DCS pace of development

[frumpy]

Hi guys,

 

since weeks I'm getting the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled.

 

Checking the news, there are only little changes - like the recent posts of the A-10 flight modelling and the "brrt" sound from the outside

view. These things have been made/announced before and were presented like they were new additions. Also this week,

just a sale and that's it. Months ago the team said that bugs are taken care of, but I have not seen many bugfixes.

Is it due to Corona (=I'm having more time to check the weekend newsletter) or what is going on?

 

No intend to upset anyone, I'm just trying to understand whats going on under the hood.

 

Olli

[draconus]

You have little insight into what is in the development beside what they tell you. Newsletters are not job reports. If you read the forum more you'd know better. Just wait for the next update for any real impression.

[Madfish]

You have little insight into what is in the development beside what they tell you. Newsletters are not job reports. If you read the forum more you'd know better. Just wait for the next update for any real impression.

 

I'm sure what he means by "having the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled" he means that he as a user / customer doesn't see progress.

Thus it'd obviously be the job of newsletters to inform about progress made as you're totally right, as a non developer there is no insight into the code base.

 

That aside do you have recommendations of dedicated sections and threads in the forums that report on the development progress that's not mentioned in the newsletters / patchlogs?

[Nodak]

Your no longer getting the same amount of open beta updates due to extreme whining. So it appears everything slowed down from your perspective. Complain to the never happy crowd.

[Rudel_chw]

I fly what I currently have and works relatively bug-free .. no point in worrying about aircrafts, weapons or features that we don't have yet.

[Zoomer]

Hi guys,

 

since weeks I'm getting the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled.

 

Checking the news, there are only little changes - like the recent posts of the A-10 flight modelling and the "brrt" sound from the outside

view. These things have been made/announced before and were presented like they were new additions. Also this week,

just a sale and that's it. Months ago the team said that bugs are taken care of, but I have not seen many bugfixes.

Is it due to Corona (=I'm having more time to check the weekend newsletter) or what is going on?

 

No intend to upset anyone, I'm just trying to understand whats going on under the hood.

 

Olli

 

Have a look, seems a fair bit is in the works.

[MrDieing]

This is the only thing I can think of

 

[ShamrockOneFive]

Seems like there's a lot going on right now but it's the kind of thing that isn't yet ready to be spectacular. The Mi-24P, the Mosquito, the new weather engine, the dynamic campaign engine, the all new rendergraph engine, the new damage model system... we've seen mentions of all of these over the last three months. We also just got some long awaited updates for the F-16.

 

Some of these items have long lead times and we may not see them for a year or more while others are coming soon (the latest is the Mi-24P in Q1 2021 and the Mosquito before the end of the year). Sometimes there are lulls in the excitement. Doesn't mean nothing is going on.

[Bob1]

Hi guys,

 

since weeks I'm getting the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled.

 

Checking the news, there are only little changes - like the recent posts of the A-10 flight modelling and the "brrt" sound from the outside

view. These things have been made/announced before and were presented like they were new additions. Also this week,

just a sale and that's it. Months ago the team said that bugs are taken care of, but I have not seen many bugfixes.

Is it due to Corona (=I'm having more time to check the weekend newsletter) or what is going on?

 

No intend to upset anyone, I'm just trying to understand whats going on under the hood.

 

Olli

 

The usual crowd will always get upset by questions like these. They love to come down on people with their condescending attitude with a touch of elitist twist to it. They cant handle questions from ordinary users and call you a "whiner" for just about anything unless you conform and hit the floor with all your paws in the air.

[BIGNEWY]

Hi guys,

 

since weeks I'm getting the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled.

 

Checking the news, there are only little changes - like the recent posts of the A-10 flight modelling and the "brrt" sound from the outside

view. These things have been made/announced before and were presented like they were new additions. Also this week,

just a sale and that's it. Months ago the team said that bugs are taken care of, but I have not seen many bugfixes.

Is it due to Corona (=I'm having more time to check the weekend newsletter) or what is going on?

 

No intend to upset anyone, I'm just trying to understand whats going on under the hood.

 

Olli

 

Hi

 

your impression is wrong.

 

We are on a monthly patch cycle now so it may seem like not a lot is going on when in fact the team are working hard, and the next patch planned for the 4th of November will have new fixes and tweaks.

 

Patience is required as usual and we know it can be difficult for some, but the work can not be rushed.

