Changelog — 2026 Q1
All notable changes for Aestra in Q1 2026 are documented here.
[Unreleased]
Internal Arsenal / Rumble milestone
- Added a verified internal instrument validation stack around Aestra Rumble.
- Added and validated:
RumbleStateTestRumblePluginFactoryTestRumbleUsagePathTestRumbleDiscoveryTestRumbleRenderTestRumbleArsenalAudibleTest
- Strengthened Rumble plugin behavior:
- aligned parameter defaults with implementation
- added versioned plugin state blob with magic/version header
- clarified MVP mono/decay-led note behavior
- strengthened render regression checks for tail decay and preset differentiation
Internal plugin architecture
- Added canonical built-in plugin metadata via
BuiltInPlugins so internal plugin identity no longer drifts across scanner/plugin/runtime code.
- Registered built-in plugins in the normal discovery flow so internal instruments can be found via standard manager lookup.
- Made
PluginManager headless-safe for internal plugin workflows by treating platform-utils/cache access as optional in headless mode.
Unit / project / Arsenal integration
- Reworked
UnitManager from a placeholder-oriented stub into a minimally real runtime/persistence layer.
- Units can now persist:
- plugin ID
- plugin state
- ordering
- route/group data
- key UI-facing state
- Units now expose a real
AudioArsenalSnapshot for audio-engine consumption.
- Internal plugin units now survive project round-trips and restore plugin state on load.
AestraContent::loadInstrumentToArsenal(...) now creates and attaches a real plugin instance instead of creating a placeholder-only unit.- Arsenal unit enable/attach/load flows now activate plugins consistently instead of relying on test-only lifecycle setup.
Project reliability
- Fixed a real project serialization bug where playlist clips could be serialized with an invalid
patternId: 0 even when a valid source pattern existed.
- Restored reliable project clip round-tripping by serializing/restoring the effective pattern linkage correctly.
ProjectRoundTripTest is passing again after the serializer fix.- Added
InternalPluginProjectRoundTripTest to prove internal instrument units survive save/load.
Audible proof
- Added
ArsenalInstrumentAttachmentTest to verify units expose attached plugins to the audio path.
- Added
RumbleArsenalAudibleTest to prove headless Arsenal pattern playback can route MIDI to Rumble and produce real audible output.
Documentation
- Updated README and core technical docs to reflect the current verified March 2026 state instead of older aspirational roadmap language.
- Added a documented high-value confidence suite in
docs/technical/testing_ci.md.
- Updated roadmap/task-list docs with the new internal Arsenal / Rumble validation status.
Notes
OfflineRenderRegressionTest is built and available, but remains fixture-driven rather than self-contained.- It still needs canonical
.aes + reference WAV fixtures before it can act as a dependable nightly/CI regression gate.