system
  • Optimized descriptor update queue performance
  • Adaptive timeout and auto-disable for Vulkan turbo mode Missing kernel event handle and service function implementations
  • ISBERD instruction implementation in shader recompiler
  • QueryPointerBufferSize service with proper IPC buffer calculation
  • Network stability improvements for HDR multiplayer
  • Cross-platform compilation fixes (Linux/Android/Windows)
  • Authentication system integration for beta testing
  • Complete rewrite of core emulation components

Important Notes:​

  • FSR2 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS: The FSR2 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2) implementation is currently HALF-BAKED and experimental. Users should expect:
  • Visual artifacts and rendering glitches
  • Inconsistent frame rate improvements
  • Potential crashes or instability
  • Memory management issues
  • Compatibility problems with certain games
This feature is provided as-is for testing purposes only. Use at your own risk.

Expected Bugs:​

As this is a complete rewrite, users should anticipate:
  • Game compatibility regressions
  • Performance inconsistencies
  • UI/UX issues
  • Platform-specific bugs
  • Memory leaks in certain scenarios
  • Audio synchronization problems
People interested can download and test out this newest update, and see how well it fares compared to its v0.6, or even against other still developed Switch emulators as well.

:arrow: Source
:arrow: Citron's private Git repository
 
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Click to expand...
ShadowOne333 said:
The verification was used for and when the Discord purge happened alongside all the 16k+ bans, and has been in place since then from what I know.
The verification requires specific and unique console content sent to the developers, and you're basically locked out of any "official" support of the emulator if you don't validate your console with them.
In what world is that not shady?

Asking any user for its unique console data in any way, no matter the method or intention, is never a good thing.
That's only a ticking bomb waiting to detonate.

Here's some posts and videos about the whole situation back when it happened that I had saved up just to wrap up my input on this:
Post #1
Post #2



Click to expand...

Hey, I recommend you stay away from that channel, they just keep spreading nonsense. I have watched their videos and every time they talk about Azahar they get things wrong (mostly with covering updates).

Also I love this part of one of the videos you linked: "In my opinion, all these implementations add no extra security to the projects and only make users' lives more difficult. In the end, the ones who suffer the most are those who just want to come home after a long day and play." First of all, this claim feels so unprofessional to say in a video of this kind. Secondly, they are basically saying that "fuck emu devs and the challenges they may face, I only want to play free stuff". These kind of users are the ones that we really don't want in our community.

Also, I wonder what that youtuber told his "laywer friend", becasue he didn't even mention anything about encryption support in their reply, which was the main legal argument in the lawsuit that brought yuzu down (main reason we removed it). That makes me question their legitimacy.

About the .3ds file extension removal, if you search for pirated games online, the first thing that shows up are .3ds files and encrypted .cia files. By removing .3ds and encryption support we are actively fighting piracy, as we make it a bit harder to use the emu for pirates that do not care about anything and just want free games. Doing this is a good thing for us legally speaking. In fact, we have seen some success of pirates staying away from the emu and moving to forks not made by us, and users who actually care about the project stay.

In any case the .3ds file extension removal was meant to be a minor thing, you can just rename your backups and that's it. The big legal argument is encryption removal. The problem is that pirate kids like to cry about anything and made a nothingburger out of it, they even got to make a fork of Azahar intended for piracy with malicious intentions by using the same emulator name and confusing users (even big youtubers who cover emulation. I had to personally tell them that we have nothing to do with the fork).

As @greemdev has mentioned, we are not the bad guys, please stop attacking us once and for all. If there is a reason we did all of these changes, it is because we want to minimize the chances of our projects causing us legal trouble. It's not about the project being taken down, it's not about our personal opinion about piracy, nor it's about "power tripping" or "imposing morals" like some pirates claim. It's only about we, as human beings, not having our life permanently destroyed due to abusive corporate decisions when we are trying to preserve the history of a console in the long term. By criminalizing emu devs this way, you are making it a bit easier for Nintendo to take action, as they will not be as worried for a backslash from the community.
 
