Native Game Depot Support

[SturdyStubs]

Steam provides depot download support currently through the Steam command line however this can be cumbersome and lacks many features that could improve the experience.

Firstly, let me explain why depots are needed. Many users find that the games they play have features removed that were appreciated by themselves or the community at large and were once in the game from a previous version. I myself enjoy playing older versions of a game to feel the nostalgia of playing an older version I once loved. Steam users are currently allowed to download these older versions of the game however the user experience is not very friendly.

The average Joe user has very little experience with any command line usage which can be frustrating when they finally want to delve into an older version of their favorite game. A proposal for this is to add an option in the "Add a Game" section that gives you the option to select which game you would like to choose (of your already owned Steam games as depots do use DRM), and then choose a game update that you would like to download. This could be shown by date and then Steam would choose which depots need to be installed. You wouldn't have to specify the depot id because Steam already knows which depots to install based on the computer you are downloading from.

With this, it should also include native support to show the progress on the download just like how any other Steam game is installed as well as native game support which includes being able to verify your game files, show the amount of hours you have played on it, and see friends who have also played that depot.

This is a major part of my experience on Rust lately because the developers have decided to change a core aspect of the game that many players miss, the recoil of weapons. I help run a community on a previous version of the game and it is a daily struggle to get people to understand how to use the command line which in return causes many users to be turned away or often users will mess up the process along the way. The community would grow immensely if Steam were to release a feature to improve the user experience of downloading these depots.

[reincarnation.]

+rep we need better support for older updates!!!!

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

Game developers can already offer this using beta branches if they wish to.

Ask them to add some.

[SturdyStubs]

cSg|mc-Hotsauce eredeti hozzászólása:

Game developers can already offer this using beta branches if they wish to.

Ask them to add some.

:summercat2023:

Facepunch is pretty ignorant of this. In fact, there used to be a way for players to use the older weapon recoil however it as removed because they said it wasn't the intended purpose. They are dead-stuck on forcing people to play the newer version of the game. It is my belief that since we have paid for the game, we should be able to play whatever version we would like and have it accessible.

[cSg|mc-Hotsauce]

SturdyStubs eredeti hozzászólása:

cSg|mc-Hotsauce eredeti hozzászólása:

Game developers can already offer this using beta branches if they wish to.

Ask them to add some.

Facepunch is pretty ignorant of this. In fact, there used to be a way for players to use the older weapon recoil however it as removed because they said it wasn't the intended purpose. They are dead-stuck on forcing people to play the newer version of the game. It is my belief that since we have paid for the game, we should be able to play whatever version we would like and have it accessible.

Unfortunately, it is completely up to the developers to allow it and Valve will not intervene.

[The ocky way]

+rep

[Zefar]

The reason Valve won't host every single version of a game is because the amount of storage space needed would be absolutely ridiculous.

Even if it'd only be the release version and last version that would still double the amount of storage needed.

Developers are able to use Beta branches and if those are not enough then sorry you won't be able to play the original release of the game unless Developers release it as a new title.


Also no, forcing developers to make a "patch" for each version will not go over well either due to the amount of extra work needed for that.

[ŧ AlmightyLion]

+1

[SturdyStubs]

Zefar eredeti hozzászólása:

The reason Valve won't host every single version of a game is because the amount of storage space needed would be absolutely ridiculous.

Valve already does provide every single version of the game via depots. All you need is the AppID, Depot ID, and the Manifest ID. These are already features provided via command line which is why they should be more accessible and expanded on.

Zefar eredeti hozzászólása:

Also no, forcing developers to make a "patch" for each version will not go over well either due to the amount of extra work needed for that.

We don't expect any further support. Depots are not connected to any updatable branch anyways. This is simply a request to make depots easier to access.

[Bee🐝]

This is up to the developers. The majority do not want to provide users with older builds - they can already do this via beta branches.

Here’s something often overlooked, some people do not understand the words, “your build’s outdated by many years and we’re not offering support for it anymore”.

Nothing as frustrating in customer support as someone, who’s knowingly using an old build, yelling at you because they’re insisting their build is still valid…but they won’t upgrade to the build which fixes their issue either. People are weird.

The current system saves small devs support costs and time - they don’t have to deal with that drama.

[784]

+1

[agar]

Hello, as an active member in a very diverse game community, I find your idea(s) very interesting. I think over the years, the overall goal of game developers has changed. I remember where it used to be genuine people trying to do what was best for the community. I find a good example of the snobby, and money-seeking developers (a part of this modern age) to be FacePunch, who are the developers of the well known game ‘Rust’. Unfortunately, within this current generation, game developers have no care for their own games’ sub-communities that sprout and spend most of their time invested in getting new players, to of course buy their game. Relevant to your example with Rust, games lose their nostalgic feeling and the old communities get torn up while the game developers seek new ways to attract new players. It’s obvious that Rust only cares about money, who wouldn’t? But we can’t change that, but what steam could do is different. Having these changes implemented could be beneficial to not just Rust communities, but communities within a variety of games. You don’t want games to lose players, because that could end up with steam losing players too, right?

[ImAHoe]

old rust on top

[zelensky]

I completely agree, i paid 30€ for Rust, because i liked the game how it was before, it required skill and was fun to play. Now the game is completely changed in the worst direction, i wish i could refund the game, but i cant. Depots need to be accesible easier for all people, not just the ones that have knowledge in computers. More players could and would play the older version of the game without having to worry about doing something wrong. #MakeRustGreatAgain