Are there any updates/fixes coming soon?

We plan to have a patch out at the end of the month, roughly, and then do regular updates every couple of weeks.

Jim
 
Here is a novel idea . dont send out unfinished programs that cause people to distrust the developers . This program has more bugs than a trailer park in the jungle . :confused: now im out $239.00 and will have to wait .Its like buying a car and having the wheels sent to you a few monhts later .
 
joe5798, we were not aware of any meaningful bugs when we released G3. If we had been, we would have fixed them first. In fact, here at the office we still can't reproduce most of the problems customers are reporting! It's difficult to fix a problem if you can't see it in the first place. Maybe it's that whole "take the car to the mechanic and it stops making the noise" phenomenon. At any rate, we're trying to find users who are willing and able to work with us to solve problems where applicable.

As for updates, we're hardly the only software company who releases updates for a product after its initial release. In fact, you'll have a harder time finding a company who doesn't do this. Most customers consider it a good thing. In any case, I can assure you our intent was never to release an "unfinished" product, and we don't believe it qualifies for that label. Having said that, we're willing to solve problems as they arise.

You never said what problem you're experiencing...?
 
Sorry aboyt that . I have been Angry all weekend at this thing . Iposted my problem on the help portion so that would be a good place to discuse it . I got the program last weekend and crashed my computer after 3 min or flight . it actually reboots !! after a night of updating drivers and still no fly time i was mad . I am still having the same problem but allot calmer . I have P4 2.6 gightz , 2 gig of ram, and a ATI 9800xt with 256mb ram . 500watt powersuply and 5 case cooler fans .
 
Not Meaningful?

Ryan Douglas said:
we were not aware of any meaningful bugs when we released G3. If we had been, we would have fixed them first. In fact, here at the office we still can't reproduce most of the problems customers are reporting! It's difficult to fix a problem if you can't see it in the first place. Maybe it's that whole "take the car to the mechanic and it stops making the noise" phenomenon. At any rate, we're trying to find users who are willing and able to work with us to solve problems where applicable.
Click to expand...

:confused: Hard to accept some of that Ryan. Yes, nearly every program has bugs (especially when they are this complicated) but, it is hard to belive that the "glass walls", the settings not staying set, and the inability to change some of the graphics settings were not seen as "meaningful". It also seems that you did not try very many motherboard/cpu/graphics card combinations before release. This all seems to point to either insufficient beta testing, or a rush to publish.

However, I am not as disgusted as others - I'm reserving my judgement on KE until I see what the update takes care of. (Sure wish my Big Stik 40 would have stayed a 40 though.)
 
I don't know how many software developers Knife Edge has working on this product, but I'll bet it isn't very many. So I am willing to cut them some slack. Microsoft has many, many developers, and their software is still buggy. Getting bug free software is almost impossible, especially something as complex as real-time computer graphics.

I work for a pilot simulation and training company, so we develop similar software, and it is very challenging.

I was not surprised at all by the "glass wall" problem. I don't like it, but I understand it. The trees (for example) are rendered on a rectangular polygon which uses a texture map with a transparency cut out. The detailed shape of the tree comes from the texture, not the polygon. That is why is looks as good as it does. But the collision detection software only has access to the polygon - not the texture. If it tried to access the texture, your software would run extremely slow. Collision dection is a complex problem, and it takes a combination of database tricks and software tuning to get it all working at good performance levels.

I say keep the updates coming! And thanks for building such a cool and fun product (which will get better over time).
 
Gentlemen,

There is no way for a small developer working a niche market to test every motherboard, cpu, video, operating system, and monitor on the market today for the PC. Chances are the system you are running it on has not been tested by the developer. At least KE Software is listening to your input and trying to fix the problems you are having. Please be patient and work with them to get the problems fixed.
 
