v7.3 - Safe VRAM Optimization & Dynamic Texture Cache Maintenance

Fixes & Improvements:

• Improvement (Memory & Performance): Implemented safe, automated VRAM and texture memory maintenance. Texture retention is tuned to safely prune unneeded assets (such as clothes browsed in Wardrobe) without freezing the canvas or affecting characters currently in the room.
• Improvement (Wardrobe Transition): Added gentle post-wardrobe cleanup that waits for room characters to finish loading before reclaiming GPU memory, preventing VRAM inflation over extended play sessions.
• Fix (Stability & Rendering): Fully protected the WebGL rendering pipeline so active character models, chat text, and room backgrounds remain fluid and responsive without visual lockups or desynchronization.
• Feature (Multi-Platform Parity): Unified safe texture optimization across Windows and Linux standalone builds.
• Fix (Update System): Fixed the auto-update error message on Linux and improved the download progress indicator.

Downloads:

• BC-Windows.exe (~160MB): Self-contained single executable for Windows 10/11. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Windows-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Windows Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.AppImage (~108MB) [Recommended]: Portable single-file executable for Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Steam Deck).
• BC-Linux-Hidden.AppImage (~108MB): Same as Linux AppImage, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.tar.gz (~102MB) [Fallback]: Portable archive for systems without FUSE or minimal distributions.
• BC-Linux-Hidden.tar.gz (~102MB): Same as Linux tarball, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v7.2 - In-App Instant Auto-Updater & Multi-Platform Parity

Fixes & Improvements:

• Feature (Seamless In-App Auto-Updater): You can now update the application directly from the title bar with a single click. The app downloads the new version in the background, displays real-time download progress, and automatically restarts into the updated version without cluttering your Downloads folder.
• Improvement (Linux Multi-Format Support): Auto-updates now seamlessly support both portable .AppImage single files and unpacked .tar.gz directories, replacing or updating existing game installations in-place cleanly.
• Improvement (Update Controls & Options): Right-clicking the update badge opens the GitHub release notes in your browser if you wish to read the changelog before updating.
• Feature (Tester & Dev Isolation): Local test versions now run in complete isolation with updates disabled, ensuring developer builds never overwrite or interfere with live production versions.

Downloads:

• BC-Windows.exe (~160MB): Self-contained single executable for Windows 10/11. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Windows-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Windows Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.AppImage (~108MB) [Recommended]: Portable single-file executable for Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Steam Deck).
• BC-Linux-Hidden.AppImage (~108MB): Same as Linux AppImage, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.tar.gz (~102MB) [Fallback]: Portable archive for systems without FUSE or minimal distributions.
• BC-Linux-Hidden.tar.gz (~102MB): Same as Linux tarball, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v7.1 - Multi-Platform Standalone Release (Windows & Linux) & Addon QoL Updates

Fixes & Improvements:

• Feature (Multi-Platform Parity & Update Detection): Seamless experience across Windows and Linux, including silent update detection, native OS clipboard copy, and physical Ctrl+C support on international keyboard layouts.
• Improvement (Memory & Performance): Added strict GPU VRAM limits and dynamic sleeping tabs to keep background resource consumption ultra-lightweight while idle or minimized.
• Fix (Aspect Ratio & Viewport Clamping): Native 2:1 canvas aspect ratio is strictly preserved across all Linux desktop environments, and in-game translator controls are clamped to stay within the visible screen.
• Fix (Smart Focus & Color Controls): Enhanced focus protection so color pickers, tint inputs, and sliders never lose focus while clicking or dragging.

Downloads:

• BC-Windows.exe (~160MB): Self-contained single executable for Windows 10/11. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Windows-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Windows Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.AppImage (~108MB) [Recommended]: Portable single-file executable for Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Steam Deck).
• BC-Linux-Hidden.AppImage (~108MB): Same as Linux AppImage, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.tar.gz (~102MB) [Fallback]: Portable archive for systems without FUSE or minimal distributions.
• BC-Linux-Hidden.tar.gz (~102MB): Same as Linux tarball, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v7.0 - Multi-Platform Standalone Release (Windows & Linux) & Addon QoL Updates

Fixes & Improvements:

• Feature (Multi-Platform Standalone Release): Full standalone packages are now available across both Windows (10/11) and Linux distributions (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Steam Deck). No external runtime installation is required.
• Fix (Smart Focus & Color Picker Controls): Sliders, custom tint inputs (bc-tint-input), and color picker controls no longer lose focus or get hijacked while clicking or dragging.
• Fix (Neko Dark - Checkboxes & Notification Anchor): Room preference checkboxes now render with clean native checkmarks, and new message notification badges adapt smoothly across landscape and portrait layouts.
• Improvement (Addon Defaults): Clean installations start with heavy optional addons disabled by default, giving players full control in Addon Manager.

