FE8 Extended Frontend 0.2.2

0.2.2

New mouse pointer

• The blue tactician pointer is replaced by a white pixel-art arrow with a dark
  plum outline that stays readable over grass, plains, forests and menus.
• The pointer is half its former size and is drawn at full display resolution,
  so it stays sharp on Retina and other high-DPI displays. It is the same size
  on the map, in menus and in dialogue, and no longer grows with map zoom.
• Mouse Cursor Sprite by Squidjees on Fire Emblem Universe.

macOS interface polish

• Redesigned game library with a toolbar, an empty-library drop target, last
  played and save status per game, and Show Saves in Finder.
• Settings are organized into General, Video, Controls and Hotkeys tabs.
• A View menu holds the extended-renderer toggle, video shader presets and
  Adjust Shader…, which tunes the active preset's parameters live.

Downloads

• Windows x64: Extract the ZIP and open bin/fe8-mgba-sdl.exe, then add
  your own .gba ROM and choose Play.
• macOS arm64: Apple Silicon application with its SDL runtime bundled.
  Extract the ZIP and move the app to Applications. Ad-hoc signed, not notarized.
• Linux x86-64: Built on Ubuntu 24.04. Install runtime dependencies with
  sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libfreetype6 fonts-dejavu-core zlib1g, then
  run ./fe8-mgba-sdl --rom /path/to/game.gba from a graphical desktop.
• Source with mGBA: Includes the pinned emulator source.
• SHA256SUMS.txt: SHA-256 checksums for the four downloads.

No ROMs or game assets are included.

Release checks passed: Windows 34/34, macOS 34/34, Linux 32/32 tests; packaged executable startup checks passed on all three platforms.

Full changelog: v0.2.1...v0.2.2

FE8 Extended Frontend 0.2.1

0.2.1

Windows desktop support

• Double-clicking the executable now opens a persistent ROM library with Add
  ROM, Play, Resume State, Remove entry, and Save folder controls.
• Games have native File, State, Settings, Armory, and Help menus. Settings
  include audio, VSync, extended rendering, mouse controls, fast-forward speed,
  zoom sensitivity, and keyboard/hotkey bindings.
• Library launches automatically configure isolated cartridge saves and quick
  states by ROM SHA-1. Existing sibling cartridge saves are imported once.
• Startup failures show an error with a log location instead of disappearing.
• Command-line launch remains supported. CRT shaders remain macOS-only.

Extract the Windows ZIP and open bin/fe8-mgba-sdl.exe. Add your own .gba ROM
and choose Play. Use State > Quick save before trying Resume State.

Validation

Windows tests cover Unicode ROM paths, stable per-ROM save locations, and CLI
dispatch. A hidden-window regression test checks library import/persistence,
reference-only removal, native menu contents, settings persistence, and save/load
callback dispatch without showing windows or sending desktop input.

No ROMs or game assets are included.

Release checks passed: Windows 34/34, macOS 34/34, Linux 32/32 tests; packaged executable startup checks passed on all three platforms.

Full changelog: v0.2.0...v0.2.1

0.2.0

FE8 Extended Frontend 0.2.0

This beta release adds Windows x64 support alongside macOS and Linux.

Changes

• Add a portable Windows executable with statically linked SDL2, FreeType,
  zlib, and the Visual C++ runtime.
• Add a PowerShell build script and Windows CI, including the full unit-test
  suite and command-line startup check.
• Build Windows releases from a Mac through GitHub Actions, with no local
  Windows toolchain required.
• Fix static mGBA compile definitions for consumers, use C11 for the tests,
  and make large test fixtures work with Windows' default stack size.

Downloads

• Windows x64: Extract the ZIP. From PowerShell in the extracted directory,
  run ./bin/fe8-mgba-sdl.exe --rom 'C:/Games/fireemblem8.gba'.
  Add --save 'C:/Games/fireemblem8.sav' and
  --quick-state 'C:/Games/fireemblem8.ss' for explicit save paths.
• macOS arm64: Apple Silicon application with its SDL runtime bundled.
  Extract the ZIP and move the app to Applications. Ad-hoc signed, not notarized.
• Linux x86-64: Built on Ubuntu 24.04. Install runtime dependencies with
  sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libfreetype6 fonts-dejavu-core zlib1g, then
  run ./fe8-mgba-sdl --rom /path/to/game.gba from a graphical desktop.
• Source with mGBA: Includes the pinned emulator source and the frontend's
  build-time compatibility fix. Upstream cinema test fixtures are omitted.
• SHA256SUMS.txt: SHA-256 checksums for the four downloads.

