Dev 1.0.0013 Release Notes
Posted: Sun May 24, 2026 3:16 am
Mocha Messenger DEV 1.1.0013
Release date: April 8, 2026
Build numbering note: this session started from `1.0.0006`. Counting the full packaged build generations produced for this development cycle brought the build number forward to `0013`, and the minor version has now advanced to `1.1`.
Highlights
- Added a real Audio and Video Tuning Wizard with camera selection, microphone and speaker selection, speaker testing, microphone level monitoring, saved media preferences, and first-use launch integration from conversation features.
- Added first-pass live voice and video conversations over Switchboard, including media invites, live voice transport, low-rate webcam transport, remote video placeholders, and small picture-in-picture preview support.
- Added a much more MSN Messenger 4 style conversation window with classic menus, text-size options, status/availability banners, richer call state, and styled system transcript messages.
- Added a public Mocha status page, a matching admin status editor, and Discord webhook publishing for service-status updates.
- Reworked the public Mocha Messenger and Mocha Passport websites so they use Mocha branding and live service information instead of leftover Microsoft-specific content.
- Added Passport Member Services pages for sign-in, sign-up, account management, password change, and account deletion.
- Expanded moderation/admin controls with online-user views, conversation management, announcements, service-status editing, bans, kicks, and account administration.
New features
- Conversation links are now clickable and open through a trust warning dialog with a "don't show again" option.
- Added a `(mocha)` emoticon and moved the password / credit-card warning into the conversation transcript as the first system line.
- Added buddy-list actions for voice and video conversations.
- Added a no-contacts guidance panel for brand new accounts.
- Added automatic `On the Phone` presence override while a live call is active, with automatic return to the prior status when the call ends.
- Added picture-in-picture controls from the conversation view menu and local preview context menu.
- Added a resizable always-on-top picture-in-picture popout window.
- Added software acoustic echo reduction and tied it to the tuning wizard headphone preference.
- Added a searchable Mocha error-code support page with MM code lookup.
- Added website support content for Help, Known Issues, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Status, and download flows for both Windows and the future Mac client page.
- Added Passport consumer and member-services site flows at `passport.mochachat.net`.
- Added Passport-side support for external integration groundwork and future plugin/forum account linking.
- Added service-status Discord webhook publishing with persistent current-status posts and separate historical update posts.
Website and Passport work
- Reworked the Mocha Messenger website to remove Microsoft and .NET references and replace them with Mocha-specific branding and service details.
- Added proper Windows and Mac page switching using `?client=0` and `?client=1`.
- Restored the classic download-page layout and updated it to point to the real Mocha installer.
- Rebuilt the Passport site shell so the public pages render correctly with the original-style layout and Mocha assets.
- Split Passport Member Services into separate Home, Sign In, Sign Up, Account, and Sign Out pages.
- Added web account editing, password changes, account deletion, and consistent sign-in/sign-out button state across the Passport site.
- Added website-backed live public service status and a mirrored status-data JSON flow.
Admin and service status work
- Added an administrative status-page tab in the client.
- Added persistent service entries, service messages, update history, and status icons.
- Added Discord webhook output for current service state and update history.
- Added explicit Discord refresh commands from the client/admin flow instead of noisy automatic reposting.
- Added server-side reset of service messages back to the built-in "all systems go" defaults when a service recovers.
- Added recent-update cleanup so resolved service incidents stop cluttering the live board once that service returns to normal.
Audio, video, and call improvements
- Added Audio and Video Tuning Wizard device persistence and first-run launch behavior.
- Added webcam preview, remote video placeholders, and a no-video visual state when no feed is received.
- Added in-call footer text such as `Connected to (user).`
- Added cleaner end-of-call handling and a dedicated media-drop error path.
- Added better speaker-test slider behavior and microphone monitor stability.
- Added camera fallback naming improvements for systems that only expose generic WDM capture names.
- Increased webcam send cadence for smoother video transport.
Major bugs fixed during this cycle
- Fixed updater feed compatibility errors, bad HTTP 500/unknown updater responses, and updater apply loops.
- Fixed installer migration problems around old development install folders and shortcuts.
- Fixed conversation crashes from disposed typing timers.
- Fixed contact deletion causing a cross-thread disconnect.
- Fixed blocked/privacy/admin startup sync errors caused by wrong-thread UI access and strict JSON parsing.
- Fixed token leakage in Protocol Monitor by redacting session and refresh tokens.
- Fixed admin panel null-reference startup failures.
- Fixed admin bridge authorization failures caused by case-sensitive JSON deserialization.
- Fixed admin announcements not appearing because the protocol parser did not treat `ANN` as a payload command.
- Fixed wrong ban/kick disconnect wording and missing temporary-ban reason details.
- Fixed the saved-account sign-in shortcut not actually attempting sign-in.
- Fixed group-chat roster loss, rejoin sync problems, stale room cleanup, and participant header inconsistencies.
- Fixed transcript clipping, auto-scroll edge cases, and one-to-one chats incorrectly announcing join/leave events.
