Now let's say the user goes and makes some modifications to Core File 3, and ruins everything. The user knows what they did and will either revert the changes, or delete the file, then run the installer that will detect the missing file and re-download it.
The updater already does that, without the users even having to *worry* about version numbers.
But that's not even the point, the point is, as I already tried to explain so many times, there's only ONE 100% safe way to be sure the displayed version number is correct, and it's
- Make a first pass to check all local files, make a list of the ones that needs updates.
- Make a BACKUP of all these files, ensuring you have enough space for them
- Download all files
- Make another pass to be sure ALL files have the correct hashes
- Rollback ALL files from the Backup, so the "version number" would match a completely integral set of files.
This is called a "fault tolerant" update.
No product I know, at least in the Flight sim space, ever uses this method. Want to make an easy experiment on, let's say, the PMDG OC, which DOES have a version number ?
Just intentionally corrupt any file, like the airplane.cfg, check for updates and see what happens. Nothing, it will still tell you have the latest version, it won't try to redownload the corrupted file and even if you remove it, it won't try to download the missing file.
But you have your "version number", sure.
And before you keep saying "the user knows he has removed the file", that's clearly irrelevant: this was just an EXAMPLE that anybody can try, that's why I said to corrupt or remove a file intentionally, but what if the file is removed or corrupted accidentally, without your knowledge, without even KNOW which file is affected ?
You have a version number, so you think you have the latest version, the program doesn't work because an important file is missing/corrupted (for ANY) reason, and you don't even KNOW which file it is, so your only option is Reinstall.
But you have a version number...