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@ -7,8 +7,8 @@ coauthor = "emufan_4568"
forum = 845615
+++
Didn’t it feel like it was only yesterday when Citra released its first progress report in years? It certainly was exciting, finally reaching a point of having tangible progress and being able to share it with everyone!
As we said in the [previous progress report](https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q1/), Citra is alive and well, and as a result, we have a lot more new Citra improvements to talk to you about. So, dear reader, it's time for another progress report which will be sure to excite you!
Doesn't it feel like it was just yesterday when Citra released its first progress report in years? It certainly was exciting, finally reaching a point of having tangible progress and being able to share it with everyone!
As we said in the [previous progress report](https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q1/), Citra is alive and well, and as a result, we have even more Citra improvements to talk about. So, dear reader, it's time for another progress report which is sure to excite you!
# Contents
1. [Home Menu]({{< relref "#home-menu" >}})
@ -19,36 +19,36 @@ As we said in the [previous progress report](https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-p
1. [Miscellaneous]({{< relref "#miscellaneous" >}})
1. [Conclusion]({{< relref "#conclusion" >}})
# Home Menu
# HOME Menu
The hallmark of the 3DS, and any Nintendo console in fact, is the HOME Menu.
With each console generation carrying a unique aesthetic, it’s no surprise that so many people hold it near and dear to their hearts. The soothing music, pleasing visuals, and the nostalgia alone are plenty of reasons to want to emulate it alongside the actual games. It’s also very important for the preservation of the 3DS, something that the recent closure of the Nintendo eShop for the 3DS and Wii U has made abundantly clear.
However, there was a small problem in fulfilling this dream: it didn’t actually work in Citra…
To cut a long story short, there were a lot of problems that needed to be overcome. The HOME menu in Citra had always been plagued with problems. You couldn't launch system applets or regular titles from it, the themes didn't work, the setup would often softlock (preventing users from completing it), and a bunch more issues meant that the home menu was far from usable.
To cut a long story short, there were a lot of problems that needed to be overcome. The HOME menu in Citra had always been plagued with problems. You couldn't launch system applets or regular titles from it, the themes didn't work, the setup would often softlock (preventing users from completing it), and a bunch more issues meant that the HOME menu was far from usable.
Something had to change, and fast. Citra needed to expand and find that special developer with the ability to undertake such a massive effort.
Enter [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10), the author of [FBI](https://github.com/Steveice10/FBI), legendary title manager for the 3DS. A staple homebrew app of a modded 3DS. With their extensive knowledge of the 3DS operating system and all of its inner workings, they joined the Citra team in order to tackle this issue once and for all.
### Add Config block enums documented by 3dbrew ([#6206](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6206)) by [SachinVin](https://github.com/SachinVin)
Upon opening a 3DS for the first time, you will be met with a handy setup guide before being able to access anything else on the system. Needless to say, it’s also the first thing you will encounter when booting the HOME Menu on Citra.
Unfortunately, it has also been plagued with issues ever since the beginning of the emulator’s life. Attempting to load the most important and well known feature of the 3DS setup guide, the Nintendo 3DS User Agreement, would cause the emulator to freeze, thus preventing anyone from actually completing it!
Upon booting a 3DS for the first time, you will be met with a handy setup guide before being able to access anything else on the system. Needless to say, it’s also the first thing you will encounter when booting the HOME Menu in Citra.
Unfortunately, it has also been riddled with issues ever since the beginning of the emulator’s life. Attempting to load the most important and well-known feature of the 3DS setup guide, the Nintendo 3DS User Agreement, would cause the emulator to freeze, thus preventing anyone from actually completing it!
{{< mp4 src="eula-broken.mp4" >}}
It wasn't until recently that the cause of this freeze was really understood. As it turns out, the settings app preloads the software keyboard applet for later use. When the Nintendo 3DS User Agreement is launched, it is supposed to close this preloaded applet, so that it can load the EULA applet instead.
However, due to a combination of missing logic to provide applets with the correct ‘slot’ (Application, Library Applet, System Applet, or Home Menu), and the command to close an applet not being implemented, the settings app was unaware that the keyboard applet remained loaded.
However, due to a combination of missing logic to provide applets with the correct ‘slot’ (Application, Library Applet, System Applet, or HOME Menu), and the command to close an applet not being implemented, the settings app was unaware that the keyboard applet remained loaded.
By implementing the additional state management required for applets, the accuracy of Citra’s applet manager has been improved tremendously, bringing it closer to the real APT behavior of the 3DS.
By implementing the additional state management required for applets, the accuracy of Citra’s applet manager has been improved tremendously, bringing it closer to the real [APT](https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/NS_and_APT_Services) behavior of the 3DS.
This means that the old workarounds required to get the HOME Menu to boot are no longer required! Not only that, but launching system applets now also works perfectly.
{{< mp4 src="eula.mp4" >}}
## Add option to configure to download system files from Nintendo Update Service ([#6269](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6269), [#6356](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6356)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10) and [B3n30](https://github.com/B3n30)
With the goal of making the HOME menu fully accessible in mind, Steveice10’s work began. However, before any progress on accuracy improvements could be made, there was the matter of accessibility of the HOME Menu. Dumping the System NAND for use in Citra was, relatively speaking, a cumbersome process.
With the goal of making the HOME menu fully accessible in mind, Steveice10’s work began. However, before any accuracy improvements could be made, there was the matter of the accessibility of the HOME Menu. Dumping the 3DS System NAND for use in Citra was, relatively speaking, a cumbersome process.
Building off of the past work of another Citra developer, B3N30, these PRs add the ability to download the 3DS system files from Nintendo servers directly from Citra’s GUI! This requires you to dump the necessary keys from your console, the process for which is detailed in our [AES Keys guide.](https://citra-emu.org/wiki/aes-keys/)
@ -66,7 +66,7 @@ Do note that you still can dump all of the necessary data to use the HOME menu i
With the accessibility issue resolved, Steveice10 could now begin working on making the HOME menu more usable in Citra.
