That’s Stretch Armstrong levels of stretching I think. I think the simple truth is SU2 has left us with quite a few regressions, and they would like to eliminate as many of those, hopefully all, before it is released. This is taking longer than they expected I guess, but I wouldn’t read any more into it than that.
It doesn’t feel good at all and something definitely isn’t right. The least they could do is reassure people that all is ok and that we can expect a new update soon.
Just look around at the gaming industry as a whole. Many layoffs, canceled titles, etc. The realities of a post covid world are kicking in.
What you are looking at is an industry that has oversaturated the AAA market, prices have gone up, and the market now can’t take it any more. Quality has dropped, questionable decisions are made by desperate publishers who cave in to activist groups like Sweet Baby Inc., and games flop. That causes >$200,000,000 dollar losses in some cases, and houses to close. Covid has nothing to do with that, corporate greed does.
I had posted this in another thread, but it’s relevant here, it would be greatly appreciated if you could provide some input.
“rest assured, we will share more information as soon as we are able” – I think this may be what has a lot of us confused and/or frustrated. Why isn’t the team able to share information? Why can’t there be more transparency about the development process and the status of various bugs? Is there some high level direction forbidding more communication? This seemingly tight-lipped communication strategy creates a lot of tension.
The same bugs get posted about over and over because there’s no clear communication about their status. If there are major challenges preventing quick resolution of some bugs I think people would greatly appreciate knowing that.
Overall I think the lack of communication and the lack of explanation about why there’s so little commuinication leads to a feeling that the Asobo/MS team are not participating in good faith and are not taking users’ concerns seriously. That could easily be changed with just a bit more communication.
Here are some concrete suggestions:
- Maintain a public list of bugs with links to forum bug reports and a priority + status for each
- For any bugs that go more than a few weeks without progress drop a quick line in the relevant bug report such as “this is blocked by xyz, we hope to get to it after this or that”
- Weekly post outlining the progress of various things on the bug list along with an ETA for the next patch or a brief explanation of blockers that require delaying a patch
I think if these things were done there would probably be a huge reduction in the volume of posts that moderators need to deal with. I think people would feel good in knowing what the status is, what the priorities are, and what challenges are getting in the way.
I mean, this would be absolutely fascinating for sure 
As someone who worked at a large tech company and had access to our software bug tracking and change request database, I can confidently say this will never ever happen, ever 
Those would be good question to submit for the developer stream. (Caveat: Since they didn’t give the URL in the last update last week, it’s possible that they’re no longer considering new questions. But, still worth asking.)
There has to be done something … MS publishes only some changes in a changelog but changed a lot of other stuff undocumented but often game/feature braking… and as soon as this happens (and it happens on each beta update, each su, each everything), the search begins for why something no longer works the way it did before. A complete changelog would help narrow down the possible causes.
I’m not entirely convinced this is true as there’s not an indication of what may have broken what. How do we know that it was the code change to fix the 737 MAX 8 transponder that broke the ability for Xbox controllers to use the EFB in the toolbar popout? Usually these kinds of things that break are the result of entirely unrelated fixes/changes elsewhere.
I don’t disagree that we should get as complete of a changelog as is reasonable, but I’m not sure yours is the reason why that has value.
The release of SU2 today kind of proves the point - although I am happy and hopefully it will bring improvements…nothing led to an idea it was going to be released anytime soon. What kind of communication is that? Seems really strange.
This proves: sometimes people have NO idea
Indeed, I will stay away from future premium versions partly because of that. Also, the planes are nowhere near what Fenix and PMDG produce and stay in the 80/20 rule except 80 in this case is not good enough.
To be fair - todays Blog post was better - immediate beta for SU3 for 2024 and a SU for 2020…no dates but it appears my previous observation was off the mark and I stand corrected.
A major example fo lack of communication is the number one bug fix, concerning VRAM.
Asobo have marked it as “fixed” in the list, while many users (myself included) would disagree. Asobo must have read the forums, and they know people are puzzled. Why haven’t they posted a description of what thay have done, to justify it being labelled “fixed”. If they have done as much as they can, they should just say so, not just tick the “fixed” box and then ignore it.
I just don’t understand why there couldn’t have been a
“We’re shooting for May 15th to release SU2, but that’s not a promise. If we don’t make the 15th we’ll let everyone know that some blockers came up and provide another best estimate”
Those two sentences from a community manager are probably all that would have been needed to silence many hundreds/thousands of posts about this topic over the last few weeks.
It would have been much easier if they just do blog posts. Who have time and interest of waisting time watching streams with managers? ”Every thing will work day one”.
post deleted.
I had a really nice flight up the Oregon coast last night. Golden hour on the pacific. The skyline was breathtaking. I fly to relax. I taxi to the runway, throttle up, and feel free until touchdown. It really is a beautiful simulator sometimes.
I think these little moments are why many of us here are so passionate about the state of the sim. I can’t speak for the rest of the community, but it feels like my frustrations have been rising as of late. I find that most often when I sit down to fly, I’m met with crashes, or graphical glitches, or other issues. I find myself spending more time fiddling than flying. And that’s hampering my enjoyment.
I want to be clear: I recognize and commend the team for the monumental level of effort that you’ve put in since launch. You’ve shipped thousands of improvements already. I cannot imagine the technical complexity and pressure you all have to work under each day. Thank you for your continued hard work. I know it cannot be easy.
Many of us supported you on launch day with the understanding that there would probably be some turbulence along the way. We clutched our vomit bags through 45-knot crosswinds and extreme thunderstorms during takeoff. We death gripped our armrests through the climb. We’ve been on the flight for 9 months, and many of us expected to be at stable cruise by now. Instead, it seems like we’re still climbing, still trying to outrun the storm. The drink cart is empty. The lavatory is full. Many us keep waiting for an update from the crew, but the flight deck has gone silent.
While we’re excited for the future, what many of us want right now is a clear message from the captain. We need to know that you see the same “master caution” light that the rest of us see, and that you’re actively working the problem.
I’m writing this to humbly ask for more transparent communication. A simple acknowledgment that you’ve heard our recent SU3 feedback and are investigating would go a long way toward easing frustrations. It would reassure us that we’re all on this journey together, helping us work with you to move this amazing simulator forward.
Thanks for reading.
Well said.
I walked away from the MSFS franchise six months ago due to the constant frustration caused by having flight CTD or having to deal with bugs during the flight. Add to that the frustration of submitting a bug report (or updating an existing report) no reply is received let alone the bug making a list and being resolved.
The Xbox I use for MSFS was bought as a gift by my family for that specific purpose along with a Game Pass Ultimate subscription.
It’s coming up on a year since MSFS 2024 stuttered onto the Market and it appears that the sources of frustrations are still there.
I have “flown” MSFS since ‘95.