A couple of suggestions regarding the GSX installer

[WebMaximus]

Noticed how SODE is installed as part of the installation of GSX but you're not allowed to choose in what location you want SODE installed, it will install on your C drive. I keep P3D including all my add-ons related to P3D on a separate drive meaning I also want SODE installed on the same drive and not my system drive.

For this reason I think when you have chosen to include SODE as part of the GSX installation you should let the user choose where SODE is installed. I also think it should be made clear before the actual installation begins that SODE will be installed as part of the product. Maybe that information already is in there only that I overlooked it. Also make sure to keep the installation package updated with the latest version of SODE.

I like to know what is installed on my computer and have some control. This is especially true when it comes to software such as SODE which is notorious for causing issues for lots of people although it might have become a bit better using the latest version(s) of SODE.

[virtuali]

Noticed how SODE is installed as part of the installation of GSX but you're not allowed to choose in what location you want SODE installed, it will install on your C drive.

This doesn't have anything to do with GSX: you cannot chose the installer location with the SODE installer too: it doesn't make any difference just because the SODE installer it's being launched by GSX.

For this reason I think when you have chosen to include SODE as part of the GSX installation you should let the user choose where SODE is installed.

That's nothing we have any control over: it's how the SODE installer it's made.

I also think it should be made clear before the actual installation begins that SODE will be installed as part of the product

I don't see how the appearance of the SODE installer itself could be mistaken by anything else: it's not as if we install it in "silent" mode so, the SODE installer clearly announces itself.

Also make sure to keep the installation package updated with the latest version of SODE.

It already is (although I'm not sure if the GSX installer which contains the latest SODE installer is already online), but I don't think the SODE installer will "downgrade" an existing installation, because it's uses automatic version checking of files so, if your version is already newer, it won't go back to a previous version.

I like to know what is installed on my computer and have some control. This is especially true when it comes to software such as SODE which is notorious for causing issues for lots of people although it might have become a bit better using the latest version(s) of SODE.

SODE works very well and I don't see all these problems. The only issue I see, is that there are some 3rd party sceneries which were made using older version of SODE, which still haven't been updated to use the current version, and this can cause some troubles.

[WebMaximus]

Running the standalone installation of SODE 1.3.4 you can choose the location where SODE will be installed.

What is presented when running the GSX installation is SODE Platform Manager when it has already been installed on your C drive.

When I installed GSX some weeks ago version 1.3.0 of SODE was installed where 1.3.4 is the most current version I'm aware of but you're correct SODE will not downgrade your current version of SODE while running the GSX installation.

Whether SODE is causing issues or not all depends on how you look at it. Sure, SODE in itself might not be what is causing problems but as you mention 3rd party products that haven't been updated for use with the most current version of SODE.

However as a customer with lots of 3rd party products it's not easy to keep track of what exact SODE version each 3rd party product was designed for and if you have lots of 3rd party products using SODE you will very likely run into issues. I'm pretty sure the majority of customers would prefer to be able to simply install the products they bought without having to worry about if they will work or cause issues and not only with the product you're currently installing but also already installed products.

But let's not dig deeper into that hole. This is about SODE and we're now in FSDT's forum. And as already mentioned the compatibility has been much improved lately when it comes to SODE and the products that use it.

Personally though I think SODE so far caused much more issues vs what benefits it has given and I do my best to avoid products that make use of SODE unless there's an airport that I really want to have.

[virtuali]

Running the standalone installation of SODE 1.3.4 you can choose the location where SODE will be installed.

Yes, you are right: we are running the installer silently, with only the platform manager showing up. In fact, we'll probably try to skip even that step and have the SODE be configured automatically in future versions of the installer, since many users don't know what to do with the Platform Manager, and assumed the GSX installer is "stuck", because they don't know the Platform Manager is waiting to chose an action and to be closed then.

In any case, since it's installed as part of the GSX installation, it's not as if you can choose the GSX installation folder either...

When I installed GSX some weeks ago version 1.3.0 of SODE was installed where 1.3.4 is the most current version I'm aware of

That's not possible. The GSX installer never included any version older than 1.3.3 and it's not possible that it could have installed 1.3.0, since (as you can see from SODE website), the GSX API was added in 1.3.1. The first time we ever distributed SODE in an installer, was when KMEM was released in June, and 1.3.3 was the version which was current back then.

but you're correct SODE will not downgrade your current version of SODE while running the GSX installation.

