rtucker55
Craig, The real problem I see is that The Customers didn't know what they were getting other than the New Features listed. They had No Way of knowing which bugs, if any, were addressed. To some of us bug fixes are more important than New Features or receiving 3rd party software that we received with X3 or purchased the Full version on our own.
Then wait until the bug fix list is published. I think it took two weeks this time, it was 10 days with X3...close enough. There's still almost three weeks before the sale price on upgrades ends. If the bug fix list wasn't released until after the sale ended, that would be a different issue.
Those of us that had issues and, worked with support and, our issues were confirmed as issues and, had submitted bug reports had to set and wait as there is No Way to get any info about whether your issue is being worked on or not...Then 10 months later the New version is released but no 'issues list' is available and no one knows when it will be available.
Well, we knew based on past history, and on statements from Cakewalk, that the bug fix list would be available within a short time after the release. I think two weeks is reasonable. Granted, we didn't know the exact day.
I didn't know the exact day today before I started editing it, I mentioned it would be "within a few days" in a different thread. Then when I finished the edits, Noel said it looked great and to hit the Publish button. So I did. So it's published
So what do you do? You just hope that Cakewalk fixed your issue and spend the $149 anyway?
You wait for the bug fix list. If the bug hasn't been fixed and it prevents you from making music, then use a different DAW that doesn't have that bug, bearing in mind it will have different bugs so you have to evaluate whether they will be a problem for you.
You trust that surely they will fix something that seems so simple.
I don't know code, but there's one thing I've learned about software after working with multiple companies over multiple years: no one can predict whether a fix is simple or complex unless they know the code. I've reported minor things that I thought were simple but Noel said would take weeks to fix, and other things I thought would be really complicated and he had a build to me later that day. A lot has to do with whether a feature "touches" another feature because then QCing it becomes much harder.
I've been asking the guys at Ableton why when you press record Live doesn't record solo button presses, and every time it's the same answer: The solo button was intended for diagnostic purposes in the studio, not live performance, and its functionality is buried so deep in the core of the program it's probably never going to change - and I'm not the only person by far who's asked for it. I wrote the manual for Live Version 2 and set up the SONAR/Live bundling deal for TASCAM, so they're not blowing me or the others off...I really think it must be that difficult.
I did, I purchased, and my issue is still not fixed. Seth commented that my issue is still on the radar and will make some notes but I have no idea when I will hear about it. That particular thread was locked by the Host so I had no idea how I will hear anything back. I sent seth a PM inquiring as to what I could do to find out if my issue can or will be fixed but I received no reply at all.
The reason why they're not telling you is they don't know. Really. They have a queue of bugs and they try to prioritize based on how much feedback they've gotten to fix it, the resources required to fix, and what happens once they pry the code apart and start poking around. Some bugs are essential to fix no matter what - if Melodyne isn't working, that's a huge deal. Some are annoying but don't cause crashes or impede the ability to make music. If a bug has a workaround, then it's probably considered less important. If you're the only person who's complained, it won't get priority compared to something that lots of people have complained about.
I have a lot of respect for your methods and opinions and am curious what You would do if you were in my shoes. As I see it I can either accept that my issue will not be fixed or I can continue forward and bug the living daylights out of Cakewalk until they get tired of hearing from me...
Another possibility it that it will be fixed in a month or two...or three. There are shades of gray between it "will not be fixed" and "I need to bug Cakewalk."
As to what I'd do, I would accept the fact that all software has bugs, weigh the pros and cons of various programs, and pick the one with the most weight in the "pros" section and the least weight in the "cons" section. By weight, I mean that if something is really really fabulous, it counts for more than several petty annoyances. So that's why I use SONAR even though the VX-64 sometimes pops and dies, requiring typing E to off all effects and turning them back on again...that's my "pet bug" that no one cares about if they don't use the VX-64, and some people just plain don't experience because it seems to be somewhat system-dependent.
Remember too that unlike the past, there will continue to be bug fixes over the course of the year. Everyone has their "pet bugs" and we'd like to see the bugs that affect us addressed. But the odds of that diminish if a bug doesn't affect other people as much.