Continuing on the trend of reviving abandoned projects from the past, this PR implements some important APT service calls used by the HOME Menu in order to start applications. Originally the work of Subv, it addresses one of the longest standing issues with HOME Menu emulation, which was that attempting to launch anything from it would result in an instant crash.
The implementation had been left untouched and neglected for years, until Steveice10 cleaned up the code and got it finally merged into Citra.
The implementation had been left untouched and neglected for years, until Steveice10 cleaned up the code and finally got it merged into Citra.
The benefits aren’t limited to just the HOME Menu, however. While these functions are mainly used by the HOME Menu, this doesn’t mean that games can’t take advantage of them either. A notable example is Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Master Splinter’s Training Pack, which attempts to shut itself down in order to launch its games, causing an unexpected crash. Now it’s fully playable!
@ -84,10 +84,10 @@ However, doing anything other than just looking at the pretty background would s
{{< figure src="lle.png"
title="" >}}
To address this issue, Steveice10 implemented full stubs for the nim:u service based on their own reverse engineering work of the 3DS.
To address this issue, Steveice10 implemented stubs for the nim:u service based on their own reverse engineering work of the 3DS.
All the information they uncovered has been added to [3dbrew](https://www.3dbrew.org/wiki/NIM_Services) to contribute to the ongoing effort to better understand the 3DS’s operating system. Feel free to take a look if you’re interested in the dark arts of HLE emulator development!
The result of all of this? All of the aforementioned issues have disappeared and it is now possible to launch apps without enabling LLE NIM, as the HLE stubs are accurate enough to satisfy the Home Menu!
The result of all of this? All of the aforementioned issues have disappeared and it is now possible to launch apps without enabling LLE NIM, as the HLE stubs are accurate enough to satisfy the HOME Menu!
{{< sidebyside "image" ""
"broken.png=Where is everything..?"
@ -98,7 +98,7 @@ The result of all of this? All of the aforementioned issues have disappeared and
When games are installed to the 3DS, they come with a ticket that provides the console with the rights and encryption keys to launch it. Citra doesn’t care about these tickets, so it usually discards them when installing a CIA file. However, the HOME Menu uses two commands, GetNumTickets and GetTicketList, to determine what titles are installed on the system when populating the application grid. Since we have no tickets, none of your installed titles would appear on the HOME Menu.
What’s the point of being able to access the HOME Menu if I can’t launch my games?
Instead of returning an empty list of tickets, we can pretend that any installed CIA has a ticket. That way the home menu will discover and display games correctly.
Instead of returning an empty list of tickets, we can pretend that any installed CIA has a ticket. That way the HOME Menu will discover and display games correctly.
{{< mp4 src="open.mp4" >}}
@ -106,22 +106,22 @@ Currently, only .cia (CTR Importable Archive) installed titles are detected by t
## Fix HLE applet pre-start lifecycle ([#6362](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6362)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
So far, we’ve discussed using the HOME Menu, launching games and applets from it and completing the system setup process. Though, it feels as though we’re forgetting about something…
So far, we’ve discussed using the HOME Menu, launching games and applets from it, and completing the system setup process. However, it feels as though we’re forgetting about something…
Oh! Doesn’t the 3DS let you exit out of apps and back into the HOME Menu, what about that? Well, fear not, we’ve got you all covered.
By implementing support for most application management commands and home button notifications, operations such as suspending, resuming, and closing applications from the HOME Menu are now fully supported in Citra!
In addition, the GSP module is now able to capture the screen framebuffers, which correctly emulates the effect when suspending applications. All in all, with these changes you can easily boot the HOME menu and use it to launch system applets and games, suspend or close them, and then launch another game or applet!
{{< youtube xf9JuIy7r3M >}}
{{< youtube g1ZXWpl7_2M >}}
Exploring the `File` menu will also yield a pleasant surprise: there’s now a dedicated “Boot Home Menu” option in the GUI for Citra. This will both automatically detect the correct home menu application, and adjust your region setting based on the firmware region that you’re attempting to launch. In the past, the HOME Menu was entirely hidden from the game list, forcing potential users to go on a wild goose chase inside the NAND folder in an attempt to find the correct application file for their corresponding region.
Exploring the `File` menu will also yield a pleasant surprise: there’s now a dedicated “Boot Home Menu” option in the GUI for Citra. This will both automatically detect the correct HOME Menu application, and adjust your region setting based on the firmware region that you’re attempting to launch. In the past, the HOME Menu was entirely hidden from the game list, forcing potential users to go on a wild goose chase inside the NAND folder in an attempt to find the correct application file for their corresponding region.
You can now say goodbye to wasting time trying to find the correct app name, as Citra will take care of that for you!
{{< figure src="boot.png"
title="Hey, there's even a way to launch the region you want!" >}}
But this doesn’t mean that our work is done, far from it. Steveice10 has added a very early approximation of DSP sleep, so that apps will not just hang while trying to sleep the DSP when suspending. However, some games, such as Pokémon X, may still get stuck on this or exhibit annoying audio artifacts in the process.
But this doesn’t mean that our work is done, far from it. Steveice10 has added a very early approximation of DSP sleep, so that apps will not hang while trying to sleep the DSP when suspending titles. However, some games, such as Pokémon X, may still get stuck on this or exhibit annoying audio artifacts in the process.
Some apps (e.g. Super Mario 3D Land) may also crash if you try to close them from the HOME menu, due to some services needed for cleaning up kernel resources that are currently not implemented. Most built-in titles, such as Mii Maker or 3DS Sound, should work fine, but DSP sleep still needs more work in order to make it accurate enough for most games and system applets.
## Skip address range checks for privileged memory (un)map ([#6407](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6407)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
@ -130,7 +130,7 @@ The ns:c service was introduced with firmware version 5.0.0-11, and appears to b
By implementing a stub for the aforementioned service, the instruction manual now works on Citra!
