The Miscellaneous PC & vidya Games Thread

[grumbler]

Well, if you know a big patch is coming you can create a manual backup of your mods (copying them from the steam workshop folder to the game's mod folder, where you would keep your manually installed mods), which will make sure that Steam doesn't auto-update them. Or, if you don't want to keep tracking patch schedules you can keep manual copies of your mods at all times, just to be safe. (Also useful if you want to edit/tweak some of them yourself.) And in Steam you can go to the game's properties and revert to a previous patch (under betas, I think). That will let you continue playing your game. It's a bit of manual hassle, but it should at least allow you to keep the game at one state for months and (likely) years.

All of that used to be true, but Steam no longer has the recent versions of, say, HOI4 as betas.

[Syt]

That's weird, because for me they still show up:



Only thing I can think of was some changes they had to implement when the EU rolled out the GDPR:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/changes-to-playing-previous-versions-of-pds-titles.1120883/

If you log into your Paradox account and go to your library (https://beta-accounts.paradoxinteractive.com/library), then there's codes at the bottom that should give you access to the old patches when you enter them in (IIRC) the Private Betas field for the game.

If you've already done that then I have no idea what the issue might be.

[crazy canuck]

It is also possible to not download a patch.  Just go to settings and make it manual.

[garbon]

It is also possible to not download a patch.  Just go to settings and make it manual.

I don't think that matters. From my recall and a quick google, users have reported that steam goes to update it automatically when you press to play the program.

[Solmyr]

People keep their Skyrim at older versions to make mods work, should be possible to do the same with Paradox games?

[garbon]

I vaguely recall something like if you opened the executable rather than through steam?

Though all in more drama than seems worth it for light entertainment

[crazy canuck]

It is also possible to not download a patch.  Just go to settings and make it manual.

I don't think that matters. From my recall and a quick google, users have reported that steam goes to update it automatically when you press to play the program.

Ah, thanks for clarifying 

[grumbler]

That's weird, because for me they still show up:



Only thing I can think of was some changes they had to implement when the EU rolled out the GDPR:

https://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/threads/changes-to-playing-previous-versions-of-pds-titles.1120883/

If you log into your Paradox account and go to your library (https://beta-accounts.paradoxinteractive.com/library), then there's codes at the bottom that should give you access to the old patches when you enter them in (IIRC) the Private Betas field for the game.

If you've already done that then I have no idea what the issue might be.

Yes. Note that there are no 1.13 versions, which is what I was playing.

[grumbler]

People keep their Skyrim at older versions to make mods work, should be possible to do the same with Paradox games?

With Skyrim you have to use SKSE to start the game and avoid being automatically updated.

Plus, you can download the SE version with Enderal and then just copy it over to the Skyrim folder.  The AE version does not work with most of the mods I use.

[Syt]

1.13 is the current patch (1.13.7.1, to be precise). I always assumed that within the main patch line (1.12, 1.11, etc) saves (rarely) break, though not sure how much that holds true for HoI4.

[grumbler]

1.13 is the current patch (1.13.7.1, to be precise). I always assumed that within the main patch line (1.12, 1.11, etc) saves (rarely) break, though not sure how much that holds true for HoI4.

HOI4 1.13.7.1 breaks the saves of every version before it, just as has been true for every update that has been released while I was playing a game (which is every time I tried to play the game).  Ditto for Stellaris, though I've completed Stellaris games because it doesn't get updated as much.  Still, Pdox makes no attempt to created save update systems, so I just avoid playing to avoid the frustration. 

[Jacob]

You can set the app manifest to read only. This makes it so Steam can't update it. At least that's what I did to make Skyrim SE not update from 1.5.97.

Here are the instructions (including how to find the app manifest ID for other games):

I see a lot of desperation when Steam updates SSE. One simple way many people keep their game from updating is by setting the game to only update when launched and then use SKSE to launch the game. Although this approach works just fine I have another solution that can be applied to any Steam game and allows them to be launched more freely with the assurance that there's absolutely no way you or anyone can accidentally cause an update.