Downloads:

• BC-Windows.exe (~160MB): Self-contained single executable for Windows 10/11. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Windows-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Windows Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.AppImage (~108MB) [Recommended]: Portable single-file executable for Linux (Ubuntu, Debian, Fedora, Arch, Steam Deck). Just download, allow executing, and double-click.
• BC-Linux-Hidden.AppImage (~108MB): Same as Linux AppImage, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Linux.tar.gz (~102MB) [Fallback]: Portable archive for systems without FUSE or minimal distributions.
• BC-Linux-Hidden.tar.gz (~102MB): Same as Linux tarball, with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v6.3 - Server Redirection Chain, GitHub Pages Loader & Resilient Auto-Detection

Downloads:

• BC-Desktop-Standalone.exe (~160MB): Fully self-contained single executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight.exe (~6MB): Extremely small footprint single executable. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• BC-Desktop-Standalone-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight-Hidden.exe (~6MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v6.2 - Full GPU Power & Ultra-Low Background Idle Optimization

Fixes & Improvements:

• Improvement (Hardware-Accelerated 60 FPS & Low CPU): Full GPU hardware acceleration delivers buttery-smooth 60 FPS across all wardrobe sessions and chat rooms, keeping active CPU consumption at an ultra-low ~4–5%.
• Improvement (Ultra-Low Background Idle Mode): Switching away (Alt-Tab) or minimizing the game instantly drops GPU utilization and CPU usage to ~0% and trims system RAM to ~100–200MB, leaving your system completely free for other games and tasks.
• Improvement (VRAM Capping & Leak Prevention): Implemented strict Chromium GPU memory buffer budgets and discardable limits, preventing dedicated VRAM from ballooning during extended play sessions or heavy room transitions.
• Improvement (Active Gameplay Performance): Streamlined chat log processing and input detection, preventing frame drops in crowded rooms with active chat and multiple extensions running.
• Fix (Input & Focus Restoration): Returning focus to the game window now immediately restores the chat input cursor and interactive dialogue controls without input lag or missed clicks.
• Fix (Long-Session Stability): Eliminated resource accumulation in taskbar notification badges and page event listeners, ensuring zero memory leaks during extended all-day play sessions.
• Fix (Taskbar Minimize & Restore): Restoring the game window from the taskbar is now instantaneous with no frame freezing or duplicate background tasks.

Downloads:

• BC-Desktop-Standalone.exe (~160MB): Fully self-contained single executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight.exe (~6MB): Extremely small footprint single executable. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• BC-Desktop-Standalone-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight-Hidden.exe (~6MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v6.1 - Single-File Seamless App & Built-in Addon Loader

Fixes & Improvements:

• Feature (Seamless Single-File Executable): The remote addon loader (inject-all.js) is now embedded directly into the application binary as an embedded resource. No external Scripts/ folder is required on disk, and users no longer need to extract .zip archives.
• Improvement (Smart Tester Auto-Detection): Automatically detects if an external Scripts/ folder is present. If local scripts exist, the client prioritizes the local folder and cleanly bypasses the remote loader, enabling offline tester workflows without duplicate injections or CDN conflicts.
• Improvement (Direct App Distribution): Releases are now distributed directly as runnable single .exe files (BC-Desktop-Standalone.exe, BC-Desktop-Lightweight.exe, BC-Desktop-Standalone-Hidden.exe, BC-Desktop-Lightweight-Hidden.exe), enabling instant one-click download and launch.
• Fix (Room & Profile Descriptions): Pressing Enter or Shift+Enter inside text areas (such as online room descriptions and character profiles) now inserts new lines as expected, without losing focus or mistakenly activating chat shortcuts.
• Fix (Preferences & Dropdown Menus): Clicking dropdown menus or scrolling inside preference grids no longer causes the window to jump to the bottom or dismiss dropdown selections prematurely.
• Feature (Release Update Notification): The title bar now displays an unobtrusive indicator when a newer desktop version is available, with a direct link to the release page (completely hidden in stealth mode).
• Feature (Developer Tools): Press F12 at any time to open Chromium Developer Tools for instant troubleshooting, addon debugging, and inspection.
• Improvement (Dark Theme Polish): Styled Neko mini toast notifications, composer warnings, and wheel states to seamlessly blend with dark mode themes.
• Improvement (Stability & Test Coverage): Automated test suite expanded to verify built-in loader integrity, assembly manifest resources, and 6.1 semantic version comparisons.

