How to play old versions of KF2

As many of the new players, as well as I have been displeased with the current direction and state the game is devolving into, i've decided to give this guide to all of us.

The Process

Now i've chosen *NOW* because " As of ~17:42 UTC Steam started enforcing access tokens to access package info, this means SteamDB will no longer be able to get info for packages that are not in the store or we have no token for." This is mainly as a safety precaution to ensure these builds do NOT get locked away. TripWire currently isn't even involved in the updating process of KF2, they have some other company working away as their pawns. This company has ruined the game, and TripWire itself has ruined it too. I can imagine some of the veteran developers are very displeased aswell.

Below you will find commands that you can enter into your steam console.

To open the steam console press the Windows key and R, or open the RUN window in your search bar. Enter the command 'steam://open/console' and press OK. There are other methods to this, but this one is a lot more streamlined and basic.

Once inside the console, input one of these commands into the command bar and press enter. It will begin a download of the depot build you've selected.

download_depot 232090 232091 8566179327658135325
kf2 day one EA build
download_depot 232090 232091 4016562996710932909
kf2 incinerate and detonate patched build
download_depot 232090 232091 2930055837658549017
kf2 revenge of the zeds build
download_depot 232090 232091 830260835531457175
kf2 tactical response build
download_depot 232090 232091 5721313031598987261
kf2 bullseye build
download_depot 232090 232091 4127989111375750555
kf2 return of the patriarch build

These are just some of the major updates, but i'll include all of the old ones pre-2018 & whatnot.
https://imgur.com/a/zBuKhvK

Once it's downloaded you'll find the content located in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\content\app_232090\depot_232091\(build ID here)"
Take the files you find here, go to "Documents\My Games\Killing Floor 2" and replace what's needed. Or it might be the files you find in "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Killing Floor 2\" I can't say for sure. I don't have the drive space to spare to find out currently.

Once you replace your game files with the ones you find in the depot build, launch the game as you normally would through steam, and revel in all of its early access glory. Now you can actually dismember feet and hands, and FLEX isn't as unoptimized as it is currently! Best of all? No microtransactions, no EDARs, no garbage rushed HRG weapons, no pay to use weapons, no cheap balancing decisions! Now Hans Volter is back to actually being a boss, same with the Patriarch!

Now, here's the kicker. I have NO clue if you can play online if you and a friend install the same build. Maybe if you create your own server, you could, but as for public servers I doubt you can.

Otherwise, go kill some zeds, and remember to have fun. =)

Oh, and, fun-fact. Remember when they told you they couldn't get Ceiling/Wall crawlers to work? That's a lie, they were seen working perfectly fine in the Dev Diary footage, just look closely. As for soft body organs, like pulsating brains and piles of guts? They had no reason to remove those from the game, either. Lots of questionable and poor development choices ruined this game, but these two aforementioned ones just didn't need removal at all. Headshot mechanics were also way different, you had to shoot the head several times to get that dumb cartoony 'head pop' effect. Now you just shoot a clot once or twice with a *9mm* pistol and BOOM. Where's the logic??? I would really love to get my hands on one of these alpha builds, but for the time being that wont happen.

[Crıs]

Updated: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2352636025

[NitroTheHusky]

Just a heads up the C.E instructions seem to be broken so this is a replacement that works: https://github.com/StepS-/SteamManifestFixer/releases

[Peridoxide]

some other third party that tripwire hired to bloat their game with garbage cosmetics and paid dlc all that shit. names been thrown around but idk it off the top of my head

[Binger]

Fuck it ill give it a go

[Peridoxide]

steam is deliberately prevent people like us from playing older versions of games :/
just like theyre deliberately preventing people to downgrade from their garbage library that runs on a memory-eating machine coding language

[Peridoxide]

reading up on another guide i guess they fucked it up and you can only bypass it by using cheat engine.
"Here is a step-by-step guide on disabling the downgrade protection manually using Cheat Engine:
1. Run Cheat Engine.
2. File -> Open Process -> Steam
3. Set the right-hand settings to the following:
- "Memory Scan Options": steamclient.dll (just keep pressing S when the drop-down is open to iterate through each and find it quicker)
- "Value Type": Array of byte
- "Hex": checked
- "Writable": unchecked (!)
- "Array of byte": D0 84 C0 0F 85 2E FF FF FF
4. Click "First Scan". You should get a single Address and the searched Value next to it.
5. Right-click the Value -> Change value of selected address(es)
6. Enter new value: D0 84 C0 E9 2F FF FF FF 90
7. Click OK. Done. You can now exit Cheat Engine and are able to downgrade games without the "Manifest not available" error, until you exit Steam. Continue through the guide as before."

[Binger]

Thanks OP, this is what pops up when I enter the command into the console:

] download_depot 232090 232091 8566179327658135325
Depot download failed : Manifest not available

[Peridoxide]

can't argue there ig

[Bro Bike]

TWI also said there would be no micro transactions, no paid DLC and no loot boxes. Now they are adding more and more OP weapons into the game. The EDARs contrary to what most people say are making the game much easier. I would like to see a new higher difficulty but I don't think they care the slightest.

Also they havn't fixed the infamous connecting to server crash/BugSplat since 2015. Right now they just pretend it does not exist when they are asked about it. Remeber also that they shipped the game with like 8 maps, half of which are absolutly trash (farm, catacombs...).

[ReBoot]

Well, I disagree as well here. Your alleged opinion, namely that the game is devolving, is simply false by any definition of "to evolve" there is". Your alleged "opinion" is a false factual claim. See what "to evolve" means, it's not as much about improving (my cat's got a happier life than I do), it's about fitness and KF2 as it is now is way fitter to compete in the overall gaming space than it was in EA. The other core property of evolution is rising complexity which KF2 fulfills as well. Viola, I just proved your claim (not opinion) false.