I know this is a longshot but is there any chance the secret/beta autopilot feature has been restored?
I feel like I’m taking crazy pills being the only one who is using it, stuck on 3.8 and missing out on all the new features.
Hey there,
I moved this from the thread because I do not wish to make the thread about the BBM or autopilot, those are not on topic for the release page.
To be Frank:
There is no secret code, the code we made while trying to fix and update the bbm1 is flawed and will not be used in the new bbm2 or in the BeatBuddy
There is no current autopilot capacity that is fully functional and releasable to the public and what’s there is scrapped with the bbm1 because it is unusable outside of an unfixable software and what’s usable is not very good, the developers that handled this are no longer with the company
Hence our working on BBM2
Anyone speaking otherwise is not fully in the know and does not speak directly with our developers like I do myself.
Thanks for the question!
Probably makes sense to change the title to “Autopilot feature in BB 4.1.6 or later”?
Any idea roughly when we might start seeing autopilot surface with a BBM2? Perhaps just a target year or status (are both being worked on now?).
2 Likes
I know that the development of the BBM is pretty fraught and has a long history, and I’m not trying to step on any toes.
In calling it “secret” I don’t know how to describe it any other way — it was never announced or promoted, but the previous firmware supported it along with the version of the BBM that I’m still using. That BBM was the “lean” version, but one that I thought was made publicly available to anyone who asked, it wasn’t some behind-the-scenes beta-testers only BBM to the best of my knowledge. There were options for “autopilot” in that BBM, and they ultimately did something.
I’ve put a LOT of work into creating my songs this way, using that version of the BBM and the 3.8ish (I’m not sure exactly which) BB firmware. I was disheartened to see that when I loaded a later firmware, my songs no longer autoplayed the same way. Even if it wasn’t working up to your standards for public release, it was working quite well enough for me (with a quirk or two here and there). Now my choices are to be stuck in an old firmware or I’ll just have to abandon this workflow that I’ve been perfecting for years which was really working for me.
While you don’t really have to justify your decisions to me, I would very much like to know if there is some concrete reason that code had to be deleted beyond just general cleanup / the fact it was no longer being developed. If it’s an easy splice to throw back in, you’d really be doing me a solid (as, I might note, a crowdfunder from literally the first few minutes this product went live on Indiegogo).
Unfortunately the code was causing issues in the BeatBuddy firmware as we updated we could not support it further, unfortunately there is not a better answer than it became obsolete
We do not have any more news at this time but we will be very vocal once we do
Thanks for the questions
Thank you for the most clear answer I’ve had to this issue, even if it’s not what I wanted to hear.
I would strongly encourage that when a new BBM and functional autopilot are being made that at least some thought it given to backward compatibility. The concepts were sound: listing how many measures each part would play, which beat to trigger transitions, etc. I wouldn’t expect my work would port over but as along as the songs worked and I could re-enter those numbers for autopilot that would be great.
For CC#104 is just open the setting menu ? I tested this function already. But How I select sub-menu ?
I requested this functionality to be able to access the Settings menu on my old Beatbuddy (one of the first 500 shipped!) which lost functionality of its main knobs. I use the the BB physical arrows and Tap key to navigate once I’m in. And CC104 works!
I’m utterly grateful to @BrennanSingularSound and @DavidPackouz for listening to your customer requests!
Cheers!
1 Like
We can’t promise anything at this time, but the new manager will make autopilot very very easy to use, that is in our intention. The time you spend editing will not be major. All BBM1 projects, song, folder, and drumset files will work in BBM2. You would just have to do the setup of AP one more time 
Thank you for the feedback
The purpose was not to enter submenus it is only to open the settings, to move around in the menu, please use either the encoder or the arrows and Tap button
Thanks for the question
1 Like