v0.7.5

What's new

Fewer white flashes on slower graphics cards (#29): since 0.7.3 the game stopped waiting for the GPU's exposure results after a fixed 20 ms. On a card whose frames take longer than that (a laptop RTX 3050 Ti, for example), it stopped waiting almost every time, and the picture flashed white. The limit now follows your card: it grows when the GPU needs longer. Measured on a real slow-GPU case (our card at 3840x2160 and 100 % render resolution, about 20 ms of GPU time a frame): brightness flicker 31.6 frames a thousand before, 16.0 now, 6.3 with no limit at all. So it is halved, not gone; RX_VK_CAPTURE_WAIT_MAX_MS=0 in relink_env.txt removes the limit (no flicker from this, a little more stutter when areas load). (An earlier version of these notes quoted 2.5, from a test that only imitated a slow card.) The faster Hyrule Castle arrival of 0.7.3 stays (time lost in long frames 1011 / 872 ms with the old limit, 841 / 776 ms with this one).

A way through water for RTX 50 cards (#6, #7): the freeze when Link enters water (or when a lot of water is on screen) is not fixed yet, but there is now a switch that should let you through. Add this line to relink_env.txt in the game folder (create the file if needed):

RX_VK_SKIP_HALF_PASS=1

It leaves out the lighting of one half-resolution pass, the one every freeze report points at. Checked here at Lake Hylia and in the Market: the scene stays whole, Link looks a little flatter when he is under the surface. Please tell us in #6 whether it gets you past the freeze.

Clearer messages when something goes wrong:

• When the graphics card stops (Vulkan "device lost"), a message now says so, instead of a black screen with the game still running behind it (#21, #23).
• When the renderer can't be loaded, a message says what happened and what to do (#23).
• Start-up crashes write a hint in relink_log.txt, and the log now names the game files' version (#26).
• More detail in the freeze report you get with RX_VK_CHECKPOINTS=marker (#6, #7, #27), and new test switches to narrow the water freeze down (see #6).

Faster builds on Intel CPUs with efficiency cores (#6): the compilers now run at normal priority while the game builds. Thanks @knoch23 for spotting it. If you'd rather keep your PC more responsive during the build, set RELINK_LOW_PRIORITY=1.

Native code for two of the game's busiest loading routines: the step of the game's file decompression that rebuilds the data (twice as fast here: 720 MB/s against 340 MB/s) and its name lookups in its data tables. Both were checked against the original code with no difference (over 100,000 decompression calls, 58 million lookup steps). The lookups made no measurable difference to frame times here yet.

This update translates the game's code again: expect the rebuild to take a few more minutes than usual. Your saves, settings and prepared shaders are kept.

Known issues (v0.7.5)

• Water freeze on RTX 50-series (and one RTX 3070 report in Zora's Domain): not fixed; try RX_VK_SKIP_HALF_PASS=1 above and tell us in #6 or #7.
• Black screen after the intro of a new game on an RTX 4070 (#21): the GPU stops in one load-time pass; RX_VK_SKIP_PROG=53509044401d78d2 in relink_env.txt should get you in (trees at mid distance pop in more abruptly). Please confirm in #21.
• Camera turning in the Market: frames over 25 ms while the camera turns toward the busy side. Measured here: mostly the game's own work in that view.
• Mouse camera while aiming and indoors (0.7.1): checked on open ground only so far (#13, #2).
• FSR tested on NVIDIA only: not yet on AMD or Intel cards. Cards without mesh shaders (AMD RX 5000 and older) are below what ReLink supports.
• Short trails with FSR and DLSS: what moves by itself without a skeleton (particles, water, plants in the wind) can leave short trails.
• 4K native on 8 GB cards: the card is full in Hyrule Castle at 3840x2160 and 100 %; use 67 % or 75 % render resolution.
• Frozen Zora's Domain: green and purple patches on the snow and plants (#9). Not confirmed fixed.
• Gyro on some Pro-style controllers: left/right can come out reversed and weak (#8); official Nintendo Pro Controllers work as expected.

Updating

The launcher offers the update. The game is built again (a few more minutes this time, see above); saves, settings and prepared shaders are kept.

If something does not work, please open an issue and attach relink_log.txt from the game folder.