2023 in evaluation – Ruffle
It has been a really busy 2023 for Ruffle, a lot in order that we did not discover the time to put in writing a brand new progress report with every thing occurring! Let’s repair that!
Let’s summarize with some numbers first.
Because the final weblog put up…
- ActionScript 3 Language has gone up from 60% to 75%!
- ActionScript 3 API has gone up from 60% to 68%! (And it was solely 25% at first of the 12 months!)
- We have merged 852 pull requests from 43 individuals! (And three bots.)
- We have closed 1,288 points (and a few of them weren’t even duplicates or something!)
Show Filters
We have now applied 7 out of 10 of Flash’s filter results, making content material look way more correct (and plenty of textual content truly legible!)
Together with filter help, we have additionally applied cacheAsBitmap help – an enormous optimisation for video games that use it, saving us the necessity to render the identical factor each single body!
The remaining 3 filters aren’t used usually, however we welcome anybody who needs to return assist implement them! Help for the prevailing filters was executed by @Dinnerbone and @torokati44.
Textual content enhancements
On the subject of rendering, we have been choosing and poking at fonts for some time now – and thru our mixed efforts we’re lastly beginning to see the sunshine on the finish of this pixelated and wrongly formed tunnel.
@Lord-McSweeney has applied primary Textual content Structure Framework (TLF) help, which has began to get some extra superior textual content rendering working.
@kjarosh has additionally lately been engaged on making textual content inputs extra useful, implementing textual content restrictions and higher caret/choice rendering.
@Dinnerbone has created the framework for loading machine fonts, as an alternative of utilizing the default Noto Sans we use all over the place. It is out there on internet (with some configuration) however works out of the field on desktop due to @evilpie!
With machine font help touchdown, content material that did not embed their very own font will now begin wanting significantly better. Notably, numerous Japanese content material usually relied on this, and did not render textual content in any respect beforehand.
Sockets… even on the net!
This has positively been one of many greatest hurdles to emulating Flash, however the unbelievable @sleepycatcoding got here in and made it occur.
Any form of multiplayer recreation akin to Gaia, Habbo or Membership Penguin relied on sockets (TCP sockets, or XML sockets) to operate – and no person was positive if we might handle to get these working on the net. Fashionable browsers simply don’t love that form of factor!
On desktop it is now supported out of the field (however will immediate you for permission by default, simply to make certain), however internet wants a little configuration to make it work.
Flash remoting
Along with sockets, one other widespread method for on-line video games to work was a protocol known as “Flash Remoting”, utilizing NetConnection.
This was most notably seen in any recreation that makes use of the Armor Video games API, and we’re pleased to say that that now works roughly as anticipated!
FLV and video playback
This has been a tough one, however @kmeisthax has been tackling this all 12 months and making superb progress. Ruffle now helps FLV playback, relying on which codec is required, and @danielhjacobs has added a workaround for patented codecs on the net by enjoying them utilizing the browser excessive of the content material (or on desktop, simply opening the browser).
There’s nonetheless plenty of progress to be made right here, and @torokati44 has a working prototype of decoding H.264 utilizing Cisco’s OpenH264 which may be very thrilling!
Preliminary AIR help
This was a very long time stretch objective that is beginning to see actuality due to @Aaron1011! We now correctly model the ActionScript 3 API, and this has been prolonged to permit AIR-only lessons and strategies.
We do not have a lot to point out for AIR stuff but, however the framework to get us right here has already helped shut off many longstanding compatibility bugs when films do not anticipate sure strategies or properties to exist for the model of Flash they aim.
Blended AVM
On the subject of longstanding bugs, @Lord-McSweeney has been engaged on permitting mixed-avm films to run appropriately – these are often ActionScript 3 video games working inside ActionScript 2 containers, or vice versa.
There’s nonetheless extra to do right here, however it’s already helped unblock numerous content material from simply mysteriously failing to begin!
Extension enhancements
The extension now makes use of Manifest V3 (considerably reluctantly), which permits us to… maintain current. Sadly this got here with needing to take away the “go to a swf url and play it within the browser” characteristic, as that is now not doable with MV3.
Nonetheless, the upside to that is that we’re now in the Edge store! Additionally, due to work from @kmeisthax and @danielhjacobs, we’re additionally now out there on Firefox for Android! Check it out!
@WumboSpasm additionally redesigned the demo participant within the extension, which @danielhjacobs made function the alternative for the aforementioned swf-url characteristic. It appears to be like fairly neat!
Desktop UI
While we had a brilliant primary UI launched in our final weblog put up, now it is even higher! It is nonetheless as easy to make use of as earlier than, however the brand new Superior Open menu has many new choices you’ll be able to toggle to alter how content material performs – plus we have added a number of name new debug instruments that even Flash Participant did not have!
New web site
While not Ruffle itself, the web site acquired some much-needed love from @Dinnerbone with a complete redesign. There’s much more we might love to do sooner or later with it, however internet growth is not the specialty of any of our common contributors… assist may be very a lot welcome!
We have additionally pulled in all of the enhancements to the Extension’s demo participant, and introduced these over to the web site too.
Too many contributions to name out!
There’s been simply so many PRs touchdown that not every thing can take the highlight right here. We would prefer to thank each single one who helped form Ruffle in 2023, and hope that 2024 brings extra nice progress.
As well as, an enormous thanks to our sponsors who assist maintain the mission alive. We admire you all!
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