OrbxDirect and FTXCv3 FAQ - add feedback here

[Jack the Swede in Spain]

3 minutes ago, stewart1 said:

Hi a am looking forward to the new orbxdirect   on the 1st of November  ,

you are saying Flightsim  store web site will be closed  I have aircraft and other none orbx  downloads how will I access my downloads that I have on Flightstore  .

regards stewart 

Guess you didn´t read this. ;-)

 

Q5 Will transferring my licenses to OrbxDirect close my FSS account?

A5 No not at all. The transfer only affects your past Orbx product purchases at FSS, not any other products you bought from other developers. Those will remain in your FSS account.

[European Mountain Man]

Thanks I did not se that regards stewart

[gprguy]

2 hours ago, ArtFlyer said:

I don't seem to see an answer these questions yet?   I would like to know this before I burn my bridges with the FSS wrappers.

 

 

Let me preface this with saying I don't work for OrbX and have no insight into their business decisions. Nor do I speak for them, so if you disagree with anything in this post JV, feel free to nuke it - I won't take it personally.

 

But let's just apply some logic to the situation. OrbX in the flight sim world is huge. If JV and whatever other owners/partners/however it works decide they've had enough, what's the more likely situation for a business which from the outside seems to be selling a lot of product? Do you think they'll just close up shop and delete all their assets, or sell it to some other person/entity wanting to carry on making (what I would assume is) a healthy profit off of all of us dedicated customers?

 

Even if you think it's the former, let's spell that out. There'd be no more updates to any sceneries, so needing to interact with the online service to get new versions would no longer matter. You'd already have your sceneries installed on your PC. If you needed to reload your OS, what's to stop you from making a backup of your ORBX directory and restoring it on to the new FSX/P3D install? Odds are it would not be completely seamless but in the end it's pretty much just a bunch of data and configuration files. There would be a huge community of former customers in the same boat - I'm sure we'd all figure out a solution collectively. It's really no difference than if the FSS store went under - you'd have to deal with your products as they exist on your HD today, you wouldn't be able to rely on the FSS installers any longer.

 

The important point in the FAQ about this is Q16 - FTXC needs to validate the licenses during install, but not after that. Same situation as FSS wrappers.

[John Venema]

3 hours ago, ArtFlyer said:

I don't seem to see an answer these questions yet?   I would like to know this before I burn my bridges with the FSS wrappers.

 

 

If indeed we sell the company (possible) or we go bust (highly unlikely) there is a duty of care to honour all licenses sold so we would patch FTX Central so it does not need to authenticate licenses on a server anymore. Please don't make comparisons between Orbx and FSGenesis; Justin Tyme ran a one-man subscription based operation that was badly managed and unsustainable.

[ArtFlyer]

1 hour ago, John Venema said:

 

If indeed we sell the company (possible) or we go bust (highly unlikely) there is a duty of care to honour all licenses sold so we would patch FTX Central so it does not need to authenticate licenses on a server anymore. Please don't make comparisons between Orbx and FSGenesis; Justin Tyme ran a one-man subscription based operation that was badly managed and unsustainable.

Thank you for the response.  As unlikely as this scenario might be, it is nice to know it is safe. 

 

For the record, I didn't compare ORBX to FSGenesis.

[John Venema]

No but you bumped a question where the comparison was made.

[fltsimguy]

6 minutes ago, John Venema said:

No but you bumped a question where the comparison was made.

 

Sorry, but I started it.  And it just came to mind that I lost my downloads because the new outfit would not honour them.  Its was not a statement to do with poor management the one man business model.

 

Thanks for the statement John.  Heaven forbid we loose Orbx....at least before you finish the planet off with regions....lol.

 

Not a pleasant topic but this is why I have a will, powers of attorney, and complete estate plan. I just lost a friend, 66 who went camping in his RV and never made it back home....crap happens.

[Siggy]

Will this setup work (it does with the current installers) ? Please note that \ProgramData is on D:
 

d:\Users\Siggy>set
ALLUSERSPROFILE=d:\ProgramData
ProgramData=d:\ProgramData
SystemDrive=C:
SystemRoot=C:\Windows

Cheers,

Siggy

[Tim Harris]

[Multiple replies removed]

 

Gentlemen, there will be no more personal attacks.

[Egbert Drenth]

Hi,

 

Does ORBX has the same VAT policy as Flightsim Store?
Dutch orders (and I guess also European orders) are not charged with 20% VAT.
Is this the same with ORBX store?

