VO PATCH EX — Display + Controllers Expansion

VO PATCH EX expands Pairomaniac's V-On Patcher for the original 1997 Windows release of Cyber Troopers Virtual-On. Built on upstream modernization, native widescreen rendering, compatibility improvements and installation functionality, it adds expanded display presentation and controller capabilities while preserving the original game engine and gameplay.

Display Expansion

The original Windows game rendered in 4:3 at 640×480. Pairomaniac introduced native widescreen rendering and associated presentation corrections; VO PATCH EX extends that foundation with additional game aspect ratios and independent presentation on separate physical displays.

4:3, 16:9, 21:9 and 32:9 are available for Single Display and Dual Display Mirror. These rendering profiles preserve image proportions rather than stretching the original image to fill a wider screen.

Setting	What it controls
Game aspect ratio	The shape of the rendered game view
Internal rendering resolution	The pixel dimensions used to render the game through the selected profile
Physical monitor resolution	The desktop output into which the rendered image is fitted

These are separate settings and constraints: a monitor's native resolution is not automatically a native game-rendering target. Each output preserves the source aspect ratio, so borders can remain on a differently shaped monitor. Dual Display Versus uses its dedicated two-player rendering profile.

Display mode	Presentation
Single Display	Traditional presentation on one selected monitor, using the selected game aspect ratio and preserving original Local VS split-screen
Dual Display Versus	Independent P1 and P2 gameplay viewpoints on separate monitors within one original game session; Local VS character selection and pre-fight presentation are shared on both displays
Dual Display Mirror	The complete game image on both monitors, including both player viewpoints and HUDs during Local VS; it does not isolate Player 1

In Dual Versus, startup, attract mode and the main menu use the primary monitor with the secondary black; Local VS gameplay separates the player views, and returning to the menu restores primary-only presentation. Mirror duplicates ordinary menu and gameplay presentation. During original video playback in either dual mode, the primary monitor retains the movie and the secondary remains black, preserving upstream movie-framing compatibility.

Configure F5 Graphic Settings → Display... to choose the mode, Primary Display, Secondary Display for dual modes, and Game Aspect Ratio. A fresh default installation uses Single Display, 16:9. Settings are saved for the next launch; restart the game to activate display changes. Explicitly disabling the high-resolution patch starts from original 4:3 unless saved Display settings select another profile.

Windows monitor discovery supplies the available outputs. The two monitors can have different resolutions and aspect ratios: each presentation fits its assigned desktop independently without changing the Windows desktop resolution. Temporary missing-monitor fallback preserves saved preferences and assignments for the next launch. Independent dual outputs require distinct active Windows displays; cloned outputs at the same desktop origin are not independent.

Original F4 resolution behavior, F5 graphics settings and Local VS split controls remain available. Unsupported dual-mode F4 transitions retain the supported presentation. See the README for the eight-display validation inventory and technical limitations; the inventory does not establish compatibility with every monitor, pairing or refresh-rate combination.

Controllers Expansion

F7 Controller Configuration retains all nine profiles:

Profile	Configuration
Gamepad (XInput)	Existing gamepad controls and supported button configuration
Twin-Stick (XInput)	Existing XInput Twin-Stick mapping
Twin-Stick (Custom)	Twelve configurable lever, trigger and dash inputs on one XInput-compatible controller
Twin-Stick (Tanita)	Native Tanita mapping
Twin-Stick (HORI EX)	Xbox 360 HORI Twin Stick EX mapping
Twin-Stick (Raphnet DC)	Original Dreamcast Twin-Stick through the documented Raphnet adapter
Twin-Stick (Raphnet Saturn)	Original Saturn Twin-Stick through the documented Raphnet adapter
Keyboard (Simple)	Existing simple keyboard controls
Keyboard (Real)	Existing two-lever keyboard controls

P1 and P2 select profiles independently and claim the intended physical controller through the Start/Options assignment prompt, rather than relying on Windows connection order. Supported button configuration, saved Custom mappings and mixed-controller Local VS remain available. Custom does not aggregate separate joysticks.

Controller ownership is session-scoped; saved profiles do not preserve physical device identity across launches. Reselect through F7 after a detected disconnect. Native HID families reserve two device paths per process, so additional USB paths may require restarting the game.

Detailed mappings, tested adapter revisions and hardware evidence are in the controller profiles and validation records. HORI findings apply to the Xbox 360 model, not its PlayStation counterpart. Dual Tanita and mixed Raphnet Dreamcast v1/Saturn v2 have been tested; dual HORI, dual identical Raphnet adapters and local Dreamcast v2 validation remain pending or not tested as documented.

Quick Start

1. Download and fully extract VO-PATCH-EX-Experience.zip, keeping v-on-patcher.exe and _internal together.
2. For an upgrade, back up saved settings and use Restore Original on the existing patched installation before repatching.
3. Open V-On Patcher EX, select the original supported game ISO/files, choose the existing patches and select Apply. Keep XInput support enabled for expanded controller profiles and F11 Extras enabled for diagnostic controls.
4. Launch the installed v_on.exe normally. Configure displays in F5 and controllers in F7; restart after changing display settings.

The complete modified patcher preserves upstream file selection, patch options, backups, validation, error handling and Restore Original. No separate game launcher is required. Game files and disc images are not included, and an already patched executable must be restored before applying this package.

Optional diagnostics

F11 logging defaults to Off, with Normal, Detailed and Development levels available for troubleshooting. Enabling logging requires a restart. Selecting Off stops new collection while keeping existing logs available. Export is initiated manually; logs stay local and nothing is uploaded automatically.

Validation and compatibility

Physical Windows UAT and hosted Windows CI passed for this prerelease. Validation includes 33 baseline regression checks, 512 patch recipes, Retail/JPRE Apply/Restore and package-integrity verification. Local GUI coverage was limited by the development host; hosted and physical Windows acceptance are recorded separately.

The integrated recipe set targets English retail and Japanese rerelease executables. Original F4, F5, F6, F7, F8 and F11 functionality remains available. Hardware revision differences and monitor availability still matter; these results do not imply that every controller or monitor combination has been physically tested. The README retains detailed compatibility notes, Common Questions and troubleshooting.

This remains a pre-release, not a stable release.

Credits

hyp36rmax develops and maintains VO PATCH EX's Display Expansion and Controllers Expansion. Pairomaniac created the original V-On Patcher and its modernization, widescreen, controller and installation foundations. SirRockEmSockEm contributed the original patcher logo, icon and screenshots; upstream credits also preserve UE2A-GEL's original VO_Patch work.

The MIT license and bundled dependency notices remain intact. Original game copyright and rights remain with SEGA.