The last milestone on the roadmap presented and unofficially committed to last year, was Release 6. It was scheduled to be released on February 13th. However, and even if Kunos managed to keep the previous 5, it seems that 13th meant bad luck (even though in Italy that would be.. 17th ?) and they could not make it. Initially announced as a 1-week delay, with this announcement:
"Dear ACC forum community,
we apologize for the delay that this news had about the forum post, but all the team is pushing with developing and testing our refactoring build, planned for next week on Steam. Since this forum remains the perfect place to go deeper in facts, the news is now implemented with some cool detail at the end of the news. As you might know, if you follow our activities on the official support forum, after releasing the first set of multiplayer features we decided to re-write some of the gameplay logic elements related to session handling, race timing and penalties, which manage both single and multiplayer game modes. The decision came in order to make improvements to the overall game structure, and ensure that multiplayer features are as efficient as possible to suit our goals, since they are a highly important component of Assetto Corsa Competizione. Refactoring is never an easy task, but the good news is that the surgery has been successful. The code is recovering well, but we need a bit of time to properly test all aspects of the title to make sure all functionalities and updates that will arrive in the 0.6 release work as we – and you – expect them to. Therefore, we now plan to release v 0.6 next week.
The new build will include the Monza circuit and both model years of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 cars, 2015 and 2018, which – for the time being – will replace the 2018-spec Honda NSX GT3, previously expected to be released in February, and now scheduled to be included in the 1.0 version of Assetto Corsa Competizione. The reason for this change is that we simply require more time to finalize the NSX package to provide you the best possible virtual counterpart of this amazing racing car. To most early adopters, these slight changes should not come as a big surprise, since they are part of an early access programme: nevertheless, we would like to thank you for your patience and the amazing support we have received from you, which is the key reason why we continue to work hard to deliver a simulation game that can meet your expectations. As soon as we have more info to share and a confirmed launch date, we will let you know And now a sneak-peek for you guys on the forum, because the changelog will be rich of exciting topics, let us whisper: Radar, Camera Features, CPU Optimizations, Weather updates and some more. We can’t wait to release what we have in store for you."
So basically, everybody was hoping for one week delay. However, and as it usually happens in software/game developing, initial estimation was too optimistic. Issues to be sorted, features to be tested, you know how it goes. Bottom line, last Tuesday, we got the news that more time is needed:
"Dear ACC users,
We would like to share some updates on the current situation of the next version of ACC: Early Access 6th release. Our development team is still working hard to close the current stage of the refactoring operation we announced after our previous release. Since there are also new features coming together with the content update that includes the two Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 cars and Monza Circuit, such as camera updates, telemetry features, netcode improvements, CPU optimizations etc., we prefer to take the right amount of time to deliver a stable package. Our plan currently is to release when we feel comfortable showcasing the current stage of development to the general public.
Our progress to version 1.0 and beyond will be explained during the following weeks, and we have some interesting and unexpected news coming pretty soon, but since this is the last scheduled update of the Early Access Programme, we would like to offer a solid update while waiting for what is to come.
We would like to use this opportunity to say our thanks regarding your feedback on our official forums and your patience to prefer to wait for a solid update rather than a fast one."
How much ? We don't actually know. And probably neither does Kunos, judging by this part in particular
: we prefer to take the right amount of time to deliver a stable package. Our plan currently is to release when we feel comfortable showcasing the current stage of development to the general public.
This approach is understandable, since until now ACC was in Early Access, which meant they could get away with almost anything. In my opinion, it's good they take their time and do not rush into releasing something just for the sake of it. Hopefully one lesson learned from AC. Don't get me wrong, I love AC (and with the amazing work modder did, it's a treat) but boy, did Kunos left a lot of annoying things unfinished..
Anyway, that's another discussion, and to finish on a positive note, waiting might come with a "free" bonus. Stefano teased this: "Well the delay on the 0.6 update gave me some unexpected time to work on AI.. had 2 weeks of crazy coding, hopefully it'll be good stuff and you guys will enjoy the changes."
