[zx] Spectral 1.12 02/07/2025

 

Spectral 1.12 02/07/2025

• new: x8 zoom mode
• new: palette files (.pal)
• new: 2-frame run-ahead mode
• new: authored fantasy15,dream15,hue15,skin5,remix palettes
• new: adapted classic amstrad cpc,dawnbringer,gameboy,pico8,petit palettes
• new: added support to rename files via local folder (F2 key)
• new: exposed ZX_BLUR and ZX_BLOOM options within reworked TV menu
• new: option to display the palette in use (ZX_PALETTE_PREVIEW)
• new: option to paste host clipboard into BASIC
• new: ZX_PLAYER binaries can have "-rf"/"-crt" in filename to select the tv mode (via argv[0])
• new: added many new cmdline options (suggested by Janko)

• chg: added checkbox to toggle Horace
• chg: prefer png game-maps over scanned jpegs
• chg: use crosshair cursor when lightguns are in use
• chg: added vivid palette to ZX_PLAYER binaries by default
• chg: added Z and UP key mappings as secondary and terciary gamepad buttons by default
• chg: adjusted Horace's luma detection code so it works on RF modes
• chg: adjusted hovering areas on ui buttons
• chg: do not patch .tap checksums anymore, since we stopped from hotpatching medias some releases ago
• chg: reduced separation of L/R stereo channels (note that real ZX is mono, in any case)
• chg: upgraded zxdb to v1.0.214

• fix: fixed linux build (reported by @md0-code)
• fix: fixed macos-build in GHA (objc_msgSend args mismatch)
• fix: fixed windows-latest build in GHA (windows-2019 was deprecated)
• fix: fixed downloading urls with plus chars in them (see: ExplodingFist+ case)(Windows)
• fix: fixed local browser resetting scroll position on enter key
• fix: fixed mid-raster renderer to be more accurate during paper cycles (reported by cafedead)
• fix: fixed missing cp1252 > utf8 conversion in prompt() call (Windows)
• fix: fixed plausible crash during audio initialization on some hw specs (since v1.10)
• fix: fixed occasional flashing terminal window while clicking on the first link in a session (Windows release builds)
• fix: fixed saving screenshots or videos with disallowed chars in them (see: JackTheNipperII:Coconut case)(Windows, Linux, Mac)
• fix: loading medias with no supported file types on them (see: PacmanEmulator)
• fix: missing Enter keypress while typing in BASIC (reported by @skoolkid)(Linux,OSX)
• fix: missing AY speech in AY=2 mode (regression) (see: Robocop.dsk)
• fix: prevented ZX_PLAYER from creating the .Spectral/ folder

• lab: lobby chat
• lab: sprite outlines
• lab: attribute clash removal
• lab: can edit palette colors (shift+click any toolbar palette color)
• lab: highlight vram changes

• brk: switched to relative paths in options (.ini)
• brk: deprecated ZX_SHADER,ZX_FOLDER_WINDOWS,ZX_FOLDER_UNIX options (.ini)

Spectral 1.11 31/05/2025

• new: stereo audio
• new: tape counter
• new: co-op for kids: horace, a companion screenmate.
• new: auto-patch .trd disks to be bootable (whenever possible)
• new: added multiple local/zxdb filters support. can search for titles, aliases, years, publishers, authors, genres, tags, media types, etc.
• new: added demos to zxdb listings by default now. can be isolated by filtering on the word "demo".
• new: joffa's ui easter egg
• chg: added special zxdb filtering words "mia"/"xxx" to display hidden categories.
• chg: allowed horace to duck (down+jump) and be dragged (mouse)
• chg: allowed to click on (year)(publisher) zxdb strings
• chg: allowed to select .fx shaders via local browser
• chg: external shaders support via TV=4 mode (by using ZX_SHADED and ZX_SHADER ini settings)
• chg: extra tweaks for horace while doing tape loads
• chg: identified visually different browsing areas in tape browser
• chg: improved .trd detection
• chg: memoized ui glyph dimensions
• chg: redesigned tape browser to be more minimalist
• chg: re-ordered TV modes, sorted by framerate cost
• chg: used tighter spacing while in local browser
• chg: gradients palette (thanks Woodster/Chevron!)
• chg: support both 128/P128 .snas, as long as desired model is selected beforehand
• fix: fixed accelerated cpu after aborting a media load and returning back to Pentagon 128 basic
• fix: fixed bug that prevented creating snapshots/videos from local files supplied via argc/argv (Windows)
• fix: fixed ui_print() dims when ui_monospaced==0
• fix: incorrect background blend while filtering.
• fix: incorrect background frame while performing a zxdb async search.
• fix: fixed gamepad, missed update call (since 1.09b)
• fix: using new host keyboard + gamepad case bug

Spectral 1.10 18/05/2025

Jetpac (1983, Ultimate Play the Game)

