v0.9.32 beta 3

Third beta of 0.9.32: everything from beta 2, plus:

• Shaders stay compiled across updates: the shader cache is cleared only when the shader compiler itself changes, not on every engine update, so updating no longer brings back first-visit stutter in every area. This beta clears it once (new cache format); from the next update on it stays.
• Character creation: the hunter's preview keeps up with your changes. The upscaler took one of the creator's preview scenes for the game's scene and blended old frames into it, so hair and parts stopped changing until a restart.
• The Old Hunters on base-game dumps (#44): with the DLC switch on, the title screen is the Old Hunters edition too, no external patch needed (Kyo's patch, applied by the port).
• Mods page empty after an update (#44): the 0.9.30 update cleanup removed the top-level patches folder, which is yours (your own XML patches). It now keeps the folder and removes only the engine's old files from it, and the Mods page lists the built-in patches even when the folder is missing. Patches deleted by that cleanup can't be restored: please add them again.

To get betas: Settings › Update channel › Beta. The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine id).

v0.9.32 beta 2

Second beta of 0.9.32: crash and rendering fixes, fixes for several GitHub issues, and test switches for the AMD white bar.

Fixes

• Crash when hitting an enemy (guest+0x219f874, from beta 1): a render pass whose target has no surface is skipped instead of crashing.
• Crash in the renderer (bb-probe.exe+0x17bb5a, thread bb:DrawRec): when a depth buffer got its stencil image, the engine kept using a reference the new image had invalidated.
• Objects and textures going missing after a while (the log shows GetArena: Migrating arena): memory brought back after two of the engine's GPU memory ranges were merged was bound only in the new range; draws still using the old one read zeros.
• Status effects above 60 FPS (#15): the game advances a character's effects twice a frame, and the frame-rate patches left the second step at 1/60, so at 90, 120 and 144 FPS poison, build-up and buffs ran 1.33 to 1.6 times as fast. Both steps now follow the frame time.
• The Old Hunters on base-game dumps (#44): with the DLC switch on, the game is told the DLC is installed even without a dumped add-on folder (its data ships with 1.09).
• Patched 1.09 eboots (such as 60 FPS packages) start with a warning instead of "param.sfo is from 1.09 but eboot.bin is not". A different version or a bad dump is still refused.
• "SSL server verification failed" online (#46): before the game starts, the launcher lets Windows add The Hunter's Dream's certificate root if the PC doesn't have it yet.
• Non-English Windows (#45): the start no longer fails with a "'gbk' codec" error. A package under Program Files now says why it can't start.

New

• Borderless fullscreen (Display page): keeps fullscreen a borderless window so trophy notifications show on top. Off by default: then the driver may use exclusive fullscreen (lowest latency, G-SYNC fullscreen-only mode), which hides them.
• Controller mapping: the extra-button slots now say they are the DualSense Edge / Xbox Elite paddles and 8BitDo's L4/R4 and back buttons (#42; 8BitDo pads in D-input or Switch mode).

Test switches (Settings › Diagnostics › Extra variables, one at a time, off by default)

• White bar on AMD (#7): BB_AMD_SHADER_EXT=0 compiles shaders without AMD's own extensions; BB_MIXED_SAMPLES=0 gives multisampled color targets the depth buffer's sample count, as on NVIDIA. The shader cache rebuilds when a switch changes.
• White lines at the right and bottom edge (#43): BB_JITTER=0 turns the upscaler's sub-pixel jitter off.
• Status effects (#15): BB_EFFECT_TIMING=1 writes how fast effects advance to the log every 10 s.

To get betas: Settings › Update channel › Beta. The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine id).

v0.9.32 beta 1

First beta of 0.9.32, for testing one crash fix.

• Crash when hitting an enemy (guest+0x219f874): the game set up a render pass with a target whose surface was gone and crashed reading its size. That pass is now skipped instead. The log says Render guard: ... pass skipped when it happens; if you see that line, a visual glitch for a frame is possible, but the game keeps running.

To get betas: Launcher › Settings › Update channel › Beta.

If it still crashes, please send the crash report and logs\last_session.log.

The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine id).

v0.9.31

Bloodborne PC 0.9.31

A small fix for 0.9.30, launcher only (no new engine, no shader rebuild).

• "These old files could not be removed" at every start: fixed. If your Bloodborne PC folder is in OneDrive, its folders are marked read-only and the one-time cleanup after updating to 0.9.30 couldn't remove the old engine folders, so the message came back on every start. It now clears that flag and removes them. Your saves, settings and mods are not touched.

Everything from 0.9.30 is included.

v0.9.30

Bloodborne PC 0.9.30

A stability and quality release: crash fixes, a cleaner folder, and new options you can try. Nothing experimental is switched on by default.

Crash and bug fixes

• "PM4 type 0" crash: zeroed memory in a GPU command buffer is now skipped, as the PS4's GPU does, instead of stopping the game.
• Crash at start with a ™ (or similar) in the game folder name: fixed.
• Missing game files: a game folder missing its core files now gets a clear "incomplete, dump it again" message instead of crashing a second after opening. If a mod broke them, the game starts without mods.
• Crash right after Play (#19): the game stops itself when one of its files can't be read; the log now names the file, and the crash helper explains it.
• PC Enhancements turning back off after a restart: fixed. The launcher no longer overwrites what you set in the in-game menu.
• Shimmering line at the right/bottom edge when upscaling to resolutions other than 1080p (handhelds, 1440p, 1600p): fixed.
• DLSS not found on some laptops: the NVIDIA DLSS runtime is now also found where some driver installs keep it.
• Browse buttons failing on some PCs: fixed.
• Online: dropped requests to The Hunter's Dream are retried, so summons are more reliable.
• Save backups: a leftover from a failed save import is no longer copied into every backup (it could grow to many GB).

