Hardware Testing

PCE (PC Engine / TurboGrafx-16) — ✅ FULLY CONFIRMED 2026-04-02

• Library path: System/Library/Images/pce/ (= platform_ids: ["pce"] from agg23.PC Engine/core.json)
• Image filename: CRC32 of the ROM file (lowercase hex) — from list.bin offset +4
  • Example: Bonk's Adventure (USA).pce CRC32 = 599ead9b → file named 599ead9b.bin
• Format: 90°CCW pre-rotated, 165px target height (post-rotation), BGRA32, portrait (width < height)
• pce_thumbs.bin: Firmware-managed cache. The firmware rebuilds it from .bin files in pce/ on boot. Do NOT write it manually.
• Confirmed on hardware: Box art displays correctly in Library > Game Detail view (Pocket firmware 2.5+, agg23.PCEngine OpenFPGA core)

PCE + PCECD on Analogue Duo — ✅ FULLY CONFIRMED 2026-04-03

• Library paths: Same as Pocket — System/Library/Images/pce/ and System/Library/Images/pcecd/
• Image filename: CRC32 from Duo's list.bin offset +4 (may differ from No-Intro CRCs — always use the Duo's own list.bin)
• Format differs from Pocket: No pre-rotation; header = (stored_w, stored_h) not (stored_h, stored_w)
  • Duo firmware renders stored data directly (no 90°CW hardware rotation)
• pce_thumbs.bin / pcecd_thumbs.bin: Also firmware-managed on the Duo — rebuilt from per-game .bin files on boot
• Confirmed on hardware: PCE and PCECD box art displays correctly in Library on Duo firmware 1.5

Historical mistakes (now resolved)

• ❌ Files written to PC Engine/ — firmware does NOT look there; must use pce/ (platform_id, not shortname)
• ❌ CRC read from list.bin[+8] — wrong field; list.bin[+4] is the ROM CRC32
• ❌ Manual pce_thumbs.bin generation — not needed; firmware manages this file automatically
• ❌ Pocket-format images written to Duo — causes horizontal stripe garbling due to header (h, w) mismatch; Duo needs (w, h)

Open Questions / Items to Verify on Hardware

1. GBA library support — GBA images at System/Library/Images/gba/ are implemented but not yet hardware-tested on Pocket. Use --console gba. The CRC should come from list.bin[+4] (No-Intro ROM CRC32) — same mechanism as PCE.

2. Neo Geo Pocket Color (NGP) — NGPC images at System/Library/Images/ngp/ are implemented but not yet hardware-tested. Use --console ngp. System ID 0x06 covers both NGP and NGPC games on the Pocket.

Hardware Test Procedure for New Formats

Step-by-step instructions for testing a new .bin format or path:

1. Run python analogue_image_gen.py "E:\" convert-only --console <console> --use-pocket-db --include-roms --force
2. Verify files exist: Get-ChildItem "E:\System\Library\Images\<platform_id>"
3. Insert SD card into Pocket and open Library
4. Navigate to a game → Game Detail view and observe if box art appears
5. Record result here and update .github/agents/phase-tracker.md