Patch delay discussion and news

[rob10]

10 hours ago, cfrag said:

Since @BIGNEWY was kind enough mentioned that their upcoming patch is BIG (a MOAR?), we can happily guess (without any actual knowledge!) what such a big release may  include:

Gobsmackers
- Hook
- 'Stan
- Kola "Winter Soldier" 
- SupCarrier changes 
- FC 2024 
- Maybe even some bug fixes to some great modules, e.g.
    - Mudhen Radar 
    - Kiowa crew 
    
"Talked About" 
- Sinai first patch (one year worth of updates, may require map tech)
- Iraq

From the fact that they already removed it from the patch, I doubt they'll put the Chinook back in.

I'd be shocked if Afghanistan, Kola winter, carrier update, FC4 aren't included because they've almost said as much.  Same for Mudhen fix.

And I'd be very surprised if Sinai IS included since it was pretty clear it was in testing but wasn't really a close thing to making this patch (before delays) so I can't see it being a late minute add even with the delays.

I'm very curious to see what all is coming though, because it sure looks like there will be a lot of changes in it when we finally get our hands on it.  I'm highly impatient to see it, but I won't throw stones at ED for having to delay it unless there are no big changes when it comes

[Thump]

While there is frustration at the last second "no jump tonight," I will give credit where it is due.  This level of open communication as presented in the newsletter is exactly what is needed. The hope would be to see an earlier call made to delay if needed with a newsletter providing insight as to the challenges faced by the development team. Early calls with explanation to provide context would go a long way to rebuild trust & goodwill.

[Dragon1-1]

6 hours ago, Blazkovitch said:

And building a bridge is much easier than understanding what computer does because in civili engineering everything can be thoroughly simulated and the laws of physics generally do not change on a daily basis.

That only shows that the problem goes really deep. There's no reason for the operating environment to change on a regular (not daily) basis. That we were only doing computing for just 80 years is not the problem (in fact, most of modern engineering is not that much older). The problem is that for most part of those 80 years, we were doing it wrong, and we still are.

Consider two things: 1. Much of modern computing world is based on what started out as an ad-hoc OS to play games on a spare computer one guy had laying around, and had since been modified and expanded by everyone and their mother. 2. Fans of said OS will tell you that this is a very good thing.

6 hours ago, Blazkovitch said:

Only if you can provide a specification that covers every aspect of the program and is generally considered extremely expensive. Good luck with doing that for a game.

Have you considered that it's extremely expensive, and not usually done, because our software development culture had made it unusual, as opposed to mandatory? "Move fast and break things" is has been established as the way to be "innovative", but all it does is build technical debt. Consider this: had Windows been created, on the architecture level, to be secure against intrusion, it wouldn't have needed a security patch every month, because most of those exploits would not be possible in first place. There was actually an OS that did just that (Multics), but it didn't ship with IBM PC. It could also run for years without being restarted and hot-swap everything including CPUs (not its last one, of course, as a mainframe OS it usually had several). That you can't just pull a GPU or an SSD out of a running PC and insert another, and that you have to reboot it every so often, is not a law of nature, but a deeply embedded design flaw. And don't even get me started on a crock that is the internet.

[SmirkingGerbil]

8 hours ago, stburr91 said:

 

There is a third group, people who understand that updating a game like DCS is very complex, takes time, and testing will reveal bugs. However, these people are saying, go through your process, get the update ready, then announce a release date, so we can avoid all these delays.

 

All of these delays, too many projects being in EA, slowing progress to a crawl, and a dispute with a 3rd party developer, are all wearing the customers patience very thin. This doesn't seem like a sustainable path for ED.  

Maybe you migrated your account, started over, but you seem fresh to the DCS scene.

I have been flying modules here since the only one they had was the KA-50, that was it.

You missed the entire Warbird Kickstarter dust up when Ilya blew town, and left all of us holding the bag, ED picked up a bunch of unfinished code, and brought them to life.

