rlaycock Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hi all I did the migration thing and it all seamed to go ok however now I have no buildings? or trees? Any clue? Thanks Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Benny Posted February 16, 2020 Author Share Posted February 16, 2020 ORBX, since you made me buy a new, more transportable computer case today you owe me half of it... no argument here or I won't buy any other product from you... On top my fee is 80$ an hour for re-building all that Yes there is an handle. Or you could buy my old case back used for... 400$ ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sierra Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hi Nick, Despite the late hour I'm vigilant enough to see that your explanation starts to become difficult (for me) already within the first passage, as MY OrbxCentral (v4.0.39) has no "advanced install" feature. This is all I see: (I had this scenery installed already, but removed it via "uninstall". Being a freeware scenery there's no possibility of manual downloading, so OC4 made an automatic backup, provided in the specified path \yred. But now: no way to use this backup. Michael Austria, Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sierra Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Addendum to my former post (after a couple of hours of sleep thinking works better...): Nevertheless I had the impression that OC4 uses the internal backup for re-installation of the mentioned scenery. I'll give it a try when re-installing my North American scenery collection. Michael Austria, Europe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hello Michael, it seems that once the backup has been created, if the product is then uninstalled, it will reinstall in a short time and automatically use only the backup files. I have made this work with the Iceland demo, there is no longer a manual download. It seems also that if you can still obtain a .c4 file of the product, it also works using the "Install via a manual download" tab and navigating to that .c4 file. I have made this work with HD Trees, there is still a manual download. I also made a backup of HD Trees and it now installs even faster than it uninstalls, perhaps as long as two seconds. These are the files that were saved. My conclusion is that although the availability of c4 files is diminishing, the backup system still works in near enough the same way as it did using FTX Central. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iban Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 17 hours ago, Nick Cooper said: Hello, is that not what you want? Hello again, What I meant is, when trying to install a product in Orbx central using "install via manual download", it opens the dialog to choose the file you have previously downloaded, BUT after choosing it, it does not use that file. Instead, it starts downloading it again from internet, thus consuming data... I checked it yesterday and it is like that for me. Thanks again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hello, that is not my experience, please see the post I just finished above yours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sierra Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 23 minutes ago, Iban said: Hello again, What I meant is, when trying to install a product in Orbx central using "install via manual download", it opens the dialog to choose the file you have previously downloaded, BUT after choosing it, it does not use that file. Instead, it starts downloading it again from internet, thus consuming data... I checked it yesterday and it is like that for me. ... Thanks again. That happens, when there is a newer version of your scenery available online. But even then PC4 will create an automated backup file, where from you may re-install in future. Provided thata you marked the tickbox under "Settings" - "Downloader", have defined a backup path and prepared enough diskspace for the backups. Michael Austria, Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iban Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hello Nick, I have just tried with trees C4 file, and no luck, it consumes data... I am really stuck with this. I have already consumed all my data for the month, and have not managed to install the minimum I need Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Sierra Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 HI Iban, When did you originally download your trees HD? - but I just see it's still a v1.0.0, so there should be no outdated download. Maybe - and that's what I encountered several times, too - your file is corrupt, giving a wrong checksum. In this case OC4 retrieves the 'correct' data from online... Michael Austria, Europe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iban Posted February 16, 2020 Share Posted February 16, 2020 Hi Mike, I will try tomorrow to download the correct file again in the office, and then I will try to manually install it at home, and see if it works. Thank your for your support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachow Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hi, The Manual Download method was a convenient option as it allowed users to download in batch on a high-bandwidth device and then move the resultant files to their flight simulator computer. The death of the Manual Download was suspected back in August 2019 when no Freeware or Demos were converted to the new Central V4 format and there are still broken links on the Orbx Direct portal. I don’t mind Central v4 being used as a Downloader but it currently lacks convenient features, such as: - Being able to run on a computer without a flight simulator installed for the purpose of downloading into a Backup folder without installation. Sometimes a user might purchase an add-on during an Orbx special and then wants to download their purchase straightaway with installation occurring at some later date. Perhaps there is even insufficient disk space to install at the time of purchase. - Being able to log into Central v4 and install on a flight simulator computer without a network connection. If anything untoward happens to the Orbx cloud service in the future, then users may not be able to install their purchases from a Backup Like many other users, I have spent much effort downloading V3 and more recently V4 Manual Downloads. I tested the NZ North Island (NZNI) Manual Download today and noticed the following behavior: 1. The installation almost completes entirely from the NZNI Manual Download archive file except that 2 new files are downloaded. Namely, 64df597e-d727-4a5e-b13e-00a3555c091e.c.zip e199e27e-1d2a-4563-9730-80dd34f00407.c.zip 2. These 2 files are the only files in the NZNI Backup folder, so NO files are copied from the NZNI Manual Download archive 3. If you try a normal Install, these 2 files are used and the remaining required files are downloaded 4. If you unzip, the NZNI Manual Download archive and perform a file comparison, 2 files from the NZNI Manual Download archive are now not needed, namely, 7c87fb3e-3175-4521-9bf0-4ee756bbe031.c.zip e42aab5f-e47b-4acf-8e76-90a5feb01572.c.zip 5. If you try to create a complete NZNI Backup folder by, unzipping the Manual Download archive with the 2 new files from (1), then placing them into an empty NZNI Backup folder, followed by a normal Install, then Central v4 does not remove the 2 redundant files found in (4). So there appears to be no Central V4 cleanup feature. Obviously it would make sense to