Time to drop the beta?

[Campbell]

It seems a lot of people are put off by the term "Beta", and I am wondering whether it could soon be time to drop the term. ADRIFT doesn't follow the traditional software cycle as it has many releases rather than a single Alpha, Beta, Release Candidate and then RTM. There is unlikely to ever be a point where I say, "okay, it's finished". But I would say it's a fully functional product now, albeit with a few bugs. So how would you feel if I drop the Beta label? Obviously I'm not going to stop work on it as a result.

[Po. Prune]

It's ok with me.
If you're happy with the developer as it is now I can't see why you shouldn't drop the Beta.

[saabie]

ADRIFT has come a long way in the last few releases and is very close to being ready for a full release, but there are a few reasons why i would have to say "not quite yet".
If we ignore the enhancement requests that add new features and all the niggly little bugs, then we are still left with a few obvious holes in the basic functionality that still scream "Beta".

1/ The Hint system is not implimented in the runner.
2/ The Conversation tab of Actions is completely blank, and if you open an existing conversation action you get the message "TODO - Function Load Conversation Actions - Please tell Campbell what you were doing" (Bug 193)
3/ "Export Module" writes the entire file instead of a module that you can use as a library. (Bug 115)
4/ Clicking the "Create new" button in an expression for a restriction or action produces the message box "TODO: Expression Builder" (Bug 18323)
5/ The expression system needs a complete overhaul (Bug 18325, Bug 18326, Bug 18327, Bug 10048 etc.)
The reason i think this is important is that it changes the API. Any game which uses expressions as they are now will simply not work in future versions of ADRIFT which fix these problems.

[David Whyld]

Is it now possible to change the font size and style in the Runner? If not, that's one thing I would rate high on the list of things that needs fixing before the beta tag is dropped as it affects every single game played with it.

If V5 is now going to drop the beta tag, might V4 also drop the registration fee? V5's added complexity might put people off and V4's registration fee would be a deterrent as well, leaving potential newcomers a bit stuck as to which one to go for. Dropping the registration fee for V4 might encourage more people to give it a try and if they find they want the added features of V5, they could 'upgrade' then.

[Campbell]

Yes, I could do. People can still donate if they wish. Talking of which, it was only when I was adding the mini tables back on the maIn site that I realised that I'd also removed the donation button. Might explain why I haven't had any in quite some time!

[Lazzah]

I agree with saabie, although all ADRIFT users will have their own idea of what features they would like to see in ADRIFT before they would say that it was time to drop the beta tag. You may regard some of the enchancement requests as "new features", but a couple I have requested were standard in the adventure writing utilities I have used in the past, such as the %location% reference and timed events.