Beta 0.4.1 Update Key (Patreon)

Greetings esteemed supporters! I'm thrilled to be back with yet another Foundry Virtual Tabletop Beta release with Version 0.4.1. You are perhaps wondering why this release comes so soon after the previous 0.4.0 update. I am pursuing a new update strategy between now and release which I hope will provide a smoother experience for testers in both the Council and Beta supporter tiers. Effective immediately, even numbered release (for example 0.4.0) focus on large changes and more meaningful feature additions. These even numbered releases will be made available to the Council tier only for a period of 5-7 days, at which point an odd-numbered release (for example 0.4.1) will release for both Council and Beta including a number of fixes, adjustments, and improvements related to the prior release's additions. As such, this 0.4.1 update is available immediately for all tester tiers as it resolves and improves upon a number of the limitations and weaknesses of last Friday's 0.4.0 release.

The focus of this update is bug fixes, tweaks, adjustments, and stability improvements to the 0.4.0 release from last week. There are a number of bug fixes, as well as some feature changes in response to user feedback. There is also a new D&D5E system update (version 0.71) which adds some cool new features as well as fixes and changes from last week's version.

You can read the full update notes for both versions here:

Beta 0.4.0:  https://www.patreon.com/posts/31606115

Beta 0.4.1: https://www.patreon.com/posts/31736228

Things you need to know.

1. It is intentionally not possible to update from 0.3.x to this version. If you were previously on version 0.3.x you must download a new version and install it in a separate location.

2. It is possible to update from version 0.4.0 to 0.4.1. If you were previously on version 0.4.0 you may use the update key provided below.

3. Due to the new structure, there are not any game systems or modules which come preinstalled. You must choose which systems and modules to install yourself. This is a temporary decision - I will be working to provide an easy approach for new users to get started without needing to install additional content.

4. Game systems and modules which have not been explicitly updated to support version 0.4.0 will not work. In a follow-up update I will add a way for users to authorize an out-of-date module to still be used. In the short term it is important for me to collect test feedback which avoids issues due to unsupported module interactions.

5. Configuration data (launch options, SSH keys, etc...) and installed packages (Systems, Modules, Worlds) are now stored in a user data directory outside of the application installation location.  See here for more details:  http://foundryvtt.com/pages/hosting.html#where-do-i-put-my-data 

What does all this mean?

There are two major conclusions you should draw from these changes.

1. If you are using Foundry Virtual Tabletop for a live campaign, please be sure to move very carefully when adopting version 0.4.x. Allow yourself extra time (2-3 hours) to familiarize yourself with the new update and be sure to create a permanent backup of your world before attempting to load it in 0.4.x.

 2. If you view certain modules or systems as mandatory for your Foundry VTT experience, you should wait some time in order to allow module authors to update their packages for the new required structure.

Full Download Links (from 0.3.x)

Windows: https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/041-lkfd87431j3j/FoundryVTT-0.4.1-Setup.exe

Linux: https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/041-lkfd87431j3j/foundryvtt-0.4.1.zip

MacOS: https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/041-lkfd87431j3j/foundryvtt-0.4.1.zip

Note that MacOS requires running as Node.js. I'm still working on the MacOS Electron build.

Direct Update Key (from 0.4.0 ONLY)

If (and only if) you were previously using version 0.4.0, you may update directly using the following update key: 041-lkfd87431j3j

Compatible Systems

There are two game systems which are ready to use with Beta 0.4.0 compatibility. The links to their system manifest files are provided below so you can quickly install them to get up and running in the new Beta build.

D&D5E: https://gitlab.com/foundrynet/dnd5e/raw/master/system.json 

Simple Worldbuilding: https://gitlab.com/foundrynet/worldbuilding/raw/master/system.json

Providing Feedback

The feedback cycle for this release is extremely important. There are many large changes where I will be keenly paying attention to feedback to continue building upon this new framework. There are three ways to provide feedback which I have ordered according to my preference. 

1. Discord Channel. My preferred method to collect feedback is through our Discord server where I have created a dedicated channel for Beta 0.4.0 feedback. If you are able to join our Discord community it's the best way to engage with me directly for feedback.

2. GitLab Tracker. You are welcome to create issue reports directly in the GitLab tracker here ( https://gitlab.com/foundrynet/foundryvtt/issues ). If you choose to create issues in GitLab please take extra caution to check that your problem has not already been reported by checking other recently reported issues before creating a new report.

3. Direct Email. If the prior methods do not work for you, please feel free to email me directly with your feedback (admin@foundryvtt.com).

Thank you all so much for your support and your patience, especially with this update which I realize is quite disruptive.

Andrew