Cowabunga!
This week I have something really special to share.
Back in 2021, when I published the new updater "Downloader", I already had an ambitious plan: to integrate the updater with a proper, user-friendly UI for MiSTer FPGA. Five years later, we are finally making that a reality.
But before talking about the new updater UI, I want to highlight the thing that makes this possible: Zaparoo Frontend.
Zaparoo Frontend is here
Zaparoo Frontend is an incredible new UI for your MiSTer. It replaces the original interface and makes your device feel 100% like a console.
No weird settings, no ugly menus. It looks and behaves the way you would expect from a mainstream gaming console... but with MiSTer cores and all its features.
It also works great on CRTs without having to tweak any INI files, and it does not lock you in. Power users can still seamlessly go back to the original MiSTer interface whenever they need it.
Zaparoo Frontend is truly awesome. It is similar in spirit to the Console Mode UI from the team behind the SuperStation One, but it is already available for all MiSTer setups, and works better.
A first-class Update UI for Zaparoo Frontend
This is where that 2021 plan finally comes together: a proper Update UI, running directly inside this new MiSTer shell.
This is something I have been developing for months, and the first release is already fully featured. It brings you the same functionality you get with Update All / Downloader, but in a much more convenient way.
Your cores, your OS updates, all the things you enabled in the Update All Settings Screen, and even the JTBETA key from JOTEGO whenever it changes (if you are supporting his work) will be installed to your MiSTer just as they would be with Update All.
As you can see, this finally looks like a proper modern updater, with a real progress bar. But that is not all. It also includes a comprehensive Details screen where you can check exactly what has been updated.
That is something the log viewer from Update All could never do in a way that felt truly user friendly. Plus, again, it works great on CRTs out of the box with the CRT mode.
How to try it
You can try Zaparoo Frontend right now from Update All.
Go to the Tools & Scripts menu in the Settings Screen from Update All, and enable Zaparoo.
When it asks if you want Zaparoo Frontend to be the default frontend, press Yes, and run a normal update.
After that, feel free to reboot. Zaparoo Frontend will show up the next time you start your device.
Want to get out? No problem, press the button associated to Back (i.e.: ESC in a keyboard), and you'll be back to the stock MiSTer interface.
What comes next
Today is the first release of the Update feature in Zaparoo Frontend -let's call it v1- but there will be many more.
Soon, you will also be able to log in to RetroAccount and access the same menus that you can currently access from Update All, but directly from this new frontend.
In other words, for most users there will soon be no point in using Update All anymore, because this Update UI will do the same and more... and that is a good thing!
(But don't you worry, I'll still keep maintaining Update All)
Closing up
Last but not least: Big kudos to Wizzo, Andrea, Tim and all the other contributors from the Zaparoo Team for creating this amazing frontend. It's something many believed to be impossible years ago, and now it's here to stay.
And that was all for today. If you were hoping for turtles, I have to admit that this post was totally unrelated to TMNT. My excuse is that the guy behind the GameDataBase was in the mood of designing this turtle-inspired capsule image you see in the header, and considering that Zaparoo Frontend is a MiSTer shell, I simply could not say no to Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo... who also know a thing or two about great shells.
I'm sure you understand.
Cowabunga, and see you soon!