AURORA 0.1.0 — WINDOWS x64 PREVIEW

A free, open-source audio metering and reactive visualization plug-in.

REQUIREMENTS

This package contains a Windows x64 VST3 audio effect for a compatible 64-bit
DAW. It is not a standalone app. Intel/AMD x64 is the target architecture;
native Windows ARM64, 32-bit hosts, Audio Unit and AAX are not included.
The 3D scenes need OpenGL 3.2 or later and working graphics drivers.

This is an unsigned preview. Check the release's Windows test results before
using it in an important session. Packaging checks the native DLL and the VST3
entry point; it does not prove successful host loading, GPU compatibility or
audio operation. Test a copy of a project first. Do not disable Windows security
software or your DAW's plug-in protections to force a failed scan.

INSTALL

1. Close your DAW, then extract the downloaded ZIP with Extract All.
2. In the extracted Aurora/VST3 folder, copy the ENTIRE Aurora.vst3 folder to:

       C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Aurora.vst3

   Windows may request administrator permission to copy into Program Files.
   Keep the folder structure intact. The DLL inside must remain at:

       Aurora.vst3\Contents\x86_64-win\Aurora.vst3

   Do not install only the inner file, rename it to .dll, or put this VST3
   package in a VST2 folder. If updating, move the old Aurora.vst3 folder to
   a backup outside all plug-in scan folders before copying the replacement.

3. Open your DAW. Enable its VST3 system folder and rescan plug-ins if needed.
   Find Aurora (manufacturer: Soft Club) and add it as an audio effect to a
   track or master bus. Play audio through that track to drive the meters.

The VST3 specification also defines a per-user location:

    %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Common\VST3

Use that location only if your DAW supports/scans it. The system-wide Program
Files location above is the recommended default. Do not keep two copies in
different scan folders. Installation locations are documented by Steinberg:
https://steinbergmedia.github.io/vst3_dev_portal/pages/Technical%2BDocumentation/Locations%2BFormat/Plugin%2BLocations.html

USE

Choose a preset, scene, material theme and palette. Customise opens inside the
editor and contains appearance, layout and meter controls. Meter strip and
Waveform select compact views; Studio includes the 3D scene. Drag the scene to
orbit it, scroll to zoom, and double-click to reset its camera. Freeze holds
the display; Reset clears measurement history. Save your DAW project to retain
your settings, or export an .aurora appearance preset from Customise.

Aurora is designed to pass audio through unchanged and add no algorithmic
latency. Its level bars show sample peaks, not true peaks. LUFS values are
estimates; no metering standards certification is claimed.

IF IT DOES NOT APPEAR OR THE SCENE IS BLANK

Confirm that your DAW is 64-bit and supports VST3, the complete folder is at the
path above, and its VST3 scanning option is enabled. Follow your DAW's normal
rescan/rejected-plug-in troubleshooting. For graphics problems, install the
appropriate graphics driver from your computer/GPU manufacturer; remote desktop
and virtual-machine graphics can differ from a physical display. Report the
DAW version, Windows version, GPU/driver, display scaling and what happened.

UNINSTALL

Close your DAW and remove only the Aurora.vst3 folder you installed, then rescan.
Existing DAW projects using Aurora will need that plug-in to restore it.

WINDOWS PREVIEW CHECKLIST FOR TESTERS

Record the Windows/DAW versions, CPU, GPU, driver and display scale with results.
Do not mark these tests as passed until they have actually run on Windows.

- Scan and load in a compatible x64 VST3 host; close/reopen the editor repeatedly.
- Play mono and stereo audio at 44.1, 48 and 96 kHz and more than one buffer size.
  Check for dropouts; compare rendered/bounced audio with a bypassed reference
  for an unchanged audio path. A visual impression alone is not a null test.
- Check all six scenes, camera orbit/zoom/reset, waveform history and Scope,
  spectrogram, spectrum, stereo display and level meters.
- Switch all four layouts and several presets. Open/close Customise; exercise
  the scroll area in a small window. Check freeze, reset and colour editing.
- Resize the editor and try 100%, 150% and 200% display scaling. If available,
  move between displays with different scaling and check pointer alignment.
- Save/reopen the DAW project; verify appearance, camera and meter settings.
  Import/export an .aurora appearance preset and compare the restored view.
- Check CPU/GPU use with editor visible, hidden, frozen, and several instances.
  Verify a useful error report for any device/driver-specific graphics failure.

SOURCE AND NOTICES

Aurora is AGPL-3.0-or-later. Retain LICENSE.txt, THIRD_PARTY.md and licenses/.
The release must provide Aurora-0.1.0-windows-source.zip alongside this download.
It includes Aurora's source/build scripts and the vendored JUCE 8.0.6 sources.
The separate Windows manifest records binary/source hashes. SHA256SUMS records
archive checksums; these detect accidental changes, not publisher authenticity.

Maintainers: publish the binary ZIP, corresponding source ZIP, Windows manifest
and Windows SHA256SUMS together. This package script never publishes or installs.
