FSDreamTeam forum
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: GeyerH on July 19, 2012, 11:34:53 pm
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Good evening,
I downloaded the LSZH and LSGG sceneries as FS9 versions, used the trial period and now I'm willing to buy them. Therefore I want to know better about some aspects of the Addon Manager, which I didn't find out reading FSdt_install_guide.pdf as clearly as I wanted to know.
These are my questions:
1. If I don't change my hardware, will Addon Manager save all informations regarding buying and activating the sceneries on my PC, especially within FS2004, or will Addon Manager need to send and get informations to/from outside my PC system regularly to keep my sceneries working?
I understand it so that these informations will be saved in a .reg file, so that I don't need to exchange informations with outside my system.
I particularly understand "Activation Auto-reclaiming every 90 days" as a process needing to exchange informations with outside my system so that this will only happen in case I change my hardware.
If Addon Manager regularly exchanges informations with outside my system, will it do this as FS9.exe (being a module inside FS9) so that it will use my firewall allowance for FS9.exe?
2. Installing a FSDT scenery has installed a file named "eSellerateEngine.dll" into my Windows folder. I suppose that this file is for the buying process itself via Esellerate buying procedure. After buying a scenery, can I disable or delete this file (of course only in case I don't want to buy another scenery)?
3. After buying and activating my desired sceneries, can I deinstall or deactivate the Addon Manager module within FS2004, or is it necessary to have Addon Manager installed permanently, if I don't want to see my sceneries without buildings (that means like before buying and after trial period is over)?
That means, will the informations about buying and activating the sceneries be saved within the scenery files theirselves, or will they be saved within the Addon Manager files, or where else will they be saved on my PC system?
My decision to buy FSDT sceneries will depend on the answers to these questions. Especially if I have to leave Addon Manager installed (Q3) and Addon Manager regularly exchanges informations with outside my PC system (Q1), I will not buy these sceneries. I think it will be acceptable if I have to leave Addon Manager within my sim, if it exchanges informations with outside my PC system under no circumstances (if I do not change hardware or install a new Windows of course) and if I can deactivate the eSellerateEngine.dll file.
Many thanks for your helpful answers in advance,
sincerely
Harald Geyer
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I downloaded the LSZH and LSGG sceneries as FS9 versions, used the trial period and now I'm willing to buy them. Therefore I want to know better about some aspects of the Addon Manager, which I didn't find out reading FSdt_install_guide.pdf as clearly as I wanted to know.
Most of your questions were already answered in our FAQ page:
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/faq.html
Like, for example:
Do I need to be constantly connected to the Internet to check for activation?
Absolutely not. The connection is needed only when you buy the product, or only when an hardware change is detected, so the product needs to verify on the server how many activation you have left. During normal use, the connection is not required.
This answer your concern about the Addon Manager "exchanging information" constantly, and it doesn't. The only time an "information exchange" happens are:
- The FIRST time you activate the scenery, when you purchase it
- When you change hardware
There's no connection while using Flight sim normally, you can use our sceneries with the network disconnected, if you have to.
2. Installing a FSDT scenery has installed a file named "eSellerateEngine.dll" into my Windows folder. I suppose that this file is for the buying process itself via Esellerate buying procedure. After buying a scenery, can I disable or delete this file (of course only in case I don't want to buy another scenery)?
The Esellerateengine.dll is not used just when purchasing, but every time you launch Flight sim, to verify your activation LOCALLY. If you change hardware, it will verify your activation ONLINE. So no, you can't remove it, because nothing will work without it.
3. After buying and activating my desired sceneries, can I deinstall or deactivate the Addon Manager module within FS2004, or is it necessary to have Addon Manager installed permanently, if I don't want to see my sceneries without buildings (that means like before buying and after trial period is over)?
This question is also answered in our FAQ page:
http://www.fsdreamteam.com/faq.html
What are the other functions of the Addon Manager? Could the scenery be programmed in order not to use it?
The Addon Manager has a lot of useful functions, other than managing the Demo and the Selling system. The scenery is programmed to take advantage of it, and couldn't run without it. Some of the Addon Manager's functions are:
- Automatic detection of the user's airplane type and front gear position recognition. This is used by the safegates, to properly adjust settings depending on airplane, without having the user to unrealistically dial COM frequencies in order to configure the gates for correct airplane type.
- Objects appearing on conditions like time and season, allowing for special effects like seasonal trees, ice blocks on the airport, seasonal vehicles.
- Frame rate optimizations (especially in FSX), allowing to cut object appearance when not needed, and reinstating several conditions that are not longer possible with FSX scenery SDK.
- Custom ground AI objects (FSX only), allowing for good looking customized ground vehicles with proper motion and behavior on ground
- Easy tweak of several performance parameters (FSX only). This is a free feature, that can be used for any scenery, even without buying any product, the FSX tweaks will always be available.
So no, the Addon Manager can't be removed after purchasing, BOTH because as I've said before, it does check the activation ( LOCALLY, without connecting to the internet ) at every FS9/FSX start, but also because the Addon Manager has other functions beside purchase/activation/trial, so the scenery couldn't work without it, because it has been made to rely on its other features.
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Virtuali, many thanks for your fast reply. Sorry for not reading your FAQs first. I will consider these aspects and make my decision.
Best regards
Harald