{{< figure src="manual.png"
title="Very important for preservation of the 3DS." >}}
title="Very important for the preservation of the 3DS." >}}
Another corner of the HOME Menu that never quite worked was the Internet Browser applet, which would mysteriously cause the execution to break, alongside a healthy dose of memory errors.
@ -142,15 +142,15 @@ Another corner of the HOME Menu that never quite worked was the Internet Browser
[ 19.449282] HW.Memory <Error> core/memory.cpp:Read:469: unmapped Read32 @ 0x000000C8 at PC 0x0028117C
```
These errors occur because Citra’s code for loading CROs (relocatable code, similar to DLLs on Windows) did not allow parts of the internet browser’s code to be mapped into memory.
By inspecting the kernel through disassembly, Steveice10 determined that the address range checks that Citra used for maps/unmaps were not actually used when mapping privileged executable memory, such as this case. Thus, skipping these checks for the privileged case allowed the Internet Browser applet to load properly.
These errors occured because Citra’s code for loading CROs (relocatable code, similar to DLLs on Windows) did not allow parts of the internet browser’s code to be mapped into memory.
By inspecting the kernel through disassembly, Steveice10 determined that the address range checks that Citra used for maps/unmaps were not actually used when mapping privileged executable memory, such as in this case. Thus, skipping these checks for the privileged case allowed the Internet Browser applet to load properly.
Do note that this is **not** fully functional in Citra at the moment. You will **not** be able to browse the web from inside Citra using the Internet Browser.
{{< figure src="browser.png"
title="I wonder what the bookmarks include..." >}}
And there you have it! All the changes we have made in Citra to majorly improve the functionality of the HOME Menu. Of course, not everything is perfect just yet, but we are working daily to ensure that this vital part of the 3DS experience is preserved through Citra. There will be more updates in the future on this, keep an eye out if you're interested.
And there you have it! All the changes we have made in Citra to majorly improve the functionality of the HOME Menu. Of course, not everything is perfect just yet, but we are working hard to ensure that this vital part of the 3DS experience is preserved through Citra. There will be more updates in the future on this, keep an eye out if you're interested.
# Android
@ -158,7 +158,7 @@ And there you have it! All the changes we have made in Citra to majorly improve
Oh boy, where to even begin with this one…
Storage Access Framework, which is often abbreviated to SAF, is Google’s method of implementing scoped storage. On its own the idea has merit; with scoped storage, apps can't see all of your files or access any data from other apps, meaning you don’t have to worry about any of your personal data being stolen by malicious individuals.
Storage Access Framework, which is often abbreviated to SAF, is Google’s method of implementing scoped storage. On its own, the idea has merit; with scoped storage, apps can't see all of your files or access any data from other apps, meaning you don’t have to worry about any of your personal data being stolen by bad actors.
This implementation of that idea though, is absolute garbage. When using SAF, apps cannot access files outside of their data directory without using so-called “content URIs” for addressing them.
Citra, however, being a native C++ program, assumes that files can be addressed with paths that are delimited by slashes and can be stored as strings. Updating the entire codebase to use these URIs would be a massive undertaking for little benefit.
@ -190,16 +190,16 @@ Android TV support for Citra was planned in the past, but due to a lack of teste
As mentioned in the previous progress report, we are looking to modernize Citra in many ways and get it up to speed with other emulators. This also includes modernization of the Android app!
To give the app’s theming a breath of fresh air, t895, developer for the Android apps of the emulators Dolphin and yuzu, has stepped up to this task.
Starting off with how the app responds to touch navigation, t895 ported over a [PR from Dolphin](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/11327) which aimed to upgrade the UI animations to something a bit more modern, and also helps with how fast you can get around the app! This change, although it looks small, helps the user experience of Citra greatly, even if it isn’t noticeable to many.
Starting off with how the app responds to touch navigation, t895 ported over a [PR from Dolphin](https://github.com/dolphin-emu/dolphin/pull/11327) which aimed to upgrade the UI animations to something a bit more modern, and also helps with how fast you can get around the app! This change, although it looks small, greatly improves the user experience of Citra.
Next up on the list of changes is starting the migration of the UI to the Material 3 system, introduced in Android 12. [Material 3](https://m3.material.io/) is the latest design system from Google, giving developers the tools and inspiration needed to create a beautiful looking app.
As humans, we are all about aesthetically pleasing design, and this migration proves just that for the Citra app. This change includes upgrades to the layout of the app, the themes, icons, the general colors that the Citra app uses and so many more changes just to make it squeaky clean!
As humans, we are all about aesthetically pleasing design, and this migration proves just that for the Citra app. This change includes upgrades to the layout of the app, the themes, icons, colors, and so many more changes just to make it squeaky clean!
Next we’re turning our focus towards the app icon for Citra. Beginning with Android 13, but being supported by devices running API level 26 (Android 8) or newer, apps have the option to enable the use of themed icons on the home screen. This means that the app icon will match the theme of the phone the best it can, to match the general aesthetic of the phone. For example, with themed icons, Citra will be able to tell if your phone is in light mode or dark mode, and change its icon design accordingly. A neat little change, but one that will help Citra blend in nicely with the rest of the phone if you choose that.
Next, we’re turning our focus towards the app icon for Citra. Beginning with Android 13, but being supported by devices running API level 26 (Android 8) or newer, apps have the option to enable the use of themed icons on the home screen. This means that the app icon will match the theme of the phone the best it can, to match the general aesthetic of the phone. For example, with themed icons, Citra will be able to tell if your phone is in light mode or dark mode, and change its icon design accordingly. A neat little change, but one that will help Citra blend in nicely with the rest of the phone if you choose so.
