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KeplerBridge v0.8.0-rc1 — Initial Public Release Candidate

KeplerBridge v0.8.0-rc1 — Initial Public Release Candidate Pre-release
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@HamzaShaikhAI HamzaShaikhAI released this 20 Oct 17:06
v0.8.0-rc1
3e50956

KeplerBridge v0.8.0-rc1 — Initial Public Release Candidate

Pre-Release Candidate: This release candidate is published for hardware verification, community testing, and compatibility research on NVIDIA Kepler GPUs. It is not yet certified as a general stable release. Commercial games require physical acceptance testing before being marked playable.

What is KeplerBridge?

KeplerBridge is an open-source Direct3D 12-to-Direct3D 11 compatibility and translation proxy engineered to enable bounded Direct3D 12 applications on legacy hardware, specifically the NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 (Kepler GK208 architecture, native Direct3D 11 Feature Level 11_0).

Deploying as a drop-in 64-bit d3d12.dll alongside game executables, KeplerBridge translates D3D12 device creation, command recording, resource transitions, multi-slot compute dispatches, and swapchain presentations into Direct3D 11 immediate execution.

Key Capabilities Included in v0.8.0-rc1

  • Zero External Dependencies: Statically linked against C++20; imports solely standard Windows operating system DLLs (d3d11.dll, dxgi.dll, KERNEL32.dll, d3dcompiler_47.dll, and Windows UCRT).
  • COM Child-Object Hierarchy Preservation: Correctly propagates wrapped device interfaces on GetDevice() across command allocators, command lists, and command queues while cleanly rejecting higher execution interfaces (ID3D12GraphicsCommandList1/2 return E_NOINTERFACE).
  • Initial Pipeline State Preservation: Command list Reset(alloc, pInitialState) automatically records and replays the initial PSO, ensuring draw/dispatch sequences execute correctly even without explicit subsequent SetPipelineState() calls.
  • DXGI Swapchain Fallback & Tearing Sanitization: Transparent fallback from DXGI_SWAP_EFFECT_FLIP_DISCARD to DXGI_SWAP_EFFECT_DISCARD on D3D11.0 runtimes with automated sanitization of tearing flags (0x200).
  • Root Signature Version 1.1 Multi-Space Remapping: Linear stride offset remapping for multi-space descriptor tables (spaceStride = 16 for SRVs, 4 for CBVs/Samplers/UAVs) with 1:1 preservation of standard space0 bindings and explicit hardware slot limit checks.
  • GPU Queue Completion Synchronization: Authentic GPU queue draining via D3D11Backend::WaitForGpuCompletion() utilizing ID3D11Query of type D3D11_QUERY_EVENT polled via GetData(), preventing CPU worker thread races and deadlocks.
  • Monolithic PSO Compilation Throttling: Periodic 128-PSO checkpoints flush driver command queues and yield thread execution slices (SwitchToThread()), preventing WDDM watchdog TDR timeouts (0x887A0005) during intense shader pre-warming phases.
  • Multi-Slot UAV Binding & Counters: Up to 8 concurrent UAV slots in compute and graphics stages with full atomic append/consume counter reset and preservation semantics.
  • Persistent Shader Disk Caching: Non-cryptographic 64-bit FNV-1a caching with warm compiler bypass (reducing compilation latency from 47.8 ms to 0.13 ms, 365x speedup) and automated disk corruption recovery.
  • Production Diagnostics: Structured error codes (KB_ERR_*), user profile path redaction (Users\[USER]\), and 10 MB active log rotation.

Hardware Regression Test Results

KeplerBridge v0.8.0-rc1 has been verified against the physical NVIDIA GeForce GT 740 GPU (GK208B, 4052 MB DDR3, Driver 456.71, Windows 10 x64):

  • Total Test Suites: 15 executables
  • Total Automated Proofs: 113 / 113 Passed (100% Pass Rate)
  • Regressions: 0 detected
  • Important Note: These are automated hardware unit/integration proofs exercising translation boundaries, not commercial game compatibility assertions.

Quick Start & Installation

  1. Download the release package: keplerbridge-v0.8.0-rc1-x64.zip.
  2. Extract d3d12.dll and kepler_bridge.ini into the directory containing your target 64-bit game executable (next to the main .exe).
  3. Verify that the game is launched in offline single-player mode.
  4. Launch the game.
  5. Check kepler_bridge.log in the game directory to inspect startup capability detection and translation telemetry.

Uninstallation

Delete d3d12.dll, kepler_bridge.ini, kepler_bridge.log, and the kepler_cache/ directory from the game folder. The game immediately reverts to the system's native Direct3D 12 runtime.

Commercial Game Compatibility Caveats

  • Strict Non-Fabrication Standard: No commercial game is marked as VERIFIED PLAYABLE without confirmed in-game physical testing passing all 5 Acceptance Pillars.
  • 16 Promising Candidates (Category B): Titles with implemented targeted fixes ready for community and maintainer testing: Stray, FFVII Remake Intergrade, Ghostwire: Tokyo, Lies of P, Hogwarts Legacy, Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth, Resident Evil Village, Devil May Cry 5, Resident Evil 2/3 Remake, Deathloop, Atomic Heart, Hi-Fi RUSH, Little Nightmares II, Age of Empires IV, Humankind.
  • Palworld Status (Experimental): Palworld is not verified playable under D3D12. The D3D12 path fails due to Shader Model 6.0 DXIL bytecode and Niagara wave intrinsics. Players on Kepler GT 740 should launch Palworld with the native -dx11 command-line switch, which runs smoothly on physical hardware without translation overhead.
  • Native Baselines Segregated: Physical GT 740 runs of God of War (2018), Baldur's Gate 3, Days Gone, and Palworld -dx11 are strictly classified as native D3D11 hardware baselines, not translation successes.

Known Limitations & Warning

KeplerBridge does not synthesize missing GPU hardware. The following features cannot be supported on Kepler Feature Level 11_0 silicon and will fail honestly:

  • DirectX Raytracing (DXR Tier 1.0/1.1)
  • Mesh & Amplification Shaders (SM 6.5)
  • Variable Rate Shading (VRS Tier 1/2)
  • Resource Binding Tier 3 (Full Bindless)
  • DirectStorage GDeflate GPU Decompression
  • Arbitrary Pre-Compiled SM 6.x DXIL Bytecode (without HLSL source)

Anti-Cheat Warning

KeplerBridge is designed exclusively for offline single-player applications, legacy hardware research, and game preservation. Do NOT use KeplerBridge in online multiplayer games protected by kernel anti-cheat systems (Easy Anti-Cheat, BattlEye, Vanguard, Blizzard Warden). Loading proxy DLLs into protected games will trigger anti-cheat bans.

Release Package Checksums (Phase 10 Release Candidate)

03e685a1592844b0bcddb4e3e9a4512d88a27bc33359db7caa9546bb6867e8a8  d3d12.dll
8b0e9ba2b9861e7524b588aafdec0acc87e7cddefc7b87cbf82ac1e03e5b3b78  kepler_bridge.ini
2bb0f6c997569474e8d16e264f7a133218a683e68f1c62326204985aa89a93db  LICENSE
7e9ad74bb7d68b5da83fc43b0a9b53534fb96b75465135eb33c6e274b45f97c9  README.txt
745a8f367df1217dc514824f85fa088055a320bfee95e8efacdd7218ad28a076  keplerbridge-v0.8.0-rc1-x64.zip
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