melonDS DS emulator, sorta
The goal is to do things right and fast, akin to blargSNES (but hopefully better). But also to, you know, have a fun challenge :)
How to use
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.
Possible firmware sizes
- 128KB: DSi/3DS DS-mode firmware (reduced size due to lacking bootcode)
- 256KB: regular DS firmware
- 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!
How to build
Linux
-
Install dependencies:
- Ubuntu 22.04:
sudo apt install cmake extra-cmake-modules libcurl4-gnutls-dev libpcap0.8-dev libsdl2-dev qtbase5-dev qtbase5-private-dev qtmultimedia5-dev libslirp-dev libarchive-dev libzstd-dev
- Older Ubuntu:
sudo apt install cmake extra-cmake-modules libcurl4-gnutls-dev libpcap0.8-dev libsdl2-dev qt5-default qtbase5-private-dev qtmultimedia5-dev libslirp-dev libarchive-dev libzstd-dev
- Arch Linux:
sudo pacman -S base-devel cmake extra-cmake-modules git libpcap sdl2 qt5-base qt5-multimedia libslirp libarchive zstd
- Ubuntu 22.04:
-
Download the melonDS repository and prepare:
git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS
-
Compile:
cmake -B build cmake --build build -j$(nproc --all)
Windows
- Install MSYS2
- Open the MSYS2 MinGW 64-bit terminal
- Update the packages using
pacman -Syu
and reopen the terminal if it asks you to - Install git to clone the repository
pacman -S git
- Download the melonDS repository and prepare:
git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS
Dynamic builds (with DLLs)
- Install dependencies:
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-{cmake,SDL2,toolchain,qt5-base,qt5-svg,qt5-multimedia,qt5-tools,libslirp,libarchive,zstd}
- Compile:
cmake -B build cmake --build build cd build ../tools/msys-dist.sh
If everything went well, melonDS and the libraries it needs should now be in the dist
folder.
Static builds (without DLLs, standalone executable)
- Install dependencies:
pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-{cmake,SDL2,toolchain,qt5-static,libslirp,libarchive,zstd}
- Compile:
cmake -B build -DBUILD_STATIC=ON -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH=/mingw64/qt5-static cmake --build build
If everything went well, melonDS should now be in the build
folder.
macOS
- Install the Homebrew Package Manager
- Install dependencies:
brew install git pkg-config cmake sdl2 qt@6 libslirp libarchive zstd
- Download the melonDS repository and prepare:
git clone https://github.com/melonDS-emu/melonDS cd melonDS
- Compile:
cmake -B build -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$(brew --prefix qt@6);$(brew --prefix libarchive)" -DUSE_QT6=ON cmake --build build -j$(sysctl -n hw.logicalcpu)
If everything went well, melonDS.app should now be in the build
directory.
Self-contained app bundle
If you want an app bundle that can be distributed to other computers without needing to install dependencies through Homebrew, you can additionally run ../tools/mac-bundle.rb melonDS.app
after the build is completed, or add -DMACOS_BUNDLE_LIBS=ON
to the first CMake command.
TODO LIST
- better DSi emulation
- better OpenGL rendering
- netplay
- the impossible quest of pixel-perfect 3D graphics
- support for rendering screens to separate windows
- emulating some fancy addons
- other non-core shit (debugger, graphics viewers, etc)
TODO LIST FOR LATER (low priority)
- big-endian compatibility (Wii, etc)
- LCD refresh time (used by some games for blending effects)
- any feature you can eventually ask for that isn't outright stupid
Credits
- Martin for GBAtek, a good piece of documentation
- Cydrak for the extra 3D GPU research
- limittox for the icon
- All of you comrades who have been testing melonDS, reporting issues, suggesting shit, etc
Licenses
melonDS is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.
External
- Images used in the Input Config Dialog - see
src/frontend/qt_sdl/InputConfig/resources/LICENSE.md