FXpansion’s BFD Acquired by inMusic

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Not that it's a big deal as I mostly use SD3 now but it seems to want to re-register when I open it. Have only noticed it once because I've only used it once since my last post. But, doesn't make me want to keep using it.
Intel Core i7 8700K, 16gb, Windows 10 Pro, Focusrite Scarlet 6i6

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Can anyone explain why this news is that bad for the BFD products?
What's likely to change, what's the worst that could happen?

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there appear to be complications in coding for the windows version.
I don't know what goes on on somebody else's system but in general on the Mac side it looks to me like certain things don't inherit well owing to a previous installation, which may tend to be kind of scattered. And it looks like the software for the authorization simply has to go, a conflict and a vicious circle is occurring. And there are some who cannot ditch fxpansion's license manager because other things, so they're boned until an update addresses it successfully.

Here, it has worked same as it ever has from day two. Day one was horrible because of a keychain item making it impossible to get into the application. I don't know why at all but the next day it took my password. Now that's gone, and if the wifi vanishes it will still work, unlike the initial 3.4. So it's just BFD3 with some more FX here, working solidly.

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well BFD3 is totally borked for most i am reading around the net and inmusic is not saying a thing. their best bet since they own it now is to write the program over from the ground up. the mish mosh crap fxpansion did to it over the years is crazy... there is no sense why parts from this package should be all over the place... even if upgraded and not full product installs. i have/had BFD2 folders, BFD3 folders, system folders, etc from the product itself and from all the expansions all over the place in Window$. the only thing that was centrally located was my own sample drive and even those libraries were minced.

inmusic must have thought they could just buy it out and make money on it but i bet they will write it off as a loss (tax purposes) if they don't invest in rewriting the whole thing. anything else would only tighten the noose/knots. of course this is my opinion mind you but the problem is the disorganization fxpansion built into the product itself... now it is just a headache and a loss of investment for many of us including inmusic. good luck all :dog:
"There is no strength in numbers... have no such misconception... but when you need me be assured I won't be far away."

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"there is no sense why parts from this package should be all over the place... "
it isn't, here. it's the same installation as the fxpansion, literally and exactly the same except folders are named BFD Drums instead of fxpansion. in transition, there is a conflict and a loop occurs, I would think per se, but fxpansion software does not appear to coexist peacefully with the new.

inMusic surely forced this internet requirement and the keychain BS, DRM concerns run amok, and so the actual people doing the work, well, someone is having to argue this with corporate along with the issues of re-coding that.
So my POV is Drew is a f**king hero.

I can't agree with it being full-on kaput like that if it works 100% here, because I'm nothing special making it work. but I am wholly cognizant of where stuff is, where it was, and what I have done; so a coherent installation process. There are best practices, there are dodgy practices (I know from my own confusion before I learned a couple of key things, like let it create the folder it takes as the name of a new folder - w. no change - and OK the dialog 'do you want to create this folder'; a lot of people think they know better where stuff 'should' go, squalor ensues, installations are complicated) and some installations apparently inherit squalor. Here, a top directory 'BFD Drums' under which everything resides under the name the installer has, simple af. Then there's the factory things, in the regular factory locations. I still had the factory fxpansion directories, which are redundant so they could go. (I don't know this created a problem, just I did it as advised.) The two LMs is in itself a known issue at this point. I did not do anything the least extraordinary.
I think the key is after migration, delete the old. Nothing particular to you, but for all, if you have a squalid installation, it's probably you, not the installer per se.
So I can affirm it working under Catalina 15.6 and 15.7, full stop. Windows, well, the new version doesn't seem to be happy with or vice versa, the beta testers have numerous things to test for that were solved on mac two weeks ago or more.

Leaving alone the people who need the fxpansion LM for Geist et al. that's pretty egregious and doesn't seem to have been quite taken into consideration.

