I am glad you guys are reading this at the moment, the title of this would probably will take you to back ages, WHY NOT PUBLIC BETA TESTING. why not, are you afraid of your product performance? this is something we need to know before we purchase your product and on on on etc..What my point is that why not have a public beta team? dont get me wrong, I am a technical engeener for a .com company in the USA with 100 million active accounts with over 200 million customers. Before we come up with a great product to our customers, we do regresion tests with our real account holders, why not do it here? I think this will help your company achive great goals here, it will give you opportinity to open other doors in flight sim world, it will exetend your product further. I believe this is one of the lack of other many companies forgetting public beta sessions before they come on live.

Because surely the best people to spot errors are other developers, NG pilots, NG engineers etc? This seems like another.... 'Can I be a beta tester please?' question.

I think there should be some tests done by average simmers before any products is released because they are the majority that is going to fly the aircraft. Not real world pilots. Also there is no need to ask for beta testing now as I believe they are already doing it and we will have the NGX soon.

Because surely the best people to spot errors are other developers, NG pilots, NG engineers etc? This seems like another.... 'Can I be a beta tester please?' question.

Not really. They are so used to doing things the right way they don't push the wrong button or do the wrong sequence. It is people unfamiliar with what they are doing that usually find the hard to spot bugs.Having said that I would not like to see a public beta as it usually takes longer. PMDG have their ways of doing things and their previous software has proven it works well. I would have liked to see the NGX by now but the wait will be worth it.

Hmmm, I think I am gonna call the Porsche dealer, ask them why I have to wait for the new 911. They're testing it now, but they might make it availlable for public testing.But seriously; you already answered it yourself. Your company does it on active accounts, this product doesn't have active accounts, it's a product that has to be purchased first. The tests are meant to iron out last possible minor issues, then it is ready to be sold, and used, instead of sold and tested.

I don't step in here much, and I know this is a completely different scenerio, but the Digital Combat Simulations A-10C Warthog sim (standalone combat sim) was released for purchase last year as an Open Beta. They still used internal testers before releasing a patch to the next beta (there were 4, with each one being released a few months after the last)... however, by releasing (selling) the open beta the company had the chance to see how the software worked on a very large variety of computers and systems. They had also opened a Beta Forum where people could post in roughly 20 different topics. That forum was only open to those that purchased the software.I had purchased DCS: A-10C at Beta 1, about 2 weeks after it was released. I'm happy I did so as it helped me learn the aircraft systems and the simulator itself. In the meantime, I was able to report bugs which then ended up in a later patch. There was also work done on a "Nevada Terrain" which included Las Vegas, for Red Flag combat training and Operations. Beta 4 saw the loss of that due to an FPS issue everyone was having, and they wanted to do a lot more work on it. The Terrain will be released when finished, and those that pre-purchased (Beta) the simulation will get the terrain pack for free. Those that waited for the final release will have to buy it.I have to agree with Infantry1id and Veldthui inthat, the 20-50 or even 100 testers that are checking to see if this aircraft works the way it should compared to the real world, doesn't take into account the 250k - 500k (or a lot more) people that will be using the aircraft on a daily basis. I'm not saying I wish PMDG would release a Beta type aircraft to purchase as DCS did, however, I definitely would like to know if I can do all the things the aircraft is supposed to do without having 1 FPS and total stutters where I can't really do anything... before paying whatever the cost is for the aircraft. I'm sure it won't be that bad, but I'm hoping you all see my point.

Count me in

Although I'd love to have NGX I don't think I'd be the best of a tester as I wouldn't really be able to distinguish between "correct" or "wrong" plane/systems behaviour, since I've never been trained for or flown one in real life!In addition, a public beta would bombard PMDG with bugs that would most likely be user errors and that would definitely delay release.Let them test her for a few more days and then we can start complaining again about the release... :(

Burak,Some points about this:1. Our wide beta team *IS* made up of actual customers. Everyone on the team is someone who is a long time customer and has made an impression on us through their participation on this forum.2. Putting a ton of people in a beta doesn't work for a product like this - our testers know what's expected and how to report issues. I watched another developer do a large scale beta that they sold access to. It was a disaster. Anyone who bought into it (which I did with my own money) could see it. You can very easily overwhelm yourself in a situation like that where you give anyone and everyone access to reporting bugs. Figuring out which reports are legitimate and which are just kids who don't understand the airplane's systems becomes a whole job in and of itself. The signal to noise ratio can become very skewed in favor of noise.3. We aren't going to take people's money for an unfinished product. As soon as we do that we're obligated to provide support for it, people will think we're obligated to fix whatever issues they report, and so on. It is a major can of worms. Selling betas is something we will never do here. We are not DCS/Eagle Dynamics with a huge publisher and team of developers behind us and we do not have complete control over the entire sim engine the way they do.4. The fact is our system has worked extremely well for us. The MD-11, the J41, the 400X, all were among the most bug free complex aircraft releases for FSX. We see absolutely no reason to mess up a good thing.

3. The fact is our system has worked extremely well for us. The MD-11, the J41, the 400X, all were among the most bug free complex aircraft releases for FSX. We see absolutely no reason to mess up a good thing.

I do agree with you there. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. My reply to the others was to mention that the DCS: A-10C which did release (had to be purchased) the Beta to the public... I'm sure after internal testing... has been a great success. Every patch that comes out (should be the next one soon) will pretty much fix what's left. There's more to it than just the aircraft though, it's the whole simulator.In anycase, I just read that a release date will be given soon.

Sorry for the off topic but... what time is it over there Ryan and you post replies? Must be very early in the morning...Beta testing or just came back home after a few drinks? :(

You wouldn't really pluck someone out of thin air and make them a beta tester/developer of some sort. Compared to scenery design, I don't know to much about beta testing aircraft. Although I did test Ant's Drifter (Ultralight), I wouldn't know where to start in an aircraft like the NGX.

I am a beta tester for a few companies inc one that does LCD units for the Superbowl cameras and F1 cars. I tested Traffic X and have my mispelt name in the manual, something I`m still proud of even if it is spelt wrong. I`ve always found a chosen team dedicated to the product, knowledgeable enough to find their own way through using the product under test works best in all the places I`ve beta tested for. But apart from all this, the smaller the team the less likely it is someone is going to give away the details of the product under test. Keep it as is, PMDG have been doing this long enough to know what they`re doing and what works best for them.Steve Brooks

I'll will say that PMDG addons are the only ones I've never had bug with. I remember flying another airliner addon which is suppose to be one of the best but found a very basic bug. I was doing a go-around but despite trying many many things I couldn't get the autopilot to disengage on LOC and GS mode. Believe me I've done that many times with the 747 and it worked well. I doubt that they will find any bugs in the NGX, at least I hope so. They haven't been making this aircraft so long for nothing :)

I was a tester for the fantastic Aerosoft/Marcel Felde DA20-100. My first payware beta copy - I think I did alright, though Marcel may disagree! :(