• new: rewrote audio mixer: reduced latency + no longer framerate dependant (see: mp3s, fdc sounds, rec sounds)
• new: improved 48/128 game detection
• new: optimized loading time between tape pauses
• new: accelerated media & renderer while holding rshift key
• new: added polyduck, fantasy, pcw, amber palettes. removed goblin22 palette.
• new: made bootable .scl files by auto-patching them
• new: experimental custom ROMs support (drag'n drop, then app restart or clear media button to wipe them out)
• new: forced pause while app blurred
• new: rough crt bloom in TV=2-3 modes for amber/pcw/bw/negative palettes
• new: use host keyboard layout while in BASIC to ease typing (eg SHIFT+2 for quotes in addition to classic SYMB+P) (Windows/Linux/OSX)
• new: zxdb entries can swap +3 side-B disks now (MythHistoryInTheMaking)
• change: add large pauses after every tzx block $20 to ease tape seeking
• change: added a more sensitive pause block trimmer
• change: audio mixer optimizations (removed memmoves, added ringbuffer, removed dcoffset from beeper)
• change: centered app within desktop rect (Windows)
• change: changed fdc sounds and volumes (again)
• change: clean audiobuffers during zx model reset
• change: combined mic/ear volume levels
• change: detect "header" of zx/if2 roms by checking first byte (DI opcode)
• change: do not add extra large pauses at beginning of side A tapes (tzx)
• change: do not spin fdc motor audio indefinitely if any +3 game forgets to turn the motor off
• change: duplicated amount of sampling in AY=2 mode
• change: fixed turborom + bleepload (more precise range to detect romloader)
• change: improved host keypresses while in basic
• change: improved turborom compatibility (longer pilots, more precise range to detect romloader)
• change: included pilots as blank pixels in tape preview
• change: input basic detection
• change: maximized zxdb search ratio by using two passes on compound filenames (title:subtitle first, then just title)
• change: more results in tab search
• change: reduced audio latency
• change: removed abnormal initial pauses within basic headers for authored tapes like Shinobi(DroSoft) [60s] or Nautilus [29s] (tzx)
• change: selected YM2419 envelopes in AY=2 mode
• change: upgrade stb_resize2 to latest
• dev: added renders_per_second metric (thanks ref!)
• fix: amended PRINT IN 32765 hal bug in 128/+2 models
• fix: fixed 128 regressions: BlackLamp128, HuntForRedOctober128... (do not reset cpu in HAL10H8/snow scenarios)
• fix: fixed AY=2 pitch
• fix: fixed bug that prevented cycling a +3/P128 model with a disk inserted
• fix: fixed L/R modifier keys (Tigr)(Windows)
• fix: fixed Pentagon regressions: 48irons, 1dm_pos.scl, pinball2... (HAL10H8 bugs incorrectly applied)
• fix: linux/osx tigrFocused()
• fix: fixed tape regressions (myla di'kaich, hysteria, thefury, roadblasters, tt racer, moonlighter, ...)
• fix: queued remaining audio samples after a full saudio_push() (they were discarded before)
• fix: recently introduced issue with tape polarities while trimming unneeded tape silences (alien8, headoverheels, ...)
• fix: removed _ [] X fullscreen widgets (Windows)
• fix: tzx loopstart counter off by 1 (does not seem to affect titles)
• brk: simplified media loading/mounting code. may break games that used to work.
• lab: display a larger floating preview in 6x6 and 12x12 thumbnails modes
• lab: added 10KHz lowpass filter to beeper in AY=2 mode

Spectral 1.09b 7/05/2025

maintenance release

• chg: made TV=2 mode crispier
• chg: improved search tab by maximizing the search range
• chg: improved zxdb id detection from local filenames by minimizing the search range (see: Saboteur! and Saboteur2-AvengingAngel cases)
• fix: display jailbars only in paper area (broken probably since we went full border emulation, 384x304)
• fix: display proper RF noise interferences (broken probably since we went full border emulation, 384x304)
• fix: dont emit 6 keycode while pressing ALT keys
• fix: drag 'n drop support (broken since prior release) (Linux/OSX)
• fix: fixed K/L input mode (broken since some prior release)
• fix: fixed shader loading code (broken since some prior release)
• fix: fixed malformed urls while downloading non-escaped medias (Windows) (see: Crusoe bonus mp3 track)
• fix: preserved ZX_TITLE setting between diff sessions (Linux)
• fix: preserved P128 string within titlebar after loading settings file
• fix: start local file browser from previously known ZX_FOLDER location (Windows/Linux/OSX)