- Fixed file-transfer UI confusion, cancellation behavior, and progress presentation.
- Fixed Add Contact, About, Privacy, and other classic window layout clipping issues.
- Fixed Busy / On The Phone notification suppression so sounds and alerts no longer interrupt the user incorrectly.
- Fixed single-instance behavior so relaunching the client reopens the existing tray/background instance.
- Fixed NSIS layout and changelog presentation issues.
- Fixed Passport website layout regressions, broken assets, and right-rail rendering issues.
- Fixed Passport site sign-in button state across consumer pages.
- Fixed `ChatWindow.xaml` packaging so published clients stop throwing `MM-3001` when opening conversations.
- Fixed camera-loss spam and more graceful handling when audio or video devices disappear or are taken by another application.
- Fixed microphone peak overflow crashes and audio-thread UI access crashes during live calls.
- Fixed call/video sessions ending in a half-alive state when media unexpectedly drops.
- Fixed conversation system messages and notices still using the old default font instead of Microsoft Sans Serif 9.8 pt.
Media and UI polish
- Updated the conversation `To:` header to show display name plus `<email>` in a classic MSN-style blue header.
- Added presence banners for offline / unavailable contacts directly under the `To:` bar.
- Updated conversation menus, toolbars, and sidebar headers to more closely match MSN Messenger 4.
- Added proper formatting for pending call/file-transfer system messages in grey and cancel/error messages in red.
- Updated the default conversation font to Microsoft Sans Serif 9.8 pt.
- Added icons across the Options tabs except Privacy, as requested.
- Improved connection tab wording when signed out to explicitly say the user is not connected.
Packaging and release engineering
- Unified install/runtime identity so the client no longer behaves like a separately named `Mocha Messenger (DEV)` app outside of About, installer UI, and package filenames.
- Refined publish scripts so WPF BAML resources are packaged from the correct RID-specific output.
- Refined update-manifest, installer, VPS, and Passport packaging flows to keep upload bundles consistent.
- Prepared fresh client update, NS update, installer, Passport VPS, NS VPS, and SB VPS artifacts for this build.
Known limitations
- Voice transport is still a simple first-pass implementation over Switchboard rather than a modern dedicated media transport stack.
- Video transport is still a low-rate Switchboard-relayed webcam feed and not yet a fully optimized codec pipeline.
- Acoustic echo cancellation is now implemented as a lightweight software reduction pass and may need further tuning on real hardware combinations.
- The macOS client page is present on the website, but there is still no public macOS build yet.
Release date: April 8, 2026
Build numbering note: this session started from `1.0.0006`. Counting the full packaged build generations produced for this development cycle brought the build number forward to `0013`, and the minor version has now advanced to `1.1`.
Highlights
- Added a real Audio and Video Tuning Wizard with camera selection, microphone and speaker selection, speaker testing, microphone level monitoring, saved media preferences, and first-use launch integration from conversation features.
- Added first-pass live voice and video conversations over Switchboard, including media invites, live voice transport, low-rate webcam transport, remote video placeholders, and small picture-in-picture preview support.
- Added a much more MSN Messenger 4 style conversation window with classic menus, text-size options, status/availability banners, richer call state, and styled system transcript messages.
- Added a public Mocha status page, a matching admin status editor, and Discord webhook publishing for service-status updates.
- Reworked the public Mocha Messenger and Mocha Passport websites so they use Mocha branding and live service information instead of leftover Microsoft-specific content.
- Added Passport Member Services pages for sign-in, sign-up, account management, password change, and account deletion.
- Expanded moderation/admin controls with online-user views, conversation management, announcements, service-status editing, bans, kicks, and account administration.
New features
- Conversation links are now clickable and open through a trust warning dialog with a "don't show again" option.
- Added a `(mocha)` emoticon and moved the password / credit-card warning into the conversation transcript as the first system line.
- Added buddy-list actions for voice and video conversations.
- Added a no-contacts guidance panel for brand new accounts.
- Added automatic `On the Phone` presence override while a live call is active, with automatic return to the prior status when the call ends.
- Added picture-in-picture controls from the conversation view menu and local preview context menu.
- Added a resizable always-on-top picture-in-picture popout window.
- Added software acoustic echo reduction and tied it to the tuning wizard headphone preference.
- Added a searchable Mocha error-code support page with MM code lookup.
- Added website support content for Help, Known Issues, Terms of Use, Privacy Policy, Status, and download flows for both Windows and the future Mac client page.
- Added Passport consumer and member-services site flows at `passport.mochachat.net`.
- Added Passport-side support for external integration groundwork and future plugin/forum account linking.
- Added service-status Discord webhook publishing with persistent current-status posts and separate historical update posts.
Website and Passport work
- Reworked the Mocha Messenger website to remove Microsoft and .NET references and replace them with Mocha-specific branding and service details.
- Added proper Windows and Mac page switching using `?client=0` and `?client=1`.
