FM9 Firmware Version 2.0 public beta

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Are we abandoned? Last update was on December 16, 2021:fearscream:

Someone recently asked Fractal for an update and nothing as of yet.

Not sure I am seeing what you guys are seeing? I see updates from Matt on progress of next release in this same thread on Jan 24, Feb 8, Feb 23, Mar 1, Mar 9 which I consider "recently". In one update he says the incorporation of new Axe FX III release slowed them a little, in another he says he will post when there is news (which I assume means not every time one of thousands on the forum decide to ask, seems reasonable to me).

I don't remember in the 15 years that I played my Axsys 212, Pod, Pod X3, Vetta II, that Line6 ever kept me apprised of their schedule of updates (of which there may have been 2 updates in that period), and before that Fender never even conversed with me. So I am more than appreciative of FAS and the way they relate to us customers.
 
Not sure I am seeing what you guys are seeing? I see updates from Matt on progress of next release in this same thread on Jan 24, Feb 8, Feb 23, Mar 1, Mar 9 which I consider "recently". In one update he says the incorporation of new Axe FX III release slowed them a little, in another he says he will post when there is news (which I assume means not every time one of thousands on the forum decide to ask, seems reasonable to me).

I don't remember in the 15 years that I played my Axsys 212, Pod, Pod X3, Vetta II, that Line6 ever kept me apprised of their schedule of updates (of which there may have been 2 updates in that period), and before that Fender never even conversed with me. So I am more than appreciative of FAS and the way they relate to us customers.
I don’t think anyone here is being unappreciative, but with that being said, I also don’t think we are being unreasonable asking for more regular updates considering the circumstances of over a 3 month beta. The other devices have received several updates during this period and it’s perplexing, if not concerning, that this unit is suffering such a long delay in its update. For those of us that decided to test the beta, I don’t think anyone could have assumed that we would still be in a beta stage 3 months later. Typically these betas may last a week or two before the final firmware is released. The last update I saw was maybe a couple weeks ago stating that a new round of private beta testing was occurring, but not a peep since then. No one is grabbing pitchforks here, but I think an update with a potential timeframe (other than “soon”, or “whenever it’s ready”) would be encouraging and not unreasonable.
 
You guys are both right, but ultimately, I don’t think we (on the forum) make a difference in what goes on in the process of updating firmware. I think that we can all trust that FAS has good reason for the time needed to make this next update happen.

If this beta is just a taste of what is to come, then we’re in for a real treat!
 
Knowing another round of beta testing just went out, it’s pretty safe to assume the only kind of update that could be given right now is “We’re squashing bugs found in the newest beta before we have a repeat of Beta 2.0” I think getting into details of the bugs will only open the field for more speculation and that doesn’t really help anyone or anything until we’re given the beta and can report any issues we find on our own.

If there were an issue with this in the past, or if they were a new company, sure, I’d appreciate more communcation, but in 20 years they’ve made good time and time again. I deal with this kind of stuff when we hire new vendors all the time; with our older vendors I know I don’t need an update from them because they’ve proven they’ll get the job done, with the newer ones I have to stay diligent because that level of trust hasn’t been built yet.
 
I don’t think anyone here is being unappreciative, but with that being said, I also don’t think we are being unreasonable asking for more regular updates considering the circumstances of over a 3 month beta. The other devices have received several updates during this period and it’s perplexing, if not concerning, that this unit is suffering such a long delay in its update. For those of us that decided to test the beta, I don’t think anyone could have assumed that we would still be in a beta stage 3 months later. Typically these betas may last a week or two before the final firmware is released. The last update I saw was maybe a couple weeks ago stating that a new round of private beta testing was occurring, but not a peep since then. No one is grabbing pitchforks here, but I think an update with a potential timeframe (other than “soon”, or “whenever it’s ready”) would be encouraging and not unreasonable.
  • Beta is open-ended and can last a lot longer than a few weeks. It depends on the company, what’s being done and what’s been found during the test period.
  • Not every person who is testing the last released open-beta is a member of the forum or reports problems on the forum, so we have no way to gauge progress towards fixing issues that have been revealed or workload because of discovered problems.
  • Fractal doesn’t need to give us regular updates on progress, nor are they required to. It’s a nicety when they do and it’s made them the shining light in the industry because they do it at all. Expecting, or criticizing updates in this situation sounds really demanding and privileged.
I’d recommend focusing on the introduced improvements we’ve already seen in the beta and trust the company to do what they do best, to exceed our expectations.
 