Spectral 1.09 4/05/2025

• new: ultrawide ula
• new: resizable app window
• new: tzx block $19 (GDB) support (see: AYankeeInIraq, BookOfTheDeadPart1, GLUF(AstTurbo), WorldCupCarnival, Twister)
• new: added zoom/panning into zxdb screen option
• new: saved current tab being browsed (ZX_TAB)
• new: saved both native and non-native local folders in settings file (ZX_FOLDER_UNIX, ZX_FOLDER_WINDOWS)
• new: visualize up to x6 turboAY channels in oscilloscope view (Pentagon)
• chg: add tape gap when before a LEVEL text section is found
• chg: allowed .folders/ to be listed in local browser (.DS_Store, .git, .github, .svn are excluded, though)
• chg: allowed to scroll dialogs only when num_lines exceed vertical app height
• chg: allowed to use X1..X4 zoom modes unconditionally
• chg: computed zoom/panning on overlays only when needed (maps, instructions, inlays)
• chg: decoupled media mounting from .sav file (might break a few things)
• chg: dim background in browser text mode to ease reading game names
• chg: display messagebox when a tzx message block is found
• chg: display warning when critical tzx blocks cannot be parsed
• chg: do not issue a stop tape command after inserting a large artificial pause
• chg: increased internal resolution of tape browser preview
• chg: invert mouse wheel direction when displaying overlays (maps, instructions, inlays)
• chg: kept pressed gunstick fire extra frames to ease UX when shooting
• chg: relocated play/pause/rec buttons into left/right panels
• chg: upgraded zxdb to version 1.0.211
• fix: accurate tape seek position when restoring medias from .ini
• fix: expand some more characters the visualization of long title names (zxdb)
• fix: fixed a recently introduced bug where Clear Medias button was not exactly working as before
• fix: fixed crash when quickloading a blank saveslot
• fix: fixed warning message that was never displayed when media could not be downloaded
• fix: incorrect count field in tzx block $2B
• fix: polyfill binary GH action (linux) (does not work yet with lubuntu16)
• fix: restored proper INT placement that was broken since a few commits ago (AticAtac, SideWize...)
• fix: restored zxdb info when launching app
• fix: right-click in zoom setting
• fix: try to amend long title UI notifies that would require wordwrap otherwise (zxdb, ui)
• wip: resume magnum lightgun work

Spectral 1.08 27/04/2025

special thanks to Simon Owen and Steven John for sharing their sources for this release.
thanks for the feedback and bug reports! cmal, lethargeek, @md0-code 

• new: digitally signed Windows binaries
• new: oscilloscopes (x3 AY waveforms, x1 beeper)
• new: lenslok support (Elite, ACE, Art Studio, GAC, Jewels of Darkness, Mooncresta, Price of Magik, Tomahawk, TT Racer)
• new: mikro-plus support (Shadow of the Unicorn)
• new: added zoom/fullscreen options
• fix: applied higher priority to special +2A/+3 paging mode (fixes Corsarios2x1, paging.tap) (thanks Woodster!)
• fix: dont emulate floating bus on pentagon models
• fix: fixed fastload for those games that left disk motor spinning (cybernoid2,rickdangerous2,smaily)
• fix: fixed ZX_FOLDER not being saved properly over different sessions (linux)
• fix: incorrect titlebar after switching models within a ZXDB title
• fix: removed invalid linefeeds read from user prompt dialogs (linux/osx)
• fix: removed tzx version check (fixes a specific Alien8.tzx file, and probably a bunch of other .tzx files as well)
• fix: some generated AY samples were incorrectly ignored during mixing time
• fix: unified run-ahead/regular logic flow (fixes terracresta/cobra with run-head enabled)
• fix: aligned left options vertically compared to right counterparts
• fix: asan out of bounds when looking up unicode glyphs not present in font
• fix: canceled finder dialog after clicking on an item list (browser)
• fix: ensure alpha sorting is consistent in all desktop OSes (3rd_dir.h)
• fix: ensure TIGR_1X is honored (3rd_tigr.h)
• fix: exact 32/36/37 tstates per int now
• fix: fixed input conflict between tape preview && bottom right clickables
• fix: fixed unix dir listing not appending '/' char to dirs, which differed from windows impl (linux/osx, 3rd_dir.h)
• fix: improved tape heuristic for turborom && contended memory case (fixes Plyuk after loading with turborom enabled)
• fix: inverted highlight of tokens/letters toggle
• fix: missing fdc variable in exported gamestates
• fix: moved a few temporary files to the .Spectral/ folder
• fix: reset scroll when clicking folders in a large listing (local browser)
• chg: unified INT/48/128/pentagon timings logic (fixed bonanzabros.dsk, probably rotatrix too)
• chg: added +3DOS rom paged-in to fastload disk heuristics
• chg: added early/late timings (not exposed yet)
• chg: added perf warnings to cpu intensive options (RF, Run-Ahead)
• chg: added right-click to record UI (screenshot, video)
• chg: added sinclair 1/2 ports to expert setting mode
• chg: adjusted volume for disk motor
• chg: allowed to click dialog options with RMB
• chg: changed heuristics that detect fdc usage
• chg: if sinclairs joysticks are not mapped, emulate cursor keys while in basic always
• chg: made goblin22 palette brigther
• chg: made va() and stb_sprintf() calls asan friendly, hopefully
• chg: removed redundant turbosound AY port in .sav files (saved 2 bytes)
• chg: support embedded zxdb in .rar form
• chg: upgraded zxdb to 1.0.210
• brk: floatspy (48k is 1TS late, 128k is 3TS late)

Spectral 1.07 (for Mom) 20/04/2025

Spectral GUI

Thanks to @imneme! Her OMSE emulator (MIT) showed me how the clock should be controlled by the ULA, not the CPU!