Not long to go now… splash screens! Introduced in Android 12, but being supported by devices running API level 23 (Android 6) or newer, splash screens bring a nifty little Citra logo that pops up when you open the app to let you know it is launching correctly and to smoothly transition you from the rest of the phone into Citra to fully immerse yourself in the joy that is 3DS emulation!
And finally, edge-to-edge display. No longer do you need to worry about that pesky system bar at the bottom of your phone getting in the way. Citra now displays the gameplay right to the edge of your screen, giving you a full display of your favorite games.
And finally, edge-to-edge display. No longer do you need to worry about that pesky navigation bar at the bottom of your phone getting in the way. Citra now renders right to the edge of your screen, giving you a full display of your favorite games.
All of these changes add up into one big overhaul of our UI, bringing the freshest look right to your device! We have more planned for our UI on Android in the future, so keep an eye out here and we’ll update you when we can!
@ -209,10 +209,10 @@ All of these changes add up into one big overhaul of our UI, bringing the freshe
### Avoid reopening files every time a shader needs to be written. ([#6344](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6344)) by [SachinVin](https://github.com/SachinVin)
Shader stutter is pretty annoying, no matter how you put it. Not to mention that Citra has always had issues with it, mainly because we are at the mercy of the OpenGL driver. Most drivers do end up taking their sweet time when compiling shaders, however after merging the new SAF implementation, it somehow became much-much worse than before, with stutter reaching a mind-boggling 5 seconds even on powerful hardware.
Shader stutter is pretty annoying, no matter how you put it. Citra has always had issues with it, mainly because we are at the mercy of the OpenGL driver. Most drivers do end up taking their sweet time when compiling shaders, however after merging the new SAF implementation, it became much-much worse than before, with individual stutters reaching a mind-boggling 5 seconds even on powerful hardware.
So what gives?
As it turns out, our disk shader cache opens the cache file every time a new shader is generated in order to serialize it. That’s okay over on desktop Citra, where ignoring the characteristics of the storage medium, file access is relatively fast. It also reduces the chance of shader cache corruption when Citra crashes or is terminated abnormally, which is really important for any emulator. But with SAF added to the mix, the overhead of that method just became too much to bear.
As it turns out, our disk shader cache opens the cache file every time a new shader is generated in order to serialize it. That’s fine and dandy over on Citra Desktop, where ignoring the characteristics of the storage medium, file access is relatively fast. It also reduces the chance of shader cache corruption when Citra crashes or is terminated abnormally, which is really important for any emulator. But with SAF added to the mix, the overhead of that method just became too much to bear.
In the end, the solution came from developer SachinVin, who rewrote the disk cache to only open the file once at the beginning of the emulation session.
@ -220,16 +220,16 @@ In the end, the solution came from developer SachinVin, who rewrote the disk cac
Normally to edit a cheat for a game, you’d have to edit it whilst the game was running. This was fine if the cheat codes were working, but what if they were causing the game to crash? You’d have no way of disabling them unless you crawled through the hell that is the Android file manager.
A simple fix to this, based off of a similar addition to Citra Desktop that we’ll get to later, involves enabling cheat code editing by long pressing the game in the main menu of Citra. This allows users to modify cheat codes directly from Citra, regardless of whether a game is running or not. The previous way of adding cheat codes to Citra still remains.
A simple fix to this, based off of a similar addition to Citra Desktop that we’ll get to later, involves enabling cheat code editing by long pressing the game in the main menu of Citra. This allows users to modify cheat codes directly from Citra, regardless of whether a game is running or not. The previous method of adding cheat codes in Citra still remains.
### Offload CIA installation to background thread ([#6508](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6508)) by [SachinVin](https://github.com/SachinVin)
With the addition of SAF, some things in Citra Android slowed down a lot, to no fault of our own. That’s just how SAF works, sadly.
One of these is the installation of CIA (CTR Importable Archive) files. These are mainly used to install games, update files and DLC files. With the installation of these being so much slower than previous Citra builds without SAF, Android believes that the app has frozen and forces it to crash, due to the installation running on the UI thread.
One of these is the installation of CIA (CTR Importable Archive) files. These are mainly used to install games, update files, and DLC files. With the installation of these being so much slower than previous Citra builds without SAF, Android believes that the app has frozen and forces it to crash due to the installation running on the UI thread.
By offloading CIA installations to the background thread instead, we now prevent Android from accidentally terminating Citra prematurely. But, how are you, as a user, meant to know if your installation is actually working?
This is where the new notification progress bar comes into play. We’ve added a convenient progression bar as a notification for you to monitor your CIA installation, even when Citra is minimized! It also will notify you if the installation has been successful or if it has failed, which is handy to know.
This is where the new notification progress bar comes into play. This convenient progress bar notification allows you to monitor your CIA installation, even when Citra is minimized! It also will notify you if the installation has been successful or if it has failed, which is handy to know.
{{< figure src="ciainstall.jpg"
title="Installing updates and DLC has never been easier!" >}}
@ -247,9 +247,9 @@ This ensures that the camera will resume again after the emulation is paused, re
### Fix global settings being inaccessible on macOS ([#6235](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6235)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
As we mentioned earlier on, we recently added per-game settings to Citra! However, in the beginning, they also broke the global settings! This was a big deal, as the main way to configure your Citra instance was now lost.
Fortunately, the fix was relatively simple; manually specifying the roles for the key menu actions such as About and Preferences instead of relying on the default Qt heuristics. With this, the global settings are once again accessible!
Fortunately, the fix was relatively simple; manually specifying the roles for the key menu actions, such as About and Preferences, instead of relying on the default Qt heuristics. With this, the global settings are once again accessible!
## Generate universal macOS build ([#6240](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6240), [#6321](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6321)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
### Generate universal macOS build ([#6240](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6240), [#6321](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6321)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
Somewhat recently, Apple released a new processor for their devices utilizing the ARM architecture, named Apple silicon (M1/M2). Citra’s x86_64 macOS builds technically worked with these new devices through Rosetta 2, in the sense that your game would launch, but it would also result in game bugs; freezing and crashing pretty frequently.
