MHForever 0.8.3: HUD scale, horn songs and a launcher for the Steam Deck

New

• HUD scale. In Game settings → Video → HUD scale (also in the in-game menu, Escape → Video) you can shrink the hunting HUD from 100% down to 50%. The health and stamina bars, the clock and the weapon sharpness go into the top left corner, the minimap into the top right, and the item bar into the bottom right, so the screen is less crowded on big monitors. It only applies in quests: menus, the village and the start screens keep their original size.
• Hunting horn songs (optional, off by default; Game settings → Game → Show hunting horn songs). In a quest with a hunting horn, a card in the style of the game's own horn books lists every song the horn can play, with its notes as coloured eighth notes. The song you are playing is yellow, with the notes already played in full; a song whose effect is on is green. The names are the game's own messages for the effects, in the language you play in. It never shows in the village, during loading or cut scenes, or over the game's menus. Pick its place (next to the horn's note sheet under the health bar, top middle, under the name plates, bottom left) or drag it anywhere from the in-game menu's Game tab. (Thanks to Pablo1517.)
• Show true weapon values (optional, off by default; Game settings → Game). With it on, the game's menus show a weapon's stored attack, without the display multiplier of its weapon class, and element and status values without the extra 0 printed after them (15 instead of 150). Damage is not touched: only menu text changes. (Pablo1517.)
• Your volumes are kept. The music and sound effect volumes you change in the in-game menu (Escape → Audio) are now saved, so the next start uses them instead of the launcher's values. (Pablo1517.)
• A launcher for the Steam Deck. The launcher's window needs WebKitGTK, which SteamOS does not include, so MHForever could not start there. The Linux archive now carries MHForever-cli, the same launcher without a window, which needs nothing besides the C library: --install <image.iso> adds your copy, --set fullscreen=true (and the other video and audio settings) changes its settings, --list shows them, and --play starts the game (and stays running while it does, so it works as a non-Steam game in Game Mode). The Linux README has the steps. (Thanks to Cris9355, who reported it.)

Notes

• The horn songs, true weapon values and HUD scale work on the European, North American and Japanese releases. The horn songs were played in the European release; US and JP were built and checked against the same code.
• HUD scale applies to the hunting HUD only. Scaling the whole interface (menus, shops, the village) was tried and left out for now: the game draws its menus as many loose pieces, and shrinking them reliably needs the game's own layout code.
• Steam Deck: the maintainers have no Deck. MHForever-cli was checked to start without WebKitGTK, but it has not been run on a Deck yet: reports are welcome. To update there, run ./MHForever-cli --update.
• Windows: MHForever-0.8.3-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, mhfu-us.exe and mhfu-jp.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.8.3-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher window needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, MHForever-cli and the game need OpenGL 3.3 and nothing else.
• Updating from 0.8.2: the launcher offers it ("Update now"), checks the download and restarts.
• If something looks wrong, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe) on Discord, https://discord.gg/6xrxY2buDf

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.8.3-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.8.3-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever MHForever-cli mhfu mhfu-us mhfu-jp). On a Steam Deck, or anywhere WebKitGTK is missing, use ./MHForever-cli (see the README inside).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data and no texture pack. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.8.2: HD texture packs

New

• HD texture packs. MHForever now loads texture packs made for PPSSPP, such as KHD, and replaces the game's textures with sharper ones. No pack is included: download one, unzip it, and in Game settings → Texture pack choose its folder. The launcher shows what the pack holds for your release (how many textures, any missing images, its size), then copies it into MHForever's folder or uses it where it is. Each copy of the game (Europe, North America, Japan) has its own pack, and packs like KHD that cover several releases are read correctly for each one.
• No stutter while they load. Pack images are decoded in the background: the game's own texture shows for a moment until the HD one is ready, so the game never waits. Images are shared, kept within a memory budget, and come with mip levels so they stay smooth at a distance.
• Turn it off and on while you play from the in-game menu (Escape → Video → Texture pack).