• new:multicolor (action force 2, buzzsaw, oldtower, gluf, yazzie, multidude, el stompo, space monsters meet the hardy, sunbucket, blacklamp, ringo) (not yet:plyuk)
• new:rainbow graphics (eliminator, uridium, bad dream, venom mask 3)
• new:border effects (vectron 48, jaws, blade warrior, starion, terrorpods) (not yet:aquaplane, venom mask 3)
• new:border overscan (border break, breakspace, defenders of the earth, rotatrix, sentinel 48, bordertrix 48, darkstar 48 hiscore, super wonderboy128 paused)
• new:floating bus (emlyn hughes, saucer, wizball, cobra, shortcircuit, terracresta, duet) (not yet:arkanoid, sidewize)
• new:fast disk loading option (+3, Pentagon)
• new:emulate hardware bugs present in HAL10H8 chip (128/+2)
• new:kempston2 joystick support (port 55) (see:BombMunchies)
• new:revamped joystick menu screen. added new joystick mappings
• new:zipped instructions support (IndianaJonesAndTheLastCrusade)
• new:added manual play/stop tape controls. also, disable auto-stop/play when manual tape is enabled
• chg:added warning message when bonus tracks are not played in ideal conditions
• chg:added leading tape silence (100ms) to help UX when clicking tape preview bar on the left border
• chg:allowed backspace key to close game filter dialog
• chg:by default, use 48K for load local tapes when no model can be inferred
• chg:different ordering of zxdb color flags
• chg:highlight loaded game in local browser
• chg:if user has changed medias, keep using that when switching different zx models
• chg:infer zx model from local filenames whenever possible (Cabal.dsk, Pietro(Pentagon).tap, Manic128.tap, etc)
• chg:made media screen layout extra compact (preallocated space for upcoming savegame thumbnails)
• chg:updated bescii font to v3.1 (cz/sk/hu/slavic languages support)
• chg:updated github workflow to use SignPath signed binaries (Windows)
• chg:updated github workflow to use ubuntu22.04, since ubuntu20.04 is deprecated now (Linux)
• chg:use polyfill-glibc for backwards/legacy glibc compatibility (Linux)
• chg:while toggling turborom, avoid additional reset whenever possible
• fix:1-byte memory stomp
• fix:allowed backspace key while browsing local folders
• fix:allowed to read embedded zxdb database from any cwd (ie, ../../dir/spectral)
• fix:could not change zx model after loading from local .zip files
• fix:displayed alias titles in # tab when no digit/punct char is found (zxdb) (see:¡Hundido!)
• fix:fixed pentagon INT timing (borderbreak.trd)
• fix:fixed some empty search results in search tab (zxdb) (see:Floromaníaco while searching for "mania")
• fix:fixed ¿¡ chars not being sorted (zxdb)
• fix:removed slavic entries from # tab (zxdb)
• fix:fixed the .scr viewer, that prevented the app from closing
• fix:fixed UB in realloc() when game searching for empty strings a few times in a row
• fix:fixed bug where window titlebar() might ignore temporary strings built from va() (Windows)
• fix:fixed many +3 dsks, which were not being properly initalized/mounted (see:dynasty wars, final fight, forgotten worlds, gng, led storm, last duel, mercs, wrestling superstars, time scanner, the vindicator, ...)
• fix:wrong titlebar after loading some local files

Spectral v1.06 4/04/2025

Spectral to bardzo wygodne podejście do emulacji ZX SPECTRUM. Warto śledzić ten projekt, bo naprawdę całkiem miło rokuje (oczywiście, jeśli weźmiemy poprawkę na to, że przynajmniej w emulacji Sinclaira powiedziano już chyba wszystko, więc... liczą się tylko dodatki i wodotryski);)

