VZX Player News

[p]Bug fixes:[/p]

• [p]We didn't do the transition to AVX2 good enough - not user friendly enough, we should have included a tool to detect this which shows with a message box that you need it... So for now, we'll go with the non-AVX2 version and come back to this when we have such a tool in place. (Or implement it in a different way.)[/p]

[p]
If this version causes problems for you, you can go back to a number of previous versions.

They are available under Settings -> Betas along with release date.[/p]

[h2]Does this new release cause problems?[/h2][p]
With every new release there is the risk for some hiccups. We have tried our best to test and have had a public beta, but there can always be something.

We would like to try to help you fix any issues. Please report issues in our discord server. In 95% of cases bugs affect others too. Using the review system to write a negative review to report bugs/crashes is not very good for you since it makes it difficult for us to get back to you - our reply results in a Steam notification and it might drown in all other notifications.

[/p][h3]What you can do right now about problems[/h3]

• [p]Previous releases are available in "betas" in the Steam settings for VZX Player so you can still run "what worked before" until we have been able to fix the problems in the new release.
  [/p]

[h2]AVX2 Support Required[/h2][p]Edit \[2025-06-27]: We're skipping this for now.[/p][p]We now require AVX2 support in your CPU.[/p][p]If your CPU does not have this, we have a version without it that you can opt-in to:[/p]

• [p]Right-click VZX Player and selece "Properties"[/p]
• [p]Click "Betas"[/p]
• [p]In the dropdown menu, click on v0.9.7_no_avx2[/p]
• [p]Steam should now download this version[/p]
• [p]No need to fill in the password field[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Offline Support (beta, kind of)[/h2][p]This version supports a truly offline mode, without Steam client running. [/p][p]It works by generating licensing files that create a hash of the application+DLC id, time-out date and some info about the computer it's running on. These offline licenses are generated automatically when you run the application with Steam running.[/p][p][/p][p]The offline license files are:[/p]

• [p]not using anything from any servers online (other than the fact that they are generated when Steam is running)[/p]
• [p]not sent to any servers online[/p]
• [p]not compared with anything from the internet[/p]
• [p]only stored as files locally in your %LOCALAPPDATA%[/p]
• [p]only compared locally[/p]
• [p]not synchronized with Steam cloud (only %APPDATA%/vovoid/vzx_store_player is, this is the same as before)[/p]

[p]When no Steam running, these hashes are then generated again when launching the application and comparing with the stored files. If they match - it's running on the right computer.[/p][p]
Hopefully this will be totally invisible except for when the licenses time out after a while.
Then just running the application with Steam again renews the license.

[/p][h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• [p]Text editor could behave weirdly when the first character was an empty space. This is fixed.[/p]
• [p]When a game device (gamepad etc) was removed, a crash would occur.[/p]
• [p]Since the %APPDATA%\\vovoid (roaming) directory is synchronized with Steam cloud, the log file is moved to a new %LOCALAPPDATA%\\vovoid directory. This is also where the offline license files are located.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Misc Features and Improvements[/h3]

• [p]All edit boxes support selection and clipboard operations[/p]
• [p]Intel ARC GPUs, while not tested and officially supported by us, has been reported to work to some extent. The Intel warning dialog still appears, but you can now opt out of it.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Many engine improvements which can be used in future visual packs.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Steam Deck / Proton / Linux[/h3]

• [p]This is not supported but we've done some limited testing on there, seems this release doesn't work... That's unfortunate, but the previous version worked at time of testing. More details in this thread: https://steamcommunity.com/app/981590/discussions/0/838346115741913574/[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Thanks to beta testers[/h2][p]Thank you all who helped out with running the beta_0.9.7 branch![/p]

Hi,

we invite you to try a public beta which is available in the beta branch:

"beta_0.9.7"

To opt in:

• right-click VZX Player in the games list (in Steam)
  
• select "Properties"
  
• select "Betas"
  
• click the drop-down to select "beta_0.9.7"
  

You'll know you've succeeded in when the window title says version "0.9.7.0".

[h2]About this version[/h2]
This is primarily a regression test. As in - make sure nothing's broken.
We appreciate you testing it out a lot, while we do test all we can, we need more computer configurations to rule out bugs.

[h2]What's new?[/h2]

[h3]Offline Support[/h3]
This version supports a truly offline mode, without Steam client running.
It works by generating licensing files that match the application+DLC and the computer it's running on.

