mark ue 5.5 support as deprecated and introduce ue 5.8 and update the platform support matrix and planned features accordingly

Handbook/src/appendix/changelog.md

@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ This minor release introduces a major IPC overhaul, significant inter-process co
 
 ### Added
 
-- Added initial support for the upcoming Unreal Engine `5.8`.
+- Added support for Unreal Engine `5.8`.
 - Added support for Microsoft Visual Studio 2026 to allow building UE `5.7` and `5.8` projects with the latest Visual Studio version.
 - Added support for MSVC Toolsets `v145: 14.50.35717` (UE `5.8`) and `v143: 14.44.35207` (UE `5.8` and `5.7`). Previously, the plugin shipped only `v143: 14.38.33130`, which has now been declared out of support by Microsoft. `14.38.33130` binaries are still shipped, as it remains Epic Games' preferred MSVC toolchain for building UE `5.5` and `5.6` on Microsoft Windows.
 - Added support for the new SenseGlove inter-process communication module `SGFakeShm`, enabling communication with SenseCom via `IPC` (named pipes on Microsoft Windows and Unix Domain Sockets on GNU/Linux) and `TCP over loopback/localhost` mechanisms, in addition to the previously supported `Boost::SharedMem`. This release also reduces `Boost::SharedMem` latency and increases data throughput, which should help improve frame rate and overall performance. Please note that communication over SharedMem is still blocking (non-async) in nature, so in enterprise environments where security software typically restricts `SharedMem` access, or in cases of conflicts with other applications, we recommend using either `IPC` or `TCP`. These transports have been implemented from scratch using an asynchronous, non-blocking architecture, although the new SenseCom also supports optional blocking communication modes and additional configuration tweaks if desired. `IPC` and `TCP over loopback` are also typically less restricted than `SharedMem` in enterprise environments and generally provide significantly lower latency. This helps maintain smooth frame rates by decoupling rendering and data exchange with SenseCom. Furthermore, the new SenseGlove UE plugin and SenseCom remain backward compatible with older releases of SenseCom and the UE plugin without requiring any specific configuration. They can automatically detect and fall back to the legacy `SharedMem` transport.
@@ -41,6 +41,10 @@ This minor release introduces a major IPC overhaul, significant inter-process co
 - Removed SenseGlove library binaries built with Epic Native/Cross Toolchains `v22` from the distributed third-party binaries shipped with the plugin. Support for the `v22` toolchain, which was previously used to build UE `5.3` and `5.4` Linux dependencies, has been dropped since plugin release `v2.8.0`.
 - Removed `btleplug` Android dependencies, as the SenseGlove libraries for Android no longer rely on `btleplug` for BLE communication.
 
+### Deprecated
+
+- This is the last minor release to support Unreal Engine `5.5` and its support will be removed from the next minor or major releases.
+
 ### Documentation
 
 - Added [FlatBuffers Memory Efficient Serialization Library Licence](../license/flatbuffers-serialization-library.html) section.

Handbook/src/appendix/planned-features-completion-status.md

@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 ## Planned Features Completion Status
 
-### Implemented as of v2.8.x
+### Implemented as of v2.9.x
 
 - [X] SenseGlove Unreal Engine Handbook, a comprehensive guide to the SenseGlove Unreal Engine Plugin accessible online via [unreal.docs.senseglove.com](http://unreal.docs.senseglove.com/), and also in PDF and EPUB formats.
 - [X] Full SenseGlove low-level core API access through Unreal C++.
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@
 - [X] A highly convenient OpenXR hand-tracking data provider component to easily feed SenseGlove data to your own custom or third-party hand-manipulation systems.
 - [X] A highly convenient haptics component to easily add haptics to your own custom or third-party hand-manipulation systems.
 
-### Upcoming features planned for the v2.9.x release
+### Upcoming features planned for the v2.10.x release
 
 ### Planned features long-term
 

Handbook/src/appendix/platform-support-matrix.md

@@ -3,9 +3,10 @@
 |          | **Windows (MSVC 2017)** | **Windows (MSVC 2019)** | **Windows (MSVC 2022)** | **Windows (MSVC 2026)** | **Linux x86-64 (Native Toolchain)** | **Linux AArch64 (Native Toolchain)** | **Meta Quest Standalone (Android NDK)** | **HTC VIVE Standalone (Android NDK)** | **Fab**  | **Azure DevOps Version** |
 |:--------:|:-----------------------:|:-----------------------:|:-----------------------:|:-----------------------:|:-----------------------------------:|:------------------------------------:|:---------------------------------------:|---------------------------------------|----------|--------------------------|
 |          |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ✅ v2.9.x        |         ✅ v2.9.x        |               ✅ v2.9.x              |               ✅ v2.9.x               |             ✅ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ✅ v2.9.0 | ✅ v2.9.0                 |
+|  **5.8** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ✅ v2.9.x        |         ✅ v2.9.x        |               ✅ v2.9.x              |               ✅ v2.9.x               |             ✅ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ✅ v2.9.0 | ✅ v2.9.0                 |
 |  **5.7** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ✅ v2.9.x        |         ✅ v2.9.x        |               ✅ v2.9.x              |               ✅ v2.9.x               |             ✅ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ✅ v2.9.0 | ✅ v2.9.0                 |
 |  **5.6** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ✅ v2.9.x        |            ❌            |               ✅ v2.9.x              |               ✅ v2.9.x               |             ✅ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ✅ v2.9.0 | ✅ v2.9.0                 |
-|  **5.5** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ✅ v2.9.x        |            ❌            |               ✅ v2.9.x              |               ✅ v2.9.x               |             ✅ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ✅ v2.9.0 | ✅ v2.9.0                 |
+|  **5.5** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ⚠️ v2.9.x        |            ❌            |               ⚠️ v2.9.x              |               ⚠️ v2.9.x               |             ⚠️ v2.9.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ⚠️ v2.9.0 | ⚠️ v2.9.0                 |
 |  **5.4** |            ❌            |            ❌            |         ⚠️ v2.7.x        |            ❌            |               ⚠️ v2.7.x              |               ⚠️ v2.7.x               |             ⚠️ v2.7.x (r25b)             | ⚠️ v2.7.x (r25b)                       | ⚠️ v2.7.3 | ⚠️ v2.7.3                 |
 |  **5.3** |            ❌            |         ⚠️ v2.6.x        |         ⚠️ v2.6.x        |            ❌            |               ⚠️ v2.6.x              |               ⚠️ v2.6.x               |             ⚠️ v2.6.x (r25b)             | ⚠️ v2.6.x (r25b)                       | ⚠️ v2.6.3 | ⚠️ v2.6.3                 |
 |  **5.2** |            ❌            |         ⚠️ v2.4.x        |         ⚠️ v2.4.x        |            ❌            |               ⚠️ v2.4.x              |               ⚠️ v2.4.x               |             ⚠️ v2.4.x (r25b)             | ❓                                     | ⚠️ v2.4.2 | ⚠️ v2.4.2                 |