@DeltaVortex

Spectralis devlog #41
—Hello again proggers—
Podcast mode’s in the works, with a real new way to actually find saved podcasts instead of digging for them. Also fixed the randomizing tools so they actually help pick a song instead of just existing decoratively. And: class got canceled for a hurricane watch, so tonight’s an all-nighter by default.
free 10 hours courtesy of a hurricane, weird way to get them
Cat or dog? shuffle(weighted=True)
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Two real features this round plus a forced schedule change. Podcast mode’s genuinely new territory for the app, the randomizer fix is a smaller but meaningful UX improvement, and the hurricane watch just handed over a full night that wasn’t originally planned for grinding.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Podcast Mode, In Progress
Building out actual podcast support, including a new way to locate saved podcasts rather than just treating them like any other track and hoping they surface in the right place. Real new territory for the app compared to the music-first feature set so far.
2 — Randomizing Tools, Actually Useful Now
The shuffle/randomizer tools existed before but weren’t really doing anything meaningful — mostly there in name. Fixed so they actually aid in song selection now instead of just sitting there as a checkbox nobody trusted.
a randomizer that doesn’t actually help you pick anything is just decoration
3 — The Hurricane Watch Situation
Class got canceled due to a hurricane watch, which means tonight’s turning into a full grind session that wasn’t originally on the calendar. Silver lining of a weather delay, I suppose.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one getting a bonus grind night courtesy of a hurricane watch.
Q: Is podcast mode close to done?
A: In progress, this devlog’s the early build phase, not the finish line.
Q: What was actually wrong with the randomizer before?
A: It existed but didn’t meaningfully help pick songs — more decorative than functional. Fixed to actually aid selection now.
Q: Is Song Wars rework from devlog #40 still going?
A: Ongoing, this devlog’s focus shifted to podcast mode and the randomizer instead.
Q: Stay safe with the hurricane watch, by the way.
A: Appreciated. Staying inside, staying coding.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, hurricane watches permitting
POOL!!!

Spectralis devlog #40
—Hello again proggers—
10 straight hours, and the highlight is getting tricked by Suno’s own scraper path. There was a decoy path that looked exactly like the real music endpoint, and it just returned forbidden the whole time. Maybe I’m the bot in this scenario. Unclear.
got outsmarted by a decoy URL, humbling
Cat or dog? 403 Forbidden
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Continuing the reverse-engineering grind from devlog #39, Suno specifically threw a curveball this round. Beyond that, spent real time thinking about what the app actually is and why certain features exist, plus started tearing into Song Wars, which has apparently been quietly buggy for a while.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — The Suno Decoy Path
Suno provides a path that looks exactly like the real music endpoint, structurally identical, right down to how it responds at a glance. In reality it just returns forbidden every time. Spent real time thinking this was progress before realizing it was a dead end dressed up as a working one.
maybe im the bot
2 — Actually Fixed It, After Testing
Once the decoy was identified for what it was, found the real path and got it working properly. Testing it thoroughly this time before calling it done, given how devlog #39 went.
3 — Identity Of The App
Spent real time thinking through what Spectralis actually is at this point, and justifying why certain features exist rather than just accumulating them because they seemed cool at the time. Less code, more “why does this exist and does it still make sense.”
4 — Song Wars Rework, Started
Started tearing into Song Wars, which turns out to be hella buggy underneath. Early stages of a rework rather than a patch job, since patching individual bugs in it hasn’t been holding up.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who got fooled by a decoy API path for a while.
Q: Was the Suno issue related to the S3 discovery from devlog #38?
A: Same general integration, different specific obstacle this round.
Q: Is Song Wars getting a full rewrite or just fixes?
A: Leaning toward a real rework rather than more patches, given how buggy it’s turned out to be.
Q: What does “identity of the app” work actually produce?
A: Not code directly — more a filter for which features actually belong and why, going forward.
Q: How’s the 10 hour grind treating you?
A: Productive despite the decoy detour. Real progress by the end of it.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, decoy paths permitting
PAP!!!

Spectralis devlog #39
—Hello again proggers—
All-nighter, running on 3 Monsters and a Coke Zero. Reverse engineering APIs is hard as hell, and untitled.stream in particular fought back the whole way. Also snuck in a fix for a Spotify library issue on the side.
