I was just wondering when a new mainstream build will be released? [import]uid: 129287 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 324754[/import]
I would like to know this as well “A STABLE RELEASE”
I like Daily builds for testing out new features but when i build for release I prefer to use a STABLE release
i searched the forums but haven’t found a ETA
Thanks in advance and sorry if i missed a post somewhere.
SoloSebo [import]uid: 99036 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 102987[/import]
+1
as a (still) test driver i would like to know when there will be a new actual trial version. the current one is rather old and does not include any of the complete reworks you guys wrote on the blog…
so unsure if it even makes sense to start digging into an already outdated api.
makes it very difficulty to evaluate corona if all the shiny new enhacements are only avaiable after purchase of a license… makes testing difficulty
is there a reason why a trial user cant get acess to the daily builds aswell? we still cant deploy to the store, but we could at least try it out properly (and give feedback aswell)
as an example unity gives you full access to the latest tools as a trial ( for limited time) and for evaluation thats great…
just my 2 cents
[import]uid: 12368 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 103169[/import]
Totally agree. Can’t see why the daily builds shouldn’t be available to “test drivers”. Any reason why?
At least try to give us an estimate on when a stable release is due.
Please, can someone from the Ansca team comment on this.
Thanks. [import]uid: 129287 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 103185[/import]
There is a series of Q/A testing that has to be done before releasing a new mainstream build to the public. We are aware it seems like a while since the last public build, but things are being overhauled and the current policy may change.
Things to take into consideration:
-
Code added via daily builds must be Q/A tested via in house testing and also via the bug reports you guys send in.
-
We need to be certain that features added work as expected.
-
We need to be certain that bugs we fix are definitely fixed, as you guys know from programming yourselves, you can think you have fixed a bug and then someone or yourself finds another way of re-creating it.
We are not trying to penalize anyone, all we are doing is ensuring that the mainstream builds we release are what you expect, stable and reliable. If you take a look at our blog and read Walters latest entries you will see his plans for the daily builds and the future of our engineering structure. [import]uid: 84637 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 103193[/import]
@Danny: This is all good, but why can’t the daily builds be available to everyone? [import]uid: 129287 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 103196[/import]
Any update on a new production build? We’re about three weeks into the “new” engineering cycle but haven’t heard anything yet. Please give us an update. [import]uid: 76002 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105355[/import]
+1 for new mainstream build
I am evaluating corona as a business app platform and I require the new capabilities of some of the APIs, specifically horizontal scrolling of ScrollView (and possibly TableView), fix for network request headers and some others so I can properly test them for my requirements (SOAP web services, data presentation, data manipulation, …).
Any ETA? [import]uid: 137090 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105477[/import]
(Purely conjecture, I’m not Ansca)
Dr.Mab: the reasons should be fairly self-explanatory? Ansca clearly bust their ass on each build, but at the end of the day they still need to be able to pay the rent, and if you don’t have to pay until your game is ready to put on the store, that means they might not see income for months or years (if ever). No different than demo software.
My guess is that the team is in the features part of the cycle right now, probably followed by a fix cycle that leads to the stable build. The current dailies are pretty good (I have no qualms with them in core stability) but 807 was just pushed to help fix an important storyboard showstopper, and maybe audio gets beefed up soon too. Lots of things on the wish list! [import]uid: 41884 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105613[/import]
Daily builds were never intended for trial users; there are a number of reasons which Danny mentioned and which Richard theorized about as well.
The awesome new features the team works hard to get out there are available early to our licensed developers - it’s just one of the perks of being a Corona developer
Most evaluation can easily be done without the latest greatest features, once you have a feel for it if you choose to keep using a free account until it is time to publish then naturally you don’t get any of the fancy new stuff.
As to the next stable build when we have an ETA you’ll see it either on the blog or at the very least on Twitter - @ansca will tweet it, I’ll tweet it and I imagine others will as well - just stay tuned
Peach [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105614[/import]
@richard9: To be honest, I really don’t get the logic behind your argument. In the end, testers are not able to publish their product without a licence. Don’t most pro and indie developers use a stable build when publishing anyway, and stable builds are available to everyone. When it comes to evaluating a new product, the better the test-object, the more potential users. Anyway, that’s my take on it.
