Changelog

AI Lab (Photo Critique AI, Camera AI, Shooting AI, PC AI) now available in English — Terms of Service page added

• Added English versions of all four AI Lab tools: Photo Critique AI, Camera AI, Shooting AI, and PC AI. Not just the interface — the AI's responses themselves now come back in English
• The English version of Photo Critique AI clearly states that it reflects Ichiro Murata's own personal critique style and perspective, translated into English
• Added a Terms of Service page (in both Japanese and English)
• Unified the naming of each tool as "Photo Critique AI / Camera AI / Shooting AI / PC AI"
• Sidekick Star / Portrait / Sky Effect now also support English in their control panels (automatic detection with a manual switch). Downloadable packages for these and SideKick AI have been updated to their latest versions

"AI Lab" page launched — one place to find all 4 free AI tools

• Launched an "AI Lab" page where you can choose from 4 free AI tools: Photo Critique AI, Camera AI, Shooting AI, and PC AI
• Reorganized the top page so Photoshop scripts (Products), AI Lab, and Workshop are clearly separated
• Clearly noted the free usage period (up to 5 AI tickets per week, free through end of August 2026)

SideKick AI released for free — a usage-help and error-diagnosis assistant

• Released a completely free, local assistant that helps with usage questions, setting explanations, and error diagnosis for Sidekick Star / Portrait / Sky Effect
• No installation needed (just double-click SideKickAI.exe). Works without an internet connection
• Your questions and diagnostic log contents are never sent anywhere
• Also checks at startup whether a newer version of each product is available and lets you know (no automatic updates)

Added a lightweight "Core" download for updates

• Added a lightweight download that excludes large runtimes such as the AI airplane-trail remover
• If you've already set up the runtime, use this for faster downloads on your second update onward
• Available alongside the full package on the download page

Added technique selection and follow-up questions; refined critique perspective

• Added a dropdown to select the technique you were intentionally aiming for when shooting (16 options, including low angle and center/Hinomaru composition). Critiques now take your selected technique into account
• Added a "Ask about this critique" feature so you can ask follow-up questions (uses the same weekly usage allowance as a regular critique)
• Refined the critique's perspective to weigh not just composition and technique, but also whether the emotion behind the shot comes through and whether the subject has real appeal
• Added a diagram explaining the on-screen coordinate symbols used in critiques (the A–I grid and ①–④ intersections)

English pages added

• Added English versions of the full site. Switch via the banner on the Japanese top page.

Auto white balance fix for light-stacking · UI in English

• Fixed an issue where the automatic white balance during light-stacking was drifting from the intended target color. Stars and Milky Way now finish in more natural tones.
• Control panel UI now supports English. Usable in non-Japanese environments.

Ver.2 update — GUI overhaul, quality improvements

• Complete GUI redesign. Panel layout and usability improved; versioned as Ver.2.
• Fixed issue in standard mode where white lift and soft-focus artifacts appeared.
• License management unified with Portrait Ver.1 for more stable operation.

AI Photo Critique: consent checkbox added

• Added a consent checkbox for how your critique results may be used (e.g. for marketing reference)

AI Photo Critique officially launched

• Sign in with Google, upload a photo, and receive a composition critique in Ichiro Murata's style. Official release.
• Free users: up to 5 photos/week (campaign period: through August 2026)
• Sample critique card updated with a real motorsport panning shot and actual AI critique text.

Full site redesign

• Complete design and structure overhaul — cleaner, easier to navigate.
• Official product pages for Sidekick Portrait and Sidekick SkyEffect launched.
• Workshop, gallery, FAQ, and AI Photo Critique pages added progressively.
• Navigation and footer unified across all pages.

Download registration form added · Workshop page redesigned

• Email address now required for free download. Used to send updates and important notices (unsubscribe anytime).
• Workshop page redesigned. Current open workshops shown at the top for easy registration access.
• Fixed broken links on Portrait / SkyEffect pricing pages.

Migrated to custom domain sidekick-lab.com

• Acquired custom domain sidekick-lab.com. Site address has changed.
• Old URL (vercel.app subdomain) redirects automatically.

UX fix: Cancel button added to trial expiry dialog

• Added a Cancel button to the trial-expired dialog. Also closeable with the ESC key.
• Previously the only option was force-quitting Photoshop.

