diff --git a/build-vulcast-vertical.ps1 b/build-vulcast-vertical.ps1
index c58d711..917fe2c 100644
--- a/build-vulcast-vertical.ps1
+++ b/build-vulcast-vertical.ps1
@@ -2,12 +2,13 @@
 <#
 .SYNOPSIS
     Builds the Vulcast Vertical OBS plugin DLL.
-    CMake handles all dependency downloads and OBS builds automatically.
-    Re-run to rebuild only (deps are cached by cmake).
+    Builds OBS manually, then the plugin links against it.
 #>
 $ErrorActionPreference = 'Stop'
 $ProgressPreference = 'SilentlyContinue'
 
+$OBS_VERSION = '31.1.1'
+$DEPS_DATE = '2025-07-11'
 $WORK = "$env:TEMP\vulcast-build"
 $SRC = "$WORK\vulcast-vertical"
 
@@ -51,10 +52,7 @@ if (-not $vsPath) {
         exit 1
     }
     $vsPath = Find-MSVC
-    if (-not $vsPath) {
-        Write-Error "Installed but not found. Restart terminal and run again."
-        exit 1
-    }
+    if (-not $vsPath) { Write-Error "Restart terminal and run again."; exit 1 }
     Write-Host "[OK] Installed: $vsPath`n" -ForegroundColor Green
 } else {
     Write-Host "[OK] Build Tools: $vsPath`n" -ForegroundColor Green
@@ -62,8 +60,6 @@ if (-not $vsPath) {
 
 $vcvars = Get-ChildItem -Path $vsPath -Recurse -Filter 'vcvarsall.bat' -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue |
     Select-Object -First 1 -ExpandProperty FullName
-if (-not $vcvars) { Write-Error "vcvarsall.bat not found"; exit 1 }
-
 Write-Host "Setting up MSVC x64..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
 cmd /c "`"$vcvars`" x64 >nul 2>&1 && set" | ForEach-Object {
     if ($_ -match '^([^=]+)=(.*)$') {
@@ -72,25 +68,77 @@ cmd /c "`"$vcvars`" x64 >nul 2>&1 && set" | ForEach-Object {
 }
 if (Get-Command cl.exe -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) { Write-Host "[OK] cl.exe ready`n" -ForegroundColor Green }
 
-# ---------- Download source (skip if exists) ----------
+# ---------- Directories ----------
 New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $WORK -Force | Out-Null
+$DEPS = "$WORK\deps"
+$OBS = "$WORK\obs-studio"
+
+# ---------- Step 1: Source ----------
+Write-Host "[1/5] Source code" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 if (-not (Test-Path "$SRC\CMakeLists.txt")) {
-    Write-Host "Downloading source..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Write-Host "  Downloading..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
     Invoke-WebRequest -Uri 'https://vulcast.xyz/dl/vulcast-vertical-source.zip' -OutFile "$WORK\source.zip"
     Expand-Archive -Path "$WORK\source.zip" -DestinationPath $WORK -Force
-    Write-Host ""
 }
 
-# ---------- Build (cmake handles all deps automatically) ----------
-Write-Host "Configuring plugin (cmake downloads OBS + deps on first run)..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+# ---------- Step 2: OBS source ----------
+Write-Host "[2/5] OBS Studio source" -ForegroundColor Cyan
+if (-not (Test-Path "$OBS\CMakeLists.txt")) {
+    Write-Host "  Downloading..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-studio/archive/refs/tags/$OBS_VERSION.zip" -OutFile "$WORK\obs.zip"
+    Expand-Archive -Path "$WORK\obs.zip" -DestinationPath $WORK -Force
+    if (Test-Path "$WORK\obs-studio-$OBS_VERSION") { Rename-Item "$WORK\obs-studio-$OBS_VERSION" $OBS }
+}
+
+# ---------- Step 3: Dependencies ----------
+Write-Host "[3/5] OBS pre-built dependencies" -ForegroundColor Cyan
+New-Item -ItemType Directory -Path $DEPS -Force | Out-Null
+if (-not (Test-Path "$DEPS\include\obs")) {
+    $depsUrl = "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-deps/releases/download/$DEPS_DATE/windows-deps-$DEPS_DATE-x64.zip"
+    Write-Host "  Downloading deps (~60MB)..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $depsUrl -OutFile "$DEPS\deps.zip"
+    Expand-Archive -Path "$DEPS\deps.zip" -DestinationPath $DEPS -Force
+}
+if (-not (Test-Path "$DEPS\lib\cmake\Qt6")) {
+    $qt6Url = "https://github.com/obsproject/obs-deps/releases/download/$DEPS_DATE/windows-deps-qt6-$DEPS_DATE-x64.zip"
+    Write-Host "  Downloading Qt6 (~250MB)..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
+    Invoke-WebRequest -Uri $qt6Url -OutFile "$DEPS\qt6.zip"
+    Expand-Archive -Path "$DEPS\qt6.zip" -DestinationPath $DEPS -Force
+}
+
+# ---------- Step 4: Build OBS ----------
+Write-Host "[4/5] Building OBS libraries" -ForegroundColor Cyan
+$obsBuild = "$OBS\build_x64"
+if (-not (Test-Path "$obsBuild\libobs\Release\obs.lib")) {
+    cmake -S $OBS -B $obsBuild `
+        -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 `
+        -DENABLE_PLUGINS=OFF `
+        -DENABLE_UI=OFF `
+        -DENABLE_SCRIPTING=OFF `
+        -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$DEPS" 2>&1 | Write-Host
+
+    cmake --build $obsBuild --config Debug --target obs-frontend-api -- /m /noLogo 2>&1 | Write-Host
+    cmake --build $obsBuild --config Release --target obs-frontend-api -- /m /noLogo 2>&1 | Write-Host
+
+    # Install to deps dir so plugin can find it
+    cmake --install $obsBuild --component Development --config Debug --prefix "$DEPS" 2>&1 | Write-Host
+    cmake --install $obsBuild --component Development --config Release --prefix "$DEPS" 2>&1 | Write-Host
+} else {
+    Write-Host "  OBS libs (cached)" -ForegroundColor DarkGray
+}
+
+# ---------- Step 5: Build plugin ----------
+Write-Host "[5/5] Building Vulcast Vertical" -ForegroundColor Cyan
 Push-Location $SRC
 
 cmake -S . -B build `
     -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 `
     -DBUILD_OUT_OF_TREE=On `
-    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release 2>&1 | Write-Host
+    -DCMAKE_PREFIX_PATH="$DEPS" `
+    -DQT_VERSION=6 `
+    -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release `
+    -DFETCHCONTENT_FULLY_DISCONNECTED=ON 2>&1 | Write-Host
 
-Write-Host "`nBuilding..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
 cmake --build build --config Release -- /m /noLogo 2>&1 | Write-Host
 Pop-Location