Update multiple games at the same time PLEASE

[dzibrokolo 18hit]

Hello there,

I know this is getting old but why can't steam start a second download if the current update finished downloading and is taking forever to install/unpack.
One example is theHunter...their updates tend to take an additional 10-15 minutes to install after the download has finished.
This is the perfect time to already download a second item from the queue, is it not??
So much time is wasted by downloads being blocked by installations.

Please add parallel downloads or at least a second download while the current update installs.

Thanks

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Not really. Your HDD, CPU, RAM are busy with the installation.

[dzibrokolo 18hit]

Not really, honestly. Maybe if all games are on the same drive and this is an HDD and quite old hardware.

[Crazy Tiger]

Originally posted by dzibrokolo 18hit:

Not really, honestly. Maybe if all games are on the same drive and this is an HDD and quite old hardware.

And guess what, there are plenty of people who fit that description.

[JPMcMillen]

Pretty much since the dawn of multi-tasking on home computers, it's always been advisable to install or update only one program at a time. The last thing you need is one doing something that screws up the other.

[mschol]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Not really. Your HDD, CPU, RAM are busy with the installation.

:qr:

not here: all of them are sitting there, waiting for something to do, sometimes a small "oh you have to do something" and sleep on it again
efficienty wise, steam is awfull..

Originally posted by JPMcMillen:

Pretty much since the dawn of multi-tasking on home computers, it's always been advisable to install or update only one program at a time. The last thing you need is one doing something that screws up the other.

technically in steam installs updates cannot screw eachother
the "dont run multiple installs side by side" is mostly because of shared items, which in steam games, is not really an issue; it could only become an issue when i.e. multiple C++ runtimes get installed at exactly the same time, highly unlikely and that is perfectly queueable if needed

[Start_Running]

Originally posted by JPMcMillen:

Pretty much since the dawn of multi-tasking on home computers, it's always been advisable to install or update only one program at a time. The last thing you need is one doing something that screws up the other.

Downloads can be multitasked easily but the problem there is you're not really gaining anything. Six versus half a dozen as they say. The total anmount of time taken will be roughly the same.

Installations can also be don via multi tasking. I've done this a few times. And in doing so I learned why you don't do it. That was a miserable weekend

[nilloc93]

#1 installing multiple things at the same time is a bad idea, just be glad you don't have to reboot after an install anymore.
#2 if you download 3 15 GB files at the same time or 3 15 GB files 1 at a time it'll take just as long, your interenet isn't magically faster because you have multiple DL's running, same thing for installation, it'll take just as long.

[76561198407601200]

Originally posted by mschol:

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Not really. Your HDD, CPU, RAM are busy with the installation.

:qr:

not here: all of them are sitting there, waiting for something to do, sometimes a small "oh you have to do something" and sleep on it again
efficienty wise, steam is awfull..

Originally posted by JPMcMillen:

Pretty much since the dawn of multi-tasking on home computers, it's always been advisable to install or update only one program at a time. The last thing you need is one doing something that screws up the other.

technically in steam installs updates cannot screw eachother
the "dont run multiple installs side by side" is mostly because of shared items, which in steam games, is not really an issue; it could only become an issue when i.e. multiple C++ runtimes get installed at exactly the same time, highly unlikely and that is perfectly queueable if needed

Despite i see no use for the feature, i would like to see it implemented just to read the inevitable follow-up topics of "Why isn't steam downloading all 6 games at my full internet speed!?!?". They can then be told "Hey, you wanted this feature, yet have no idea on how it functions".

[dzibrokolo 18hit]

I must still disagree.

The point you are all missing is this: some installs take abnormally long and in that time Steam could download the other installers.

I understand that total download times won't differ when you just take the sum black on white but what if I plan on utilizing my internet for something else in an hour but at that time Steam is still downloading because it waited on an ARK install that took 45 minutes?

I have enough cores to do installs 1 by 1 in the background and I would like Steam to utilize the bandwidth in the shortest time window possible to make room for other bandwidth demanding processes afterwards.

Maybe that clears up the request I initially had and still have.

[flamewave000]

I'm in full agreement with this. Yes installation should occur one at a time, but downloading patches/updates is a completely separate process that can be done in parallel.

Steam should download Game 1, upon completion, it should then Begin Installation of Game1, and also Begin Download of Game 2. When Game 2 finishes downloading, it should then put that installation on HOLD until Game 1 installation completes. In the meantime, Steam should then Begin downloading Game 3.

This way you completely decouple the Download Time from the Installation Time. Currently it is linear, so if downloads take 10minutes and installation takes 20 minutes, your entire update queue will take 30 minutes to complete. Instead with downloads running in parallel to installation, it would take only as long as the longest of the two (in this case installation takes longer and therefore everything will be done in a little more than 20min).

Honestly, the way the system is now is extremely outdated. Your smartphone does a better job of installing updates than Steam currently does, and it only installs one app at a time, but will usually download up to 3 app updates simultaneously.