• new: mp3s support. play Side-B bonus tracks (see: EveryonesAWally, KingdomOfKrell, Corruption, DodgyGeezers, etc.)
• new: added zoom/panning (see: maps, inlays, instructions)
• new: allow mousewheel within dialogs for those games with ridiculous amount of cheats (see: ManicMiner)
• new: dimmed thumbnails when search filtering is enabled
• new: flash currently loaded game while browsing
• new: combined local+wos search tab
• new: zxdb 'alias' option
• tzx: disable select block (only present in LoneWolfMirrorOfDeath and four minor compilations)
• tzx: increased bits for pilot tones (fixes SpecialProgram11-bootleg-ITA.tzx and some other tapes)
• tzx: improve tape preview by creating large pause gaps between important blocks. especifically, before any of [ .bas block, glue block, 48KStopTape block ] + any text block with 'side' or 'b' strings in it)
• chg: improve texture resampling quality by going cubic instead of bilinear (see: maps, inlays, instructions)
• chg: ctrl+mousewheel to advance pages while browsing
• chg: auto-scan ZX_FOLDER setting on launch
• chg: invert mousewheel (linux,windows)
• chg: reduced the time needed to detect long keypresses
• fix: fixed wrong characters when writing utf8 filenames (Windows) (see: mp4, mpeg1, png files)
• fix: fixed case where repeated zxdb ids in a listing would not display its alt title (see: gremlins2)
• fix: made ui_print() to work in any surface resolution

Spectral v1.05

• new: zxdb: mousewheel
• new: zxdb: media selector
• new: zxdb: new 'page' option
• new: zxdb: new 'media' option
• new: zxdb: added bookmarks and compatibility flags to local file browser
• new: saved local folder location
• chg: zxdb: grouped authors into a single screen
• chg: zxdb: able to search release seqs now (see: #id#num)
• chg: added FN key hyperlinks into about screen
• chg: changed ui to react to released mouse buttons instead of button down presses.
• fix: ejected rzx after new media is inserted (see: afterburner.rzx)
• fix: ejected tape after new disk is inserted (see: seraphima.scl)
• fix: fixed being redirected to local browser after a wos search
• fix: made browsers close any active dialog
• fix: disabled accessibility keys while app in use (Windows)
• fix: ay: fixed envelope 15 (ay1 core) (thanks @leiradel!)
• fix: ay: dropped YM mode from AY2 core
• fix: restored glx window attribs to what v1.03 was using (Linux)
• fix: fixed Linux/MacOS builds (embedding zxdb build step broken since v1.04)
• fix: fixed ui edge case where hyperlinks could not be hovered if they were wider than app canvas
• fix: fixed accidental tape interactions while clicking bottom games within browser lists.
• fix: expanded va() buffers. changed impl. hopefully addresses temporary file leaks

Spectral v1.041

• fix: reverse order of zxdb entries so we stop being tagged as false positive (Trojan:Win32/Wacatac.B!ml) (Windows Defender)
• fix: compilation fixes for zxdb tool
• chg: finder: single backspace to delete last char, hold backspace to clear field
• chg: zxdb: new shorcuts: ctrl+b toggle bookmark, ctrl+space toggle compatibility flag
• chg: zxdb: update db to 1.0.209
• lab: irc client

Spectral v1.04

• new: gamepad bindings (up to 16 buttons)
• new: all desktop releases built by Github servers now (CI workflow by @zpl-zak ; 1,000 thanks!)
• new: next iteration of our local file browser. revamped.
• new: support light/dark OS theme (Windows)
• new: added +SHIFT shortcut to capture UI layer (PIC,REC buttons)
• new: added keyboard navigation to game listings (cursors+enter)
• new: added filters to game listings (type while you browse)
• new: made ZXDB ids clickable (forwards to SC page)
• new: logos and branding images
• chg: added hints for zx models
• chg: changed default rec setting, so no UI will be recorded by default
• chg: display dialog titles whenever possible
• chg: ESC/RMB presses will cancel the UI top layer (dialog/overlay layer) before switching to game browser
• chg: highlighted current selected option whenever possible
• chg: increased internal buffers for va() calls
• chg: removed Screenshot action from PRINT_SCREEN key mapping
• chg: replaced native (i)nfo dialog
• chg: simplified makefile: removed embed tool (MAKE)
• fix: do not poke translations before loading any game (AfterTheWar)
• fix: do not shorten tape silences when TurboROM is enabled (see: Alkatraz/TopoSoft games)
• fix: fixed bug that prevented excessively long named games (+128chars) from being included in zxdb listings (TheMojonTwins)
• fix: reduced heuristics for Kempston Mouse detection from (X+Y+MB to X+MB) since Arkanoid does not use Y coord :o)
• fix: made xinput library to be loaded dynamically; fixes those installations where DirectX is not pre-installed (Windows)
• fix: fixed issue2 from being selected within new UI menu
• fix: fixed local file browser while identifying some false positive file extensions (like .c)
• fix: fixed wrong window priority when displaying search dialog in fullscreen
• fix: use AVX in X64 builds and SSE2 in X86 builds (Windows)
• wip: toggled different GLX attributes in the hope that hw accelerated surface gets enabled (Linux)

