On Fri, Jun 2, 2023 at 5:40 AM Steve Cossette farchord@gmail.com wrote:
Good morning to you all,
I was thinking about packaging Yuzu for Fedora. Yuzu is an emulator for the Nintendo Switch, which requires you to dump your Nintendo Switch's firmware to work. (I believe the emulator will actually start without the firmware, but you won't be able to go far without it).
Strictly speaking, Yuzu does not require the Switch firmware. As it notes on its own website, some games require it to access specific data that isn't replicated in their own code yet. But for Yuzu to be useful, it is *not* required. I personally own games that work without Switch firmware.
As far as I understand the legal instructions from the Fedora wiki (https://docs.fedoraproject.org/en-US/legal/misc/#_emulators):
Some emulators (applications which emulate another platform) are not permitted for inclusion in Fedora Linux. These rules will help you determine if an emulator is acceptable for Fedora.
Emulators which depend on firmware or ROM files to function may not be included in Fedora Linux, unless the copyright holder(s) for the firmware/ROM files give clear permission for the firmware/ROM files to be distributed (either under a Fedora allowed license or a Fedora allowed-firmware license). Note: This only covers the situation where an emulator will not run at all without firmware/ROM files. For example, emulators that compile and run, but ship with no game ROMs are not covered by this rule.
Emulators must not ship with any ROM files (e.g. games) unless those ROM files are available under a Fedora allowed license and have been built from source code in the Fedora buildsystem.
Yuzu satisfies this rule, as it functions without the Switch firmware data just fine, and can be used as a programming environment for Switch applications.
Emulators must not point to any third-party sites which provide firmware or ROM files that are distributed without the clear and explicit permission of their copyright holders.
Yuzu satisfies this rule, as the only documentation it provides is how you can get the stuff from *your own* Switch. And it's a fully optional process for being able to get your *own* games from your *own* Switch. There is no link to third-party sites with archives of Switch firmware nor third-party sites with Switch game dumps.
Their FAQ entry also reinforces this: https://yuzu-emu.org/wiki/faq/#how-do-i-get-games
It is generally accepted that it is legal for you to run your own stuff under emulation. That's why emulators are able to exist, and why Fedora allows them.
All other Fedora licensing and packaging rules apply to emulators.
That emulator does indeed not include any roms or firmware. But it gives you a fully fleshed out guide on how to rip it from your Nintendo Switch (https://yuzu-emu.org/help/quickstart/) and gives links to hack tools.
Can such a software be packaged for Fedora?
I believe so based on the reasoning above, but someone else can chime in.