For those who want their pre-patch game back

[WreckWren]

The developer behind the Ascendio mod many of us use in place of the game's initial, and now-present-but-awful texture system, now recommends downgrading the game's version to the pre-patch one.

Quote:
"After March 8th update, the game is cursed: it doesn't work properly in vanilla (has texture loading issues and still stuttering and fps drops), but the update also broke Ascendio (more info on the posts tab). Currently, the only way to play properly the game is to downgrade to a prior version of the game. I'll provide instructions about how to do this on Steam, you'll have to look for an alternative way of doing this if you own an Epic Games Launcher copy of the game."
After playing some hours with the newest patch & Ascendio, I can confirm this is accurate.

As the developer behind Ascendio has posted on their mod page, here are the instructions to downgrade the game version & remove Avalanche's terrible post-patch texture system; quote:
"Enable the Steam Console
Press "Win + R" button.Write steam://open/console

Now, on the console at the bottom of Steam, type:
download_depot 990080 990081 4181219864002928403
(this command will download HL February 18th version, source here).

Steam will download the old update silently.
Eventually, the download will finish and you'll see a bunch of errors with optional paks, don't worry, this means the download has finished successfully.
The files will be located in your main Steam folder, the path should look a little something like this:
"your_usual_steam_folder/steamapps/content/app_990080/depot_990081".

Head to that folder, and copy the files.

Paste them in your Hogwarts Legacy game folder (where the executable is).
The path should look like: "your_usual_steam_folder/steamapps/common/Hogwarts Legacy".

Turn off Steam Automatic Updates for Hogwarts Legacy.
Right Click the game on your Steam Library.
Head to "Properties", then click on "Updates".
Switch "Always keep this game updated" to "Only update this game when I launch it".
This will give you the option to ignore any game updates whenever you launch the game."

Sadly, attempting to fix Avalanche's malfunctioning texture streaming system with Ascendio post-patch will result in many textures simply not loading at all. It is a sad state of affairs that such a big-budget title has had such lengthy technical issues, but here we are.
At least this post may give some of us a temporary solution, since Avalanche seems incapable of doing so.
Good luck, witches & wizards.

[WreckWren]

I should mention also that this will also give all users experiencing post-patch issues their playable game back. The thread title has been updated to reflect this.

For the devs: most civilised devs who release rushed or mostly-untested patches offer an option to downgrade within the "betas" tab. If an update is not confirmed to fix all the issues it is intended to, this is the correct approach. I should not have to explain why releasing a clearly not-fully-tested update as a beta is the correct approach to supposed professionals, but there it is, just in case it was needed.

[Snaplexity]

If I revert to older version of a game , Could I still use current save game file?
and btw I play a game on my laptop with rtx 3050 where it doesnt load textures
and I play on my PC when Iam home where its perfect ultra on 1080 ti ,everything runs fine

Will I be able to play a game normally like before if I revert it just on my laptop-?or my savegames wont match up?

[Janos Audron]

So I tried this like 4 times today and the game plays great until I get to the hogwarts intro screen before the sorting hat and it kicks me back to the character selection screen ? after gringotts. Then it goes back to the pensieve or
whatever when ranrock show up ?

[WreckWren]

Originally posted by Snaplexity:

If I revert to older version of a game , Could I still use current save game file?
and btw I play a game on my laptop with rtx 3050 where it doesnt load textures
and I play on my PC when Iam home where its perfect ultra on 1080 ti ,everything runs fine

Will I be able to play a game normally like before if I revert it just on my laptop-?or my savegames wont match up?

This should work unless the developers decide to specifically disable this.

[WreckWren]

Originally posted by Janos Audron:

So I tried this like 4 times today and the game plays great until I get to the hogwarts intro screen before the sorting hat and it kicks me back to the character selection screen ? after gringotts. Then it goes back to the pensieve or
whatever when ranrock show up ?

As I am continuing from a much later point in the game I'm afraid I don't have info on that specific bug, sorry.

