Disk space during updates

[-HOAX-]

Trying to update Payday 2 which is around 30 GB, the steam/downloading folder goes to about same every time, even for very small bugfixes. Is this normal behavior that the entire game should be duplicated in a temp directory every update?

[NotApplicable]

That explains a lot! I've just noticed a performance degradation as a result of Payday 2 updating itself. I thought it might be Steam in general, but now I suspect it to be Payday 2, specifically.

[Satoru]

Here is how Steam updates work
1) Steam downloads a small delta patch to your computer
2) Steam uses the existing file, plus this delta patch, to recreate the new file
3) This new file is then copied to the target location

Payday2 patches ALL GAME FILES which right now basically amounts to close to 30GB

You have 2 options
1) Download a 1GB file and use 30GB of TEMPORARY disk space
2) Download 30GB for every patch

The system is working as intended

[-HOAX-]

Thanks for the explanation Satoru. I do feel like that if the process is working as designed then the system requirements for the game should be updated to reflect that. The game requires effectively double the listed requirement. I like Payday a lot, but ~60 GB for a single game is a bit excessive in my opinion.

[Satoru]

Originally posted by -HOAX-:

Thanks for the explanation Satoru. I do feel like that if the process is working as designed then the system requirements for the game should be updated to reflect that. The game requires effectively double the listed requirement. I like Payday a lot, but ~60 GB for a single game is a bit excessive in my opinion.

If you download the game directly it only needs the disk space noted, 30GB.

PATCHING takes mroe, but that's not part of the requirements of the game.

[Dwerklesberry]

Yea its a way of saving bandwidth, the alternative is worse, you redownload 30gb of data. As it is now you download the difference and it recreates the new files. Perhaps it should do it one file at a time to save space and be more elegant, I don't know, but perhaps that would create some ugly fragmentation.

[-HOAX-]

Patching is not optional and is required to play the game after any update is released. If I was given the choice to keep playing without patching then yes, the posted requirements would be valid. I know I am a special case, but I did spec out and purchase a SSD based on listed game requirements before purchasing. A phantom 30 GB every update was not part of my design. Because of this, I am in a position of either not playing a game I have already paid for, or spending more money on a larger drive. Both options are not good, and are the direct result of using the posted requirements. If that is by design, then not like it is going to change. Again, thanks for the info. At least I know now, but I am really disappointed that is how it works.

[Kargor]

If it works like this, then that's actually the best solution, to some extent.

If you update multiple files "in place", and your update fails halfway through, you're stuck with a half-updated game. That's generally bad. So, the safest way is to make a copy, update the copy, delete the old one and move the copy in its place. This last operation can still fail halfway through, but if you're careful enough you can be reasonably sure that whenever you fail, your updater just can just continue without much effort.

Now, this is, of course, not the only way to do it. You can apply the same principle to each single file, so the first part of the update could just create all the new files, and then move them where they are supposed to go. However, if things get more complex, keeping track of doing things properly and in a fail-safe fashion can get tedious, whereas the first solution always works the same without a lot of implementation effort, no matter how complex the update gets.

[MA☝Omgwtfbbqstfu™]

Originally posted by -HOAX-:

Patching is not optional and is required to play the game after any update is released. If I was given the choice to keep playing without patching then yes, the posted requirements would be valid. I know I am a special case, but I did spec out and purchase a SSD based on listed game requirements before purchasing. A phantom 30 GB every update was not part of my design. Because of this, I am in a position of either not playing a game I have already paid for, or spending more money on a larger drive. Both options are not good, and are the direct result of using the posted requirements. If that is by design, then not like it is going to change. Again, thanks for the info. At least I know now, but I am really disappointed that is how it works.

Many people don't have an ssd at all, so its kind the ultimate first world problem;)

[Silicon Vampire]

don't install Steam to the SSD if it is too small. I leave 1/3rd of my 240 GB free for normal disk operations...

[-HOAX-]

I leave some slack for regular usage on it, just not 30GB usually. Just saying, 60 GB space for a single game is pretty big compared to most other titles. I would have planned my build out differently had I known this beforehand.

[Silicon Vampire]

30Gb is not enough unless it is only a 300GB drive to start. You must leave more overhead than that for normal, not Steam related functions.

[MA☝Omgwtfbbqstfu™]

Originally posted by -HOAX-:

I leave some slack for regular usage on it, just not 30GB usually. Just saying, 60 GB space for a single game is pretty big compared to most other titles. I would have planned my build out differently had I known this beforehand.

Eh, no thats the direction games are taking. Most games take quite a bit of space, and people kind of are expected to have some kind of harddrive storage...even a cheap computer comes with 1TB these days, so space isn't actually an issue.

My team fortress directory which is rather old game uses 22GB alone, so its normal.

[Wicked Mouse]

Originally posted by Satoru:

Here is how Steam updates work
1) Steam downloads a small delta patch to your computer
2) Steam uses the existing file, plus this delta patch, to recreate the new file
3) This new file is then copied to the target location

Payday2 patches ALL GAME FILES which right now basically amounts to close to 30GB

You have 2 options
1) Download a 1GB file and use 30GB of TEMPORARY disk space
2) Download 30GB for every patch

The system is working as intended

Sorry for Necro-ing this thread, but I felt it was better than starting a new one.
I was wondering of this very same issue, as I faced having to move games (delete local content and redownload them on a different disk) in order to be able to apply a new update for Rome II. By doing so I managed to have just about 2GB left before Steam finished applying. When it was done I had 20GB free (not the disk I use for Windows). And I started to wonder why I'd need 18 GB of disk space for a patch of 1.4GB. Your explination made the sense I needed:
So of the stuff Steam patches it creates a copy to apply the patch to, in case you're playing it right now, or want to, despite being patched still. And then when all done, moves to the game folder and free up the HDD space again.

If I could +1 or thumbs up that post, I would

[The Giving One]

What was posted here about leaving extra headroom as free disk space is also important to note, unless you have considered that, Wicked Mouse.