Building it natively for ARM was often a solution, a solution inaccessible to the average user, unfortunately. An official Citra build was needed for users running those Apple silicon devices.
@ -257,7 +257,7 @@ Building it natively for ARM was often a solution, a solution inaccessible to th
However, as you may be aware, Apple does not support OpenGL 4.3, which is what Citra uses now. This presented us with a lot more issues. How are we going to get Apple silicon devices to run on Citra when macOS isn’t even a supported platform?
Banking off of the fact that we have a new Vulkan graphics backend quickly making its way into Citra (have we mentioned that yet?), Steveice10 got to work implementing a universal macOS build for Citra that covers both x86_64 and arm64.
Initially Citra was set up to build a universal app for both architectures all at once. However, due to a new library introduced with Vulkan not supporting multi-arch building correctly, we had to change approaches. Instead, we now build for x86_64 and ARM separately and combine the app at the end, giving us the same result without having to worry about adapting build scripts for multi-arch.
Initially, Citra was set up to build a universal app for both architectures all at once. However, due to a new library introduced with Vulkan not supporting multi-arch building correctly, we had to change approaches. Instead, we now build for x86_64 and ARM separately and combine the app at the end, giving us the same result without having to worry about adapting build scripts for multi-arch.
The PR is currently not usable in the latest Nightly, as it is dependent on Vulkan being merged into Citra. It is, however, available to use in Canary. If you have an Apple silicon device and want to use Citra, please switch to the latest experimental Canary release, downloadable through our [installer](https://citra-emu.org/download/).
@ -272,7 +272,7 @@ By upgrading our macOS target to 11 (Big Sur), we can ensure that all features u
For being the first PR in our attempt to move away from OpenGL, this one is quite mundane on the surface compared to the other ones. However, it lays the foundations to allow Citra to support multiple rendering backends by abstracting key rendering functionality into common classes.
A neat result of that effort is that the Software renderer no longer depends on OpenGL hardware acceleration for presentation. This means Citra can technically run on systems without a GPU using the Software renderer. In addition the Software renderer has been turned into a Graphics API, so it’s much more obvious when it’s being used. Before, in order to enable Software rendering, one had to disable the Hardware Renderer option, which wasn’t really made obvious to the user. Now, we’ve added a handy little drop down to choose which Graphics API you’d like to use!
A neat result of that effort is that the Software renderer no longer depends on OpenGL hardware acceleration for presentation. This means Citra can technically run on systems without a GPU using the Software renderer. Additionally, the Software renderer has been turned into a Graphics API, so it’s much more obvious when it’s being used. Before, in order to enable Software rendering, one had to disable the Hardware Renderer option, which wasn’t really made obvious to the user. Now, we’ve added a handy little drop down to choose which Graphics API you’d like to use!
## Rasterizer cache refactor ([#6375](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6375)) by [GPUCode](https://github.com/GPUCode)
@ -282,7 +282,7 @@ One of these is that it greatly simplifies texture uploading and downloading, th
Another pain point of the old cache was mipmap handling. A mipmap is a sequence of textures, each of which is a progressively lower resolution representation of the same image. Many 3DS games use mipmaps in order to make graphics look cleaner at a distance.
Citra’s problem was that the old cache considered them as separate textures, requiring an expensive tree-like structure to maintain and properly sync them. In addition to this, every surface allocated an excessive amount of mipmaps which increased memory usage, especially when texture filtering was used.
By having surfaces own the entire mipmap range, the cache can directly upload and use mipmaps without needing to sync them. This reduces the amount of surfaces cached and, in turn, the lookup overhead. So these changes not only make mipmaps faster, they also fixed a few games that didn’t work right before, most notably the homebrew port of the game Portal, which displayed nothing but a blue void when using the hardware renderer previously.
By having surfaces own the entire mipmap range, the cache can directly upload and use mipmaps without needing to sync them. This reduces the amount of surfaces cached and, in turn, the lookup overhead. So these changes not only make mipmaps faster, they also fixed a few games that didn’t work correctly before, most notably the homebrew port of the game Portal, which displayed nothing but a blue void when using the hardware renderer.
All of these changes are indeed quite nice, but what’s especially interesting are the OpenGL specific optimizations.
After a bit of profiling, GPUCode found that the backend was handling certain operations inefficiently, which really hurt performance on less-than-stellar drivers, such as Android phones utilizing a Mali GPU. By taking the time to correct some of these, the performance of these GPUs have been significantly increased by at least 40%! Even better, the annoying graphical flickering that could be observed on some lower-end Mali devices has now disappeared as well.
@ -293,16 +293,16 @@ After a bit of profiling, GPUCode found that the backend was handling certain op
### HP Bar Fix for some games ([#6334](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6334)) by [Polar-Zero](https://github.com/Polar-Zero)
Question time! Have you heard of something called texture tiling? If you are a graphics developer, you probably have. The rest of us, not so much. As a concept it’s actually pretty simple: you take an image and chop into smaller NxN squares of pixels. Such an arrangement can be beneficial for graphics hardware for multiple reasons, so it’s no surprise that the 3DS also makes use of this feature to speed up texture processing. More specifically we should mention that the tile size is 8x8.
Question time! Have you heard of something called texture tiling? If you are a graphics developer, you probably have. The rest of us, not so much. As a concept, it’s actually pretty simple: you take an image and chop it into smaller NxN squares of pixels. Such an arrangement can be beneficial for graphics hardware for multiple reasons, so it’s no surprise that the 3DS also makes use of this feature to speed up texture processing. More specifically, we should mention that the tile size is 8x8.