Of course it doesn't, that's why the whole issue of containing the most recent version doesn't matter.

However as a customer with lots of 3rd party products it's not easy to keep track of what exact SODE version each 3rd party product was designed for and if you have lots of 3rd party products using SODE you will very likely run into issues.

As a customer of THESE 3rd party products that haven't been updated to support the latest SODE, you sure have every right to complain with THEM, why they still haven't done so. Once you chose to rely on a 3rd party product for development, you should also take the burden to keep up with updates.

In fact, it isn't what you are complaining to us here, about we not including the *very* latest SODE, even when the issue (in our case) is totally safe, since there are no forward compatibility problems from 1.3.4 to 1.4.0, and the installer doesn't "downgrade" it ?

And as already mentioned the compatibility has been much improved lately when it comes to SODE and the products that use it.

Personally though I think SODE so far caused much more issues vs what benefits it has given and I do my best to avoid products that make use of SODE unless there's an airport that I really want to have.

A bit of contradiction here: SODE (as you said), has been improved quite a bit, and it's now quite stable. Do I have to remind you it's a FREE product ? You should expect some issues with the first versions!

It goes back again to the same problem: some developers were too eager to jump on it, and took the risk to include it in commercial product maybe a bit too early, so it's on them now to update their products to support the better versions. We decided to WAIT a bit, and give some feedback too in the process, before adopting it.

[virtuali]

Running the standalone installation of SODE 1.3.4 you can choose the location where SODE will be installed.

Yes, you are right: we are running the installer silently, with only the platform manager showing up. In fact, we'll probably try to skip even that step and have the SODE be configured automatically in future versions of the installer, since many users don't know what to do with the Platform Manager, and assumed the GSX installer is "stuck", because they don't know the Platform Manager is waiting to chose an action and to be closed then.

In any case, since it's installed as part of the GSX installation, it's not as if you can choose the GSX installation folder either...

When I installed GSX some weeks ago version 1.3.0 of SODE was installed where 1.3.4 is the most current version I'm aware of

That's not possible. The GSX installer never included any version older than 1.3.3 and it's not possible that it could have installed 1.3.0, since (as you can see from SODE website), the GSX API was added in 1.3.1. The first time we ever distributed SODE in an installer, was when KMEM was released in June, and 1.3.3 was the version which was current back then.

but you're correct SODE will not downgrade your current version of SODE while running the GSX installation.

Of course it doesn't, that's why the whole issue of containing the most recent version doesn't matter.

However as a customer with lots of 3rd party products it's not easy to keep track of what exact SODE version each 3rd party product was designed for and if you have lots of 3rd party products using SODE you will very likely run into issues.

As a customer of THESE 3rd party products that haven't been updated to support the latest SODE, you sure have every right to complain with THEM, why they still haven't done so. Once you chose to rely on a 3rd party product for development, you should also take the burden to keep up with updates.

In fact, it isn't what you are complaining to us here, about we not including the *very* latest SODE, even when the issue (in our case) is totally safe, since there are no forward compatibility problems from 1.3.4 to 1.4.0, and the installer doesn't "downgrade" it ?

And as already mentioned the compatibility has been much improved lately when it comes to SODE and the products that use it.

Personally though I think SODE so far caused much more issues vs what benefits it has given and I do my best to avoid products that make use of SODE unless there's an airport that I really want to have.

A bit of contradiction here: SODE (as you said), has been improved quite a bit, and it's now quite stable. Do I have to remind you it's a FREE product ? You should expect some issues with the first versions!

It goes back again to the same problem: some developers were too eager to jump on it, and took the risk to include it in commercial product maybe a bit too early, so it's on them now to update their products to support the better versions. We decided to WAIT a bit, and give some feedback too in the process, before adopting it.

I do my best to avoid products that make use of SODE unless there's an airport that I really want to have.

You might have had a point, if you posted this last year, when SODE was in its infancy, but it's not really relevant anymore. Maybe you should say:

"I'll do my best to avoid products that make use of an OLDER version of SODE, which weren't updated by their developers"

[WebMaximus]

Fair enough.