Bug fixes: GPU support, airplane removal stability

• Fixed AI mask generation producing 0 results on non-GPU / older GPU environments (auto-fallback to CPU).
• Fixed freeze when opening LZW-compressed TIFF files.
• Fixed cases where airplane removal did not complete properly.
• Improved to prefer the bundled Python runtime (_runtime) over system Python.

New "About" page (about.html) added. On the origin behind the photography and Sidekick development.

Site-wide improvements and user flow redesign

• Airplane trail removal comparison video added to top page and LP (compressed 337MB → 9.3MB)
• Workshop page redesigned around: pain → Star×Workshop relationship → what you'll be able to do
• Workshop page: photo illustrations added for each workshop
• Top page and LP: Workshop bridge section added
• Workshop page: Sep 5 "Star Landscape Spinoff — Finishing Star Photos Beautifully in Photoshop" added

Bug fixes

• Minor bug fixes

Download infrastructure improved · Workshop page launched

• Download links migrated from Google Drive to Cloudflare R2 (resolves download failures)
• New Workshop page (upcoming sessions and past history)

Bug fix

• Fixed issue where directory selection for light-stacking target was not working

index.html conversion-rate redesign

• H1 changed to pain-question format: "Still removing airplane trails by hand?"
• Hero rebuilt with B/A pair as the main visual
• Stat bar added: "1 week+" (red) → "Overnight" (green)
• Pain section compressed to 3 short inner-monologue quote cards
• New FAQ section (generative AI use, auto-billing, PS version support, no cloud upload)
• Other products area: vertical cards → horizontal compact layout
• CTA hierarchy reorganized: Try → LP detail → Examples → Buy (ghost)

lp-star.html Round 3 redesign

• H1 changed to direct pain-question
• Full-width B/A hero section placed immediately after the hero
• Pain section rebuilt: quote-wall (4 cards) + pain-details (4 cards)
• Developer section: award photo large on left, AI clarification block on right
• Header CTA changed to direct DL link

lp-star.html full redesign

• Page structure overhauled: pain points placed early, Before/After as main feature
• Milky Way Before/After (uncorrected vs Sidekick Star) featured prominently
• Airplane trail removal Before/After incorporated into features section
• Light-stacking Before/After added (1 frame vs 3800 frames)
• Explicit "no generative AI" section added (AI detects; same pixel-replacement logic as manual work)
• Award-winning photographer section made standalone
• Manual link updated to PDF (from old HTML page)
• Hero image changed from CSS pseudo-starfield to real Milky Way photo

Bug-fix release for all tools · DL links updated

• Sidekick Star: replaced with bug-fix version
• Sidekick Portrait: replaced with bug-fix version
• Sidekick Sky Effect: replaced with bug-fix version (3 updates)
• Sky Effect: 3 style names changed from "Preset" → "Intent"

Page enhancements · Manuals published

• Portrait: real-photo gallery of 14 styles added (click to enlarge)
• Sky Effect: example gallery expanded from 2 to 6 scenes
• Japanese and English manual PDFs linked on all product pages
• lp-star.html: OGP tags added (Twitter/X card support)

Clear Sky intent added

• Added "Clear Sky" intent to SkyEffects
• Sky WB: 4800K / -15, Ground WB: 5500K / 0 for vivid blue sky
• Blend mode set to COLORBLEND to further emphasize the blue

Sky Effect & Portrait sales pages launched · Purchase flow set up

• sky-effect.html updated from "coming soon" to full product page
• buy-sky.html and buy-portrait.html added (email collection → Stripe)
• thanks-sky.html and thanks-portrait.html (post-purchase pages) added
• buy-star.html: email collection flow added (integrated with Stripe Payment Link)
• Portrait and Sky Effect hero CTA changed from "See examples" → "Buy"
• index.html: "coming soon" badges removed, pricing and trial periods shown
• index.html: "Changelog" link added to nav and footer

LP redesign · New pages

• Hero copy refreshed
• Before / After section added
• 1X Award winning works section added
• Gallery page (gallery.html) added
• Changelog page (changelog.html) added
• Images reorganized under images/awards/

Manual bundled with Sidekick Star download

• Manual PDF included in the trial download package
• Script operation confirmed; Photoshop Beta compatibility verified

Site first deploy (Vercel)

• index.html, star.html, legal.html, privacy.html published
• Stripe payment flow setup started

Sidekick Star initial release (trial)

• Light-stacking script implemented
• Sky mask and star mask auto-generation
• Light pollution correction workflow integrated
• Released as 3-month trial license