With this information, it wouldn’t be wrong to assume that texture dimensions must be a multiple of 8, otherwise dividing it into tiles wouldn’t really make sense. And in general this assumption holds true, the vast majority of games respect this limitation in their textures. Until they don’t…
Now we get to the fun part: what happens if the texture is smaller than a tile? Being confronted with that question, former Citra developer [wwylele](https://github.com/wwylele) came to the conclusion, after some tests, that such a configuration was not supported by the PICA GPU the 3DS uses. Due to this, the original code that handled these textures was promptly removed when [support for mipmaps](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3910) was implemented. Said removal caused [unexpected issues](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5139) however, when health bars of all things suddenly went missing in some games. Imagine the horror Citra users came across when in those games the HP bar just did not display correctly! How were you meant to tell if you needed to heal, or retreat?
Now we get to the fun part: what happens if the texture is smaller than a tile? Being confronted with that question, former Citra developer [wwylele](https://github.com/wwylele) came to the conclusion, after some tests, that such a configuration was not supported by the PICA GPU the 3DS uses. Due to this, the original code that handled these textures was promptly removed when [support for mipmaps](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/3910) was implemented. Said removal caused [unexpected issues](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/issues/5139) however, when health bars of all things suddenly went missing in some games. Imagine the horror Citra users came across when in those games the HP bar just did not display correctly! How were you meant to tell if you needed to heal or retreat?
This issue was again brought to our attention when first time contributor, Polar-Star, opened a pull request reimplementing the code that was removed. With this change, HP bars are fixed and because this bug negatively affected core gameplay of certain games, we opted to accept this change. We are still investigating this issue to figure out the proper hardware behavior in this case, though we suspect it’s not too far off from this.
{{< figure src="hpbar.png"
title="Left: Broken Right: Fixed" >}}
title="Left: Broken, Right: Fixed" >}}
## Fix distance vector used when calculating lighting distance attenuation. ([#6366](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6366)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
@ -336,25 +336,25 @@ Steveice10 picked up the issue and after writing a couple of basic hardware test
We’ve all been there: controller is properly connected and ready at hand (or keyboard if you prefer, we don’t judge), your favorite game is dumped, set up and ready to be experienced on a shiny new computer, devoid of the limitations imposed by the original hardware. You launch it and… it looks so pixelated and blurry.
What gives?
Fortunately, emulators have your back and provide many options that increase fidelity. Resolution scaling, anti-aliasing and texture filtering can enhance the experience greatly. Having these options is especially important in Citra due to how the 3DS screens are known for their low resolution, compared to modern HD screens.
Fortunately, emulators have your back and provide many options that increase fidelity. Resolution scaling, anti-aliasing, and texture filtering can enhance the experience greatly. Having these options is especially important in Citra due to how the 3DS screens are known for their low resolution, compared to modern HD screens.
Often, though, cranking up the resolution isn’t enough. Due to VRAM limitations, textures in 3DS games can look blurry and lack detail when viewed outside of the confines of the console itself. The aforementioned texture filtering feature is useful for upscaling these in-game textures, to make them look better, but the results vary between filters and aren’t always perfect.
As such, Citra allows for custom textures to be used as well, a feature [first added](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/4868) back in 2019 from developer [khang06](https://github.com/khang06). Since then, many custom texture packs have surfaced, made by talented artists. We are grateful to our community that made this all possible!
The implementation wasn’t without its faults, though. It only supported the .png file format, which forces a choice between hefty file sizes or long decompression times. The loading stutter could be mitigated by using the preload textures option, but that requires a ton of RAM and often would freeze Citra without any indication of progress. Another limitation of the previous system was that mipmaps were unsupported.
The implementation wasn’t without its faults, though. It only supported the .png file format, which forces a choice between hefty file sizes or long decompression times. The loading stutter could be mitigated by using the preload textures option, but that requires a ton of RAM and would often freeze Citra without any indication of progress. Another limitation of the previous system was that mipmaps were unsupported.
This actually made sense from a developer standpoint at the time, since it avoided graphical glitches from missing mipmaps that manifest as black textures at a distance, and made texture replacement an easier process overall. However this hidden abstraction made the code more complex and prevented pack creators from providing their own mipmaps in cases where such a thing was desirable.
Most important, however, was the notorious texture filter incompatibility with custom textures, one of the most well known Citra bugs ever! Being first uncovered by a rasterizer cache change made by developer [BreadFish64](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/5710), the bug would result in messed up textures over time, making the game slowly unplayable.
One might say, "That's easy then! Why not just revert the PR that caused it?"
Well the change in question is actually quite desirable: it removes fully invalid textures from the cache, in order to speed up lookups and performance. It was briefly mentioned in our [previous progress report](https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q1/), go read it if you haven’t already!
Well, the change in question is actually quite desirable: it removes fully invalid textures from the cache, in order to speed up lookups and performance. It was briefly mentioned in our [previous progress report](https://citra-emu.org/entry/citra-progress-report-2023-q1/), go read it if you haven’t already!
{{< figure src="mmbroke.png"
title="Did someone turn off the lights?" >}}
Another thing to consider is the hashing algorithm being used to identify the textures. Up until this point Citra used the deswizzled and decoded texture data as it was the most convenient option at the time. Said approach presents issues though when other graphics APIs enter the picture, namely Vulkan. As a low-level API, Vulkan accurately reports the host GPUs capabilities, meaning that certain formats Citra expects might not be natively supported, requiring conversions to work. Such conversions break the previously trusted hashing, which could lead to missing textures.
With the hopes of fixing the aforementioned issues, GPUCode embarked on a journey of fully rewriting the custom textures implementation. The result is a greatly improved system with a bunch of cool new features, like support for compressed formats like BC7/BC5/ASTC and their container file formats DDS/KTX. By using these formats, the size of a texture pack can be decreased significantly while also maintaining decent image quality. Note that the BCn formats are unsupported on Android devices. So, if a creator wants to target mobile, we recommend either sticking to png, or having an alternative ASTC version of the pack.
