DRNAS Native Blender Alpha 1.0

DRNAS Native Blender — Alpha 1.0 (Android ARM64)

Alpha 1.0 is a public test release, not a PreAlpha and not yet a stable production release.

Native Blender UI and Vulkan viewport on ARM64 Android, with a custom DRNAS floating touch/keyboard overlay. This release builds on the working v10 controls, incorporates the native Android keyboard and relative-pointer fixes, and adds a first-run full-display default.

Install / start

1. Download DRNAS-Native-Blender-Alpha-1.0-arm64.apk from Assets below (NOT a Source code ZIP).
2. Install it on an ARM64 Android device that supports Vulkan; allow app installation through your browser or Files app when Android prompts.
3. On first start, wait for Blender's setup to finish. If prompted, grant All files access so Blender can open or save projects outside its private folder.
4. Stretch screen is enabled automatically on the first launch. You may disable it later: your saved preference will be respected.
5. The DRNAS overlay is English by default. Blender's own menus are controlled separately by Blender Preferences.

This Alpha is packaged as a separate app from the earlier v10 test and PreAlpha. Different app identifiers (and CI signing keys) mean existing project paths/preferences do not automatically transfer; back up your .blend files first.

Where is the controls menu?

Tap ⚙ Settings on the floating shortcut/keyboard bar. The options panel can scroll: drag inside it to reach lower sections and press Close settings ✕ to return to the viewport.

Menu reference

DRNAS-GitHub-under-10MB-1.mp4

Menu item	What it does
DRNAS LANGUAGE	Choose English or Hrvatski for the DRNAS controls. Restart the app to apply all overlay labels. English is the default on first install. This does not translate upstream Blender's own built-in menus.
GPU DRIVER	Pick a compatible bundled GPU driver or System Vulkan (default). Hardware determines what appears. Save your work and restart to apply driver changes. Selecting a driver is not proof of successful GPU initialization.
RESOLUTION	Choose Automatic, Native, or an aspect-correct reduced render-size preset. Restart to apply the chosen rendering preset.
Stretch screen	ON by default on the first start. Uses the full available Android window; can be toggled OFF and back ON. Lower render resolutions scale to the available window while maintaining their aspect ratio.
BUTTON SIZE / KEYBOARD SIZE	Adjust the DRNAS shortcut buttons independently of the floating mouse/zoom window.
MOUSE AND ZOOM SIZE	Resize the LMB/RMB + zoom dock.
Relative mouse / touchpad	ON uses swipe-to-move mouse; OFF uses direct touchscreen input. Use the mouse-speed setting for sensitivity.
Pointer click indicator / Cursor size	Configure the on-screen mouse cursor and click effect.
Smooth zoom / Gesture sensitivity	Configure zoom, pan and gesture response.
BLENDER UI SCALE	Adjust Blender UI density (not Android screen resolution). Restart Blender after changing it.

Floating mini windows and controls

• ⠿ handle: drag the mouse/zoom dock or the shortcut/keyboard dock anywhere. Positions are saved.
• ▾ / ▣ mouse window: minimize to a small grip and restore, useful in Blender's Open/Save dialog.
• LMB / RMB: tap, hold or double-tap to latch where the control supports it; tap again to release a latched button. Controls are released safely when dialogs, editing and lifecycle changes require it.
• ZOOM: use the spring slider, release to stop. Its section can be hidden.
• ⌨ shortcut strip: expand/collapse the shortcut keys (Move G, Rotate R, Scale S, Tab, axes, Undo, Save and others).
• Gear above each group: set group width, height and transparency. The keyboard editor also supports rows and button ordering.
• Android soft keyboard: focus a text or number field in Blender and open the keyboard button. Android IME sends letters, digits and editing keys through Blender's native input bridge. If typing seems stuck, close the keyboard and refocus the field.

To exit: use Android Back or the back/edge gesture; Blender offers save-before-exit confirmation. Do not force-close the app before a save confirms success.

What changed from the v10 test

• First-run Stretch screen = ON (stored only if no prior preference exists; choosing OFF remains persistent).
• Alpha 1.0 app/version naming.
• DRNAS controls start in English with English / Hrvatski in Settings (a restart updates all overlay labels).
• Relative touchpad-to-viewport coordinates and floating compact windows inherited from v10, with v9 Android input/IME fixes.
• APK is repackaged using the same verified native ARM64 Blender library and GPU driver binaries; no native Blender recompilation is required for this UI-only release.

Limitations, credits and support

This is Alpha, so device compatibility, IME focus, pointer positioning in some modal Blender dialogs, driver loading and render quality still require wider device testing. Do not use an Alpha as the only copy of important projects.

The Android native Blender foundation is based on the open-source Blender Android work by simfeo/blender (pinned Android GUI source), with DRNAS-specific Android overlay/packaging changes. Blender is free and open source under the GPL; upstream notices and bundled source/attribution information are retained in the repository.

