From d8bd01db083645f6caef52a5d6c6a5b29298eaae Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Kowalski Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 13:36:25 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 1/2] docs(3D): rendering quality, what it defaults to and how to get out of a slow client A Steam user hit 0 FPS on a laptop and concluded there was no video optimization, because the page never said rendering quality could go down or how low it goes (bus #2618, PBI 3220). Preferences page: - The six levels, most to least expensive, and Medium on a fresh install. Nothing is detected from your hardware (the page said the engine picks). - What to do when slow: go straight to Minimum, then Blocks per frame, then filters; the frame-rate prompt and its real thresholds; the only two places the level changes, and contact support when neither is reachable. - Minimum requirements, linked to Supported Configurations. - Reset To Defaults lands on Minimum, not the fresh-install level, resets Demo mode, and cannot be undone; deleting preferences.json does not lower rendering quality. - Window mode and vertical sync defaults stated: Borderless, Every frame. Supported Configurations: the troubleshooting step pointed at the pre-rewrite path (Preferences > General > Rendering Quality). All facts verified against client release 1.18.28. Passed the C2 docs gate at 0.930, no Critical or Major findings. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 --- docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md | 62 +++++++++++++++++--- docs/DC/3D/Supported-Configurations/index.md | 2 +- 2 files changed, 56 insertions(+), 8 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md b/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md index e4d7a4e..e5f5e00 100644 --- a/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md +++ b/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md @@ -59,13 +59,52 @@ choices may be empty. | Setting | What it does | Default | |---------|--------------|---------| -| Rendering quality | How much the renderer is asked to do. Lower it if the frame rate drops. | Engine default | -| Window mode | Whether the app runs full screen, borderless or in a window. | Engine default | -| Vertical sync | Waits for the display before drawing. Off removes the frame-rate ceiling. | Engine default | +| Rendering quality | How much the renderer is asked to do. Lower it if the frame rate drops. | Medium | +| Window mode | Whether the app runs full screen, borderless or in a window. | Borderless | +| Vertical sync | Waits for the display before drawing. Off removes the frame-rate ceiling. | Every frame | | Render resolution | Edge length the screen cameras draw at. | Matches quality level | -Until you choose one, these four follow whatever the engine picks for your hardware. -Once set, your choice survives a restart. +Nothing is detected from your hardware. Until you choose, these four keep whatever this +machine last used, which on a fresh installation is the default shown. Once set, your choice survives a restart. + +#### Rendering quality + +Rendering quality is a list of six levels, from the most expensive to the cheapest: + +1. Ray Tracing (Realtime GI) +2. Ray Tracing +3. High +4. Medium +5. Low +6. Minimum + +A fresh installation starts on **Medium**. Until you choose a level here, the client +keeps the one this machine last used, so an installation that ran an earlier version +can still be on the level it had then. + +If the frame rate is low, choose a cheaper level: **Minimum** is the one most likely to +run on a machine that is struggling, and you can go straight to it rather than stepping +down one at a time. **Reset To Defaults** also lands on **Minimum** (see +[Resetting preferences](#resetting-preferences)). If it is still slow at **Minimum**, +lower [Blocks per frame](#budget) next, or use filters to show fewer blocks. + +The client can also offer to lower it for you. With **Tell me when the frame rate +drops** on (the default, under [Assistant > Prompts](#prompts)), after a 15-second warm-up the +client watches for a frame rate under 30 for ten seconds and offers to step down one +level. After each prompt it stays quiet for five minutes. Once you are on **Minimum** +there is nothing lower to offer, so it suggests using filters to show fewer blocks +instead. + +Rendering quality changes in only two places: this screen (choosing a level, or +**Reset To Defaults**), and that prompt. If the client is too slow to open Preferences +and the