Official Unity 2017.4 LTS is now available

Probably the best QA decision in years! Congrats!

 

Agreed, this is brilliant. A dev tool, more than any other kind of software, needs to be absolutely solid and as bug-free as possible (while still keeping up with necessary platform changes). Please keep up the great work!

 

This is very useful indeed!

 

Awesome, this really solidifies the professional quality of the engine. Many projects need a solid foundation and this sounds like a perfect implementation.

 

Do you want us to re-submit bugs that are currently open for previous versions of Unity if they're in 2017.4? Is that useful for helping you track LTS bugs or is it just annoying because someone would just have to close them as duplicates?

 

I am curious, why is 2017.4 not the default release when you download Unity?

 

More specifically, 2017.4 is the default release if you click on Get Unity from the main site and then select personal edition and agree to the terms (presumably also if you go through the purchase process). But for those of us who already have Unity and simply want to upgrade to the latest release (by selecting Latest release at the bottom of the page) it refers us to 2017.3 still.

 

Agree with CraigGraff
I found out about 2017.4 LTS today accidentally.
I have Plus license and latest version for me 2017.3.1

 

If we have ported our game to the beta 2018, we have to stay on the 2018 version or we can downgrade to 2017.4?

 

Unity normally do that when there is a new release. Those who go to the standard link will include new users, so best to let those who really want the latest version to check it out first in case there are issues that could turn away curious potential customers.

 

Hi, I asked this is another thread but I'll re-ask here. Many times if I submit a bug for the current stable version of Unity, all I get back is an email asking to see if it works in whatever the latest beta is. If I don't, it's closed without anyone bothering to try to fix it. Now that this LTS is supposed to be "more supported" and "more stable", can this please be avoided? First, it shouldn't even matter if a major bug might be fixed in a beta, since bugs are supposed to be fixed in stable releases. Second, no one working on a game has time to download every new beta as a side install and test all their bugs against it constantly. Letting us submit bugs in the LTS to have them looked at and fixed in the LTS on your side would make things much simpler.

 

GREAT! Gratitude!

 

I'm rolling back to 2017.3. This new LTS gives me tons of errors in the editor, animator window stopping to work randomly, inspector window sometime refuse to refresh.

 

For such a significant endeavour, this is worded, presented and pitched in a shoddy manner.

Name it:

Unity3D 2017.Stable - plus version numbers...

And, as you evolve Stable.point versions to actual stability, please provide exact version downloads, in a chronological list of direct links. No hub, no download assistant, no hoop jumping. Just let users and admins rapidly, exactingly and easily install parallel versions to check against their masterpieces in perfect isolation.

In other words; cater to the actual needs of the target space. Don't just posture and promote. Unity has done more than enough of that. Instead, consolidate around a Stable version.

There's no need for yet another set of acronyms. LTS doesn't mean anything and you don't have the brand equity (or reputation) to instil it with meaning. And it's a fight not worth fighting, of your own doing, because unwrapping LTS reveals a word salad of deliberately disingenuous corporate waffle and ambiguity:

What's your definition of "Long Term" ???

What's your definition of "Supported" ???

I shouldn't even need to be thinking about this. Nor should you, or anyone working on this version... because...

...there's a word you can use, and it's the same thing your users want: Stable

Added benefit, this removes the need for explanation. At some point in the gestation of LTS "program" and the TECH "streams", someone should have realised a need for explanation revealed naming problems.

It's not too late.

A reliable housing for workhorses is such a noble building endeavour (and so important and significant to the lives of horse breeders and riders) that it's worth every effort to proclaim the entity's nature within the name. Stable inspires, empowers and explains, for breeders, groomers and users.

Stable, as the name of the product, serves as a constant reminder, aspiration and purpose.

Shape it. Use it. Do it. Be it.

Unity3D 2017.Stable
From the past, for the future.

-----------

Public efforts to rename as Stable and betas will be proclaimed.

The endeavour, to evolve a stable version that can be relied upon, is so important you'll be forgiven this LTS and Tech nonsense nomenclature mistake.

For the workhorses, a Stable.

For gamers: tracks, fields, reins and grass.

 

LTS is not a new acronym, it's very well known for anybody in the real business, which is what this release is targeting.
LTS is used widely on server distribution, ever heard for example of Ubuntu LTS?
What this essentially mean is that if there are bugs or security issues discovered much later after the release(up to 2 years in this case), you can be sure you will have a fix without the need to upgrade version, that's all.
Stable doesn't mean bug free, because there is no software bug free.
As have been said the Tech release will be STABLE, so there is no reason to have a stable nomenclature.
Everything not beta and experimental will be STABLE, they said they are trying to change the fact that you have to wait for several patch or minor releases before having a stable release.
This is what they are aiming at least, so far my experience with the LTS has not been great and I have reverted to the latest 2017.3.

 

which

Which industry is that?

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long-term_support

I prefer LTS in this case because it directly implies that they're going to continue to support and fix bugs in it instead of doing most bug fixing in the beta, which as my post above has said, has been a constant source of pain for some of us. When a release of something is just marked "stable" that can sometimes mean the opposite: that it's a version that won't change or get updated at all, while all bug fixes go into a "development" branch.

 

The Problem with hanging mono.exe task is still not resolved ?!
Fresh 2017.4.1f1 installed -> C# changed to 4.6 -> Standard Assets added -> ml-agent 0.3 added
TFSharpPlugin.unitypackages import hangs

Windows 7 64bit i5 hd-gfx
Unity3D 64 2017.4.1f1

What can i do, always killing the task couldn't be the solution?
I'm the only one with this problem?

 

Has there been a successful, celebrated, championed and lauded LTS?