Please report your Android version, GPU (Adreno/Mali/etc.), what failed, steps to reproduce, and a screenshot or log when practical. GitHub: https://github.com/Frane12/DRNAS-Native-Blender/issues

Native Blender PreAlpha 0.1

Native Blender PreAlpha 0.1 — Android ARM64

PUBLIC PRE-ALPHA · EXPERIMENTAL · TESTING ONLY

Unofficial Android ARM64 Blender lite port with DRNAS native touch controls. Not an official Blender Foundation release. The APK becomes available only after GitHub Actions successfully builds it and verifies its Android signature, packaged native library and runtime assets. A passing build does not imply validated on-device rendering or compatibility.

What's in this pre-alpha?

• Android-native ARM64 Blender lite application and experimental Vulkan 3D viewport path — no Windows / Wine compatibility layer.
• DRNAS native input controls: floating LMB/RMB, zoom, shortcut strip, keyboard inputs and adjustable touch button sizing and placement.
• Android-oriented UI scaling, runtime initialization splash and experimental Adreno 810 profile.
• Back button / edge-swipe exit confirmation. Confirming exit closes the application; save first.
• Cleaner start: no automatic startup-log popup and no default blender-startup.log creation.
• A separate app identity, so it can coexist with DRNAS EMU.

Native Blender vs. DRNAS EMU

DRNAS already has a separate public Blender v1.1 preview using Blender 4.5.14 LTS for Windows ARM64 through a DRNAS Wine/X11/Vulkan compatibility environment. This native pre-alpha experiments with a shorter Android-specific stack, while the EMU preview explores running the fuller Windows desktop workflow.

	Native PreAlpha 0.1	DRNAS EMU Blender v1.1
Executable	Android ARM64 native lite Blender	Windows ARM64 desktop Blender
Runtime	Android GHOST/JNI and native Vulkan path	Android + DRNAS Wine/X11/Vulkan compatibility stack
Windows layer	No	Yes (Windows ARM64 does not imply x86 emulation)
UI	Native Android DRNAS touch overlay	DRNAS Wine/X11 mouse, touch keyboard and display integration
Evidence	Automated source/build/signature checks; broad real-device testing pending	Existing public device preview; basic editing and zoom exercised on Adreno 840
Trade-off	Fewer compatibility layers, but lite feature set and immature integrations	More desktop features, but additional install/runtime/graphics complexity

No FPS, GPU-support or stability advantage is claimed yet. We will compare both approaches with identical scenes on the same hardware.

DRNAS EMU Blender v1.1 public preview · Native project README

Installation and first-run test

1. Download Native-Blender-PreAlpha-0.1-arm64.apk and the included SHA256SUMS.txt from this release once published.
2. Install it on an Android ARM64 phone with suitable Vulkan support. It is separate from EMU.
3. The first launch may unpack runtime files. Do not mistake this setup for a hang without checking whether it progresses.
4. With a copy of a .blend project, test opening/saving, viewport rotation, selection, zoom, LMB/RMB and Android Back handling.
5. Report reproducible issues with device / Android version / GPU / build / reproduction steps / screenshots or optional logs at GitHub Issues.

Read before use: crashes, incomplete features, missing add-ons, incorrect rendering, Vulkan driver problems, unresponsive secondary windows, high memory use and device-specific incompatibilities are possible. This is not feature-equivalent to desktop Blender, and rendering has not been certified. Back up projects before testing. Unsaved edits will be lost if you confirm Exit. The APK is CI/debug signed; updates may fail if the signing certificate changes. Back up files before removing older test installs.

Next milestones

1. PreAlpha 0.1 feedback: real hardware first frame, cold/warm launch, cube manipulation, files, crashes and control ergonomics.
2. Native GPU testing: Vulkan correctness, Adreno profiles and carefully scoped testing on other supported GPU families; prioritize reproducible results over unsupported acceleration claims.
3. Editing workflow polish: file picker/storage, touch customization, responsive secondary windows, render-window exit and lifecycle recovery.
4. Benchmarked comparison: native vs. DRNAS EMU on the same device + same .blend scene, measuring FPS/frametime, startup, RAM, thermal load and feature parity.
5. PreAlpha 0.2+ only after evidence: fix highest-impact failures, improve incremental build caching and maintain device/test matrix and changelog.

Files and reproducibility

• Native-Blender-PreAlpha-0.1-arm64.apk — experimental arm64 Android application
• SHA256SUMS.txt — downloaded asset checksum
• SOURCE-ATTRIBUTION.txt — source and licensing attribution

Upstream Android source: simfeo/blender pinned to d93bd33cba768e19ee4387a31c0ea137ee2f0047. DRNAS native modifications: public patch scripts. Build workflow documents APK compilation and verification. Blender is subject to applicable upstream GPL terms; retain the original licenses and copyright notices.

Independent community effort by DRNAS · experimental research release · no upstream endorsement.