Regression: Visual glitch in Virtual Console titles

[wrybyte]

Is there an existing issue for this?

• I have searched the existing issues

Affected Build(s)

Tested on the latest commit (3783ac9), 2120-rc1, and 2120-rc3.

Description of Issue

When running a Pokémon Virtual Console game that has save data stored, a visual glitch will be constantly visible on the right side of the top screen.

Note that changing the emulated language also updates the language of the glitched graphic:

Each Virtual Console title I have tested has this issue, which includes:

• Pokémon Kristall Edition (0004000000173100)
• Pokémon Yellow Version (0004000000171200)
• Pokémon Red Version (0004000000171000)

Others have also corroborated that this issue is present for the above titles, as well as Pokémon Gold/Silver version.

This bug is not present in PabloMK7's last Citra release (r608383e) or the last release of Lime3DS (2119.1), so it is a regression introduced by the Azahar project.

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Interestingly, this visual glitch is not present the first time a title is ran (save data generated for the first time), or if the save is corrupted (save data must be regenerated). A manual save is not required; the save data is automatically generated on first launch.

Game is loaded for the first time:

Game has been loaded in the past (visual glitch included), but the save data is corrupted and must be regenerated:

The issue can be temporarily resolved by removing the save data located at azahar-emu/sdmc/Nintendo 3DS/00000000000000000000000000000000/00000000000000000000000000000000/title/<upper title id>/<lower title id>/data/. Both new and old save files exhibit this visual bug.

Perhaps the issue lies in how title save data is loaded?

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It may also be worth noting that the bug produces a very specific graphic. On Virtual Console titles that support it, the bottom pause screen will display a "Load Restore Point" button that aligns perfectly with the glitched image above:

However, all of the titles I tested (listed above) do not support this feature and shouldn't show the graphic under regular circumstances.

Expected Behavior

The expected behaviour is that no visual glitch is present. Both sides of the top screen should be black at all times.

Reproduction Steps

1. Open a fresh installation of Azahar Emulator.

2. Launch a Virtual Console title for the first time. The emulated VC emulator (ha...) will create new save data and the game will load normally.

3. Pause the game using the Virtual Console menu and select "Reset" to reload the game. The game still loads normally.

Step 3 is not required, but it highlights the difference between reloading the save file and having the emulator load the game. The bug in step 4 will be produced whether or not step 3 is done.

4. Close the game and relaunch the title. The save data is loaded properly, but now a green bar is present on the screen.

Log File

This issue seems to be widespread of many systems.
I could not find anything notable in the logs.

Fedora: azahar_log.txt
Ubuntu VM: azahar_log.txt

System Configuration

CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 7640U
GPU/Driver: AMD Radeon 760M (RADV PHOENIX)
RAM: 2 x 8GB 5600 MT/s
OS: Fedora Linux 41 (Sway)

[autofire372]

This actually affects all VC titles that aren't Game Gear games, not just Pokémon titles.

[wrybyte]

After using git bisect, I have found that this bug is caused by the "add disable right eye performance hack" commit (758ded7). However, toggling the option either way still results in the visual glitch to be present.

[Darkestimeline1]

Is there anything that can be done to fix this at the moment?

[Luuziver]

Same visual glitch here.

My first comment ever on github <3 Hopefully this helps.

System Configuration

CPU: Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4610M CPU @ 3.00GHz, 3001 MHz, 2 Cores, 4 logical cores
GPU: Intel(R) HD Graphics 4600
RAM: 2x 8GB DDR3L 800MHz Micron Technology
OS: Microsoft Windows 10 Pro