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Summer is here and it’s time for a news update covering June 2025. As often happens this time of year, summer is not the most active season. This is especially true when it comes to news about software and hardware. Still, there’s activity on several fronts, which you can read more about below. 😉
Software News
Version 77.1 of libICU became available on OS4Depot on June 2nd. ICU is a mature, widely used set of C/C++ and Java libraries providing Unicode and Globalization support for software applications. ICU is widely portable and gives applications the same results on all platforms and between C/C++ and Java software.
Also, version 1.0.16 of libfribidi arrived a couple of days later. This is the Free Implementation of the Unicode Bidirectional Algorithm. According to the authors, one key issue hindering the penetration of free software in the Middle East is the lack of support for the Arabic and Hebrew alphabets. This support is crucial. To have proper Arabic and Hebrew support, the bidi algorithm needs to be implemented.
DeepL, a small tool for online translation, has received an update and is now at version 0.93. It is based on the DeepL REST API and supports up to 500,000 characters a month. The author, root, has fixed the version string and changed hURL post mechanic.
Steffen Häuser, a.k.a. MagicSN, has made available cores for the soon-to-be-released RetroArch. The archive contains the following cores:
- PicoDrive
- GenesisPlus GX (only AmigaOS 4)
- MAME 2003
- MAME 2003 Plus
- MAME 2009
Here is the download link:
Acuario is a portable screensaver featuring exotic fish and mermaids. It was developed by Juan Carlos Herran Martin, a.k.a. Templario. The final version was released in June and became available on OS4Depot on June 10th. Changes include being compiled with Hollywood 10, cleaning up and optimizing the code, guppy fish now available again, new backgrounds, new cover and back cover, new free fonts for texts, and more. For more information, please follow the link below:
He also released version 2.25 of his kit to make your own decks for these games:
- HLE Poker Card
- BlackJuan
- Siete y Media
- Baccarat
- BlackIvan Card
It is available in both Spanish and English.
Improvements include:
- New PNG transparent templates to make three Baphomet decks
- New tester decks to test the Spanish suits
On June 28th, DRIDI released version 7.5Final of the Arabic Console Device.
(version 7.5Final) “Version education&legacy” finished (for me) – big regression 2025 estWriteOnly – during writing no read interrupt is permitted [arabcon-handler]
New versions of SDL 2 and SDL 3 are now available for download over on OS4Depot:
Version 2.6.0 of the WHD-Load front-end iGame was released in June. The AmigaOS 4 port is maintained by George Sokianos a.k.a. Walkero. This is a front-end application for launching WHDLoad games and demos.
Features
- Multiple WHDLoad slaves repositories on hard disk partitions
- On-demand scanning in repositories for installed WHDLoad slaves (games, demos, etc.)
- Use games tooltypes on the run
- Shows game screenshot (screenshot window can be altered through tooltypes/settings uses datatypes to load foreign formats)
- Categorization of the games and filtering
- Manual addition of non-WHDLoad games, demos, etc.
- Simple statistics
- Find-as-you-type search filter
The download is available here:
MEncoder version 1.5 is now available on OS4Depot. It has been updated to the latest SVN version and recompiled for the most recent SDK.
In previous reports, I’ve written about Seq, a MIDI sequencer, by Tuomas Hokka. A new update is out with the following changes:
3.2 (19th June 2025):
- FIXED drawing one-time track steps
3.1 (4th June 2025):
- NOTE! Changed how MIDI devices are selected, changes to the project file format
- requires re-saving all projects
- loading project will try to get the correct MIDI device selection automatically
- NOTE! CAMD might put your multiple MIDI devices to different order after each boot/power on, that’s the reason to change how to set the devices! This way one will need to change the devices in one place only.
Version 53.10 of SMB2FS has been released. smb2-handler is a filesystem for accessing files remotely using the SMB2/3 protocols. The protocol implementation is based on the latest git version of libsmb2 (https://github.com/sahlberg/libsmb2).
Version 34.5 of AmiArcadia for AmigaOS 4, a Signetics-based machines emulator, has been released by James Jacobs.
