DreamSDK R4 (4.0.11.2508)

DreamSDK R4

This release is the result of a 2-year wait, sorry about that. However, this is an important release because it brings very important structural changes, including the ability to choose between the MinGW/MSYS environment (the legacy one) and the modern MinGW-w64/MSYS2 environment. The built-in toolchains have been recompiled recently and many profiles are provided. Windows XP is still supported using the MinGW/MSYS foundation.

Note

Download the desired package format below. There is no difference between zip or iso packages.

Added

• New foundation based on MinGW-w64/MSYS2. This is only available from Windows 10 x64 and significantly increases the size of the environment, however, it significantly increases compatibility with KallistiOS and modern development in general.
• Code::Blocks 25.03 is now supported.
• In DreamSDK Manager, there is an automatic Check for update feature which triggers every 7 days. It could be disabled as well in the tool.
• In DreamSDK Manager, it's now possible to check which external tool the environment is using (i.e., git, python, meson, ruby and cmake).
• The KallistiOS wrappers were converted into real Windows binaries, making them available to Batch files or IDEs (e.g., kos-cc.exe, dc-arm-cc.exe). Those are based on DreamSDK Runner.
• Support for CMake and Meson.
• The kosports helper supports the refresh operation now; this one updates the referential files used in the Code::Blocks integration while creating a project using the DreamSDK Wizard in Code::Blocks.

Improved

• All RTF documentation has been migrated to HTML as Wordpad isn't provided anymore on Windows 11 (e.g., this applies to the Getting Started guide).
• In DreamSDK Manager, when the offline versions of repositories are used, the exact version number, including source host, is displayed.
• In DreamSDK Manager, the CMake builds are now properly tracked by the progress bar.

Fixed

• In DreamSDK Manager, the KallistiOS library was not properly detected; same for the KallistiOS changelog.
• The ABI message displayed in DreamSDK R3 has been fixed (by recompiling the SuperH toolchains).
• Various issues in thread management in DreamSDK Manager that could happens while cancelling a pending operation.
• Various issues in installation of the Code::Blocks integration.
• Code::Blocks Wizard integration has been fixed (some libraries were not properly added while creating a project using the DreamSDK Wizard).

Updated

• All SuperH toolchains were updated. The profile names are now aligned with KallistiOS (i.e., Stable profile has the same meaning in DreamSDK and in
  KallistiOS). Depending of the chosen foundation (i.e., MinGW/MSYS or MinGW-w64/MSYS2), the choice will be:

  • For MinGW-w64/MSYS2 (x64):

    • Stable, i.e., GCC 13.2.0 with Newlib 4.3.0.20230120.
    • 13.4.0, with Newlib 4.5.0.20241231.
    • 14.3.0, with Newlib 4.5.0.20241231.
    • 15.1.0, with Newlib 4.5.0.20241231.

  • For MinGW/MSYS (x86):

    • 10.5.0, with Newlib 4.3.0.20230120.
    • 9.5.0-winxp, with Newlib 4.3.0.20230120.

• GNU Debugger (GDB) has been updated to 16.3 for MinGW-w64/MSYS2 (x64). It's possible to choose between no Python (disabled) or Python 3.13.

• In the profile.d directory (which transform a standard MinGW/MSYS or MinGW-w64/MSYS2 into DreamSDK), the script has been updated to manage both
  foundation environment with a single code base. This applies in different part of DreamSDK as well.

• Various refactorings that improve stability (e.g., enumcom, the component listing COM ports, is now a real library instead of an executable embedded in DreamSDK).

Removed

• The parts of DreamSDK supporting mruby have been removed since mruby is now an official port in kos-ports.
• elf2bin was removed as its now officially in KallistiOS.
• Subversion (SVN) is not supported anymore.

Known bugs

• In Code::Blocks, when creating a project with the DreamSDK Wizard, during the first generation it is necessary to select a build configuration (Debug or Release) manually in order to enable the correct mechanisms in
  Code::Blocks. This only happens when creating the project.
• The provided help (DreamSDK Help) has not yet been updated, this will be done later in a future release.

DreamSDK R3 (3.0.4.2311)

DreamSDK is a modern, ready-to-use environment for the Sega Dreamcast development designed for the Microsoft Windows platform.

