K0NL/B2recomp v0.2.9

B2recomp v0.2.9

on GitHub

B2recomp v0.2.9 makes Frame rate (beta) above 60 steadier: a freeze of the game world after some slow-motion moments is fixed, hit-stop, Witch Time and input windows keep their 60 fps timing, the pictures go out on a steady beat, and the renderer does less work every frame. At 60 fps (the default) the game plays as before. As always, this download contains no game files: the game is built on your PC from your own dump.

Opening an issue on GitHub: it must be written in English and have b2recomp-report.zip attached (press Report... in the launcher). An issue opened without both will be closed promptly.

Fixed (Frame rate above 60)

• The world no longer freezes after a slow motion. At the end of some slow-motion moments in events, the game could stand still for 5 to 30 seconds at 120 fps, with the music still playing, until a longer frame came by. Fixed, and slow motions now last as long as at 60 fps.
• Hit-stop, Witch Time and input windows keep their timing. Some of the game's timers only count for a while after an event: the pause when a hit lands, the end of Witch Time, input windows, enemy holds and waits. Above 60 fps they ran twice as fast; they now count in 60 fps frames (79 more of them, 114 in all).
• Steadier pictures. Above 60 fps each picture went out the moment it was ready, so small differences in the work of each frame reached the screen. Pictures now go out on a steady beat, as at 60: on a 240 Hz (or 238 Hz) monitor the frames are shown for two refreshes each. In our tests the frames shown unevenly went from about 13 % to under 3 %, and to 0.36 % in a 17-minute played session.

Faster

• Less work for the renderer every frame. Vertex data that does not change stays on the graphics card instead of being copied again every frame (in fights 17 to 36 MB a frame were copied, almost all of it unchanged); the check for which textures the game has changed asks Windows once per group of textures instead of once per texture; the log's reports are written at once. In our test fight at 120 fps the renderer now needs about 3.2 ms a frame instead of about 5 ms, and late frames are rarer. At 60 fps the same savings apply.

How to use

1. Unzip B2recomp-builder-5e03296.zip into a new folder.
2. Start B2recomp.exe, choose your dump folder and press Build (about 5 minutes on a 16-thread PC)
3. When the build is done, choose your settings and press Play.

Updating from v0.2.x: after the build, copy these folders from your old B2recomp folder into the new one:

• build\play\userdata (your saves);
• config (your settings and controls);
• optionally cache, so the game does not prepare its shaders again on the first start.

Windows SmartScreen may warn about B2recomp.exe because it is not signed: choose "More info", then "Run anyway".

Status

Tested on Windows with an NVIDIA card and a 238 Hz monitor: played at 120 fps (fights, and the spot where the world froze), and checked with our test route at 60 and at 120 fps, with every check passing and no slowdown at either. Frame rates above 60 are still a beta.

Reporting a problem

Press Report... in the launcher. It makes b2recomp-report.zip in the B2recomp folder with the logs and your PC's details (Windows version, CPU, graphics card and driver), nothing of the game. Never attach game files.

Issues must be written in English and must have b2recomp-report.zip attached. An issue opened without both will be closed promptly.

SHA-256 of the zip: bf8ac95df3fceb1912c18fe69a643c713eafc7f32a66ff0fe0300ca705badc0c