CRM64Pro GDK v0.18.0 Video, CDCv2 and Scene import update
CRM64Pro GDK v0.18.0 is now available, bringing the first public Video module, the new CDCv2 archive backend, and expanded EditorC64 workflows for Scene and animated tile content.
This release continues the modernization work started in earlier versions, but moves the focus from GUI structure to media, archive storage and API consistency. The biggest user-facing additions are H.264 video playback, streamable CDC storage for large resources, and EditorC64 import tools that can turn animated GIF or H.264 video sources into animated tilesets for Scene workflows.
Under the hood, v0.18.0 also standardizes file operations around SDL3 filesystem and I/O APIs, documents the main-thread public API convention, tightens return-value contracts, and updates several third-party dependencies used by the engine.
New Video module
CRM64Pro now includes a dedicated Video module backed by FFmpeg. It supports H.264 playback from raw H.264 elementary streams and from common containers such as MP4, MOV, M4V and AVI, with decoded YUV420P, YUVJ420P and NV12 video frames.
The module is integrated with the rest of the engine resource system. Videos can be loaded from external files or CDC archives, exported again, rendered to targets, seeked, looped, and synchronized with decoded audio routed through the engine audio path.
CDCv2 archive backend
The archive backend has been replaced with CDCv2, the new CRM64Pro Data Container format. CDCv2 removes the old 4 GB archive limitation by using 64-bit sizes and offsets, adds stronger validation through xxHash64 metadata, and supports raw block streaming for resources that should not be fully buffered in memory.
CDCv2 also improves confidentiality and maintenance features. It supports non-authenticated AES-256-CTR encrypted storage for selected blocks and for the archive index, recoverable soft deletion, safer defragmentation, and automatic CDCv1 upgrade support inside EditorC64 where legacy resources are automatically migrated.
EditorC64 Scene import and animated tiles
EditorC64 gained new Scene import tooling for creating maps and layers from Tiled TMX maps, images, supported video formats, static GIFs and animated GIFs. The new conversion path can transform frame sequences into Tiled-compatible animated tilemaps.
This is especially useful for animated background elements, video-like tile scenes and compact retro-style animation workflows. The importer performs tile deduplication, generates animated tile definitions, and reports atlas and animation statistics so the generated content can be inspected before being used by the runtime Scene system. A future article will cover this animated GIF/video-to-TMX workflow in detail, including practical tests and generated Scene results.
Important migration notes
This release contains breaking API changes. Some are small naming cleanups, while others affect return values and playback/resource handling. Existing projects should review the changelog before upgrading, especially if they use resource managers, audio playback, Scene layers, Screen setup or platform macros.
What this means for CRM64Pro v0.18.0
For users of CRM64Pro, v0.18.0 is mainly about bringing media and storage forward. Video playback is now part of the engine, large raw resources can be streamed through CDCv2, and EditorC64 can generate animated Scene content from sources that were previously outside the normal asset pipeline.
There is some migration work due to the API consistency pass, but the result is a cleaner foundation for projects using CRM64Pro GDK.