Early Access

March 13, 2023 14:31

Early Access is a feature for Roll20 that allows access the latest developments to the Roll20 application. Pro subscribers can opt-in to certain features as they are made available in order to get a first look and provide feedback before the full release.

Note: This page is about a feature exclusive to Pro subscribers, or to players in a Game created by a subscriber. If you'd like to use this feature, consider upgrading your account.

Activating Early Access

Early Access for Pro subscribers is always active! That said, most features fall into two categories: Opt-In or Immediately Available.

Opt-In Early Access features require a selection by Pro subscribers. The steps to opt-in for these features can vary depending on what is being released. For example, an early access Dynamic Lighting feature may be under page settings, while an early access Voice and Video feature may be within the in-game settings.

Immediately Available Early Access features tend to be improvements or new options to already existing tools. For example, during Early Access, Windows and Doors were immediately available to be used and did not require enabling them; these were options within the drawing tools for Dynamic Lighting and their usage was up to you.

You can keep an eye on our change log as well as blog posts and forum posts to be notified when an Early Access feature becomes available and how to opt-in if you are interested.

Things to Keep in Mind

Early Access encompasses the most recent features that have not been fully released. As a result, there may be a few bugs still lingering while we continue development. Early Access features tend to also be accompanied by discussion posts -- please keep all discussion about Early Access features in the Pro forum.

FAQ

Q: What happens if the Early Access feature is game-breaking?

A: While we QA our releases, some features create unintended behaviors. We’ll patch or rollback anything that is game-breaking.

Q: How long do features stay in Early Access?

A: Generally, we aim for two weeks before it is available to all users, but this may change depending on circumstances from feature to feature.

Q: What happened to the Dev Server?

A: Over time, we experimented with the ability to make features available without requiring the extra need to log into a different server. We saw continued decline in Dev Server usage and growing engagement with new features on Early Access. As of March 15, 2023 the Dev Server is retired.