recompilation Archives

AppWizard

September 19, 2025

Borderlands 4 performance patch out now with PC ‘our top priority’

Gearbox has released a new patch for Borderlands 4 to address performance issues on PC, following a previous patch that did not resolve ongoing concerns. The game currently has a "Mixed" rating on Steam, with many negative reviews citing performance problems. Gearbox acknowledged the issues, stating that updates to improve stability and performance are a top priority. The patch includes fixes for crashes related to animation states, audio, and GPU, as well as gameplay progression issues and loot pool updates. Players are advised that changes to graphics settings will require shader recompilation and to play for at least 15 minutes to assess performance changes. Gearbox CEO Randy Pitchford has been engaging with the community, but his comments have sparked debate, with some attributing the issues to lower-spec hardware.

AppWizard

September 17, 2025

‘My Advice to Users Is to Accept Reality and Tune, or to Not Play’ — Randy Pitchford Is at the ‘Get a Refund From Steam’ Stage of the Borderlands 4 PC Performance Backlash

Randy Pitchford addressed concerns about the PC version of Borderlands 4 on social media, suggesting dissatisfied players seek refunds through Steam. The game has received mixed reviews, with many complaints about performance issues, including significant stuttering on PC. Digital Foundry advised against using the 'Badass' graphics setting. Pitchford encouraged players to utilize graphics technologies like DLSS for improved performance and suggested they wait for a price drop or upgrade their hardware if unhappy. He emphasized that while updates will be made, radical changes are unlikely, and he compared gaming hardware to vehicles to illustrate the importance of matching hardware capabilities with game performance. Gearbox is focused on improving Borderlands 4's performance on PC and has released an Nvidia Optimization guide on Steam, though users have reported mixed results. Players are also cautioned about shader recompilation when changing graphics settings.

AppWizard

September 14, 2025

Super Mario Bros. Remastered PC Is Available for Download

In July 2025, Super Mario Bros. Remastered, a fan-driven remake of the NES classic, was announced for PC download. The game features improved physics, audio, and graphics, with support for full widescreen monitors. Players can customize the game using resource packs and utilize a Level Editor to design their own levels, although sharing creations is not currently supported. The game includes The Lost Levels, Super Mario Bros. Special, and a revamped All Night Nippon: Super Mario Bros. Players may face issues downloading LSS levels, which the development team plans to address. The remake does not use any original game assets, requiring players to provide their own ROM of the NES game. Super Mario Bros. Remastered can be downloaded from its Discord server, where new users can find the link in the “announcements” section.

AppWizard

September 14, 2025

A new Borderlands 4 update helps its struggling PC performance, and Gearbox throws in more free skins as well

Gearbox has released its first update for Borderlands 4 aimed at improving performance issues on the PC version, addressing problems such as texture pop-in, lag, frame rate drops, and crashes. User ratings have increased to around 66% positive, although the game still holds a 'mixed' rating on Steam. The update has reportedly stabilized frame rates to an average of 50-60 fps, an improvement from previous dips. Gearbox highlighted the importance of shader recompilation when changing graphics settings, which can take up to 15 minutes. They also provided guides to optimize game settings for Nvidia and AMD users and emphasized the need for updated GPU drivers. Additionally, two new skins for the Break Free pack have been introduced, awarded based on player performance during the opening weekend. Players are encouraged to review system requirements and understand the enhancements to improve their gameplay experience.

AppWizard

July 28, 2025

Super Mario Bros. Remastered Fan Game Hits PC Soon, Includes Lost Levels

Super Mario Bros. Remastered, a fan-made remake of the 1985 NES classic, will launch on September 13, 2025. Created by YouTube creator JoeMama, it features high-resolution graphics, widescreen support, improved physics, enhanced sound effects, and chiptune music. The game includes extensive customization options, allowing players to alter visuals and audio, as well as a built-in Level Editor for designing custom levels. It also incorporates classic titles like The Lost Levels and Super Mario Bros. Special, all benefiting from visual and audio upgrades. The development team is not using original assets to navigate legal issues, requiring players to supply their own NES ROM.