[Zoloft]

Originally posted by Janos Audron:

So I tried this like 4 times today and the game plays great until I get to the hogwarts intro screen before the sorting hat and it kicks me back to the character selection screen ? after gringotts. Then it goes back to the pensieve or
whatever when ranrock show up ?

I started having those "famous" Texture issues specifically to that point.

[Zoloft]

Originally posted by WreckWren:

Originally posted by Janos Audron:

So I tried this like 4 times today and the game plays great until I get to the hogwarts intro screen before the sorting hat and it kicks me back to the character selection screen ? after gringotts. Then it goes back to the pensieve or
whatever when ranrock show up ?

As I am continuing from a much later point in the game I'm afraid I don't have info on that specific bug, sorry.

I will wait for feedbacks before trying this method

[zero.calvin]

Originally posted by Snaplexity:

If I revert to older version of a game , Could I still use current save game file?
and btw I play a game on my laptop with rtx 3050 where it doesnt load textures
and I play on my PC when Iam home where its perfect ultra on 1080 ti ,everything runs fine

Will I be able to play a game normally like before if I revert it just on my laptop-?or my savegames wont match up?

yes you can... i manage to load my character after rollback the patch.

[[SVS] JoshL117]

It's worth noting that doing this method will always install the CURRENT version of the game, not the pre-patch version, regardless of the manifest number in the command.

Source: I tried this, twice.

[WreckWren]

Originally posted by SVS JoshL117:

It's worth noting that doing this method will always install the CURRENT version of the game, not the pre-patch version, regardless of the manifest number in the command.

Source: I tried this, twice.

Perhaps you missed the "copy the files to the game directory" part of the instructions. My game version definitely changed at the end of the procedure, as has been the case for many users on the Ascendio mod's discussion board on Nexus.

[[SVS] JoshL117]

Originally posted by WreckWren:

Perhaps you missed the "copy the files to the game directory" part of the instructions. My game version definitely changed at the end of the procedure, as has been the case for many users on the Ascendio mod's discussion board on Nexus.

Maybe you and others aren't noticing the numerous other things that still remain that were brought in by the recent patch.
Either way, it's not working. Simply look at the comments of this guide.

[I ONLY DRINK MOUNTAIN DEW]

Thank you so much, after hours of trying every single fix (changing settings, removing cache, reinstalling game, etc etc) this is the only thing that ended up working.

Unfortunately now I am getting no dialogue, so I will attempt to go online on steam and get the english language back. Hopefully that won't update the game

[Otter in a scarf]

Originally posted by SVS JoshL117:

It's worth noting that doing this method will always install the CURRENT version of the game, not the pre-patch version, regardless of the manifest number in the command.

Worked for me. I no longer have texture problems, and my cutscenes start instantly (instead of with a ~10 seconds delay, like they did after the patch), so I must conclude the game got downgraded successfully. Older saves also work. I can finally continue my playthrough after three days of slamming my head against the keybord in frustration.

There's no guarantee this method will work for everyone, but if your game is unplayable right now, it's not like you have much to lose. Worst case scenario, you will have to re-download the most current version and wait for the devs to unscrew it.

Originally posted by Zoloft:

I started having those "famous" Texture issues specifically to that point.

Same. In the prologue everything worked fine, but the moment Weasley removed the Hat from my head, textures glitched out completely. It was so bad I almost expected 2001 meme Hagrid to jump in sceaming, "You're a wizard now, Harry!"

[Livonian Order - R]

I couldnt get this to work, it corrupted my game and i had to uninstall and now im reinstalling. At this point F this game. F the developers. IT really pisses me off when developers push updates without testing them. COMPLETE GARBAGE. I was having so much fun with this game until this update too. I have spent all day troubleshooting and frankly I give up, but I cannot play a game where everything is so washed out. I want my colors back

[Moban351]

that Ascendio "mod" author is far from a developer. Most of those settings are total garbage and can cause additional issues with your game. You've been warned.