Notes

• Supported: packs in PPSSPP's format (a folder with a textures.ini) with PNG or KTX2 images. Zipped packs must be unzipped first; DDS and ZIM images are not read (those textures keep the game's look).
• Thanks to ibonplix, whose pull request this is built on, and to Mobilozor, who got the first HD pack running on MHForever.
• Windows: MHForever-0.8.2-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, mhfu-us.exe and mhfu-jp.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.8.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3.
• Updating from 0.8.1: the launcher offers it ("Update now"), checks the download and restarts.
• If a pack's textures don't show, or something looks wrong, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe) on Discord, https://discord.gg/6xrxY2buDf

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.8.2-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.8.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us mhfu-jp).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data and no texture pack. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.8.1: smooth high frame rates and friend notices

Fixed

• Smoother high frame rates. Above 30 fps, frame interpolation has been rebuilt. It now recognises each model from one frame to the next, even when the game draws them in a different order, and redraws it in between. The ground no longer breaks into dark wedges when the camera moves (desert area 5 showed it most), and the hunter's and monsters' animations stay smooth at every frame rate.

New

• You know at once when a friend is in your room. When a friend joins your private room, or you join theirs, a notice in the top right corner of the game says so ("Jun is in your room"), and another when they leave. You no longer have to wait until you both reach the Gathering Hall. In the launcher, a friend in your room shows as "In your room".

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.8.1-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, mhfu-us.exe and mhfu-jp.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.8.1-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3.
• Updating from 0.8.0: the launcher offers it ("Update now"), checks the download and restarts.
• If something looks wrong or crashes, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe) on Discord, https://discord.gg/6xrxY2buDf

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.8.1-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.8.1-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us mhfu-jp).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.8.0: private rooms and friends

New

• Private rooms. On the Home screen, "Create room" gives you a code (like K7QF-29XM) to send to your friends, and "Join with code" takes theirs. Only players with the same code on the same server meet in the Gathering Hall, with all 24 halls to yourselves; "Back to public halls" brings you back to everyone, PPSSPP and PSP players included. Rooms work on the PPSSPP servers you already use.
• Friends. The launcher's Friends button shows your friend code. Your friend presses "Let friends add me", you type their code, they accept. Then you see who is online and where ("Playing · Private room · Socom"), and invite them or join their room in one click. There is no account and no server of ours: friends meet through public Nostr relays, everything between two friends is encrypted, and your friends never see your address.
• Rooms and friends in the game too. Escape > Online switches between public halls and a private room while you play, shows your room (Copy, New code, or Leave someone else's room for one of your own) and the players in your hall, lets you type, paste or (with a controller) pick a friend's code, and changes the server. Your friends are there as well, with Join and Invite. A change never cuts anyone off: in a hall or a quest it applies once you leave it.
• A new in-game menu. The Escape menu is made for the mouse first, with every option on screen, and still works entirely with the keyboard or a controller. Its text is sharp at any window size.

Notes

• Rooms and friends are new: please tell us how they work for you on Discord, https://discord.gg/6xrxY2buDf
• Windows: MHForever-0.8.0-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, mhfu-us.exe and mhfu-jp.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.8.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3.
• Updating from 0.7.0: the launcher offers it ("Update now"), checks the download and restarts.
• Your friend code is not the one 0.7.0 showed (that one was not used for anything yet).
• If something looks wrong or crashes, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe).

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.8.0-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.8.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us mhfu-jp).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.7.0: the Japanese release and a launcher that updates itself

New

• The Japanese release, Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G (ULJM05500, v1.01), is playable. Add your Japanese .iso to the Library like the others: it gets its own program (mhfu-jp) and its own video, audio and control settings. Its Japanese text is drawn with a free font, Noto Sans JP, in the game and in MHForever's own load and save dialogs. As on a Japanese PSP, ○ confirms and × cancels.
• The launcher updates itself. When a new version is out, a banner offers to install it: "Update now" downloads it, checks it against the SHA-256 GitHub publishes for it, replaces the program files and restarts the launcher. Your settings and saves are never touched. Settings → Check for updates turns this off. This starts with 0.7.0: you still download 0.7.0 itself by hand.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.7.0-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, mhfu-us.exe and mhfu-jp.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.7.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3. Updates download with the system's curl and unpack with tar.
• A save from the Japanese release only works with the Japanese release (the same as for Europe and North America).
• If something looks wrong or crashes, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe).

