Hey guys,

I'm getting tired of so many different addons requiring so many different programs to keep them updated so I got wondering, is there a way to link products purchased from various stores to one place like Orbx Central or something similar?

I don't think so, and by principle. Everyone of them wants to get his share of the cake.

I buy a lot of addons and now I've got ORBX Central, the mother of all addon managers, Contrail, Aerosoft One, FSDT Updater, SimMarket App, iniManager, Simaddons Updater, and a few more spezialized ones like the FBW Installer.  Not to forget my beloved MSFS Store. Plus, the propritary websites where you only can pay using a CC.

They all work more or less, but have a different kind of handling things, notably w.r.t. the Addon Linker.

While I fully agree to you, I stopped complaining. There are things in the world which I just can't change, and even more terrible ones.

Kind regards, Michael

Edited February 17, 20233 yr by pmb

Just now, pmb said:

I don't think so, and by principle. Everyone of them wants to get his share of the cake.

I buy a lot of addons and now I've got ORBX Central, the mother of all addon managers, Contrail, Aerosoft One, FSDT Update, SimMarket App, iniManager, Simaddons Updater, and a few more spezialized ones like the FBW Installer.  Not to forget my beloved MSFS Store. Plus, the propritary websites where you only can pay using a CC.

They all work more or less, but have a different kind of handling things, notably w.r.t. the Addon Linker.

While I fully agree to you, I stopped complaining. There are things in the world which I just can't change, and even more terrible ones.

Kind regards, Michael

That's unfortunate. Thanks for replying. I tried posting in their forums first but for some reason can't create a new topic so came here as AVSIM always seems to pull through. It certainly would be nice to have an all in one updater! 

8 minutes ago, Hatch76 said:

That's unfortunate. Thanks for replying. I tried posting in their forums first but for some reason can't create a new topic so came here as AVSIM always seems to pull through. It certainly would be nice to have an all in one updater! 

Contrail will at least show you what's installed already, whether from its own store or another. Obviously it won't let you manage these addons but it helps when making purchases. With others you'll have to be carefull not to buy the same addon twice.
But if you really want a single place to purchase and manage addons, the built-in marketplace is perfect. In my opinion there is only one big flaw which is that all addons are encrypted. That means no way to correct/tweak aircraft configs or even adding airports to Little Navmap since they can't be scanned. For me that flaw is a showstopper most of the time but if it isn't for you I'd highly recommend it.

I try to limit my stores. Currently ORBX, Just Flight and MSFS Store.

For those of us using more than one PC (e.g. home and away), Orbx Central isn't a good one as it insists on single-PC usage.  Thus I bought my Orbx products on the Marketplace despite the drawbacks, as I can use them on both PCs.  Vendors like Contrail, Simmarket & PC Aviator don't make such a restirction, though individual products might in their EULAs.

1 hour ago, JabbleWok said:

For those of us using more than one PC (e.g. home and away), Orbx Central isn't a good one as it insists on single-PC usage.  Thus I bought my Orbx products on the Marketplace despite the drawbacks, as I can use them on both PCs.  Vendors like Contrail, Simmarket & PC Aviator don't make such a restirction, though individual products might in their EULAs.

That's a good point I didn't think of. Considering I have two PC's in the house that use MSFS, maybe trying to get everything to Orbx isn't a good idea afterall...

18 minutes ago, Hatch76 said:

That's a good point I didn't think of. Considering I have two PC's in the house that use MSFS, maybe trying to get everything to Orbx isn't a good idea afterall...

FWIW I've started a spreadsheet of all the addons I've bought (before my collection gets too large) so it's a quick n' easy update whenever I make a new purchase.  Also a .kml for marketplace sceneries so I know where they are!

Having said which, I've not yet had to refer to the spreadsheet as I usually get update notifications from the vendors I use.

Every scenery I buy goes into my trusty spreadsheet.  I enter airport name, ICAO, Developer and origin of purchase eg ORBX, Direct from website etc

Helps immensely to ensure I don’t buy twice and helps me remember where to go for updates.

3 hours ago, JabbleWok said:

For those of us using more than one PC (e.g. home and away), Orbx Central isn't a good one as it insists on single-PC usage.  Thus I bought my Orbx products on the Marketplace despite the drawbacks, as I can use them on both PCs.  Vendors like Contrail, Simmarket & PC Aviator don't make such a restirction, though individual products might in their EULAs.

I have MSFS on three different PC’s and have Orbx Central on all of them without issues. Perhaps there may be a different issue at play? Just curious since I’ve never had problems with Orbx Central.

Cheers, Pete

2 hours ago, JabbleWok said:

FWIW I've started a spreadsheet of all the addons I've bought (before my collection gets too large) so it's a quick n' easy update whenever I make a new purchase.  Also a .kml for marketplace sceneries so I know where they are!

Having said which, I've not yet had to refer to the spreadsheet as I usually get update notifications from the vendors I use.

I started my spreadsheet back about ten years ago, but unfortunately I’ve also included the cost for everything sim related that I’ve purchased. It’s pretty insane to see how much I’ve spent on flight sim! On the bright side, I do less real world flying these days, so in my mind I’m “saving money.” 😁

Cheers, Pete

7 minutes ago, PilotPete99 said:

I have MSFS on three different PC’s and have Orbx Central on all of them without issues. Perhaps there may be a different issue at play? Just curious since I’ve never had problems with Orbx Central.

Cheers, Pete

While there may be no physical restriction, the EULA specifies single PC.

"1.2 You may install, access, and run a single copy of the Software Product on a single personal computer for your personal, non-commercial, non-profit use."

https://orbxdirect.com/eula

I actually contacted their user support to ask, and they pointed this out.  I also added a suggestion that they make life easier for those with multiple PCs, but so far I see no change.

Edit: their suggestion was to uninstall from one before reinstalling on the other each time I wanted to swap over.  Not practical at short notice.

Edited February 18, 20233 yr by JabbleWok

I agree the likelihood of us getting one place for add-ons is highly remote. The one thing I wish for is the different stores could see if you already have the add-on. I have accidentally purchased an add-on more than once. I am sure it would be easy for an algorithm to ready your community. I am probably oversimplifying this but it is a pain point of mine. 

Cheers.... 

6 minutes ago, PilotPete99 said:

I started my spreadsheet back about ten years ago, but unfortunately I’ve also included the cost for everything sim related that I’ve purchased. It’s pretty insane to see how much I’ve spent on flight sim! On the bright side, I do less real world flying these days, so in my mind I’m “saving money.” 😁

Cheers, Pete

It could be worse - you could collect Rembrandts or Faberge eggs 😉

5 minutes ago, JabbleWok said:

While there may be no physical restriction, the EULA specifies single PC.

"1.2 You may install, access, and run a single copy of the Software Product on a single personal computer for your personal, non-commercial, non-profit use."

https://orbxdirect.com/eula

I actually contacted their user support to ask, and they pointed this out.  I also added a suggestion that they make life easier for those with multiple PCs, but so far I see no change.

Edit: their suggestion was to uninstall from one before reinstalling on the other each time I wanted to swap over.  Not practical at short notice.

Wow, I guess I never read that! Thanks for the clarification, very interesting.

Cheers, Pete