Changelog

1.0.7

Verified the asset-bundle loading and recompression contracts against Valheim 1.0.7 on both the Windows client and dedicated server.
Preserve an earlier HarmonyX patch's decision to skip the original file-based bundle load without inspecting, hashing, queueing, or redirecting that file.
Updated the required BepInExPack Valheim dependency to 5.4.2350.
Kept the existing configuration keys, shared-cache path, metadata format, CRC handling, and offset behavior unchanged.

Maintenance release: rebuilt and repackaged the 1.0.5 implementation as version 1.0.6.
No runtime behavior, configuration, or cache-format changes from 1.0.5.

Preserve an earlier HarmonyX patch's result when it has already skipped the original stream or memory bundle load.
Recheck cache entries after reserving work so a bundle cached or marked to skip by a just-finished job is not queued again.
Reject malformed UnityFS headers whose compressed blocks-info table cannot fit inside the declared bundle size.
Simplified cache redirection helpers while preserving separate synchronous and asynchronous fallback behavior.
Added managed regression tests and runtime-boundary checks, and documented configuration, restart requirements, and build commands.
Release package creation now requires CreatePackages=true; normal Release builds no longer update the manifest or overwrite release archives. Game deployment remains opt-in.

Moved the default cache to <Application.persistentDataPath>/FastAssetBundleLoader/cache/v1 so mod-manager profiles can reuse cached bundles with identical contents. On Windows this is normally %USERPROFILE%/AppData/LocalLow/IronGate/Valheim/FastAssetBundleLoader/cache/v1.
Added CacheRootDirectory to optionally select an absolute storage root. The dedicated FastAssetBundleLoader/cache/v1 directory is appended; v1 tracks the cache format independently of the mod version.
Added process-level cache locking. If another game instance owns the cache, this instance loads original bundles without caching for that run.
Removed legacy cache configuration and metadata support. Old caches under BepInEx/cache are left untouched and are not migrated; the shared cache is created as eligible bundles load.
Updated the README with shared-cache configuration and reset instructions. Close all game instances before deleting the dedicated shared cache directory; this affects every profile using it.

Moved FastAssetBundleLoader.dll into the patchers/ directory in both Thunderstore and Nexus archives so they can be extracted directly into the BepInEx directory.

Cache regeneration is recommended after updating: close the game, delete only BepInEx/cache/ValheimFasterLoadAssetBundles, and let eligible bundles rebuild as they are loaded.
The first run may not warm every cache entry. Enter a world and allow cache activity to settle; later runs or different gameplay paths may create additional entries.

Refactored the asset bundle cache pipeline and runtime hooks for safer cache reuse.
Improved cache metadata validation, cleanup, and failure handling.
Clarified cache warm-up behavior, including when entering a world or additional runs may create more entries.
Added reproducible standalone Thunderstore and Nexus release packaging.