April brought enthusiastic news for the AROS community! In addition to new distributions of 32-bit systems, something truly groundbreaking happened - a stable bootable ISO of 64-bit AROS appeared! This is a huge step forward, which opens up new possibilities for the system and allows it to better adapt to modern technologies. The move to 64-bit architecture means better performance, better use of hardware resources and compatibility with the growing demands of the open source world. This is an exciting moment for all AROS users and developers!
This ISO is the conclusion of several years of development by many AROS developers and the last six months of intensive testing, debugging and stabilization. This initial release brings improved support for virtual environments (VirtualBox, VMware and QEMU) and for some, but not yet all, hardware supported by the 32-bit version. If you want to learn more about what changes are coming in the next few months, check out our development plan.
Downloads can be found at github.com or axrt.org.
The full change log for this release is available here or here.
According to Deadwood’s announcement, the Odyssey Web Browser will soon receive an update that will introduce more modern versions of the WebKit engine, making better use of RAM and 64-bit JIT compilation. As a result, AROS users will be able to browse modern web pages comfortably. In addition, the latest Amiga emulation cores, also featuring 64-bit JIT, will become available and be better integrated into the system, providing even smoother performance and greater capabilities. For AROS users, this is the beginning of a promising new chapter!
Last month’s release of a new base version of AROS (ABIv0 32-bit) resulted almost immediately in the appearance of updated distributions. Tiny AROS v3.5 and AROS One v2.8 came out.
Tiny AROS 3.5
The full list of changes for Tiny AROS 3.5: https://arosworld.org/infusions/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=1105&rowstart=220#post_8031
AROS One 2.8
The full list of changes for AROS One 2.8:
https://arosworld.org/infusions/forum/viewthread.php?thread_id=1124&pid=8058#post_8058
The new 32-bit AROS distributions include all of the changes from the last three years of system development, as well as making many improvements. This is a solid proposition for today. However, the real revolution is yet to come - testing is underway for a distribution based on the 64-bit version, which has raised high expectations in the community. If you’re an AROS fan, it’s worth keeping an eye on the development and getting ready for the next generation of this system!
Meanwhile, a handful of news from the AROS Archives:
Untangle (v. 1.2)
x86_64(author: Grzegorz Kraszewski)
Untangle is a puzzle game created by Grzegorz Kraszewski for Amiga computers. The player has to untangle a set of points connected by lines, so that no line intersects another. The game runs in a window on Workbench and is compatible with AmigaOS 3.0+, AmigaOS 4, MorphOS and AROS.
Version 1.2 introduces 25 new levels, bringing the total number to 200, and adds localization in Polish.
Untangle
FLX Player (v. 0.3)
x86_64(author: Jasper Berlijn)
FLX Player is a simple player of animations in FLI, FLC and FLX formats (popular animation formats from the 1990s). The program is run from the command line.
FLX Player
meteMP3 (v. 1.5)
i386(author: serk118)
MeteMP3 is an MP3 player created specifically for AROS. It is a lightweight application using the Zune/MUI interface.
Basic features:
-
[.mp3 .flac .wav] formats as default. - Folder scanning.
- Using AHI backend with miniaudio.
- Play, Prev, Next, Pause functions….
- Double click and playback.
- Support for ID3 tags.
- Ability to replace button icons with your own.
meteMP3
arSFSDoctor (v. 1.1)
i386(author: serk118)
AROS version of SFSDoctor, which mana aim to look and act like the original. arSFSDoctor is used to recover lost / deleted and damaged sfs disks / partitions.
arSFSDoctor
Raylib (v. 5.5)
i386GLFW (v. 3.4)
i386Glad (v. 4.3)
i386miniaudio (v. 0.11.21)
i386raudio (v. 1.1)
i386(author: serk118)
Raylib is a simple and easy-to-use library for video game programming. Raylib is heavily inspired by Borland’s BGI graphics library and XNA framework and is particularly well suited for prototyping, tools, graphics applications, embedded systems and education. Thanks to serk118, we have this library on AROS updated to the latest version 5.5.
In addition, we got the rebuilt GLFW, Glad, miniaudio and raudio libraries working with the new Raylib.
Raylib 5.5
Amifish (v. 2.1)
i386(author: Domenico Lattanzi)
Amifish is a chess program created to play chess on Amiga systems, using the power of one of the most powerful chess engines in the world: Stockfish, developed by Tord Romstad, Marco Costalba, Joona Kiiski and Gary Linscott. A chess engine is a console program that plays chess by receiving strings as commands and generating strings on the output as the result of calculations. Stockfish and many other engines are compatible with a standard called UCI (Universal Chess Interface). The name Amifish was created by combining the words Amiga and Stockfish (although the project is open to all engines compatible with the UCI standard), and is a lightweight program for amateurs, designed to play chess, with only the most important options implemented.
