update changelog

## Link to GitHub Issue, if one exists
#345

## Description of change
If `-exec` is specified, log a giant warning.

Also, fix some compiler warnings in MFG.

## Testing
Confirmed message being logged in log.txt.

src/spice2x/.gitignore

@@ -19,3 +19,8 @@ dist/*
 external/cv2pdb/*
 
 .ccache/*
+
+# Visual Studio
+.vs
+out
+CMakeSettings.json

src/spice2x/changelog.txt

@@ -1,3 +1,7 @@
+09/18/2025 [spice2x]
+    Polaris Chord windowed mode fixes
+    UI tweaks
+
 09/17/2025 [spice2x]
     Polaris Chord I/O fixes, language shim
 

src/spice2x/games/mfg/mfg.cpp

@@ -28,7 +28,7 @@ namespace games::mfg {
         SetEnvironmentVariableA("VFG_CABINET_TYPE", MFG_CABINET_TYPE.c_str());
 
         // add card reader
-        portName = MFG_CABINET_TYPE == "UKS" ? L"\\\\.\\COM1" : L"\\\\.\\COM3";
+        portName = (MFG_CABINET_TYPE == "UKS") ? std::wstring(L"\\\\.\\COM1") : std::wstring(L"\\\\.\\COM3");
         acioHandle = new acioemu::ACIOHandle(portName.c_str(), 1);
         devicehook_init_trampoline();
         devicehook_add(acioHandle);

src/spice2x/games/pc/io.cpp

@@ -35,7 +35,14 @@ std::vector<Button> &games::pc::get_buttons() {
 }
 
 std::string games::pc::get_buttons_help() {
-    return "";
+    // keep to max 100 characters wide
+    return
+        "    FADER-L   FADER-R  \n"
+        "\n"
+        " B1 B2 B3  ...  B11 B12\n"
+        "\n"
+        " Most menu interactions are on the touch screen; you can use your mouse.\n"
+        ;
 }
 
 std::vector<Analog> &games::pc::get_analogs() {

src/spice2x/games/pc/pc.cpp

@@ -21,6 +21,8 @@ namespace games::pc {
     static std::wstring portName = L"COM1";
 
     static decltype(RegisterRawInputDevices) *RegisterRawInputDevices_orig = nullptr;
+    static decltype(EnumDisplaySettingsW) *EnumDisplaySettingsW_orig = nullptr;
+    static decltype(QueryDisplayConfig) *QueryDisplayConfig_orig = nullptr;
 
     static BOOL WINAPI RegisterRawInputDevices_hook(PCRAWINPUTDEVICE pRawInputDevices, UINT uiNumDevices, UINT cbSize) {
 
@@ -38,6 +40,27 @@ namespace games::pc {
         return FALSE;
     }
 
+    static BOOL WINAPI EnumDisplaySettingsW_hook(LPCWSTR lpszDeviceName, DWORD iModeNum, DEVMODEW* lpDevMode) {
+        auto result = EnumDisplaySettingsW_orig(lpszDeviceName, iModeNum, lpDevMode);
+
+        // https://docs.unity3d.com/2022.3/Documentation/ScriptReference/Screen-currentResolution.html
+        // "If the player is running in windowed mode, this returns the current dimensions of the game window in pixels and the display refresh rate."
+        // Override it to 1920x1080 to avoid broken UI under Windowed mode
+        if (result && iModeNum == ENUM_CURRENT_SETTINGS) {
+            // Actually make it returns size of the game window, Can I?
+            lpDevMode->dmPelsWidth = 1920;
+            lpDevMode->dmPelsHeight = 1080;
+        }
+
+        return result;
+    }
+
+    LONG WINAPI QueryDisplayConfig_hook(UINT32, UINT32*, DISPLAYCONFIG_PATH_INFO*, UINT32*, DISPLAYCONFIG_MODE_INFO*, DISPLAYCONFIG_TOPOLOGY_ID*) {
+        // make unity fallback to EnumDisplaySettingsW as I don't 
+        // want to deal with this api which is way more complex
+        return ERROR_NOT_SUPPORTED;
+    }
+
     void PCGame::attach() {
         Game::attach();
 
