[Arkex-ai]

Summary

A folder-backed RomFS needs a separate host file for every asset. This adds an optional read-only indexed image while preserving folder installs, mods and writable mounts. Related to #583, tracked in #1007; no loading-speed or memory improvement is claimed.

Technical changes

• Add a streaming, copy-only packer with atomic publication and source-change checks, plus a bounded immutable index and positional native reads.
• Preserve mod/prompt/overlay precedence and guest-range/directory locking. A null directory base now explicitly lists mod-only entries without probing a fictitious host folder.
• Select the virtual native-font callback only for packed mode, before renderer initialization. Folder installs retain the original direct-file Reader and its size behavior; the 64 MiB virtual-input limit applies only to packed assets. Both main and translated-menu font callers support the image.
• Keep renderer API 20, preserving main's version19 binding semantics. Main still uses19; whichever competing API20 change lands second must rebase/bump. Builder/launcher auto-selection is not included; acceptance of the opt-in CLI path remains a maintainer call on Feature requests (collected) #1007.

Validation

Current head 99ae3374aa554fcfca793f4bdcdb71579274f58e, rebased on main f3dd4486. All eleven code/test commits retain equivalent patches; the only conflict was the tested-configurations table, where upstream rows and the earlier two runtime rows are preserved. All 12 focused checks pass on Windows and Linux at this head. New hosted checks are pending.

Earlier native/game and full-suite evidence below remains pinned to 329b2a93/72f107bf; no fresh native build or gameplay is claimed after this rebase. Main now changes guest generation, so the earlier generated guest is not claimed current.

Earlier-head CI (72f107bf)	Result / run
Linux AppImage	success
Game-free source regressions	success
Windows builder	success
PR title	success

• 12 focused checks per OS pass, covering actual filesystem/loader, packer, mounts/startup, mods, native fonts, UTF-8 and links. Two causal controls per OS fail on their intended runtime assertion: old folder-font selection and host probes with a null mod base.
• Earlier 329b2a93 matching Windows native build passes (184.4 s) and prompts are regenerated (123.8 s). Verified guest generation retains 23c50087 provenance: existing generator modules are unchanged; only the standalone packer is added.
• Folder and image-only runs load the copied Kokiri checkpoint, log FZLTHB merged into the zh-Hans font atlas and exit0; the source checkpoint is preserved. Image mode has no loose RomFS root. Captures show normal gameplay, not native-menu/per-glyph visual coverage. Individual runs.
• Full source suites at 329b2a93: Windows465/3/35, with all three failures reproduced on exact main; Linux478/1/24, failing the unchanged control fixture's newest-save ordering assertion. Three isolated repetitions each on exact main and candidate pass; the full-suite failure remains recorded. No all-green local-suite claim.

Earlier source bdefcade established complete private asset/guest-read parity (186,583 files and 598 directories); 836692b2 established packed translated-font acquisition. These are earlier-head results. Current Windows coverage is early Kokiri and font acquisition, not campaign, all scripts, Linux gameplay, physical ultrawide, loading speed or memory savings. Game inputs, generated images and private runtime material are excluded.

[Joey-Magnus]

I merged this into current main (it merges cleanly) and ran the RomFS, game font, vcore_fs_open and fs tests on Linux. All 12 pass. The reader in host/romfs_pack.h holds up. Names are capped at 0x300 bytes and validated. Entries must be sorted and have a parent directory, and file data has to be contiguous and inside the file. read_at still checks the guest range before romfs_pack_read. Before it goes in:

• MKWVK_API_VERSION 20 is also claimed by #2604, #2317, #2261 and #2566. Whichever lands second has to move to 21.
• The description claims no loading or memory gain. Nothing passes --romfs-pack yet either (the Builder and launcher don't know about it), so this is a second filesystem path behind a command-line flag. Whether that's wanted is a maintainer call on #1007.
• In folder mode, the menu fonts now go through host->romfs_read too, with a new 64 MB cap in Reader::load (vk_game_font.h). That changes things for every player, not only image users.
• OpenDirectory passes "<" as base_dir to hos_mods_dir_extras, so it relies on "<\name" never existing. That works, but a NULL base_dir handled in mods.c would be clearer.
• The new docs/worklist.md row (0.4) sits above the 0.6 row, but the table is sorted by score.

[Arkex-ai]

Thanks @Joey-Magnus. Updated at 72f107bf on main 51da0464:

• Folder fonts now retain the legacy Reader path; the virtual callback and its 64 MiB input cap are packed-mode only. The actual loader regression catches the old unconditional selection.
• hos_mods_dir_extras accepts a null base explicitly. Its real-loader test checks zero filesystem probes for that case and retains filtering for a real loose base; both causal controls are rejected on Windows/Linux.
• The worklist row is sorted. API20 still sits on main's19, with the later-merge bump/rebase gate retained. No Builder/launcher default is added; the acceptance question remains with the maintainers on Feature requests (collected) #1007.

Twelve focused checks pass per OS. Matching native build/current prompts and both folder/image-only Kokiri runs pass, with FZLTHB acquisition logged and the source checkpoint preserved. The new captures do not establish native-menu glyph coverage. Full-suite failures and the isolated base controls are recorded in the description; new exact-head CI is starting.