 

best regards

BIGNEWY

Edited October 24, 2020 by BIGNEWY

[Rudel_chw]

 

The usual crowd will always get upset by questions like these. They love to come down on people with their condescending attitude with a touch of elitist twist to it. They cant handle questions from ordinary users and call you a "whiner" for just about anything unless you conform and hit the floor with all your paws in the air.

 

You didn't answer his question either :unsure:

 

 

[David OC]

Just remember DCS is not just a simple game that can be thrown together (Very complex and integrated etc). It's used and mostly "payed" for by contracts. It has to be good for that, it needs to keep pace for that and be done right.

So it's in ED's best interest to push forward.

 

The Future of 'Digital Combat Sim' (DCS) with Eagle Dynamics' Simon Pearson

Full interview

 

Military using DCS for VR training

?t=732

 

Pilots learn more about real BVR by facing missiles in sim.

?t=880

 

Some DCS commercial contracts

?t=936

 

 

 

[aldox]

 

Hi

 

your impression is wrong.

 

We are on a monthly patch cycle now so it may seem like not a lot is going on when in fact the team are working hard, and the next patch planned for the 4th of November will have new fixes and tweaks.

 

Patience is required as usual and we know it can be difficult for some, but the work can not be rushed.

 

best regards

BIGNEWY

 

just fixes and tweaks? Damage model plz

[BIGNEWY]

 

just fixes and tweaks? Damage model plz

 

Patch notes will have all details

 

thanks

[Fri13]

Not so long time ago we had 1-2 years before a first serious content were added to games, depending if they were successful. Before that a various bug fix updates were possible to be released.

Now it should be weekly to have a major upgrades...

[Eldur]

Well, I just checked the Hornet Roadmap. And doing so very much gives me that impression as well. To be fair, all the things planned for the 2020 out of Early Access thing are things I realistically expect to be done not anywhere before mid-late 2022. And we've been lived though that before. IIRC the EDGE was first announced to come in 2013. It entered Open Beta in 2018. But as always, things take time and if there's one single rule in life: Plan never goes. And if there'd be a second: See rule #1. 10 years ago, when I still had job interviews I also thought it'd be just around the corner. Now, 10 years later without anyone having employed me and people that started to keep telling me it's because of "teh röyna", I've grown wisdom and knowledge. But let's not get into 1.7 / politics here, that just was and still is a glaring example for me how life in this world realistically goes, and everyone should expect just that and be happy about anything more they actually get.

 

Thing is, things are going on and may be subject to change, which means it usually might take longer as expected. Regardless of that, what we do get, is quality. At least after the longer patch cycles have been introduced. And even just before that, an Open Blpha on ED made a Release Version on Microsoft look like an early Pre-Alpha. Every month I'm concerned if my OS might not boot up anymore or it might just have swept my files because it can - but I'm not concerned about DCS not running anymore on patch day.

[frumpy]

I was asking because certain projects I am looking for are not mentioned, also because obvious things like the A-10II being published and then weeks

later the features of it are presented in the newsletter, as if they were new things just being added (flight model and "brrt").

 

What I am getting is news that are no news, third party announcements, multiplayer event annoucements and sales.

 

I am looking for news on ED projects like the Marianas map, the Hind, for any work on he Yak-52 or the recently introduced (and severe) bug on the L-39 cockpit

textures which make the aircraft unflyable.

I would appreciate regular information on the mentioned topics, also info on removed bugs or bugs that the devs are working on. And while the "brrt" is

worth being mentioned in the news for some reason, switching the forum software/look does not seem to be of any importance. Thank you.

[Qiou87]

I am looking for news on ED projects like the Marianas map, the Hind, for any work on he Yak-52 or the recently introduced (and severe) bug on the L-39 cockpit

textures which make the aircraft unflyable.

I would appreciate regular information on the mentioned topics, also info on removed bugs or bugs that the devs are working on. And while the "brrt" is

worth being mentioned in the news for some reason, switching the forum software/look does not seem to be of any importance. Thank you.

 

Probably a CM can confirm, but my assumption is: if they communicate about it, people here are going to consider every word as a promise. And then when something happens and this feature or new thing gets pushed a few months or years because reasons, people will demand ED's head on a platter for "lying" and "betraying" etc.

So instead, they chose to communicate on stuff that is certain and ready for release. That's the only way to prevent their image being damaged by the angry mob, most of whom have no idea what goes on in a simulator development like DCS and expect everything to be delivered as fast as their latest Amazon purchase. :joystick:

 

I find it funny that last year people complained that ED was not concentrating enough on the game core and bug fixing, and now that they do, that they follow a more robust release schedule for updates, people complain that they are not seeing enough new shiny stuff.

