Skip to content

WatermelonDS 0.7.0 is finally here!

Latest
Latest

Choose a tag to compare

View all tags
@SapphireRhodonite SapphireRhodonite released this 08 Aug 03:19
0.7.0
1e0a463
This commit was created on GitHub.com and signed with GitHub’s verified signature.
GPG key ID: B5690EEEBB952194
Verified
Learn about vigilant mode.

This is a very special release.

After several release candidates under the melonDualDS name, the project is now officially renamed to:

WatermelonDS

Screenshot_20260807-205316 Screenshot_20260807-205306 Screenshot_20260807-205118 Screenshot_20260807-205328

This is the final 0.7.0 release and the first public release with the new WatermelonDS identity.

WatermelonDS keeps the same goal as before: providing a powerful Nintendo DS emulator experience on Android, with modern Android features, RetroAchievements support, Vulkan rendering, shader support, and a lot of customization.

This release includes a new name, a refreshed visual identity, a much improved interface, RetroArch shader preset support across renderers, and a new experimental Vulkan feature called FastPath.

What’s New

1. The project is now WatermelonDS

The emulator has now fully moved from the old melonDualDS name to WatermelonDS.

This includes:

  • New project identity!!!
  • New app name
  • New launcher icon
  • Updated splash screen
  • Updated app visuals
  • Updated UI style

This is more than a simple name change. The goal is to give the project its own identity while continuing to build on top of the melonDS Android foundation.

2. New user interface

WatermelonDS 0.7.0 includes a major UI refresh.

The new interface is designed to feel cleaner, more modern, and more consistent across the app.

This includes improvements such as:

  • New WatermelonDS visual style
  • Updated theme
  • New design tokens
  • Better visual consistency
  • Updated icons and branding
  • Improved ROM list presentation
  • Better box art usage in the continue shelf
  • ROM icons scaled to fill their cards more naturally
  • Updated RetroAchievements presentation
  • Improved account and score display in settings

The goal is to make WatermelonDS feel more polished and easier to use without losing the advanced options that make the emulator flexible.

3. RetroArch shader presets for all renderers

This is one of the biggest improvements in this release.

WatermelonDS now supports RetroArch shader presets across all renderers.

This means shader preset support is no longer limited to only one rendering path.

You can now use RetroArch-style shader presets with the available renderers, making it easier to customize the final image and get the visual style you prefer.

This is great news for users who like:

  • CRT-style filters
  • LCD-style shaders
  • Pixel smoothing
  • Color correction
  • Handheld-style presentation
  • Custom visual presets

Shader support is an important part of making DS games look better on modern Android screens, especially on high-resolution handhelds and external displays.

4. Experimental Vulkan FastPath

WatermelonDS 0.7.0 introduces a new Vulkan feature called:

FastPath

FastPath is designed to improve performance, especially when using higher internal resolutions.

In some cases, this can help games run much faster at resolutions such as:

  • 4x
  • 6x
  • 8x

This can be especially useful for users who want higher-resolution rendering, better performance on less powerful chips, or improved battery efficiency by reducing rendering overhead.

However, please read this carefully:

FastPath is extremely experimental.

FastPath is still in a very early beta state.

There are many known and unknown bugs, and some games may show visual issues, broken effects, missing elements, or other rendering problems while using it.

If you want the most stable and accurate Nintendo DS experience, I recommend using the normal rendering path for now.

FastPath is available for testing, feedback, and performance experimentation.

FastPath recommendation

Use the normal rendering path if you want:

  • The most stable experience
  • Better compatibility
  • Fewer graphical issues
  • Behavior closer to a real Nintendo DS
  • The safest option for general gameplay

Try FastPath if you want:

  • Better performance
  • Higher internal resolution testing
  • Lower GPU overhead in some cases
  • Better battery efficiency in some situations
  • To help test and report rendering issues

FastPath is not meant to fully replace the normal path yet.

Starting from this release, one of my main goals will be to fix bugs in both the normal rendering path and FastPath, with the long-term goal of making them converge into one stable and high-performance solution.

Your feedback will be very important for this.

What I need from testers

Since this release includes major UI changes, shader support improvements, and the new FastPath renderer path, feedback is extremely useful.

Please report issues with as much detail as possible.

Useful feedback includes:

  • Games that work better with FastPath
  • Games that have bugs with FastPath
  • Visual differences between normal Vulkan and FastPath
  • Shader preset problems
  • UI layout problems
  • ROM list problems
  • Performance differences
  • Battery or thermal behavior
  • Device-specific Vulkan issues
  • Crashes or freezes
  • Screenshots or videos showing the issue

If you are testing FastPath, please mention clearly that FastPath was enabled.

RetroAchievements notes

This release keeps the RetroAchievements improvements from the RC5 cycle, including the stability work around achievements, leaderboards, sessions, and offline provider options.

WatermelonDS continues to support:

  • RetroAchievements login
  • Achievement unlocks
  • Hardcore Mode through the normal online flow
  • Leaderboards
  • Offline achievement provider selection
  • RAOfflineProxy support for casual offline achievements
  • Better synchronization information after temporary disconnections

As before, Hardcore Mode is not available while using RAOfflineProxy.

Important Notes

  • This is the first final release using the WatermelonDS name.
  • The old melonDualDS name is no longer used for new releases.
  • FastPath is extremely beta and may have many bugs.
  • For the most stable experience, use the normal rendering path.
  • RetroArch shader presets are now available across renderers.
  • Some shader presets may behave differently depending on renderer and device.
  • Vulkan behavior can vary depending on GPU, driver, and Android version.
  • Feedback is very welcome, especially for FastPath and shader support.

Next Development Focus

After this release, development will focus heavily on bug fixing.

The main goals are:

  • Improve the normal rendering path
  • Improve FastPath stability
  • Fix FastPath graphical bugs
  • Improve shader preset compatibility
  • Resolve open GitHub issues
  • Continue polishing the new UI
  • Improve overall emulator reliability across Android devices

The long-term goal is to make the normal path and FastPath converge into a single stable, fast, and reliable rendering experience.

Every bug report helps.

Reporting Issues

When reporting issues, please include:

  • Device model
  • Android version
  • GPU if known
  • Game title
  • Renderer used
  • Internal resolution
  • Whether FastPath was enabled
  • Shader preset used, if any
  • Whether RetroAchievements was enabled
  • Steps to reproduce the issue
  • Screenshots or video, if possible
  • Logs, if available

For FastPath bugs, please compare the same game with FastPath disabled if possible.

This makes it much easier to identify whether the issue is specific to FastPath or part of the normal rendering path.

Thank You

Thank you to everyone who tested the 0.7.0 release candidates, reported issues, tested RetroAchievements, tried Vulkan builds, and gave feedback during the melonDualDS phase.

This release marks the beginning of the next stage of the project.

WatermelonDS is finally here.

Thank you for testing and supporting WatermelonDS.

Assets 3
Loading