With the hopes of fixing the aforementioned issues, GPUCode embarked on a journey of fully rewriting the custom textures implementation. The result is a greatly improved system with a bunch of cool new features, like support for compressed formats such as BC7/BC5/ASTC and their container file formats DDS/KTX. By using these formats, the size of a texture pack can be decreased significantly while also maintaining decent image quality. Note that the BCn formats are unsupported on Android devices. So, if a creator wants to target mobile, we recommend either sticking to png, or having an alternative ASTC version of the pack.
Async texture loading is also supported to mitigate loading stutters, which are especially noticeable on Android with the recent SAF implementation we mentioned before. We’ve also added a new hotkey to toggle between normal and HD textures without restarting the game, which is especially useful for demonstration purposes. Oh, and the icing on the cake: texture filtering with custom textures should now work as expected!
@ -383,7 +383,7 @@ By adding a loading screen, you can now track the progression of your preloaded
## Add MMPX texture filter ([#6564](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6564)) by [stuken](https://github.com/stuken)
What's better than 5 texture filters? Well, what about 6! Introducing the MMPX texture filter, implemented by first time contributor, [stuken](https://github.com/stuken).
What's better than 5 texture filters? Well, how about 6! Introducing the MMPX texture filter, implemented by first time contributor, [stuken](https://github.com/stuken).
MMPX is a texture filter centered around the preservation of those classic pixel art styles we typically see in 8- and 16-bit era video games. Sprites, fonts, you name it, it’s been given a sweet pixel art style with this new texture filter!
This new texture filter can be enabled in `Emulation -> Configure -> Graphics -> Renderer` (`Citra -> Preferences` on macOS).
@ -403,7 +403,7 @@ By changing these UI options, along with internal code cleanup to make managing
### Implement Apple AudioToolbox AAC decoder ([#6510](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6510)) by [Steveice10](https://github.com/Steveice10)
Apple devices, like Macs and iPhones, use a framework called AudioToolbox to provide interfaces for recording, playback, and stream parsing. This framework can be used to encode and decode different audio formats, such as AAC
Apple devices, like Macs and iPhones, use a framework called AudioToolbox to provide interfaces for recording, playback, and stream parsing. This framework can be used to encode and decode different audio formats, such as AAC.
AAC audio might be something you’re already familiar with in Citra. It was a big reason as to why Pokémon X and Y couldn’t be played properly for many many years. But thankfully, that hasn’t been an issue for a while now!
By implementing an AAC decoder backend using the AudioToolbox library, we are able to eliminate the FFmpeg dependency on macOS. And, yes, Pokémon X and Y still work on macOS with this change.
@ -414,7 +414,7 @@ This PR allows Citra to dynamically load the fdk-aac and FFmpeg libraries. These
This also allows for the Linux AppImages (Yeah, we have those now. More on those later!) to use AAC decoding, so long as the required libraries are already installed on the system. As mentioned just above, Pokémon X and Y rely on AAC audio for the game to have any audio in the first place, and now this works on the AppImages too!
However, this change also has an implication for those who use the built-in video dumper. To use the video dumper, you’ll now have to install FFmpeg yourself, from either their official website or via your package manager of choice
However, this change also has an implication for those who use the built-in video dumper. To use the video dumper, you’ll now have to install FFmpeg yourself, from either their official website or via your package manager of choice.
# Miscellaneous
@ -435,9 +435,9 @@ This PR adds a simple popup to explain to the user that GBA Virtual Console ROMs
Recently added to Citra, the per-game settings bring a new way to configure the settings of Citra on a game-by-game basis. However, not all settings were added with this in one go, as we were unsure which settings most users would find relevant to have here.
After hearing your feedback, we decided to add most of the graphical enhancement options to the per-game settings. This includes features such as the resolution upscaling, custom textures, texture filters and the options for the screen layout. This way, you have many more ways to customize your games to your heart's desires, without having to change settings around for each individual game!
After hearing your feedback, we decided to add most of the graphical enhancement options to the per-game settings. This includes features such as the resolution upscaling, custom textures, texture filters, and the options for the screen layout. This way, you have many more ways to customize your games to your heart's content, without having to change the global settings around every time you swap games!
On top of this, we also moved the cheats section to the per-game settings instead of being in the global settings. By being available in the per-game settings, cheats are able to be managed more easily for each game they are for, and are now configurable when a game is not running.
On top of this, we also moved the cheats section to the per-game settings instead of being in the global settings. By being available in the per-game settings, cheats can be managed more easily, and are now configurable when a game is not running.
{{< figure src="cheats.png"
title="Look, Ma! New settings!" >}}
@ -446,10 +446,10 @@ On top of this, we also moved the cheats section to the per-game settings instea
Something a bit different here… we’ve made our own GodMode9 dumping script!
If you’re somehow unaware, GodMode9 is a homebrew full access file browser for the 3DS, allowing you access to pretty much everything on the console. This app is vital for playing games on Citra, as you must use this to dump your games, updates, DLC and anything else you may want from your 3DS. GodMode9 can utilize dumping scripts to easily dump a bunch of things at once that the user may want, such as how the infamous ThreeSD works.
If you’re somehow unaware, GodMode9 is a homebrew full-access file browser for the 3DS, allowing you access to pretty much everything on the console. This app is vital for playing games in Citra, as you must use this to dump your games, updates, DLC, and anything else you may want from your 3DS. GodMode9 can utilize dumping scripts to easily dump a bunch of things at once that the user may want, such as how ThreeSD works.
This script is used to dump all the keys needed for Citra into one file, which simplifies things a lot. In the past, you would have to dump many different files such as `Boot9`, `Sector0x96` and `NATIVE_FIRM` just to get encrypted games running on Citra.
Now with the new system file download option through the Nintendo Update Service (NUS) in Citra, which relies on encryption keys in order to be used, it is best time to find a way to streamline this dumping process for once and for all.
This script is used to dump all the keys needed for Citra into one file, which simplifies things a lot. In the past, you would have to dump many different files such as `Boot9`, `Sector0x96`, and `NATIVE_FIRM` just to get encrypted games running on Citra.
