Greetings, Forge community!
It’s been a little while since our last developer update, and we’re back with some exciting things to share.
In the latest livestream, we talked about a lot. From service issues, to the path to V14 on The Forge, and even some cool news about our new board game tool — including our new Game Library page on The Forge website, where we show off the demos we've created to test it out.
If you missed the livestream, don’t worry – we'll be posting the full recording on YouTube soon. In the meantime, here’s a quick recap.
Recent Issues and Fixes
We started by talking about some of the issues users have been running into recently, especially with modules, systems, and even worlds seeming to break at random.
The common thread behind these issues was database errors in packages. Modules, systems, and worlds all contain databases and other data, and in some cases those databases were becoming corrupted. The good news is that this was not irreversible, but it could still cause problems that made a package or world behave in ways it shouldn’t.
A bug had slipped through where some of the work we had done to adapt Foundry VTT for the cloud was not being passed on properly to Foundry, which meant those databases were not being repaired as intended. The issue was made worse by a few other things, including files getting locked in the file system, which also needed to be addressed.
We’re not entirely sure why this started coming up so noticeably over the past few weeks, but it helped us find the underlying issue and fix it moving forward. We apologize to our users for the inconvenience and thank you for your patience.
The Path to V14 on The Forge
We were also joined by Eranziel, our Senior Software Developer, to talk about new Foundry VTT versions on The Forge, what it takes to get them ready for recommendation, and what users can expect when the next major version starts making its way through the process.
Foundry VTT V14 was released in April and became available on The Forge shortly afterwards, but it was not recommended until a few months later. Being available and being ready to recommend are two different things. There is a lot of testing and work behind the scenes before we can confidently say that a new version is ready for everyone to use.
We talked through what happens when Foundry Gaming begins releasing early versions of the next major update, why a version can take some time to move from available to recommended, and why V14 has needed so much attention.
We also touched on V14 Build 367 and the work that went into it. We’re happy to announce that it is now available on The Forge. Thank you to everyone for bearing with us on this wait, especially those who needed it to access the latest premium content.
V14 Build 368 is next, and will hopefully be coming soon!
Other Fixes and Improvements
V14 has taken a lot of priority, but it is far from the only thing the team has been working on since our last livestream.
We have made a number of fixes to the Bazaar updater. Most recently, we fixed an issue that could cause the Bazaar to install content that was not compatible with a user’s version of Foundry VTT. We are still aware of some pending issues around verifying system compatibility, but this was an important fix to get out.
We also finally fixed the issue that was logging some users out far too often, sometimes even in the middle of a session. That one was especially frustrating, so we’re very glad to see it gone.
There have also been plenty of internal fixes and infrastructure improvements happening behind the scenes, including our completed transition from DigitalOcean to OVH.
A New Home for Forge-Made Mini-Games
We also had a chance to show off the new BGK Game Library page.
Adrian, our Senior UI/UX Designer, took us through some of the mini-games we’ve made so far, from spooky and holiday-themed games to our solitaire-inspired titles. It has been fun experimenting with different kinds of games and seeing where these ideas can go.
The newly launched game page gives all of these games a dedicated home and makes them easier to find and explore in one place. You can check them out in the BGK Game Library.
And there is more on the way: a new game is coming soon, so stay tuned! 👀
BGK Update
The new BGK Game Library page was also a great opportunity for Andie, one of our UI/UX Designers, to talk a little more about BGK, or Board Game Kit – the tool used to make all of these games.
For anyone who is new to it, BGK is a design tool for game creators of all kinds. Making your own board games is BGK’s first priority, so we are designing tools that make creating games easier and make it simple to share several prototypes with players. Those prototype sessions are called playtests.
Because your prototypes and playtests are digital, you do not need to spend the time or money manufacturing a physical game until you are really sure and happy with your creation.
Right now, the team is working on a fully playable game made in BGK using the tool’s own components, without scripting, and with online multiplayer. The multiplayer side has turned out to be a little trickier than expected, but the team is hard at work on it.
The game will be a reVAMP of Not Alone, with the emphasis on “VAMP” because it is going to be a little spooky. Once it is ready, you will be able to click a link to create your own game session, then share that session with friends so you can play together.
If you would like to help test BGK, you can join our BGK Beta Discord server.
If you would like to learn more about the thinking behind BGK, you can read our recent BGK deep dive, where we look at five ways we have been working to make online prototyping faster.
We have also been sharing a few short BGK Dev Peeks. You can find the full playlist here.
New Tutorial Videos
We know that sometimes you just need a quick answer without having to dig through a longer guide, so we’ve been working on more tutorial videos for Forge features.
Our latest videos cover two useful topics:
- Backing Up Your Assets Library, for anyone who wants to make sure their assets are safely stored.
- How to Purchase and Send Gift Cards on The Forge, if you are looking to send a little Forge gift to someone in your group.
We have more tutorial content in the works, so keep an eye on our YouTube channel for future guides.
As usual, we gave away a $20 Forge Gift Card during the livestream. It can be used towards a Forge subscription or for purchases on The Bazaar. Thanks to everyone who took part!
Bazaar Showcase
We also took some time to highlight some fantastic packages available on The Bazaar:
Commoners Stylized Dwarf by NVart
Saint Festal's Church by Eledryll
Modern & Post-Apo Hospital by Arcadia’s Creation
And the free package: pf2E Extempore Effects by a bunch of contributors, but mainly Shemetz
Wrapping Up
That’s it for this developer update!
Thank you to everyone who joined us for the livestream and asked questions in chat. It was great to be back, and we’re looking forward to sharing more as the rest of the year goes on.
If you want to keep up with future developer updates, community news and more, make sure to join our News & Blog notification channel, or follow us on social media:
Until next time, may your rolls be lucky! 🎲
