Update 0.8.x Feature Prioritization Vote

With the release of Foundry version 0.7.5 now accomplished it will be soon time to turn my attention towards the 0.8.x update series. As with 0.7.x, the Patreon supporter community will play a very important role in determining one of the major features that will be a focus of the 0.8.x series. In the prior vote, Active Effects Phase One was the winning entry, and the new Active Effects system represents the outcome of that community vote.

In an effort to accomplish a more frequent and less disruptive release schedule, I will be reducing the scope of 0.8.x to only focus on two major features before putting together a stable release build. I will be choosing one of these features myself based on what I view as the most important priority for the overall health of the software, and the second major feature will be chosen by the Patreon community. To participate in that decision-making process, please choose the feature which you feel to be most important to you from the below list of options. The options are presented in alphabetical order.

Feature Choices

Advanced Template Effects and Auras which will improve upon the Measured Template system to add advanced template animations for common elemental and damage types with support for effects like fireballs, ice blasts, lightning bolts, and more. Additionally, there will be support to attach a Measured Templates to a Token which can allow it to be rendered as a aura effect which moves in sync with the Token that created it.

Card Decks and Hands which will extend the Roll Tables system to include a special type of table represents a Card Deck. A Card Deck will have a special UI, and which cards have been drawn from the Deck will be tracked at the User level in the concept of a Hand as well as API to support typical operations like shuffles, draws, discards, and more. This feature will add official API support to use card decks as well as an interface for users to create their own custom decks.

Event Triggers (Phase 1) which will add the foundation for a comprehensive system for scripted or triggered events. You will be able to define trigger regions on a map with a variety of triggering conditions including (but not limited to) tokens moving into or across the region. When the trigger condition is activated, the event trigger will execute a linked Macro which will be executed for all users, allowing for the configuration of sophisticated scripted events like revealing enemies, warping between linked locations, toggling lighting conditions, or activating a trap.

Improved Wall Types which are made possible by the advancements in wall detection and vision handling in 0.7.x. This feature will implement new wall functionality like curved walls which allow a wall segment to be transformed into an arc which can smoothly connect two points with a curved segment. This will allow for rounded building or terrain shapes to be made using far fewer line segments which will improve the accuracy of dynamic lighting as well as (potentially) improve performance by reducing the count Wall objects in each Scene.

Improved Weather Effects which will expand and iterate upon the initial Weather Effects framework to improve upon it using advanced WebGL shaders (like the new ones used for lighting), incorporating a wider variety of built-in effects, augmenting visual weather effects with accompanying sound effects, and improving weather performance for large maps by optimizing the particle emitters used for weather. This feature will also support the definition of weather-free zones where weather effects are not applied.

Overhead Tiles which add a new canvas layer above Tokens that can be used to display overhead obstacles like building roofs, tree tops, overpass bridges, or other obstacles. The overhead tiles feature will include a system for marking certain regions which can mask them as excluded from "outdoor" effects like weather and global illumination. When Tokens move underneath an overhead Tile - the tile will fade away dynamically to reveal the Token beneath.

Placeable Items which will allow Item entities to be placed inside a Scene. Placed items can be activated or picked up by an Actor, potentially triggering scripted actions. Placed items will be able to use image or video artwork and to have their appearance customized with color tinting or other image manipulations.

Player Client which will provide a free downloadable application that players can use to connect to a Foundry Virtual Tabletop game session instead of using a web browser. The configuration of the native player application would be optimized for performance and the standard browser settings which work best for Foundry VTT.

Simple Fog of War which provides an alternative to the default dynamic fog of war system. Simple fog of war would provide GMs with an option to manually manage fog exploration by concealing or revealing areas with a brush or polygon.

Please Cast Your Vote!

My own choice for the 0.8.x feature that I will prioritize is Audio Enhancements which will improve the performance and functionality of Audio Playlists and Ambient Sound sources.

The most popular choice from this poll will be prioritized as the second major feature for update series 0.8.x. The runners-up will help define prioritization for future updates and polls. You may only select one option, so choose the feature which is most important to you. Thank you for sharing your preferences and influencing the post-release development roadmap of Foundry Virtual Tabletop.

In addition to voting, please share your thoughts in the comment section below!