Spectral v1.03

• mp4/mpg recording
• joystick autofires
• turbosound support
• simplified UI and ZXDB gallery
• redefineable FN keys
• faster ZXDB gallery rendering
• fixed game search and loading of 48k games

Changelog:

• new: ui dialogs
• new: mp4 recording
• new: mpeg1 recording
• new: joystick autofires
• new: redefineable FN keyboard mappings
• new: added turbosound (turbo-ay) on pentagon128 model
• new: revamped main options interface
• new: revamped ZXDB cheats interface (smoother experience now)
• new: tweakable z80 speed: 50%, 100%, 150%, 200% (7MHz), 400% (14MHz)
• new: option to use a few different zx palettes
• new: ui expert mode (UI buttons+RMB)
• new: update zxdb to latest 1.0.208
• new: restored NMI button
• new: local files can use & display unicode names now (Windows)
• chg: added pentagon128 to the main list of models
• chg: add icons next to keyboard mappings
• chg: added discord badge to readme
• chg: ask user for confirmation before binding command that was already assigned beforehand
• chg: be explicit about the licensing terms in the LICENSE file
• chg: disallow cursor joystick unless while in BASIC
• chg: faster init
• chg: highlight current loaded game in zxdb/list view
• chg: if available, prefer clang-cl over cl (make.bat)
• chg: integrate browser v1 into v2 tab
• chg: pure black borders in fullscreen mode
• chg: replaced ResourceHacker with a much nicer RC-Edit tool (MAKE, Windows)
• chg: search should provide more results now
• chg: simplified zxdb gallery controls
• chg: tweaked Spectral palette, darker black and less pure white now
• chg: ui layout, right sidebar
• chg: updated bescii font to latest
• chg: zxdb gallery added a secondary worker thread (hopefully faster decoding in most cases)
• chg: zxdb gallery speeded up by not doing recolor on 1:4,1:8 thumbnails (since they were already recoloured during 1:2 thumbnails decoding)
• chg: zxdb updated stb_image_resize2 to latest 2.13
• fix: app titlebar when loading localized files from disk, like Russian ones (Windows)
• fix: bottom, overscan lines in pentagon mode
• fix: fixed bug that prevented using search toolbar twice in a row
• fix: fixed bug that prevented using thumbnail icon after search toolbar
• fix: oops! zxdb 48k-only games were wrongly loaded in 128 mode (minder,cerius,nuclear bowls,punch & judy,rebelstar raiders,rubicon,etc.)
• fix: partial clipped links could be hovered when fullscreen was in use
• fix: replaced discord invite link
• fix: search game when no input was provided
• fix: x86 build (internal)
• lab: grid shader

Spectral v1.02 5/03/2025

• Gamepad support (Windows, Linux)
• ZXDB AY player
• Updated ZXDB to latest
• Many UI/UX QoL changes (thanks @Korb!)
• Fixed malware false positives (thanks to everyone!)
• Fixed compatibility with Haswell X64 and earlier architectures (thanks @Korb!)
• AVX2 no longer required

Changelog:

• new: gamepad support (Windows, Linux)
• new: added setting hints (UI)
• new: ZXDB use screen$ as background during AY play
• new: ZXDB include ripped AY tunes
• chg: update zxdb to latest (1.0.207)
• chg: centered multi-line UI notifications
• chg: do not reset ZX when changing issue2/3 setting
• chg: added home/end keys while zxdb browsing (thanks @Korb!)
• chg: get rid of large pure black areas in fullscreen mode (thanks @Korb!)
• chg: unzip() may accept wildcards now
• fix: increases X64 compatibility. dropped AVX2 support in favor of AVX1. Fixes #4 (Windows) (thanks @Korb!)
• fix: UB during __builtin_clz()/__builtin_ctz() ops. fixes glitches while drawing font on some old cpus (thanks @Korb!)
• fix: fixed osx compilation errors (thanks @imneme!)
• fix: edge case where modal dialogs be hidden when rendering in fullscreen mode (Windows) (thanks @Korb!)
• fix: fixed tape pulse overflow in pzx loading code (thanks @imneme!)
• fix: misplaced pixel in ui_notify() messages
• fix: fixed compilation VS+X86 build (unsupported).
• fix: dropped UPX compressed binaries (Windows), which would trigger malware detection.
• fix: recompiled with VS19 instead of VS22, which would trigger malware detection.
• wip: partial RZX support
• wip: partial SZX support

 Spectral 1.01 14 Jul 2024

• new: PZX support
• chg: animate flash attributes in gallery
• chg: switch default AY core back to floooh's
• chg: ZXDB bumped up to latest
• chg: ZXDB display version within About dialog
• chg: moved titlebar logic to a separate file
• fix: added U+011A Ě, U+011B ě czech glyphs
• fix: allow alt-enter to switch fullscreen on linux/osx (3rd_tigr)
• fix: allow ini fields to be read in any order
• fix: loading settings from ini
• fix: window was being prevented from being closed by SCR viewer
• fix: window was being prevented from being closed while 128 menu was in HALT state (see: cursor right key)
• fix: ZXDB browser was always disabled after local browser was used
• fix: ZXDB picked wrong II/III titles sometimes (see: dan dare 3 vs 2, "*2">"*II*" patch)