[ArtFlyer]

On 2016-10-29 at 2:22 PM, John Venema said:

No but you bumped a question where the comparison was made.

Sorry.  I bumped it for the question only.  I should have bumped my own earlier unanswered question on the same subject that did not use a comparison.  I will be more specific next time.

[John Venema]

14 hours ago, Egbert Drenth said:

Hi,

 

Does ORBX has the same VAT policy as Flightsim Store?
Dutch orders (and I guess also European orders) are not charged with 20% VAT.
Is this the same with ORBX store?

 

It's not FSS policy, it's Australian tax law

 

Only Australian customers are charged 10% GST (or VAT) which we absorb as an inclusive cost and pass onto the government.

 

If you are not in located in Australia you don't pay VAT or GST or any other tax.

[GlennH]

On 2016-10-29 at 2:34 PM, fltsimguy said:

 

Sorry, but I started it.  And it just came to mind that I lost my downloads because the new outfit would not honour them.  Its was not a statement to do with poor management the one man business model.

 

Thanks for the statement John.  Heaven forbid we loose Orbx....at least before you finish the planet off with regions....lol.

 

Not a pleasant topic but this is why I have a will, powers of attorney, and complete estate plan. I just lost a friend, 66 who went camping in his RV and never made it back home....crap happens.

 

Same thing happened to me with fsgenesis but I badgered them until they gave me them back as on time download. You just had to keep on at them. 

 

Besides, Justin is back as toposim and is still honouring former galaxy members subscriptions.

[DylanM]

Hi All  - the migration went seamlessly! Well done!

 

One bit of feedback - I'm getting a prompt for an update to LIDA, but when I click "Update Product" in FTX Central V3, I'm getting a "you do not have access to this build message".

[Thomas Breus]

Dylan have you tried restarting FTXC3 and then tried again?

[Ben McClintock]

1 minute ago, DylanM said:

One bit of feedback - I'm getting a prompt for an update to LIDA, but when I click "Update Product" in FTX Central V3, I'm getting a "you do not have access to this build message".

Hi Dylan,

 

You'll need to add LIDA to your account, you can do this from LIDA's page: https://orbxdirect.com/product/lida

 

[Avance]

Migration done ! FTX Central 3 installed, all seems OK, all my purchases are present in the new interface, updates done.

[fltsimguy]

5 hours ago, GlennH said:

 

Same thing happened to me with fsgenesis but I badgered them until they gave me them back as on time download. You just had to keep on at them. 

 

Besides, Justin is back as toposim and is still honouring former galaxy members subscriptions.

 

Seriously, I always liked Justin from a long way back.

[svenlan]

This post is to praise the team that worked with the idea, development and implementation:

 

Created the account & transferred my licenses to it within five minutes, installed FTXCV3, it found all installs and licenses.

Consistent layout, easy to put freeware and payware in account, one click download and install.... no wrappers, no hassle.

 

From day 1 this all worked flawlessly, no bugs so far. WOW!

So, this virtual pilot with P3DV3.4 on Windows 10, says thank you thank you thank you!

[FransKes]

Hi, I installed FTXCentral3, updated OrbxLibs,and successfully transferred my FSS licenses to Orbx. I have not found any way of downloading my payware products for local backup, either in FTXCentral3 or from my OrbxDirect account. In FTXC3, if I click on a product, I get the options to "Configure this product...", "Learn about this product...", or "Remove this product...". In OrbxDirect I am told to use FTXC3 to download my product. Am I missing something here, or is this feature to be provided at a future date?

 

Frans Kes

[Thomas Breus]

Hello Frans, it seems like you've already installed your product since you get "Configure this product" correct? If so, you can go to https://orbxdirect.com/account and click the product you want to download for backup.
Then you should be met with some product information and towards the end some text saying:

The preferred way to download this product is with the "Download via FTX Central" button above. However, if you are unable to download the product via FTX Central, you can use the manual download (but we strongly recommend using FTX Central).

You just have to click manual download to save it for later installation.

[NoLonger]

Only two feedback points:

 

1. Absolutely great FAQ.

2. People should learn to read. 

[FransKes]

OK. The problem seems to have beeen that when the entire message is highlighted in blue, it is not apparent that "manual download" is actually a button. Thank you.