3 Monsters and a Coke Zero is not a nutrition plan, it’s a battle strategy
Cat or dog? 429 Too Many Requests
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Following up on devlog #38’s untitled.stream compat work — turns out “working on it” undersold how hard it actually was. Genuinely brutal reverse engineering session, plus a smaller fix that came out of the same stretch of work.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — untitled.stream Was Particularly Hard To Crack
Chasing this compatibility since devlog #38, and it turned out to be one of the harder reverse-engineering targets yet. No public API to lean on, so it was the usual slow grind of observing behavior and piecing together how it actually works under the hood.
some APIs give up easy, this was not one of them
2 — Reverse Engineering APIs In General: Still Hard
Not a new lesson given devlog #17’s whole saga, but worth restating: this category of work is consistently the hardest and slowest kind on the whole project. Going in with better patience and verification habits this time though, which helped.
3 — Spotify Library Polling, Increased
Bumped how often libraries get polled to account for some Spotify-side issues that were surfacing. Smaller fix, but a real one, found and shipped in the same session.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who ran on three energy drinks to crack one integration.
Q: Is untitled.stream compat actually working now?
A: Meaningfully further along after this session, following up from devlog #38’s start on it.
Q: Did this go better than devlog #17’s reverse-engineering disaster?
A: Yes — hard and slow, but productive this time rather than a total dead end.
Q: What was the Spotify polling issue specifically?
A: Library state getting out of sync too easily — more frequent polling keeps it closer to accurate.
Q: Sleep status?
A: Same as every other all-nighter devlog. Not great. Worth it this time though.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, rate limits permitting
PIPSQUEAK!!!

Spectralis devlog #38
—Hello again proggers—
Suno’s integration broke after their latest TOS update, so that got fixed. Also added Discord Rich Presence control for capsules, started chasing down a batch of connections that quietly broke or got dropped over time, and picked up a fun trivia fact along the way: Suno apparently hosts on AWS S3.
a TOS update breaking an integration, name a more classic story
Cat or dog? S3://
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Mixed bag this round: one reactive fix from an external platform change, one genuinely new feature, and the start of a cleanup pass on integrations that have been quietly rotting since whenever they last got touched.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Suno Integration, Fixed
Suno’s newest TOS update broke the existing integration. Patched it back up to work with the new terms. Reactive fix, not a fun one, but necessary.
2 — Capsule DRPC Control
Real new feature: Spectralis capsules can now control Discord Rich Presence, so a capsule can show custom status while it’s playing instead of the app just showing generic now-playing info.
3 — Chasing Down Broken And Dropped Connections
Going through existing integrations that broke with newer updates on the other end, or that got dropped along the way and never revisited — untitled.stream compatibility being one specific example. Working through the backlog of “this used to work” one at a time.
4 — Suno Hosts On AWS S3
Small fun discovery while poking around the integration: Suno’s hosting is on AWS S3. Not actionable, just neat to know.
5 — Looking For New Platforms
Actively looking for what to integrate with next. Feedback on what platforms people actually want would genuinely help shape this.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one whose integration broke because someone else updated a TOS page.
Q: What’s DRPC?
A: Discord Rich Presence — the status shown under someone’s name in Discord. Capsules can now set custom status through it.
Q: What’s untitled.stream compat about?
A: One of the connections that broke or got left behind at some point — being actively worked back into shape.
Q: What platforms are being considered for new integration?
A: Not decided yet, genuinely open to suggestions.
Q: Was the Suno fix hard?
A: Not conceptually, just annoying — an external change forcing reactive work instead of planned work.
Q: What’s the image order now?
A: Changed my mind again — meme first, app screenshot second this time. The devlog #37 order didn’t stick.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, TOS updates permitting
POP!!!

Spectralis devlog #37
—Hello again proggers—
Working through the feedback wave from the ship, including an upcoming maybe-new streaming service integration. Reverse engineering, again, yay. Also completely forgot Hackclub’s 10 hour limit was a thing and ran 5 hours over it. It’s fine. Everything’s fine.
last time reverse engineering a streaming service ate 12 hours and produced nothing, so this is either growth or déjà vu
Cat or dog? HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Post-ship feedback turned into real changes fast, and one of them’s a streaming service integration that’s back to reverse-engineering territory — hopefully with better luck than the devlog #17 saga. Also, format note: switching up how devlogs get posted going forward.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Maybe New Streaming Service Support
Working on possible support for another streaming service, and since it doesn’t have a public API either, that means reverse engineering again. Learned some hard lessons from devlog #17’s all-nighter about this exact kind of work, applying them here — verifying before implementing, checking whether something’s already patched before sinking hours into it.