 Spectral 1.00 6 Jul 2024

• new: zxdb game browser. async + progress bar
• new: zxdb cache
• new: zxdb download games on demand
• new: zxdb overlays panning (mouse)
• new: append games to the spectral binary (copy /b spectral.exe+game.ext game.exe ; thanks for the idea callmesnake!)
• new: display zxdb bonus tracks
• new: AY player
• new: .Spectral/ tree layout made human-readable.
• new: .Spectral/ cache contents are zipped now.
• new: .Spectral/Spectral.fav database
• new: .Spectral/Spectral.ini config file
• chg: zxdb add bugfix tapes
• chg: zxdb bump up latest
• chg: zxdb do not download szx/slt snapshots (unsupported)
• chg: zxdb improve search filters
• chg: zxdb prevent from downloading null urls
• chg: zxdb retrieve features (tags)
• chg: zxdb retrieve non-initial releases too
• chg: zxdb update window title automatically
• chg: bump up 3rd_deflate.h
• chg: bump up beeper core
• chg: can search for zxdb identifiers as well
• chg: game browser v2: can bookmark and flag games now
• chg: game browser v2: efforts to display romanized eastern games in A-B-C tabs
• chg: game browser v2: recolorize png/jpg thumbnails to use our custom zx palette
• chg: made ui to display fonts in both mono and variable sizes
• chg: made ui_notify() animated
• chg: move tape browser to bottom screen
• chg: simplify .sav impl (iff1/2/ir)
• chg: use (smaller) bescii punctuaction glyphs
• chg: zxdb browser: async/threaded
• chg: zxdb browser: filtered thumbnails
• fix: 2 asan buffer overflows
• fix: do not patch K/L modes when trdos is mapped
• fix: do not render AY on 16/48 models (motos)
• fix: fix 3 out of mem accesses (via sanitize address)
• fix: improve zxdb to detect tape_X/side_X cases
• fix: infinite loop while deallocating ansi console
• fix: prevents hang on 3rd_tfd popups by initializing COM sooner (win)
• fix: yet another fix for our .sav/z80 corruption (add step,add pins,no prefetch)
• fix: zxdb t chars on instructions
• fix: zxdb convert instructions to utf8 (gonzzalezz)
• fix: zxdb prefer branded searches or those with higher scores
• lab: redo border renderer (border break)

Spectral 1.16 30/03/2026

• new: option to choose custom roms/bios
• new: more intuitive palette editor
• new: border color swapper (click color on editor then click border)
• new: palette color swapper (click colors on editor to swap them)
• new: added bunch of new palettes (spectral+/lumiere/hue+/winners/msx2/vexed/noir/ilford/tv)
• new: allowed custom palettes while browsing thumbnails (requires an app restart for full effect)
• chg: perceptual color remapper on selected palette while displaying thumbnails
• chg: added extra gamepad button mappings by default
• chg: darker atkinson palette
• chg: faster media downloads
• chg: try a different dialogs library (win32)
• chg: zx player executables will use gradients palette now
• fix: added missing zxdb titles (whole simulators category!)
• fix: apply palette bloom levels while editor is displayed
• fix: bloom settings on pcw/amber palettes
• fix: bugfix case where palette setting would not be loaded sometimes
• fix: disabled /GS check in clang-cl builds for now (win32)
• fix: made gray palette a more readable one
• fix: prevent crash in bookmarks tab if any previous bookmark cannot be found anymore (thanks cmal!)
• fix: saved bookmarks might contain uninitialized datas

Spectral 1.15 22/03/2026

Spectral GUI plus MASK III:Venom Strike Back (1988, Gremlin)

• new: ARM64 macos binaries
• new: animated quicksaves
• new: tv grain option (ZX_GRAIN)
• new: visual effects while holding reset button
• new: can remap individual gamepad buttons now
• new: added italian>english game menu translations (@koseid72)
• new: results in search tab use standard list views now
• chg: darker default palette
• chg: disabled gamepads on linux for now (current code looks buggy on virtualbox+lubuntu16 at least)
• chg: do not wipe medias if ZX_AUTOLOAD is off (go fully manual instead)
• chg: relocated fullscreen close button to top-right corner
• fix: case where filtering on local files would also search mistakenly in paths
• fix: do not send enter vk to zx while pressing alt+enter (3rd_tigr) (linux,macos)
• fix: crash while transcoding very large text sequences (>10kib) (see: mythhistory instructions)
• fix: missed to serialize ZX_TAPECOUNTER option
• fix: recreated fullscreen window during launch (3rd_tigr) (linux)
• fix: removed local "games/" folder scan in old game browser (when ZXDB is disabled)
• fix: removed zxdb watermarks from linux and macos binaries
• fix: slightly incorrect alphas and/or colors when filtering zxdb titles
• fix: clicking on tape browser, which was broken since flashload was introduced

