Release quality trendline

[HebaruSan]

I was thinking about the upcoming 1.4.0 release, and it hit me:

Is 1.4.0 going to be the first major release that doesn't need hotfixes?

[Geonovast]

[klgraham1013]

Well, there are still fixes that could have been in a minor release that have been pushed into a major release.  I hope for a day when we can get an acceptable final version of KSP where no core features are bugged.  (Loading a landed base, driving with wheels, etc, etc)

[regex]

2 hours ago, HebaruSan said:

Is 1.4.0 going to be the first major release that doesn't need hotfixes?

No.

I have no evidence beyond ~software~.

Oh yeah, and that Unity update, that'll do a number on production software.

[Harry Rhodan]

By that measure 1.4 will not only have no point releases, but will be the last release ever.

[SchweinAero]

46 minutes ago, Harry Rhodan said:

By that measure 1.4 will not only have no point releases, but will be the last release ever.

After which, instead of the update beinɡ created by devs to be ɡiven to players, it will rise from oblivion on the computers of players to then be transferred to Squad's machines and erased line by line over months.

Extrapolation, not even once.

[wumpus]

A better thing to do would be to compare the feature list and see how long it takes to debug.  All bets are off on a unity update, you get to count any unity features (used by KSP or not) in the mix and realize that squad can't fix them, just work around them.

The sandbox felt complete after 1.0.5 (and a working aero model), but Squad added at least Kerbnet and probably a few other things.  I feel that career has issues, but perhaps they feel that the DLC will provide a superior "goals handed down from above" system (if not, there are plenty of mods).

Expect if "Making History" is ever released, it will take a few more point releases to get right.  Don't forget the console port is in limbo, if they want to revive it expect a few tries necessary (which might be a problem considering console economics).  The point is that 1.3 was mainly a language pack.  While I doubt it was perfect, the flaws aren't as hard to find as software bugs (and if they are hard to find, they are unimportant because nobody sees them).

[The Aziz]

1.5 would have negative amount of minor releases?

[dangerhamster]

Aaaaaargh! We're falling towards the hotfix event horizon Captain!

[Ultimate Steve]

24 minutes ago, The Aziz said:

1.5 would have negative amount of minor releases?

Sqrt(-1) minor releases.

[steuben]

3 hours ago, Ultimate Steve said:

Sqrt(-1) minor releases.

Use of imaginary numbers has little meaning. The number of releases is magnitude.... to get interesting answers you need to use surreal numbers.

Edited December 4, 2017 by steuben

[Brofessional]

Given that 1.4 is going to include an engine update, there will probably be some kinks.

[MinimalMinmus]

So then we'll have 1.5.(a+bi), then 1.6.(a+bi+cj+dk), and so on.

After 1.8, we'll have exhausted even sedenions, and problems will start.

[mystik]

On 12/4/2017 at 4:15 AM, HebaruSan said:

Is 1.4.0 going to be the first major release that doesn't need hotfixes?

Release date for 1.4 released:

Dear Kerbals, we are proud to announce that our development team has finished the last bottle of tequila and will start compiling the executable. It will be ready for the holiday season in exactly 10¹⁰⁰ years.

Changelog:

Made engines less efficient. Now they fully reproduce the efficiency of the EM Drive, and have perfect 0 thrust, so you can waste countless hours just to get a rocket into orbit, when using other realistic mods would actually be closer to reality that out exceptional design.

Radiators have been upgraded to the point where now they actually generate heat. We were never really happy with the fact that every version we reduced their efficiency more and more, requiring to carry more weight in radiators than the weight of the equipment that they were supposed to cool. With the new radiators you will get to enjoy those red bars on your screen all the time. The more you add, the more chances to blow up, fun fun fun.

Eve atmosphere has been increased to reach Kerbol. Gravity has been set to 999 via console command sv_cheats 1 set gravity. This option will not be editable by the user.

Ike color has been changed from 99% dark to 101% dark, so that you can't distinguish anything even in daylight. Eeloo has become brighter than Kerbol, despite the fact that it is so far away you should barely be able to see it. This logic was approved by the entire team.

MK2 parts have been fixed. Issues with drag have been corrected and now, no matter what you do, your space plane won't even move anymore as it will feel like pushing a 2m x 2m board against a jet engine running with afterburner. You can now place your spaceplane face down and it will automatically be shot into space by the frontal drag, no fuel needed, easy.

Parachutes will only be able to open at 0.9m above ground and will be as efficient as waving your hands like a bird trying to fly.

Rover wheels now fall off even when not moving.

All bases will shake and rattle and explode every time when you load and switch to them. Guaranteed. All your bases are belong to us.

Staging has been fixed. Now all parts explode the moment you stage anything. We liked the explosions and we enhanced this feature.

We are also keeping to our lifelong commitment of never adding any useful mods, like Kerbal Engineer, Transfer Window Planner, Alarm Clock, Empty/Full Center of Mass or anything that might actually make your life easier to play. We don't care to make it easier. Grow up. It's not rocket science. We used to launch rockets with out bare hands. NASA never used any kind of telemetry or advanced computers.

We have reduced the level of graphic detail even more so that people with 286 MSDOS 3 can run our game on max settings. People that have 8 cores and 32GB RAM and 2x 1060GTX can go and die in a bush, we are not interested in making the game visuals selectable to the potential of the market. We like out potatoes and we think potato graphics are the best graphics. Also, we will ban everyone that ever mentions Stock Visual Enhancement mod ever again. We shall have none of that capitalist propaganda around here. Less is more.

With great sadness we also announce that one more programmer has left the team. We are putting Skippy, the dog mascot as Lead Programmer since we like how cute he is when he barks. I'm sure his expertise in programming will continue the trend we started with 1.2 when all our good devs decided to leave. We've been making the game better and better ever since. The ratio of bugs per release has never been higher.

New language will be added: Klingon. Because that's what you guys want. Language, not actual gameplay, or fixes. We are looking into the possibility of adding some other alien languages or even LOLSPEAK.

Also, in the future we plan a new DLC, to be sold at 999 USD. It will consist of a fancy new loading screen. That's it.

Edited December 5, 2017 by mystik

[Mako]

It'd be lovely if it didn't need any minor updates, but with pretty much every complex piece of software there's always bugs and always something that can be fixed. The only way we don't see any minor updates is if they choose not to fix anything before the next major version number, or they just choose not to continue development. If they choose the latter, I'd gladly welcome a patch or three that leaves KSP as stable and performant as they're able to get it before they call it quits.

[Jarin]

I mean, they could meet that goal by just... not fixing any bugs at all, I guess.

[Geonovast]

31 minutes ago, Jarin said:

I mean, they could meet that goal by just... not fixing any bugs at all, I guess.

You're not wrong

[Caelib]

One could also extrapolate that the number of fixes is related to the number of developer and QA resources available.  Releases (even small ones) require a fair bit of overhead so doing more of them means extra work.  My perception is the same amount of bug fixes spread out among less point-releases.

[Wallygator]

I shall reserve my judgement on this topic until the release of 1.4.1

 

[Raptor9]

Not to get into semantics, but @HebaruSan did say "Is 1.4.0 going to be the first major release that doesn't need hotfixes?" (emphasis added by me)

I think there would be many players that would argue the subjective nature on whether a version "needs" a hotfix or not, depending on what bugs are present and whether or not they affect that player's gameplay.

If his argument was whether or not there would be a 1.4.x hotfix, then I suppose technically his graph and hypothesis would be correct...until the announcement/release of 1.4.1. 

And now I'll calmly walk away while you all throw tomatoes at me.