2 — 15 Hours, Not 10
Completely lost track of Hackclub’s 10 hour session limit and blew past it by 5 hours. Not the plan, happened anyway, no regrets loud enough to stop it from happening again probably.
time limits are more of a guideline when you’re mid-flow
3 — A Format Change, By Request
People like the meme format but keep asking to actually see the project itself, which is fair — problem is most of what’s happening is engine work, and a screenshot of raw code just doesn’t communicate much on its own. Going to try posting an actual screenshot as the first image and keep the meme as the second, going forward.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who just blew past a 10 hour limit by half again as much.
Q: Is this streaming integration going to end like devlog #17’s did?
A: Hoping not — going in more carefully this time given how that one went.
Q: Why not just show code screenshots if people want to see the project?
A: Raw engine code doesn’t communicate much visually to most people. Trying to find screenshots that actually show something meaningful instead.
Q: Will the meme format go away?
A: No, staying as image two. Just adding an actual project screenshot as image one.
Q: How’s the feedback wave going overall?
A: Productive, this streaming service idea being one direct result of it.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, session limits permitting
POSSIBLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #36
—Hello again proggers—
Last log before 6.0.1 tries to ship to everyone. Except Mac, remember? If anyone — and by anyone I mean basically no one — has the app downloaded already, you should see the update land fairly soon.
“anyone” carrying a lot of self-deprecation in that sentence
Cat or dog? v6.0.1
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Four things landing in this round: video export from devlog #35 finally patched back in properly, the about page expanded, a real EQ upgrade, and more webview bugs cleared out. Then it’s out the door.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Video Export, Actually Patched In
Announced back in devlog #35, and this round it’s actually working and patched into the build for real instead of just existing as a headline feature nobody could touch yet.
2 — About Page, Expanded
Grew the about page out — more actual content instead of the bare-minimum version it’s had this whole time.
3 — A Far More Advanced EQ System
Real upgrade here: new EQ with envelope styling and a handful of presets. Meaningfully more capable than whatever was there before, for anyone who actually cares about shaping their sound instead of just hitting play.
4 — More Webview Bugs, Patched
Following the WebView2Host fast-path fix from devlog #9, a few more webview-related bugs got cleared out this round. Apparently that surface keeps finding new ways to misbehave.
webview bugs are the gift that keeps on giving
5 — 6.0.1 Ships, Mac Excluded (Still)
Same LTS-only policy from devlog #32 applies — Mac isn’t getting 6.0.1 as a minor. Everyone else should see the update land soon.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one about to auto-update basically no one to 6.0.1.
Q: Why doesn’t Mac get 6.0.1?
A: Same policy from devlog #32 — Mac only gets LTS releases, not minors, unless it’s a Mac-specific patch.
Q: What’s new in the EQ system specifically?
A: Envelope styling plus a set of presets, a real step up from the previous version.
Q: Is video export from devlog #35 fully working now?
A: Yes, patched in properly this round.
Q: When does 6.0.1 land?
A: Fairly soon, per this devlog, for anyone who already has the app installed.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, update pushes permitting
PEBBLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #35
—Hello again proggers—
Long way from v5.3.0, that’s for sure. New ship’s cooking, and it’s built directly off the feedback wave from devlog #33 — took what came in and actually built more on top of it. Also, the big one this round: video export is here.
35 devlogs from “last ship” to this
Cat or dog? .mp4
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
This one’s a real feedback-driven ship, not just internal roadmap stuff. Fed reports and requests all the way back from devlog #2’s post-first-ship feedback into the app, and video export was the headline addition that came out of it.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Feedback Actually Became Features
Everything that came in since devlog #2, right after the very first ship, finally got folded back into this release, not just patched as bugs but expanded into more app. Real loop from “here’s what’s wrong/missing” way back then to “here’s it, fixed and built out” now.
2 — Video Export Is Here
For music makers who want something to post — YouTube, Klipy, wherever you’re posting cool stuff — Spectralis can now export video directly instead of just playing audio and visualizers live. Been a long time coming given how much the visualizer/capsule work has built up across devlogs #7, #18, #23, and #29-#30.
3 — This Is The New Ship, Not The Finished One
Announcing the direction this round more than closing it out — the surprise from devlog #33/#34 still rides along on this too. Full picture coming as it actually ships.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who just got a whole export pipeline for their trouble.
Q: What can video export actually do?
A: Exports your visualizer/capsule output as an actual video file, suited for posting to platforms like YouTube or Klipy.
Q: Is this the same ship as the Stardance surprise from devlog #34?
A: Same overall release window, yes.
Q: How much of this came directly from user feedback?
A: A meaningful chunk — some of it going all the way back to devlog #2, right after the very first ship.
Q: When’s it actually dropping?
