Release Version 3.0.0: GameSwitcher

Updating

Known Bugs:

• NDS/Drastic does not work with the joystick; a fix is incoming.

• Auto EmuFresh sometimes doesn't run properly, IF RESTARTING DOESN'T WORK, using the File Management App navigate to Emu/.emu_setup/ and delete the md5 folder. This will force EmuFresh to run and should solve the issue for you. A fix/workaround is incoming.

We now have an auto updater package available with the 3.0.0 release. This will update you to the latest version and keep all your user data.

1. Download the "EZ.Updater.spruceV3.0.0.zip".
2. Extract this file directly onto your microSD card.
3. Turn on your A30.
4. Go to the `"Apps" section and find the "spruce Updater" app and click on it.

It will go through the update process automatically! After it runs and a successful backup of your data it will update and shutdown your device. All you need to do is turn it back on and you're on the latest version of Spruce. It is as EZ as that!

For more information, check the wiki.

**The other .zip and .7z files are for fresh installs. **

Spruce 3.0.0 is a massive overhaul, with a major new addition GAMESWITCHER!!!

We hope you like it, happy gaming..........

-The spruce Team

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Check out our repo of various free games and ports!

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Wiki additions and edits will be coming slowly, please feel free to reach out to me with questions
-SundownerSport

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Spruce 3.0.0: The Game Switcher update

Changes/Additions:

• Game Switcher: This can be used by holding the home key while using a game. Currently, the only games available in the Game Switcher will be those that you intentionally add to it, which is done by launching the Game Switcher while in-game.(They can also be removed with Y while in GS.) We took this approach so it's not filled with games you don't care about, or only those you have recently opened. This is highly configurable with a lot of options in the new Advanced Settings app. This is our initial version so we'll be looking at feedback for future updates. (Oscar, Ry, Cinethezs)
• New Advanced Settings app: This has replaced a number of previous standalone apps, and is where you can set specific settings for the system, including some RetroArch settings, enabling Network apps (Such as Syncthing, Samba, SSH), and selecting which apps are visible in your apps folder. (Oscar)
• AutoSave/Shutdown/Resume: Moved to holding the power key. Now when holding the power key, you will get an autosave and shutdown screen. This is compatible with PPSSPP, DraStic and RA emulators. (When the A30 vibrates, it's entering auto save; holding it longer will initiate a force shutdown, so let go when it vibrates) (Team Effort)
• Syncthing Sync Checker: This is a new approach to Syncthing we are trying out. Our hope is this becomes a gold standard for Syncthing implementations. When Syncthing is configured and enabled (In Advanced Settings), we will now show a screen and check that your Syncthing state is synced, when shutting down, launching games, or resuming from shutdown. This will allow you to safely shutdown mid game and be sure the save/state is synced with other devices. On auto resume it will also check the sync state so you can be sure you’re playing the latest version. (Basecase - Stefan Ayala)
• Samba: InAdvanced Settings > Network tab you’ll find Samba. You can connect to this by going to your A30’s IP address in a file explorer, like “\10.0.0.10” Username ‘root’ Password ‘tina’. (FragBait)
• ThemeUnpacker: Going forward themes will come packed to allow a smaller install size and faster transfers! If any packed themes are found on startup they'll be automatically unpacked for use. (XanXic)
• Firmware Update App: This is a new app that will only show to users who aren’t on the latest version. If you see this in your apps, that’s you! This should walk you through preparing your A30 for the current Miyoo firmware update, which includes vital improvements to the A30’s WiFi capabilities. (Ry)
• AutoUpdater App: This app will show when you have a proper update file on your SD card. This is only going to be useful to you for the next update, but it can be used to reinstall much cleaner. This is also a huge hurdle done for future OTA updates. (XanXic)
• Multiple Wifi Networks: We now support multiple wifi networks on the A30. There are two implementations. One is to predefine them in the multipass.cfg file before startup. This will be consumed and deleted on startup. Otherwise setting your wifi through the A30’s native settings screen will now save to a list. If this causes issues a “Forget wifi networks” task exists in Advanced Settings (Cinethezs, FragBait, Ry)
• Battery Percent Display: Toggled in the Settings app. We can now show the percentage of the battery in the corner next to the icon (Cinethezs)
• Sync RTC with network: This is a new setting in Advanced Settings. It will automatically sync your system and RTC time based on your IP’s geolocation. (FragBait, XanXic)
• Disabled Wifi/Network apps in game: New in the settings app, you can now set it so wifi and/or network apps shutdown automatically while in game and will resume when you exit. (FragBait)
• Shutdown when Idle: This is a setting in the settings app. Set an amount of time when idle to save/shutdown the A30 automatically. By default, your A30 will power down when inactive for (5) minutes at the main menu, or (30) minutes within a supported emulator (adjustable in settings) to conserve battery. (FragBait)
• Code and CPU optimizations and other under-the-hood Emu changes.
• New"Smart" CPU mode- no more need to micromanage clock speeds- the A30 will do it for you! This is the new default, spruce-recommended setting for all supported systems. (Ry)
• Cleaned up X button menu in game list. (Ry)
• Added ability to set cores and CPU mode on per-game basis in X button menu. (Ry)
• Added additional core options for systems and core changes (Ry, Cobalt, KMFDManic, Metallic77):
  • FDS: Nestopia added
  • 32X: Genesis Plus GX added
  • N64: KMLudicrousN64 Xtreme Amped, KM Parallel X-A Turbo
  • Amiga default core changed to UAE4ARM
  • Atari ST added (Hatari core)
  • SG-1000/SMS/GG default core changed to Genesis Plus GX
  • PSX:Duckswanstation Xtreme Amped added
• Moved Splore (Pico-8) out of Apps and into top of Pico-8 game list. (Ry)
• New unified Hotkeys configured for RetroArch, we updated them to what we would consider a 'common' layout and to make them compatible with our new use of the home key. (Ry)
  • SELECT+A=Screenshot
  • SELECT+B=Exit toMainUI
  • SELECT+X=OpenMenu
  • SELECT+Y=ToggleFPS
  • SELECT+L1=LoadState
  • SELECT+R1=SaveState
  • SELECT+L2=Toggle Slow Motion
  • SELECT+R2=Toggle Fast Forward
  • SELECT+Up=Toggle on/off current shader
  • SELECT+Left/Right = Cycle through state slots
• Enabled the ability to download certain things in RetroArch like system files, assets, and free content. (Ry)
• Automatic Icon refresh: previously this required running an app. This will now happen when you change themes; app removed. (XanXic)
• Automatic EmuFresh: previously this required running an app. When a change is detected with your rom set this will refresh the rom and console list automatically. (Ry, Oscar, Alpha)
• Automatic Install Heal attempt: This is a script that runs in a few places, like launching an app or game that will check your install and make an attempt to heal/fix it. (Ry)
• PPSSPP: Underclock setting updated and disabled anisotropic filtering to improve performance. (Cobalt)
• Spruce Backup/Restore: updated to move Pico 8 bios and Syncthing configs to their
  new locations. (XanXic)
• Dingux/File Manger: Themed to match Spruce’s theme. (Cinethezs)
• Italian and Albanian languages added. (369px)
• New Shaders added. (Metallic77)
• Addedversion number to translation files that we'll keep up to date hopefully. (Ry)
• Logs updated to make a new log file on boot and keep the last 5 boot cycles. These can be helpful for the Spruce team to help you with issues, so be sure to grab them if you have problems. General logger improvements. (XanXic)
• Credits app added. (App by Cinethezs, Music: Sweater Ass Sounding Ass (Demo) and Sir Daniel Bonaduce (Demo) by Our Ghosts, ourghosts.bandcamp.com)
• Moved FFPlay & Videos folders to Media; small improvements to FFPlay (SundownerSport, XanXic)
• Syncthing App removed, code remade, and integrated more deeply into spruce and hooks for Syncthing Sync Checker (XanXic)
• Cosy Theme added (KyleBing)
• New binary for showing images (Cinethezs)
• New binary for file changes (Inotify) (Cinethezs, Oscar)
• Unified all our on screen information screens, paving the path for theming them dynamically in the next update (Cinethezs, Ry, XanXic)
• New high resolution icons added and utilized (Sundowner, Ry) (Icons provided by Icons8.com, and with official support given to the Spruce team.)
• Further reduced spruce's install size (Team effort)

Bug Fixes/Removals:

• Off the bat, tons of under the hood improvements to performance and reliability. You should see improved boot and game launch times compared to 2.3.0. In some cases drastically improved.
• A lot of standalone apps were removed and moved into our new Advanced Settings Apps. These include EmuFresh, Expert App Switch, IconFresh, LEDOn, RecentSwitch, RetroExpert, SSH, Syncthing, and Wifi File Transfer. (XanXic)
• SpruceBackup made self reliant so it can be used in a broken state (XanXic)
• Lowpowerwarning: Reduced vibration to just two cycles, LED will continue to blink until...

