# PyroSoft blog and live journals

- [Delivering the tested arena build without changing the server around it](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/delivering-the-tested-arena-build-without-changing-the-server-around-it.md) — The exact public package, preserved rollback and a separate desktop browser check.
- [Battle Bot Arena Engine 2.0 reaches the browser](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/battle-bot-arena-engine-2-0-reaches-the-browser.md) — Workshop, Garage and combat behavior in the exact WebGL build.
- [DZCM: a context-mixing codec of our own](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/dzcm-a-context-mixing-codec-of-our-own.md) — A new experimental backend, with its strong and weak cases recorded.
- [Compression levels and the cost of a smaller archive](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/compression-levels-and-the-cost-of-a-smaller-archive.md) — Best-of-N selection and content-aware transforms in the June overhaul.
- [DevZIP opens up its archive engine](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/devzip-opens-up-its-archive-engine.md) — A native Windows engine, a readable container and a measured starting point.
- [Route, gather, then write the answer once](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/route-gather-then-write-the-answer-once.md) — A simpler pipeline and a more practical automatic model choice.
- [Checking whether Spark actually helps the model](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/checking-whether-spark-actually-helps-the-model.md) — A growing prompt suite, bare-model comparisons and fixes from real answers.
- [Making local work survive the next conversation](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/making-local-work-survive-the-next-conversation.md) — IndexedDB chats, workspace previews and a context budget.
- [FreeSpark: useful AI on the hardware you already have](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/freespark-useful-ai-on-the-hardware-you-already-have.md) — Local inference, clearer online boundaries and the first reliability pass.
- [Connecting FriendlyIP to the rest of PyroSoft](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/connecting-friendlyip-to-the-rest-of-pyrosoft.md) — Shared navigation without losing the local tool menu.
- [FriendlyIP: an address you can read over the phone](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/friendlyip-an-address-you-can-read-over-the-phone.md) — A documented snapshot of the IPv4 converter and its related tools.
- [Preserving the whole PSN identifier](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/preserving-the-whole-psn-identifier.md) — Correct large-integer conversion, request limits and clearer attribution.
- [Finding the account ID a Remote Play client asks for](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/finding-the-account-id-a-remote-play-client-asks-for.md) — The retained baseline for the PSN Account ID Finder.
- [Steam Command Generator: useful commands with the right expectations](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/steam-command-generator-useful-commands-with-the-right-expectations.md) — An App ID workflow, copy controls and a clear limit on guessed depot IDs.
- [Moving Bourbon safely, then making the verification faster](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/moving-bourbon-safely-then-making-the-verification-faster.md) — Qualified candidate work and a later storage improvement that still needs its own gate.
- [The audit that put saves and reset safety first](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/the-audit-that-put-saves-and-reset-safety-first.md) — Protecting newer environments before broadening the feature work.
- [Native Steam integration and a library you can use from the couch](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/native-steam-integration-and-a-library-you-can-use-from-the-couch.md) — A new bridge, bigger controls and more careful cloud-save setup.
- [Keeping older tools and newer Steam clients in their own lanes](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/keeping-older-tools-and-newer-steam-clients-in-their-own-lanes.md) — Targeted runtime work, safer repairs and evidence from the real client.
- [Giving SteamOS its own place in Bourbon](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/giving-steamos-its-own-place-in-bourbon.md) — A separate guest lifecycle and tighter launch observation.
- [Activation, installers and knowing which program we launched](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/activation-installers-and-knowing-which-program-we-launched.md) — Small recovery fixes followed by more careful Windows software analysis.
- [Smart Play starts figuring out unfamiliar games](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/smart-play-starts-figuring-out-unfamiliar-games.md) — Reading game files before choosing a runtime.
- [Making setup and repair less disruptive](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/making-setup-and-repair-less-disruptive.md) — Better readiness checks and more careful handling of active sessions.
- [When the menus work but the game world is black](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/when-the-menus-work-but-the-game-world-is-black.md) — Following the real game executable and isolating the graphics route.
