Posted: 9/25/2021 12:32 PM
(Edited: 9/25/2021 12:37 PM)
Post subject: Last Steam beta disables downloads of older game versions
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juef
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See this tweet. Obviously, this is very bad for a lot of things, including possibly TASing? I believe most PC TASes use standalone versions such as GOG's, but I thought I'd post it here just in case.
Posted: 9/25/2021 12:36 PM
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feos
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NES TAS of 2011
Imagine you release a tas and submit your movie, and the next day they FORCE PUSH game update that breaks sync. And while you're resyncing, they FORCE PUSH one more down your throat. Awesome job, Valve.
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Posted: 9/25/2021 12:39 PM
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fsvgm777
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It's been reported that one can still download older versions of games on the latest Steam beta. So...I dunno.
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Posted: 9/25/2021 12:41 PM
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juef
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Oh, sorry, I didn't check the discord to see if it was reported. I'd definitely be glad to hear this isn't true.
Posted: 9/25/2021 4:02 PM
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negative_seven
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Atari TAS of 2022
The supposed claim seems to be that versions specifically chosen by the developer as betas can be downloaded fine, but the more general way to get any past version of the game via eg. DepotDownloader won't work.
Posted: 9/25/2021 7:57 PM
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GJTASer2018
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So in the future TASers using non-current versions would just have to be sure they pick a developer-stated "beta" instead of whatever's available at the time. (Assuming the devs care enough about such things - many won't, of course...)
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Posted: 9/28/2021 10:55 AM
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juef
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https://www.pcgamer.com/steam-beta-suggests-you-wont-be-able-to-revert-to-old-game-builds-much-longer/
Valve has responded to claims that Steam will soon disable the option to download previous versions of games. In a statement provided to PC Gamer, a spokesperson clarifies the company is not planning to disable access to older versions of software. "We are actually not planning to disable downloading old builds. What we are working on is an approach on handling edge cases involving unowned content, and helping partners more easily take down builds that need to be removed for things like copyright issues," the statement reads. "We’ll have more to share on that work when it’s ready to ship."