- Restored the classic download-page layout and updated it to point to the real Mocha installer.
- Rebuilt the Passport site shell so the public pages render correctly with the original-style layout and Mocha assets.
- Split Passport Member Services into separate Home, Sign In, Sign Up, Account, and Sign Out pages.
- Added web account editing, password changes, account deletion, and consistent sign-in/sign-out button state across the Passport site.
- Added website-backed live public service status and a mirrored status-data JSON flow.
Admin and service status work
- Added an administrative status-page tab in the client.
- Added persistent service entries, service messages, update history, and status icons.
- Added Discord webhook output for current service state and update history.
- Added explicit Discord refresh commands from the client/admin flow instead of noisy automatic reposting.
- Added server-side reset of service messages back to the built-in "all systems go" defaults when a service recovers.
- Added recent-update cleanup so resolved service incidents stop cluttering the live board once that service returns to normal.
Audio, video, and call improvements
- Added Audio and Video Tuning Wizard device persistence and first-run launch behavior.
- Added webcam preview, remote video placeholders, and a no-video visual state when no feed is received.
- Added in-call footer text such as `Connected to (user).`
- Added cleaner end-of-call handling and a dedicated media-drop error path.
- Added better speaker-test slider behavior and microphone monitor stability.
- Added camera fallback naming improvements for systems that only expose generic WDM capture names.
- Increased webcam send cadence for smoother video transport.
Major bugs fixed during this cycle
- Fixed updater feed compatibility errors, bad HTTP 500/unknown updater responses, and updater apply loops.
- Fixed installer migration problems around old development install folders and shortcuts.
- Fixed conversation crashes from disposed typing timers.
- Fixed contact deletion causing a cross-thread disconnect.
- Fixed blocked/privacy/admin startup sync errors caused by wrong-thread UI access and strict JSON parsing.
- Fixed token leakage in Protocol Monitor by redacting session and refresh tokens.
- Fixed admin panel null-reference startup failures.
- Fixed admin bridge authorization failures caused by case-sensitive JSON deserialization.
- Fixed admin announcements not appearing because the protocol parser did not treat `ANN` as a payload command.
- Fixed wrong ban/kick disconnect wording and missing temporary-ban reason details.
- Fixed the saved-account sign-in shortcut not actually attempting sign-in.
- Fixed group-chat roster loss, rejoin sync problems, stale room cleanup, and participant header inconsistencies.
- Fixed transcript clipping, auto-scroll edge cases, and one-to-one chats incorrectly announcing join/leave events.
- Fixed file-transfer UI confusion, cancellation behavior, and progress presentation.
- Fixed Add Contact, About, Privacy, and other classic window layout clipping issues.
- Fixed Busy / On The Phone notification suppression so sounds and alerts no longer interrupt the user incorrectly.
- Fixed single-instance behavior so relaunching the client reopens the existing tray/background instance.
- Fixed NSIS layout and changelog presentation issues.
- Fixed Passport website layout regressions, broken assets, and right-rail rendering issues.
- Fixed Passport site sign-in button state across consumer pages.
- Fixed `ChatWindow.xaml` packaging so published clients stop throwing `MM-3001` when opening conversations.
- Fixed camera-loss spam and more graceful handling when audio or video devices disappear or are taken by another application.
- Fixed microphone peak overflow crashes and audio-thread UI access crashes during live calls.
- Fixed call/video sessions ending in a half-alive state when media unexpectedly drops.
- Fixed conversation system messages and notices still using the old default font instead of Microsoft Sans Serif 9.8 pt.
Media and UI polish
- Updated the conversation `To:` header to show display name plus `<email>` in a classic MSN-style blue header.
- Added presence banners for offline / unavailable contacts directly under the `To:` bar.
- Updated conversation menus, toolbars, and sidebar headers to more closely match MSN Messenger 4.
- Added proper formatting for pending call/file-transfer system messages in grey and cancel/error messages in red.
- Updated the default conversation font to Microsoft Sans Serif 9.8 pt.
- Added icons across the Options tabs except Privacy, as requested.
- Improved connection tab wording when signed out to explicitly say the user is not connected.
Packaging and release engineering
- Unified install/runtime identity so the client no longer behaves like a separately named `Mocha Messenger (DEV)` app outside of About, installer UI, and package filenames.
- Refined publish scripts so WPF BAML resources are packaged from the correct RID-specific output.
- Refined update-manifest, installer, VPS, and Passport packaging flows to keep upload bundles consistent.
- Prepared fresh client update, NS update, installer, Passport VPS, NS VPS, and SB VPS artifacts for this build.
Known limitations
- Voice transport is still a simple first-pass implementation over Switchboard rather than a modern dedicated media transport stack.
- Video transport is still a low-rate Switchboard-relayed webcam feed and not yet a fully optimized codec pipeline.
- Acoustic echo cancellation is now implemented as a lightweight software reduction pass and may need further tuning on real hardware combinations.
- The macOS client page is present on the website, but there is still no public macOS build yet.