prompt does not appear, there is no other way to lower it from inside the +client: [contact support](../../../../contact.md) and say which GPU you have. + +!!! info "Minimum requirements" + On Windows, the client needs at least a DirectX 12 capable GPU with 3 GB of memory, + on 64-bit Windows 10, and 8 GB is recommended. Below the minimum, lowering these + settings may not be enough. The full list, including experimental macOS support, is + on [Supported Configurations](../../Supported-Configurations/index.md). ### Interface @@ -149,7 +188,14 @@ Turn the setting off and on again to reload the files. ## Resetting preferences -Resetting puts every setting above back to what a fresh installation would have. +**Reset To Defaults** puts every setting above back to what a fresh installation would +have, including **Borderless** for window mode and **Every frame** for vertical sync, with +one exception: **Rendering quality** resets to **Minimum**, not Medium. Reset is what +you reach for when the client is misbehaving, so it lands on the level most likely to +draw. Raise it again once the client is behaving. + +It resets everything at once and cannot be undone. That includes **Demo mode**, which +goes back to Off: if you are sharing your screen, turn it on again before you carry on. Things that are stored but are not settings are left alone: where you dragged the chat window, and which sign-in scheme you are using. Asking for default settings is @@ -162,4 +208,6 @@ folder under `Immersive Fusion/DC`: - **macOS:** `~/Library/Application Support/Immersive Fusion/DC/preferences.json` The file is encrypted, so it is not meant to be edited by hand. Deleting it returns -everything to defaults on the next start. +the settings it stores to their defaults on the next start, but it is not the same as +Reset: rendering quality, window mode and vertical sync are left at whatever this +machine last used. To drop to **Minimum**, use Reset. diff --git a/docs/DC/3D/Supported-Configurations/index.md b/docs/DC/3D/Supported-Configurations/index.md index 2f9f2b1..a4355fc 100644 --- a/docs/DC/3D/Supported-Configurations/index.md +++ b/docs/DC/3D/Supported-Configurations/index.md @@ -81,7 +81,7 @@ Not sure if your system meets the requirements? If DeepCube runs slowly: -1. Lower graphics quality in **Preferences** → **General** → **Rendering Quality** +1. Lower **Rendering quality** in [Preferences](../Guides/Preferences/index.md#rendering-quality) (`F9` in a grid, then **Display** > **Rendering**) 2. Close other GPU-intensive applications 3. Ensure your graphics drivers are up to date 4. Check that you meet minimum requirements From 488bc3ff5e8300ddd3dbe8a92741e8d84def87ff Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001 From: Dan Kowalski Date: Sat, 10 Oct 2026 14:29:10 -0400 Subject: [PATCH 2/2] docs(3D): 1.18.27 release notes, and stop promising that Demo mode redacts Release notes: the page stopped at 1.18.8. 1.18.27 is the build live on Steam and the stable installer, so this entry rolls up everything user facing from 1.18.9 to 1.18.27: rebuilt Preferences, Tessa reading and changing them, the frame-rate prompt, demo screens, Shoebox checks, two falling-through-the-ground fixes, and a security update. Nothing from 1.18.28, which is not released. Demo mode: the page told users to turn it on before screen-sharing because it "redacts hosts, URLs and database names everywhere they appear". In 1.18.27 the span and log sanitizer has no callers; the only live use hides the grid name. The tip is now a warning not to rely on it, and the same known issue is in the release notes. Both passed the C2 docs gate (release notes 0.926, Preferences 0.920), no Critical findings. Facts verified against client tag 1.18.27. Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 --- docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md | 13 ++++--- docs/DC/3D/release-notes.md | 52 ++++++++++++++++++++++++++ 2 files changed, 59 insertions(+), 6 deletions(-) diff --git a/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md b/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md index e5f5e00..d88ed4c 100644 --- a/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md +++ b/docs/DC/3D/Guides/Preferences/index.md @@ -153,12 +153,13 @@ thing to try if the client struggles on a busy grid. | Setting | What it does | Default | |---------|--------------|---------| -| Demo mode | Redact hosts, URLs and database names from everything shown. | Off | +| Demo mode | Meant to redact hosts, URLs and database names. In