Almost everything changed with that version, this is a complete, long waited revamp of the previous package!

Added

• Experimental Ruby support! This feature uses mruby (lightweight, embeddable Ruby). This feature is handled in DreamSDK Manager through the Ruby tab.
• Some useful links were added in the Windows Start menu.
• Support of CDFS images in Code::Blocks: You have now the possibility to simulate a virtual CD-ROM through an ISO file, when selecting the appropriate option when creating a project in Code::Blocks.
• Support for libkosfat/navi addon libraries.
• You have now the possibility to manage Code::Blocks in DreamSDK Manager.
• Support for Windows Terminal (if available).
• The USB baud rates for Dreamcast Tool Serial are now supported.
• Additional tools (e.g., curl) and libraries (e.g., libelf) are now available.
• This CHANGELOG file to hopefully serve as an evolving example of a standardized open source project CHANGELOG.

Improved

• An offline version of KallistiOS, KallistiOS Ports and Dreamcast Tool are now integrated in the package. But it's strongly recommanded to use the online repositories!
• Better handling of prerequisites: Git, Python and Subversion Client (SVN) are not mandatory in all the cases, this depends now of your choice. Git is mandatory only if you use online repositories, Python and Subversion Client are always optional but preferred if you have the possibility to install these dependencies.
• When installing Code::Blocks, the process of updating user's configuration files is better. Now the Setup process detects all usable configuration files and patch them if possible.
• In the DreamSDK Manager tool, URL for the Git repositories may be changed now, even if the installation was already done.
• Better support for ARP (creation of the tool FastARP). It uses the classic arp command in Windows XP and netsh in modern Windows.
• MakeDisc: The bootstrap parameter is now optional. It will try to detect the IP.BIN from the current directory or directly in the directory where the 1ST_READ.BIN file is located.
• It's now possible to select the toolchains you want to use directly from the DreamSDK Manager instead of making your choice in the Setup. You have the possibility to choose between Legacy, Old Stable and Stable
  toolchains.
• The installation of GNU Debugger (GDB) for SuperH is better; and Python extensions may be enabled/disabled on user request (previously, GDB for SuperH was linked to Python 2.7 only, so Python was mandatory).
• Removing some outdated packages provided by MSYS and replacing them with standalone packages.
  • GNU Awk: From 3.1.7 to 4.0.1 (provided here)
  • MinTTY: From 1.0.3 to 3.5.0 (using official MinTTY source)
  • Wget: From 1.12 to 1.19.4 (provided by Jernej Simončič)
• The COM ports list used for Dreamcast Tool Serial is now dynamic and not
  hardcoded anymore.

Fixed

• Some fixes in Code::Blocks:
  • An issue when generating Romdisk from projects with spaces in their name has been fixed.
  • Static library project type is now fully supported.
• MakeDisc: An little cosmetic problem has been fixed.
• Tons of various fixes, including specific things for Windows 10+; mainly related to User Account Control (UAC).

Updated

• MinTTY is now the default shell (you can still use Windows Prompt).
• GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) for SuperH and AICA is now 4.7.4 (Legacy), 9.5.0 for SuperH and 8.5.0 for ARM (Old Stable) and 13.2.0 for SuperH (Stable). Stable is the toolchain selected by default, but this one requires a modern OS (if you are on Windows XP, you can select Old Stable at maximum).
• GNU Compiler Collection (GCC) for Win32 is now 9.2.0.
• GNU Debugger (GDB) for SuperH is now 10.2.
• DreamSDK Manager was updated to display more useful information like repositories versions or environment information.
• The help file was updated to reflect all the changes of this release.
• The JPEG library (libjpeg) is now 9d.
• The PNG library (libpng) is now 1.6.37.
• Some optional tools before are now mandatory and installed by default (e.g., img4dc).

Removed

• The IPCreate tool was removed, as the standard KallistiOS repository contains now the modernized IP creator (makeip) tool.

Know bugs

• Sometimes the CTRL+C command is not working properly (no effect instead of killing the current process). This isn't really known why this happens, it looks like this issue is in the original MSYS tool as well.