v2.0.0-preview

All improvements and fixes delivered after the first public preview release.

Added

Asset Editor

• Icon grid view for the client items panel — toggle between the traditional list and a compact icon grid using the button next to the search bar ([#2], [1433042])
• Preferences window accessible from File → Preferences, allowing customization of items per page (range 10–1000, persisted across sessions) ([#2], [1433042])
• Resizable panels — all three main columns (client items, editor, OTB detail) can now be resized via draggable splitters ([#5], [040ab99])
• Animate Always editable — the "Animate Always" property in the animation card is now a toggleable checkbox instead of a read-only text field ([#6], [afc8bb9])
• Animation Play state preserved — the Play checkbox remains active when switching between items that support animation ([#4], [c537e58])
• Animated sprite previews in merge and batch transplant confirmation dialogs ([d0d86a5])
• Category-aware transplant — transplant and merge menus now support per-category operations (Items, Outfits, Effects, Missiles) ([8136d2b])
• HasCharges and FloorChange properties added to the DAT item model ([71a9978])

Map Editor

• Map Properties dialog — view and edit map metadata (description, dimensions, house file, spawn file) ([0385f3c])
• Map Statistics dialog — see tile counts, item counts, and spawn/house summaries ([0385f3c], [1d7e986])
• Map menu with properties, statistics, and cleanup operations ([1d7e986])
• Town navigation with a searchable town list in the properties panel ([7dbc39d])
• Minimap viewport-centered rendering for large maps ([6d01a10])
• Collection items tab — organize items into named collections from the palette ([10934d6])

Startup & Session

• Welcome window with session history — on launch, choose from recent sessions or start fresh ([4291a58])
• Town list restored on startup — towns now populate correctly when restoring a previous session ([24827d9])

Infrastructure

• CI/CD build workflow with automated release creation and GitFlow branching strategy ([f2e8e0f])
• Protocol 1100 support with short DAT signatures ([7ca90ee])

Fixed

• Collection tab header and view now update immediately when adding items via the context menu ([3735fab])
• Catalog always displays the full OTB item list regardless of active tab ([9373102])
• Town list appears by default when opening a map for the first time ([8afab56])
• Town list populates correctly after restoring a session on startup ([24827d9])
• Merge dialog auto-detects Extended, Improved Animations, Frame Groups, and Transparency from parse results ([8743016])
• Merge duplicate detection now hashes all frame groups, frames, and patterns for accuracy ([9e4ffa2])
• Merge uses the best frame group for outfit animation previews ([a4ef273])
• Transplant skips items with empty sprites instead of crashing ([0d6b442])
• Page navigation and filter changes no longer crash when the selected item index becomes stale ([1433042])

Changed

• Selection highlight color changed from green to magenta for better visibility ([7ca90ee])
• Brush panel removed from the default layout to reduce clutter ([7ca90ee])
• SPR transparency handling decoupled from extended header for cleaner format support ([43f7c06])
• DAT flags aligned with Object Builder reference for compatibility ([171d508])
• Left panel widened from 220px to 270px for better icon grid fit ([1433042])

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