- [Bourbon 26: choosing the right way to play](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/bourbon-26-choosing-the-right-way-to-play.md) — Native Mac games, per-game Wine choices and a more useful Bottle Shelf.
- [Asynchronous I/O and the Bytes a Cancelled Write Keeps](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/async-io-and-the-bytes-a-cancelled-write-keeps.md) — The latest verified candidate passes focused 64-bit read and write profiles on both pipe routes. The tests caught real EOF, completion-block, and cancellation-accounting mistakes.
- [A Real Archive Roundtrip and Better File Behavior](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/real-archive-roundtrip-and-file-behavior.md) — The original 7-Zip command-line tool created, tested, and extracted an archive, with all four files compared byte for byte.
- [Making the Launcher Own Its Storage and Processes](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/making-the-launcher-own-its-work.md) — Managed storage and an app-local process supervisor are part of turning a development engine into an application people can safely launch and stop.
- [Getting Wine's Real 32-Bit Startup to Run](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/getting-wines-real-32-bit-startup-to-run.md) — The ordinary Wine loader path needed real process, thread, locale, and shutdown state. A command prompt that prints and relaunches became a useful application milestone.
- [Making Memory Protection and Lifetime Tests More Useful](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/memory-protection-and-lifetime-tests.md) — The memory work checked more than successful allocation: page permissions, decommit, release, reuse, process-image data, and the bytes around each result.
- [Recovering the Project and Resuming Real Tests](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/recovering-the-project-and-resuming-real-tests.md) — The resumed work established the source baseline, exercised real NT/file behavior, and added bounded Intel Mac command-line evidence.
- [Correcting the Ferrum Progress Report](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/correcting-the-progress-report.md) — Some earlier 32-bit checks proved placeholder outputs rather than real NT behavior. The recovery work started by separating useful code from unsupported completion claims.
- [Portal Reaches a Command Stream, With the Frame Still Ahead](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/portal-reaches-a-command-stream.md) — More Vulkan commands and application imports were connected for Portal. The recorded run still did not establish an intro, menu, or visible game frame.
- [A Launcher and a Freeze That Wasn't the Presenter](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/a-launcher-and-a-freeze-that-wasnt-the-presenter.md) — The launcher made the project easier to approach. A separate graphics investigation showed why a changing frame counter wasn't enough to prove a changing picture.
- [Working on Presentation and Controller Input](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/windows-that-keep-up-and-controllers-that-wake.md) — Presentation timing and controller discovery needed tests outside a simple offscreen run. The Mac has its own window and input rules to account for.
- [DirectX 12, Shader Caches, and the Steam Startup Work](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/directx-12-shader-caches-and-steam.md) — The graphics feature work and Steam startup fixes advanced useful components. Neither a feature probe nor a running Steam process closed the application journey.
- [Making Memory, Files, and Graphics State Agree](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/making-runtime-state-consistent.md) — Adjacent allocations, runtime-loaded modules, media resources, and pipeline caching showed why a growing API surface still needs consistent state underneath it.
- [Building the 32-Bit Graphics Path](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/building-the-32-bit-graphics-path.md) — The 32-bit path progressed from API setup to real Vulkan commands and a known-pixel readback. That established important pieces without establishing a visible Portal frame.
- [Game Progress and Measuring the Right Thing](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/gameplay-performance-and-measuring-the-right-thing.md) — Controlled gameplay in King's Pass was useful progress. Understanding the route, memory growth, and test conditions was just as important as reaching another screen.
- [Installers, Saves, Fonts, and the Parts Around the Game](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/installers-saves-fonts-and-audio.md) — A silent 7-Zip installation and progress on saves, fonts, and audio brought more ordinary Windows behavior into the development stack.
- [Following a Game Through Its Opening Video](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/following-a-game-through-its-opening-video.md) — A game's opening sequence connected video formats, input timing, and its own state machine. Fixing the picture was only part of getting past it.
- [Building More of the Windows Runtime](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/windows-runtime-threads-and-older-directx.md) — Older DirectX, thread state, windows, and system objects all became part of the same job: answering the requests real Windows components make.
