IRONWOOD CHESS

Changelog2026.10.12

Faster startup and 3D updates

On-demand theme artwork, a 2D-first chooser, deferred startup work, and smaller 3D updates for selection, moves, and game review.

Startup and downloads

  • Moved the web app’s existing CC0 Wood and shared Marble/Glass 3D models and textures out of WebAssembly into on-demand packs. Art Deco and Egyptian use the shared Marble board assets. Native builds retain embedded artwork.
  • Moved Marble, Wood, and Glass images for Hybrid Marble into on-demand piece packs. Downloaded theme artwork uses separate caches for offline reuse across app updates, subject to browser cache eviction.
  • Overlapped WebAssembly compilation with saved-game restoration. Optional tools load when opened; saved Lichess sessions and background images restore after the first board frame. Stockfish starts after that frame when needed.
  • Removed the optional built-in background image and standalone 3D viewer from installation precaching. They load when used and can be reused offline while runtime-cached.

Themes and board interaction

  • Split Board Theme into 2D and 3D tabs. The chooser always opens on 2D; 3D previews load when that tab is selected. Switching tabs leaves the current board unchanged.
  • Kept boards usable while optional artwork loads: unavailable hybrid piece images use Merida, and unavailable 3D artwork uses a 2D board until ready. Failed downloads offer Retry.
  • Separated 3D highlights from board and piece geometry, so selecting a piece uploads only the changed highlights.
  • Cached 3D piece and shadow geometry per square. Moves and history navigation rebuild and upload only changed squares, including captures, promotion, castling, and en passant. Zoom reuses retained geometry; camera rotation, theme, size, and appearance changes still rebuild it.
  • Removed unused CPU lighting calculations from GPU geometry construction. GPU shading, CPU previews, fallback rendering, and PNG export retain their existing appearance.

Other performance improvements

  • Render only visible Game Moves rows while preserving selection, navigation, and context actions.
  • Schedule local-clock redraws around displayed time changes and avoid unnecessary idle redraws.
  • Skip repeated, unchanged Stockfish thread and hash settings to avoid redundant resource reconfiguration. Changed settings and search commands retain their ordering.

Help and journal