Amelinium 0.7.5 update improves RTG graphics and browser stability

Amelinium 0.7.5 is not a flashy update, but it is a useful one. This release tackles one of the most visible problems in the modern classic Amiga browsing experience: unreliable RTG rendering across different colour depths. For users running Amiga systems with graphics cards, the result should be immediate. Text looks cleaner, images behave more predictably, and pages no longer feel as if they are being forced through a display mode they do not understand.

A practical update for real Amiga hardware

The focus of Amelinium 0.7.5 is a full RTG overhaul. RTG, or retargetable graphics, is central to many expanded Amiga setups because it allows the system to use graphics hardware beyond the original chipset. That flexibility makes browsing more comfortable, but it also creates edge cases when software has to deal with 8-bit, 16-bit and other display depths.

This version addresses those cases directly. The browser now renders text colour, images and backgrounds correctly across every supported depth. That includes alpha icons, tiled backgrounds and strip backgrounds, all of which could previously expose visual faults. In plain terms, Amelinium now does a better job of matching the page to the screen mode.

TrueType text finally sits properly on the page

The biggest everyday improvement is the repair to TTF text rendering on 16-bit RTG screens. Earlier builds could show text with incorrect background blocks, making readable pages look unfinished. In Amelinium 0.7.5, TrueType glyphs are rendered through TTEngine coverage maps and composited over the actual page background.

That sounds technical, but the benefit is simple. Text now belongs to the page. It no longer appears as if it has been pasted onto a mismatched rectangle. For a browser that aims to make the web usable on classic Amiga systems, this is a basic but important fix.

The browser also redraws pages when the screen mode is changed while running. On 8-bit screens, the light toolbar is forced automatically, keeping the interface sensible on limited display setups.

Cache fixes remove crashes and wrong-depth images

Amelinium 0.7.5 also fixes a recoverable-guru memory crash affecting chipset and AGA users. The problem was traced to the disk image cache, where interleaved-bitmap planes could be saved and loaded beyond their buffer. Removing it should make the browser steadier in daily use.

The image cache has also been made smarter. Cached images now include the screen depth in their cache key. That matters because an image stored for one colour depth may not be suitable when the same page is opened later in another depth. Instead of reusing the wrong cached version and producing a garbled result, Amelinium can display the image correctly for the active screen mode.

Better form behaviour for everyday browsing

There is a smaller but useful form-handling fix in this release. When a POST form uses an empty action attribute, Amelinium now preserves the page query string rather than discarding it. This improves behaviour on sites where forms depend on the current page address and parameters.

For users, this means fewer odd moments where a search form or submission behaves as if the browser has forgotten the page context. It is the kind of change that may not be noticed when it works, but is frustrating when it does not.

Compatibility first, speed later

Amelinium remains a work in progress. It still does not support JavaScript, and support for CSS2.1 and CSS3 is incomplete. Many modern websites will continue to render incorrectly or not work as expected. That is not unusual for a browser aimed at classic Amiga hardware, especially when the target range stretches from Kickstart 1.3 and 68000 systems through to 060 machines with RTG cards.

The requirements remain modest by Amiga standards. Network access depends on bsdsocket.library v4 or newer, while HTTPS browsing needs AmiSSL v5. Plain HTTP use is still possible without AmiSSL.

Why Amelinium 0.7.5 matters

This is a maintenance-heavy release, but that is exactly why it matters. Amelinium 0.7.5 improves the parts of the browser that users see and rely on first: text clarity, colour accuracy, image handling and crash prevention. It does not pretend to turn a classic Amiga into a modern web machine. Instead, it makes the realistic use case better.

For Amiga enthusiasts, collectors and daily retro-computing users, the update is a meaningful step forward. It makes RTG browsing cleaner, reduces avoidable faults and gives Amelinium a more polished foundation for future development.

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