1 hour ago, raymar said:

We haven't found a way to get to the files, yet.  If the user is not going to be able to make simple changes to the config files, the sales will most likely plummet. I know that I will stop buying them if I can't even keep my personal number on the fuselage from one session to another

Oh.. I was thinking of purchasing, but if Carenado are going to be like that then I won't bother... Get 🤬 Carenado, I'll stick with freeware mods to the default aircraft.

It is entirely possible that it is Microsoft's choice to encrypt the paid add-on aircraft and Carenado may not have a choice.

In the Steam version, nothing is encrypted. The config files are plain text and they are easy to find in the Official directory. Basically, you get what you pay for when you use the Microsoft Store... 

23 minutes ago, Jeff_Fortuna said:

In the Steam version, nothing is encrypted. The config files are plain text and they are easy to find in the Official directory. Basically, you get what you pay for when you use the Microsoft Store... 

I'm very skeptical this is the case for the Deluxe and up aircraft from Asobo and the paid add-on aircraft. Will check in a bit.

Just checked the 172 steam gauge version specifically, which is a Deluxe airplane. The airplane folders and associated files are not encrypted. I don't have the Premium Deluxe but I doubt these aircraft are encrypted. I can't verify this one way or the other, however. 

As it turned out, I would never have went with the Microsoft Store version anyway. It has caused no end of trouble for me and many many others. Aside from that, on launch day there was a bug in the store such that the flight sim could NOT be installed if you were on the developer ring of Windows Insiders. This bug was eventually fixed about a week later but it didn't matter to me. 

Steam is not perfect by any means but as a software distribution mechanism it is infinitely better than the Microsoft Store, IMHO. 

The aircraft.cfg and flight_model.cfg files (among others) for all the deluxe, premium, and paid addon aircraft are stored in encrypted fsarchive files instead of in the folder with the other plain text files.

So the files that are there are plain text, but the game looks elsewhere for some critical info.

This is why there are community fixes for the C4J (base version plane) but not the Longitude.

No difference on the Steam version.

16 minutes ago, marsman2020 said:

The aircraft.cfg and flight_model.cfg files (among others) for all the deluxe, premium, and paid addon aircraft are stored in encrypted fsarchive files instead of in the folder with the other plain text files.

So the files that are there are plain text, but the game looks elsewhere for some critical info.

This is why there are community fixes for the C4J (base version plane) but not the Longitude.

No difference on the Steam version.

I guess they do this so you can't move the airplane folder to another computer.

6 hours ago, Todd2 said:

I guess they do this so you can't move the airplane folder to another computer.

Exactly!

Although it would have been better if they could have linked this through the .exe file and some form of online verification, maybe even a keyfile as some companies use.

From my experience, it is only a matter of time before someone gets around it anyway.

Why can we just ask ASOBO to please add it as a feature? This is supposed to be a 10 year plan.

I'm starting to think that I will have to spend money on add-ons to fix what is broken on this sim. 😀

In theory, if one were able to obtain a copy of the encrypted file from software to which they themselves have a license -- which would be completely legal as long as it were not distributed -- one might be able to mod a plane by placing an unencrypted copy in the right place in the VFS.   I don't know for certain but I have a hunch the game would read it just fine.   It's only one step removed from the method folks have developed for adding liveries to the encrypted planes.

The hard part would be getting those files.  A particularly clever person with a memory debugger may be able to work some wonders.  Even were it possible there's still the legal aspect, but the sort of mods going on right now are already in a little bit of a legal gray area if you want to be super nitpicky.

That's all I'm going to say about that, lest it veer into the kind of discussion that does not get well tolerated here at Avsim for various reasons.

NOW, all that said, I have yet to hear an explicit confirmation from anyone with the Steam version as to whether or not these planes are as restricted for them.   We know the stock planes are actually visible but not about the commercial ones.  If someone with Steam who has this, or the 182, or the Kitfox could check their official packages directory for it and see if they only have cfg/xml files or if there are fsarchive files and let us know it would be great.

45 minutes ago, kaosfere said:

NOW, all that said, I have yet to hear an explicit confirmation from anyone with the Steam version as to whether or not these planes are as restricted for them.   We know the stock planes are actually visible but not about the commercial ones.  If someone with Steam who has this, or the 182, or the Kitfox could check their official packages directory for it and see if they only have cfg/xml files or if there are fsarchive files and let us know it would be great.

I have the Steam version and .fsarchives here.

For all of the people claiming (or maybe guessing) the Steam and MS Store versions are different.  Apart from the installation directory structure and maybe the config file locations, the two version appear to be the same, and with the same restrictions on the Deluxe and Premium files (encryption etc.)

Maybe I’m missing something here but if I buy an add on I would expect the official developer to make any fixes not some random joe off the internet???

Allegedly, the .fsarerchive encryption is tied to your computer ID. I imagine they encrypt it so that no one can copy and distribute those planes. Unfortunate the way they went about it keeps the users from fixing problems with those planes. Now we are at MS/Asobo's mercy as to when/if these issues are ever fixed.

Found another problem. When using the FS controls "IFR PILOT VIEW SAVE" and/or "IFR PILOT VIEW RESET", I get a CTD. Tested with default plane, no CTD there while using these. Can anyone confirm, or is it just me?

Edited September 22, 20205 yr by Hyppe
Typo