A: Still in progress. This is the announcement, not the release.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, export pipelines permitting
PS: couldn’t find a good meme this time, so you get corporate gif slop instead. Enjoy.
PICKLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #34
—Hello again proggers—
Still on the devlog commits grind. The surprise from devlog #33 is actually finished now, releasing alongside the next Stardance ship as soon as this current one clears. Meanwhile, spent this round scouring the app for small edge cases and UI stuff that’s been quietly overlooked.
the surprise is done, the suspense is not
Cat or dog? edge_case.md
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Two tracks this devlog: the surprise from last time is locked and ready, waiting on the current ship to clear before it goes out with Stardance. In the meantime, doing a proper sweep for the small stuff — edge cases and UI rough edges that don’t show up unless you’re specifically hunting for them.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — The Surprise Is Finished
Whatever it is, it’s done. Releasing with the next Stardance ship, not this current one — has to clear first. Still not saying what it is.
still not telling you, patience
2 — Scouring For Edge Cases
Going through the app specifically looking for edge cases that got missed during normal feature work — the inputs and states nobody thinks to test until something breaks in a very specific, very rare way.
3 — UI Stuff That Got Overlooked
Alongside the edge cases, hunting down small UI issues that slipped through — spacing, alignment, states that don’t look quite right, the stuff that’s easy to miss when you’re heads-down building instead of using the app like a regular person would.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one hunting edge cases nobody else would think to try.
Q: What’s the surprise?
A: Patience, my dear child.
Q: Why wait for the current ship to clear first?
A: Cleaner to let one release settle before stacking the surprise onto the next one.
Q: Any specific edge cases found yet?
A: Sweep’s ongoing, nothing dramatic enough to call out individually yet.
Q: Still not saying what the surprise is?
A: Correct. Ask again next devlog.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, edge cases permitting
PERISHABLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #33
—Hello again proggers—
First real wave of feedback since Mac shipped in devlog #32, and it’s been genuinely good. Patching a handful of bugs people actually pointed out, plus one quick clarification for a specific rater who had a question.
real users, real feedback, feels different from testing solo
Cat or dog? feedback.md
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Shipping to actual people instead of just self-testing changes the kind of bugs that surface. Round of patches based directly on what came in, plus a couple of housekeeping notes.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Real Feedback, First Time At This Scale
Genuinely solid feedback wave since the Mac release. Different flavor of bug reports than internal testing ever produces — actual usage patterns finding things a solo QA pass wouldn’t.
2 — Patching What Got Pointed Out
Working through the specific bugs raised by that feedback. Direct fixes for direct reports, exactly the kind of loop that’s supposed to happen once something’s actually in people’s hands.
3 — Quick Note For A Specific Rater
One rater asked about the track used in devlog #1 — it’s a custom remix of “Delete” by Ninjirachi. DM if you want the file.
4 — How To Reach Out
For anyone hitting issues with the app: Slack works, or Discord at @deltav0rtex. Genuinely want the reports, keep them coming.
5 — A Surprise Is Coming Next Ship
Got something tucked away for the next release that should land well. Not spoiling it here, staying quiet on purpose. Minor patch for this round’s QoL fixes drops within the next two days.
teasing it and saying nothing else, that’s the whole bit
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one actually reading feedback instead of guessing what’s broken.
Q: How do I report a bug?
A: Slack, or Discord — @deltav0rtex.
Q: What was that track in devlog #1?
A: A custom remix of “Delete” by Ninjirachi. DM for the file if you want it.
Q: Is the current bug list from this feedback wave big?
A: Manageable, working through it directly rather than batching for a bigger release.
Q: Any plans to formalize a feedback/bug channel later?
A: Not stated yet, current setup is DMs and Slack for now.
Q: What’s the surprise for next ship?
A: Not saying. That’s the point of a surprise.
Q: When’s the minor QoL patch dropping?
A: Within the next two days.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, bug reports permitting
PARABLE!!!

Glyphs devlog #3
—Hello again proggers—
Not a build day, a thinking day. Spent it all on planning — connectivity options, shipping headaches, and the actual hard problem of fitting a full steno layout inside the Hackpad’s constraints.
no code today, just a lot of staring at ideas
Cat or dog? 2.4GHz
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
After devlog #2’s layout cuts, this round was less “build” and more “figure out what’s even possible.” Turns out connectivity and shipping logistics matter just as much as board space when you’re actually planning to ship this thing.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Connectivity: 2.4GHz Dongle Planning
Spent real time on how Glyphs should actually connect to a computer. Landed on planning around a 2.4GHz dongle rather than going straight to something like Bluetooth, and worked through what that means for the board and firmware side.
