I'm going to throw in my two penny worth....
I beta test a Geotechnical Graphical Database for an american company, very specialised and heavy duty software and they have a most excellent way of updating their beta testers (and lets face it, we're all beta testers here
) Every month or so (depending on what they are doing) we will get an email saying that there is an update on the website. This update may well only include a few bug fixes that have been reported or maybe a couple of new functions / abilities for us to play with and try to brake, sometimes there will b a load of bug fixes and new functions etc. Those that want to can download the update and install it (the software also has an auto update feature, but this is only for proven "finished" updates) as part of the downloaded files there will be a plain .TXT file detailing what the functions are and how to use them. This way we are constantly provided with updates to play with, some of them very minor, some of them major. Every 6 months or so they will release a full program update install which encompasses all the updates from the last 6 months or so that are "proven"
My point is, they don't wait till there si something major to update, you get it bit at a time. Now, maybe the guys at Planetside are not programming in such a "modular" way, and that this would not be an appropriate way to update the software, but if they are, it wouldcertainly be an update method to consider, because the end users all feel that "work is being done" on the software all the time, and this keeps us happy
Don't get me wrong, I know that the guys at planetside are working all hours of the day and night updating TGTP, its just that updating the above way makes everyone fell that they are getting "work in progress", which is great if you are a beta tester (as we all are) and it keeps us quiet, and stops us nagging for release dates etc
Anyway, thats my rant over.... keep up the good work
Miles