Hi. I'm Giorgio, online known as Gheovgos, I recently decided to take the old work on melonDS by @catlover007 (aka RSDuck) to add new features and enhancements as I think the stand alone emulator is amazing. The first feature I've always wanted is support for RetroAchievements. I'm creating this thread because I finally managed to integrate rcheevos' library to the emulator, releasing a new version of melonDS that allows login and unlock achievements.
There will be a lot of work to be done, both in terms of QoL (for example, you now have to log in every time, since credentials are not saved in any way) and in terms of emulation (some users have reported to me some DSi-related errors caused by my modifications). I will use this thread to update you and to gather as much feedback as possible. You can find the link to the new version here.
Release 7.2
You can also see the prerelease build for some bug fixes and/or new feature, BUT it will be probably unstable:
Nightly build
At the moment, hardcore achievements are disabled by default, as you have to make a request to the RetroAchievements admins. I'm already working on it.
I am leaving the original catlover thread as a copy.
melonDS is a Nintendo DS emulator mainly developed by Arisotura (@StapleButter). It was first ported to the Switch by @Hydr8gon. I'm responsible for several optimisations and the current port. Depending mostly on whether a game utilises the 3D hardware of the DS a lot of games already reach fullspeed without overclocking.
The last few releases of my continuation where done in Hydr8gon's thread which quickly resulted in a lot of confusion.
For those coming from older versions of my port, using the /melonds directory located at the sd card root is still possible.
Since Release 5 the JIT recompiler isn't enabled by default, so make sure to enable (under Emulation Settings), since the interpreter is pretty slow.
Atmosphere title replacement to launch the hbmenu is the only supported method of running melonDS!
If you don't know what that means: press R while starting any game from the Switch's main menu to enter the hbmenu, don't use the album!
- Added mastery notification
- Improvements regarding save slots for RAs
- Added the ability to turn off the notifications
- Improved notification system
- Added remapping buttons
- Bug fixes and generale QoL improvements
Release 7.1:
- Added the ability to switch fast forward from hold to toggle and vice versa (requested by @martinlvm). You can check this option under Input Settings
- Fixed issue where notifications were not being rendered if the screen was in different rotations
- General improvements to notifications, but there is still more to be done
- When the game is paused and you are logged in to the RA servers, you can see the list of achievements in the appropriate section. Note that at the moment the request is synchronous, so the system will freeze for a few seconds and then resume once the complete list is obtained. To make it asynchronous
- Automatic Login support, just log in once and your credentials will be stored in melonds.ini
- Added support for the leaderboard entries
- Added support for leaderboard trackers, challange and progress indicators. However, these need to be improved and tested: I would be glad if you had tests reported in the issues so that I can investigate in the future
Release 7:
First support for RetroAchievements. Launch by args, thanks to @Jpe230
Release 6, fix 1:
Just a few bug fixes (the pendulum on the title screen in Chrono Trigger, several things in Mortal Kombat and a freeze in Pokemon Platinum, likely also in Diamond/Perl).
Release 6:
This release is a big one, because we finally hit fullspeed in most games including 3d ones! This is all thanks to the new 2D and 3D renderers which run on your Switch's GPU (which previously was only used for the GUI and putting the video output onto the screen) instead of CPU.
The 3D renderer doesn't use the builtin triangle drawing functionality melonDS's OpenGL renderer does, thus it doesn't have issues like it (https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/issues?q=is:open+is:issue+label
penGL). Instead it's basically the good old software rasteriser but translated to run on GPUs thus ideally it should have the same pretty amazing compability.
Both the new 2D and the new 3D renderer are implemented using deko3D for minimal CPU usage compared to OpenGL, though I want to port both of them back to OpenGL for desktop melonDS. In the future there's the possibility for some enhancements like high resolution rendering with less issues than the OpenGL renderer currently has (I'm sure yet whether Switch can handle this, so don't get your hopes too high on this).
For older versions look inside the spoiler.
How can the emulation be paused?
Press ZL and ZR at the same time.
How can I fast forward?
By pressing either ZL or ZR depending which button is used to do a touchscreen click (which depends on whether Left handed mode is enabled in the Input settings). Note that this is not available in gyro mode, because there this button is used for recalibration.