[Archduke]

It seems to me that too many people today are suffering from Instant Gratification Syndrome instead of learning to wait. Recreating complex aircraft in software simply will take time and is nowhere a linear process.

It’s in some ways similar to learning a classical instrument. You will need about 20 years to be really proficient at a masters level, and that’s only if you’re gifted and dedicated and practice hard every day.

 

Just give it a rest. Nobody would like to be finished asap more than ED. But I for one am absolutely grateful that they put quality before speed. So - thank you, ED!

[Fri13]

Probably a CM can confirm, but my assumption is: if they communicate about it, people here are going to consider every word as a promise.

 

Nothing is a promise, unless that word is used with it. So someone saying "next week" doesn't mean a promise, but it is required to be trusted to be on next week then. But promise is higher than one single task, it is more like an oath or sign for the will of something. That is why it can be wise to not say anything about times if one can't already confirm it to be so, but it doesn't mean one can't speak about the long term schedules or the progress made or the roadmap etc. Things can be discussed (and should!) without specific times tied to them.

 

Like one can say "We are going first to apply new damage modeling to WW2 aircraft, then to ground units and final phase is to apply it to modern aircrafts". Nothing is implying the times, only the order so the roadmap is known. One can later on talk about the progress done that "We have completed 50% of the WW2 aircraft" without giving any schedule when it would actually happen.

Communicating with the customers for the progress to be made etc is difficult, but it is in long term a critical part of the relationship that both knows what is being done.

[Dav IRL]

Hi guys,

 

since weeks I'm getting the impression that the development of DCS is somewhat stalled.

 

Checking the news, there are only little changes - like the recent posts of the A-10 flight modelling and the "brrt" sound from the outside

view. These things have been made/announced before and were presented like they were new additions. Also this week,

just a sale and that's it. Months ago the team said that bugs are taken care of, but I have not seen many bugfixes.

Is it due to Corona (=I'm having more time to check the weekend newsletter) or what is going on?

 

No intend to upset anyone, I'm just trying to understand whats going on under the hood.

 

Olli

 

Please, ED are constantly and consistently updating and improving.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Skysurfer]

I don't mind the monthy patches if it means they are fairly stable and matured and the modules get a decent amount of features. However, on the example of the Hornet we haven't really seen much progress in the last two months, which is a shame considering the 2020 roadmap and the projected plans. Also the Super Carrier received little to no improvements and requested features since launch (hiding/disabling the IFLOLS overlay, longer ship wake etc.)

[Qiou87]

Nothing is a promise, unless that word is used with it. So someone saying "next week" doesn't mean a promise, but it is required to be trusted to be on next week then. But promise is higher than one single task, it is more like an oath or sign for the will of something. That is why it can be wise to not say anything about times if one can't already confirm it to be so, but it doesn't mean one can't speak about the long term schedules or the progress made or the roadmap etc. Things can be discussed (and should!) without specific times tied to them.

 

They do that a lot actually, in interviews. They also seem to do quite a lot of them between the different bosses at ED. For example I understood from the last one (S. Pearson) that the weather system was very high up in their priority list and that they were close to having something to show.

 

But the newsletter is not their prefered format to share such long-term plans, or not on a regular basis maybe? They did share the dynamic campaign engine recently, even if it is probably 6-12 months away.

 

In the end, we have to factor in the size of the company. Bigger devs have entire teams dedicated to speaking to their customers. I'd rather ED keep more people working on dev than on chatting about what they plan to do. It's like I tell my boss, I can either report to you what I'm doing every 5min, or I can focus and actually do the work. You won't know where I am at each passing minute but I'll be done a lot sooner.:pilotfly:

[Eldur]

It’s in some ways similar to learning a classical instrument. You will need about 20 years to be really proficient at a masters level, and that’s only if you’re gifted and dedicated and practice hard every day.

 

I can totally agree after 10+ years of guitar for at least half an hour every day and still totally sucking at it. You can only be even remotely good at something if you literally stop doing everything else. But most probably devs do have families...

[Fri13]

 

I can totally agree after 10+ years of guitar for at least half an hour every day and still totally sucking at it. You can only be even remotely good at something if you literally stop doing everything else. But most probably devs do have families...

 

It is full day job to train for classical instrument. It doesn't sound so fun to play something 8-10 hours a day. And then in your career you might need to relearn away your learned stuff by learning a new style that takes again years.