Arduino normally only supports one package version from the same board index url. It shouldn't be possible to install both and it is possible that both use the same underlying toolchain tools version but with different package versions. It can be confusing.

In Visual Micro you have a few other ways to work outside of the standard arduino config

1) You are probably using the "Arduino 2" app in Visual Micro. You can also configure the "Visual Micro (No IDE)" app to a different "Optional physical folder for downloaded board packages" path such as "c:\mypackages\v1". You also then use board manager as normal to install for that app. In your project you will be able to select the esp board from either Arduno 2 or Visual Micro (No IDE)

2) You can store the desired core(s) below a solution. You can create two different solutions using the same or different projects, each solution has it's own contained core outside of board manager. Each can be checked into source control along with project sources. In the docs you will find "special folders and portability" here https://www.visualmicro.com/page/Special-Folders-and-Portability.aspx

You will read that the special folders have various levels of usage. The most extreme being the \portable which replicates how the arduino portable folder has always worked.

We are considering adding another special folder just for board manager packages but either the sketchbook/hardware or the portable can be used to configure two different solutions with two different cores.

Make sense?

Please follow the guide in yellow above for the project you believe shows a different vmpl to the build.

It's how arduino works and how it's always worked. There is only ever one per platform.

The output requested from the yellow box will show us which config you have selected. If your toolbar is set to debug then then the release.vmps will be stale/old the debug.vmps will be valid.

Visual Micro and Arduino IDE board managers work the same way. They have only ever allowed a single core from each platform to be installed at any one time. There is no way to specify a version for a project, it is only possible to select a board name.

Previously you might have configured two board support urls. One for the released versions of your toolchain and one for the beta versions. Then you would have has option to select a board from each of the two packages. The boards would have had slightly different names on the menus.

The best solution is to install arduino 2 and run it once. Then configure the visual micro (no IDE) to use a different folder for board manager as suggested previously. Then you will be able to switch in visual micro between visual micro (no ide) and arduino 2. Both will provide same functionality but use a different set of boards or cores.

This functionality has not changed in any updates.

Do you have the info you need to correct things now?