make the Backup folder the single source for installation, especially if the 'Install from Manual Download' option is removed from Central in a future release. Cheers Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hello Peter, perhaps I can answer two of the points. Quote Being able to run on a computer without a flight simulator installed for the purpose of downloading into a Backup folder without installation. Sometimes a user might purchase an add-on during an Orbx special and then wants to download their purchase straightaway with installation occurring at some later date. Perhaps there is even insufficient disk space to install at the time of purchase. The whole point of a cloud based marketing operation such as Orbx Direct, or indeed Steam, is that products can be purchased at any time and from then on, can be installed whenever the customer chooses and as many times as the customer wishes. There is therefore no need at all to follow the course of action that you put forward as a necessity. Quote Being able to log into Central v4 and install on a flight simulator computer without a network connection. If anything untoward happens to the Orbx cloud service in the future, then users may not be able to install their purchases from a Backup The product licences are stored at Orbx Direct and therefore an internet connection to that is required. If anything untowards happens, then Orbx Central will not work and any purchases not yet installed will remain uninstalled until the problem is fixed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachow Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hi Nick, Thank you for your response. In relation to: 1. "The whole point of a cloud based marketing operation such as Orbx Direct, or indeed Steam, is that products can be purchased at any time and from then on, can be installed whenever the customer chooses and as many times as the customer wishes. There is therefore no need at all to follow the course of action that you put forward as a necessity." If the Manual Download function is withdrawn, then the only way to take delivery of the product content is through Central which unfortunately also forces an install. The preference is to take delivery of the product (i.e. download) at the time of purchase without installation for the reasons I have stated. To delay taking delivery until a future date is a risk, as it relies on the Orbx cloud service being available in the future. If anything untowards happens to the Orbx business, then customers will not be able to access their purchases. Even though the risks to the Orbx business may seem small, it's a risk nevertheless. 2. "The product licences are stored at Orbx Direct and therefore an internet connection to that is required. If anything untowards happens, then Orbx Central will not work and any purchases not yet installed will remain uninstalled until the problem is fixed." This is related to (1) and the response also depends on the availability of the Orbx cloud service in the future. Again, if anything untowards happens to the Orbx business, then customers will not be able to access their purchases, i.e. download content and licenses. Even though the risks to the Orbx business may seem small, it's a risk nevertheless. It may be prudent to seek the advice of the various Consumer Rights bodies in relation to acceptable practices. I hope this helps. Regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nick Cooper Posted February 17, 2020 Share Posted February 17, 2020 Hello Peter, thank you for your advice. You seem to be still overlooking the fact that a manual download requires Orbx Central to install it and that would not be available in the event of the company no longer being there. Another way would be to install all the products into an Orbx Central Library and when they are all installed, make a backup of the whole folder. If they are FSX versions, then a backup of the whole FSX folder would be equally future proof. There would then be no need to have either Orbx Central or an internet connection to install them again. Quote It may be prudent to seek the advice of the various Consumer Rights bodies in relation to acceptable practices. Orbx customers can be anywhere in the world where there is an internet connection and the flight simulators are available. Do you have any specific advice for a specific region? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pachow Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Hi Nick, Thanks for your reply - I believe we are in agreement. If for any reason the Orbx cloud service becomes permanently unavailable, then customers will not be able to use Central due to the inability of the current version to successfully login. So with the current Central software architecture, a user would be unable to install purchases from a Backup. Obviously authorised downloads would not be available due to no available service. However, there are some possible solutions, e.g. if there is no Orbx cloud service available, then Central could start in 'local mode' to allow installations from authorised purchased Backups. An offline encrypted cache containing the user password and purchased license information could reside on the Central client PC. The cache information would need to be kept in sync with the information held in the Orbx cloud when it's available. In some ways, this is similar to the way Windows keeps cached passwords on client machines that use a Microsoft email Account ID for authentication (users can therefore log into Windows when there is no internet connection). I suggested a local mode capability in my original post above. I agree with your suggestion in relation to backing up an installed Orbx P3D library. However, it would be more convenient to allow users to keep the ability to install scenery from their source Backups, especially for rebuilding installations. I would expect basic Consumer rights to be similar in most geographies. I would be happy to check with the regulators here in Australia in relation to perpetual software licenses and the need for customers to retain the right to have access to workable installation files and associated license keys that have been purchased. Regards, Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ramonb Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Like other posters wrote. I might be in the 2% category, and prefer the manual download. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jack the Swede in Spain Posted February 18, 2020 Share Posted February 18, 2020 Yes I know I might be stupid, but I can not see the problem with keeping the manual download option. Please explain, because the reasons given so far makes no sense to me. Jack Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
troye Posted August 28, 2020 Share Posted August 28, 2020 I'm also in that "supposed 2%" and not happy about the manual download option being removed. Not been using Orbx for a while and recently decided to re-install a few airports, only to find that my old zip file backups cannot be read by the new Orbx Central installer and manual downloads are no longer available. Wish Orbx would stop messing around with file formats and make it easier for customers with bandwidth constraints to have access to their purchases. Of course, the mighty Orbx will not change for a few of us, but at least my puny wallet can be adapted to this new constraint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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