Hey everyone!
One month later I’m finally releasing another Update All version 🎉🎉
This one comes with quality‑of‑life features that I hope you’ll appreciate, plus a bit of extra content. And I’m also announcing a small pricing adjustment for my Patreon subscribers by the end of this post.
As usual, I’ll now share more details on the key updates in Update All version 2.3
Built-in Log Viewer
The first QOL feature addresses a common concern I’ve heard over the years: “I don’t know what updated! The output goes too quickly! It’s too inconvenient to check the log files!” Fear no more: this new feature makes it convenient 😆
In the previous release, I unified all the logs into a single one (update_all.log). And in this one, I added a built-in log viewer to Update All to check it right away.
This viewer appears after execution finishes (unless you disable it). At the end, a new screen shows up, and you can scroll using the D‑pad or arrow keys on your keyboard. You’ll know you’re in this viewer because it has status bars at the top and bottom; otherwise, it looks identical to the normal output of Update All.
Here is a screenshot:
Controls mirror the MiSTer menu:
Up/Down: Move one step.
Left/Right: Jump multiple steps.
Press any other key to exit.
As I said, the log viewer is enabled by default, but it can be disabled in the System Options of the Settings Screen.
GBA Borders DB from Dinierto
The new GBA core from Robert Peip (aka FPGAzumSpass) has an option to add borders, like those on the Game Boy Player for GameCube. There’s endless customization potential, so the community has created amazing borders. Dinierto compiled a bunch (his own and others’) into his new GBA Borders database that you can enable in the Extra Content menu on the Settings Screen in Update All.
There are many more like these in the DB
Keep in mind that, as of now, the new GBA core is under heavy development and not yet officially released, so not everything works as expected. To try it, you must install it manually. I recommend checking the pinned messages in the Game Boy Advance chat on the MiSTer Discord server for that.
Update All Latest Log Script
This new entry in the MiSTer’s Scripts menu opens the Log Viewer with the log from your latest Update All run. It’s a handy way to check the logs without rerunning Update All.
To remove this entry from your system, add "!update_all_latest_log" to your filters.
Improved Self-Updating process
Update All now detects when it needs to self‑update mid‑run and restarts itself to apply changes. Thanks to this, there is no need to run update_all twice to get the newer changes. The only time you still have to rerun update_all is when you want to toggle a new option on the Settings Screen.
More speed improvements
To make things quicker I did a couple of things:
As I announced in a previous publication, I decided to disable the Arcade Organizer by default to make Update All run much quicker. This more than halves run times. If you want to have it enabled, go to Tools & Scripts > Arcade Organizer at the Settings Screen.
I moved a couple of payloads (from Pocket Firmware Updater and Arcade Organizer) into the Update All database for faster execution.
I drastically reduced the reboot wait time when there are no OS (Linux) updates.
I made additional optimizations (migrations, local store reads, etc.). You’ll definitely notice the difference when there are few files getting installed.
Wrapping Up
As always, there are quite a few more changes in the CHANGELOG. For example, I fixed a bug that prevented from saving the selected System Options properly. Feel free to check all the details over there.
I also want to let you know a couple of things going on in my Patreon. First, I launched a new series called “Dev Tales” last week. I had fun writing it, so I’m sure there’s more to come. It’s available for paid members.
And second, I’ll be making a modest adjustment to my Patreon pricing (about €1+). I trust you’ll find it fair. After all, it’s been 41 months since the current prices were set, and as you know very well, living costs have climbed quite a bit over the past 3.5 years. Your continued support is invaluable, as it lets me spend more time on these projects instead of taking on freelance gigs. Now that I'm back in the university full-time and out of the corporate world, I definitely notice your support more than ever.
Thank you all and see you soon!