FM3 and FM9 use the same DSP same family of DSP, but the FM3 likely has the larger private beta pool, as well as more devices in the wild for public beta users. Just a guess, but it seems like the progression of FM3 enhancements is probably a good indicator of FM9 progress. If I'm not mistaken, I think the recent FM3 beta release included the last update to CNFB.

People who are directly affected by bugs in the non-beta release probably have a reason to want to know "when". Beyond that it's not hard to connect the dots, although I don't think any of us would say no to an updated ETA ;-)
 
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Knowing another round of beta testing just went out, it’s pretty safe to assume the only kind of update that could be given right now is “We’re squashing bugs found in the newest beta before we have a repeat of Beta 2.0” I think getting into details of the bugs will only open the field for more speculation and that doesn’t really help anyone or anything until we’re given the beta and can report any issues we find on our own.

If there were an issue with this in the past, or if they were a new company, sure, I’d appreciate more communcation, but in 20 years they’ve made good time and time again. I deal with this kind of stuff when we hire new vendors all the time; with our older vendors I know I don’t need an update from them because they’ve proven they’ll get the job done, with the newer ones I have to stay diligent because that level of trust hasn’t been built yet.
Exactly.
 
I just don't want to make the folks at FAS annoyed with the forum. I would like it to be constructive, informative, and sometimes fun for both the end users and FAS personal. The level of interaction between customer and company is better than any other company of this type to my knowledge. So I don't want to wear out our welcome since these insights are a privilege.
 
Still, the code base for FM9 is (probably?) very similar to the FM3. Until all of the FM3 public beta bugs are gone and there's an official release, I wouldn't expect anything on the FM9 front.
 
  • Beta is open-ended and can last a lot longer than a few weeks. It depends on the company, what’s being done and what’s been found during the test period.
  • Not every person who is testing the last released open-beta is a member of the forum or reports problems on the forum, so we have no way to gauge progress towards fixing issues that have been revealed or workload because of discovered problems.
  • Fractal doesn’t need to give us regular updates on progress, nor are they required to. It’s a nicety when they do and it’s made them the shining light in the industry because they do it at all. Expecting, or criticizing updates in this situation sounds really demanding and privileged.
I’d recommend focusing on the introduced improvements we’ve already seen in the beta and trust the company to do what they do best, to exceed our expectations.
With due respect, I think FAS owners take a certain pride in their purchases, and feel somewhat entitled to own such a nice piece of kit. Perhaps that lends itself to the fact that we expect new FM9 FW when other FAS products have already received theirs, and that causes some minor anxiousness on our parts.

May we remember that being able to own an FM9 is not a right, but is a privilege, and we should remain humble in our mindsets until FM9 FW is released. It's not like FAS is keeping it from us. It's because FAS wants to be sure the FW meets our expectations without the extra issues once the FW is released.
 
I see updates from Matt on progress of next release in this same thread on Jan 24, Feb 8, Feb 23, Mar 1, Mar 9 which I consider "recently". In one update he says the incorporation of new Axe FX III release slowed them a little, in another he says he will post when there is news (which I assume means not every time one of thousands on the forum decide to ask, seems reasonable to me).
If anyone tracks Cliff’s announcements on the FX3 sub-forums, they can gauge the pipeline that is feeding the FM* devices new features. He’s an animal when it comes to this stuff.

The DSP and processors between the FX and FM units are different so the models have to be rewritten/updated for the FM* when he changes something, it doesn’t automatically flow through, because the software tools are different as is the language used by the DSP. They’ve put together their workflow but it can’t cover everything, such as when things have to be manually converted to assembly language for speed or efficiency, and that step can be… frustrating, especially when the pipeline keeps dropping new tasks on your desk.

I programmed in a lot of languages at different levels in computers over the years and can relate to, and commiserate with their developers. :)
 
And there’s the rub.
This is true. The reason that entitlement causes problems is that it creates a feeling that we can demand things. Consider that many times we can demonstrate inordinate self-control when it comes to civil discourse, but when faced with pressing issues, we often protest in public. Why is that?

That I'm not sure I can answer correctly, but it seems to do with a mob mentality of people who are incited by a cause to act out their displeasure. Yet, within a forum like ours, we can still behave like adults, and not struggling, whiny children.

The reason why protest has become so popular is because it causes those in authority to lead better. Essentially, our poor example of angry protest is met with calm leadership. And perhaps, that is why I personally prefer to remain silent and humble on hot ticket issues such as "Where's our flying cars?" and the like.

Yeah. I think if we all sit back, enjoy our daily routines, apply what knowledge we already know wisely, we can expect good things to come when they are ready. Not before. Go about your normal business, enjoy your practice time, build something wonderful. Let's not be like the rest of the world that argues over trivial things.
 
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