On a game build this loader does not support, it starts no mods at all, third-party ones included, and logs both game hashes; mods return with a loader release for the new build.
When the build cannot be checked, for example because a game file cannot be read, the loader also starts no mods; the game's own audio startup still runs, and no setting or file turns the check off.
New CowboyBingusModLoader.build holds the result and capabilities.build_gate says the loader has the check; mods that check the build themselves reuse the loader's game hashes instead of reading the files again.
The author guide's "Startup and compatibility" section explains what happens after a game update and why mods should keep their own build check.
New LuaJIT churn guard: when more than 64 places in the game's or mods' code keep failing to compile, LuaJIT retries them all session; the loader now lets LuaJIT stop trying each one, as it would with room to remember it.
In game with Vanilla Plus Megapack v42, places retried after being pushed out of LuaJIT's list fell from 13-36 per 2 minutes to 0.
With 100 extra failing places in game, the wasted compile attempts cost 0.007 ms per frame instead of 0.028-0.035 ms, nearly all of it in the first 30 seconds.
The loader log adds a "LuaJIT churn:" line that names each handled place by mod file and line; CowboyBingusModLoader.jit.churn holds the same counts.
The guard runs only when LuaJIT starts or abandons compiling: no per-frame work, no game code written and no JIT setting changed.
The author guide has a new section on keeping per-frame code compilable.
revision now reads loader-v20; CowboyBingusModLoader.version stays 17, so existing mods see no change.
The shared LuaJIT code cache now starts at 64 MB of machine code instead of 16 MB and can grow to 256 MB after a flush; unused space costs nothing.
New after_startup: a mod can run its setup once after every mod has started, so menu registrations no longer need retries.
The loader log now records the game's start, its build, each module's load time and heap growth, how the previous session ended and the newest crash dump's code and offset.
Another mod can no longer break loading, logs or discovery by replacing Lua builtins or redeclaring Windows functions: the loader keeps private copies and names.
When several archives hold the same mod, the log names the copy the game loads and the hidden ones.
Mods can test for loader features with CowboyBingusModLoader.capabilities; version stays 17, so existing mods see no change.
Tested in game: a clean run reached the ship and quit with every Vanilla Plus Megapack v37 option, and two missions of real play showed no cache flush (peak 1,344 KB of machine code).
Raise the game's shared LuaJIT code cache before any mod starts: 16 MB of machine code and 8,000 traces instead of the game's 512 KB and 1,000, shared by the game and every mod. Filling either limit made LuaJIT discard all compiled code at once and recompile it during play.
If a flush still happens, double both limits, up to 64 MB and 16,000 traces; the trace limit only grows while the Lua heap is under 24 MB.
Measured in recorded real play with every Vanilla Plus Megapack mod enabled (19 minutes aboard the ship and an 11-minute mission): the old 512 KB was already full aboard the ship, the session ended at 960 KB of machine code in 946 traces, and the cache never flushed.
The loader log shows one "LuaJIT cache" line with the limits, flushes and growth steps; mods can read the same state from CowboyBingusModLoader.jit.
Required update for every CowboyBingus mod: replace the previous loader entry, then Purge / Deploy. No per-frame work and no gameplay change; API 1, addon discovery and the original audio callbacks are unchanged. This removes repeated recompilation, not a promised frame-rate change, which depends on the machine.