Now, with the new system file download option through the Nintendo Update Service (NUS) in Citra, which relies on encryption keys in order to be used, it was a good time to find a way to streamline this dumping process once and for all.
This new dumping script loosely follows the existing aes_keys.txt format which is supported by Citra, but adds a few new secrets that will be needed for things such as encrypted Amiibo support. This ensures that whatever is needed for use in Citra will be dumped with ease using this script.
@ -467,9 +467,9 @@ Nowadays, Citra’s development has come a long way to where an AppImage is a fe
Carrying on with the theme of common errors from users… broken save states…
Pretty much every Citra user has seen this at some point. You save your game using save states, update Citra and… what? My save is now broken? How did this happen?
To give a short summary of what happens, save states don’t just save your game, they save the entire state of Citra. Kinda in the name there. When an update to Citra that changes the state happens, the previous save states become invalid. This is why it is so important that you do not rely on save states to save your game progression and that you always save in-game.
To give a short summary of what happens, save states don’t just save your game, they save the entire state of Citra. Kinda in the name there. When an update is pushed to Citra that changes the state, the previous save states become invalid. This is why it is so important that you do not rely on save states to save your game progression and that you frequently save in-game.
Unfortunately, many people do not realize this. Which causes a lot of distress at lost progression and a lot of frustration fiddling around with older builds to get the saves working again. Simple solution? Warn the people of what might happen when using save states. At least that will help people to not lose their progress… right…?
Unfortunately, many people do not realize this. Which causes a lot of distress at lost progression and a lot of frustration fiddling around with older builds to get the saves working again. Simple solution? Warn the people of what might happen when using save states. At the very least, this might help people to not lose their progress.
{{< figure src="savestate.png"
title="Don't skip this, it's important!" >}}
@ -478,27 +478,27 @@ Unfortunately, many people do not realize this. Which causes a lot of distress a
### Enable High DPI fixes for Qt >= 5.14 ([#6262](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6262)) originally by [Morph1984](https://github.com/Morph1984)
On higher DPI monitors, any information window, such as the game compatibility reporting tool, would be scaled incorrectly, resulting in massive text size that could not be read due to it cutting off.
On higher DPI monitors, any information window, such as the game compatibility reporting tool, would be scaled incorrectly, resulting in massive text size that could not be read due to it getting cut off.
By utilizing Qt’s new high DPI application attributes for scaling a window, paired with a heuristic to select an integer scale value dependent on the current screen resolution, the scaling issue that has plagued Citra for four and a half years is finally resolved!
### Port multiplayer related PRs from yuzu ([#6319](https://github.com/citra-emu/citra/pull/6319)) originally by [SoRadGaming](https://github.com/SoRadGaming) and [unfamiliarplace](https://github.com/unfamiliarplace)
Just a few multiplayer additions here for ease when playing multiplayer on Citra with your friends!
Just a few multiplayer additions here for ease when playing multiplayer in Citra with your friends!
First off, we have support for hostnames and IPv6 when using Direct Connect! Direct Connect is used to, well, directly connect to someone without having to search through the multiplayer lobby, or if they’re hosting unlisted! In the past, the only way to connect to an unlisted room was via an IP address.
This isn’t ideal, as it requires knowing the exact IP address to type in to connect. With this change, it allows for Citra to use a domain address, as well as IPv6, as an input method to connect to a multiplayer server.
First off, we have support for hostnames and IPv6 when using Direct Connect! Direct Connect is used to, well, directly connect to someone without having to search through the multiplayer lobby or if they’re hosting unlisted! In the past, the only way to connect to an unlisted room was via an IP address.
This wasn't ideal, as it requires knowing the exact IP address in order to connect. With this change, it allows for Citra to use a domain address, as well as IPv6, as an input method to connect to a multiplayer server.
And then we have something to clean up the multiplayer lobby a little bit more, a toggle to hide empty rooms! Sick of shifting through each room manually to see if there is anyone to play with? Fret not, with a simple click of this button and you will be shown rooms that have at least one other person in to play with!
And then we have an option to tidy up the multiplayer lobby a bit more, a toggle to hide empty rooms! Sick of shifting through each room manually to see if there is anyone to play with? Fret not, with a simple click of this button, you will be shown rooms that have at least one other person to play with!
Both of these additions help make the multiplayer experience in Citra just that little bit better and allow you to enjoy playing with ease, which we all love.
# Conclusion
Well, that’s a wrap! It has been an incredible couple of months for Citra development. We are definitely picking up speed, the likes of which we have not seen here for years, and as promised, the reports are continuing.
A massive thanks goes out to the Citra community, especially the developers. None of this shown here would have been possible without all of the people involved here keeping this emulator afloat. These reports give us the opportunity to showcase the talented people working on this project, so you best believe they’re going to be long!
Well, that’s a wrap! It has been an incredible couple of months for Citra development. We are definitely picking up speed, the likes of which we have not seen here for years, and as promised, the progress reports are continuing.
A massive thanks goes out to the Citra community, especially the developers. None of these achievements would have been possible without all of the people involved here keeping this emulator afloat. These reports give us the opportunity to showcase the talented people working on this project, so you best believe they’re going to be long!
If you want to support this project, we have a [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/citraemu)! Donations to the Patreon go directly to our team to assist with obtaining hardware for testing and keeping our servers up and running. Donations are not required, but are greatly appreciated!
If you are looking to contribute to Citra or just want to get involved with our community, you can find us on our [Discord server](https://discord.com/invite/FAXfZV9) or on our IRC channel (#citra @ [Libera.Chat](https://libera.chat/)).
To those of you who made it until the end, thanks for reading! We have many more exciting things to tell you all about in the future, so stay tuned!
To those of you who made it to the end, thanks for reading! We have many more exciting things to tell you all about in the future, so stay tuned!