FFB Probe release notes

Automatic updating arrives on Windows and Linux, carrying forward the measured-motion and hardware-identification work published earlier the same day.

Automatic updates

• A private startup check. The GUI reads a small stable-release manifest at startup. It sends no install ID, current-version query, device information, or probe results; offline and malformed responses stay silent.
• Windows can complete the upgrade. After explicit consent, FFB-Probe downloads the installer, verifies its exact length and SHA-256, requires a valid Windows signature from Rohsam Inc., runs the per-user installer silently, and restarts the new build.
• AppImage installs can update themselves. A running Linux AppImage can download and verify the new AppImage, invoke its user-scoped install handler, refresh the desktop entry and icons, and launch the installed copy.
• Safe fallback for other installs. Development builds, extracted AppDirs, distro packages, and other non-AppImage Linux installs are never overwritten. The prompt links to the download page and these release notes instead, and every user can defer or skip a version.

Hardware and Linux improvements included

• Measured motion during Linux effects. Live tests now sample the device axes while a force plays, recording objective displacement alongside the tester's answer.
• MOZA AY210 guidance. The AY210 (346E:1001) has a canonical name and pre-flight guidance for the vendor settings that can mask externally commanded forces.
• Correct, consistent hardware names. MOZA 346E:1002 is identified as the shared AB6/AB9 base PID, and the adapted SideWinder Force Feedback Pro at 03EB:2056 uses one cross-platform name in the app and public database.
• More robust Linux discovery. Driver-path and HID-descriptor resolution are more defensive, and autocenter is written only when the device advertises that capability.

Upgrade note

• One manual update for existing users. Versions through 1.0.6 do not contain the updater, so they must install 1.0.7 manually once. Releases after 1.0.7 can then be installed from inside the app.

A hardware and Linux evidence release that was superseded by 1.0.7 before the website download channel advanced.

Linux measurement

• Axis telemetry joins subjective answers. The Linux worker records measured displacement while effects play, helping distinguish a working effect from an incorrect 'did nothing' response.
• Safer device setup. Input-event paths and HID report descriptors resolve more reliably, while FF_AUTOCENTER is touched only on hardware that exposes it.

Hardware identity

• MOZA AY210 added. The AY210 (346E:1001) receives a canonical name and MOZA Cockpit preconditions before testing.
• MOZA AB6/AB9 PID corrected. The shared 346E:1002 identifier no longer implies only one of the two compatible base models.
• Adapted SideWinder name normalized. 03EB:2056 now aggregates under one Windows/Linux name. This was a naming correction, not a new actuation-support claim.

Linux packaging

• User-scoped AppImage installation. The AppImage gained built-in --install and --uninstall desktop integration for the user's Applications and XDG directories.

A Windows actuation fix for firmware that starts in its own spring mode and otherwise accepts Probe commands without producing physical force.

Fixes

• A clean device state before live effects. After acquiring the device and setting global gain, the Windows worker sends a best-effort DirectInput STOPALL before the live test sequence begins. This clears firmware-owned default forces so uploaded FFB Probe effects can take control from the first test.
• No destructive reset. The fix deliberately avoids DISFFC_RESET, preserving the device effect table and reserving a full reset for crash recovery.

Who benefits

• Default-spring and DIY firmware. The change targets devices—including Fino-derived DIY yokes—that report successful Create and Play calls but remain held by a startup spring until STOPALL is issued.

A focused interface release that keeps every required action reachable inside the fixed-size wizard window.

Checklist layout

• Unknown-device naming no longer covers the controls. When the extra 'Name this device' card appears, the checklist cards scroll while the Arm probe, Back, and progress controls stay pinned and visible.

Test-answer layout

• Long private notes stay contained. The answer area can scroll and the multi-line notes box has its own height cap, so Continue and Run test again remain reachable regardless of note length or selected chips.

Regression coverage

• Problem layouts are covered by screenshots. The screenshot harness now renders both an unknown-device checklist and a long multi-line answer, guarding the layouts that regressed.

A metadata and device-identification hotfix that keeps public hardware rows clean and makes unknown devices explicit before sharing.

Consistent submission metadata

• FFB Probe versions use stable SemVer. Uploads now send values such as 1.0.1 without an SDK source-revision suffix, so the public database does not split one release into multiple build strings.

Device names

• A shared 138-entry VID:PID catalog. Windows, Linux, the GUI, and the website gained a much broader force-feedback name table, including MOZA AB9 and Logitech G940 identifiers.
• Unknown hardware must be named. The GUI pauses at the checklist for a manufacturer/model name, interactive CLI runs prompt, and automation can pass --device-name. Generic placeholders are rejected before upload.
• Useful platform names remain available. Non-interactive runs retain a meaningful sanitized OS name when one exists, otherwise they use an explicit Unknown force-feedback device VID:PID fallback.

Website coordination

• App and database names now match. The website received the same normalized catalog, so old and new submissions aggregate under stable names.

The first stable public release of the standalone FFB-Probe diagnostic for Windows and Linux.

Guided hardware testing

• A complete tester-focused wizard. FFB-Probe detects a connected force-feedback device, presents a safety checklist, plays short live effects, and records what the tester felt after each one.
• Broad effect coverage. The test suite checks constant, conditional, periodic, spring, damper, inertia, and ramp behavior, with diagrams and section-aware progress.
• Windows and Linux from day one. The Windows DirectInput worker and Linux evdev worker ship behind the same cross-platform Avalonia interface.

Reports and sharing

• Human-readable and machine-readable output. Every run writes an HTML report and the exact JSON submission payload locally, so testers can inspect the evidence before deciding whether to share it.
• Sharing is opt-in. Nothing uploads automatically. The result screen and saved HTML report expose the share action only after the tester can review the collected fields.
• Public facts, private notes. Hardware capabilities, effect answers, and closed-vocabulary diagnostics can support the public database, while free-text notes remain private for support triage.

Release packages

• Self-contained releases. The public release includes a per-user Windows installer and a Linux x86-64 AppImage with the .NET runtime bundled.
• Signed Windows distribution. Stable Windows binaries and the installer are produced through the release workflow under the Rohsam publisher identity.