To play against the computer, you need the Stockfish chess engine, which can also be downloaded from AROS Archives.
Amifish
Xiangqi (v. 1.0)
i386(author: Domenico Lattanzi)
Xiangqi is a chess program created to play Xiangqi (Chinese chess), using UCI-compatible chess engines for moves made by computers. A chess engine is a console program that plays chess by receiving strings as commands and generating strings at the output as the result of calculations.
To play against a computer, the engine must be downloaded from another location.
Xiangqi
Polar Paint (v. 1.055)
i386Polar Paint_Small (v. 1.055)
i386(author: Anbjørn Myren)
PolarPaint is a graphics tool developed using the Hollywood environment, offering the ability to work simultaneously on as many as eight independent workspaces. Each space can have separate settings for the history of changes, with a configurable number of undo and redo levels (Undo/Redo) - from 10 up to 100 steps.
The program provides basic graphics editing functions, as well as transparency support in two different modes. Due to its advanced functionality, the application has relatively high hardware requirements - a fast computer, capable of displaying a resolution of at least 1440x900 at 16-bit color depth and having a minimum of 40 MB of free memory, is required for proper operation.
Each active workspace consumes about 4 MB of RAM, as do the Undo/Redo levels, meaning that the amount of memory available has a direct impact on the number of possible story steps and simultaneous workspaces. To minimize the impact on memory, the author has implemented a mechanism for saving inactive workspaces and edit histories to disk. This solution allows you to use the full capabilities of the program even with a limited amount of RAM, although at the expense of performance degradation due to frequent disk access.
In the Polar Paint small version, the drawing area and the program’s window have been reduced to run on fewer resources.
Polar Paint
Los Malditos (v. 1.10)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
Los Malditos is a point-and-click adventure game with RPG elements, designed for Amiga NG systems. The game is set in a fantastic world reminiscent in atmosphere of classic role-playing games such as Dungeons & Dragons. Players will be able to choose from several heroes, explore the land of Vaccea, fight a variety of enemies (including zombies, werewolves, mages and necromancers), acquire magical artifacts and interact with the locals. The author plans to gradually add more chapters, developing the game’s world and storyline.
Los Malditos
High-Low-Equal Poker (v. 2.20)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
A simple card game. Guess the next card that appears on the table and get money and points. This is a special version to promote the author’s other game, Los Malditos del Valle del Cerro.
Changes in version 2.20:
- The game includes an exclusive Baphomet deck with characters from the game “Los Malditos’ del Valle del Cerro.”
- A bug related to the card engine has been fixed.
- Two game modes: A=1 (Ace equals 1) and Poker A>K (Ace as in poker is the highest card).
- Now the game can open and play with Baphomet decks.
- New game exit screen instead of a request window.
- Minor improvements.
High-Low-Equal Poker
Baccarat (v. 2.05)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
Play an Amiga version of Baccarat in a virtual casino. This game is a small homage to the mythical card game popularized by the James Bond adventure movie “Dr. No”.
Changes in version 2.05:
- New exit cover (more in the style of James Bond).
- Fixed a bug with Baphomet decks and game screen overload that caused slowdowns.
Baccarat
Siete y Media (v. 2.00)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
Siete y Media, also known as Seven and a Half, is a popular Spanish card game in which the goal is to get the point total as close to, but not exceeding, 7 and a half as possible. The game uses a Spanish deck of 40 cards (excluding eights and nines).
Card values:
- Aces count as 1 point.
- Cards from 2 to 7 have a value corresponding to their number.
- Figures (jack, queen, king) count as half a point (½).
Siete y Media is a simple game to learn, but it does offer a certain amount of strategy in deciding which card to draw next. It is a popular social game in Spanish-speaking countries.
Siete y Media
Blackjuan Poker (v. 2.00)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
BlackJuan Poker Card is a blackjack clone created in the Hollywood app.
Changes in version 2.00:
- New graphics created with the help of AI.
- Fixed bugs.
- Now the game can open and play with Baphomet decks.
Blackjuan Poker
Cards Making Kit (v. 2.20)
i386(author: Juan Carlos Herrán Martín)
It is a small tool for creating custom decks for card games:
- HLE Poker Card (High-Low-Equal Poker Card).
- BlackJuan.
- Siete y Media.
- Baccarat.
- BlackIvan Card.
This version has a new version of test decks to show Baphomet decks and other minor improvements.
Cards Making Kit