Context: Upon launching MSFS2024, it seems that MSFS2020 marketplace packages are downloaded automatically.
Bug description: Upon launching MSFS2024, it seems that MSFS2020 marketplace packages are downloaded automatically. While this is neat for the end user, it is a little problematic for us developers in case we want to check MSFS2020 content by dropping it in the Community folder.
Deleting the packages in MSFS2024 folders does not seem to work, as they are apparently still present next time you start the sim.
Can you explain the logic the sim follow to download/update the MSFS2020 packages?
Is there a way we can get rid of them to test content locally?
The sim shouldnāt download the whole packages - it only downloads what we call āminimalā files that are necessary for us to have in order to show the aircraft in the UI. Download of the assets only kicks in if you actually fly the aircraft.
In principle putting another version of your package in the Community Folder should override the streamed one - if you open the Packages window from the DevMode you should see that the streamed package is āShadowedā by the Community version.
It is difficult to say since in our case the differences between the release and unreleased packages are minimal. We will induce a macroscopic difference and will let you know.
In any case we would appreciate if you can clarify the logic - meaning which packages are streamed:
Apparently some of our packages are NOT streamed to our MSFS2024 retail copy (the F-14 and the Tornado, for example) while most are.
We also have customers who report that they could not see any of our planes, and only some of the planes they owner carry over.
Also, is there a way to disable that in the current build?
We have forced a āglaringā difference between the development version and the current version of the F-35, and we can confirm that the Community package has precedence over the streamed version.
Still, I think a method to change / exclude the streamed content could be useful.
One additional note - from our tests, as per the note above, if we put a development version of the F-35 in the Community folder, it takes āprecedenceā over the streamed versionā¦ and this is fine so that we can check the 2020 dev version in 2024.
Stillā¦ it is not clear what should happen if we are trying to create a native version in 2024. Should it take precedence over the streamer version too (assuming the plane and the package have the same name)?
We are getting a lot of bug reports from our users because of a situation we didnāt ask for or have any control over.
While you can make the claim that āvirtually allā mods are compatible, reality is anything but. It creates an insane headache for developers having to explain that ultimately, we didnāt command this.
The aircraft selection screen has no mention of what is a 2020 or a 2024 aircraft or any notice that indicates there could be issues with a 2020 aircraft moved over to 2024 without modifications.
Users are flying with messed up LODs, messed up textures and a completely uncontrolled experiences.
Who at MS realistically thought this would work without issues?
On top of itā¦ All that 2020 content is installed BY DEFAULT!!!
Just to clarify a couple of points on my messages, as I do not want them to be misinterpreted.
By ācould you please explain the logicā I did not mean to question the design approach, but rather I was asking for clarifications to undestand what packages are streamed, and the priority over Community folder.
As of today, we have still a number of problems:
PRODUCTS NOT AVAILABLE: Some of our products are NOT actually streamed. This happens on our systems and on our customersā:
on our main test system we see most of our planes, but not all of them (e.g. F-14 and Tonado are missing)
other customers are also reporting similar issues: some do not see the F-35, others do not see other planes.
we have customers for which NONE of our planes appear
OUT OF DATE VERSIONS: in the past weeks we have released updates to both the Long-EZ and the SU-31, with a number of workarounds to improve compatibility with MSFS2024. The SU-31 went through correctly (version 1.0.7 is available both on MSFS2020 and MSFS2024)ā¦ but the Long-EZ did not propagate to MSFS2024 (version 1.2.16 released, 1.2.16 available on MSFS2020 but still 1.2.14 on MSFS2024)
ā¦that being said, we would still suggest to have an option to stop the streaming of selected owned content (or let the user manage if they want to see the product on MSFS2024 or not in some way).