Releasing Fusion without Steam (v0)

BUILD.md steps 6.4-6.6. Code: tools/fusion-cli/src/release.rs (making a release), tools/fusion-launcher (Fusion.exe: installer, launcher, updater), crates/fusion-core/src/release.rs (the release feed, installs, crash reports).

Making a release¶

From the repository, with Godot 4.7.2 at its usual place:

target\debug\fusion-cli.exe release build --version 0.2.0 --out target\release-steonmod --key %USERPROFILE%\SteonMod-keys\official-release.key --notes "What's new, in a sentence."

It builds Fusion's binaries in release mode, puts a self-contained copy together, imports its resources and plays a scenario with it (the test game in Fusion's playground, with the release's own engine) before packing anything. Out of it, in target/release-out/:

File	What it is
`Fusion-Setup-0.2.0.exe`	the installer new players download
`Fusion-0.2.0.zip`	the same Fusion, for updates
`releases.toml` + `.sig`	the signed release feed the launcher reads
`hub-packages/*.fusion`	game routers (VEIN, Minecraft) as signed packages for the content hub
`stage/0.2.0/`	the unpacked copy (and `smoke.log`)

What a release holds: engine/godot.exe (Godot 4.7.2, MIT), godot/ (the project without its tests; fusion.gdextension points at bin/), bin/ (Fusion's programs and the Unreal kit's DLL), routers/ (only Fusion's own: fusion, fake, sdk-example), the scenarios those can play, kits/ (the Unreal kit's Lua and agent pack, the Fabric kit's jar), creator docs, THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md, THIRD-PARTY-LICENSES.txt (every Rust crate's license, from cargo metadata) and version.txt. Game routers are never in the base app (VISION.md §11 rule 1): they're packages on the content hub, so a takedown removes a router, not Fusion.

Publishing on steonmod.com¶

Fusion is hosted on steonmod.com (the user's site, SteonModWeb; its DEPLOY.md has the details). The site serves everything as plain signed files from its data/fusion/ folder:

Address	What	Fusion's default
`/fusion/releases/releases.toml` (+ `.sig`, zips, installers)	the release feed	`settings::DEFAULT_UPDATES`
`/fusion/hub/index.toml` (+ `.sig`, `feed.toml`, `packages/`)	the content hub	`settings::DEFAULT_HUB`
`/api/fusion/compat`	compatibility reports (POST), their totals (GET)	`settings::DEFAULT_REPORTS`
`/download`, `/routers`, `/docs`	the pages people see

From the site's folder, after a release build:

npm run sync-docs
npm run stage-fusion -- --release ..\SteonMod\target\release-steonmod --key %USERPROFILE%\SteonMod-keys\official-release.key
.\deploy\push.ps1 -Server root@SERVER
.\deploy\push-fusion.ps1 -Server root@SERVER

stage-fusion copies the release and its feed, packages each game router again with package router (the publish check) and adds it to the hub with hub add (which needs a passing conformance report), skips versions already on the hub, and signs the hub's feed. A router that can't be published is listed with the reason. To take a router down for everyone, add --no-routers --block <router>:"reason" and push the files again. Moving to another host is copying data/fusion/ and changing the three defaults.

Installing, as a player sees it¶

Fusion-Setup-<v>.exe asks once, then installs for the current user (no administrator rights) into %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Fusion:

Fusion.exe          the launcher
current.txt         which version runs
versions\<v>\       a whole Fusion; the version before is kept

It adds Start menu and desktop shortcuts, an entry in Windows' installed apps (Uninstall works from there, or Fusion.exe --uninstall), and opens .fusion package files with Fusion (double-click → the content browser). Uninstalling asks before removing the player's own data (%LOCALAPPDATA%\Fusion: settings, signing key, installed content), and keeps it by default.

Updates¶

Each start, Fusion.exe reads the release feed (if Settings has an update address; offline is fine), checks its official signature, and offers a newer version with its notes. The zip must match the feed's sha256 and size; it unpacks to a temporary folder and is renamed into place, so a failed update never leaves half a version. Only the current version and the one before are kept.

When Fusion crashes¶

The launcher notices (Windows' exit code), saves a report with the end of Fusion's log in %LOCALAPPDATA%\Fusion\crashes\, and says so. If the crash came within 30 s of an update, it offers to go back to the version before. Next time, the main menu mentions the report once.

Before starting a game, the session looks for a crash reporter that game left open (CrashReportClient.exe, UnityCrashHandler64.exe, BugSplat): Steam won't start a game while its reporter is open, so Fusion says so and offers Close it.

Still the user's decision (it costs money)¶

A code-signing certificate. Without one, Windows SmartScreen warns about the installer ("Windows protected your PC" → More info → Run anyway) and some antivirus tools may flag a program that starts and talks to games. With a certificate: sign Fusion.exe, the installer and bin\* with signtool sign /fd sha256 /tr <timestamp URL> /td sha256 ... before zipping.
False positives: submit the installer to Microsoft (www.microsoft.com/wdsi/filesubmission) and to any vendor that flags it.