Old installers and older expansions in general

[gearnerd]

When I reinstalled my Mac, I noticed that some installers for midi files/updates are still 32 bit and I had to copy the midi from the content-folder manually. Absolutely unacceptable as a paying customer.

Another thing I noticed that for some older SD3 expansions, the midi mapping is incorrect and it takes quite a while to correct it. If you’re asking full price for older stuff, you should maintain it properly, not abandon it and still ask the same price as the new stuff.

Topic

[Scott Eshleman]

which packs & expansions specifically?
did you investigate updates for your registered products in the Toontrack Product Manager?

[John]

Hi gearnerd,

you should always use the Toontrack Product Manager application for downloading, installing and authorising. Maintaining separate installers for ≈500 products isn’t an easy task, so the Product Manager really is everybody’s friend. And it makes it easier for you to spot updates, as Scott pointed out.

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

1

Thanked by: Scott Eshleman

[gearnerd]

Yes I’m using the Toontrack Product manager. I’m talking about the installers that the Product manager downloads. And I’m talking about products that should have gotten updates that seem to be abandoned by Toontrack.

@john, what you state is simply technically not true. “Maintaining separate installers for ≈500 products isn’t an easy task, so the Product Manager really is everybody’s friend.”
The product manager doesn’t do any installation, it’s just a glorified download manager for separate installers. This is discussed at length in this topic. https://www.toontrack.com/forums/topic/updating-multiple-products-feature-request/

Quite the opposite is true in fact. The installers are basically the same, nobody is maintaining separate installers. It’s basically two installer variants for all products. I did some digging for the topic mentioned above because I wanted a quicker way of installing toontrack products and updates. I eventually wrote a tutorial, you can find here https://www.toontrack.com/forums/topic/innstalling-multiple-products-in-bulk-through-command-line-guide/

Especially the midi installers are basically copying files from one location to another. Ever wonder why all installers look the same? Because they pretty much are the same.

Some of the installers that the product manager downloads, are very old and are 32 bit and thus not supported by newer versions of MacOS. Older SDX expansions don’t have their midi mapping right. So basically Toontrack is charging the same high prices for new and abandoned products that don’t get the much needed updates to function correctly.

[John]

Hi,

the installers in the downloaded packages are not used if you are installing through the Toontrack Product Manager, instead the PM uses the latest installer version.

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[gearnerd]

John wrote:

Hi,

the installers in the downloaded packages are not used if you are installing through the Toontrack Product Manager, instead the PM uses the latest installer version.

BR,
John

Again, this is not true. The product manager simply launches the installer that is downloaded. Why do you think I’m pointing this out? Why do you think this topic exists? https://www.toontrack.com/forums/topic/updating-multiple-products-feature-request/

 

Can you please address the other concern I raised?

[John]

gearnerd wrote:

Again, this is not true.

According to the programmer, it is.

The request to be able to update/install multiple products in one go has been noted earlier but I have no further info.

BR,
John

John Rammelt - Toontrack
Technical Advisor

[Olof]

Yes, can you for example start the installation of the MIDI update for Custom & Vintage SDX from PM (by selecting Install from the menu in Details if you already have it installed)? The installer in the download is 32-bit, version 1.2.0, which does not work on new macOS systems, but PM will at the moment use version 2.1.1.

Olof Hermansson - Toontrack
Coder

• This post was modified 1 year, 3 months ago by Olof.

1

Thanked by: gearnerd

[gearnerd]

John wrote:

gearnerd wrote:

Again, this is not true.

According to the programmer, it is.

The request to be able to update/install multiple products in one go has been noted earlier but I have no further info.

BR,
John

If what you are saying is true, and the product manager ships with it’s own installer, then it’s a bit odd that the programmers didn’t bother writing a function that allows to install multiple products. I think it’s very sensible if it did ship with the latest installer because it keeps you from maintaining 500 odd installers (which has no added benefit for the users and is a lot of work).

There is a seperate updater shipped with the Toontrack Product manager as far as I can see. Are you refering to that? For updates it’s the same, would be nice if the updater is updated to include multiple updates.

@Olof, thanks for addressing my concern and providing an example! So technically it still works with a bit of a workaround. But my general point is I think Toontrack should be a bit more dilligent in maintaining older products. Beside the 32 bit installer there is also midi mapping which is wrong for example on custom and vintage and Music City USA SDX. I understand it’s not as enticing to work on older products, but Toontrack are charging the same price. It would be a different matter if they had a permanent discount on older products :).

[Author]

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