melonDS: A C++ repository from sweetsbeats

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

melonDS requires BIOS/firmware copies from a DS. Files required:

bios7.bin, 16KB: ARM7 BIOS
bios9.bin, 4KB: ARM9 BIOS
firmware.bin, 128/256/512KB: firmware

Firmware boot requires a 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:

sudo apt-get install libpcap0.8-dev libcurl4-gnutls-dev libsdl2-dev gtk+-3.0

Compile:

mkdir -p build
cd build
cmake ..
make

Windows:

use CodeBlocks

MSYS2 and CMake

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 dependencies: pacman -S mingw-w64-x86_64-{toolchain,SDL2,cmake} make git

Run the following commands

git clone https://github.com/Arisotura/melonDS.git
cd melonDS
mkdir build
cd build
cmake .. -G "MSYS Makefiles"
make -j5
../msys-dist.sh

If everything went well, melonDS and the libraries it needs should now be in the dist folder.

TODO LIST

improve libui and the emulator UI
hardware renderer for 3D (w/ upscaling and fancy shit)
support for rendering screens to separate windows
emulating some fancy addons
other non-core shit (debugger, graphics viewers, cheat crapo, etc)

TODO LIST FOR LATER

better wifi
maybe emulate flashcarts or other fancy hardware
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
All of you comrades who have been testing melonDS, reporting issues, suggesting shit, etc

License

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.

sweetsbeats/melonDS