- [From Return Values to Pixels and Sound](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/from-return-values-to-pixels-and-sound.md) — A window, a sound, and a changing image answer different questions. This phase started connecting translated Windows code to results a person can actually see and hear.
- [Bringing FEX to macOS: The First Windows Program](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/bringing-fex-to-macos.md) — Getting the translation engine to build was the first step. Getting a real Windows executable to run showed where Ferrum's Mac-side work actually begins.
- [Click-through controls and the cross-platform download set](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/click-through-controls-and-the-cross-platform-download-set.md) — Recovery controls, Linux capture evidence and a verified upload record.
- [A better workspace for all your PiPs](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/a-better-workspace-for-all-your-pips.md) — Dashboard navigation, capture controls and a more deliberate packaging process.
- [Giving InfinitePIP a clearer front door](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/giving-infinitepip-a-clearer-front-door.md) — A project site that explains the floating-window workflow.
- [Rebuilding InfinitePIP around independent floating windows](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/rebuilding-infinitepip-around-independent-floating-windows.md) — Source selection, crop preview and controls for each PiP.
- [InfinitePIP begins with a simple desktop idea](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/infinitepip-begins-with-a-simple-desktop-idea.md) — Keep the useful part of another window nearby.
- [Making the audio driver's foundations explicit](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/making-the-audio-driver-s-foundations-explicit.md) — WDK and Sysvad attribution, with the remaining validation work kept visible.
- [Rolling back the effects experiment](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/rolling-back-the-effects-experiment.md) — A more focused topology and a reminder to read the actual format tables.
- [Exploring more formats, channels and audio controls](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/exploring-more-formats-channels-and-audio-controls.md) — A wider Windows audio experiment before the later simplification.
- [Virtual audio endpoints for a computer without speakers](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/virtual-audio-endpoints-for-a-computer-without-speakers.md) — The early Windows audio driver, format work and a quieter microphone path.
- [Safer monitor lifetimes and clearer driver replies](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/safer-monitor-lifetimes-and-clearer-driver-replies.md) — The latest retained driver changes focus on ownership and the control channel.
- [More precise GPU selection and multi-monitor corrections](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/more-precise-gpu-selection-and-multi-monitor-corrections.md) — PCI-based adapter resolution, HDR bit depth and swapchain threading.
- [Building the tools around the display driver](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/building-the-tools-around-the-display-driver.md) — Configuration, community automation and better device identification.
- [Fine-tuning the virtual display](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/fine-tuning-the-virtual-display.md) — Hardware cursors, custom EDID and fractional refresh rates.
- [HDR and choosing the GPU behind the virtual screen](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/hdr-and-choosing-the-gpu-behind-the-virtual-screen.md) — Expanding the display path while improving configuration.
- [A monitor without another panel on the desk](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/a-monitor-without-another-panel-on-the-desk.md) — The early Virtual Display Driver work on modes, refresh rates and setup.
- [A rebuilt panel with displays, audio and an EDID lab](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/a-rebuilt-panel-with-displays-audio-and-an-edid-lab.md) — The React and TypeScript rewrite, followed by more careful driver replies.
- [Moving the panel behind a clearer application boundary](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/moving-the-panel-behind-a-clearer-application-boundary.md) — Context isolation, a preload bridge and native window controls.
- [Reconnecting the interface and fixing driver detection](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/reconnecting-the-interface-and-fixing-driver-detection.md) — A busy revision with installation controls temporarily pulled back.
- [Connecting the panel to everyday driver tasks](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/connecting-the-panel-to-everyday-driver-tasks.md) — Real progress, tray controls, XML editing and audio-driver management.
- [A control panel for the settings behind the driver](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/a-control-panel-for-the-settings-behind-the-driver.md) — From a nonfunctional shell to early commands and XML editing.
- [Advanced controls, shared workflows and the bundled CLI](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/advanced-controls-shared-workflows-and-the-bundled-cli.md) — The path through the layout patches to 26.10.5.6, build 41.
- [Real camera sources, HID reports and a private peer tunnel](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/real-camera-sources-hid-reports-and-a-private-peer-tunnel.md) — Build 36 turns several remaining paths into measurable native workflows.
