yaze 0.3.2
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Changelog

0.3.2 (October 2025)

CI/CD & Release Improvements

Release Workflow Fixes:

  • Fixed build matrix artifact upload issues (platform-specific uploads for Windows/Linux/macOS)
  • Corrected macOS universal binary merge process with proper artifact paths
  • Enhanced release to only include final artifacts (no intermediate build slices)
  • Improved build diagnostics and error reporting across all platforms

CI/CD Pipeline Enhancements:

  • Added manual workflow trigger with configurable build types and options
  • Implemented vcpkg caching for faster Windows builds
  • Enhanced Windows diagnostics (vcpkg status, Visual Studio info, disk space monitoring)
  • Added Windows-specific build failure analysis (linker errors, missing dependencies)
  • Conditional artifact uploads for CI builds with configurable retention
  • Comprehensive job summaries with platform-specific information

Rendering Pipeline Fixes

Graphics Editor White Sheets Fixed:

  • Graphics sheets now receive appropriate default palettes during ROM loading
  • Sheets 0-112: Dungeon main palettes, Sheets 113-127: Sprite palettes, Sheets 128-222: HUD/menu palettes
  • Eliminated white/blank graphics on initial load

Message Editor Preview Updates:

  • Fixed static message preview issue where changes weren't visible
  • Corrected mutable_data() usage to set_data() for proper SDL surface synchronization
  • Message preview now updates in real-time when selecting or editing messages

Cross-Editor Graphics Synchronization:

  • Added Arena::NotifySheetModified() for centralized texture management
  • Graphics changes in one editor now propagate to all other editors
  • Replaced raw printf() calls with structured LOG_* macros throughout graphics pipeline

Card-Based UI System

EditorCardManager:

  • Centralized card registration and visibility management
  • Context-sensitive card controls in main menu bar
  • Category-based keyboard shortcuts (Ctrl+Shift+D for Dungeon, Ctrl+Shift+B for browser)
  • Card browser for visual card management

Editor Integration:

  • All major editors (Dungeon, Graphics, Screen, Sprite, Overworld, Assembly, Message, Emulator) now use card system
  • Cards can be closed with X button, proper docking behavior across all editors
  • Cards hidden by default to prevent crashes on ROM load

Tile16 Editor & Graphics System

Palette System Enhancements:

  • Comprehensive palette coordination with overworld palette system
  • Sheet-based palette mapping (Sheets 0,3-6: AUX; Sheets 1-2: MAIN; Sheet 7: ANIMATED)
  • Enhanced scrollable UI layout with right-click tile picking
  • Save/discard workflow preventing ROM changes until explicit user action

Performance & Stability:

  • Fixed segmentation faults caused by tile cache std::move() operations invalidating Bitmap surface pointers
  • Disabled problematic tile cache, implemented direct SDL texture updates
  • Added comprehensive bounds checking to prevent palette crashes
  • Implemented surface/texture pooling and performance profiling

Windows Platform Stability

Build System Fixes:

  • Increased Windows stack size from 1MB to 8MB (matches macOS/Linux defaults)
  • Fixed linker errors in development utilities (extract_vanilla_values, rom_patch_utility)
  • Implemented Windows COM-based file dialog fallback for minimal builds
  • Consistent cross-platform behavior and stack resources

Emulator: Audio System Infrastructure

Audio Backend Abstraction:

  • IAudioBackend Interface: Clean abstraction layer for audio implementations, enabling easy migration between SDL2, SDL3, and custom backends
  • SDL2AudioBackend: Complete implementation with volume control, status queries, and smart buffer management (2-6 frames)
  • AudioBackendFactory: Factory pattern for creating backends with minimal coupling
  • Benefits: Future-proof audio system, easy to add platform-native backends (CoreAudio, WASAPI, PulseAudio)

APU Debugging System:

  • ApuHandshakeTracker: Monitors CPU-SPC700 communication in real-time
  • Phase Tracking: Tracks handshake progression (RESET → IPL_BOOT → WAITING_BBAA → HANDSHAKE_CC → TRANSFER_ACTIVE → RUNNING)
  • Port Activity Monitor: Records last 1000 port write events with PC addresses
  • Visual Debugger UI: Real-time phase display, port activity log, transfer progress bars, force handshake testing
  • Integration: Connected to both CPU (Snes::WriteBBus) and SPC700 (Apu::Write) port operations

Music Editor Integration:

  • Live Playback: PlaySong(int song_id) triggers songs via $7E012C memory write
  • Volume Control: SetVolume(float) controls backend volume at abstraction layer
  • Playback Controls: Stop/pause/resume functionality ready for UI integration

Documentation:

  • Created comprehensive audio system guides covering IPL ROM protocol, handshake debugging, and testing procedures

Emulator: Critical Performance Fixes

Console Logging Performance Killer Fixed:

  • Issue: Console logging code was executing on EVERY instruction even when disabled, causing severe performance degradation (< 1 FPS)
  • Impact: ~1,791,000 console writes per second with mutex locks and buffer flushes
  • Fix: Removed 73 lines of console output from CPU instruction execution hot path
  • Result: Emulator now runs at full 60 FPS

Instruction Logging Default Changed:

  • Changed: kLogInstructions flag default from true to false
  • Reason: Even without console spam, logging every instruction to DisassemblyViewer caused significant slowdown
  • Impact: No logging overhead unless explicitly enabled by user

Instruction Log Unbounded Growth Fixed:

  • Issue: Legacy instruction_log_ vector growing to 60+ million entries after 10 minutes, consuming 6GB+ RAM
  • Fix: Added automatic trimming to 10,000 most recent instructions
  • Result: Memory usage stays bounded at ~50MB

Audio Buffer Allocation Bug Fixed:

  • Issue: Audio buffer allocated as single int16_t instead of array, causing immediate buffer overflow
  • Fix: Properly allocate as array using new int16_t[size] with custom deleter
  • Result: Audio system can now queue samples without corruption

Emulator: UI Organization & Input System

New UI Architecture:

  • Created src/app/emu/ui/ directory for separation of concerns
  • EmulatorUI Layer: Separated all ImGui rendering code from emulator logic
  • Input Abstraction: IInputBackend interface with SDL2 implementation for future SDL3 migration
  • InputHandler: Continuous polling system using SDL_GetKeyboardState() instead of event-based ImGui keys

Keyboard Input Fixed:

  • Issue: Event-based ImGui::IsKeyPressed() only fires once per press, doesn't work for held buttons
  • Fix: New InputHandler uses continuous SDL keyboard state polling every frame
  • Result: Proper game controls with held button detection

DisassemblyViewer Enhancement:

  • Sparse Address Map: Mesen-style storage of unique addresses only, not every execution
  • Execution Counter: Increments on re-execution for hotspot analysis
  • Performance: Tracks millions of instructions with ~5MB RAM vs 6GB+ with old system
  • Always Active: No need for toggle flag, efficiently active by default

Feature Flags Cleanup:

  • Removed deprecated kLogInstructions flag entirely
  • DisassemblyViewer now always active with zero performance cost

Debugger: Breakpoint & Watchpoint Systems

BreakpointManager:

  • CRUD Operations: Add/Remove/Enable/Disable breakpoints with unique IDs
  • Breakpoint Types: Execute, Read, Write, Access, and Conditional breakpoints
  • Dual CPU Support: Separate tracking for 65816 CPU and SPC700
  • Hit Counting: Tracks how many times each breakpoint is triggered
  • CPU Integration: Connected to CPU execution via callback system

WatchpointManager:

  • Memory Access Tracking: Monitor reads/writes to memory ranges
  • Range-Based: Watch single addresses or memory regions ($7E0000-$7E00FF)
  • Access History: Deque-based storage of last 1000 memory accesses
  • Break-on-Access: Optional execution pause when watchpoint triggered
  • Export: CSV export of access history for analysis