2 — Shipping Is Its Own Problem
Turns out getting parts shipped isn’t a given — some items for this project have to come by sea specifically because of where I’m located, which changes timelines in a way that pure design work doesn’t account for. Something to actually plan around, not just an afterthought.
3 — Full Steno Layout vs. Hackpad Constraints
The core design problem of the day: fitting a genuinely full steno layout onto a board that’s still fundamentally built off Hackpad’s constraints from devlog #1. Not a solved problem yet, but the shape of it is a lot clearer after today.
steno layouts want space, Hackpad’s constraints don’t care what steno layouts want
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. Except today was mostly planning, so no code got progged.
Q: Why a 2.4GHz dongle instead of Bluetooth?
A: Still early planning, but it’s the direction being worked through for now over other wireless options.
Q: Why does shipping matter this much?
A: Because sea shipping for certain parts means real lead time that has to get factored into planning now, not discovered late.
Q: Is the full steno layout figured out yet?
A: Not solved, but better understood after today’s planning session.
Q: Any actual hardware work today?
A: No, pure planning day. Building resumes once the shape of these decisions is clearer.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, sea freight permitting
POKE!!!

Spectralis devlog #32
—Hello again proggers—
Mac’s out. Actually out, actually available, actually done. Took way longer than expected — the site needed updating and every single update script needed fixing before this could actually go out the door clean.
“we got mac out” undersells how much site and script work that actually took
Cat or dog? .pkg
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Closing the loop that started way back in devlog #19 with a borrowed Mac and a hopeful “fingers crossed,” went through the decoding fixes in devlog #28, the platform-assumption hotfix in devlog #26, and now it’s actually shipped. Quick policy reminder while we’re here, since it matters going forward.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — The Site Needed Updating First
Before Mac could actually go out, the site itself needed real updates to reflect it — new download option, new platform messaging, none of which existed yet. Took a real chunk of the time this release ate.
2 — Every Update Script Needed Fixing
Following up on the Windows/Linux-centric script assumptions caught back in devlog #26 — turns out that wasn’t a one-off fix, it touched update scripts broadly. Had to go through and fix them properly for Mac to actually be able to update itself going forward, not just install once.
3 — Mac Is Actually Out
After all of that: it’s live. Full journey from borrowed hardware sessions to an actual public release.
4 — Reminder: Mac Only Gets LTS
Quick policy note, stated plainly since it matters: Mac only receives LTS releases going forward, not minor updates, unless a minor is a Mac-specific patch. Same access-constraint reasoning from devlog #19 — this isn’t changing anytime soon, so setting the expectation clearly now.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who just found out “ship Mac” secretly meant “rebuild the update pipeline.”
Q: Does Mac get every LTS release?
A: Yes, every LTS. Just not the minors in between, unless that minor is Mac-specific.
Q: Why not give Mac full parity now that it’s out?
A: Hardware access is still the bottleneck — same reasoning as devlog #19, testing and building for Mac isn’t a routine, always-available thing yet.
Q: What took so long between the decoding fixes in devlog #28 and now?
A: Mostly the site and update script work described above — the actual build was closer to ready than the delivery pipeline around it was.
Q: Is this the end of the Mac saga?
A: The release side, yes. Ongoing maintenance is just going to follow the LTS-only cadence from here.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, update scripts permitting
POP!!!

too lazy to write a full devlog but here was my idea for th board two halfs supplied by the kit the vowels outta my pocket

Glyphs devlog #2
—Hello again proggers—
Layout work started for real this round, and with it came the first honest round of feature cuts. Turns out “cool idea” and “fits on the board” are different questions, and the board answered one of them pretty definitively: no room for two OLED screens.
ambition met physical PCB real estate, physical PCB real estate won
Cat or dog? KiCad
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Following up on devlog #1’s refresher, this round was about actually laying things out and finding out which parts of the original vision survive contact with a real board. Some didn’t.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Working Out The Layout
Started actually placing components and working through the physical layout instead of just sketching ideas. This is where “sounds good” ideas either hold up or don’t.
2 — Cutting The Second OLED
The board simply does not have space for two OLED screens. One of the earlier plans assumed room that just isn’t there once real component footprints get accounted for. Cut it rather than force a layout that doesn’t actually work.
two screens sounded great until the board said otherwise
3 — Cutting Other Features That Didn’t Need To Exist
Beyond the OLED, went through and trimmed other planned features that were adding complexity without adding real value to what Glyphs is actually supposed to be — a multi-purpose steno keyboard, not a kitchen-sink board.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. Except this is hardware, so feel free to mentally substitute “engineer” if that fits better.