this version it hides only the grid name (see the warning below). | Off | -!!! tip "Before you share a screen" - Turn on **Demo mode** before demoing or screen-sharing. It redacts hosts, URLs and - database names everywhere they appear, so you do not have to remember which panel - shows what. +!!! warning "Do not rely on Demo mode to hide your infrastructure" + In this version, Demo mode hides only the grid's name. Hosts, URLs and database names + in your telemetry are shown as your services report them, with Demo mode on or off. + Until this is fixed, check what is visible before you demo or share your screen, or + use a grid whose data you are happy to show. ### Diagnostics @@ -195,7 +196,7 @@ you reach for when the client is misbehaving, so it lands on the level most like draw. Raise it again once the client is behaving. It resets everything at once and cannot be undone. That includes **Demo mode**, which -goes back to Off: if you are sharing your screen, turn it on again before you carry on. +goes back to Off. Things that are stored but are not settings are left alone: where you dragged the chat window, and which sign-in scheme you are using. Asking for default settings is diff --git a/docs/DC/3D/release-notes.md b/docs/DC/3D/release-notes.md index 4fea828..3495dcd 100644 --- a/docs/DC/3D/release-notes.md +++ b/docs/DC/3D/release-notes.md @@ -6,6 +6,58 @@ description: Version history for DeepCube™, newest first. Entries keep the ## Version History +### 1.18.27 September 30, 2026 { id="1.18.27" } + +**Introduction:** + +Everything since 1.18.8 is in this update. Preferences are rebuilt from the ground up, and Tessa can now read them and change some of them for you. When the frame rate gives out, the client says so and offers one click down. In the Shoebox sandbox, Tessa checks a diagram before she runs it and tells you what she assumed and what did not match. Busy grids do less work every frame, and two causes of falling through the ground are fixed. + +**New Features:** + +- **Preferences, Rebuilt**: Press F9 in a grid to open Preferences, now grouped into World, Display, Effects, Assistant and Advanced. Rendering quality is a dropdown of six levels, from Ray Tracing (Realtime GI) down to Minimum, and a fresh installation starts on Medium (an existing installation keeps the level it had). The level you choose is now saved with the rest of your preferences. The sky overhead is a setting of its own, and **Reset To Defaults** puts everything back in one press, landing rendering quality on Minimum because reset is what you reach for when the client is misbehaving. It does not sign you out. +- **Tessa Reads and Changes Your Preferences**: Ask Tessa what a setting is set to, or ask her to change it. She can change some preferences, but not rendering settings, sign-in or redaction, which stay yours to set. +- **One Voice Across Clients**: Tessa's voice is saved to your account, so a voice chosen here is the one you hear in DeepCube Web, and the other way round. +- **Frame-Rate Prompt**: If the frame rate stays under 30 for ten seconds (after a 15-second warm-up), the client says so and offers to lower rendering quality by one level. After each prompt it stays quiet for five minutes, and at Minimum it suggests using filters to show fewer blocks instead. Choose **Don't Ask Again** to switch it off, or turn it back on under Assistant in Preferences. The new-version prompt has its own **Don't Ask Again** too. +- **Demo Screens on Platforms**: Turn on **Show demo screens on platforms** (Advanced, off by default) and each service platform shows three demo tables, filled from `demo-screen-1.csv` to `demo-screen-3.csv` in the app's Demo folder. A missing or unreadable file shows an empty screen titled with its file name. The data is whatever you put in the files. + +**Improvements:** + +- **Shoebox, Checked Before It Runs**: Tessa loads and checks your diagram before anything runs, then runs it as a separate step. She reads out the run's notes alongside the result, tells you what she assumed, and shows you the diagram she drew when she read it from a picture, so you can correct a misreading. Loops in the diagram, and services nothing calls, are reported to you rather than redrawn away. If she reaches a third different diagram without running one, she stops and runs what she has instead. Ask for several runs and she paces them within the turn, saying so if she had to space them closer than you asked. A share link matches the diagram that actually ran, and `/clear` starts a fresh