Unbricker

Unbricker image.

FW0713

Archive.org is down and we need to host this file somewhere else for now. It is just the regular wifi fix FW. Same as is already included in the spruce folder of V2.3.0.

spruce Release Version 2.3.0

spruce Release version 2.3.0

There are quite a few changes, some obvious and some under the hood. We have basically overhauled spruce and set ourselves up for more additions and changes to come later.

Quicksave/Shutdown/Resume no longer requires confirmation. Just hold select for 2 seconds while in a game and it will save and shutdown.

Most importantly, the Spruce Backup and Spruce Restore Apps will allow you to update to future releases without manual backing up of your settings and some saves! So update now, so you have backup available to you when the next release rolls around. Updating will be much simpler going forward and allow you to hold onto more of your settings and setups.

UPDATING INSTRUCTIONS:
-(optional) Syncthing: Back-up a copy of your config folder in the App/Syncthing. (Only keep the config folder!)
-Delete everything on your SD card except for the ".config" "BIOS", "Emu", "Roms" and "Saves" folders.
-Place the entire contents of the latest spruce zip folder onto your SD card allowing any files to overwrite when prompted.
-(optional)Copy/paste your backup of the Syncthing config folder back into the App/Syncthing folder.
-(optional)Copy/paste your .config folder back onto the root, allowing any files to overwrite.

New Features

Added Ukrainian Language Files
SSH App added
ExpertAppSwitch App
    Integrated applications: LEDon, BootLogo, MiyooGamelist, RetroExpert, FileManagement, sftpgo, SSH, Syncthing, RecentSwitch.
New Logging Functionality
    Logs output to spruce.log in the new spruce folder, covering:
        Startup (runtime.sh)
        AutoSave and Resume
        FirstBoot code
        Syncthing
        Backup/Restore (Each in their own log for ease of reading)
        WiFi File Transfer
        Helper scripts
spruceBackup and spruceRestore Apps
        Things being backed up:
                  Syncthing config
                  Pico 8 bios
                  PSP Save data+states and app settings
                  Retroarch configs: main config, core configs within the retroarch expert swaps and the core other configs
                  Retroarch Overlays (Excluding Onion-Spruce, drkhrse, and Jelotron), 
                  SSH keys, 
                  NDS "backup" and "savestates"

Improvements

First Boot Logic
    Reversed first_boot_flag logic to ensure first boot procedure occurs after updates.
Emu Folder Maintenance
    Added .tmp_update/emu_setup/* and .tmp_update/scripts/emu_setup.sh for easier Emu folder updates.
CPU Speed Adjustments
    Optimized CPU speeds for better battery life on certain systems.
New App Icons
Network App Consistency
    Enabled network apps (WiFi File Transfer, SSH, Syncthing) to function after reboot and save/resume.
Automatic Icon Switching
    Icons now change automatically when the theme is changed.
New Hotkey Presets for Retroarch Expert Mode
    Hotkey enable: Menu button
    RA Menu toggle: Menu+X
    Quit RA: Hold Select 2 seconds (quick shutdown+resume)
    Quit RA: Menu+Start
    Fast Forward toggle: Menu+R2
    Slow Motion toggle: Menu+L2
    Load State: Menu+L1
    Save State: Menu+R1
    Next State Slot: Menu+Right
    Prev Save Slot: Menu+Left
    Take Screenshot: Menu+A
    Show FPS: Menu+Y

Changes

Removed Unnecessary Assets
    Deleted RetroArch menu assets for unsupported systems (Xbox, Wii U, PS4).
Ports Fix
    Changed the binary used to launch LibRetro Ports to fix Miyoo in-game menu freezes.
Updated Default Settings
    Set chimerasnes core as the default for SFC.
    Changed the default aspect ratio for Final Burn Neo to core provided to prevent game stretching.