Spectral 1.14 18/03/2026

• new: 4 gamepads support
• new: button to eject medias
• new: button to quit app in fullscreen mode (in addition to ALT+F4)
• new: extra insert/eject options in media menu
• new: mount sidekick .ico files automatically (ZX_PLAYER)
• new: option to disable auto-loading on medias
• new: option to disable ZXDB browsing
• new: option to toggle restored state on launch (ZX_RESTORE)
• new: provide X64+ARM binaries (apple)
• new: built exes will detect "48" and "128" strings on their filenames (ZX_PLAYER)
• new: generating .exes will spawn different RF,RF-CRT,CRT suffixes that work as graphical options (ZX_PLAYER)
• chg: do not include CRT mode by default (ZX_PLAYER)
• chg: do not use ULA+ in .exes by default
• chg: improved gamepad browsing experience
• chg: fixed output filenames on built .exes
• chg: update 3rd_tfd to latest
• chg: updated zxdb to latest (233->234)
• fix: #65 built exes from 48k games (reported by @koseid72)
• fix: #66 do not close parent console when launched from cmdline (win32) (reported by @dotkoval)
• fix: do not fastfoward emulation if RSHIFT is pressed (ZX_PLAYER)
• fix: empty ZX_FOLDER browsing case (initial run)
• fix: prevented tap flashloader from stomping memory
• fix: regression in AY speech in AY=2 mode (robocop)
• fix: regression on loading sequential urls (MythHistoryInTheMaking.dsks)
• fix: regression at identifying .z80 files
• fix: ui_dialog_combo() eating leading glyph

Spectral 1.13 13/03/2026

ZX Spectrum Spectral - fajny, prosty i skuteczny emulator gumiaczka.

• new: simplified UI
• new: flashload standard tape blocks
• new: 48-byte .pal support
• new: console >_ menu option (ZX_CONSOLE)
• new: create standalone game players (.exe) from menus
• new: display palette color hexcodes on toolbar
• new: Horace displays remapped bindings now
• new: palette editor
• new: Merlot palette
• new: Modern palette
• new: Reborn palette
• new: option to pause app when losing window focus (ZX_PAUSE)
• new: quick save/load buttons in menu
• new: separated joystick and mouse autofires
• new: shift+RMB on palette toolbar toggles border
• new: mono/stereo ACB/ABC selectors (ZX_STEREO)
• new: turbosound menu option (ZX_TURBOSOUND)
• chg: allowed to paste unicode 8220/8221(“”) chars
• chg: display game homepage on zxdb listings
• chg: display media selector on zxdb listings
• chg: edit palette toolbar (RMB)
• chg: gamepads can browse zxdb now
• chg: gamepads can cancel ui dialogs now
• chg: smaller README images (thanks @Korb)
• chg: update ay core to latest
• chg: update beeper core to latest
• chg: update z80 core to latest
• chg: updated zxdb to latest (1.0.224 -> 1.0.233)
• fix: #56 Kempston Mouse (broken since v1.04)
• fix: #59 How to use the "append game to executable" feature
• fix: #61 standalone games can be paused with ESC key
• fix: #63 Adapt the README.md banner to GitHub's dark theme
• fix: allow to access tigrKeys()[vk] directly (3rd_tigr, win32)
• fix: buffer overflow in sound push audio
• fix: case where NMI would not reset (.scr viewer)
• fix: case with external palettes without alpha
• fix: crash while decoding a 404 .scr file from internet
• fix: crash while playing with Horace in very small resolutions
• fix: disallow max fps while in game browsers
• fix: do not download contents if 404 (win32)
• fix: do not play internal sound effects if audio is muted
• fix: fix zxdb2txt tool build (shell32.lib)
• fix: fixed multipart .zip files, broken since v1.10 (NarcoPolice.tzx.zip)
• fix: inverted logic while restoring custom shaders/palettes
• fix: Petit palette
• fix: Pico8 palette
• fix: restore bloom presets while loading some specific palettes
• fix: run-a-head + flashload
• fix: beeper volume when used with Stereo output
• fix: support for recent zero-pulse .pzx files
• fix: swapped sinclair 1/2 ports (thanks @juntelart)
• fix: UB in va() function
• fix: vs2019 build
• fix: ZX_FOLDER not being saved
• fix: ZX_TAB not being loaded
• fix: github actions without wmic (deprecated in some win11 distros)
• fix: github actions in macos13 (deprecated)
• lab: pulp/magazine halftoning shaders
• lab: ui combo widgets