@@ -63,7 +86,10 @@ namespace games::pc {
         const auto user32Dll = "user32.dll";
         detour::trampoline_try(user32Dll, "RegisterRawInputDevices",
                                RegisterRawInputDevices_hook, &RegisterRawInputDevices_orig);
-
+        detour::trampoline_try(user32Dll, "QueryDisplayConfig", 
+                               QueryDisplayConfig_hook, &QueryDisplayConfig_orig);
+        detour::trampoline_try(user32Dll, "EnumDisplaySettingsW", 
+                               EnumDisplaySettingsW_hook, &EnumDisplaySettingsW_orig);
 
         if (GRAPHICS_SHOW_CURSOR) {
             unity_utils::force_show_cursor(true);

src/spice2x/launcher/launcher.cpp

@@ -1272,6 +1272,19 @@ int main_implementation(int argc, char *argv[]) {
         }
     }
 
+    if (options[launcher::Options::GameExecutable].is_active() && !cfg::CONFIGURATOR_STANDALONE) {
+        log_warning(
+            "launcher",
+            "WARNING - user specified -exec option\n\n\n"
+            "!!!                                                             !!!\n"
+            "!!! Using -exec option disables all game-specific hooks!        !!!\n"
+            "!!! Unless you know exactly what you are doing, clear -exec     !!!\n"
+            "!!!   and try again. Using -exec by itself will result in weird !!!\n"
+            "!!!   errors and loss of functionality.                         !!!\n"
+            "!!!                                                             !!!\n"
+            );
+    }
+
     if (options[launcher::Options::FullscreenResolution].is_active()) {
         std::pair<uint32_t, uint32_t> result;
         if (parse_width_height(options[launcher::Options::FullscreenResolution].value_text(), result)) {
@@ -1767,7 +1780,14 @@ int main_implementation(int argc, char *argv[]) {
             // usage error
             if (!cfg::CONFIGURATOR_STANDALONE
             && (!CHECK_DLL_IGNORE_ARCH)) {
-                log_fatal("launcher", "module auto detection failed.");
+                log_fatal(
+                    "launcher",
+                    "module auto detection failed!\n\n"
+                    "This usually means one of the following:\n\n"
+                    "  1. You put spice executables in the wrong place, or\n"
+                    "  2. XML files in prop directory are malformed or missing, or\n"
+                    "  3. You passed in invalid options (usually, path overrides like -exec)\n\n"
+                );
             }
             break;
 