User Experience Enhancements

Vibration Feedback
    Added vibration prompts for certain actions, such as shutting down from AutoShutdown+resume.
Improved Acknowledge Functionality
    New functionality added for user input acknowledgment in various features.
New MinUInspired Theme
    Added a grey theme for improved aesthetics.
Overlay Cleanup
    Cleaned up overlay and filter directories to remove broken and duplicate entries.

Technical Adjustments

First Boot Icon Changes
    Changed firstboot.sh to run iconfresh with updated backgrounds.
FTP Capability
    Added ability to FTP to the device with SFTPGO (WiFi File Transfer App) enabled.
Rebuilt Network Apps
    Improved network app performance, particularly for Syncthing.
Adjusted Minimum Cores Requirement
    Minimum cores raised to 2 for better performance management.
Dynamic Text Overlay Capability
    Introduced functionality for dynamically overlaying and styling text over UI elements.

spruce Release Version 2.2.2

I have changed the Updating Instructions! (again...)

https://github.com/spruceUI/spruceOS/wiki/Updating-to-the-Latest-Release

Syncthing is fixed!

Retroachievement users will now have a delay on boot up from Quick-Save/Shutdown to connect to wifi!

Some other things as well.

I will update this change log later.

A huge thank you to the team, there was quite a few other fixes made!

spruce Release Version 2.2.1

Random Game and LED Control Apps (Cinethezs & tenlevels).

New Random Game feature in the X menu (Decojon).

Reconfigured Emu folders allowing for per game choices of cores and CPU speed, some assembly required (Ry).

New "Avocado" Theme (Sky_Walker).

Keymon and MainUI changes (Decojon).

Quick-Save/Resume Volume change (Decojon).

Script clean up etc for faster boot and smoother running (Oscarkcau & Decojon).

Featured new game: Dino Jump (Peter Siroki).

CaveStory, Dinothawr, Mr. Boom and Pong Ports added (Ry).

A huge thank you to tenlevels, he stepped in at our time of crisis and solved a major issue for us. You rock man!

spruce Release Version 2.1

WOW it's been a trip doing this (mostly) without tenlevels. He really did so much more than I ever knew and I am finally finding that out now! Thank you tenlevels! After renegotiating his contract with spruceOS LLC, I managed to pull him out of retirement for an All-Star VIP performance. Our budget has been rocked but it was worth every penny.

If you find a problem please message me or open an Issue on GitHub.

-SundownerSport

The wiki and main Readme will get updated soon to include the new features........

NEW APPS!
-Rayon: Box Art Scraper.

-Veckia9x: WiFi File Transfer.
The Username: spruce
The Password: happygaming

Turn on the App on the A30 (with WiFi on and connected) and open a browser on your computer.
Type your devices IP address (listed in the Settings menu) and ":8080"
Ex: 99.9.9.999:8080 or 999.999.9.9:8080
Then login using the username and password above.

PORTS COLLECTION! its a separate file.

Changes:
-Tenlevels: Ports Collection, New Icons and Sleep Display Fix!
-Reverted quick-save/game-resume control to be "Hold Select 2 Seconds".
-BaseInfinity: Added mgba option to GB and GBC for easier Syncthing use.
-SamuraiCowboy Darkhorse: Custom overlays.
-Dubious1: Added Arduboy and made additional icons.
-Ry: Minor ports tweaks; updated default controls for doom to work with analog stick; added 2048 to ports.
-Oscarkcau, tenlevels and SundownerSport: Low power warning.
-DC, PSP, N64 are now preset to 1344cpu speed with the option to Overclock.
-Atari800: TapperP.
-Probably more that I forgot about......

As always,

Happy gaming..........

spruce Release Version 2.0

New Syncthing App!

Emu Fresh now deletes miyoogamelist.xml files

There is one major controls change:

To quit a game press Start+Select at the same time.

This will bring up a screen with the option to:
Press B to return to game menu.
Press Start to auto-save and shutdown.

spruce Release Version 1.4.3

Release Version 1.4.3