Glass walls

FamilyFlyer said:
I was not surprised at all by the "glass wall" problem. I don't like it, but I understand it. The trees (for example) are rendered on a rectangular polygon which uses a texture map with a transparency cut out. The detailed shape of the tree comes from the texture, not the polygon. That is why is looks as good as it does. But the collision detection software only has access to the polygon - not the texture. If it tried to access the texture, your software would run extremely slow. Collision dection is a complex problem, and it takes a combination of database tricks and software tuning to get it all working at good performance levels.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the comment. Ok, I understand, except that the large tree in the Joe's Garage scene doesn't have the problem and is still able to show the wind. Maybe the polygon needs to be drawn in farther. As a sim I'd rather not be running into things I cannot see. (I run into enough that I can see! :) ) It is in the Green Valley scene that I notice it the most - it feels like the wall is 10 feet out from the trees. And, if the trade off is trees that wave in the wind, or glass walls, I don't need waving trees. I bought it as an R/C simulator, not a tree simulator.
 
testing

rcflyer260 said:
Gentlemen,

There is no way for a small developer working a niche market to test every motherboard, cpu, video, operating system, and monitor on the market today for the PC. Chances are the system you are running it on has not been tested by the developer. At least KE Software is listening to your input and trying to fix the problems you are having. Please be patient and work with them to get the problems fixed.
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree, you can't test them all, but it seems that there are more problems with that than any other software I have ever owned. (Except maybe Win 1.0 which I refused to buy - I don't think that was a hardware problem. Oh, and Win ME which was a stop-gap money maker.)

And, I agree that KE has been listening and is working on the problems. I don't have that many difficulties with the sim - especially since I bought an ATI 9600XT. I have to say however that out of the tons of software I have bought since 1984 this is the least "ready for prime time" I have run across, especially, evidently, for the average user with an average computer (which I am not).

I am enjoying what I have and waiting for KE to make it better.
 
I'm not saying that there weren't any meaningful bugs, just that we weren't aware of any meaningful bugs at the time of release. The "glass wall" problem you're talking about is, as you have discerned, a problem with specific trees. It was fixed in the heli update. If anybody sees the same problem in version .366, please let us know!

Also, we tested with more hardware configurations than you might think, but it is nearly impossible to hit them all.

We do appreciate your patience as we work through these issues. Please keep in mind that the next update will not fix ALL known issues, but there will be more updates after it.
 
Some "walls" still standing

Ryan Douglas said:
The "glass wall" problem you're talking about is, as you have discerned, a problem with specific trees. It was fixed in the heli update. If anybody sees the same problem in version .366, please let us know!
Click to expand...

Thanks Ryan, I am not "ranting" but am looking forward to the fixes.

I have the heli update .366 and I still am hitting glass walled trees in the Green Valley scene. I haven't flown all of the scenes yet but that is the one I know of.
 
Last edited:
I stand corrected: it turns out we only fixed part of that bug in the heli update. I'm told the rest will be in the next update.

Sorry about the mixup! :eek:
 
Thx for the update Joe and Ryan. Based on the quality of G2, I have confidence that you will soon have most of us up and running - maybe not perfectly, but well enough to enjoy our investment.

I asked the original question with the hope you would let us know an update was forthcoming. I have responsibility for our Customer and Technical Support departments and when we run into similar situation, I find the more info I can distribute, even when it is just "we are aware and are working on it", the more positive responses I receive from the customer base. They may not like the situation but they feel we are being upfront and honest!

Keep up the good work,
Lee, Assonet, MA
 
Ryan Douglas said:
At any rate, we're trying to find users who are willing and able to work with us to solve problems where applicable.
.?
Click to expand...

I'll work with you, you tell me what to send you everytime this thing locks up?
its hell to go get something setup to fly nice
and then get a lock up and have to ctrl alt delete out and end it
go back in and nothing is saved.

is there a logfile generated we could all start emailing (better have a huge inbox though)
 
jbourke said:
We plan to have a patch out at the end of the month, roughly, and then do regular updates every couple of weeks.

Jim
Click to expand...

looks like we may be getting close I count 5 more days till end of month.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top