We know it’s been a long road to 1.6.10, and we’d like to share why.
Over the past months, we’ve been performing what can only be described as a heart transplant for MetaGrid Pro. We’ve completely rewritten and refactored the core systems that power content switching and import/export handling. These parts of the app haven’t been touched since the MetaGrid Classic days, and to move forward we had to rebuild them from the ground up.
This kind of deep work inevitably brought a wave of regression issues and meant multiple rounds of intensive testing and fixes. On top of that, we introduced the new preset system — a huge task in its own right — which required migrating all existing presets to the new format.
Right now, the Beta builds are stable, with just a few occasional crashes left to fix. This week, we’ll release the Release Candidate and finish porting all presets to the new system.
If all goes to plan, MetaGrid Pro 1.6.10 will be released next week.
Thank you for your patience and support — this update lays the foundation for everything coming next.
Why do Metagrid releases make me feel so nervous? I hope all the hard work results in a more stable platform. Dziękuję całemu zespołowi i życzymy powodzenia!
Because if something critical has been broken and undetected by beta testers, the only way to roll back to a previous working version (unlike most software) is by restoring the iPad. Which is unreliable, time consuming, not to mention, absurd . Last time I restored my iPad it didn’t actually download the older working version.
@JTB@Redleaf Thanks for sharing your concerns and I fully understand it. Some things slip out and historically that caused some issues. MGP is an iOS app - so we can’t roll back once released version in case something goes very south - and we can’t help it - you can’t roll back any iOS app - that’s how App Store works.
One of the reasons it takes longer than usual to release 1.6.10 is the extensive in-house testing we are conducting. We are doing everything here to ensure the update goes smoothly.
But MGP is not just an iOS app, it is the platform on which the end user develops a workflow system - it is more a software dependency than an app.
And regarding beta testers, any power user is going to be reluctant to install a beta version as it could interfere with their work. But it is only the power user that is able to test a version extensively enough in order to determine whether there are indeed issues. So there’s a catch 22.
I personally will not be installing the up coming version for at least 2 months while I watch this forum carefully to see what (if any) issues pop up. Which is just another power user you don’t have in your testing arsenal.
Please consider changing your tone and stop scolding. Every release of EVERY app has issues. In any discipline, there are a multitude of apps that serve as what you call “software dependencies.” They’re still apps any way you slice it. It’s impossible to determine what issues may arise in the wild. The scenarios are practically infinite.
These developers are among the most dedicated I’ve come across. MGP is first and foremost an iOS app and the rules for iOS devs are much more stringent than for desktop devs. I’m as power-user as they come on MGP. There isn’t ANYTHING I don’t know about this app and what it’s capable of and I’m happy to install whatever they release because after three years with MGP, I know that if there’s something truly wrong with it, it’ll get fixed in a snap compared to most devs.
Be an ally. Work with them. I think you’ll find them very accommodating.
Rolling back is easy on a desktop and no problem on a tablet if you keep backups of them. I’ve done it multiple times. Just make sure you have any auto-update settings turned off on your tablet.
Yeah, I recall that restoring my iPad did work on one occasion. But on another occasion it didn’t. The TestFlight approach would be far more reliable IMO. They’ve done it before, although it expired after 40 days which left me without any incoming MIDI functionality and atrocious dual iPad connectivity for 6 WEEKS!!!.
I had the same issue. It seemed to correlate with upgrading to Sequoia 15.5 and Metaserver 5.2.2 at the same time. Something about that triggered my connections cycling to the point where MGP was unusable, with each iPad re-connecting 3 or 4 times a minute. I remember going in the house where I have two old iPads connected to an old MacBook, neither of which had been updated, and that worked fine. The only way I was able to stabilize it was to have one iPad connected via USB and one via Wifi. That worked to the point where I could use MGP for normal workflow, but they still cycle occasionally and at random for no particular reason. It sounds like that’s a top priority for them to fix right now. I also remember when I used to use Vienna Ensemble Pro and a similar thing happened when I went from Monterey to Ventura. VSL was patching that for months until it was totally stable.