What do the Block Size, Branch Optimisations, Literal Optimisations and Fast Memory settings do?
Ideally they can stay enabled/at maximum all the time because they enable optimisations beneficial for the performance. But if there's an issue with the JIT recompiler it can be tracked down faster. Only touch them if something unexpected happens and mention which (if any) setting makes a difference in bug reports.
I want to play with a Flip Grip. Which settings should I use?
Use the Global Rotation option which rotates the entire GUI. Shout-out here to @uzimakiuchiha who got me a Flip Grip!
I want to play a game where the DS is held side ways (like e.g. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training), which should I do?
For this case it's the best to use the Screen rotation in the Display settings, once a game is launched (it rotates the buttons as well, as if you're holding the DS that way).
How can I quickly switch the focussed screen?
Press down the right stick. There's also an automatic mode where we the main screen is guessed in the display settings.
How can I only display one screen at a time (and for some reason I want it to be stretched across the whole screen ruining all proportions)?
Go into the Display settings. Set Top aspect ratio and Bottom aspect ratio to 16:9 and then set Screen sizing to either Top only or Bottom only.
How do I use gyro control?
First enable it in the Input settings. Press ZL or ZR (depending on whether you enabled Left handed mode in the Input Settings) to calibrate the rotation. Since this utilises the gyroscopes (and not IR like the Wiimote, which gives an absolute position) it's only based on it's rotation, so it needs recentering if you change the way you hold the Switch/Joy-Con.
How can I change the access the DS menu (e.g. for changing the system language)?
Press Boot Firmware or disable the setting Direct boot in the Emulation settings.
Starting a DSiWare dumped as a NDS file doesn't work, what is wrong?
To run DSiWare it needs to be installed on the NAND. If you start it from the filebrowser it will be started as a cartridge and thus fail to load.
How can I give microphone input? (e.g. a lot of games require one to blow into the microphone)
Press down the left stick to simulate a blowing noise. Proper microphone input via an external microphone is currently not supported.
There will be a lot of work to be done, both in terms of QoL (for example, you now have to log in every time, since credentials are not saved in any way) and in terms of emulation (some users have reported to me some DSi-related errors caused by my modifications). I will use this thread to update you and to gather as much feedback as possible. You can find the link to the new version here.
Release 7.2
You can also see the prerelease build for some bug fixes and/or new feature, BUT it will be probably unstable:
Nightly build
At the moment, hardcore achievements are disabled by default, as you have to make a request to the RetroAchievements admins. I'm already working on it.
I am leaving the original catlover thread as a copy.
melonDS is a Nintendo DS emulator mainly developed by Arisotura (@StapleButter). It was first ported to the Switch by @Hydr8gon. I'm responsible for several optimisations and the current port. Depending mostly on whether a game utilises the 3D hardware of the DS a lot of games already reach fullspeed without overclocking.
The last few releases of my continuation where done in Hydr8gon's thread which quickly resulted in a lot of confusion.
Setup
For those coming from older versions of my port, using the /melonds directory located at the sd card root is still possible.
Since Release 5 the JIT recompiler isn't enabled by default, so make sure to enable (under Emulation Settings), since the interpreter is pretty slow.
Atmosphere title replacement to launch the hbmenu is the only supported method of running melonDS!
If you don't know what that means: press R while starting any game from the Switch's main menu to enter the hbmenu, don't use the album!
- Download the latest release from here: https://github.com/RSDuck/melonDS/releases
- Extract the release onto your sd card, so that there's /switch/melonds folder melonds.nro and some other files inside it.
