Highlights
A release built around the issues people filed since v0.3.1: more than 40 of them are fixed.
- Timeline: Alt+wheel zooms out to the whole comp; the Time Navigator's ends drag to zoom and
;toggles frame level / the whole comp; reveal shortcuts (U, E, P…) only touch the selected layers; enabling Time Remapping reveals it; Project items land where you drop them. - Viewer: drop Project items, files and effects straight onto the comp; Pan Behind snaps the anchor to its own layer, with Alt-drag, Shift-drag and Ctrl+double-click to center; a locked viewer keeps its comp.
- Panels and editing: clicking a value or name field selects it, so typing replaces it (Enter commits, Escape cancels); the gaps between the right column's stacked panels drag to resize them; Delete removes selected animators, masks and shape groups; the font menus list your installed fonts.
- Export: VP9 WebM frames always decode (no false superframe markers); long audio keeps its sound past 12:36;
--format hevc/av1and.mp4outputs keep the codec you chose; AV1 WebM refuses alpha instead of silently dropping it. - Reliability: running out of video memory falls back to the CPU instead of crashing; GPU start-up failures are contained; the CLI no longer panics when its output is piped into
head. - Agents and automation: MCP
add_effectis one undo step and all-or-nothing; expression syntax errors reachset_propertyreplies; unknown CLI options are errors;docs/agents.mdlists every MCP tool, checked by a test. - Platforms: Windows on ARM64 installers, tested on ARM64 hardware.
Thanks to everyone who filed issues and sent pull requests. Come say hi on Discord.
What's Changed
- Windows on ARM64: release builds, PE header check, install test on ARM64 hardware by @echelon in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/101
- Persist Japanese menu language in General settings by @midasdf in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/71
- Improve AE-style editing, easing fidelity and Windows GPU rendering by @dexterlabs1 in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/95
- G2: font menus list the installed fonts by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/118
- Docs: Windows ARM64 builds in the README (#94) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/119
- Render Queue: Render Settings templates apply from the menu (#117) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/122
- Angles: the revolutions ("0x") scrub and take typing (#93) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/123
- Preview: Audio, Lock and Shy keep the cache; playback with audio waits for frames (#103) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/127
- GPU: running out of video memory falls back to the CPU instead of crashing (#106) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/129
- Timeline: Project items land where they are dropped (#89) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/131
- Viewer: drop Project items, files and effects onto the comp (#85, [#88]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/133
- Docs: user issues [#85]–#117 in gaps, parity, ROADMAP and README by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/134
- Untrack crates/hevcenc/target (36 MB of build output) and ignore nested target/ by @EthanSuquet in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/128
- Settings: handle invalid Unicode label colours gracefully by @storybored379 in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/135
- UI: cancel numeric edits on Escape and reject non-finite values by @jonassneu in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/141
- Prevent parenting hangs on malformed loaded ancestor chains by @dexterlabs1 in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/142
- GPU: land [#139] (contain GPU initialization errors) with a readback latency fix by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/144
- Contain GPU initialization errors and retire failed compositor work by @dexterlabs1 in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/139
- Docs: gaps.md records the community fixes of 7 October by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/145
- Control: close the connection on input that isn't a request by @Luskish in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/150
- docs: add star history chart to README by @coygeek in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/148
- Docs and tests: releasing guide, MCP tools table, font-list test (#136, [#137], [#149]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/173
- CLI: --format hevc / av1 write HEVC / AV1; an unknown comp is named (#154, [#155]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/178
- Timeline: per-layer reveals, Time Remap reveal, full zoom-out, navigator handles (#157–#160) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/181
- Project and text: row clicks, item labels, tracking alignment, Delete on groups (#146, [#151]–#153) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/182
- Viewer: Pan Behind snapping and modifiers, locked viewers keep their comp (#147, [#156], [#162]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/183
- Docs and packaging: web hosting guide matches the build; Linux packages describe a compositor (#164, [#165], [#169], [#174], [#180]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/184
- VP9: frames never end in a byte that reads as a superframe marker (#161) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/185
- Media: conformed audio keeps its sound past 12:36 (#172) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/186
- UI: inline fields select their value on click (#170); stacked panels resize (#171) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/187
- CLI, MCP and engine fixes (#163, [#166], [#167], [#168], [#175], [#176], [#177], [#179]) by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/188
- Release: EffectCraft v0.4.0 by @bflatastic in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/189
New Contributors
- @midasdf made their first contribution in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/71
- @dexterlabs1 made their first contribution in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/95
- @EthanSuquet made their first contribution in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/128
- @Luskish made their first contribution in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/150
- @coygeek made their first contribution in https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/pull/148
Full Changelog: https://github.com/storytold/effectcraft/compare/v0.3.1...v0.4.0
