How many 1.1 alphas are planned?
by Manuel F. Lara · in Torque Game Builder · 01/31/2006 (1:59 am) · 12 replies
This is a question for the GG crew. I don't know if you have any idea of when the final 1.1 release will be out, but maybe you can tell us how many alphas do you plan to release before 1.1? I mean, how much have you "chunked" all the features you want to include into 1.1? AFAIK the fourth alpha is coming very soon, but I'm still waiting for the final 1.1 as I don't like playing with buggy or incomplete code/documentation, so instead of giving some ETA like "in a month you'll have 1.1" maybe you can tell if the 5th or 6th alpha will be the last one?
Thanks in advance
Thanks in advance
#2
01/31/2006 (9:49 am)
Quote:Yea, there's absolutely no reason not to be developing with T2D right now
"I don't want to play with buggy code" is really just holding yourself back. If you ever expect to work in the game / software industry, you had better get used to playing with unfinished software, since that's what you have 98% of the time. :-)
#3
1) GDC is in March, and is historically a great place to present products.
2) We have a Torque Boot Camp--T2D (Commercial) scheduled for March 6-8 2006.
3) T2D has been in development since very late 2004, primarily with 2 devs: Josh and Melv. In the past 3 months we've announced that Justin DuJardin is taking on a very strong role in the development of T2D, as well as Adam and Matt providing quite a bit of implementation support as interns as well. There are several other GG dev's working either on or with T2D daily to stretch it's current limitations and expand it's functionality.
BTW, I don't want to hijack the thread, but since this is the first time we've actually discussed the T2D Boot Camp in a forum thread, if you have specific questions/comments, please use this thread.
Edit: Added Matt as an intern working on T2D--sorry man, you can slap me later! Can't -believe- I didn't mention you.
01/31/2006 (10:54 am)
I can't answer the question directly, but I can point to some publically observable information items, and let you draw your own conclusions:1) GDC is in March, and is historically a great place to present products.
2) We have a Torque Boot Camp--T2D (Commercial) scheduled for March 6-8 2006.
3) T2D has been in development since very late 2004, primarily with 2 devs: Josh and Melv. In the past 3 months we've announced that Justin DuJardin is taking on a very strong role in the development of T2D, as well as Adam and Matt providing quite a bit of implementation support as interns as well. There are several other GG dev's working either on or with T2D daily to stretch it's current limitations and expand it's functionality.
BTW, I don't want to hijack the thread, but since this is the first time we've actually discussed the T2D Boot Camp in a forum thread, if you have specific questions/comments, please use this thread.
Edit: Added Matt as an intern working on T2D--sorry man, you can slap me later! Can't -believe- I didn't mention you.
#4
01/31/2006 (11:07 am)
Manuel - People are already making money off their completed T2D games .... $$$ speaks louder then words :P 
#5
We just put the Alpha4 build up. I recommend that you start working with this codebase, or if not this one, then definitely the next release (coming very soon). We're really just hedging our bets by calling these "alphas"... as people are attesting here, they are pretty solid. Nearly as solid as the 1.0.2 codebase now, I think... but with lots and lots more features, docs, etc. In fact, I've just made the Alpha4 build the default / primary download for T2D.
To answer your question more directly though, we plan Alpha4 to be the last "alpha" build. We are very soon going to do another buld which we'll probably label "beta", as it will represent another big jump in fixes and stability. We will probably do a couple beta drops before the final release, but this should, by no means, be considered definite. (I just don't want to promise something that doesn't end up happening).
As people are saying... now is a great time to get started. :)
01/31/2006 (12:48 pm)
Hi Manuel,We just put the Alpha4 build up. I recommend that you start working with this codebase, or if not this one, then definitely the next release (coming very soon). We're really just hedging our bets by calling these "alphas"... as people are attesting here, they are pretty solid. Nearly as solid as the 1.0.2 codebase now, I think... but with lots and lots more features, docs, etc. In fact, I've just made the Alpha4 build the default / primary download for T2D.
To answer your question more directly though, we plan Alpha4 to be the last "alpha" build. We are very soon going to do another buld which we'll probably label "beta", as it will represent another big jump in fixes and stability. We will probably do a couple beta drops before the final release, but this should, by no means, be considered definite. (I just don't want to promise something that doesn't end up happening).
As people are saying... now is a great time to get started. :)
#6
i can see, however that some people would get a bit overwhelmed with new alphas being cranked out every few weeks.
I recomend you pick an alpha (probably the most current) and stick with it, dont change midstream, at least not until there is a solid release
01/31/2006 (2:41 pm)
Quote:Yea, there's absolutely no reason not to be developing with T2D right now
i can see, however that some people would get a bit overwhelmed with new alphas being cranked out every few weeks.
I recomend you pick an alpha (probably the most current) and stick with it, dont change midstream, at least not until there is a solid release
#7
01/31/2006 (10:02 pm)
If I remember correctly, this often releases business was due to popular request. ;)
#8
but if you are actually writing a game, it's probably not a good idea to port it to the new alpha every few weeks.
