Question re. SDK SP1a and SDK SP2

[Longers 0]

Hello all, seeking clarification.I'm using FSX Acceleration/SP2 and therefore also using the SDK SP1a as stated here http://msdn.microsoft.com/en-us/esp/cc743171.aspxThe page states that SDK SP1a is used "to develop add-ons that are strictly for use with the Acceleration Expansion Pack". It goes on to say that SDK SP2 is used to create add-ons that are for all Flight Simulator X users - by that I assume it means RTM/SP1/SP2/Acc.Therefore, if I suddenly (=miraculously) became talented enough to begin creating stuff for FSX, if I wanted "stuff" to be compatible with FSX RTM/SP1/SP2/Acc. I would have to update my SDK SP1 to SDK SP2 ?Hope that makes sense ?Greg

[Guest fsxmissionguy]

Greg,You asked: "If I wanted stuff to be compatible with FSX RTM/SP1/SP2/Acc, I would have to update my SDK SP1 to SDK SP2?"The answer is No, this is not a requirement.I will speak to missions ... since that's what I develop. (Others can speak for other aspects of FSX).If you want to develop missions that will run regardless of which version of FSX a user has ... then you should use the SP1a SDK. (Since you cannot mix an install and its SDK, that means that in order to use the SP1a SDK, you have to uninstall Acceleration.)(Note: I'm ignoring users who are running the RTM version because I don't think there are any.)Any mission built with the SP1a SDK can be run by any person using SP1, SP2 or Acceleration. (In other words, missions built with the SP1a SDK are "forward-compatible.")You should not use the SP2 SDK, or else your mission will not, by default, show up in the mission list of a Player not using SP2/Acceleration.Having said that ...I develop missions using the SP2 SDK, and then make them backwards-compatible. I do not recommend this approach, even though it is technically possible. There are simply too many ways to make a mistake, and accidentally include something in your mission that would render it unplayable on SP1 machines. In addition, Microsoft made some errors in the SP2 SDK that, even if you didn't include things, would still render missions built with the SP2 SDK unplayable on previous builds.So, if you want to ensure that your missions run regardless of version, use the SP1a SDK (the drawback, of course, being that you can't design missions with all of the additional functionality that was introduced by Acceleration.)Clear?

[Longers 0]

Thanks Kevin, perfectly clear now, will stick with SP1A SDKGreg