 

LTS is what's being used. And this is what Unity is doing. You've made your point. Long Term Support is Unity's design, like their features, software, pay package, pricing.

Does it matter? Of course not. Supporting every major version for an additional 2 years is pretty sane. In addition the changes will be far less invasive going forward with a huge part of what Unity is being moved to package manager, which is separate from the Unity download.

 

When stability is skipped, or wrongly presumed, and the leap is made to "LTS" (a term most game devs are unfamiliar with), which is both utterly subjective and arbitrary... without a prior effort to achieve stability and performance for the express purpose of releasing an LTS 'version', then yes. I think it does matter. In several ways.

With ECS looming, and its significant changes to input, rendering, transforms and just about everything else, more so.

2017.4 is now, quite likely, going to become a long term legacy product that deserves to be made stable before committing to LTS. If the world of Unity users and their publishers and planners had known about this intention, of making it an LTS, prior to its release as an LTS, the endeavour to make it stable could have been committed to, if you'll excuse the pun.

Presuming stability, at this point, seems a bit premature.

This especially true for something that's eventually going to become a legacy, and the hallmark of the old way of using Unity's legacy Component based model/paradigm. By the time 2018 reaches LTS, it's likely to be a hybrid of ECS and Components, and might even begin favouring an ECS approach. That's a very different animal. A Unity 2.0, if you like.

 

Bumping this up.
I'm on 2017.3.1p3 and I'm concerned about 2017.4 giving problems.
Is it worth upgrading?
is there anyone else experiencing this problems?

 

Are the following two releases the same? I am confused!

LTS Release 2017.4.1f1
Released: 6 April 2018

https://unity3d.com/unity/qa/lts-releases

Unity 2017.4.1
24 Apr, 2018

https://unity3d.com/get-unity/download/archive

 

Any ETA on the next LTS release?

I'm guessing everyone is pretty busy trying to button up 2018.1, and that's why the every-other-week cadence got missed, but there's some fixed critical bugs we've been hoping get shipped, in any form...

Yes, they are the same. The two downloaders are identical. Not sure why they changed the date.

 

I'll tell you why:
Unity headquarters, right now...

 

Awesome, thanks much for the update!

 

This is an incredibly good news for many.

I got stuck in 4.7 maintaining a project and felt totally let down with UWP integration issues.

Now this wont happen any moar.

 

Any chance we could get a subforum for LTS, like there is for beta, so we could discuss longstanding bugs and workarounds there that won't get buried by bug posts about whatever the Release version is?

 

Great idea, especially for sharing workarounds.

(I'm so glad the LTS stream is a thing now instead of trying to share workarounds when everyone running a slightly different patch of a different quarterly release with it's own unique behaviors/regressions.)

 

We have a product that we've been running on Unity, and upgrading since 3.5 and it hasn't always been easy. I'm really glad to hear about this new structure and expect it'll make life easier for us.

I do have a question though, our plan is to use the Tech releases to prototype new features based on the updates and to see what potential problems we'll run into when upgrading to the next LTS. I know there'll be support for upgrading from LTS to LTS version, but what about from LTS to Tech versions? For example if I want to go from 2017.4 to 2018.2 to test some stuff. @superpig

 

Awesome. Time to start plotting some cool new features.

 

I guess the 2017.4.7 was delayed? Do we got any ETA on that?

While there is nothing specific I'd be awaiting a fix for, it is just reassuring to see that there is a constant stream of improvement on the LTS initiative.

 

Hello @superpig,

is issue 971056 https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/ios-rigidbody-interpolation-causes-objects-to-jitter fixed in LTS now? I would like to update to update to APFS (High Sierra), but I can't because I am still stuck at 2017.1.1p3 because I am developing a game for mobile using PhysX - and of course utilizing rigidbody interpolation.
I am not able to use the newest xCode, not able to upgrade my iDevices..

Please tell me that issue 971056 has been fixed in 2017.4.7f1.

 

fine, Richard. thank you

inserting 1 bacon.

 

@superpig 2017.4.7f1 do not open monodevelop on mac, instead it opens up visual studio despite monodevelop is choosen in "preferences".

 

Hi, any update on this? We're experiencing it in 2017.4 and urgently need a fix. We can't update to 2018.

 

2017.4.8f1 has just been released, and does not contain this fix.

 

2017.4.9 will be the 4th LTS release since this bug was first fixed in 2018.1.5f1. Do you have any insight into why the process took so long?

I can't realistically ask our stakeholders to put up with a broken build for 2-3 weeks more, with no guarantee that a fix will come in 2017.4.9 (and even the promised 2 week cadence has varied). We'll have to find some other workaround. This isn't how I thought LTS would work out for us, it is disappointing.

 

According to this thread (https://forum.unity.com/threads/unity-and-macos-10-13-high-sierra.474527/) 2017.1.1p3 works on APFS and it does not contain any interpolation errors (issue 971056)

I am currently on High Sierra and 17.1.1p3 and everything works fine so far.
(My Mac has a fusion drive (not a single SSD), so it didn't auto-update to APFS yet anyway.)

But @dri_richard is right, the whole LTS-project does disappoint in its current form

 

Not at all an emergency or a blocking thing for my project, but since the issue is resolved in 2018.3, is it possible to have it incorporated into LTS?
https://issuetracker.unity3d.com/issues/during-sprite-atlas-packing-unity-editor-crashes

 

Thanks, that would be very helpful if it's possible.

 

If we can't get a separate subforum, what about something like the Issue Tracker where we can vote on bug fixes that we would like backported to LTS? The current Issue Tracker format doesn't really work for voting on a bug that's already marked as "Fixed in 2018".