For me, it's more about learning the tools, and experimenting right now, so the updates are very good :)
01/31/2006 (10:06 pm)
@Nauris: dont get me wrong, I love it. it keeps the community engaged with t2d, and gives us all a sence of ownership in the process (we find a bug, and a few weeks later it's fixed, etc)but if you are actually writing a game, it's probably not a good idea to port it to the new alpha every few weeks.
For me, it's more about learning the tools, and experimenting right now, so the updates are very good :)
#9
I, for one, am very happy with this, but I will say one thing. Being a start-up developper with very real deadlines, I totally understand the frustration. I can play around with the .dts model functions, or I can just stick to 'vanilla' 1.0.2....Really hard to resist the alphas.
It has been mentionned before, but these 'alphas' are reallllly functional. Even more functional than 1.0.2 in my opinion.
Ok, gotta get back to watching those Initial D episodes.
01/31/2006 (10:34 pm)
I'd simply like to point out the fact that the very reason of existence for these alphas is based on community feedback. Some T2D freaks (this is a compliment, not an insult :) ) actually called out this method. If it weren't for that, we'd have to wait for the final 1.1 to hit.I, for one, am very happy with this, but I will say one thing. Being a start-up developper with very real deadlines, I totally understand the frustration. I can play around with the .dts model functions, or I can just stick to 'vanilla' 1.0.2....Really hard to resist the alphas.
It has been mentionned before, but these 'alphas' are reallllly functional. Even more functional than 1.0.2 in my opinion.
Ok, gotta get back to watching those Initial D episodes.
#10
02/01/2006 (12:42 am)
I really like that we are getting frequently releases of alpha code.
#11
Thanks for the info :)
02/01/2006 (2:02 am)
Ok, if the new 4th alpha is as stable as 1.0.2 I'll give it a shot, and probably stick to it until the final 1.1 is released, unless I find some blocking bug which is fixed in one of those beta versions planned.Thanks for the info :)
#12
In real terms, the alphas have always been more "stable" than the v1.0.2 release. In some cases, certainly problems have arisen in the alphas but they were far outweighed by the sheer quantity of fixes and feature enhancements that they bring. In this respect, the alphas are superior in almost every way.
I guess it's just because there was such a gap between v1.0.2 and v1.1.0 that the alphas seem to be some kind of new risk; totally understandable. The risk is always there in the early adopter deal, we'd like to think that we've kept the risk as low as humanly possible and we've really tried to deal with problems quick and efficiently. :)
The new downloads page tries to correct this by showing v1.0.2 as deprecated (as it should be) and the alphas as the best and most stable version to use.
I really am sorry for any confusion or misconceptions along the way. The good news is that we're at alpha#4, the core is very stable, it's absolutely ahead of the game in terms of the core-TGE stuff and it's moving along at a wicked pace.
I really hope you enjoy; plenty more to come. Time to do a plan soon me thinks. :)
- Melv.
02/01/2006 (5:18 am)
Just thought I'd mention that thev1.0.2 was far from a "stable" release. It had hundreds of issues, some quite serious. Nearly all these issues went away with the first alpha which was months onwards from that release. I totally understand though that knowing the issues can make it feel more "stable" than an unknown release though.In real terms, the alphas have always been more "stable" than the v1.0.2 release. In some cases, certainly problems have arisen in the alphas but they were far outweighed by the sheer quantity of fixes and feature enhancements that they bring. In this respect, the alphas are superior in almost every way.
I guess it's just because there was such a gap between v1.0.2 and v1.1.0 that the alphas seem to be some kind of new risk; totally understandable. The risk is always there in the early adopter deal, we'd like to think that we've kept the risk as low as humanly possible and we've really tried to deal with problems quick and efficiently. :)
The new downloads page tries to correct this by showing v1.0.2 as deprecated (as it should be) and the alphas as the best and most stable version to use.
I really am sorry for any confusion or misconceptions along the way. The good news is that we're at alpha#4, the core is very stable, it's absolutely ahead of the game in terms of the core-TGE stuff and it's moving along at a wicked pace.
I really hope you enjoy; plenty more to come. Time to do a plan soon me thinks. :)
- Melv.
Torque Owner Jason Cahill
Default Studio Name
My personal belief is that they will have at least one or two "beta" builds once they are feature complete in order to make sure all of the important bugs are crushed. So, if alpha 4 is the last alpha (which I doubt), then assume at least a few more drops with bug fixes only, and then it will be final. I wouldn't imagine a complete 1.1 until mid- to late-summer. Alpha 3b is working very nicely, btw, so the attitude of "I don't want to play with buggy code" is really just holding yourself back. If you ever expect to work in the game / software industry, you had better get used to playing with unfinished software, since that's what you have 98% of the time. :-)