@peach: Thank you for giving an inside view on this. I get the perk-aspect of it, but I still think everyone would gain from the daily builds being available to all users. Just my “biased” view. In the end, I am a test-driver (hoping to soon become a Pro Developer). [import]uid: 129287 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105629[/import]
@Dr.Mab: They can’t publish. But they can develop. If there’s no perk for buying a license, I can guarantee almost every subscriber will just wait until the day they are ready to publish. Restricting daily builds does two things:
-
Gives a valuable perk to people willing to support Corona SDK during the development phase.
-
Restricts daily build access to mostly people that are equipped or at least mentally prepared to deal with possibly shaky or unstable builds. New users are pretty likely to be the ones fighting to learn the core feature set. People who have paid up are more likely to be finding the interesting edge cases and cutting edge build bugs.
Ansca isn’t Adobe. They don’t have a one-hundred person QA team, I’m guessing. I think the latest fix cycle is proof that they have enough bugs to fix and features to add. With more users and more money, I’m sure more QA and more engineering comes into play, but if you just get more users without more money, it’s not scaleable.
My guess in the future is that Ansca wants to meet people somewhat halfway; perhaps a more regular stable build schedule. It’s pretty clear that the new fix-feature cycle is a big step in that direction. But like any startup, they need to stay agile and that means probably attacking that feature roadmap first.
…And no, I don’t think I would stick to stable unless I was only using certain core features. There are features in the build right now that have either been really improved or fixed, and instability in this case doesn’t mean “will randomly crash”. Corona is pretty damn stable. In my experience the risk is stuff like “widget format has changed”, or the storyboard issue this week. [import]uid: 41884 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105631[/import]
@richard9: I get your point, but I still don’t agree. If one waits until the day one’s ready to publish, so what? Most people probably do that anyway. And having the opportunity to do so, might result in more people buying a license just because they actually see that they can realize their project. And it’s not like you buy a license, publish your game and that’s it, no more money to Ansca. One is paying for a years subscription and most likely keep paying as long as Ansca keep up with the good work and continues to develop Corona. People not serious about developing or people who don’t learn the core feature set from the stable builds will probably never buy a license anyway. The only thing is that Ansca might have to wait a bit longer for the money to come their way, something which isn’t necessarily true either. I’m currently waiting for a new daily build and I’ve been doing so for a while. This means a delay on my part and have resulted in months of waiting, which again means that Ansca will have to wait longer for their payment. So I honestly think that they would gain more from making daily builds avalable to all and that they’d get more customers if they showed potential buyers their most recent and updated product.
It’s not that there aren’t other alternatives to chose from, and many of them are free. To me personally, starting with Corona is quite an investment. Before publishing I need to buy a Mac (I’m currently on PC), I need to sign up as a developer on app-store and I need to buy a license for Corona. If I don’t know if this investment will pay off, or if I’m not a 100% certain Corona is a platform where I can realize my idea(s), I most likely will abandon Corona and check out other alternatives.
It would have been interesting to know how much Ansca’s sales increased when they decided to make the stable builds free for any length of time instead of the 30 days trial period they started with.
Anyway, I respect their desicion and I’m glad I can try Corona for an unlimited time-period. But one thing’s for sure, if I was only given a 30 days trial, I’d been gone a long time ago.
[import]uid: 129287 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 105638[/import]
Any update on an ETA for a new stable build? It has been six months now since the last one and we still don’t even have a ballpark estimate. [import]uid: 135391 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 106802[/import]
We’re working on it. Stay tuned. [import]uid: 52491 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 106862[/import]
Thanks for responding, Peach.
I will definitely stay tuned, but a week ago the response on this thread was also “stay tuned”. This thread was created over a month ago and we still haven’t gotten any estimate of any kind as to when a stable build might be released. It would be helpful to many of us if we could just get a bit more communication about the process and some ballpark estimates, even if they are broad. If the Corona team can’t give ballpark estimates at this point, then an explanation why would be helpful.
The communication philosophy seems to be “no news until very solid news”. That might be fine in some cases, but as the weeks and months go on we are left to speculate about whether there is a lack of urgency, a lack of execution, or something else going on. I actually am a paying Corona subscriber (under a different account name), so I’m not a random test driver that is just complaining about not having a better free product. [import]uid: 135391 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 106895[/import]
An official public release is very near. I’ve posted an update here:
http://blog.anscamobile.com/2012/05/corona-engineering-next-release-and-more/ [import]uid: 26 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 106954[/import]
Thanks for the update, Walter! [import]uid: 135391 topic_id: 24754 reply_id: 106963[/import]