As a Kickstarter, I was promised several modules, finally got the P-47 5 years later, and damn, if it wasn't worth the wait. Still waiting for my ME-262, but not upset about it. It will happen.

Maybe you missed VEAO saga also, and others I have forgotten about.

If you understood the depth and breadth of everything that ED has slogged through, and they are still here, while others have come and gone, you might get an inkling of the massive undertaking they are involved with now. Compared to the lonely KA-50 and the Caucasus map, which is where it started (even earlier actually), the pace and content they maintain is incredible.

In the meantime, I fly the A-10C, P-47D, Dora, F-4E Phantom, Huey, and/or many more. I have dozens of other modules gathering digital dust I could explore while we wait. 

Yeah, the F-15 E is disappointing, but I am holding on to mine, it will get worked out one way or the other. Plenty of other things to do, so I get your point. But look around you, tell me, where else would you go to get this experience??

Fly another module, enjoy that new Kola map, fly Grey Flag or other Multiplayer servers, join a Discord DCS community.

We will get all our toys in good time.

[Mike Force Team]

@BIGNEWY and @NineLine  I read the newsletter discussing the latest DCS updates' tech issues.  Kudos to the internal testing team members who discovered the technical issues before the release to the public. It is encouraging that ED's management listens to their beta testers and pauses while things are fixed.  The delay is unwanted but is the better choice when many showstopper events occur.  If the latest update had been released to the public with faulty programs, ED's forums would be in meltdown mode due to many posting their technical issues.  

Mike Force Team

[killerwhale]

Does this patch include the save game functionality. I had DCS uninstalled for the last 6 months and normally don't play this game anymore for the simple reason of not being able to save my progress.  

[giullep]

Does this patch include the save game functionality. I had DCS uninstalled for the last 6 months and normally don't play this game anymore for the simple reason of not being able to save my progress.  

No..i think no


Inviato dal mio iPhone utilizzando Tapatalk

[Robi Hobby]

I'm still looking forward to the CH-47F. But if Tutorial Videos with " Wags " are to be made first, does that mean that we won't be able to fly the Module ourselves until October or November?

[YoYo]

23 hours ago, Robi Hobby said:

I'm still looking forward to the CH-47F. But if Tutorial Videos with " Wags " are to be made first, does that mean that we won't be able to fly the Module ourselves until October or November?

You are a pessimist ;)! I rather expect it in August. Videos maybe are ready or in part with not buggy features, we dont know this.

[Rhinozherous]

ED should have a serious talk with its PR guy.... If there is one. The loss of credibility in the last months is immense. 

[virgo47]

20 minutes ago, Rhinozherous said:

ED should have a serious talk with its PR guy.... If there is one. The loss of credibility in the last months is immense. 

This is very individual. I've seen SW release delays over and over again... unless you have a very safe project it is often bound to happen. You either have to descope or delay, or often both. Alternative is to just tease without a date. Then another group will complain there is no date.

I've seen interesting releases this year. Sure, there is the ongoing situation with RAZBAM, but that's PR nightmare one way or the other and will take time (good there are no dates there ;-)). If I don't read forums for a day or two I feel no anxiety about the release, there are tons of modules to play with already, why are we so focused on the ones that are not in DCS yet? Sure, we want them, sure, we're looking forward to them, but most of the bad and hard feelings about it all seem to be generated and reinforced by the vocal part of the community.

I don't feel significantly worse about ED or DCS than in 2022 for instance.

Edited July 7, 2024 by virgo47

[giullep]

And then is monday … after all this caos.. we can known any news about the release of this patch…

[flyingcyrus]

1 hour ago, giullep said:

And then is monday … after all this caos.. we can known any news about the release of this patch…

Because you expect the devs to work during weekends ? 

[BIGNEWY]

We will share the new date when we are ready, I will update the patch status forum post as usual. 

Please use the newsletter post now to discuss the delay 

https://forum.dcs.world/topic/352899-dcs-296-delay/

thank you