Beta 0.4.0 Update Download (Patreon)

Greetings to all my wonderful supporters and friends. Today marks a significant milestone for Foundry Virtual Tabletop as the software moves into the 0.4.x version on the path towards release. This is a major update version which evolves the software in some very significant ways. 

You can read the extensive Beta 0.4.0 release notes <COMING SOON>. In addition to the update notes, it is critical for your testing experience that you read this post carefully. Version 0.4.0 works differently in many ways which are important to understand. 

Things you need to know.

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

2. 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.

3. 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 In a follow-up update I will add a way for users to authorize an out-of-date module to still be used.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.

4. 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. 

• Windows: %localappdata%/FoundryVTT
• Linux: ~/.local/share/FoundryVTT
• MacOS: ~/Library/Application Support/FoundryVTT

Within these user data locations there are sub-directories for Config, Data, and Logs. Within the Data directory are the locations where system, module, and world packages are installed. Content included within the Data directory is served as static content and may be used within the VTT application. Other files which should not be accessible to the client (like SSH keys) should be placed in the Config directory.

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 0.4.0. 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 0.4.0.

 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.

Download Instructions

It is not possible to update from an existing Foundry VTT version to this new version. You must download and create a fresh installation. Full download links for different versions are below:

Windows: https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/040-2ls945jkl23k/FoundryVTT-0.4.0-Setup.exe

Linux: https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/040-2ls945jkl23k/foundryvtt-0.4.0.zip

MacOS:https://foundryvtt.s3-us-west-2.amazonaws.com/releases/040-2ls945jkl23k/foundryvtt-0.4.0.zip

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

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