Q: Why cut the second OLED specifically?
A: Straightforward space constraint — the board layout doesn’t have room for two once real footprints are placed.
Q: Is this a major scope reduction for Glyphs?
A: More a right-sizing than a gutting — cutting stuff that didn’t need to be there, keeping what the project’s actually about.
Q: Is one OLED still in?
A: Yes, just not two.
Q: What’s next?
A: Presumably continuing the layout work now that the scope’s trimmed down to something that actually fits.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, footprint clearances permitting
PREBBLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #31
—Hello again proggers—
More QoL, a real bug fixed in world editing, and a proper in-depth test run of the whole thing. Honest verdict after actually using it for real: still sucks, still hate it, but it’s at least somewhat usable now. Progress, technically.
“somewhat usable” is a real milestone when you started from “actively bad”
Cat or dog? node.isCorrupt
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
World editing’s been the newer, rougher part of the studio since the Godot-inspired redesign in devlog #29. This round was about actually running it through its paces instead of just building on top of it, and that testing found a real problem.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — More QoL
Another pass of small quality-of-life improvements, continuing the trend from the last couple devlogs. Nothing individually huge, all of it adds up.
2 — The Bad Node Bug
Found and fixed a genuinely bad node bug in the world section during testing. The kind of bug that only shows up once you’re actually building real worlds instead of poking at an empty editor.
3 — The In-Depth Test Run
Took world editing for a real, thorough run this time instead of a quick sanity check. Built something with actual substance in it and used the tool the way it’s meant to be used.
4 — The Honest Verdict
Still sucks. Still hate using it. But after this round of fixes and QoL, it’s crossed into “somewhat usable” territory, which is more than could be said before this session.
low bar, cleared, moving on
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who just admitted their own tool still sucks and shipped it anyway.
Q: Is world editing done now?
A: No, “somewhat usable” is the current state, not “finished.” More work ahead.
Q: How bad was the node bug?
A: Bad enough to matter, found through actual real-world testing rather than a quick check.
Q: Is this related to the layer work from devlog #30?
A: Different area — that was capsules/timeline, this is world editing specifically.
Q: What’s the plan to make world editing not suck?
A: Keep testing it for real, keep fixing what that testing turns up. This devlog’s the start of that loop, not the end.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, corrupted nodes permitting
PAPLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #30
—Hello again proggers—
Following up on the studio redesign from last devlog — actually building inside that new layer system now. Lyric importer, a bezier tool that fought back the whole way, and capsules jumped to full HD.
30 devlogs in and the bezier tool still almost won
Cat or dog? bezier.controlPoint
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Layers from devlog #29’s redesign got real functionality built on top of them this round, plus a genuinely useful new import path and a resolution bump that should’ve probably happened earlier.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Layer Fixes
Cleaned up a handful of issues in the new After Effects-style layer system from last devlog — the kind of rough edges that only show up once you’re actually building real content in it instead of just looking at the layout.
2 — Lyric Importer: Auto Vector Layers + Keyframing
New importer that takes lyric timing and automatically generates vector layers, keyframed to match. Turns what used to be manual layer-by-layer, keyframe-by-keyframe setup into an actual import step. Big time save for anything lyric-driven, including future capsules like the demo from devlog #18.
3 — A Few More Bugs, Squashed
Small round of additional fixes alongside the bigger items, nothing individually dramatic.
4 — Capsule Resolution: Bumped To Full HD
Capsules render at full HD now instead of whatever lower resolution they were capped at before. Straightforward upgrade, noticeably better output.
5 — The Bezier Tool (Which Was Hell)
Added a real bezier curve tool to the timeline/layer editing. Genuinely brutal to get right — curve math, control point handling, and making it feel intuitive to actually drag are three different hard problems stacked on top of each other. Worth it, but it fought back the whole way.
bezier curves: simple in theory, a nightmare in an actual editor UI
6 — Timeline And Tool QoL
Assorted quality-of-life improvements across the timeline and tools generally — the small friction-reduction stuff that adds up once you’re using the studio for real work instead of just testing it.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who just fought a bezier tool and mostly won.
Q: Does the lyric importer work with the demo capsule from devlog #18?
A: That one was hand-timed and hand-built before this importer existed — this tool’s for making the next ones faster.
Q: Why was the bezier tool specifically so hard?
A: Curve math, control point interaction, and UI feel all had to work together, and getting any one of them wrong makes the whole tool feel broken.
Q: Is full HD the resolution ceiling now, or is higher coming later?
A: Full HD is what shipped this round. No commitment yet on going higher.