AppWizard

June 24, 2025

Mario Kart 64 races onto PC with unofficial port, no emulation necessary

UltraHLE enabled players to run commercial Nintendo 64 games at playable frame rates on Windows 9x. The Harbour Masters collective has developed SpaghettiKart, an unofficial PC port of Mario Kart 64, by decompiling and recompiling the original game code for contemporary platforms, including Windows, Linux (Ubuntu 22), and Nintendo Switch. Players must provide their own Mario Kart 64 ROM and use "Spaghettify.exe" to load the game. SpaghettiKart currently supports only the US version and offers three rendering APIs: DirectX 11 for Windows, Metal for macOS, and OpenGL for other platforms. The port allows for custom assets and mods, although it is still in development and may have occasional crashes. Mario Kart 64 is the second-best-selling title for the Nintendo 64, with nearly 9.87 million copies sold globally. SpaghettiKart utilizes Libultraship, a library that reimplements Nintendo 64 SDK functions on modern machines.

Tech Optimizer

June 5, 2025

CISA releases TTPs & IoCs for Play Ransomware That Hacked 900+ Orgs

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), in collaboration with the FBI and the Australian Cyber Security Centre, released an advisory on the Play ransomware group, which has targeted around 900 entities since its inception in June 2022. The group employs a double extortion model, exploiting vulnerabilities in public-facing applications and using tools for lateral movement and credential dumping. Their operations involve recompiling ransomware binaries for each attack to evade detection. The advisory highlights mitigation measures such as multifactor authentication and regular software patching. The Play ransomware specifically targets virtual environments and encrypts files using AES-256 encryption. Indicators of Compromise (IoCs) include: - SVCHost.dll (Backdoor) - SHA-256: 47B7B2DD88959CD7224A5542AE8D5BCE928BFC986BF0D0321532A7515C244A1E - Backdoor - SHA-256: 75B525B220169F07AECFB3B1991702FBD9A1E170CAF0040D1FCB07C3E819F54A - PSexesvc.exe (Custom Play “psexesvc”) - SHA-256: 1409E010675BF4A40DB0A845B60DB3AAE5B302834E80ADEEC884AEBC55ECCBF7 - HRsword.exe (Disables endpoint protection) - SHA-256: 0E408AED1ACF902A9F97ABF71CF0DD354024109C5D52A79054C421BE35D93549 - Hi.exe (Associated with ransomware) - SHA-256: 6DE8DD5757F9A3AC5E2AC28E8A77682D7A29BE25C106F785A061DCF582A20DC6

AppWizard

May 14, 2025

Modders use reverse engineering to bring Mario Party 4 to PC, more GameCube games to follow

The gaming community has seen a rise in reverse-engineering source code from retro console games, particularly from the Nintendo 64 era and earlier, leading to native PC ports. The decompilation of Mario Party 4 is nearly complete, making it the first fully decompiled GameCube title, which will facilitate unofficial PC ports. A port of Mario Party 4 with online multiplayer is in development. Other GameCube titles like Super Smash Bros. Melee and Metroid Prime are also being targeted for decompilation. An unofficial PC port of the Xbox 360 game Sonic Unleashed has been completed. Previous titles such as Super Mario 64 and The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time have received PC ports with enhanced features. Modders are experimenting with advanced technologies like ray tracing for classic games. A modding tool has improved the recompilation process, but technical challenges remain. Nintendo has not taken legal action against these decompilation efforts, and modders use clean room tactics to avoid legal issues, requiring ownership of the original game for PC ports.

AppWizard

May 8, 2025

Google requiring Android apps support 16 KB memory page size to improve performance

Android is transitioning to a 16 KB page size, which will become mandatory for applications in the Google Play Store by November 1, 2025. This change replaces the previous 4 KB page size and aims to enhance performance by improving memory management and reducing overhead. The introduction of Android 15 has been refactored to support this larger page size, with testing currently available on Pixel 8 and Pixel 9 devices. Expected performance improvements include faster app launches (3% to 30% faster), improved battery usage (average gain of 4.5%), quicker camera starts (4.5% to 6.6% faster), and speedier system boot-ups (approximately 8% faster). Apps without native code should remain compatible, while those using libraries or SDKs with native code may need updates. Apps containing native code might require recompilation and review for compatibility. Developers can check memory page size support through the Play Console.

BetaBeacon

April 1, 2025

Goodbye N64 emulators: Recompiled N64 ports are getting a major power up

The N64: Recompiled tool is getting a major upgrade with full support for mods and improved performance on lower-end GPUs.