u/tratriod

Hey everyone! Back with the 1.2 update of MiSTer Connect, the iOS/Android app for wizzo's Remote. Like last time, a lot of this came straight from your comments and DMs, so thank you, keep them coming.

The bit on the MiSTer side

I wanted two things most for this release: a nicer way to browse games with covers, and play stats. For the stats, the data was already there: mrext's PlayLog quietly records every game you play, but nothing could read it back. So I added a few read-only endpoints to Remote that serve PlayLog's history to any client, and u/wizzo merged them and baked a release this morning: it's on Update All now. The same release also fixes PlayLog missing a game that's already running when it starts, so that time isn't lost from your stats anymore.

Fun (and not requested) fact: testing all of this meant playing Super Metroid for 3 hours straight. Oh noooooo, such hard work! 🤣

What's new in the app

• Stats tab: time played, sessions, streaks, your top games and systems, plus a Recently Played row and a live play timer on Home
• Game details page: tap any game for its cover, year, genre, developer, number of players and a short description. The play button still launches it right away
• Cover grid: your library as a wall of covers, resize it with a pinch (PRO)
• Filters everywhere: genre, decade, players, region, developer, played or never played, favorites only. And you can save any filter as its own section in the Games tab
• Discover: a surprise pick, your top 10, couch multiplayer, party games and themed shelves, all built from your own collection
• Favorites are now a carousel next to Recently Played
• D-pad taps always get through now, even quick ones (thanks to everyone who reported it!)

To get the stats working: run Update All so you have today's Remote, then run playlog from the Scripts menu and say Yes when it asks to start at boot, so it keeps recording after every restart. PlayLog also needs recents=1 in your MiSTer.ini, the full guide is here: https://github.com/wizzomafizzo/mrext/blob/main/docs/playlog.md

The Stats tab has a little checklist that tells you if anything is still missing.

Same deal as always: everything the original Remote does is free in the app and stays free. The one-time PRO unlock (no subscription) covers the extras. No accounts, no tracking, it all stays on your LAN (apart from downloading covers and game info, of course).

Giveaway, round three! 3 PRO codes for iOS and 3 for Android in the first comment, first come first served. Please reply with the one you took so the next person doesn't waste time on it.

Tell me what you think and what's still missing, the 1.3 list is already open (and already has some nice stuff in it).

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mister-connect-fpga-remote/id6789198386

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.devcells.misterwingman

Hey everyone! Following up on my post from last week about MiSTer Connect, the native iOS/Android client for wizzomafizzo's Remote. First of all, thank you. The feedback here and in private messages was way more than I expected, and a good chunk of this update comes straight from those reports.

The part that matters even if you never install my app

While building 1.1 I kept hitting things in Remote itself that no client can work around, so I sent the fixes upstream instead of hacking around them. The great wizzo reviewed and merged all of them, and the new Remote build is already on Update All as of this morning (thank you u/wizzo, as always). So run Update All and you get this in the regular Remote, web app included:

• Arcade games show their real names again instead of the MRA filename

• Save state and load state are named keys now, so any client can trigger them with one call

• You can pick which core launches a game. This is what makes RetroAchievements cores work from a remote

• Game search no longer stops at 500 results

• Neo Geo ROM sets show up in search with their real titles

• Remote remembers the running game after a restart instead of showing just the core

What's new in the app

• NEW: Covers now also come from the MiSTer Artwork Pack, the same art MiSTer Monitor uses. 2D box, 3D box, or box plus screenshot, with libretro filling the gaps. Many more systems covered, arcades included

• NEW: Covers are cached on the phone, so lists load without the network (you can always delete cache from the settings of the app in one tap)

• NEW: Browse your games by folder, the way they sit on your SD card, with a filter on every list

• NEW: Launch a game with a different core: long press it, or set a default per system (run Update All first), including RetroAchievements cores

• NEW: Rebuild the game index from the app after adding ROMs

• NEW: Pick which screen the app opens on, manage favorites in bulk, Now Playing keeps up better when you switch games

• NEW: Trackpad mode for Amiga, AO486 and Macintosh cores

• NEW: Long lists get a letter strip that jumps straight to a letter

• FIX: Screenshots keep the aspect ratio the core was meant to be seen in, plus a capture button on the remote screen, to have all the main buttons in just the Remote screen

• FIX: Neo Geo games and other previously missing platforms show real titles and box art

And lot of other small improvements.

Same deal as before: everything the original Remote does is free and stays free. The one-time PRO unlock covers the extras (Live Activity on iPhone, covers, themes). No accounts, no tracking, LAN only.

Giveaway, round two. A few more PRO codes in a comment below, first come first served. Reply with the one you took so the next person does not waste time.

Oh, and nobody has found the secret theme yet. Someone got reeeeally close though!

Ask me anything, and tell me what is still missing. The 1.2 list is already open and work is in progress.

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mister-connect-fpga-remote/id6789198386

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.devcells.misterwingman

Hey everyone! Posting with the mods' blessing ❤️

I'm a mobile dev who got his first MiSTer (a SuperStation One) a few months ago and, well, you know how it goes. I loved wizzo's Remote from day one, but I kept wishing I could poke around the OSD without unlocking my phone every single time and some extra customizations. So I did what any reasonable person would do and spent my evenings building a native client for it. The amazing Pixel Cherry Ninja gave it a mention in his news video the other day, which gave me the push to finally show it here.

It's called MiSTer Connect. It talks to the same Remote service (mrext) you already have installed, nothing to add on the MiSTer side.

What's different from the web app:

- Native, so it's faster and lighter on battery

- Live Activity on iOS: OSD navigation, screenshot from the lock screen / Dynamic Island. This one is the main reason I made the app ahah

- Quick save / load state buttons on the main screen, with a long press so you don't nuke your progress by accident

- Trackpad-style navigation if the d-pad isn't your thing

- Game covers in the game list, loaded live from libretro thumbnails, no scraping needed

- Themes, plus one hidden theme for the ones who know

- All the features the wizzo's Remote already have

The app is free, and all the core features are free and will stay free forever. The only things behind a single one-time unlock (no subscription) are the extras I built on top: Live Activity, game covers and themes. No accounts, no tracking, your MiSTer and your phone just talk over your LAN. And of course, huge credit to wizzo, none of this would exist without Remote.

And now.. Giveaway time! I've got 5 PRO codes for iOS and 5 for Android in a comment below. First come first served. If you grab one, please reply saying which one you took so the next person doesn't waste time on it.

I'll be hanging around all day, so ask me anything, or tell me what's missing, what you hate or love or a feature you'd love to see!

iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/mister-connect-fpga-remote/id6789198386

Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=it.devcells.misterwingman

EDIT3: let's see if someone will find how to unlock the secret theme!!