Q: Is the studio redesign from devlog #29 basically done now?
A: Getting real functionality built on it, which is a good sign, but still ongoing.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, control points permitting
PALPABLE!!!

Spectralis devlog #29
—Hello again proggers—
The studio’s finally looking like a real UI tool instead of a collection of windows held together by vibes. Two design references pulled this round: Godot for world editing, and Adobe After Effects for capsules.
stealing good ideas from great tools is called “design research,” look it up
Cat or dog? Ctrl+Shift+F
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Studio’s been the least polished part of the whole app for a while, mostly functional, rarely pretty. This round actually leaned into real interface design instead of just adding buttons where they fit, borrowing structure from two tools that already solved similar problems well.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Godot-Inspired World Editing
World editing took cues from Godot’s editor layout — the way it structures a scene tree, viewport, and inspector panel together as one coherent workspace instead of scattered windows. Applying that same structural thinking to world editing here, since worlds are conceptually similar: a tree of pieces you’re arranging in space.
2 — After Effects-Inspired Capsules
Capsule editing leaned on After Effects instead, specifically the layer/timeline/composition mental model. Capsules are time-based and layered by nature — a story surface, a visualizer, audio all stacked together — so a timeline-and-layers metaphor fits better than a flat property list ever did.
3 — The Studio Finally Feels Like A Tool
Combined, these two reference points are what’s pushing the studio from “internal dev utility” toward something that actually feels designed for someone to sit down and use, not just something built incrementally to unblock whatever feature needed it that week.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one borrowing UI patterns from two very different but very good tools.
Q: Is this a full rewrite of the studio UI?
A: More a restructuring around better mental models than a ground-up rebuild, but it touches a lot of surface area.
Q: Why Godot for world editing specifically?
A: Scene/viewport/inspector is a well-worn pattern for spatial editing, and worlds are fundamentally a spatial arrangement problem.
Q: Why After Effects for capsules?
A: Capsules stack time-based layers — story, visualizer, audio — which maps naturally onto a timeline/layers workflow instead of flat settings.
Q: Does this connect to the visualizer toolkit grind from devlogs #25-#27?
A: Same broader authoring-tools push, yes, this is the UI side catching up to that work.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, layer panels permitting
POP!!!

Spectralis devlog #28
—Hello again proggers—
LTS 6 is out. Genuinely out, not “shipped to nowhere” out like devlog #11. Sleep deprivation’s fully caught up though — first chance I get, I’m passing out on the couch with the cat and that’s non-negotiable at this point.
the cat’s getting a co-author credit at this rate
Cat or dog? couch, specifically, with the cat, immediately
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Long stretch from devlog #26 through here finally paid off. LTS 6 pushed, and the major macOS decoding problems from the borrowed-Mac build sessions actually got fixed. Real progress, real exhaustion, both at once.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — LTS 6 Is Out
Following the hydra-bug fight in devlog #20, the Electron relearn and Mac hotfix in #26, and the binary format detour in #27 — it’s actually pushed now. Linux and Windows builds are the ones going out first.
2 — Major macOS Decoding Problems, Fixed
Following up on the platform-assumption bug from devlog #26, where Windows/Linux-centric scripts choked on Mac being neither — dug into the actual decoding issues on macOS and got the major ones resolved this round.
3 — Mac Release Is Coming, Just Not Today
No Mac hardware access again until Monday, so the macOS build follows a bit after Linux/Windows instead of dropping same-day. Same access constraint from devlog #19, still the bottleneck, still the plan.
4 — Sleep Is Winning
Officially out of gas. Couch, cat, first available window. This devlog is basically the victory lap before collapsing.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one about to lose consciousness on a couch next to a cat, mission accomplished.
Q: Is LTS 6 out for everyone right now?
A: Linux and Windows, yes. macOS is coming shortly after once Mac access is available again Monday.
Q: Were the macOS decoding problems from the script issue in devlog #26?
A: Related territory, yes — once the platform-assumption bug got flagged, the deeper decoding issues underneath it got found and fixed too.
Q: Any concerns going into the Mac release specifically?
A: Nothing unresolved as of this devlog, but access is still limited to occasional sessions, so timing’s dependent on that.
Q: What’s next after this?
A: Sleep. Genuinely, actually sleep, before anything else touches this project.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, couch naps permitting
thudZzzzzz!!!