Downloads:

• BC-Desktop-Standalone.exe (~160MB): Fully self-contained single executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight.exe (~6MB): Extremely small footprint single executable. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• BC-Desktop-Standalone-Hidden.exe (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• BC-Desktop-Lightweight-Hidden.exe (~6MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v6.0 - Immersive Fullscreen, UI Polish & Enhanced Quality Checks

Fixes & Improvements:

• Immersive Fullscreen & Window Sizing: Press F11 at any time to toggle borderless fullscreen mode. Maximizing the game now cleanly fills your display without border gaps, and dragging maximized windows down restores smoothly across all monitor resolutions and DPI scaling factors (125%, 150%, 200%).
• Smooth Chat & Typing Experience: Multiline chat via Shift + Enter works naturally without losing your cursor. Seamless focus handling allows clicking between the game chat, dialog boxes, and addon chat windows without focus fighting. Copying with Ctrl + C now works reliably across all international keyboard layouts.
• Background Battery & RAM Optimization: When Alt-Tabbed, redraws automatically throttle to a gentle 15 FPS to cut CPU heat and battery usage while preserving your session, timers, and WebSocket connections (any custom graphics limit is always respected). Idle RAM is actively trimmed, and crowded chat rooms run significantly lighter.
• In-App Desktop Release Checker: The client now silently checks GitHub for newer desktop updates on startup and displays an unobtrusive indicator on the title bar with a direct link to release notes (strictly suppressed in stealth mode).
• Crash Auto-Recovery & Developer Tools: Built-in safeguards automatically recover and reload frozen game pages with crash-loop protection. Press F12 to open the Chromium Developer Tools directly for quick troubleshooting and addon development.
• Visual Polish & Quality Assurance: Added a subtle 1-pixel border for windowed contrast, crisp ClearType text rendering, red hover highlights for the Close button, and an expanded 20-test automated validation suite.

Downloads:

• Standalone (~160MB): Self-contained executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• Lightweight (~3MB): Extremely small footprint. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• Standalone-hidden (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• Lightweight-hidden (~3MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v5.5 - Chromium Background Optimization & Smart Memory Trimming

Fixes & Improvements:

• Highlight (5.5): Chromium Background Optimization & Smart Memory Trimming.
• Internal Cleanliness & Maintenance: Regular maintenance, performance enhancements, and dependency updates.

Downloads:

• Standalone (~160MB): Self-contained executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• Lightweight (~3MB): Extremely small footprint. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• Standalone-hidden (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• Lightweight-hidden (~3MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).

v5.4 - Resilient Version Auto-Detection & Dynamic 404 Recovery

Fixes & Improvements:

• Critical Fix (Version Detection & 404 Prevention): Resolved a major issue where the app prematurely bumped to unreleased versions (e.g., jumping to R133 and hitting LiteSpeed 404) due to development changelog commits appearing on GitGud before the game was actually deployed to public servers. Version detection now performs ultra-fast direct server validation (HEAD request) and strictly requires a confirmed 200 OK before navigating or caching the release.
• Improvement (Dynamic Fallback & Nearest-Neighbor Recovery): Replaced the static, hardcoded R132 fallback with dynamic URL tracking (_lastKnownGoodUrl). The app now stays anchored to your current active, stable release. In the event of a cache issue or server deprecation, it gracefully steps down to the nearest supported version (activeVersion - 1) instead of jumping all the way back to legacy versions.
• Improvement (Changelog-Independent Server Probing): The version crawler now probes upcoming releases directly against the game server in parallel via Task.WhenAll (~100ms). This ensures automatic updates continue seamlessly even if GitGud is down, blocked by local ISPs, or if the repository changelog is not updated.
• Improvement (WebView 404 Safeguard): Added an automated guard within NavigationCompleted. If any unexpected HTTP 404 response is encountered, the app immediately and automatically redirects back to the latest verified working release, ensuring users never get stranded on server error pages.
• Internal Cleanliness & Maintenance: Standardized input focus crawler and anti-steal logic comments to clean, professional English for open-source maintainability.

Downloads:

• Standalone (~160MB): Self-contained executable. No .NET runtime required. Just download and run.
• Lightweight (~3MB): Extremely small footprint. Requires the .NET 8 Desktop Runtime.
• Standalone-hidden (~160MB): Same as Standalone, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).
• Lightweight-hidden (~3MB): Same as Lightweight, but with no icon and a blank app name (Discreet mode).