These offline licenses are generated when you run the application with Steam running.

Hopefully this will be totally invisible except for when the licenses time out after a while.
Then just running the application with Steam again renews the license.

[h3]Bug Fixes[/h3]

• Text editor could behave weirdly when the first character was an empty space. This is fixed.
  
• When a game device (gamepad etc) was removed, a crash would occur.
  

[h3]Misc Features and Improvements[/h3]

• All edit boxes support selection and clipboard operations
  
• Intel ARC, while not tested and officially supported by us, has been reported to work to some extent. The Intel warning dialog still appears, but you can now opt out of it.
  

[h3]Other Improvements[/h3]

• Many engine improvements which can be used in future visual packs.
  

[h2]I have something to report![/h2]
First, check the list of known issues available here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/981590/discussions/0/603028545007018849/

If it's addressed there, you don't have to report it.

[h2]It's not on the list, where do I report it?[/h2]
Please join our discord server ( click the icon below ) and report it in the channel #development.

[h2]Does this new release cause problems?[/h2]

With every new release there is the risk for some hiccups. We have tried our best to test and have had a public beta, but there can always be something.

We would like to try to help you fix any issues. Please report issues in our discord server. In 95% of cases bugs affect others too. Using the review system to write a negative review to report bugs/crashes is not very good for you since it makes it difficult for us to get back to you - our reply results in a Steam notification and it might drown in all other notifications.

[h3]What you can do right now about problems[/h3]

• Previous releases are available in "betas" in the Steam settings for VZX Player so you can still run "what worked before" until we have been able to fix the problems in the new release.
  

[h2]About this version[/h2]

There are no groundbreaking new features, but a lot happened behind the scenes. It will be easier for you to load more visuals simultaneously.

• Hopefully much reduced VRAM usage (detailed analysis below)
  
• Thanks to reduced VRAM usage, all visuals where it makes sense are now gamma corrected, this would before cost extra VRAM but is now re-using buffers already created
  
• Shift/Ctrl/Alt modfiers for number hotkeys to reach visuals 11+, 21+ and 31+
  
• Bug fixes for AMD GPUs in the DLC packs
  
• Other engine improvements, preparing for future releases.
  

[h2]NVIDIA GPU VRAM analysis report[/h2]
TLDR:

All visuals loaded from all DLC packs:

• 1080p: ~4GB VRAM (down 50%)
  
• 2160p: ~8GB VRAM (down 70%)
  

The full report:

While written for the Pro Player (a part of VZX Creative), a lot of the internals is the same, so the numbers should be good - but perhaps not quite as dramatic:
https://www.vzx-visualizer.com/vzx_creative/vzx_pro_player_visual_vram_optimization_results.pdf

[h2]Thanks to beta testers[/h2]
Thank you all who helped out with running the public_beta branch!

Hi,

we invite you to try a public beta which is available at the beta branch:

"public_beta"

To opt in:

• right-click VZX Player in the games list (in Steam)
  
• select "Properties"
  
• select "Betas"
  
• click the drop-down to select "public_beta"
  

You'll know you've succeeded in when it says version "0.9.6.0".

[h2]What's new?[/h2]

• Hopefully much reduced VRAM usage when loading many visuals (see link to detailed analysis below)
  
• Thanks to reduced VRAM usage, all visuals where it makes sense are now gamma corrected
  
• Shift/Ctrl/Alt modfiers for number keys to reach visuals 11+, 21+ and 31+
  
• Bug fixes for AMD GPUs in the DLC packs
  
• Other engine improvements for upcoming releases
  

[h2]About this version[/h2]
This is primarily a regression test. As in - make sure nothing's broken. But the VRAM improvements are actually a bit exciting. Having those makes it possible to add more content later also.

[h2]NVIDIA GPU VRAM analysis report[/h2]
While written for the pro player, it should be the same story for VZX Player:
https://www.vzx-visualizer.com/vzx_creative/vzx_pro_player_visual_vram_optimization_results.pdf

[h2]I have something to report![/h2]
Check the list of known issues available here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/981590/discussions/0/4524512587349456763/

If it's addressed there, you don't have to report it.

[h2]It's not on the list, where do I report it?[/h2]
Join our discord server ( http://vovoid.info ) and report it in the channel #development.

We appreciate all the help, while our test lab has been improved this year, we would still classify it as limited.