Fingers crossed. Good luck Kunos. Future looks nice indeed (and ready to eat graphics cards for breakfast..)
"Dear ACC forum community,
we apologize for the delay that this news had about the forum post, but all the team is pushing with developing and testing our refactoring build, planned for next week on Steam. Since this forum remains the perfect place to go deeper in facts, the news is now implemented with some cool detail at the end of the news. As you might know, if you follow our activities on the official support forum, after releasing the first set of multiplayer features we decided to re-write some of the gameplay logic elements related to session handling, race timing and penalties, which manage both single and multiplayer game modes. The decision came in order to make improvements to the overall game structure, and ensure that multiplayer features are as efficient as possible to suit our goals, since they are a highly important component of Assetto Corsa Competizione. Refactoring is never an easy task, but the good news is that the surgery has been successful. The code is recovering well, but we need a bit of time to properly test all aspects of the title to make sure all functionalities and updates that will arrive in the 0.6 release work as we – and you – expect them to. Therefore, we now plan to release v 0.6 next week.
The new build will include the Monza circuit and both model years of the Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 cars, 2015 and 2018, which – for the time being – will replace the 2018-spec Honda NSX GT3, previously expected to be released in February, and now scheduled to be included in the 1.0 version of Assetto Corsa Competizione. The reason for this change is that we simply require more time to finalize the NSX package to provide you the best possible virtual counterpart of this amazing racing car. To most early adopters, these slight changes should not come as a big surprise, since they are part of an early access programme: nevertheless, we would like to thank you for your patience and the amazing support we have received from you, which is the key reason why we continue to work hard to deliver a simulation game that can meet your expectations. As soon as we have more info to share and a confirmed launch date, we will let you know And now a sneak-peek for you guys on the forum, because the changelog will be rich of exciting topics, let us whisper: Radar, Camera Features, CPU Optimizations, Weather updates and some more. We can’t wait to release what we have in store for you."
So basically, everybody was hoping for one week delay. However, and as it usually happens in software/game developing, initial estimation was too optimistic. Issues to be sorted, features to be tested, you know how it goes. Bottom line, last Tuesday, we got the news that more time is needed:
"Dear ACC users,
We would like to share some updates on the current situation of the next version of ACC: Early Access 6th release. Our development team is still working hard to close the current stage of the refactoring operation we announced after our previous release. Since there are also new features coming together with the content update that includes the two Nissan GT-R Nismo GT3 cars and Monza Circuit, such as camera updates, telemetry features, netcode improvements, CPU optimizations etc., we prefer to take the right amount of time to deliver a stable package. Our plan currently is to release when we feel comfortable showcasing the current stage of development to the general public.
Our progress to version 1.0 and beyond will be explained during the following weeks, and we have some interesting and unexpected news coming pretty soon, but since this is the last scheduled update of the Early Access Programme, we would like to offer a solid update while waiting for what is to come.
We would like to use this opportunity to say our thanks regarding your feedback on our official forums and your patience to prefer to wait for a solid update rather than a fast one."
How much ? We don't actually know. And probably neither does Kunos, judging by this part in particular
This approach is understandable, since until now ACC was in Early Access, which meant they could get away with almost anything. In my opinion, it's good they take their time and do not rush into releasing something just for the sake of it. Hopefully one lesson learned from AC. Don't get me wrong, I love AC (and with the amazing work modder did, it's a treat) but boy, did Kunos left a lot of annoying things unfinished..
Anyway, that's another discussion, and to finish on a positive note, waiting might come with a "free" bonus. Stefano teased this: "Well the delay on the 0.6 update gave me some unexpected time to work on AI.. had 2 weeks of crazy coding, hopefully it'll be good stuff and you guys will enjoy the changes."
Fingers crossed. Good luck Kunos. Future looks nice indeed (and ready to eat graphics cards for breakfast..)