v0.3.0

Virtual Pro Wrestling 64: Recompiled v0.3.0 brings conversions, starting with the community English translation, plus graphics presets, save backups, and a round of performance and stability fixes.

The AKI Launcher v0.3.0 follows shortly. This release runs on its own: unzip it and start the exe. The launcher you have now can keep starting it, and the launcher features named below come with the new launcher.

Highlights

• Play in English: the community English translation runs as a conversion on this port, with wrestler names and menu text in English.
• Smoother picture: evenly paced frames at 30 fps, and no more skipped refreshes or leftover flicker at 60 and 120 fps.
• Much less memory: about 1 GB instead of 4.5 GB (about 2 GB instead of 6 GB with ray tracing on).

Conversions

A conversion is a community hack played on top of the port. It's built from your own ROM and the hack file you supply, and keeps its own saves. Install one by hand, or from the AKI Launcher v0.3.0 once it's out (Play as... on the game's card, and its bulk import, which also takes patches and texture packs). Hacks we haven't tested are labelled Untested and may crash.

Conversion	Tier	Notes
Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 - English Translation	Verified	Wrestler names and menu text are in English. Reset a save made with an earlier version to see the English names.
VPW Gamma (VPW64 build)	Untested	Not tested with this release yet; an earlier build didn't start.

• Conversions also work when you start the game without the launcher: their saves are set up and their ray-traced lighting is applied the same way.
• Code mods such as cheats or the free camera stay off inside a conversion unless it allows them. Your texture packs still load.
• Upgrading from 0.2.0: ROM hacks you installed as patch mods move to conversions by themselves the first time you start 0.3.0, and keep their saves.

New

• Graphics presets: pick Authentic, Enhanced or Max, or set each option yourself.
• Save backups: your saves are backed up automatically, and you can restore a backup from the menu.
• Sharper picture options: supersampling at Auto resolution, MSAA 8x, and smoother edges on pixel-art textures such as sprites, crowds, the HUD and fonts.
• HD texture packs: PNG texture packs named for Rice, GLideN64 or Jabo load as they are, with no converting. Dumping textures keeps the pictures you have already edited.

Fixed

• English translation: wrestler names and menu text now show in English. Earlier versions left them in Japanese.
• At 30 fps, frames are now evenly paced.
• The 60 and 120 fps settings no longer skip a refresh one to three times a second, and leftover flicker from frame interpolation is gone.
• The game uses much less memory.
• The HUD Placement setting now works.
• With HDR on, a windowed game no longer drops to 10–20 frames a second.
• Applying several settings at once no longer crashes the game.
• Quitting in the middle of a match no longer crashes the game, and quitting while it starts up no longer hangs it.
• If part of the game stops responding, closing it now still exits cleanly instead of leaving it hung.
• The game no longer hangs after an "Error loading mods" message, or when you close it afterwards.
• A frozen game no longer uses up all your memory.
• A ROM patch made for a different version of the game is refused with a clear message.
• A conversion with a broken setup file is refused with a message instead of crashing the game.

Known issues

• English translation and old saves: a save made before 0.3.0 keeps the Japanese names. Reset the save for this conversion to get the English names.

Notes

• No game assets are included. You must supply your own Virtual Pro Wrestling 64 (Japan) ROM — SHA1 F9E9FA2ED819C3A39DB5CB6AFECA186F021DB5ED. Select the unpatched Japanese ROM; the English translation plays as a conversion built from it plus the patch you supply. Nothing from the ROM or the hacks ships with this release.
• Saves and settings live in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Vpw64Recompiled\ and carry over from 0.2.0. For a portable install, create an empty portable.txt next to the exe.
• Windows SmartScreen: the exe is unsigned, so Windows may warn on first run. Click "More info" → "Run anyway".
• Bug reports: update your GPU drivers first, and please attach %LOCALAPPDATA%\Vpw64Recompiled\Vpw64Recompiled.log.