Automageddon wrote:Anyone knows how updates/bug fixes went for the previous Touch? That should give us a pretty good idea of what to expect. Did Akai listen and add new features/fixes?
A mixed bag, they can seem tone deaf to some feature requests, but every so often they surprise us. Basically anything that does happen seems to happen quite slowly. I mean, we're coming up to 2 years working on MPC Software 2.0 and really they seem to have spent most of their time on audio tracks and clips, both of which are fairly basic implementations (and I don't remember too many people asking for clips in the first place). They've released the MPC X with a dedicated 'list edit' button, but no actual list editor - again, the intention was clearly there when planning the unit, it was still there when it came to manufacturing the unit, but somehow it hasn't been implemented despite being there in both the computer and bluescreen UIs.
There's plenty of stuff that's needed attention from the Touch days that still remains untouched, be it bugs, features or implementation anomalies. 'Coming Soon' can really mean anything, for 'keygroup program edit' it mean few weeks, for 'Q Link edit' it meant nearly 2 years (and still beta for touch users).
My main concern is Akai's ability to ignore really obvious, gaping holes in the software, despite the community screaming at them to attend to it, e.g. not being able to edit automation, no copy/paste in grid, or not being able to record master channel fades, side chain, pdc, and generally clunky workflow implementations.
Basically there seems to be a somewhat odd decision making process involved at the basic development level, it's as if the people working on these MPCs don't actually use them themselves. Even beta testers are turning to creating public petitions to try to get features implemented which seems to indicate a breakdown in communication somewhere in the process, as I thought the volunteer beta testers (i.e. actual MPC users) were there to provide some much needed insight into the requirements of real MPC users.
It will be interesting to see how much Akai listen to the feedback they gain from the new feedback button in the software. The thing is, if you are going to have a public beta then you really need to have a public roadmap and a list of all reported bugs and features with an indication as to whether they are being worked on (or even considered).
