Aurora GI release notes

This page lists what has changed in the Aurora GI firmware and configuration tool since the first boards were supplied. Download the latest versions from the Files page. The User Manual v1.2 describes the latest versions, apart from the change to adaptive ramping in firmware 2026.10.28, which is described below.

Firmware

Latest release: 2026.10.28 (28 October 2026).

2026.10.28 is an optional upgrade. Every problem it fixes is cosmetic: it changes how the GI looks in a few situations. If you are happy with how your GI looks, you don't need to update.

Boards supplied before October 2026 have the original firmware, which has no version number. The latest configuration tool shows it as “Firmware: original”. To update your board, follow section 14 of the user manual.

What's new since the original firmware

Adaptive ramping. Each GI string has a maximum and a minimum ramp time (how long each change of GI brightness takes). Changes normally take the maximum. When the game changes the brightness quickly, or jumps 3 or more levels at once, Aurora GI uses the minimum, so fast effects keep up. When the game steps the brightness several times in the same direction, each step takes the maximum, so the steps merge into one smooth change. It is on by default (maximum 100 ms, minimum 50 ms) and can be turned off for each string.
Smoother dimming. When the brightness goes down, the change starts straight away and looks as even as a rise in brightness.
Faster default ramp time. The default is now 100 ms instead of 1000 ms, so fast GI effects are visible straight away.
Paired strings now use the same ramp time as the string they follow.
Firmware version reporting. The board tells the configuration tool which firmware it has. The tool shows the version at the top of the window and only offers the features that firmware supports.
Settings kept when you update. Your saved settings carry over when you update the firmware. On some early boards, the maximum ramp time is set to the new default of 100 ms.
Date-based version numbers. A newer number always means newer firmware. The firmware version is separate from the board's hardware revision: the same firmware runs on every Aurora GI board.

Version history

2026.10.28 – 28 October 2026. Optional upgrade: all three changes are cosmetic.

Smoother end-of-game dimming (severity: cosmetic). Many games dim the GI one level at a time at the end of a game, a step every fraction of a second. On earlier firmware you could see each step. Two changes fix this. A string that is dimming now starts to change straight away, rather than staying bright for most of its ramp time and then dropping. And when the game steps the brightness several times in the same direction, each step now takes the maximum ramp time, so the steps merge into one smooth fade. Quick changes that go down and straight back up, such as GI flashes, still use the minimum. For the smoothest fade, set the maximum ramp time to 400 ms: tested on a Johnny Mnemonic, the end-of-game dimming was completely smooth, and fast effects were unaffected.
Fixed: a GI string could briefly go dark when the game dimmed it from full brightness (severity: cosmetic). It happened mostly when strings were at different brightness levels. While strings were at full brightness, Aurora GI sometimes missed part of the game's brightness signal. It now reads every signal.
Fixed: GI strings could stay lit when the machine switched the GI off (severity: cosmetic). When the machine turns all the GI off at once, for example while it starts up or resets, some or all strings could stay lit at their last brightness until the machine turned the GI back on. They now always go fully off.

2026.10.16 – 16 October 2026

Some early boards lost their saved settings when updated to 2026.10.13. This release finds those earlier settings and restores them automatically, unless new settings have been saved since. The maximum ramp time is set to the new default of 100 ms.

2026.10.13 – 13 October 2026 (supplied on boards from 13 October 2026)

New: adaptive ramping, on by default (maximum 100 ms, minimum 50 ms).
Default ramp time changed from 1000 ms to 100 ms.
Paired strings use the same ramp time as the string they follow.
Reports its version to the configuration tool. Version numbers are now release dates.
Use the latest configuration tool to change the new settings.

Original firmware (no version number)

Supplied on Aurora GI boards before October 2026. Please update to the latest release.

Configuration tool

Latest release: 2026.10.28 (28 October 2026). The tool's version is shown at the top right of its window.

The first configuration tool on this site was listed as v1.0. Inside the tool it shows version 1.5.110.

The latest tool works with every Aurora GI firmware, including the original. If a feature needs newer firmware, the tool greys it out and tells you, rather than sending a setting the board can't use.

What's new since v1.0 (1.5.110)

Firmware version shown. The board's firmware version is shown at the top of the window. Boards with the original firmware are shown as “Firmware: original”, with a reminder to update.
Firmware compatibility check. The tool only sends settings the board's firmware supports. If the board's firmware is newer than the tool, the tool tells you, so you know to download the latest configuration tool.
New Ramp Time column on the GI Strings tab. In v1.0 you set a string's ramp time by clicking the value under its name. Now you set it in the Ramp Time column, which has the maximum and minimum ramp time and an Adaptive ramping tick box for each string, plus the same settings for all strings at once. The ramp time in use is shown at the top of the column. The minimum and the tick box need firmware 2026.10.13 or later. The minimum can't be set higher than the maximum.
Default ramp time is now 100 ms (was 1000 ms).
Date-based version numbers, as for the firmware.

Version history

2026.10.28 – 28 October 2026

Recognises firmware 2026.10.28. Nothing else changes. If you update your board to firmware 2026.10.28, update the tool too, or it will tell you that your firmware is newer than the tool.

2026.10.22 – 22 October 2026

A copyright notice at the bottom of the tool window. Nothing else changes.

2026.10.16 – 16 October 2026

Shows the board's firmware version at the top of the tool, and “Firmware: original” for boards with the original firmware, with a reminder to update.
Checks the board's firmware and only sends settings it supports. Tells you if the board's firmware is newer than the tool.
New Ramp Time column on the GI Strings tab, with maximum and minimum ramp time and an Adaptive ramping tick box (the minimum and the tick box need firmware 2026.10.13 or later). It replaces clicking the value under each string's name.
Default ramp time changed from 1000 ms to 100 ms.
Version numbers are now dates.
Recognises firmware 2026.10.16.

v1.0 (1.5.110)