Patch Release v4.0.0

Major update.

Patch Files

Major changes:

• Rebased snapshot onto version 9097133 of steam-chat.com (circa 2024-08-08), which is still currently the latest version as of writing this.
  Previous 3.0.x versions were based on version 8825046 (circa 2024-04-18).
• New required patches have been added to reconcile changes between 8825046 and 9097133.
• Select Valve javascript files are now downlevel transpiled due to Valve breaking M86 compatibility.
• Various minor changes to internal patch behavior.

Known Fixes:

• Fixed resource fetch from remote sometimes using local urls instead.
  Before this fix, at least one resource file loaded by the inner friends.js (noisegate-audio-worklet.js) always used its local url.

QuickPatcher

• Updated forced in-place Steam update instructions.
• "Patch cannot be installed while Steam is running" warning now counts the number of running Steam processes in the main UI.

SnapshotMaker

• Added snapshot manifests and patch configurations for some CLSTAMPs since the previous release.
• Updated and added several patch definitions to account for new/changed targets circa 9097133.
• Implemented transpiler stage to conform snapshot javascript to the M86 CEF capabilities of our target Steam clients. Initial transpiler configurations target <= 8997688 and >= 9004798, which is the split where Valve broke M86 compatibility.
• Various minor adjustments and fixes.

Patch Release v3.0.1

Hotfix.

Patch Files

Fixes:

• [#14] Fixed constant high CPU usage while the Friends List is open.

Patch Release v3.0.0

Major update.

Patch Files

Major changes:

• Rebased snapshot onto version 8825046 of steam-chat.com (circa 2024-04-18), which is currently the latest version as of writing this.
  Previous 2.0.x versions were based on version 8601984 (circa 2023-12-22).
• New required patches have been added to reconcile changes between 8601984 and 8825046 and to fix select regressions created by Valve's idiot programmers (breakage unrelated to Steam, FriendsUI, or FixedSteamFriendsUI).

Known Fixes:

• [#11] Right click friend -> Watch Game now works again.
  This was broken in patch v2.0.x sometime between the release of 8601984 and the release of 8717083.

Caveats:

• The steamwebhelper.exe process hosting the snapshot will constantly max out a CPU core as long as the Friends List is open.
  This issue is resolved in v3.0.1.

SnapshotMaker

The majority of the work behind this update went into the SnapshotMaker tool. These changes improve the development process, particularly the pace of updating the working steam-chat.com snapshot used by the patch.

• Application converted from .NET Core (3.1) to .NET Framework (4.7.2).
• Implemented Valve javascript patcher stage, which detects and patches required target sites in the inner friends.js.
  Patches require definitions, which are currently researched & programmed by hand. New patch definitions must be created as needed to patch future breaking changes from future updates to steam-chat.com.
  Initial patch definition set targets 8601984 and 8825046 and their functional equivalents.
• Implemented cleanup stage to prepare snapshots for introduction into the Patch Files project.
• Many various updates to the rest of the SnapshotMaker.

Patch Release v2.0.2

Hotfix.

Patch Files

Fixes:

• [#10] Popup windows no longer always steal focus when they first appear. Notably, this means you are no longer dragged out of games and back to your desktop when a friend first messages you (via the automatic chat window popup).

QuickPatcher

• Minor addition to the install log.

Patch Release v2.0.1

Hotfix.

Patch Files

This update only consists of changes to Valve's code in order to make 8601984 work better under older clients.

Fixes:

• [#9] The black rectangle Friends List bug is fixed for the December 2022 Steam client (and possibly earlier versions).
• The instantly closing mini profiles bug is fixed for the December 2022 Steam client (and possibly earlier versions).

Caveats:

• All popup windows (e.g. automatic chat windows when a friend messages you) always steal focus when they first appear. When playing a game, these popup windows will drag you out of the game and back to your desktop.
  This issue is resolved in v2.0.2.

QuickPatcher

• Fixed a bug in the install procedure's scratch folder name retry.

Patch Release v2.0.0

Major update.

Patch Files

Major changes:

• Rebased patch onto a homogeneous snapshot of the current version of steam-chat.com, version 8601984 (circa 2023-12-22).
  Previous 1.x.x versions were based on a hybrid snapshot, with core logic from version 8200419 (circa late July 2023).
• Reworked patch files structure to improve development process.

Rebasing the patch onto the latest version of steam-chat.com has resolved several issues, mainly those originating from version drift between the local patch files' behavior and the constantly changing upstream Valve server behavior.

Fixes:

• [#1] On-hover mini profiles now work in all known intended scenarios.
  Previously, this only worked when the host window was wider than ~400 px.
• [#8] Right-click friend > Watch Game now works correctly.
  This was broken at some point between late July 2023 and 2023-12-09 due to unknown upstream Valve server changes.

There are other changes, unrelated to the rebase.

Improvements:

• The country code used by your Steam client is now propagated to the snapshot, which will override the the country code baked into the snapshot when it was captured. This may fix some nation-specific behavior with friends & chat.
  Previously, the snapshot used the baked-in country code, which is "US".

Caveats:

• Not fully compatible with Steam clients released December 2022 or earlier.
  – FriendsUI loads, connects, and runs correctly in the background, but the Friends List window is a black rectangle.
  – Mini profiles instantly close if their parent window has focus.
  These issues are resolved in v2.0.1 for the December 2022 client (and possibly earlier versions).

QuickPatcher

• New patch version selector allows the QuickPatcher to carry and install multiple versions of the patch. Out of the box, this release includes the new 2.0.0 patch and the previous 1.2.0 patch, but all previous patch payload zips are supported and can be added.
  Previous versions only included one version of the patch (the then-current release).

Patch Release v1.2.0

Minor update.

Patch Files

• [#5] Symptomatic mitigation for what appears to be a race condition in how the Steam client loads & runs FriendsUI. The patch will automatically reload FriendsUI in the event of a load failure in the internal frame due to the race condition.
• The blue "Retry Connection" button that appears in the event of load failure now performs a much stronger reload of the entire FriendsUI. This is capable of resolving the aforementioned race condition without needing to restart the entire Steam client.
• [#6] Compatibility fixes when running under the December 2022 release of the Steam client (and possibly older clients, too). The 8200419 base we're using was built some (unknown) time after Valve abandoned those versions of the Steam client for steam-chat.com.

QuickPatcher

• Minor UI adjustments

Patch Release v1.1.0

Minor update.

Patch Files

• [#3] Localized display text works. Labels, buttons, etc in the chat/friends UI now use localized strings per the display language chosen by the user in the Steam client settings. In other words, it's not stuck in English anymore.

QuickPatcher

• [#2] Fixed potential crashes originating from the patch install & uninstall logs.
• Minor UI adjustments

Patch Release v1.0.0

Initial release.

Caveats:

• The UI is always in English.
  This will be addressed in a future release.