CPU Debugger UI Enhancements:

  • Integrated Controls: Play/Pause/Step/Reset buttons directly in debugger window
  • Breakpoint UI: Address input (hex), add/remove buttons, enable/disable checkboxes, hit count display
  • Live Disassembly: DisassemblyViewer showing real-time execution
  • Register Display: Real-time CPU state (A, X, Y, D, SP, PC, PB, DB, flags)

Build System Simplifications

Eliminated Conditional Compilation:

  • Before: Optional flags for JSON (YAZE_WITH_JSON), gRPC (YAZE_WITH_GRPC), AI (Z3ED_AI)
  • After: All features always enabled, no configuration required
  • Benefits: Simpler development, easier onboarding, fewer ifdef-related bugs, consistent builds across all platforms
  • Build Command: Just cmake -B build && cmake --build build - no flags needed!

DisassemblyViewer Performance Limits:

  • Max 10,000 instructions stored (prevents memory bloat)
  • Auto-trim to 8,000 when limit reached (keeps hottest code paths)
  • Toggle recording on/off for performance testing
  • Clear button to free memory

Build System: Windows Platform Improvements

gRPC v1.67.1 Upgrade:

  • Issue: v1.62.0 had template instantiation errors on MSVC
  • Fix: Upgraded to v1.67.1 with MSVC template fixes and better C++17/20 compatibility
  • Result: Builds successfully on Visual Studio 2022

MSVC-Specific Compiler Flags:

  • /bigobj - Allow large object files (gRPC generates many)
  • /permissive- - Standards conformance mode
  • /wd4267 /wd4244 - Suppress harmless conversion warnings
  • /constexpr:depth2048 - Handle deep template instantiations

Cross-Platform Validation:

  • All new audio and input code uses cross-platform SDL2 APIs
  • No platform-specific code in audio backend or input abstraction
  • Ready for SDL3 migration with minimal changes

GUI & UX Modernization

  • Theme System: Implemented comprehensive theme system (AgentUITheme) centralizing all UI colors
  • UI Helper Library: Created 30+ reusable UI helper functions reducing boilerplate code by over 50%
  • Visual Polish: Enhanced UI panels with theme-aware colors, status badges, connection indicators

Overworld Editor Refactoring

  • Modular Architecture: Refactored 3,400-line OverworldEditor into smaller focused modules
  • Progressive Loading: Implemented priority-based progressive loading in gfx::Arena to prevent UI freezes
  • Critical Graphics Fixes: Resolved bugs with graphics refresh, multi-quadrant map updates, and feature visibility
  • Multi-Area Map Configuration: Robust ConfigureMultiAreaMap() handling all area sizes

Build System & Stability

  • Build Fixes: Resolved 7 critical build errors including linker issues and filesystem crashes
  • C API Separation: Decoupled C API library from main application for improved modularity

Future Optimizations (Planned)

Graphics System:

  • Lazy loading of graphics sheets (load on-demand rather than all at once)
  • Heap-based allocation for large data structures instead of stack
  • Streaming/chunked loading for large ROM assets
  • Consider if all 223 sheets need to be in memory simultaneously

Build System:

  • Further reduce CI build times
  • Enhanced dependency caching strategies
  • Improved vcpkg integration reliability

Technical Notes

Breaking Changes:

  • None - this is a patch release focused on stability and fixes

Deprecations:

  • None

Migration Guide:

  • No migration required - this release is fully backward compatible with 0.3.1

0.3.1 (September 2025)

Major Features

  • Complete Tile16 Editor Overhaul: Professional-grade tile editing with modern UI and advanced capabilities
  • Advanced Palette Management: Full access to all SNES palette groups with configurable normalization
  • Comprehensive Undo/Redo System: 50-state history with intelligent time-based throttling
  • ZSCustomOverworld v3 Full Support: Complete implementation of ZScream Save.cs functionality with complex transition calculations
  • ZEML System Removal: Converted overworld editor from markup to pure ImGui for better performance and maintainability
  • OverworldEditorManager: New management system to handle complex v3 overworld features

