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Approaching Patch One


Nate Simpson

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Good afternoon, fellow Kerbonauts!

We continue to make good headway on performance improvements and bug squashing. In fact, we managed to sneak a few additional fixes into the first patch, including a fairly high-impact resource flow optimization. We also fixed the "Kraken drive" bug that created insane reverse thrust when an engine’s nozzle was obstructed - so if you’re working on a Kraken ship, the "unique" physics on which it depends are about to go away forever. We may not in fact have killed the Kraken yet, but we have definitely stubbed its tentacle.

As to the timing of Patch One... QA is thoroughly testing the build right now, and as soon as they give us a thumbs-up, we’ll release it. Right now, our goal is to release that patch next Thursday (March 16th). Provided QA does not uncover any show-stopping bugs over the next few days, that date should hold. If they do run into something unexpected that needs to be fixed, that date will slip. We have done a fair amount of hand-wringing around whether we should announce the target date for this patch when there is a non-zero chance of a delay, but we know this topic is very important to you all, so we're doing our best to keep you all in the loop. We’ve also already completed a nice queue of fixes to go into the second patch, but we’ll talk more about that after we’ve got the first one out the door.

To help tide you over until then, we’ve got a new performance-focused dev blog post from Mortoc, our senior graphics engineer. If you’ve been wondering how we test performance and what we’re doing to improve it, this one’s definitely worth a read.

Finally, I just wanted to give a holler of support to the many people who have undertaken the weekly challenges - last week’s air-launched rocket challenge was a sight to behold, and we’re on the edges of our seats to see what mayhem will take place during this week’s Minmus challenge. If you want to take part (or just bask in the ingenuity and/or madness of our community), check out the Weekly Challenge Discord channel. Our Community Team has also picked out a few choice gems from the last week and added them to a Community Highlights post here. Yes, the shopping cart is in there. The shopping cart that flies. :D 

See you on Minmus!
 

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13 minutes ago, Nate Simpson said:

If they do run into something unexpected that needs to be fixed, that date will slip.

Please - for the love of the tentacled monstrosity, read this.  Remember this.  If Thursday is not the day - there are reasonsTM

 

(thanks Nate)

Edited by JoeSchmuckatelli
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One thing that would be nice is some documentation for us modders. having to read through and guess what does what is creating issues.

Even though we are using an unofficial loader, having something to explain the details more would go a long way for us. 

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38 minutes ago, Nate Simpson said:

image.png

Good afternoon, fellow Kerbonauts!

We continue to make good headway on performance improvements and bug squashing. In fact, we managed to sneak a few additional fixes into the first patch, including a fairly high-impact resource flow optimization. We also fixed the "Kraken drive" bug that created insane reverse thrust when an engine’s nozzle was obstructed - so if you’re working on a Kraken ship, the "unique" physics on which it depends are about to go away forever. We may not in fact have killed the Kraken yet, but we have definitely stubbed its tentacle.

As to the timing of Patch One... QA is thoroughly testing the build right now, and as soon as they give us a thumbs-up, we’ll release it. Right now, our goal is to release that patch next Thursday (March 16th). Provided QA does not uncover any show-stopping bugs over the next few days, that date should hold. If they do run into something unexpected that needs to be fixed, that date will slip. We have done a fair amount of hand-wringing around whether we should announce the target date for this patch when there is a non-zero chance of a delay, but we know this topic is very important to you all, so we're doing our best to keep you all in the loop. We’ve also already completed a nice queue of fixes to go into the second patch, but we’ll talk more about that after we’ve got the first one out the door.

To help tide you over until then, we’ve got a new performance-focused dev blog post from Mortoc, our senior graphics engineer. If you’ve been wondering how we test performance and what we’re doing to improve it, this one’s definitely worth a read.

Finally, I just wanted to give a holler of support to the many people who have undertaken the weekly challenges - last week’s air-launched rocket challenge was a sight to behold, and we’re on the edges of our seats to see what mayhem will take place during this week’s Minmus challenge. If you want to take part (or just bask in the ingenuity and/or madness of our community), check out the Weekly Challenge Discord channel. Our Community Team has also picked out a few choice gems from the last week and added them to a Community Highlights post here. Yes, the shopping cart is in there. The shopping cart that flies. :D 

See you on Minmus!
 

I'm genuinely curious, Nate.  How did the Team play this game and think:

1. It was ready for EA. 

2.  It should carry a $50 price tag.

A honest letter to fans just cutting through the BS and laying out exactly what happened, why we are dealing with this unacceptable, by any studios standards, launch.  And how the Team is going to change to adapt and move forward would go a long way.   

Edited by RaBDawG
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Thanks for the update. I can handle a date slip, but feeling around in the dark is painful. It's much preferred and easier to manage my own thoughts and expectations when the team is willing to be more open and share what they hope will happen and when. Rooting for you! 

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Good stuff - Glad to see the rolling patch cycle is starting to pick up, with patch 2 already in the oven. Is 2/2 for Dev/QA the dream goal, or is the hope to slide out to a 4/4 once the immediate fires are out, make room for some meatier works. Understanding that its all planning and speculation, and not commitment, of course.

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29 minutes ago, Vinhero100 said:

will we get to see the full patch notes before it releases on Thursday (assuming the date doesn't slip?)

I think the plan is to release the patch notes on the day it goes out, but if I discover otherwise I'll update you here.

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