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.7.0-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.7.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us mhfu-jp).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.6.2: quest rewards background and footstep dust fixed

Fixed

• The quest rewards background is back (for real this time). A change in 0.6.1 that made the screen copy lighter only ever updated one of the two screens the game switches between, so the background could still come out black. Both are kept up to date now.
• Particle effects no longer break into loose triangles at high frame rates. At 60 fps and above, particle effects could leave fragments between frames, because the game reuses a finished particle for a new one somewhere else and the in-between pictures drew it travelling from the old one. Those particles are now drawn where they really are, while scenery such as the snow over the terrain and the characters stay as smooth as before. If you still see effects flicker at high frame rates but not at 30 fps, please tell us where.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.6.2-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.6.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3.
• If something still looks wrong or crashes, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe).
• Thanks to Shaepe for the reports and the videos.

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.6.2-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.6.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.6.1: quest rewards background and stars are back

Fixed

• The background of the quest rewards is back. It was black: the game takes it from the screen, and the screen was not handed back to the game. It looks as coarse as on the PSP, because the game itself reduces it to 256 colours.
• Stars instead of underscores in levels and ranks. Our free font has no star, so they are drawn by MHForever now. A few other symbols the font lacks (the full-width dash and the middle dot) are drawn with their usual equivalents.
• A likely fix for the crash against the Shogun Ceanataur in the Swamp (Village 4★, Supreme Ruler of the Swamp). The crash log shows the game's sound engine tripping over leftovers from an older thread, in an area the PSP clears when a thread starts. Every thread now starts with that area cleared, as on the PSP. The quest has not been replayed yet, so please tell us whether it still crashes.

New

• Choose your saves folder. In the launcher, Settings > Storage > Saves folder keeps your saves in any folder you like. Your saves are copied there; nothing is moved or deleted, and Use default takes you back.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.6.1-windows-x64.zip. Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, so unzipping a new version never touches them.
• Linux: MHForever-0.6.1-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04 (glibc 2.38 or newer); the launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, the game OpenGL 3.3.
• If the Shogun Ceanataur quest (or anything else) still crashes, please send your game.log (next to MHForever.exe) right after the crash.
• Thanks to Shaepe for the reports and the suggestion.

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.6.1-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. The programs are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.6.1-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us).

You need your own copy of the game; the archives contain no game data. The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later.

MHForever 0.6.0: hunt together online

New

• Online play (experimental). Hunt together over the internet on the PSP ad hoc servers that PPSSPP uses. In the launcher, open Settings > Online and pick a server: you meet other MHForever players and PPSSPP players in the game's own Gathering Hall, take a quest together and hunt. Both the European and the North American release include it.
• Choose your server. The Online section lists five community servers (Socom in France, Madness Gaming Network and Psi-Hate in the United States, Games Nexus in Italy, Neko PSP in Japan) with the time it takes to reach each of them, or lets you type any other server, for example one of your own. Offline is the default, and then nothing is contacted.
• The Escape menu no longer pauses the game. The game keeps running behind the menu, so opening it during an online quest does not drop you from it.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.6.0-windows-x64.zip (73 MB). Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe, the games need them. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, as before.
• Linux: MHForever-0.6.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04, so it needs glibc 2.38 or newer. The launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, and the game needs a graphics driver with OpenGL 3.3.
• Tested online on Windows 11: two copies of MHForever taking a quest together, and MHForever with PPSSPP on socom.cc, with either side leading the quest. Not tested yet: three or four players, online play with the North American release, the European release together with the North American one, players on very different networks, and online play on Linux. Reports are welcome.
• Privacy: the server you choose sees your name and your game and shows them on its public status page. In their usual mode, servers do not show your address to other players.
• The servers are run by volunteers of the PPSSPP community. Please be kind to them and to the players you meet there.
• Friends, private rooms with a code and invitations are planned for next updates.
• Early software, expect rough edges.

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.6.0-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. MHForever.exe, mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.6.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us).

You need your own copy of the game; the launcher prepares what it needs from your disc image on your PC. The archives contain no game data.

The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later. Online play uses Kethen's aemu_postoffice client (GPL-3.0) with ENet (MIT). MHForever includes FFmpeg (LGPL); the licences and source notes are inside the archives.

