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Casper v0.1.8

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@tweakerinc tweakerinc released this 08 Aug 17:07
· 7 commits to main since this release
v0.1.8
8c49f53

Casper v0.1.8

Product: Casper
Based on: CrossPoint Reader 1.5 & CrossInk
Devices: Xteink X3 & X4 (one binary for both)

Highlights

v0.1.8 introduces Rivulet, Casper’s new EPUB layout engine, along with major stability and UX improvements.

What’s new at a glance:

  • Brand-new layout engine (Rivulet) that better respects book styling
  • Chapter titles, line spacing, and text that wraps around images the way the book intended
  • Drop caps and cleaner tables
  • New default fonts + more size options (10–18 pt)
  • Faster book opening and cleaner return to Home
  • PNG wallpaper support (previously BMP only)
  • Better clipping limits and less SD card thrashing

What’s New

New Layout Engine: Rivulet

Casper now uses a completely new layout engine called Rivulet.

It was built from the ground up for e-ink devices and real-world books. Instead of trying to load an entire chapter into memory, it streams the book page by page. This keeps the device responsive while still following the important styling in the book.

What this means for you while reading:

  • Chapter titles and headings appear larger than body text (when the book requests it)
  • Line spacing follows the book’s design more closely
  • Images can sit to the side with text wrapping around them
  • Fancy drop-cap letters at the start of chapters are supported
  • Simple tables are much more readable (no more ugly “Tab Row / Cell” labels)
  • Your chosen font size remains the base — book styles scale relative to your preference
  • Right-to-left languages (Hebrew, Arabic, etc.) continue to work correctly
  • You can still turn book CSS styling off if you prefer a uniform look

Rivulet is designed to stay lightweight and reliable on the X3 and X4 while delivering noticeably better-looking pages.

Fonts & Manage Fonts

  • Built-in fonts are now:
    • Source Serif 4 (default for both the interface and reading)
    • Lexend Deca (clean sans-serif option that replaces Bitter)
  • Body text sizes expanded to 10 / 12 / 14 / 16 / 18 pt (previously started at 12 pt). Older settings are automatically migrated.
  • You can now upload custom fonts in the full 10–18 pt range.
  • Text Anti-Aliasing remains a separate toggle in Manage Fonts → Style, with an improved live preview.
  • The experimental “Font Darkness” option was removed.

Opening a Book (Home → Reader)

  • Faster open when the Home screen is settled and the book is ready — no Loading popup in most cases.
  • Loading only appears when the device still needs to prepare pages.
  • Partially prepared sections show available pages immediately while the rest finishes in the background.

Page Turns & Background Work

  • Smarter look-ahead so the reader doesn’t waste time scanning far ahead in the book. Buttons stay more responsive.
  • Background preparation and deferred Anti-Aliasing behavior remain the same (black-and-white first, greys fill in when safe).

Clippings

  • Selectable word limit raised from 240 → 768 (much better with smaller fonts).
  • Saved clip text limit raised to 2048 characters so full-page selections are less likely to get cut off.

Returning to Home (Back → Home)

  • Home screen now does a proper clean refresh when you leave the reader, settings, library, or menus.
  • Progress updates are more efficient (only the book you just left is refreshed).
  • “Saving…” feedback appears before the book closes so the screen doesn’t freeze with no indication.
  • Stats are written more cleanly.

Wallpaper / Sleep Screen

  • PNG wallpaper support has been added. You can now use PNG files in addition to the previous BMP-only support.

Stats & Progress

  • Resume position and Home progress bars continue to work as before.
  • Tracking and progress files remain compatible with CrossInk.

Other Improvements Included in This Build

  • Better handling of partial page caches
  • Fixes for full-page images
  • Scene divider and drop-cap false-positive fixes
  • Sleep screen / wallpaper path improvements
  • Dictionary line-loss fixes
  • Bitter font removed from the built-in set (saves flash space)

Performance / UX Summary

Action Approximate Time Notes
Warm book open (fast path) ~1.5–1.7 s First ink appears quickly
Warm forward page turn ~580 ms Panel refresh is the main limit on X3
Back → Home ~1–4 s Includes saving + clean Home refresh
Menu / Settings → Home Noticeably faster No full book teardown

Note: The panel may still be settling after the image looks finished on screen.

How to Install

  1. Flash Casper-v0.1.8.bin (or the matching OTA file for tag v0.1.8).
  2. First boot may automatically migrate your font size setting and clean up built-in font preferences.
  3. After changing fonts or sizes, existing section caches are invalidated — expect a one-time rebuild the first time you open each section of a book.
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