MelonDS: Difference between revisions

|version = *{{Version|MelonDS}} <small>(Desktop)</small><br />

|platform = [[Emulators on PC|Windows]]<br/>[[Emulators on Linux|Linux]]<br/>[[Emulators on macOS|macOS]]<br/>[[Emulators on BSD|BSD]]<br/>[[Emulators on Android OS|Android]]<small> (Unofficial)</small><br/>[[Emulators on Switch|Nintendo Switch]]<small> (Unofficial)</small><br/>[[Emulators on Vita|PlayStation Vita]]<small> (Unofficial)</small>

|target = [[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]<br/>[[Nintendo DSi emulators|Nintendo DSi]]

|support = [https://www.patreon.com/staplebutter Patreon]<br/>[https://paypal.me/Arisotura PayPal]

|prog-lang = {{Proglang|C}}, {{Proglang|C++}}

|license = {{license|GPLv3}}

'''melonDS''' is a free and open-source [[Nintendo DS emulators|Nintendo DS]]/[[Nintendo DSi emulators|DSi emulator]] aiming for better performance than [[DeSmuME]] and to emulate Wi-Fi and local multiplayer capabilities. Its developer is Arisotura (formerly known as StapleButter/Luigi__), a former contributor to DeSmuME, and it is available as a [[libretro]] core since version 0.6. Its first commit on GitHub was on May 15, 2016.

|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac|LinuxARM|WoA|FreeBSD|OpenBSD|NetBSD}}

|{{Icon|Win|Lin|Mac}}

|'''[https://github.com/RSDuck/melonDS/releases Release 6]<br>[https://gbatemp.net/threads/melonds-for-switch-continuation.570021/ GBATemp Thread]'''<br><small> Ported by Hydr8gon, and currently maintained by Generic (aka RSDuck), who added an ARM64 JIT and other improvements. (Unofficial)</small><!--I don't know what the current status is for the Switch Port in termsuuuuu of compatibility-->

As of 0.9.5, melonDS offers:

* Nearly complete core (CPU, video, audio...)

* Many display position/sizing/rotation modes

* Wi-Fi: local wireless and online networking

* DSi emulation

* Camera support (DSi only)

Though it is not as mature as DeSmuME in some areas, it is a relatively simple emulator to use and has potential.

==Cheats/BIOS/Tutorials==

The OpenGL renderer is still being worked on, meaning that there is a small chance some models/textures may not render correctly.

On October 15, 2019, Arisotura released [http://melonds.kuribo64.net/comments.php?id=103 the beta version of an emulator called melonDSi], an experimental melonDS branch for DSi emulation. It used to require a lot of files to be dumped to work (most of which were console-unique), but it has been reworked to require less files (namely, the DSi ARM7 and ARM9 BIOS, the DSi Firmware and a NAND dump). It has since been merged into the master branch and is available on melonDS 0.9.

:''Firmware boot (not direct boot) requires a BIOS/firmware dump from an original DS or DS Lite. DS firmwares dumped from a DSi or 3DS aren't bootable and only contain configuration data, thus they are only suitable when booting games directly.''

:*''512KB: iQue DS firmware''

:''DS BIOS dumps from a DSi or 3DS can be used with no compatibility issues. DSi BIOS dumps (in DSi mode) are not compatible. Or maybe they are. I don't know.''

:''As for the rest, the interface should be pretty straightforward. If you have a question, don't hesitate to ask, though!''

These files can be found [[Emulator_Files#Nintendo_DS_.2F_DSi|here]]. If you do choose to look elsewhere online for system files, be warned that there are old hacked dumps floating around that breaks if the WFC configurations are altered.

To use the OpenGL renderer, you must have at least OpenGL 3.1.