Roadmap

Roadmap

This page outlines the historical engine-lineage development, current status, and the forward path for RustyNES.

Current Status

Current release: RustyNES v1.9.9 "Workshop" RustyNES is a multi-platform emulation suite built on a single, byte-identical cycle-accurate core (Mesen2 / higan / ares accuracy bar: 100% AccuracyCoin). The project includes a desktop application, Android/iOS hosts, and a libretro core.

Features include:

• Cycle-accurate lockstep CPU/PPU scheduling.
• 172 mapper families supported.
• Robust developer/TAS tooling (piano-roll TAStudio, event-viewer heatmap, memory/PPU debuggers).
• Cross-platform determinism (Android, iOS, WebAssembly, Libretro, Desktop).
• Native RetroAchievements, direct-IP/LAN room-code netplay, rollback, and run-ahead support.
• Lua scripting engine.
• HD-Pack builder and expansion audio (VRC6, Sunsoft 5B, Namco 163, MMC5, VRC7, FDS).

The Path to v2.0.0 and Beyond

v2.0.0 "Timebase" (Future)

The integer/fractional master-clock timebase refactor (ADR 0002) is the next major architectural milestone. It replaces the "3 PPU dots per CPU cycle" integer-lockstep model with an exact integer master clock (Mesen2's fractional model) to adjust the phase relationship between CPU and PPU. This breaking change closes hard-tier accuracy residuals (e.g., C1 IRQ-sample cases, $2002 NMI-suppression sub-cycle race, PAL 3.2:1 ratio).

v2.1.0 Mobile Finalization (Future)

Following the v2.0.0 "Timebase" refactor, the mobile apps (Android and iOS) will undergo finalization and QA for their official app store launches.

• Android: Flavor split into foss (F-Droid/sideload) and play (Google Play with proprietary SDKs).
• iOS: Transitioning from TestFlight to the Apple App Store and AltStore PAL.
• Monetization: An ad-supported freemium model via AppLovin MAX and RevenueCat, with a one-time unlock for premium features.

Beyond v2.0.0

• Browser/WASM Lua Maturity: Bring the web piccolo backend closer to native feature parity.
• Browser RetroAchievements: Complete the wasm trampoline marshalling and live-browser verification for the web port.
• Vs. DualSystem Emulation: Full two-CPU/two-PPU dual-console emulation.
• Long-tail Mapper Coverage: Expand coverage toward the full ~300-mapper set for 100% TASVideos compatibility.

Engine Lineage (Historical)

The internal engine line (v0.9.x → v2.x markers) produced the v1.0.0 technology. The engine-lineage "v2.0" master-clock work already shipped inside the RustyNES v1.0.0 core and took AccuracyCoin to 100%. The forward RustyNES v2.0.0 "Timebase" is a different milestone.

See CHANGELOG.md for a complete history of all release versions.