Tile16 Editor Enhancements

  • Modern UI Layout: Fully resizable 3-column interface (Tile8 Source, Editor, Preview & Controls)
  • Multi-Palette Group Support: Access to Overworld Main/Aux1/Aux2, Dungeon Main, Global Sprites, Armors, and Swords palettes
  • Advanced Transform Operations: Flip horizontal/vertical, rotate 90°, fill with tile8, clear operations
  • Professional Workflow: Copy/paste, 4-slot scratch space, live preview with auto-commit
  • Pixel Normalization Settings: Configurable pixel value masks (0x01-0xFF) for handling corrupted graphics sheets

ZSCustomOverworld v3 Implementation

  • SaveLargeMapsExpanded(): Complex neighbor-aware transition calculations for all area sizes (Small, Large, Wide, Tall)
  • Interactive Overlay System: Full SaveMapOverlays() with ASM code generation for revealing holes and changing map elements
  • SaveCustomOverworldASM(): Complete custom overworld ASM application with feature toggles and data tables
  • Expanded Memory Support: Automatic detection and use of v3 expanded memory locations (0x140xxx)
  • Area-Specific Features: Background colors, main palettes, mosaic transitions, GFX groups, subscreen overlays, animated tiles
  • Transition Logic: Sophisticated camera transition calculations based on neighboring area types and quadrants
  • Version Compatibility: Maintains vanilla/v2 compatibility while adding full v3+ feature support

Technical Improvements

  • SNES Data Accuracy: Proper 4-bit palette index handling with configurable normalization
  • Bitmap Pipeline Fixes: Corrected tile16 extraction using GetTilemapData() with manual fallback
  • Real-time Updates: Immediate visual feedback for all editing operations
  • Memory Safety: Enhanced bounds checking and error handling throughout
  • ASM Version Detection: Automatic detection of custom overworld ASM version for feature availability
  • Conditional Save Logic: Different save paths for vanilla, v2, and v3+ ROMs

User Interface

  • Keyboard Shortcuts: Comprehensive shortcuts for all operations (H/V/R for transforms, Q/E for palette cycling, 1-8 for direct palette selection)
  • Visual Feedback: Hover preview restoration, current palette highlighting, texture status indicators
  • Compact Controls: Streamlined property panel with essential tools easily accessible
  • Settings Dialog: Advanced palette normalization controls with real-time application
  • Pure ImGui Layout: Removed ZEML markup system in favor of native ImGui tabs and tables for better performance
  • v3 Settings Panel: Dedicated UI for ZSCustomOverworld v3 features with ASM version detection and feature toggles

Bug Fixes

  • Tile16 Bitmap Display: Fixed blank/white tile issue caused by unnormalized pixel values
  • Hover Preview: Restored tile8 preview when hovering over tile16 canvas
  • Canvas Scaling: Corrected coordinate scaling for 8x magnification factor
  • Palette Corruption: Fixed high-bit contamination in graphics sheets
  • UI Layout: Proper column sizing and resizing behavior
  • Linux CI/CD Build: Fixed undefined reference errors for ShowSaveFileDialog method
  • ZSCustomOverworld v3: Fixed complex area transition calculations and neighbor-aware tilemap adjustments
  • ZEML Performance: Eliminated markup parsing overhead by converting to native ImGui components

ZScream Compatibility Improvements

  • Complete Save.cs Implementation: All major methods from ZScream's Save.cs now implemented in YAZE
  • Area Size Support: Full support for Small, Large, Wide, and Tall area types with proper transitions
  • Interactive Overlays: Complete overlay save system matching ZScream's functionality
  • Custom ASM Integration: Proper handling of ZSCustomOverworld ASM versions 1-3+
  • Memory Layout: Correct usage of expanded vs vanilla memory locations based on ROM type

