FSX SP1:Beta3 posted
We just posted SP1 Beta3 to the beta testers.
We had a couple extra 3rd party bugs that needed to be fixed ( animated parts, mouse rects on the panels, lighting ) that we needed to fix and in fixing the stutters with the first round of threading code we lost some perf and had another bad bug lurking in there. And we identified an issue with 3 AI aircraft, 1 of which is fixed in Beta3 - if that aircraft passes muster in Beta3 we will fix the other 2.
We hope Beta3 shows these all as fixed. That does mean we have lost April for SP1. So we are into May now.
As far as how long it’s taken us, it has been longer than we thought and would have liked. Back in January, we clearly thought we had time in front of us. Just not as much as it has taken. We did hope the multi-core work would be done a good 6 weeks before it was. And the beta tests, while valuable, have added their fair share of the "extra" time. We have found and fixed a couple extra 3rd party bugs that we think are going to be of good benefit to the community because of that time investment.
So that was time well spent. As was the performance and thread bake time.
It is what it is; we are trying to get it right. That does take time. And we believe the result will show that care and attention to detail.
Comments
Anonymous
April 27, 2007
That's alright. You probably should get it right before you release it or He Who Is Not To Be Named will whine and pout even more about how he's already a beta tester. ;-) Speaking as one who beta tested Falcon 2.0 for Spectrum Holobyte, I know what REAL Beta versions look and work like.Anonymous
April 27, 2007
As Phil has mentioned , Beta 3 of FSX has been posted to the testers. Whilst they are a month or so delayedAnonymous
April 27, 2007
AT the end of the day, if SP1 really improves FSX and the sim experience, this late delivery matters very little. So take your time but give us a good product. CheersAnonymous
April 27, 2007
Sounds like the beta program is working then. Delays for good reasons are good delays. That said, I'm heading off for a two week vacation, so no sweat off my back! :DAnonymous
April 27, 2007
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April 27, 2007
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April 27, 2007
And also thanks for keeping us in the loop.Anonymous
April 28, 2007
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April 28, 2007
Hi Phil, Thanks for the update. I've done a clean reinstall in preperation for the service pack. Since I use photoscenery from MegaScenery, do I need to download the "photo-based add-on scenery update" from fsinsider prior to the service pack, or will that update be incorporated in, or not necessary with, the upcoming service pack? BobbyAnonymous
April 28, 2007
Yes, the photoscenery fix is already in SP1.Anonymous
April 29, 2007
"We have found and fixed a couple extra 3rd party bugs that we think are going to be of good benefit to the community because of that time investment." I also use 3rd part software but let be focus in the main problem: Fix FSX. If resouces, and time is a important one, are spent in secundary issues we will never get the SP1. My best regards, JoséAnonymous
April 29, 2007
Phil, this is great news. You've been fantastic updating this blog with news of what's going on at ACES. That makes the wait for SP1 much more bearable. Cheers.Anonymous
April 29, 2007
I don't follow why this is a private beta. For instance, people have joked that with the money I spent on systems that might be capable of running FSX (none of which delivered), I would have already gotten my private pilots license - and its a sad realization that dawned upon me because its true :) But I am denied access to the beta, despite all my investment. I truly don't see what could be so top-secret or confidential about this beta. If you are concerned about the support burden, just write it in big black bold letters in the patch install that this beta is not supported, and should not be installed on a production system (although it might be harder to define "production system" for a game, of course). A beta is called beta for a reason. Realistically, I don't think the community would be upset by any bug, as long as they can see that progress in other areas has been made. Just saying "beta" sets some expectations, namely that the product contains known errors. This would be a way for you to actually gather more community support, rather than lose it - by demonstrating the progress which has been made so far.Anonymous
April 29, 2007
Hi Phil, just a quick question. Will SP1 have better support for ATI video cards?Anonymous
April 29, 2007
Phil, can we get someone fired up on making a local.live.com imagery add-on for FSX? 2 MSFT products that scream for a good melding.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
It is highly satisfactory to be kept informed. For my part the wait is more preferable than getting a product with known but unfixed bugs. I'll still be waiting excitedly, like a kid for a present, over the next two weeks.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
