melonDS-emu
Instance Saving Inconsistencies and Directory Management in MelonDS
Really sorry to bring up this topic again, but I just wanted to clarify the purpose of saving instances using the normal .sav extension.
First of all, I have different directories for each melonDS instance. That means each instance has its own games with their respective save file directories, which is not causing conflicts between save files being the same.
Secondly, even when using different games with different save files, the second instance could read .sav, but when making progress, it saves it as a new file (.sa2), which makes no sense as it is not even using the same game or save.
Lastly, when trying to play locally using download play, it usually gets frustrating to have save files changed, especially because I use each profile in a different directory to sync across devices.
You don't need to do all that, you can use the same copy of melonDS and the same ROMs.
But if I wanted to play with different profiles using local download play I'll have to keep renaming files to .sa2, and back to .sav if I want to play alone.
The main reason for this is that when different people use save files to play locally using download play, I keep them in sync, each in a respective folder with its own ROMs and save files. (I know I could use the same ROM, but I just tested it, hoping it wouldn't create .sa2, .sa3, etc...) This allows them to play on their devices and also resume when playing together.