0.3.0 (September 2025)

Major Features

  • Complete Theme Management System: 5+ built-in themes with custom theme creation and editing
  • Multi-Session Workspace: Work with multiple ROMs simultaneously in enhanced docked interface
  • Enhanced Welcome Screen: Themed interface with quick access to all editors and features
  • Asar 65816 Assembler Integration: Complete cross-platform ROM patching with assembly code
  • ZSCustomOverworld v3: Full integration with enhanced overworld editing capabilities
  • Advanced Message Editing: Enhanced text editing interface with improved parsing and real-time preview
  • GUI Docking System: Improved docking and workspace management for better user workflow
  • Symbol Extraction: Extract symbol names and opcodes from assembly files
  • Modernized Build System: Upgraded to CMake 3.16+ with target-based configuration

User Interface & Theming

  • Built-in Themes: Classic YAZE, YAZE Tre, Cyberpunk, Sunset, Forest, and Midnight themes
  • Theme Editor: Complete custom theme creation with save-to-file functionality
  • Animated Background Grid: Optional moving grid with color breathing effects
  • Theme Import/Export: Share custom themes with the community
  • Responsive UI: All UI elements properly adapt to selected themes

Enhancements

  • Enhanced CLI Tools: Improved z3ed with modern command line interface and TUI
  • CMakePresets: Added development workflow presets for better productivity
  • Cross-Platform CI/CD: Multi-platform automated builds and testing with lenient code quality checks
  • Professional Packaging: NSIS, DMG, and DEB/RPM installers
  • ROM-Dependent Testing: Separated testing infrastructure for CI compatibility with 46+ core tests
  • Comprehensive Documentation: Updated guides, help menus, and API documentation

Technical Improvements

  • Modern C++23: Latest language features for performance and safety
  • Memory Safety: Enhanced memory management with RAII and smart pointers
  • Error Handling: Improved error handling using absl::Status throughout
  • Cross-Platform: Consistent experience across Windows, macOS, and Linux
  • Performance: Optimized rendering and data processing

Bug Fixes

  • Graphics Arena Crash: Fixed double-free error during Arena singleton destruction
  • SNES Tile Format: Corrected tile unpacking algorithm based on SnesLab documentation
  • Palette System: Fixed color conversion functions (ImVec4 float to uint8_t conversion)
  • CI/CD: Fixed missing cstring include for Ubuntu compilation
  • ROM Loading: Fixed file path issues in tests

0.2.2 (December 2024)

  • DungeonMap editing improvements
  • ZSCustomOverworld support
  • Cross platform file handling

0.2.1 (August 2024)

  • Improved MessageEditor parsing
  • Added integration test window
  • Bitmap bug fixes

0.2.0 (July 2024)

  • iOS app support
  • Graphics Sheet Browser
  • Project Files

0.1.0 (May 2024)

  • Bitmap bug fixes
  • Error handling improvements

0.0.9 (April 2024)

  • Documentation updates
  • Entrance tile types
  • Emulator subsystem overhaul

0.0.8 (February 2024)

  • Hyrule Magic Compression
  • Dungeon Room Entrances
  • PNG Export

0.0.7 (January 2024)

  • OverworldEntities
    • Entrances
    • Exits
    • Items
    • Sprites

0.0.6 (November 2023)

  • ScreenEditor DungeonMap
  • Tile16 Editor
  • Canvas updates

0.0.5 (November 2023)

  • DungeonEditor
  • DungeonObjectRenderer

0.0.4 (November 2023)

  • Tile16Editor
  • GfxGroupEditor
  • Add GfxGroups functions to Rom
  • Add Tile16Editor and GfxGroupEditor to OverworldEditor

0.0.3 (October 2023)

  • Emulator subsystem
    • SNES PPU and PPURegisters