Update file size - Target the files to download/update?

[arty714]

Hi all, hi dev team!

First of all, I'd like to thank the devs for the fixes and continued support overall. It reminds me of the way Factorio was developped (and still is); little by little, but with consistency. :)

I haven't seen this topic mentioned anywhere (or maybe I'm just blind), and it's not about the actual content of the game, rather the way you get it. Every time I update the game, it's around 850 MB to download (and 4.5-5GB to unpack and update).

As the title suggests, I was wondering if it would be possible to NOT have to basically download and install the whole game again, every time there is a hotfix. While I do not personally have internet issues, I find it odd to have to download essentially all the assets/resources for minor changes.

Is there really no "easy" way to split the huge 2GB+ file in the data folder for example, thus giving the possibility to only download the files of smaller size affected by an update?
I'm no Unity expert, so I really don't know how feasable it is.

Obviously, it would reduce download and update durations, but also reduce the bandwidth usage, i.e. power requirements (and thus environmental impact). I know it's not usually high up on the priority list, but why not set an example, while also making it smoother for the users.
Double win, right? :)

... Except probably for the extra dev time invested, depending on how difficult it is to split the assets... but maybe it be could be a selling point?

Just throwing the idea out there. ^^