RELEASE CANDIDATE 4 - THE PARITY PATCH

DS4Windows 5.0.0.0 — The Parity Patch

Release Candidate 4 brings native PlayStation game feedback, physical-controller features, virtual outputs, and Windows audio routing together under one production transport. It is also the first DS4Windows 5 release candidate to ship both the familiar portable package and a complete, user-friendly Windows installer. It pairs DS4Windows 5.0.0.0 with VIIPER 0.0.7.

Downloads

• Recommended: DS4Windows_5.0.0.0_Setup_x64.exe — the new all-in-one offline installer/updater. It installs or repairs DS4Windows, VIIPER 0.0.7, and the supported usbip-win2 0.9.7.7 driver; offers optional HidHide and FakerInput checkboxes; verifies every packaged payload; supports repair and restart/resume; and creates a desktop shortcut by default.
• Portable: DS4Windows_VIIPERPORTABLE_x64.zip — the complete self-contained x64 portable build, including the .NET runtime and offline dependency payloads.

RC4 is x64-only. If setup replaces usbip-win2, save your work and allow the requested Windows restart. Profiles and user settings are preserved during standard updates.

PlayStation audio, speaker, AUX, and microphone

• Rebuilt the physical DualSense media path around one production transport and a protected low-latency scheduler.
• Fixed speaker crackles, short stalls, source-switch failures, and recovery after controller reconnects, profile reloads, service restarts, suspend, and hibernation.
• Added clean, exclusive speaker and headset/AUX routing with independent levels. Turning Headset only off restores the speaker path without requiring a controller reconnect.
• Kept one Windows playback/recording endpoint pair per physical controller, even when switching the emulated device between PlayStation, Xbox, and Switch outputs.
• Kept PlayStation speaker, AUX, microphone, Audio Haptics, adaptive-trigger, and lightbar features available while games see an Xbox 360 or Switch 2 Pro controller.
• Retained the separately tuned DualShock 4 Bluetooth speaker implementation and added safer fallback/queue handling for controllers and Bluetooth stacks that previously reported static or full audio queues.

Native DualSense game support

• Reworked game feedback as one atomic presentation stream: input, native advanced haptics, speaker audio, adaptive triggers, lightbar, player LEDs, rumble, and explicitly enabled DS4Windows overrides are composed without replaying stale state.
• Restored subtle menu and gameplay haptics, responsive R3/stick input, correct trigger release, game-owned lighting, and clean ownership handoff when a game starts or exits.
• Reduced advanced-haptics delay while preserving the proven speaker cadence and preventing state writers from displacing media frames.
• Hardened virtual-device, audio-endpoint, and controller recovery across output changes and service lifecycle events.

Audio Haptics and per-app capture

• Audio Haptics now runs independently from audible controller-speaker playback. Disabling Stream audio to controller no longer disables the DualSense haptics carrier.
• Fixed per-app capture startup, child-process/session rebinding, source changes, long-running latency growth, and recovery after applications recreate their Windows audio sessions.
• Preserved the captured waveform for shared speaker and haptics consumers instead of applying hidden gain or destructive normalization.
• Added system, emulated-controller, and selected-app sources; automatic game detection; Mix/Replace; frequency focus; response, ramp, and fade controls; and optional app playback through the controller or AUX port.

Trigger Lab and profiles

• Completed linked and split L2/R2 editing, independent trigger arming, ready-made effects, custom-effect persistence, previews, reset controls, and per-trigger game-rumble vibration.
• Moved full-pull actions into Trigger Lab and saved every Trigger Lab and Audio Haptics choice inside the active profile.
• Fixed quick-control output selections reverting to Xbox 360, output changes failing to serialize, duplicate reloads, stale overview values, and profile-transition races.
• Improved Auto Profiles, swipe profile changes, Moonlight/Sunshine inputs, Game Bar companion startup, gyro toggles, Xbox 360 output, and output-slot recovery.

Redesigned interface

• Added the live Overview workspace with controller status, battery, active profile, emulated output, PlayStation audio, haptic strength, processing, and microphone controls.
• Added searchable Profiles and Auto Profiles, a focused full-screen profile editor, clearer advanced settings, modern toggles/sliders/dropdowns, and responsive layouts.
• Added controller-aware remapping artwork and interaction for DualSense, DualSense Edge, DualShock 4, Xbox 360, and Switch 2 Pro, including touch, trigger, stick-direction, and special-control targets.
• Refreshed the README with current screenshots and updated setup, audio, haptics, profile, and troubleshooting documentation.

Installer and update safety

• Added an offline WiX-based standard installer with install/update/repair detection, optional HidHide and FakerInput, payload hashes, managed-file cleanup, rollback-aware VIIPER replacement, Citrix/USB virtualization checks, and persistent diagnostics.
• Enforced the exact bundled VIIPER version and hash. A stale or mismatched backend always prompts for a standard or portable repair instead of silently continuing.
• Startup tasks now respect DS4Windows' Run at Startup setting. Enabled installs verify both tasks; disabled installs remove both tasks and perform only the requested one-time launch.
• Preserved portable DS4Windows workflows while keeping Program Files installation and cleanup strictly scoped to installer-owned files.

Validation

• 698 automated tests passed (one intentionally skipped).
• Self-contained x64 publish, portable archive composition, VIIPER 0.0.7 hash/version validation, installer payload validation, MSI/Burn construction, and offline layout planning all completed successfully.

This is still a release candidate. Please include %APPDATA%\DS4Windows\Logs\ds4windows_log.txt when reporting a reproducible issue.