- [Teaching the suite to recover its own devices](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/teaching-the-suite-to-recover-its-own-devices.md) — Resource journals, atomic audio installation and safer storage handling.
- [Testing what the Mac devices actually deliver](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/testing-what-the-mac-devices-actually-deliver.md) — Audio measurements, MIDI round trips and a real disk-image workflow.
- [From a Mac virtual display to a driver suite](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/from-a-mac-virtual-display-to-a-driver-suite.md) — A native control center begins expanding beyond monitors.
- [Free manual Windows gaming setup on Apple Silicon: step by step](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/manual-windows-gaming-apple-silicon-free-2026.md) — Install Sikarugir, create a Wine wrapper, configure graphics, install Steam or a standalone game, and troubleshoot your first launch. Plus honest paid alternatives.
- [Windows games on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/windows-games-on-mac.md) — Every way to run Windows games on a Mac in 2026 — translation, streaming, virtual machines — and which one fits the games you actually play.
- [Steam on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/steam-on-mac.md) — Steam runs on macOS, and most of its catalog can reach your Mac one way or another. What's native, what needs translation, and what streams.
- [Anti-cheat on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/anti-cheat-on-mac.md) — Kernel-level anti-cheat is why Fortnite, Valorant and Apex won't run on a Mac through any translation layer — and what actually works instead.
- [Boot Camp on Apple Silicon](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/boot-camp-apple-silicon.md) — Boot Camp doesn't exist on M-series Macs. What replaced it for games, and when you actually need a full Windows install.
- [Play Windows games on Mac for free](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/free-windows-games-on-mac.md) — The genuinely free routes — raw Wine, Game Porting Toolkit, what's left of Whisky — what they cost you in time, and when $29.99 stops being worth avoiding.
- [Bourbon 26 system requirements](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/bourbon-26-system-requirements.md) — What Bourbon 26 needs, everything it installs, and how much disk the whole Windows-gaming stack actually takes.
- [DXVK vs D3DMetal](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/dxvk-vs-d3dmetal.md) — DXVK, VKD3D, DXMT, WineD3D or D3DMetal — what each renderer translates, and which one your game wants on a Mac.
- [Wine bottles on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/wine-bottles-on-mac.md) — What a Wine bottle (prefix) is, why every game deserves its own, and how Bourbon 26's Bottle Shelf manages runtimes per title.
- [AIL eAPP on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/ail-eapp-on-mac.md) — How to run the AIL eAPP on macOS with Bourbon 26, step by step.
- [Run .exe files on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/run-exe-on-mac.md) — How to open and run Windows .exe and .msi files on macOS — safely, in their own bottle.
- [Notepad++ on Mac](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/notepad-plus-plus-on-mac.md) — Notepad++, PuTTY, WinSCP and the small Windows utilities worth keeping on your Mac — and the native swaps worth taking instead.
- [Whisky alternative](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/whisky-alternative.md) — Whisky is no longer maintained. What that means for your bottles, and the closest like-for-like replacement on macOS.
- [CrossOver alternative](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/crossover-alternative.md) — CrossOver charges yearly; Bourbon 26 is $29.99 once. Where CodeWeavers still earns its price, and where the alternative wins.
- [Parallels alternative](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/parallels-alternative.md) — Parallels runs a whole Windows; Bourbon 26 runs just your games. Which approach fits, and when a full VM is genuinely the right call.
- [Game Porting Toolkit](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/game-porting-toolkit.md) — What Apple's Game Porting Toolkit is, who it's actually for, and how Bourbon 26 packages the same technology for people who just want to play.
- [Windows on Apple Silicon](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/windows-on-apple-silicon.md) — Every way to run Windows software on an M-series Mac in 2026 — translation, emulation, VMs — and how to pick per app.
- [What Wine can't run](https://pyrosoft.pro/blog/what-wine-cant-run.md) — Drivers, kernel services, anti-cheat and the other Windows software no translation layer can handle — where a VM is the honest answer.