According to the documentation, AmiArcadia supports the following systems:
- Emerson Arcadia 2001 console family (Bandai, Emerson, Grandstand, Intervision, Leisure-Vision, Leonardo, MPT-03, Ormatu, Palladium, Poppy, Robdajet, Tele-Fever, Tempest, Tryom, Tunix, etc.) (c. 1982);
- Interton VC 4000 console family (Acetronic, Cabel, Fountain, Hanimex, Interton, Prinztronic, Radofin, Rowtron, Soundic, Voltmace, Waddingtons, etc.) (c. 1978);
- Elektor TV Games Computer (1979);
- PIPBUG- and BINBUG-based machines (EA 77up2, EA 78up5, Signetics Adaptable Board Computer, Eurocard 2650, etc.) (1977-1978);
- Signetics Instructor 50 trainer (1978);
- Signetics TWIN minicomputer (1976);
- Central Data 2650 computer (1977);
- PHUNSY computer (c. 1980);
- Ravensburger Selbstbaucomputer aka 2650 Minimal Computer trainer (1984);
- Hofacker MIKIT 2650 trainer (1978);
- Astro Wars, Galaxia, Laser Battle and Lazarian coin-ops by Zaccaria (1979-1981);
- Malzak 1 and 2 coin-ops by Kitronix (c. 1981);
- AY-3-8500/8550/8600-based Pong systems (Coleco Telstar Galaxy, Sheen TVG-201, etc.) (1976-1977);
- VTech Type-right machine (1985)
It is packed with features, far too many to list here. Examples include ReAction GUI, load/save snapshots, and windowed and fullscreen modes. Other features are CPU tracing, trainer, and drag and drop support. Additionally, it offers graphics scaling, PAL/NTSC modes, and frame skipping, among many other features!
Here is an overview of the changes since the last release:
- Debugger: added DRAW command.
- Miscellaneous improvements and bug fixes.
Please visit OS4Depot for the full list.
If you enjoy creating pixel art, you’ll be happy to hear that version 2.9 WIP of GrafX2 has been ported by Kas1e and smarkusg. The program is similar in style to programs like Deluxe Paint and Personal Paint. It works great and has a lot of functions and possibilities. Grab it from OS4Depot here:
MCE, Multi-game Character Editor, is a user-friendly open-source editor of character files, saved games, high score tables, levels, and graphics for 125 games. James Jacobs, the author, has now released version 15.5, which provides miscellaneous improvements, as well as save game editors for King’s Quest 2 and 3.
Amiga-news.de reports news concerning a project by Kas1e to create a new text editor. It is called DumbPad and already runs stable. Please head over to amiga-news.de for the full story.
They also report that Snork 0.1, a new tracer/logger for AmigaOS 4 is now available. You can find more information on their website.
https://www.amiga-news.de/en/news/AN-2025-06-00108-EN.html
The developer Andrea Palmate has written a post describing a new chapter for the AmigaOS 4 web experience. The text starts with “After years of silence, a new version of the Odyssey Web Browser is being developed for AmigaOS4, reigniting hope for modern web browsing on our beloved platform.”. You can find it here:
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-Return-of-Odyssey-A-New-Chapter-for-AmigaOS4-W7W71G4B2G
He has also published a video of Odyssey Alpha 1 running on QEMU:
Miscellaneous News
Trixie, developer of Rave for AmigaOS 4, has published a new post on his Rear Window blog. The title of the text is The power of being abandoned. It was a great read in my opinion, and I’d like to quote one passage from it (hope you don’t mind, Trixie!):
The OS4 community should start arranging for itself the things it can arrange, and focusing on the things it can influence. We may not be the largest of the Amiga platforms, but the blood, sweat, and tears poured into it make it something worth looking after.
Well said, Trixie!
Here is the link to the post:
https://ko-fi.com/post/The-power-of-being-abandoned-X8X11H22ZG
The Amiga Retro Channel has published a new video showing OpenLara running on AmigaOS 4.1.
The Norwegian musician Helge Kvalheim is back with a new song. This one is called Rasta Man. You can check it out here!
McFly PPC has released a new video showing footage from the Amiga Ruhrpott Convention V3 (June 21st, 2025).
Shoe’s Workbench has made a video called AmigaOne X5000 via NanoKVM:
Until next time
That was all for this time. Hope you enjoyed the read!
Thanks as always to all readers and supporters out there. Thanks for visiting my blog and see you in the next roundup! 🙂
I wish you all a great summer and hope you’ll have a good time. 🙂
Best regards,
Puni