MHForever 0.5.0: North America is here

New

• The North American release is playable. Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (North America, disc ID ULUS10391, version 1.01) now runs next to the European one. Add your own .iso of either release, or both: the launcher recognises the disc, checks it and starts the program that belongs to it.
• Choose your copy in the Library. With both releases added, clicking one in the Library makes it the one that Home, Play, the settings and the save import work on. Your choice is remembered, and Remove only deletes that release's copy.
• Settings for each game. Home's Game settings now belong to the copy you chose, with its name and region at the top, for example Monster Hunter Freedom Unite (NA): video, audio, controls, saves and the copy's files. The Japanese release has different controls, so each release keeps its own. The launcher's Settings keep what is shared: your profile, whether to keep a copy of the disc image, and About. What you had set before carries over.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.5.0-windows-x64.zip (73 MB). Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe, the games need them. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, as before.
• Linux: MHForever-0.5.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04, so it needs glibc 2.38 or newer (Ubuntu 24.04 or later, current Fedora or Arch). FFmpeg is inside the programs, and they can play sound through PulseAudio or PipeWire (PulseAudio protocol) or ALSA. The launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, and the game needs a graphics driver with OpenGL 3.3.
• Tested on Windows 11 with the North American release: the language menu, the opening movie with its sound, a controller, the village with its music, and saving and loading. Not tested: sound on Linux (it was built with PulseAudio and ALSA, but nobody has heard it yet), the Steam Deck and other distributions. Reports are welcome.
• Saves belong to one release: a European save only works with the European release, and a North American save with the North American one.
• A small stutter just before the save and load message appears; it has not been compared with the European release.
• Only Freedom Unite (European and North American releases) is playable. The Japanese release is planned. Saves from a PSP or PPSSPP can be imported from Game settings > Saves (your own version of the game only).
• Early software, expect rough edges. Online multiplayer is not available yet: it is planned for 0.6.

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.5.0-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. MHForever.exe, mhfu.exe and mhfu-us.exe are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.5.0-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu mhfu-us).

You need your own copy of the game; the launcher prepares what it needs from your disc image on your PC. The archives contain no game data.

The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later. MHForever includes FFmpeg (LGPL); its licence and source notes are inside the archives.

MHForever 0.4.2: the movies are back

New

• The movies are back. The opening movie now plays, picture and sound. It used to be a black screen. The pictures and the sound are decoded with FFmpeg, thanks to a contribution by sodomon2. The game's music uses the same decoders now.
• Change your buttons. Settings > Controls lets you remap the keyboard and the controller (Xbox, PlayStation and Switch pads work alike). The Escape menu has a Controls tab too: pick a row, press the new key or button, and it applies at once and is kept.

Notes

• Windows: MHForever-0.4.2-windows-x64.zip (51 MB, it was 24 MB: it now carries FFmpeg's DLLs). Keep the .dll files next to mhfu.exe, the game needs them. Your settings and saves live outside the program folder, as before.
• Linux: MHForever-0.4.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Built on Ubuntu 24.04, so it needs glibc 2.38 or newer (Ubuntu 24.04 or later, current Fedora or Arch). FFmpeg is inside the programs: there is nothing more to install. The launcher needs WebKitGTK 4.1 and GTK 3, and the game needs a graphics driver with OpenGL 3.3. The README inside lists the packages.
• Tested on Windows 11 (the movies and the music, heard in a window) and on Linux under WSL2 with Ubuntu 24.04 (the game starts, plays the opening video, and the launcher opens). Not tested: sound on Linux, the Steam Deck and other distributions. Reports are welcome.
• The sound effects can sound a little loud: lower them with Escape > Audio.
• Only Freedom Unite (European release) is playable. Saves from a PSP or PPSSPP can be imported from Settings > Saves (your own version of the game only).
• Early software, expect rough edges. Online multiplayer is not available yet.

Download

Windows: MHForever-0.4.2-windows-x64.zip. Unzip it anywhere you can write to and run MHForever.exe. MHForever.exe and mhfu.exe are not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen may show "Windows protected your PC": choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

Linux: MHForever-0.4.2-linux-x64.tar.gz. Extract it and run ./MHForever (if your file manager removed the execute permission: chmod +x MHForever mhfu).

You need your own copy of the game; the launcher prepares what it needs from your disc image on your PC. The archives contain no game data.

The code is on GitHub under GPL-3.0-or-later. The movies and the music use FFmpeg (LGPL); the licence and source notes are inside the archives.

Thanks to sodomon2 for the movies and the keyboard bindings.