The way I keep my game from updating is by making Steam unable to use the game's app manifest. The app manifest is a Steam configuration file for a specific game that can be found in your Steam library folder. Steam needs to change this file in order to update a game, by removing its ability to do so it won't update the game.

That said, let's get to the steps on how to do it:

1-Locate the library folder where your game is installed:

That part is pretty easy, on Windows it'll usually be located in X:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps, where X is the drive you installed Steam on (generally C or D) and on Linux it's usually in ~/.steam/steam/steamapps

In the case you have multiple library folders or installed Steam on a custom folder and don't know exactly where your library folder is, the easiest way to find it is to right click the game > properties > local files > browse local files. After that just move to the father directory until you reach a folder named steamapps.

2-Find the app id for the game:

For Skyrim SE, the app id is 489830.

If you want to find the app id for any other game just head to steamdb.info and type the title of the game on the search bar.

3-Find the app manifest file (appmanifest_489830.acf):

The app manifest is a file in your library folder with the name appmanifest_<app id>.acf (appmanifest_489830.acf in the case of SSE).

4-Make the manifest read-only:

On Windows: Right click the manifest file > properties, mark the checkbox "Read-only" and hit apply.

On most Linux distros through the GUI: Right click the manifest file > properties > look for permissions and uncheck all write permissions (w)

On Linux distros without using a GUI: open the folder containing the manifest file in the terminal and issue the command "chmod 444 appmanifest_<app id>.acf"

Steam will now show that the update was paused due to "Missing file privileges" if you head to the downloads page.

After that, there's no way in hell Steam will update your game until you set the app manifest to be editable again.

Note: after that you won't be able to launch the game directly from the default Steam launcher, as it will immediately attempt an update and display an error, since it's unable to update. The two easy workarounds are to either add the launcher executable as a non-steam game or to go into offline mode. In Skyrim's case, the game can also be launched using your mod manager, SKSE, MO2 desktop shortcuts, etc.

Undo step 4 if you want to update again:

On Windows: right click the manifest file > properties, uncheck the box "Read-only" and hit apply.

On Linux using the GUI: right click the manifest file > properties > check write permissions for the owner and the group (w)

On Linux without the GUI: open the folder where your manifest is located in the terminal and issue the command "chmod 664 appmanifest_<app id>.acf"

After that Steam will be able to make the needed changes to the manifest file and update your game.

Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/b158op/keep_skyrim_se_from_updating_safely_and/

[grumbler]

Thanks, Jake.  That's an incredibly useful (for me) tip.  I'll name my next Stellaris head of state in your honor. 

[Jacob]

Thanks, Jake.  That's an incredibly useful (for me) tip.  I'll name my next Stellaris head of state in your honor. 

 

[Syt]

Turns out there's not one, but at least two rhythm based FPS.

One is BPM, a roguelike shooter that creates random levels (from pre-set building blocks) that your try to clear, unlocking more powers, gear and characters along the way. If you've played Ziggurat, you'll be familiar. Except that the game requires you to stay in the rhythm of the rock soundtrack when shooting. (92% positive reviews out of 8,800).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1286350/BPM_BULLETS_PER_MINUTE/

The other is Metal Hellsinger, which is not a roguelike, but does have a wave mode for when you don't want to play the story.

It features an original soundtrack with various luminaries of metal:



Plus a DLC with new gear etc. plus two new songs performed by Cristina Scabbia from Lacuna Coil and Will Ramos from Lorna Shore and another DLC with gears and unlocks plus three songs performed by Matt Heafy (Trivium), Melissa Bonny (Ad Infinitum) and Joe Bad (Fit for an Autopsy). There's another DLC with 8 licensed tracks which somehow includes Gorillaz, Depeche Mode, Disturbed, Galantis and Icona Pop. The latter one has not been well received. The game has 96% reviews out of 11,000.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1061910/Metal_Hellsinger/