Hexforged 0.0.1 — Development foundation

🔨 Hexforged 0.0.1 — Development foundation

Channel: Prerelease · Source: 18e3ea0

The first Hexforged foundation preview now includes Windows and Linux desktop downloads. These clients display the prototype calibration scene; they are not yet a playable ARPG. The existing signed tag has not been changed to include later development work.

✨ Highlights

• Desktop client packages for Windows and Linux x86_64.
• An original Blender calibration asset rendered through Unity URP.
• Per-file provenance and SHA-256 archive checksums.

📦 Client downloads

Extract the entire archive and keep its executable and data folders together.

Platform	Download	Size
Windows x86_64	Hexforged-0.0.1-windows-x64.zip	44,632,853 bytes
Linux x86_64	Hexforged-0.0.1-linux-x64.tar.gz	40,947,319 bytes
Checksums	SHA256SUMS.txt	Both client archives

These are persistent-window foundation previews, not the earlier auto-exiting smoke executables. GitHub's automatic source archives contain source code rather than installed clients.

🚀 Installation and launch

🪟 Windows

1. Extract the ZIP into a writable folder.
2. Launch Hexforged.exe from the extracted package.
3. No account or server connection is available in this version.

🐧 Linux

1. Extract the archive with executable permissions preserved.
2. Open a terminal in the extracted directory.
3. Run ./Hexforged.x86_64 -force-vulkan using an X11 display, Vulkan loader, and compatible graphics driver. This is the verified renderer route; other display/renderer combinations remain unverified.

🖥️ Tested configurations

Windows startup was checked at 1280×720 with Direct3D 11. Linux startup was checked at 1280×720 in Ubuntu 22.04 userspace with Xvfb, libvulkan1, and NVIDIA hardware rendering. These limited startup checks do not establish minimum requirements, broad distribution support, or a 60/120 FPS guarantee.

🎮 Available in this version

A static calibration scene for verifying the initial art/build pipeline. Hero movement, combat, login, multiplayer, progression, saves, base building, and the JSON gameplay interface are not implemented in this tag. There is no playable campaign yet.

🛠️ Detailed changes

🎨 Art and interface

• Original Blender asset and Unity scene establish the initial asset round trip.
• Prototype branding and UI sample assets are present in the source; they are not a finished in-game interface.
• All game-facing art remains prototype material.

⚙️ Engineering and delivery

• Unity 6000.6.0f1 / URP foundation with documented architecture, development workflow, and build tooling.
• Non-development Mono client builds select the already-tagged Calibration scene using a separately recorded Editor-only build helper.
• Unity serialized generated render settings and resolved Linux SDK/toolchain packages at 1.1.0 during the build. Provenance identifies the tagged source origin; bit-for-bit reproducibility is not claimed.
• Client archives exclude compiled servers and Unity's do-not-ship backup directories.
• Later session-domain tests, coverage implementation, and dependency updates on develop are not part of this runtime tag.

🧪 Validation and quality

Check	Result
Windows client build	Succeeded; 0 errors, 3 warnings
Windows startup	Direct3D 11; alive for 10 seconds; stopped by harness
Linux client build	Succeeded; 0 errors, 3 warnings
Linux startup	NVIDIA Vulkan; alive for 15 seconds; stopped by harness SIGTERM, exit 0
Archive verification	All 198 Windows and 193 Linux payload hashes verified; Linux executable mode preserved
Automated gameplay tests / production coverage	Not implemented for this tag; later develop evidence is separate
Performance / audio	Not benchmarked; Linux audio unverified

Linux initially lacked the Vulkan loader in the isolated test image. Adding the loader resolved startup without changing the client. The container had no audio device and logged FMOD/ALSA warnings before falling back to silent output. Windows required harness termination, so that test does not verify ordinary user-driven shutdown.

🐛 Known issues and limitations

• This release is a development foundation, not a playable game.
• Art, presentation, and branding integration are unfinished.
• Linux Wayland/native desktop variations and audio output have not been validated.
• Startup success does not demonstrate visual quality, long-session stability, multiplayer, or frame-rate targets.

🔄 Compatibility and upgrading

There are no saves, player accounts, or gameplay network protocols to migrate in 0.0.1. Extract this preview into its own directory. Future versions may change all prototype behavior and assets.

🔐 Checksums and provenance

Each archive contains provenance.json: source tag and commit, build GUID/configuration, Editor-only helper digest, and packaged-file hashes. The source tag is signed; no separate Hexforged binary-signing identity was applied to these packages.

144ae2fe021a013a8a5bec1b7b76fe735b1cbfc3f5068ccdc0485dcf2c1f82f2  Hexforged-0.0.1-windows-x64.zip
b633bf48e9655ac9232c29b5aafc50da4a5d1be3d19d83f07473734de68578d9  Hexforged-0.0.1-linux-x64.tar.gz

🪟 Windows checksum

Get-FileHash .\Hexforged-0.0.1-windows-x64.zip -Algorithm SHA256

🐧 Linux checksum

sha256sum Hexforged-0.0.1-linux-x64.tar.gz

Compare the result with the matching line in SHA256SUMS.txt before extracting.

🖥️ Server distribution

Compiled server builds are private and are not included in this public release. A separate private distribution repository is planned.

🗺️ Roadmap and feedback

• Client release tracking and evidence
• Project board and roadmap
• Milestones
• Report an issue
• Hexforged website
• Hexforged Discord

This is the initial release. When reporting problems, include version 0.0.1, your platform, reproduction steps, and relevant logs with personal information removed.