Last edited by PabloMK7,
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retrospect said:
Why are so many people so concerned about a Discord server for an emulator? How much support do people need to click a "load ROM" button?
Click to expand...
Literally. They act like we implemented the most oppressive DRM ever when its literally a preventer for getting help. NOT USING THE DAMN THING, JUST HELP. Absolutely deranged psychos.
Post automatically merged:

4d1xlaan said:
something tells me none of these people actually even have the experience or the technical capability to actually develop an emulator (or in this case improve because they can't even make their own)
Click to expand...
Yeah and they're the people flooding this thread with "eden good."
Post automatically merged:

Moseii said:
thxxx, i seem to always forget the meaning of ">"
Click to expand...
Don't use Eden, they constantly steal code from Citron and use AI; they also have started rumors about known modders and then banned them when they defended themselves in the server (they did this to MaxLastBreath)
It's funny how this person says "eden > citron" when nothing in Eden is original because its maintainer doesn't even have a PC, and its contributors are 13 year old children who "learned" Vulkan from ChatGPT (aka, they didn't learn shit.)
Even when the maintainer was a part of Citron, they opened their own donation link and pretended to be the sole Citron maintainer in other places. Snake behavior.

I feel like I should also mention they're very open to piracy in their discord server but I feel like nobody here gives a shit about that given how much brainrot there's already been about verification.
 
Last edited by greemdev,
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As an end user I'm not interested in scene drama - only thing that matters are the results, the quality and speed of the emulation. Having used Citron, Eden and Ryubing, Eden is my present choice. Even though apparently end users are not allowed to discuss the relative merits of each emulator and leave the discussion for the developers only.
 
Last edited by lwiz,
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greemdev said:
they constantly steal code from Citron
Click to expand...

Can you point out to such instances? They are both GPL, so stealing here would be copying without attribution.

greemdev said:
I feel like I should also mention they're very open to piracy in their discord server but I feel like nobody here gives a shit about that given how much brainrot there's already been about verification.
Click to expand...

1. No Piracy or Illegal Content
Sharing or linking to ROMs, ISOs, firmware, decryption keys, or any copyrighted material is strictly forbidden and will result in an immediate ban. You can find information on Eden by visiting: https://eden-emu.dev/
Click to expand...
 
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LightBeam said:
Why does Ryubing also require people to verify in their discord if they want help ? I don't understand the requirement.

Even on the 3DS scene I've seen some drama, I don't remember the details but there was something about azahar not supporting .3ds files because they were for piracy or something ? Because everyone knows that people use emulators to only play games they own and dumped themselves :ninja:
Click to expand...
The verification comes from Discord in general, it's not a channel specific requirement.

Unless ofc, the devs want to know who are they treating with.
 
I can't wait for Nintendo to sue the first switch emulator to support switch 2 games, modern Nintendo man... so greedy.

Edit: Just noticed iam the 69th comment nice :rofl2:
 
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JA121196 said:
I can't wait for Nintendo to sue the first switch emulator to support switch 2 games, modern Nintendo man... so greedy.
Click to expand...
It's gonna take a while. There is already a project but until the Switch 2 is properly jailbroken, don't expect anything functional. And people are less motivated to work on both jailbreaking and emulating, because the letigious nature of Nintendo. There are also more and more people working on console security not to jailbreak it but to help companies patch vulnerabilities (in return for a bounty paid, not that they pay nearly enough of what they deserve though).

JA121196 said:
Edit: Just noticed iam the 69th comment nice :rofl2:
Click to expand...
Nice!
 
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pustal said:
It's gonna take a while. There is already a project but until the Switch 2 is properly jailbroken, don't expect anything functional. And people are less motivated to work on both jailbreaking and emulating, because the letigious nature of Nintendo. There are also more and more people working on console security not to jailbreak it but to help companies patch vulnerabilities (in return for a bounty paid, not that they pay nearly enough of what they deserve though).