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everyone is entitled to their opinions lol

if it was my installs then why in the past did fxpansion support have me track down files and move them so they could be read? i used fxpansion's default installs and just directed the libs to my sample drive and had it read from there so fact is... i had nothing to do with where things were put over the years. many of the expansions were from BFD2 or older.

did you buy BFD2 full or upgrade? did you buy BFD3 or did you upgrade? i think the fault lay in mainly BFD2 expansions were just left as they were trying to install into BFD2 when BFD3 was the software being used to read and execute. as i recall i could never get the Terry Bozzio kit to show i think it was and support had me move a sys folder created by the old BFD2 install left over from the version upgrade to the root folder of the new BFD3 to get it to work. they KNEW they had a mess back then but you are entitled to think as you wish and believe what you want to believe.

and now inmusic is having to deal with it. from your post you must be on a mac and it centralizes components unlike windows... fxpansion has/had things on windows from the user documents to the root drive to the hidden appdata folder... so YES it is/was all over the place. it took balls to say it is my fault when we are on two different systems lol

as for 'kaput' i am still holding out hope it ain't but it will take a LOT to smooth out the mess they bought into and it will take time to remedy if they do it right and that costs MORE money. sadly it may be more beneficial from a business standpoint to write it off. at least they would gain from it was all i was saying. but again people read what they want to into things. i STILL have my libs eating up space in hopes they will fix things but i no longer have any of fxpansion software installed after all this mess. tbh i am not blaming roli or inmusic... the fault lies in the developer themselves for the mess they made.

i guess my fault lies in buying the software and upgrading twice. :) cheers and i am glad your's is working... mine has been borked mostly since roli bought it and their first update. (had to revert back to the last fxpansion version to get it to work again) but that is life...

p.s. just my opinion but i think if inmusic would just make a fresh FULL install of BFD3 less the migration addition in the installer... it may fix most things so people could completely remove the software and install JUST 'BFD3 Drums' :) it would probably certainly help me :)
"There is no strength in numbers... have no such misconception... but when you need me be assured I won't be far away."

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As a BFD1 user till present I can concur that the installation was a complete shambles. Stuff in 32-bit partition, stuff in 64-bit partition, stuff in Documents folder, stuff in ProgramData folder (in hidden folders no less) and so on.

I was hoping for a fresh start with BFD3.4. I have cleared out all fxpansion folders I can find and now only have BFD Drums folders. It's better than before but still not ideal. I even asked on their forum why I had two different paths with folders containing presets, grooves etc. The answer was one was for factory, the other for user presets etc. In which case why not label it as such rather than have me try to figure out which is the correct install path?

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I hope the have another sale if/when all the issues get sorted out. Too risky to purchase packs right now.
Anyone who can make you believe absurdities can make you commit atrocities.

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Even though I'm not having serious issues with windows, and I also have the fxpansion LM installed for Geist 2, I'm seriously thinking of selling bfd. I want to trust the developers I'm supporting with my purchases, and so far I'm not having great positive vibes. Really worried it follows the Air path... Also it seems that selling bfd implies a 50 euro fee, not nice either...

- Mario

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thnx Mr. Arkadin... i KNOW i was not making this stuff up lol. i TOO am praying for a fresh start but i am NOT holding my breath. if they were wise they would consolidate things into one flow now. i do know that fxpansion had to deal with changing over to 64bit exclusively but that does not excuse the lack of pre-planning and organization of upgrades and expansions but it is all water under the bridge now and sadly inmusic is stuck with it "as is". i bought BFD years back over the others because i thought it sounded superior (recorded samples) and i will fight to keep and use it if they (inmusic) would give me half a chance.

it would be great to have a FULL installer without it looking for and trying to migrate things over. again i understand why the migration process was attempted by the new installation program but with things all over the place it was bound to fail... at least to old installations that were upgraded over and over in the past on Window$. it shouldn't be that hard to make a full installer and have those with problems remove everything and do a fresh install. (program executable wise that is) i am sure that would remedy things for the most part.

cheers
"There is no strength in numbers... have no such misconception... but when you need me be assured I won't be far away."

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Hi everyone, sorry for the delay. There is a new version of BFD3 available - 3.4.2.4. Please see the below.

BFD3.4.2.4 Release Notes:

This build addresses:

* Offline usage: expansion packs should now work properly! And this time, we really mean it!
* The BFD3 installer will check if License Manager is open and active, and will refuse to install.
* License Manager online access checks should be more robust for users based in China.
* LM 3-0-3-1 included.
* Windows version now comes as a self-extracting .EXE file.
* Visual Studio Runtime Redistributable runs automatically as part of BFDIS script if no previous installation detected.
* Multi-threaded scan (faster / less hangy boot)
* Fix for 5-sec scan loop that can sometimes occur.

*** IMPORTANT UPDATE INSTRUCTIONS ***

The login process has been updated to fix issues with inMusic account access and offline software usability.

To make sure this all works properly, BFD3.4.2.4 and BFD License Manager 3.0.3.1 are required.

