ability to set "Only update this game when I launch it" as the default setting for all games.

[vento]

there needs to be an option in settings to make "Only update this game when I launch it" as the default option. it's extremely annoying having to do it individually for all my games installed, and because i am often using my hotspot for a connection, it can accidentally use a lot of bandwidth and cost me a fortune.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

The default will always be, "Always keep this game up to date."

This was one of the main reasons why Steam was created to begin with.

[Black Blade]

I do agree, they kind of used to have a setting like that for a short time, then it was removed
Seeing that it never come back its possible it created issues of some type, and therefor was removed, that may hint that its not coming back

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Originally posted by Black Blade:

I do agree, they kind of used to have a setting like that for a short time, then it was removed

Back in 2014 the "Only update this game when I launch it" is the exact same option as the old "Do not automatically update this game" option. They just changed the wording because it was confusing people into thinking you could turn them off and play without downloading updates.

[Black Blade]

Originally posted by cSg|mc-Hotsauce:

Back in 2014 the "Only update this game when I launch it" is the exact same option as the old "Do not automatically update this game" option. They just changed the wording because it was confusing people into thinking you could turn them off and play without downloading updates.

That is fine, I am talking about the settings option in the Steam → Settings that you where able to set the default for all games (update automatically, don't update till I start) and so on

[vento]

there's really no reason why there isn't a global option to change it. if you can do it individually, you should be able to do it globally also. i'm not interested in trying to play the game without updating. i just don't want it to update when my connection is bandwidth limited.

[B l u e b e r r y P o p t a r t]

I def agree to this idea not for me but for my sister. She can not remember to set that option and then every time she gets on it downloads every update she has and kills my network for a short time (I'm tierd of setting this option on all her games all the time).

Great idea Vento and really surprised that this has not be an option to being with.

[Black Blade]

Originally posted by B l u e b e r r y P o p t a r t:

I def agree to this idea not for me but for my sister. She can not remember to set that option and then every time she gets on it downloads every update she has and kills my network for a short time (I'm tierd of setting this option on all her games all the time).

Great idea Vento and really surprised that this has not be an option to being with.

Maybe for that case at least set a time for auto-update and set it for 1 hour in night when you/she is unlikely to use it, till hopefully Valve dose it

[sir_deadlock]

I want this option badly. Our country needs it.
I'm a bundle shopper. As a result, I have hundreds of games, many I got for pennies at a time. I've installed quite a few of them because I hope I'll get around to playing them, or I already did and haven't uninstalled them.
In recent years, data caps have been imposed on large interenet providers like Comcast. I'm talking home internet, not mobile. I've been changing settings individually when I see updates try to download; I would appreciate a global setting to make my life easier and save my budgeted data.
While the absence of net neutrality has yet to blatantly distinguish data types, throttling is a well established reality. I don't know if any of the providers are going to throttle Steam, but on a personal level, I'd rather have easy control over what data usage I'm paying for now that it matters.

So yes, I want to be able to control my update defaults.

There's currently a setting to choose what time updates are installed and whether the downloads should be throttled, I'd like an option to choose whether to download them automatically at all. I'd prefer the opt-in option of changing a game's setting from "only update this game when I launch it" to "always keep this game up to date".

[The Giving One]

I would go for this, as long as the user could not make a support ticket until the option was unchecked, and set again to "free form" and then each game has it's own setting.

That way, hopefully there will be less/no "Help ! Volvo ! My game broke and it used to work !"
support tickets spamming support for more things they don't need to be bothered with.

Exactly one of the reasons why updates are (mostly) automatic anyway.

[swingline]

+1 adding support for this in case Steam reads. A default setting would be great. I try to remember to manually go in and set all of my downloads to only update when I play but I often forget. It might take me years to eventually get around to playing a game I download, so the interim updates aren't useful. I have alot of games and mainly download the one's I want to play to make them stand out in my "games" library. ;-) I know it's silly, but I have way too many games and the ones I really want to play get lost and forgotten unless I do that.

[Quasimojo]

This option is absolutely mandatory on my metered connection.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by Quasimojo:

This option is absolutely mandatory on my metered connection.

Only download games you want to play, and those you aren't actively playing make sure to change the setting.
That said, I am lucky enough despite being in rural America, to be hooked up to a 100Mbps unmetered cable connection.

[Quasimojo]

Originally posted by Crashed:

Originally posted by Quasimojo:

This option is absolutely mandatory on my metered connection.

Only download games you want to play, and those you aren't actively playing make sure to change the setting.
That said, I am lucky enough despite being in rural America, to be hooked up to a 100Mbps unmetered cable connection.

The option we are talking about is a global setting to only update when you run a game instead of having to go to properties for 400+ games to set each one inidividually. What cable company are you with? I might have to look into that.

[Crashed]

Originally posted by Quasimojo:

Originally posted by Crashed:

Only download games you want to play, and those you aren't actively playing make sure to change the setting.
That said, I am lucky enough despite being in rural America, to be hooked up to a 100Mbps unmetered cable connection.

The option we are talking about is a global setting to only update when you run a game instead of having to go to properties for 400+ games to set each one inidividually. What cable company are you with? I might have to look into that.

Do you live in the USA? The service is called Spectrum. https://www.spectrum.com/internet.html
It does cost $65.99/month after the intro period.

[The Giving One]

I have not tested this yet, but why not make a custom setting in the downloads setting for Steam for all downloads ?

Say, go to "Steam" then "settings", then "downloads".

Then make a custom setting for the times to allow all downloads. The shortest time difference currently available is one hour, at any time during that day.

Then, the lowest setting is 16 KB/s.

Now, let's do the math. That's 16 x 60 for one minute x 60 for that one hour. That's 57.6 MB total in downloaded data for that one hour.

I am guessing that 57 MB is not going to kill anyone that is on a data plan. It's not perfect, and not a global setting that will disable all of them totally, but it's only 57 MB. That's not much at all.

EDIT...And if you are not logged into Steam during that hour of the day, then there should be no downloads anyway. So kinda a workaround.