BlueWake 0.8.0 brings the Wind Waker HD look, HD textures you make from your own Wind Waker HD game inside the app, more speed by default on Windows and Linux, the same menus on every computer, and an experimental Android build. Every version needs your own USA (GZLE01) disc image. The ready-made Windows build includes the game code translated from my disc; nothing else from the game is included.
Install
Windows: download BlueWake-v0.8.0-windows-x64.zip, unpack the whole folder and run BlueWake.exe. Your saves and settings in %APPDATA%\BlueWake carry over. You need Windows 10 or 11 and a CPU with AVX2. A Direct3D 12 GPU is best. On older GPUs BlueWake now tries Direct3D 11 instead of showing a black screen; I haven't been able to check that on such a PC yet, so tell me how it goes.
Linux: build it from this release's source with python3 scripts/linux/build.py /path/to/GZLE01.iso (steps in docs/LINUX.md). A ready-made AppImage will be added to this release once one is built and checked.
iPhone and iPad: build your app with PadMint on an Apple Silicon Mac. It downloads BlueWake-v0.8.0-ios-unsigned.ipa (the app without game code) and adds the game made from your disc. Install it over your current BlueWake to keep your saves.
Mac: build it from this release's source: scripts/builder/build.sh "/path/to/GZLE01.iso" --platform macos --out build/macos. Your saves in ~/Library/Application Support/BlueWake are kept.
Android (experimental): build it yourself from your own disc on a Windows PC, as docs/ANDROID.md describes (thanks to LiquidAzir). It's checked on one phone so far.
What's new
The Wind Waker HD look, off by default
- Islands on the horizon from further away, bloom, the far-distance blur, ambient occlusion, cloud shadows, and edge and torch light, kept gentle so the game keeps its colours. Press F2 on Windows, Mac and Linux, or turn it on under Mods on iPhone and iPad. Each piece can be turned off by itself (
docs/WWHD_LOOK.md).
HD textures from your own Wind Waker HD game
- Mods › Wind Waker HD textures › Import from Wind Waker HD… makes the texture pack, HD menus and HUD included, from your decrypted HD dump or a USA WUD/WUX image with its keys, on Windows, Mac, Linux, iPhone and iPad. No Python, and nothing from the Wii U game is included in BlueWake.
Faster
- Behaviour timing is on by default on Windows and Linux: 7 to 11% faster on Intel desktops and 9% on the Steam Deck.
- Lighter checks around the game code (thanks to pdale-boop) and Elliott Tate's faster returns and calls.
- On Wayland the game runs at full speed (thanks to jslay88).
The same menus and keys on every computer (thanks to pdale-boop)
- F1 settings, F2 the HD look, F5 and F8 save and load state, F7 the stage select, F9 the frame rate, F10 Smooth Motion, F11 fullscreen. The Windows menu works with a controller, and Linux gets Restart now and safe mode.
Controls
- The D-pad moves the cursor in Items and Quest Status, gyro aiming with a DualSense, DualShock 4, Switch Pro or Steam Deck, swapping L and R, and 21:9 widescreen.
Fixes
- Lenzo accepts the right Picto Box photos (thanks to jslay88).
- Each island's sea chart shows its own map.
- The Greatfish merchant stays on his raft (thanks to jslay88).
- Resizing the window on Linux no longer crashes (thanks to pdale-boop).
Also new
- The developers' stage select, off by default, with 468 places to jump to from your own file (thanks to pdale-boop).
- Linux: portable mode, a working texture-pack folder picker (thanks to jkoehler11), and the build container (thanks to cforain).
How it was checked
I built the Windows version on my PC (Ryzen 7 5700U) from my own disc, from the same commit, in 81 minutes. It starts, draws with Direct3D 12 and quits cleanly; I only tried it briefly at Outset this time.
I built the iPhone and iPad app without game code from this release's commit and checked that it holds no game code. PadMint then made a complete iPhone and iPad build from it on a Mac the way a player's PadMint does, from a fresh copy of the source. I also built the Mac version from my own disc: all 468 places in the stage select were tried (446 load; the rest are test rooms, known crash rooms and story scenes my file hasn't reached), and the benchmark tour ran through Outset, Windfall, Dragon Roost Cavern, Forest Haven and the sea by the Fortress with no slowdowns.
Known problems
- With Smooth Motion above 60 FPS, clouds and the HD look can flicker on some PCs (#136). pdale-boop's fix is in progress (#371).
- The Wind Temple's rooms R04 and R08 need an opt-in switch to load from the stage select (#318).
- Busy scenes can still run below full speed on slower CPUs, including the Steam Deck (#215). Speed stays the main focus.
Thanks to Elliott Tate, pdale-boop, jslay88, cforain, jkoehler11, LiquidAzir and irregularthanis.
Found a problem? Open an issue or ask on Discord, and attach your session log (%APPDATA%\BlueWake\logs on Windows).