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Console Observatory 0.6.0: explore by selecting, with a detailed hardware reference

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@github-actions github-actions released this 06 Oct 19:17
v0.6.0
80e8b2c
This commit was created on GitHub.com and signed with GitHub’s verified signature.
GPG key ID: B5690EEEBB952194
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Learn about vigilant mode.

Select something in the running Game Boy and learn what it is, how it works,
and how it connects to the rest of the machine. Selection info replaces
the guided tutorials and works with every ROM, including both original
bundled examples.

What's new

  • Detailed contextual information for memory, registers, flags, sprites,
    tiles, map cells, system components, cartridge banks, and captured writes.
    The panel follows the most recent selection and separates observed values
    from the general explanation.
  • 38 linked hardware topics covering the memory map and each region,
    instruction/register/stack basics, cartridge banks and saves, graphics,
    palettes, scrolling, windows, DMA, input, interrupts, timers, audio, serial,
    boot mapping, and the times and limits of inspection. Each article explains
    the mechanism, its use in games, and how to read the inspector.
  • Background and window map views: inspect either 32×32 map or the map
    selected by LCDC. Click a cell to follow its storage byte and resolved tile
    pattern, including signed addressing. These are current-storage
    reconstructions, with their limits clearly labeled.
  • Related links, topic browsing, and Back/Forward reading history.
    Execution updates the small facts label without resetting the article or
    its scroll position. Reading never starts a tutorial or replaces your ROM.
  • F1 restores Selection info. Reading navigation keeps arrow keys for the
    reader; the game controls still work in the other inspectors.

The star and bank-switching examples remain playable from File → Bundled
examples. There are no guided-step controls or automatically held demo inputs.
Save-safety and inspection fixes from 0.5.0 are retained.

Download

Platform File Run
Windows 10/11 x64 console-observatory-0.6.0-windows-x64.zip Unzip and run console-observatory.exe.
Ubuntu 24.04 x86-64 console-observatory_0.6.0_amd64.deb sudo apt install ./console-observatory_0.6.0_amd64.deb

SHA256SUMS.txt contains package checksums. The Windows package is unsigned.
No commercial game or proprietary boot ROM is included. Normal use is offline.

The release workflow builds both packages from one commit and publishes only
after native tests, Linux AddressSanitizer checks, packaging, and the clean
Windows packaged launch succeed. Detailed evidence is in docs/VERIFICATION.md.

Scope

Original monochrome Game Boy (DMG), native Qt Widgets. Map/tile views use
current storage, not historical pixel provenance. Audio playback, replay,
save states, Game Boy Color mode, and link-cable sessions remain unimplemented.

Assets 5
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