 

Frans

 

 

[bcrawley57]

I have just received my new PC today and need to reinstall all my ORBX products.  Is there an advantage to doing it using the new system, or should I use existing backups before transferring my licences?

 

Kind regards,

 

 

[FransKes]

Oh, one other issue. Can the download filename be renamed, or is the criptic name important to FTXC3? I would like to know what is contained in the backup file by looking at the file name.

 

Frans

[BradB]

The update to FTX Central v3 went smoothly for me , I am installing KBHB from my account to fly this afternoon . I won't need a larger SSD after all , everything is up in the

"Cloud" when I need it . Thank you Orbx !! .

 

Cheers

 

John

[Ben McClintock]

6 minutes ago, FransKes said:

Oh, one other issue. Can the download filename be renamed, or is the criptic name important to FTXC3? I would like to know what is contained in the backup file by looking at the file name.

 

Frans

Hi Frans,

 

You can rename the file

 

We'll be updating our "manual download" filenames soon so that they're easier for humans to understand

[FransKes]

Great, thanks. It's good that you guys are still awake!

 

Frans

[NoLonger]

13 minutes ago, bcrawley57 said:

I have just received my new PC today and need to reinstall all my ORBX products.  Is there an advantage to doing it using the new system, or should I use existing backups before transferring my licences?

 

Kind regards,

 

 

 

Depends on your internet connection and if you have a download limit. I have a very good connection and no limit and the next time I will have to do a reinstall I will definitely use the new system, even without making local backups. I love Steam and have no problems downloading >20 GB games from there so I won't expect problems here, specially since I usually do not reinstall everything I got at once. I only install what I need first. Big advantage of the new system is you don't have to look for updates and check for newer versions. I also hate to use old installers on a new system and having to install updates afterwards. The new system seems the cleanest way to get things done.

 

If your internet is slow or expensive and your downloaded files are pretty up to date you might use the existing backups and transfer later. But there will come a day when you need to use the new system anyway so why not do it proper now already. 

[bcrawley57]

I might put the Global products from my backups, I am not quite sure where FS Pilots Global Mesh fits in all this.  But certainly Global Base and Vectors I will do from backup and then let FS Central do the rest.  How long does the licence transfer process take?

 

[NoLonger]

9 minutes ago, bcrawley57 said:

I might put the Global products from my backups, I am not quite sure where FS Pilots Global Mesh fits in all this.  But certainly Global Base and Vectors I will do from backup and then let FS Central do the rest.  How long does the licence transfer process take?

 

 

The license transfer process takes a few minutes at most. You don't have to transfer every single purchase, as some people seem to think. Regard it as a account transfer because that's what it actually is. The Orbx part of your FSS account will be transferred to OrbxDirect. Thats's all!

[bcrawley57]

Thats excellent, thank you very much for your help

 

[VonClout]

Great work everyone, there's no 'thumbs up' emoticon to use but if there was I'd have used it several times!

 

Just installed a couple of freeware airports as well as the library update and it was all trouble free and nice and quick too.

 

I did encounter the "you do not have access to this build" message but it only took me a few seconds to find the answer

 

Simon

 

 

[gprguy]

1 hour ago, bcrawley57 said:

I might put the Global products from my backups, I am not quite sure where FS Pilots Global Mesh fits in all this.  But certainly Global Base and Vectors I will do from backup and then let FS Central do the rest.  How long does the licence transfer process take?

 

 

Global mesh is technically not a FTX/Orbx product so you still install that the same way as always - not via FTXC 3.

[Frankie_2]

I believe this question could be interesting to some other people here as well. Some time ago, the winners of the monthly Screenshot Contest (does it still exist? haven't been very active here since years) got send the product of their choice via e-Mail by Ed Correia including download-link and serial, order number, order date. That said, this product (ftx Australia in particular) is not listed in my FSS account.

To be honest, at this time I do fear that when transferring my purchased products from the FSS to Orbx Direct, ftx Central v3 will recognize ftx Australia as an unauthorized copy and "destroy" my flightsim-installation. Does Question #7 from the FAQ apply to this particular matter?
 

[Jack Sawyer]

I have a few questions.

First, all is going well, everything migrated and transferred over.  

I am in the process of updating everything that needs updating right now and will do the LIBS file last.

 

Right, questions.