- NAND, BIOS and firmware files go into /switch/melonds as well
- ROM files can be placed anywhere on the sd card
- ARM9 BIOS (bios9.bin)
- ARM7 BIOS (bios7.bin)
- DS mode firmware (firmware.bin)
- DSi ARM9 BIOS (biosdsi9.rom)
- DSi ARM7 BIOS (biosdsi7.rom)
- DSi mode firmware (firmware_dsi.bin)
- NAND dump (nand.bin)
Release notes
Release 7.2:- Added mastery notification
- Improvements regarding save slots for RAs
- Added the ability to turn off the notifications
- Improved notification system
- Added remapping buttons
- Bug fixes and generale QoL improvements
Release 7.1:
- Added the ability to switch fast forward from hold to toggle and vice versa (requested by @martinlvm). You can check this option under Input Settings
- Fixed issue where notifications were not being rendered if the screen was in different rotations
- General improvements to notifications, but there is still more to be done
- When the game is paused and you are logged in to the RA servers, you can see the list of achievements in the appropriate section. Note that at the moment the request is synchronous, so the system will freeze for a few seconds and then resume once the complete list is obtained. To make it asynchronous
- Automatic Login support, just log in once and your credentials will be stored in melonds.ini
- Added support for the leaderboard entries
- Added support for leaderboard trackers, challange and progress indicators. However, these need to be improved and tested: I would be glad if you had tests reported in the issues so that I can investigate in the future
Release 7:
First support for RetroAchievements. Launch by args, thanks to @Jpe230
Release 6, fix 1:
Just a few bug fixes (the pendulum on the title screen in Chrono Trigger, several things in Mortal Kombat and a freeze in Pokemon Platinum, likely also in Diamond/Perl).
Release 6:
This release is a big one, because we finally hit fullspeed in most games including 3d ones! This is all thanks to the new 2D and 3D renderers which run on your Switch's GPU (which previously was only used for the GUI and putting the video output onto the screen) instead of CPU.
The 3D renderer doesn't use the builtin triangle drawing functionality melonDS's OpenGL renderer does, thus it doesn't have issues like it (https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS/issues?q=is:open+is:issue+label
penGL). Instead it's basically the good old software rasteriser but translated to run on GPUs thus ideally it should have the same pretty amazing compability.Both the new 2D and the new 3D renderer are implemented using deko3D for minimal CPU usage compared to OpenGL, though I want to port both of them back to OpenGL for desktop melonDS. In the future there's the possibility for some enhancements like high resolution rendering with less issues than the OpenGL renderer currently has (I'm sure yet whether Switch can handle this, so don't get your hopes too high on this).
For older versions look inside the spoiler.
FAQ?
How can the emulation be paused?
Press ZL and ZR at the same time.
How can I fast forward?
By pressing either ZL or ZR depending which button is used to do a touchscreen click (which depends on whether Left handed mode is enabled in the Input settings). Note that this is not available in gyro mode, because there this button is used for recalibration.
What do the Block Size, Branch Optimisations, Literal Optimisations and Fast Memory settings do?
Ideally they can stay enabled/at maximum all the time because they enable optimisations beneficial for the performance. But if there's an issue with the JIT recompiler it can be tracked down faster. Only touch them if something unexpected happens and mention which (if any) setting makes a difference in bug reports.
I want to play with a Flip Grip. Which settings should I use?
Use the Global Rotation option which rotates the entire GUI. Shout-out here to @uzimakiuchiha who got me a Flip Grip!
I want to play a game where the DS is held side ways (like e.g. Dr Kawashima's Brain Training), which should I do?
For this case it's the best to use the Screen rotation in the Display settings, once a game is launched (it rotates the buttons as well, as if you're holding the DS that way).
How can I quickly switch the focussed screen?
Press down the right stick. There's also an automatic mode where we the main screen is guessed in the display settings.
How can I only display one screen at a time (and for some reason I want it to be stretched across the whole screen ruining all proportions)?
Go into the Display settings. Set Top aspect ratio and Bottom aspect ratio to 16:9 and then set Screen sizing to either Top only or Bottom only.
How do I use gyro control?
First enable it in the Input settings. Press ZL or ZR (depending on whether you enabled Left handed mode in the Input Settings) to calibrate the rotation. Since this utilises the gyroscopes (and not IR like the Wiimote, which gives an absolute position) it's only based on it's rotation, so it needs recentering if you change the way you hold the Switch/Joy-Con.
How can I change the access the DS menu (e.g. for changing the system language)?
Press Boot Firmware or disable the setting Direct boot in the Emulation settings.
Starting a DSiWare dumped as a NDS file doesn't work, what is wrong?
To run DSiWare it needs to be installed on the NAND. If you start it from the filebrowser it will be started as a cartridge and thus fail to load.
How can I give microphone input? (e.g. a lot of games require one to blow into the microphone)
Press down the left stick to simulate a blowing noise. Proper microphone input via an external microphone is currently not supported.
Last edited by Deleted member 671446,