just saw this after several days of entertaining my in-laws. i must say that I, too, much prefer that you not release it until it's done. while "when it's ready" has become somewhat of an industry inside joke these days (Duke Nukem Forever, Daikatana), Blizzard used to use this release timeline all of the time. The difference was that when Blizzard released a game, the game was solid and ready to play from end-to-end. They released periodic patches, but those were usually gameplay tweaks. As a professional hardware engineer, I fully understand the challenges facing the FSX team. But, as a consumer and as a flight simmer, I'd much rather wait longer and be guaranteed a solid product, then a have a product (or service pack or update or whatever) rushed to releaes and then be virtually unusable at home. take as long as you need guys. quality takes time.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
We have a closed beta for several reasons: 1)so we know who is on the beta and have a tighter feedback loop 2)to avoid randomizing people because we do create bugs as we fix things, and some people do not have the temperament to go thru this sort of process 3)to avoid false rumors based on the beta bugs. We had enough of these from people breaking NDA. Sorry, thats just the way it is.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
I am not aware of any additional work we need to do on ATI cards, what is it that you think needs to be done?Anonymous
April 30, 2007
An add-on that leverages live.com imagery is a great idea and a great opportunity for 3rd parties, it just isnt in our plans this year.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
Speaking of ATi is there any chance of crossfire support, or is that too difficult?Anonymous
April 30, 2007
Hi Phil, Apologies if this has been brought up before and is a bit off topic.... i was just wondering why FSX turns Vista's Aero feature off when fsx starts. I can only imagine the only reason is to save on performance....? There have been quite a few benchmarks and case studeis that show it does not impact performance significantly. I would have expected a game designed for vista to allow the aero feature to run, and have the user choose wether to turn it off if they feel it necessary. Its just one of those small things that can impact how people feel about the product... makes it feel a little clunky. Dont get me wrong though, i appreciate all you done with flight simulation and hope you continue to make great software!Anonymous
April 30, 2007
SLI and Crossfire happen completely in the driver. Given FSX RTM is completely CPU bound, thats why these 2 technologies show little positive effect. If we have been successful in driving down the CPU bound nature of the app in SP1, then SLI and Crossfire will show more benefit.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
There is an slight incompability with FSX and Aero, thats why the feature is disabled on FSX launch by the OS. We shipped before Vista, its really the OS's issue and that is why the OS disables the feature.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
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April 30, 2007
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April 30, 2007
SP1 wont be at the Forli show. As far as feedback, each beta release has specific testing goals and specific feedback is needed. It really isnt for all of you to get and experiment with, it is for us to validate fixes. As far as temperament, that is what it is. Most people dont have the patience for iteration. I see it in the existing beta testers; where instead of dis-passionate reporting there is much hand-wringing and throwing around of emotion. Its an iterative process, it takes time. This would be even worse with just anyone involved. As far as rumors, the "banana airplane" bug and the "AI aircraft perf" bug are two examples of beta bugs where beta testers broke NDA and posted in public about how "bad" SP1 was and how "disappointed" they were. Do you suppose the general public would understand the process and not make these sort of pronouncements? I dont think so. And then there is trackability. It already is almost exceeding my ability to stay on top of issues. Multiply that by 10 or 100 and what value would we get out of the beta? At the end of the day, the beta is meant to provide Aces with enough information to confirm fixes, and not to provide any sort of enjoyment. We cannot sacrifice that. Thanks for listening.Anonymous
April 30, 2007
Phil, Ok, thanks for taking time out of your very busy schedule to explain this. I don't pretend to understand everything thats involved with the computer software business. You are in a much better position than myself for that. I am speaking from a "less educated" point of view I guess, but I am having trouble with understanding this. Have a good day.Anonymous
May 01, 2007
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May 03, 2007
Phil, Anyone of Aces there will be in Forli ? Thanks FabioAnonymous
May 03, 2007
I know of no plans for any of us to attend.Anonymous
September 17, 2007
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