LuminalVGD v0.1.0-alpha.8

LuminalVGD v0.1.0-alpha.8

Driver identity: 0.1.0.24 (Build 24)
Protocol: 0.10
Architecture: Windows x64
Release channel: Current stable/latest release
Software maturity: Alpha

Build 24 is a direct-to-encoder reliability release. It replaces Build 23's live fence-to-keyed-mutex downgrade with an explicit, immutable synchronization contract between LuminalVGD and LuminalShine. This closes a race where the host could import one transport contract while the driver changed the same active ring generation to another, eventually leaving capture and the Windows graphics stack waiting on incompatible synchronization primitives.

The virtual display remains arrived and LuminalVGD continues draining IddCx frames when the optional direct transport cannot be provisioned. A compatible LuminalShine host can then move capture into its isolated safe-capture worker without poisoning or restarting the main server process.

Highlights

Immutable fence-only direct transport

• Adds the protocol 0.10 FENCE_TRANSPORT_REQUIRED capability and monitor-creation flag.
• A host can require D3D12-openable shared textures synchronized by a shared timeline fence.
• The selected synchronization contract is immutable for the lifetime of a ring generation.
• A fence-required generation can no longer silently become a keyed-mutex generation after the host has imported it.
• Ring headers expose only transport-specific flags; unrelated monitor creation flags are filtered out before publication.

Explicit failure containment

• Failure to create or share a required fence transport marks the optional direct ring DEAD.
• The driver continues acquiring and finishing IddCx frames in drain-only mode, preserving the virtual monitor and desktop topology.
• Transport failure does not trigger a delete/reassign cycle, monitor departure, or unbounded recovery loop.
• Actual device-loss errors remain eligible for the existing bounded swapchain reassignment and TDR recovery paths.

Safer LuminalShine coordination

When paired with a LuminalShine build containing the immutable direct-display capture changes:

• LuminalShine waits for a stable, active ring and validates two consecutive status snapshots before transferring it to the video worker.
• The worker rejects a synchronization-contract change within an imported generation.
• Direct VGD capture and encoding remain isolated from the main LuminalShine server process.
• If no transferable direct ring becomes available, WGC—and DDA if required—is started inside the disposable worker rather than creating a replacement GPU pipeline in the parent process.
• Healthy direct capture still copies the claimed VGD slot into a bounded worker-owned surface pool, completes the GPU copy, and releases the driver slot before conversion or encoding begins.

D3D11 and D3D12 support

• D3D12-openable ring textures and explicit timeline-fence synchronization remain the preferred direct transport.
• Native D3D12 NVENC remains available in LuminalShine.
• D3D11 NVENC, AMF, QSV, and compatibility conversion paths remain available.
• The transport correction does not require game-process injection, renderer hooks, or interception of Present/Present1.
• HDR, 10-bit, and 4:4:4 stream formats remain host/encoder capabilities and are not intentionally reduced by this driver update.

Protocol and compatibility

• Protocol version advances from 0.9 to 0.10.
• The required host compatibility floor remains protocol 0.3.
• The new capability and creation flag are additive; older hosts continue to work without requesting the strict contract.
• Older hosts may retain their previous keyed-mutex or optional-fence behavior. Pair Build 24 with a LuminalShine build containing the corresponding protocol 0.10 integration to receive the full reliability benefit.
• Requires Windows 10/11 x64 with Indirect Display Driver support.

Installation and upgrade

1. Download LuminalVGD-v0.1.0-alpha.8-x64.zip and SHA256SUMS.
2. Verify the archive digest against SHA256SUMS.
3. Extract the archive to a local directory.
4. Open PowerShell as Administrator.
5. Run install-driver.ps1 from the extracted directory.
6. Restart LuminalShine after installation. Reboot Windows if the old UMDF driver remains loaded or Device Manager does not show the updated version.
7. Confirm Device Manager reports driver version 0.1.0.24 and vgd-probe.exe status reports Build 24 / protocol 0.10.

The driver normally exposes no monitor until LuminalShine or another authorized controller creates one.

Signing and package integrity

The UMDF driver DLL and catalog in this archive are Authenticode-signed and RFC 3161 timestamped by NortheBridge Foundation. FORCE_INTEGRITY is clear in the shipped DLL, as required for the OV-signed UMDF package. Signed binaries are distributed only as GitHub release assets and are not committed to the source repository.

SHA-256

1cbe52890c732e5dfb6d2455d9035eb4c7881ab19dd49d89343b8b1fdbf807c2  LuminalVGD-v0.1.0-alpha.8-x64.zip

Validation

• Full LuminalVGD workspace tests passed.
• Release workspace compilation passed.
• Windows driver CI passed for the Build 24 source change.
• The release gate verified the 0.1.0.24 INF identity, valid timestamped DLL/catalog signatures, archive checksum, expected package contents, and cleared FORCE_INTEGRITY flag.

Notes for alpha users

This is the current stable/latest LuminalVGD release, but the project remains alpha software. Build 24 substantially reduces the risk that an optional direct-capture transport failure will destabilize the host graphics process. It cannot guarantee uninterrupted streaming through a system-wide GPU reset, hardware fault, or vendor driver failure.

When reporting a freeze or recovery failure, include the LuminalShine runtime log and matching LuminalVGD, IddCx, and DDisplay ETL traces.