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Broker: Infinity Futures, SierraChart RT Data Feed
Trading: Mini-DAX, CL, 6E
Posts: 532 since Jun 2010
Thanks Given: 273
Thanks Received: 403
Just found a thread on SC-Support Board from yesterday - thought sharing it here:
"Mainly there have just been corrections to small issues from recent development. Another item is continued performance improvements to the new Spreadsheets.
Generally there is a large amount of development which includes small changes and improvements which is done which often is not mentioned."
No excuse really. Write a sentence in the changelog to state that if that's all that was changed. Otherwise, no one knows when something breaks if it was fixed or not because there is no changelog.
That's exactly why I posted that thread on the Sierra forum. I generally read the release notes very carefully before determining if im going to download the latest version or not. There are a myriad of reasons why I often don't download a new version for several weeks after release,...or on the other hand I often download a new release within minutes of being available if it is critical.
Sierra needs to ensure that release notes are issued for every version.
Just ask him nicely to pay attention to it. I think it's important to have a thread like this on neutral territory (off SC's support board), but you also have to understand he may not like some of the stuff written in the thread and therefore choose to ignore it
I tried a couple different times to use SC. The out of box experience was awful for me. Thie GUI was ugly and felt clunky, felt like I had went back to Windows 3.1. The menus/options were not very intuitive and the online docs were not much better...
Getting everything setup the way I need was taking forever as well. Initial setup wizards would likely help a lot in this area. I trade multiple futures and stock instruments (a quick glance and I have traded over 100 different stocks/etfs/future symbols this year. and use different chart setups and indicators. I felt overwhelmed just trying to get the basics setup, every menu seemed to have 50 options and none of them were explained in the application itself.
I was using SC with IB and this presented some additional challenges for me as well. I have 4 brokerage accounts and was never able to get more than one working correctly.
In the end the trial period was not long enough for me to get comfortable enough to move forward with it. I spend my day trading and have limited amount of time to mess with a new platform. If it is cumbersome and time consuming then I will move on fairly quick.
So, too answer the request of this forum..
-Improve the OOBE with templates and/or setup wizards.
-Improve the menu system and documentation (both in the application and online)
-Simplify setting up connections to brokers (part of the setup wizard) and adding instruments.
-Offer a longer trial period to allow more time to get through theses nuances
-I generally trader from the chart and use ATM strategies... These were painful to get going so any improvement to this OOB would also help to get over the initial setup experience.
Over the years I have had plenty of issues with NT and would have loved to move to something else.
Agree that some premade chartbooks or chart templates would go a long way in helping someone new get started with Sierra. These could have a jpg or something to click on to view whether you wish to DL/install then a link to DL below it, ie ready made TPO charts with common settings, Numbers bars charts etc which are not intuitive for a new user to set up.
I think you might be using the upgrades incorrectly (I've been upgrading since version 39 so I have some experience!)
Unless the SC team have changed something for you or important to you then don't try to stay completely up to date. If its a change for you, you know whats in the "minor issues being fixed list." As good as they are there will sometimes be issues with some tiny aspect of SC operation in a new prerelease. So don't worry about the minor issues: don't use those minor releases.
Personally I now take this approach. When theres a new release that seems major and might affect me I download a copy of it. And unless its important to me I just leave it in a folder for a week or two. Then I upgrade. I probably only do this every 20 or 30 releases now. This was a lesson blueberrycake taught me - if it ain't broke just leave it the heck alone.
I agree with everybody mentioning the layout. Maybe, the Qt5 switch (?) will improve this.
However, Trade Navigator looks somewhat similarly out-dated for a high price. Sure, TN is more for multi-product trading but it might had been a school classmate of SC at the beginning.
As a software developer I know that changing a 10+ year old program is very hard and practically means a rewrite.
SC is light and fast. One might not value this enough until another platform eats up the CPU/mem resources
Moreover, the SC's target group may differ from those what other retail platforms shoot for.
SC data feed flexibility and auto-trading features are more diverse than any other. Also features a native, low level programming interface.
Also mind that SC users seem to be insistent and possibly remain persistent subscribers.
I don't have problems with the change log because of the team does very carefully planning and testing. They release rock solid trading interfaces in some weeks.
So no need to rush a new feature but when it is done it is complete.
For intraday traders.. just try the infamous SC specific Chart DOM feature and you'll stop searching (imo).
Anyway, I can only point out the layout and the menu structure.
The platform is fairly solid internally, the emphasis on efficiency is good, and I prefer the ability to configure just about anything.
However, they really need to hire a development manager / PR manager who will put an end to the attitude the engineering team is giving to their paying customers. It's terribly bad for business and the morale of the end users. Own your problems.
You have people who are literally trying to help improve the product because they believe in it being told to basically pound sand on a regular basis and it really kills the desire to keep trying to help with bug reports and input on how something could be done more efficiently, workflow wise, for the trader (the actual end user using their product).