add release notes for version 0.57.4

Author: bosh

docs/versions/release_notes.md

@@ -12,6 +12,47 @@ Note you can also click the "Assets" section at the end of the notes
 for each release to download the PDF or HTML versions of the
 documentation for that specific release.
 
+## 0.57.4
+
+Release: September X, 2025
+
+### New Features
+ * Implemented FAST Stepper device
+ * Improve FAST Audio support, including new machine vars for `fast_audio_(amp_name)_volume`
+ * Virtual platform behaviors for `virtual_platform_add_ball_to_device`, `virtual_platform_remove_ball_from_device`, and `virtual_platform_set_switch`
+ * Carousel feature and setting: `wrap_items`. Set to false to disable wrap from last to first item on rotate.
+ * Added Pin2DMD HD support (256x64)
+ * Added ZeDMD support
+ * Support template evaluation on diverter `activation_time` value to enable use with settings
+
+### Improvements
+ * Include shot name as parameter in `(shot_group_name)_hit` event and `(shot_group_name)_(state)_hit` event
+ * Attract mode inherits from Carousel mode by default
+ * TextUI ignores machine vars from audits, platforms, and mpf prefix
+ * Add error log when FAST node boards not found in IO loop
+ * Updated github actions versions for build
+ * Updated many validation error numbers to remove duplicate numbers appearing on multiple errors
+ * Update light numbering for virtual, OPP, and PKONE so that lights numbered based on previous light addresses collapse the offsets into a single value (e.g. +2 instead of +1+1)
+ * Remove asserting on FAST EXP board product ID matching the model, due to different production runs containing different component IDs
+ * Refactored high_score mode python internals
+ * Enabled Github testing of Python 3.12
+
+### Bug Fixes
+ * Fixed service mode light chain parsing
+ * Fixed FAST Neuron switch management attempting to read switches from other platforms
+ * Refactor machine var management via BCP
+ * Fix timer control event bug where kwargs would leak from setup function into event handlers
+ * Require `setuptools` in installation to fix missing dependency
+ * Placeholder manager updates due to deprecation warnings in AST library
+ * Update docs site links with new version namespace ("latest/") in URL
+ * Service mode coil mapping will skip `dual_wound_coil` devices -- each individual coil should appear separately in the menu
+ * Stop shot control event handlers being disabled when the shot is disabled. Shot control events are intended to take effect even when the shot is disabled.
+ * Fixed audit for average value being calculated incorrectly during multiplayer games (such as with score average value, but any statistic tracking average was affected)
+ * Fixed FAST port detector failing to retry on initial connection timeout
+
+### Breaking Changes
+ * Disabled tests for Spike, LISY, and PKONE platforms that had begun to fail under Python 3.12
+
 ## 0.57.3
 
 Release: September 15, 2024