Shoebox. +- **Tessa Sees What You Send Her**: A message that is only an image now reaches her, and recent images stay in the conversation, so she can refer back to one you sent earlier. On the Shoebox grid, paste a screenshot of an architecture diagram and ask her to run it. Anything you send to the Shoebox lands in a public sandbox, so leave out anything proprietary. +- **Tessa Clears the Map**: Ask her to clear the service map and she does. +- **Tessa Says When Her Service Is Waking Up**: When the assistant service is starting, the chat says so once and waits for it. If it never comes up, the chat says the service did not start and that sending your message again should work. +- **A Quiet Turn Says What Ran**: When Tessa's tools finish their work but she adds no closing sentence, the chat shows a short muted note naming what ran. +- **Phantoms as Questions**: Tessa now treats a phantom as a question to answer, saying what was inferred and from what evidence, rather than announcing a discovery. +- **Connections Stay on the Map**: An idle connection now thins but stays on the graph until it has had no traffic for **Keep connections for** (under Advanced in Preferences: 60 to 300 seconds, default 300), instead of disappearing within 20 seconds. +- **Lighter Busy Grids**: Blocks and the service graph do less work every frame. Tesseracts animate only when they are close and in view, and a platform's portal appears only when you are near it, while the hub keeps its own. +- **Help, Rewritten**: The Help screen now describes DeepCube, explains what a block is, and says where to go when the frame rate drops. +- **Teleport Diagnostics on Request**: **Record teleport and fall diagnostics** (Advanced, Diagnostics) is off by default, so the avatar does no extra work each frame. If you fall, turn it on and teleport again: it takes effect from your next teleport, with no restart. Everything it records now goes to the same log file as the rest of the client. +- **Security Update**: Updated a bundled component to fix a high-severity vulnerability (CVE-2026-26127) that could affect the app's availability. + +**Bug Fixes:** + +- Fixed teleporting off a moving platform carrying you with it as you left, which could drop you through the ground on arrival. +- Fixed falling when the platform you were standing on was removed after five minutes without traffic. You are now returned to the hub. +- Fixed a newly seen service's first traces drawing no queue or dependency nodes, and no connections between its services. +- Fixed the chat staying blank when two copies of the app ran at once. Each copy now gets a working chat, and if the chat cannot start, it says so. +- Fixed the chat waiting forever when one sentence of speech failed. +- Fixed the "Thinking" indicator staying on screen after a turn failed. +- Fixed the new-version prompt linking to a page that no longer exists. +- Fixed the Preferences tabs scrolling sideways. + +**Known Issues:** + +- The chat handles one conversation at a time. The transcript survives reopening the window, but it is not saved between sessions, so a fresh run starts a fresh conversation. +- An open Preferences screen does not refresh when a setting changes elsewhere, for example when Tessa changes it. Close and reopen Preferences to see the current value. +- If the preferences file cannot be written, a change still applies for the rest of the session but is gone after a restart, with no warning. +- On a platform you have already visited, reloading the demo screens refreshes their rows and titles only. A change to a file's columns, or a file deleted or fixed since your visit, needs an app restart to show there. +- The fix for being carried off a platform as you teleport does not yet apply in VR. +- Asking Tessa to clear the service map does not remove trace blocks. +- At the start of a conversation, a request like "a shoebox of 5 microservices calling each other" can get an answer about writing code. Remind Tessa that a Shoebox is the sandbox, and she builds it. +- After her tools have run, Tessa's written answer can occasionally come back empty. The chat shows what ran, but the answer itself is lost; ask again. +- Demo mode hides only the grid's name. Hosts, URLs and database names in your telemetry are shown as your services report them, with Demo mode on or off. Check what is visible before you demo or share your screen. +- macOS support is experimental and may lack full feature parity with Windows builds. + ### 1.18.8 August 30, 2026 { id="1.18.8" } **Introduction:**