Scope

Windows uses the SDL game window and desktop Armory. The native game library,
settings menus, and OpenGL shader presets remain macOS-only. Extended rendering
and Armory support depend on the ROM profile. ROMs and save files are not included;
gameplay validation of the Windows build still requires a user-supplied ROM.

mGBA is pinned to afd6f14eaf8bd35214ed3fb9dc69a92bfc3877a9.

Full changelog: v0.1.0...v0.2.0

Validation

The release builds passed all 32 Windows tests, 34 macOS tests, and 32 Linux tests, plus platform packaging and command-line startup checks. The downloaded Windows executable was also launched successfully and depends only on Windows system DLLs. The downloaded macOS package reports version 0.2.0 and includes both SDL2 and SDL3 runtimes.

Built from commit fe85b237b68604ccd840dd1595d923eb35b64b6c by release build 35045036514.

0.1.0

FE8 Extended Frontend 0.1.0

The beta release of the extended-map frontend for Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones and compatible FE8U ROM hacks.

Beta highlights

• Extended terrain and standing units beyond the original GBA frame, with pointer-anchored zoom, map panning, mouse controls, and the native game frame preserved.
• Desktop Armory with army-wide search, by-unit loadouts, pinned allies, drag-and-drop transfers, explicit swaps, and session undo.
• ROM-aware item help, usability restrictions, weapon comparisons, and verified equipment and skill modifiers for supported Archanae and Sacred Echoes profiles.
• Native macOS game library with separate saves per ROM, configurable controls, fast-forward, save states, and video presets; portable Linux command-line frontend.

Changes since 0.0.2

• Keep the native tactical HUD anchored independently of map pan and zoom.
• Restore the anchored HUD after returning from native unit screens.
• Fix dark off-screen terrain during map palette discovery.
• Add an optional real-ROM Archanae map-loading regression with a native PPU pixel oracle and document full-app A/B validation.
• Add project credits to the README.

Downloads

• macOS arm64: Apple Silicon app with the SDL2 compatibility layer and its SDL3 runtime bundled. Extract the ZIP and move the app to Applications. Ad-hoc signed; not notarized.
• Linux x86-64: Built on Ubuntu 24.04; requires glibc 2.39 or newer. Install runtime dependencies with sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libfreetype6 fonts-dejavu-core zlib1g, then run ./fe8-mgba-sdl --rom /path/to/game.gba from a graphical desktop.
• Source with mGBA: Includes the pinned emulator source and the frontend's build-time compatibility fix. Use this archive for a source build without fetching the mGBA submodule. Upstream cinema test fixtures are omitted.
• SHA256SUMS.txt: Checksums for all three downloads.

Validation

All 34 local macOS tests passed. Both release builds passed their platform test suites, dependency checks, and command-line startup checks. The macOS bundle signature and 0.1.0 version metadata were also verified after download. Packaging verifies that the SDL3 runtime loads from inside the app bundle.

Beta scope

This is the latest beta release. Extended rendering and Armory support depend on the ROM profile; unsupported scenes fall back to the canonical GBA view. ROMs, saves, and game assets are not included.

mGBA is pinned to afd6f14eaf8bd35214ed3fb9dc69a92bfc3877a9.

Release binaries use the unchanged v0.1.0 source, packaged by release build 34987735226 with the SDL3 bundling fix.

Full changelog: v0.0.2...v0.1.0

0.0.2

Changes since 0.0.1

• Redesigned Armory with army-wide item search, direct transfers, nearby swap selection, and session undo.
• By-unit loadouts, pinned allies, improved search, high-DPI text, and adjustable UI scaling.
• Unit stats and verified ROM-specific equipment and skill modifiers.
• Extended renderer, map alignment, cursor, and native-screen centering improvements.
• Linux desktop build support.

Downloads

• macOS arm64: Apple Silicon app with SDL2 bundled. Extract the ZIP and move the app to Applications. Ad-hoc signed; not notarized.
• Linux x86-64: Built on Ubuntu 24.04; requires glibc 2.39 or newer. Install runtime dependencies with sudo apt install libsdl2-2.0-0 libfreetype6 fonts-dejavu-core zlib1g, then run ./fe8-mgba-sdl --rom /path/to/game.gba from a graphical desktop.
• Source with mGBA: Includes the pinned upstream emulator source and the project's build-time compatibility fix.

Both platform builds pass the frontend test suite and command-line startup checks. ROMs, saves, and game assets are not included.

mGBA is pinned to upstream commit afd6f14eaf8bd35214ed3fb9dc69a92bfc3877a9; the local header patch has been removed.

0.0.1

Features

• Audio, VSync, extended renderer, and mouse controls
• Video shaders, zoom sensitivity, and speed-up rate
• Rebindable GBA controls and Speed Up, Quick Save, and Quick Load hotkeys

Tested

• Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones (USA)
• Sacred Echoes v1.1.2
• Fire Emblem Archanea
• Pokémblem