New

• Quit Game on the title menu (asks first), and the overlay's Quit button now works with a controller.
• Online and Settings tabs in the launcher; More keeps Mods, Cheats and Log.
• Only a Hunter's Dream account is needed for online: the old shadNet account fields are gone, and the connection test checks The Hunter's Dream.
• Cheats page says when cheats are off because Play online is on. Cheats never run in online sessions.
• Engine update check: if the launcher updated but the engine didn't, Play offers to update it (old engines lacked many crash fixes).
• Log export saves the whole session log.
• Snappier input: mouse and keyboard input is picked up as it arrives, instead of on a 2 ms timer.
• Cleaner folder: the engine now lives in engine\. The top of the folder keeps the launcher, Bloodborne.exe, your settings, saves, mods and logs. The first start after updating shows a short "cleaning up" window while the old files are removed. Your saves, settings and mods are not touched.

Optional (Graphics › Experimental, all off by default)

• Fast loading: loading screens run at 30 FPS so the loading work gets more CPU. The first load went from 19.6 s to 15.5 s in testing; try it and see.
• Fewer memory write checks: less overhead in busy areas.
• Effect trail crash fix: for crashes while drawing effect trails on newer Intel CPUs (Witch of Hemwick, for example).
• Camera easing for high FPS: the old camera behaviour, for those who preferred it.

Updating

The launcher updates itself and downloads the full package (a new engine). Shaders compile again on the first start.

v0.9.29

Bloodborne PC 0.9.29

Stable release with the new online service.

Online: The Hunter's Dream

• Online now runs on The Hunter's Dream with the correct network code (bbhost's), so you can summon and be summoned by bbhost players, and it no longer floods their server.
• Online page: Connect your Hunter's Dream account with Discord, or without Discord (a name plus a recovery code; write the code down, it's shown once). You can also recover an account with its code (#37).
• Turn on Play online, connect the account, and choose online at the title screen. Everyone needs game version 1.09.

Fixes

• Camera: the frame-rate camera easing is now off by default. It made the camera trail too far behind while running (#32). Set BB_CAMERA_FIX=1 in Extra variables to turn it back on.
• Mods: a link inside a mod folder is skipped with a warning instead of stopping the game from starting (#34).
• Display: pick the monitor before the window opens; HDR paper white goes 10–500 nits and peak 10–4000 nits (#36, thanks llDmitryll).
• Save import: only save files are copied, incomplete saves are refused, and you can import from a folder or a file/.zip.
• Also included: trophy scanning, the ultrawide crash fix, the CPU/GPU counter, and Add to Steam.

Install / update

The launcher updates itself. For a new install, download BloodbornePC-v0.9.29-win64.zip. Shaders get rebuilt on the first start after this update.

v0.9.29 beta 6

Sixth beta, for online testing.

• The Hunter's Dream co-op is picked automatically: with your Hunter's Dream account connected (More › Online › Connect with Discord), pressing Play uses The Hunter's Dream's own co-op (bbhost's network code) - no shadNet at all. Before, it only switched when the Online page had been opened, and the game could fall back to shadNet.
• The Hunter's Dream pool is never held back by the online pause.
• Save import copies only the save's own files (userdata, backup, icon0.png, param.bin), even from a folder full of other files like Downloads, and refuses an incomplete save.

If a summon doesn't connect, please send logs\last_session.log.

The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine id).

v0.9.29 beta 5

Fifth beta: co-op with bbhost players on The Hunter's Dream, now on bbhost's own network code.

• Connect your Hunter's Dream account (More › Online › Connect with Discord). With it connected, the game uses The Hunter's Dream's co-op directly: the same matchmaking, signaling, relay and P2P format bbhost uses (adapted from droogie/bbhost), so players of this port and bbhost players can summon each other. No shadNet account is needed for it.
• Without a connected account, co-op stays on shadNet as before.
• Connect the account before pressing Play (or close the game and press Play again).
• Save import: it refuses an incomplete save (one without userdata0010, which made the game crash on load) instead of replacing your saves with it, and it can now take a save file or a .zip as well as a folder.

If a summon doesn't connect, please send logs\last_session.log.

The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine).

v0.9.29 beta 4

Fourth beta: co-op with bbhost players on The Hunter's Dream (first test build).

• With your Hunter's Dream account connected (More › Online › Connect with Discord), bells and summons go through The Hunter's Dream's own matchmaking, the same one bbhost uses, so bbhost players and players of this port can summon each other. Without it connected, co-op stays on shadNet as in beta 3.
• Your shadNet account still signs the game in; the name other players see is your Hunter's Dream name.
• NAT: The Hunter's Dream's STUN and relay are used, so co-op should work behind most routers (UPnP or forwarding UDP 3658 still helps).
• This is the first build of it: if a summon doesn't connect, please send logs\last_session.log (lines starting with Co-op:).

The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine).

v0.9.29 beta 3

Third beta for online testing.

• Connect your Hunter's Dream account: More › Online › "Connect with Discord". The code is copied for you and the website opens; approve it there. The game's requests to The Hunter's Dream then carry your account, as bbhost's do.
• The 1.09 update beside the game (CUSA03173-UPDATE) is skipped when your game folder already has 1.09.
• Fixed: with the launcher and the game on different drives, starting the game copied game files across drives (a very long start). The merged game view is now made on the game's drive.
• Everything from beta 1 and 2.

The shader cache is rebuilt on the first start (new engine).