This is included with the installer for BFD3.4.2.4, but you **MUST** close License Manager before installing. BFD34.2.4 will prevent you from installing if it detects that BFD License Manager is running.


*** EXISTING USERS ***
Here are the installation steps:

1. Launch BFD License Manager.

2. If you are not logged into your inMusic Profile, please login.

3. Once logged in, find BFD3 in your list of products. Click it to see the available downloads.

4. Find BFD3.4.2.4 and start downloading it. You can monitor the download progress on the Downloads tab in BFD License Manager.

6. Once downloaded click the magnifying glass to open the download location in Explorer or Finder.

7. Close BFD License Manager, and start the installer for BFD3.4.2.4.

8. When installing BFD3.4.2.4, please take care to select the correct VSTplugin location for your setup.

9. After the installation of BFD3.4.2.4, launch the BFD License Manager.

10. Please re-login to your inMusic Profile account.

11. Once logged in, launch the BFD3 standalone.

12. Everything should be authorized and working!



*** NEW USERS ***
Here are the installation steps:

1. Download BFD License Manager 3.0.3.1 from:
www.bfddrums.com/downloads.html

2. Install the version for your platform and then launch it.

3. You will have to re-login to your inMusic Profile account. Follow the steps to login via your browser.

4. Once logged in, find BFD3 in the list of products you own and select it to view the available downloads.

5. Find BFD3.4.2.4 and start downloading it. You can monitor the download progress on the Downloads tab in BFD License Manager.

6. Once downloaded click the magnifying glass to open the download location in Explorer or Finder.

7. Close BFD License Manager, and start the installer for BFD3.4.2.4.

8. When installing BFD3.4.2.4, please take care to select the correct VSTplugin location for your setup.

9. After the installation of BFD3.4.2.4, launch the BFD3 standalone.

10. Everything should be authorized and working!
My Youtube Channel - Wires Dream Disasters :: My Band - Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster
Product owner working for inMusic Brands - posting here in a personal capacity, but I will assist with any BFD related questions - hit me up!

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well i followed your instructions for 'new user' since i do not have your broken product installed anymore.

i installed the new license manager... all went fine except it does NOT allow you to install the manager where you want it :( we should be allowed to install it on any drive but it forces itself on our root drive :( but anyways...

i logged in via the browser and all went fine... shows my products and licenses in the manager.

scrolled down to BFD3 and it shows nothing installed which is correct (for me now at least) it offers two downloads.. one for the program and the other for the content. i click the download button for the BFD3 program and i get the pic attached. fails every time and claiming it is an "update"? is this because i no longer have your product installed so it can perform the 'update' or is your server failing?

more head aches...
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Last edited by MadDogE134 on Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:37 pm, edited 1 time in total.
"There is no strength in numbers... have no such misconception... but when you need me be assured I won't be far away."

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is there any way you can create a clean installer? one that only installs the software and does not look to update or migrate? if you read back.. for some of us on windows after owning and upgrading the software over the years have/had parts from the software and expansions all over the place.

i for one have cleaned all the different parts in different locations off my system
"There is no strength in numbers... have no such misconception... but when you need me be assured I won't be far away."

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Only bugginess I'm experiencing is the License Manager thinking something which has been downloaded and installed is still downloading.
this was true with fxpansion BFD3 as long as I can recall, so not very consequential. So ain't broke/don't fix here, but thank you for your yeoman work Drew.

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MadDogE134 wrote: Wed Jun 16, 2021 1:28 pm well i followed your instructions for 'new user' since i do not have your broken product installed anymore.

i installed the new license manager... all went fine except it does NOT allow you to install the manager where you want it :( we should be allowed to install it on any drive but it forces itself on our root drive :( but anyways...

i logged in via the browser and all went fine... shows my products and licenses in the manager.

scrolled down to BFD3 and it shows nothing installed which is correct (for me now at least) it offers two downloads.. one for the program and the other for the content. i click the download button for the BFD3 program and i get the pic attached. fails every time and claiming it is an "update"? is this because i no longer have your product installed so it can perform the 'update' or is your server failing?

more head aches...
Please try it again. It should be working now, I've just triple checked everything here and tested on both platforms. It's all good.
My Youtube Channel - Wires Dream Disasters :: My Band - Tacoma Narrows Bridge Disaster
Product owner working for inMusic Brands - posting here in a personal capacity, but I will assist with any BFD related questions - hit me up!

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