Spectralis devlog #27
—Hello again proggers—
Still going. Decided mid-grind to switch off JSON-based saving entirely and move to a proper binary streamed format instead — faster save/load, way less CPU overhead. Which sounds like a clean upgrade until you realize it means reading books on binary format design that were probably written before I was.
my caffeine and my reading list have diverged wildly tonight
Cat or dog? BinaryWriter
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
The pivot away from JSON wasn’t planned going into tonight, it just became obviously worth it partway through the toolkit grind. Now stuck in the part of the process nobody enjoys: documentation, theory, and CS ideation before any of the actual implementation gets to happen.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — JSON’s Getting Replaced
Moving off JSON-based saving to a binary streamed format. The reasoning’s simple — faster save/load, meaningfully less CPU usage — but simple reasoning doesn’t mean simple implementation.
2 — Reading Books Older Than Me
Digging into binary streaming format theory means reading material that predates this whole project by a wide margin, some of it by a lot more than that. Foundational stuff, just not exactly light reading at this hour.
3 — Documentation And Theory Hell
Currently deep in the least glamorous part of any format redesign: reading documentation, working through theory, and CS ideation before writing a single line that actually does anything. Necessary, still miserable at 2am.
the implementation is the fun part and it’s still hours away
4 — Sun Came Up, Had A Sandwich, Kept Going
Watched the sunrise somewhere in the middle of the theory reading. Had an egg and bacon sandwich for breakfast, genuinely delicious, best part of the night so far. No sleep planned until tonight — just powering through on breakfast fuel instead.
breakfast during an all-nighter hits different
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one reading format-design theory older than their own project at 2am.
Q: Why move off JSON now, mid-grind?
A: Became clear it was the right call while working on the visualizer toolkit — better performance characteristics were worth the detour.
Q: Is this related to the toolkit from devlog #25/#26?
A: Same overall session, this is a scope addition that came up while working on it.
Q: When does actual implementation start?
A: Once the theory and documentation phase actually resolves. Not there yet.
Q: Is tonight ever going to end?
A: Not until tonight, apparently — sun’s already up and there’s no sleep planned before then.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, binary formats permitting
PAM!!!

Spectralis devlog #26
—Hello again proggers—
Still grinding the visualizer toolkit from devlog #25. Fueled up properly this time — favorite tunes on, Coke Zero and a Monster Ultra on deck, going the entire night. Also, small detour: past me apparently gave in and used Electron at some point, so present me now has to relearn it from scratch.
past me makes decisions present me has to live with, name a more accurate description of software
Cat or dog? require(‘electron’)
Okay let’s get into it~
—Yap—
Two threads tonight: the toolkit grind continuing from last devlog, and a genuinely surprising discovery on the Mac build front that’s going to need its own hotfix branch.
—The Great Suffering—
1 — Relearning Electron
Past-me committed to Electron somewhere along the way and current-me forgot most of it. Spending part of tonight just getting back up to speed on something that used to be second nature. Annoying, but at least it’s a known quantity once it clicks back in.
2 — The Toolkit, Still Grinding
Same visualizer toolkit as devlog #25. Not done yet, but the night’s young and there’s caffeine involved. Hoping to actually close real ground on it before LTS needs to be ready.
3 — Mac Build Actually Compiles Now
Following up on devlog #19’s borrowed-Mac session — got it to build and compile this time. Real progress on a front that’s been genuinely hardware-constrained the whole way.
4 — Turns Out Mac Isn’t Windows Or Linux (Shocking, I Know)
Here’s the surprising part: a lot of the build scripts turned out to be Windows/Linux-centric, and Mac is, in fact, neither of those operating systems. Somehow this wasn’t obvious until actually staring at a failing script on real Mac hardware.
three major desktop OSes and somehow I only accounted for two of them
5 — Hotfix Branch Incoming
Need to spin up a hotfix specifically for the platform-assumption problem in the scripts, and hoping it merges back clean without conflicts. Given tonight’s track record so far, cautiously optimistic.
—FAQ (no one asked these but they are here)—
Q: What is a “progger”?
A: A human programmer. You. The one who forgot their own framework choice from past-self.
Q: Why Electron in the first place?
A: Decision from before this devlog series apparently, reasons unclear at this hour, dealing with the consequences now regardless.
Q: Is the Mac hotfix urgent?
A: Ties directly into whether LTS with Mac support actually holds together, so yes, fairly urgent.
Q: Was assuming Windows/Linux-only scripts really a mistake nobody caught until now?
A: Apparently so. Borrowed-Mac hardware access from devlog #19 finally exposed it.
Q: Toolkit status vs. hotfix status tonight — which wins?
A: Whichever gets further before the caffeine runs out. Probably both get some progress.
—This is the end*—
*end for now, merge conflicts permitting
PROPER!!!