 

1. Will it retain my Vector settings?

 

2. Will it retain my lights settings?

 

3. I have FSX and P3D on the same PC, do I have to go through the same process with FSX?

 

4. Can I now remove my FTX Central V2 icon from the Windows 7 dock?  Will I ever need it again?

 

5. Can I now buy directly from FTXV3 tonight?  Is the store operational?

 

Thank you.

 

Jack

 

PS, it looks very nice.  Great job.

[sidfadc]

I signed up for an Orbxdirect account about 7 hours ago but haven't received the registration email?  Is it lagging due to demand or is something else going on?

[Ben McClintock]

23 minutes ago, Helifan123 said:

I believe this question could be interesting to some other people here as well. Some time ago, the winners of the monthly Screenshot Contest (does it still exist? haven't been very active here since years) got send the product of their choice via e-Mail by Ed Correia including download-link and serial, order number, order date. That said, this product (ftx Australia in particular) is not listed in my FSS account.

To be honest, at this time I do fear that when transferring my purchased products from the FSS to Orbx Direct, ftx Central v3 will recognize ftx Australia as an unauthorized copy and "destroy" my flightsim-installation. Does Question #7 from the FAQ apply to this particular matter?
 

Please make a new ticket at https://support.orbxdirect.com and explain your situation. Please also provide some proof that you won (e.g. screenshots of your emails with Ed OR the serial information that Ed provided you).

 

FTX Central v3 will not destroy your simulator, if you use FTX Central v3 and you don't have the appropriate license in OrbxDirect, the only thing you will NOT be able to do is update that particular product if a newer version is released.

 

 

12 minutes ago, Jack Sawyer said:

I have a few questions.

First, all is going well, everything migrated and transferred over.  

I am in the process of updating everything that needs updating right now and will do the LIBS file last.

 

Right, questions.

 

1. Will it retain my Vector settings?

 

2. Will it retain my lights settings?

 

3. I have FSX and P3D on the same PC, do I have to go through the same process with FSX?

 

4. Can I now remove my FTX Central V2 icon from the Windows 7 dock?  Will I ever need it again?

 

5. Can I now buy directly from FTXV3 tonight?  Is the store operational?

 

Thank you.

 

Jack

 

PS, it looks very nice.  Great job.

Hi Jack,

 

Glad to hear everything's going well.

 

1. Yes, you can access the Vector control panel by using the "configure" button on Vector's page inside FTX Central.
2. Yes, your FTX Global Lights settings are retained.
3. You can select "FSX" when starting FTX Central and it will function the same as it does in Prepar3D If a product has been installed in one simulator, it will just copy the common files over to your new simulator without downloading new ones.
4. You can remove the FTX Central v2 icon. You shouldn't need it again.
5. Yes, the store is 100% operational

 

4 minutes ago, sidfadc said:

I signed up for an Orbxdirect account about 7 hours ago but haven't received the registration email?  Is it lagging due to demand or is something else going on?

Hi, I've manually activated your account

 

[Frankie_2]

1 minute ago, Ben McClintock said:

Please make a new ticket at https://support.orbxdirect.com and explain your situation. Please also provide some proof that you won (e.g. screenshots of your emails with Ed OR the serial information that Ed provided you).

 

FTX Central v3 will not destroy your simulator, if you use FTX Central v3 and you don't have the appropriate license in OrbxDirect, the only thing you will NOT be able to do is update that particular product if a newer version is released.

Thank You, Ben.
 

[Jack Sawyer]

7 minutes ago, Ben McClintock said:

Please make a new ticket at https://support.orbxdirect.com and explain your situation. Please also provide some proof that you won (e.g. screenshots of your emails with Ed OR the serial information that Ed provided you).

 

FTX Central v3 will not destroy your simulator, if you use FTX Central v3 and you don't have the appropriate license in OrbxDirect, the only thing you will NOT be able to do is update that particular product if a newer version is released.

 

 

Hi Jack,

 

Glad to hear everything's going well.

 

1. Yes, you can access the Vector control panel by using the "configure" button on Vector's page inside FTX Central.
2. Yes, your FTX Global Lights settings are retained.
3. You can select "FSX" when starting FTX Central and it will function the same as it does in Prepar3D If a product has been installed in one simulator, it will just copy the common files over to your new simulator without downloading new ones.
4. You can remove the FTX Central v2 icon. You shouldn't need it again.
5. Yes, the store is 100% operational

 

 

 

Ben, did it change my Vector settings at all because I had a lot of things unticked and should have taken a screenshot.