I will release it when it’s stable and working as expected.
2 Likes
Speaking as a professional software developer, I am confident that there has never been a single piece of software released anywhere in the world, at any point in the whole of human history, that could described in those terms.
5 Likes
Quite.
My plan is for feature and functional parity with v17.6; which should be possible over the next few days. Get that out, and then chip away at (inevitable) bugs for an additional release in mid March.
Sam
5 Likes
I’ll second that motion. In all my years as a developer (I’ve been developing in one form or another since the early 90s), I don’t think I’ve ever seen one piece of software released without a single bug in it or 100% optimized. There’s always room for improvement!
3 Likes
Osmc updates as far as I remember usually come out on Sunday evening so maybe today is the day… no pressure though will gladly wait one more week or two
1 Like
I think it would be appropriate to have an official statement in your blog, at least. So all of us impatient people don’t have to continue to waste you asking, then remember: the last info is from 1st of january…
Last info - the one that you are replaying to - is from 3 days ago.
Not in the home, blog or about section.
Does it really need a statement? Till 18 or 18.1 is released for OSMC there is effectively no news. The OSMC dev team don’t typically put statements out on what they are working on, just what is released.
4 Likes
Maybe people would bug them a bit less often if they did?
1 Like
It doesn’t really make sense to say ‘We’re still working on something’; because that’s what we’ve done; but users are still asking for an ETA. So I’m not sure how that would help. So all I can really say is we are still working on it and it is the current focus for now.
2 Likes
i.e.; It’ll be done when it’s done…
1 Like
Soon™
2 Likes
When it’s done.™
Let’s make a deal. Anytime someone asks for a release date it gets pushed back one week 
3 Likes
Are we there yet?
1 Like
What I mean is, have a separate section of the website where you constantly advertise the OSMC road-map as it stands, what is being worked on currently, what is likely to be worked on next, give approximate estimates as to how long each thing might take, and include a list of things that have been added to or removed from the roadmap, together wth the dates when it happened. (Sprinkle liberally with disclaimers to the effect that things can change at any moment, and that estimates are sometimes very approximate indeed).
The reason I think this is a good idea… well, see the thread on frame-packed 3D support for a good example. Some people got a little cross there because you promised 3D support would be looked at “soon” nearly two years ago, and it didn’t happen. But the thing is, I don’t think people were upset just because it didn’t happen, what they got upset about was that they felt they were left hanging - a decision was taken not to proceed with that because other things were more urgent (fair enough!) but no update about that was posted, so people were waiting patiently for months, thinking that the thing was being worked on all the time, when actually it wasn’t.
But, as it stands, that’s the only way things can work: there are thousands of threads on the board, and you’ll have said something about what might be worked on in hundreds of them, and it’s utterly impossible to keep track of all of the places where you might have said something about the roadmap and update them all if it changes.
But if you only had to update it in ONE place - that’s potentially doable.
And think of how often people post on here asking if something is being worked on, or when it might be finished, and how much time you spend posting variations on “when it’s done” - if there’s a single place that always answers that question and that is prominently advertised, it’ll eliminate a lot of unnecessary posts and responses.
3 Likes
People will always find something to complain for, if you give them feature A, they will say they want feature B.
The same reason why some people love OSMC (constant and direct support) is also its cross, because they have someone that has to listen to them and give an answer even if they don’t have a real ETA or update at that moment.
I’m absolutely positive that no one here that complained so much about a wanted feature did the same to Samsung, Sony or any other big player on the market, just because they know that no one will listen to them.
2 Likes
Sometimes as a developer you’re not always aware of when something can be achieved. It’s not due to ignorance or oversight, but a case of ‘shit happens’. When I can give clear timelines, I do so.
The 4K + shipping situation was complex, but I made sure to keep people as updated as frequently as possible. There is no benefit from lack of communication; only downsides. The shipping backlog was caused by corrupt customs officials in the EU, which forced stringent checks and backlogs.
Kodi v18.x has some issues with its CMake build system. I have workarounds, but I want to fix these in a more appropriate manner before release. I don’t air dirty laundry and don’t like criticising open source projects. I prefer to get things fixed via the appropriate channels. At the moment, I cannot ensure a reproducible build, which is a big no-no for stable releases.
As always – you think something is just a couple of days away but something pushes it back. Something you didn’t know would be an issue.
This is not feasible unfortunately
The last thing I gave a good time frame on was HLG. This led to a critical review of no one but yourself (on AVForums); saying it wouldn’t happen EOY 2018. You weren’t wrong in that regard. This is now ready; but I’m definitely discouraged from putting any dates on anything for the foreseeable future unless I can guarantee it.
Better to say ‘we’re still working on it’ than give a date. In the case of HLG, I can say that we have it running.
3D MVC has been thoroughly looked at, and I still look at it. Unfortunately there is no progress so far in a meaningful context for a user. Once v18 is out of the door, I will look again. There’s a difference between looking at something and producing a measurable result from it however.
There are a lot of things we’re working on – the goal here is to under-promise and over-deliver.
There’s absolutely no reason I’d hold back information from any of our users. I don’t like BS and I don’t understand why sometimes getting an answer from a company is like pulling teeth.
I do appreciate your concerns. v18 will be out the door and it will be soon. I have standards for what constitutes a release; currently they are not being met.
Cheers
Sam
29 Likes