GSX Pro - Top or Flop?

[virtuali 4,454]

1 hour ago, qqwertzde said:

Flop here. I bought it right when it was released and struggled with it ever since. Uninstalled it today, pity I loved GSX in P3D and was soo looking forward to the MSFS version.

GSX for MSFS is clearly better than the P3D version, considering they share most of their code, which runs externally from the sim so, it’s just not possible anybody could say the P3D version was “better”, when it’s basically the same code, but with better models, textures and animations and extra features too.

The only remaining issues are mostly due to limitations with the default jetway system and the limited data we have about them (even more limited if we use the Navdata api), which cause all sort of issues with passengers, but these should be gone with SU12, as I explained in another post.

[qqwertz 807]

6 hours ago, virtuali said:

GSX for MSFS is clearly better than the P3D version, considering they share most of their code, which runs externally from the sim so, it’s just not possible anybody could say the P3D version was “better”, when it’s basically the same code, but with better models, textures and animations and extra features too.

The only remaining issues are mostly due to limitations with the default jetway system and the limited data we have about them (even more limited if we use the Navdata api), which cause all sort of issues with passengers, but these should be gone with SU12, as I explained in another post.

Hello Umberto,

sorry for the public rant yesterday. I know you have put a ton of work into this program. If it works, GSX is great. However, after struggling with it for 4 months, I just got very frustrated yesterday after I couldn't even get GSX to appear in the menu bar anymore. 

I guess my main problem with GSX in MSFS is the Live Updater. It never worked, I always had to use the offline installer. Yesterday's problem appeared after using that installer to get the latest version. I then tried to uninstall GSX completely to get a vanilla version, but the addon manager didn't do that properly and I had to remove the Virtuali folder manually. After a reinstallation, I suddenly had two GSX folders with dead startup links to Couatl. That's when I wrote my post.

Part of my GSX woes is related to being an early adopter (and the associated issues with the installer), and part to me insisting to use it with smaller airplanes like the BN-2 Islander or the King Air, and to custom code GSX for smaller airports. I haven't edited config files for airports and airplanes for the last two months, but before that, the GSX editor often created some bizarre results, like the pilots suddenly being launched vertically into the air.

I trust your statement above that these editor issues have been fixed, I am just not in the mood to try it again anytime soon. Give me a few weeks or months and I am sure I will return to using GSX.

Peter

[virtuali 4,454]

3 hours ago, qqwertzde said:

I guess my main problem with GSX in MSFS is the Live Updater. It never worked, I always had to use the offline installer. Yesterday's problem appeared after using that installer to get the latest version. I then tried to uninstall GSX completely to get a vanilla version, but the addon manager didn't do that properly and I had to remove the Virtuali folder manually. After a reinstallation, I suddenly had two GSX folders with dead startup links to Couatl. That's when I wrote my post.

It would have been best if:

- You posted this on the FSDT forum before uninstalling it.

- Even if you failed to uninstall it, if would have been best to post on the FSDT forum exactly what happened during the uninstall, while the post you made there just said "Not even that works for me", which is not very helpful for troubleshooting.

Of course the uninstall works, why it hasn't worked for you it's something that must be properly verified, possibly related to the same issue which prevented the update to work to begin with. But again, please open a proper post, with a proper title and a proper precise report on our forum, which is the correct place to be supported.

I checked all your post in our forum, and other than a couple of questions, nothing you wrote ever suggested you ever had a problem with the updater or the installer, but you stopped posting after Sept. 4th, and just came back here to report an issue we couldn't possibly be aware of. 

Please don't reply here about this issue, but continue on our forum with a report, so you can be followed there in the most appropriate way.

Edited December 22, 2022 by virtuali

[RobJC 2,073]

4 hours ago, qqwertzde said:

I guess my main problem with GSX in MSFS is the Live Updater. It never worked,

Yeah that installer never left me confident with this add-on. 

[virtuali 4,454]

1 hour ago, RobJC said:

Yeah that installer never left me confident with this add-on. 

The installer is way more reliable than any typical installer/updater.

A typical installer/updater that will just check some kind of "version number" without verifying each and every file of the installation, cannot guaranteed you really have the latest version of all files, cannot guaranteed none of the files are missing, cannot guarantee none of them has been altered/corrupted, and cannot guarantee a download failed or some files weren't the right version, because what a typical installer/updater does to tell you a version, is checking only a few files ( like the main .exe or the manifest.json ) and assume nothing could possibly go wrong, either while downloading or after, if any of the affected files is not one of the few files that are checked for the version.

While this might even (kind of) work for some products, where most of the crucial code in in a single .exe, or in a gauge file that is always updated when a new update comes, for a product like GSX, which is made by over 30.000 files and each of them is equally important and might cause issues if missing/corrupted/outdated, such kind of simple version checking doesn't work, so our installer/updated always makes a complete integrity check of each and every file while the update is performed, which means is able to restore the installation integrity, no matter what.

And not just that: instead of assuming that, just because a file has just been downloaded right now, it "must" be the correct/latest version, it will check what's being downloaded, and will try to download it again the next time, protecting you even from issues of failed downloads or outdated files due to internet caching. If it didn't that, you wouldn't have even the slightest suspect something was wrong. Instead, by noticing that some files are being downloaded over and over ( other than the ones that are supposed to, for performance reasons ), you are made aware even of this issues, which are covered by the alternative Offline installer.

I understand this higher than normal fault tolerance might be confusing, such as the lack of a "version number" which, if you understood all the above, cannot really be guaranteed, unless every file is checked, which is exactly what the program is doing right now so, apart for the issues of outdated downloads due to caching (which you can know if you are affected by, in the way explained above), in fact is way simpler because, the way the updater works, it will guarantee you will have the latest version after you run it. The latest version of everything, not just the latest version of the few sampled files that are checked for versioning.

Again, I understand this is "different", but different means more reliable here, not more "confusing".

Having said that, since this is very hard to explain and users prefer familiarity with established methods, we will update the installer/updater to SHOW A VERSION NUMBER soon.

Of course, it won't make the program any more reliable than already is, it won't change anything the way it works, it will just look like other updaters.

Edited December 22, 2022 by virtuali

[Tuskin38 6,709]

I have to use a VPN when updating because for some reason it always stalls when downloading one of big zip files if I don't.

Other than that, I've had no issues with updating.

Edited December 22, 2022 by Tuskin38

[SierraDelta 1,360]

2 hours ago, virtuali said:

Having said that, since this is very hard to explain and users prefer familiarity with established methods, we will update the installer/updater to SHOW A VERSION NUMBER soon.

Kudos big time to you Umberto for doing this, but it is a bit sad that a lot of users are not capable and/or unwilling to embrace change ...

[virtuali 4,454]

17 hours ago, SierraDelta said:

Kudos big time to you Umberto for doing this, but it is a bit sad that a lot of users are not capable and/or unwilling to embrace change ...

From today's update:

 

Quote

December 23rd, 2022 

FSDT Installer NEW: The Installer will now show a version number for all MSFS products which are installed and will also show the latest version available. If the installed version is the same as the latest one, the “Update” button will show “Check”, to make it clear that updating means a full integrity check of all files.

 

Edited December 23, 2022 by virtuali