Nice!
Click to expand...
Your PFP reminded me I need to play sonic adventure imma buy the PS3 digital versions.

Edit: Decided to get em via Xbox as they are upscaled on newer Xbox consoles.
 
Last edited by JA121196,
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JA121196 said:
Your PFP reminded me I need to play sonic adventure imma buy the PS3 digital versions.

Edit: Decided to get em via Xbox as they are upscaled on newer Xbox consoles.
Click to expand...
Why not PC? You even have ray tracing mods if you want to improve at that level. The base games, ofc, run at pretty tame hardware.
 
Jayro said:
Buy a gaming tablet for gaming. Samsung is not good for emulators that require 3D graphics outside of GameCube and maybe PS2.
Click to expand...

I didn't know about Turnip driver support until it was too late! I wanted an IPx rated tablet that was top of the line so I went with S10u. I think I should have gone with S9u but oh well... and they cheaped out on the S11 too so... here's looking forward to S12 or Xiaomi (et al) to come out with one with an IPx rating! :rofl2:
 
ShadowOne333 said:

One of the very few, and still active, Switch emulators, Citron, has seen a recent updates as of a few hours ago.

For those on the unknown, since Nintendo took down both Yuzu through a DMCA lawsuit, and Ryujinx by reaching an alleged agreement with the main developer, Switch emulation has been shaky, to say the least, jumping back and forth between many, many forks, and the few ones that did manage to achieve a decent amount of progress and further development, eventually reached a halt, be it due to the lack of interest from the developers that picked up the project, or due to online scene drama, which is a known occurrence in certain emulator scenes.

Since then, only three main ones have been growing steadily, Ryubing, a fork and continuation of Ryujinx, and both Citron and Eden, which are both based on Yuzu, with Eden being a separation of Citron devs due to some drama months ago to make their own Switch emulator.

Citron has certainly seen a frequent update schedule, and the developers that remained after the Citron/Eden separation have continued work to bring forth bugfixes, compatibility improvements as well as performance updates, and this latest v0.7 update aims to be an important one, with many rewrites and implementations.

Here's the main changelog for the updated v0.7 of Citron:

Major Implementations:​

  • Complete Vulkan rendering pipeline overhaul
  • Advanced ZBC table management with GPU memory integration
  • Enhanced Nintendo SDK crash detection and recovery system
  • Optimized descriptor update queue performance
  • Adaptive timeout and auto-disable for Vulkan turbo mode Missing kernel event handle and service function implementations
  • ISBERD instruction implementation in shader recompiler
  • QueryPointerBufferSize service with proper IPC buffer calculation
  • Network stability improvements for HDR multiplayer
  • Cross-platform compilation fixes (Linux/Android/Windows)
  • Authentication system integration for beta testing
  • Complete rewrite of core emulation components

Important Notes:​

  • FSR2 IMPLEMENTATION STATUS: The FSR2 (FidelityFX Super Resolution 2) implementation is currently HALF-BAKED and experimental. Users should expect:
  • Visual artifacts and rendering glitches
  • Inconsistent frame rate improvements
  • Potential crashes or instability
  • Memory management issues
  • Compatibility problems with certain games
This feature is provided as-is for testing purposes only. Use at your own risk.

Expected Bugs:​

As this is a complete rewrite, users should anticipate:
  • Game compatibility regressions
  • Performance inconsistencies
  • UI/UX issues
  • Platform-specific bugs
  • Memory leaks in certain scenarios
  • Audio synchronization problems
People interested can download and test out this newest update, and see how well it fares compared to its v0.6, or even against other still developed Switch emulators as well.

:arrow: Source
:arrow: Citron's private Git repository
Click to expand...
wish more game compatibilty in the future
 
Sonic Angel Knight said:
I wish these switch emulators had recorders like other emulators. Would make it easy to make video replays. Such a pain to need other tools like screen capture.
Click to expand...

You want to upload videos online you made using a Switch emulator? Do you want Nintendo to sue you?
 

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