fix(scoreboards): announce the last-ditch font fallback

plugins.json

@@ -101,7 +101,7 @@
       "last_updated": "2026-09-02",
       "verified": true,
       "screenshot": "",
-      "latest_version": "1.29.1"
+      "latest_version": "1.29.2"
     },
     {
       "id": "calendar",
@@ -760,7 +760,7 @@
       "last_updated": "2026-09-02",
       "verified": true,
       "screenshot": "",
-      "latest_version": "2.24.1"
+      "latest_version": "2.24.2"
     },
     {
       "id": "static-image",

plugins/basketball-scoreboard/game_renderer.py

@@ -259,9 +259,17 @@ def _load_custom_font(self, element_config: Dict[str, Any], default_size: int =
         try:
             if os.path.exists(default_font_path):
                 return ImageFont.truetype(default_font_path, font_size)
-        except Exception:
-            pass
+        except Exception as e:
+            # Say so. Reaching PIL's built-in face means this element will
+            # not match the panel's pixel grid, which reads as a rendering
+            # bug rather than a missing font file.
+            self.logger.warning(
+                "Fallback font %s failed to load (%s: %s)",
+                default_font_path, type(e).__name__, e)
 
+        self.logger.warning(
+            "No usable font found; using PIL's built-in face, which will "
+            "not be pixel-crisp")
         return ImageFont.load_default()
 
     def preload_logos(self, games: list, logo_dir: Path) -> None:

plugins/basketball-scoreboard/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "basketball-scoreboard",
   "name": "Basketball Scoreboard",
-  "version": "1.29.1",
+  "version": "1.29.2",
   "update_interval": 60,
   "description": "Live, recent, and upcoming basketball games across NBA, NCAA Men's, NCAA Women's, and WNBA with real-time scores, schedules, and March Madness tournament support",
   "author": "ChuckBuilds",
@@ -19,6 +19,13 @@
   "branch": "main",
   "plugin_path": "plugins/basketball-scoreboard",
   "versions": [
+    {
+      "version": "1.29.2",
+      "released": "2026-09-02",
+      "ledmatrix_min_version": "3.3.0",
+      "notes": "Say so when no usable font can be found. The last-ditch fallback silently dropped to PIL's built-in face, which does not match the panel's pixel grid -- so a missing or unreadable font file looked like a rendering bug with nothing in the log to explain it. It now warns, naming the font it failed to load. Nothing renders differently; this only makes an existing failure visible.",
+      "changelog": "Retry a team logo whose previous download failed, instead of showing a grey box forever. A failed download is cached by the core as a placeholder wearing the real logo's filename; the logo loader scans filename variations, found that stub, and so never called the downloader again. The loader now skips a placeholder that is stale enough to be worth retrying and lets the download run, which also picks up stubs already on disk. The retry is rate-limited by the core (6h), so this does not trade a permanent grey box for a request every frame. Needs a core carrying src.logo_downloader.is_placeholder_logo; against an older core the check is skipped and behaviour is unchanged. Ported byte-identically across every sports lineage."
+    },
     {
       "version": "1.29.1",
       "released": "2026-09-02",

plugins/soccer-scoreboard/game_renderer.py

@@ -223,9 +223,17 @@ def _load_custom_font(self, element_config: Dict[str, Any], default_size: int =
         try:
             if os.path.exists(default_font_path):
                 return ImageFont.truetype(default_font_path, font_size)
-        except Exception:
-            pass
-
+        except Exception as e:
+            # Say so. Reaching PIL's built-in face means this element will
+            # not match the panel's pixel grid, which reads as a rendering
+            # bug rather than a missing font file.
+            self.logger.warning(
+                "Fallback font %s failed to load (%s: %s)",
+                default_font_path, type(e).__name__, e)
+
+        self.logger.warning(
+            "No usable font found; using PIL's built-in face, which will "
+            "not be pixel-crisp")
         return ImageFont.load_default()
 
     def preload_logos(self, games: list, logo_dir: Path) -> None:

plugins/soccer-scoreboard/manifest.json

@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {
   "id": "soccer-scoreboard",
   "name": "Soccer Scoreboard",
-  "version": "2.24.1",
+  "version": "2.24.2",
   "author": "ChuckBuilds",
   "description": "Live, recent, and upcoming soccer games across multiple leagues including Premier League, La Liga, Bundesliga, Serie A, Ligue 1, MLS, Liga Portugal, Champions League, Europa League, and FIFA World Cup",
   "category": "sports",
@@ -26,6 +26,13 @@
     "soccer_upcoming"
   ],
   "versions": [
+    {
+      "version": "2.24.2",
+      "released": "2026-09-02",
+      "ledmatrix_min_version": "3.3.0",
+      "notes": "Say so when no usable font can be found. The last-ditch fallback silently dropped to PIL's built-in face, which does not match the panel's pixel grid -- so a missing or unreadable font file looked like a rendering bug with nothing in the log to explain it. It now warns, naming the font it failed to load. Nothing renders differently; this only makes an existing failure visible.",
+      "changelog": "Retry a team logo whose previous download failed, instead of showing a grey box forever. A failed download is cached by the core as a placeholder wearing the real logo's filename; the logo loader scans filename variations, found that stub, and so never called the downloader again. The loader now skips a placeholder that is stale enough to be worth retrying and lets the download run, which also picks up stubs already on disk. The retry is rate-limited by the core (6h), so this does not trade a permanent grey box for a request every frame. Needs a core carrying src.logo_downloader.is_placeholder_logo; against an older core the check is skipped and behaviour is unchanged. Ported byte-identically across every sports lineage."
+    },
     {
       "version": "2.24.1",
       "released": "2026-09-02",