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Alpha 0.2.0

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@ZallaxDev ZallaxDev released this 04 Oct 19:37
· 292 commits to main since this release
v0.2.0
c330c0a

Emerald 3Ds Dual Screen v0.2.0

This download does not contain the game. Download Emerald3DS-v0.2.0-Windows.zip below and follow the installation and update guide. You need your own dump of Pokémon Emerald (USA, Europe). Updating from 0.1.x keeps your save; this release changes the game data, so generate the pack again with the new builder (Windows ZIP below) or with the web builder at emerald-3ds.com, which needs no download.

v0.2.0

Highlights

  • Original game menus on the bottom screen, fully touch-enabled.
    The Party menu, Pokémon Summary screens, Bag, Pokédex and PC Boxes now use the game's original interfaces, centred on the bottom screen and adapted for direct touch control. Every original action remains accessible, and these screens run at 60 FPS on Old 3DS.

  • New 3D BATTLE option (off by default, requires VOXEL 3D).
    Battles can now take place directly in front of the voxel overworld. The game searches for suitable level terrain near the player and smoothly moves the camera from the field into the battle.

  • SHOW FPS option.
    The FPS counter is no longer permanently displayed. It can now be enabled from the bottom-screen OPTIONS menu and is disabled by default.

Voxel 3D improvements

Voxel 3D is still experimental. Expect visual issues and glitches, particularly around mountains, ledges and maps that have not yet been fully adapted.

  • New HD-2D-inspired rendering, including:

    • optional tilt-shift depth blur with 3D BLUR;
    • bloom;
    • sunlit dust particles;
    • richer natural lighting;
    • sun rays;
    • soft moving sunlight and shadow patterns;
    • improved tree and terrain lighting.

  • More work has been done on the terrain and elevation of Route 104 and Route 105, including beaches, cliffs and connections between different height levels. These areas are still being refined and currently contain visual and terrain errors.

  • Reusable sea rocks and boulders are now modelled consistently wherever the same assets appear.

  • Improved environmental rendering:

    • voxel fog banks;
    • colder and darker cave lighting;
    • translucent fog in classic 2D mode;
    • water aligned with ground level;
    • tall grass rendered and animated on its actual tile;
    • Surf Pokémon and additional field sprites are now rendered;
    • sprites correctly appear in front of stairs and ramps.

Performance

A large part of 0.2.0 is dedicated to making the game smoother on real hardware, especially Old 3DS.

  • Assets can now be loaded ahead of time by a background worker.
  • The sound mixer runs separately from the main game workload.
  • Unchanged graphics layers avoid unnecessary processing.
  • Voxel frame scheduling and chunk generation have been heavily reworked.
  • Off-screen voxel geometry is culled using the camera frustum.
  • Temporary lightweight chunks can fill missing terrain while full chunks are prepared.
  • Animated tiles update only the regions that actually changed.
  • New 3DS systems can run the game at 804 MHz with L2 cache enabled.
  • Bottom-screen interfaces use partial redraws where possible instead of rebuilding the entire screen.

Faster builder

The builder has received a major optimisation pass.

A full build now takes approximately 6.5 minutes instead of 15–17 minutes, around 2.5× faster, while producing the same game data pack.

Installation and updates

Web Builder

0.2.0 introduces the infrastructure required by the new browser-based builder.

Releases now include:

  • Emerald3DS-WebPayload.zip
  • web-manifest.json

The voxel generators can run directly inside the web builder without requiring local Python or development tools.

Quick Update

The standalone files are now also published separately:

  • Emerald3DS.3dsx
  • Emerald3DS.smdh

This allows future compatible updates to replace the executable without rebuilding the entire installation.

HOME Menu forwarder

An optional HOME Menu forwarder is now available:

Emerald3DS-Forwarder.cia

Install it once using FBI and Pokémon Emerald 3DS Dual Screen can be launched directly from the HOME Menu through Luma3DS.

The forwarder itself does not contain the game data. Updates can continue to use the Emerald3DS.3dsx stored on the SD card.

Debug logging

SD logging is now disabled during normal play.

To enable it, create:

sdmc:/3ds/emerald3ds/debug.txt

When enabled:

  • port.log contains the current session;
  • port-prev.log contains the previous session.

This avoids unnecessary SD writes during normal gameplay.

Fixes

Classic 2D

  • Fixed Surf, Fly and other field-move sequences leaving most of the overworld black.
  • Fixed Match Call corrupting the overworld graphics during a call.
  • Fixed the map name popup remaining partially visible at the bottom of the screen while disappearing.
  • Fixed several window and sprite positioning issues, including items appearing outside their frames and the Pokémon Center healing machine's Poké Balls being incorrectly positioned.
  • Fixed the starter selection screen appearing at the top-left of the top screen with an incorrect background. It is now centred correctly, with the meadow extended to the screen edges and Treecko's selection label rendered correctly.

Voxel 3D

  • Fixed freezes after battles.
  • Fixed voxel chunks occasionally stopping loading around areas such as Mauville.
  • Fixed the voxel overworld unexpectedly falling back to 2D on Old 3DS.
  • Fixed OPTIONS changes causing noticeable pauses while settings were written to the SD card.
  • Fixed black gaps appearing near the edges of connected maps.
  • Improved tall-grass and character positioning behaviour.

Full history in CHANGELOG.md. Checksums in SHA256SUMS.txt, attached below.

Unofficial fan project, not affiliated with or endorsed by Nintendo, Game Freak, Creatures or The Pokémon Company.

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