03SEP11 - Update on Various NGX Items...

[rsrandazzo 6,353]

Captains- I want to take a few moments to give you guys a quick update on some things we have pending for you. This might be a bit long, and if I don't answer your specific question, I apologize- but I am sure there will be more updates as we roll up on some of the dates described below- we'll likely get to it in one of the updates! Activation:========This has been a key development priority during the past few weeks with about 14-16hrs of engineering time being devoted to helping those customers with activation issues each day. We have found that the vast majority of customers having activation problems can be resolved by our support team and by verifying a few basic items in their setup including: Make certain you have FSX SP2 installed.Make certain your BIOS and Windows clocks are accurate and current. If you have trouble beyond this, reach out to the support team and we'll see if we can't get you fixed up. There is another issue that prevents some folks from being able to activate, and we feel that it will be resolved shortly, as the issue has finally been identified. An engineering solution is in the works. (For those of you who have been patiently waiting on this issue, and for those of you who we have worked with via technical support- THANK YOU! Your feedback and input is the reason why this item is finally about to be resolved!) Service Pack:===========We have been collecting (from here in the forum and via technical support) items for tweaking, fixing and research since the NGX released. We are planning a very large update to be released on 23SEP11. (DATE SUBJECT TO CHANGE) The primary focus of the SP is to eliminate the remaining sources of freezes that are being reported. We feel that a significant amount of progress has been made in this regard. We are also focused on a few key issues that came to light after release- and then of course there will be the usual tweaking that we inevitably engage in during the post release process. This service pack will not add much functionality, but it will refine quite a bit of stuff, smooth out some rough edges and correct a few errors. In addition it will make the product able to support the 737-600/700... PMDG 737-600/700 NGX Expansion:============================We had originally planned to release this expansion near the end of August but we moved all development resources to dealing with activation issues and customers reporting freezes so this product shifted out a bit on the calendar. Right now we are looking at two dates for the release of this package (SUBJECT TO CHANGE). I would like the release to happen concurrently with the SP1, but we may hold it for one additional week in order to accomplish a few things. We'll keep you posted! Technical Support:==============I know it isn't appropriate to brag, but I want to take a few moments to publicly thank Ryan and Paul for the work they have accomplished on behalf of customers during the past few weeks. Since we are on a ticket based system, it is easy for me to look at raw data on customer support performance. Since the NGX released on 04AUG, the average response time for tickets has been 5:13. That is pretty darn good, when you consider that the NGX is already the best selling product in PMDG's history. Most of the support requests were easily resolved issues, but a few have been more protracted. I hope that those of you who we have been able to help are enjoying the NGX. Okay- enjoy your weekend- we are hard at work for you!