src/spice2x/launcher/options.cpp

@@ -34,7 +34,7 @@ static const std::vector<std::string> CATEGORY_ORDER_ADVANCED = {
     "NFC Card Readers",
 };
 static const std::vector<std::string> CATEGORY_ORDER_DEV = {
-    "Paths",
+    "Path Overrides",
     "Network (Development)",
     "Audio (Hacks)",
     "I/O Modules",
@@ -53,12 +53,14 @@ bool launcher::USE_CMD_OVERRIDE = false;
  */
 static const std::vector<OptionDefinition> OPTION_DEFINITIONS = {
     {
-        .title = "Game Executable",
+        .title = "Override Game Executable & Disable Hooks",
         .name = "exec",
-        .desc = "Path to the game DLL file",
+        .desc = "Path to the game DLL file.\n\n"
+            "This option is typically not needed; leave it empty to allow spice to auto-detect your game.\n\n"
+            "WARNING: this option also disables all game-specific hooks and turns off most I/O modules!",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
         .setting_name = "*.dll",
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
         .title = "Open Configurator",
@@ -1091,88 +1093,88 @@ static const std::vector<OptionDefinition> OPTION_DEFINITIONS = {
         .category = "Game Options (Advanced)",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Modules Folder Path",
+        .title = "Modules Folder Override",
         .name = "modules",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to the modules folder",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Screenshot Folder Path",
+        .title = "Screenshot Folder Override",
         .name = "screenshotpath",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to the screenshots folder",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Configuration Path",
+        .title = "Configuration Path Override",
         .name = "cfgpath",
         .desc = "Sets a custom file path for config file. Must be passed via the command line. "
             "If left empty, %appdata%\\spicetools.xml will be used",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
         .setting_name = "(default)",
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
         .disabled = true,
     },
     {
         // ScreenResizeConfigPath
-        .title = "Screen Resize Config Path",
+        .title = "Screen Resize Config Path Override",
         .name = "resizecfgpath",
         .desc = "Sets a custom file path for screen resize config file. "
             "If left empty, %appdata%\\spice2x\\spicetools_screen_resize.json will be used",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
         // PatchManagerConfigPath
-        .title = "Patch Manager Config Path",
+        .title = "Patch Manager Config Path Override",
         .name = "patchcfgpath",
         .desc = "Sets a custom file path for patch manager config file. Can be used to manage 'profiles' for auto-patches. "
             "If left empty, %appdata%\\spice2x\\spicetools_patch_manager.json will be used",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Intel SDE Folder Path",
+        .title = "Intel SDE Folder",
         .name = "sde",
         .desc = "Path to Intel SDE kit path for automatic attaching",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Path to ea3-config.xml",
+        .title = "ea3-config.xml Override",
         .name = "e",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to ea3-config.xml",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Path to app-config.xml",
+        .title = "app-config.xml Override",
         .name = "a",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to app-config.xml",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Path to avs-config.xml",
+        .title = "avs-config.xml Override",
         .name = "v",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to avs-config.xml",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Path to bootstrap.xml",
+        .title = "bootstrap.xml Override",
         .name = "b",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to bootstrap.xml",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
-        .title = "Path to log.txt",
+        .title = "log.txt Override",
         .name = "y",
         .desc = "Sets a custom path to log.txt",
         .type = OptionType::Text,
-        .category = "Paths",
+        .category = "Path Overrides",
     },
     {
         .title = "API TCP Port",

src/spice2x/overlay/windows/patch_manager.cpp

@@ -230,7 +230,13 @@ namespace overlay::windows {
             auto const register_fn = reinterpret_cast<decltype(&LdrRegisterDllNotification)>
                 (GetProcAddress(GetModuleHandleW(L"ntdll.dll"), "LdrRegisterDllNotification"));
 
-            auto callback = [] CALLBACK (ULONG reason, PCLDR_DLL_NOTIFICATION_DATA data, PVOID ctx) {
+            auto callback =
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+                static_cast<PLDR_DLL_NOTIFICATION_FUNCTION>([]
+#else
+                                                            [] CALLBACK
+#endif
+            (ULONG reason, PCLDR_DLL_NOTIFICATION_DATA data, PVOID ctx) {
                 if (reason == LDR_DLL_NOTIFICATION_REASON_LOADED) {
                     auto const dll = strtolower(std::filesystem::path({
                         data->Loaded.FullDllName->Buffer,
@@ -241,7 +247,11 @@ namespace overlay::windows {
                         static_cast<PatchManager*>(ctx)->reload_local_patches(true);
                     }
                 }
-            };
+            }
+#ifdef _MSC_VER
+            )
+#endif
+            ;
 
             if (register_fn && NT_SUCCESS(register_fn(0, callback, this, &ldr_notify_cookie))) {
                 log_info("patchmanager", "registered for DLL load notifications");

src/spice2x/util/peb.cpp

@@ -77,7 +77,7 @@ std::string peb::entry_name(const LDR_DATA_TABLE_ENTRY* entry) {
 }
 
 const PEB* peb::peb_get() {
-#ifdef SPICE64
+#ifdef _WIN64
     return reinterpret_cast<const PEB *>(__readgsqword(0x60));
 #else
     return reinterpret_cast<const PEB *>(__readfsdword(0x30));