1.03 Update on Steam - Why so big?

[focher 15]

Did anyone else encounter the update process to 1.03 on Steam actually just downloading a whole new version of the game? Mine ran at 1.5-1.7 MB/s (yes, MB not Mb) and took almost an hour to update. I also noticed it used up another 8GB of my ISP quote! Yet when I checked the standalone patch size, it was only 134MB.

Did someone at BIS screw up in apply the update to Steam? It's a pretty big screw up!

[Dreossk 10]

They did screw up. It's the only game I have with this problem. Other games can get incremental patches in Steam. Just send your overdownload bill to BIS.

Edited August 7, 2009 by Dreossk

[Windexglow 10]

It's the way they made their files.

Right now the game has a file for each general category (buildings, animations, weapons, ect)

inside each file contains most of the information used by the game (health, damage, actual model/texture, and so on) The file is kind of like a .zip

BIS's downloadable patches actually go into the file and make changes.

Steam's downloadable patches have to replace the ENTIRE file. That means if you want to change a buildings life from 400hp to 500hp, you'd have to download a 1gig file just to do that for steam.

I have no clue why they didn't separate the model/textures (which rarely change or are edited) and the information which is often edited.

[Dreossk 10]

Most games are like that and the patching still works fine in Steam.

[Maddmatt 1]

Most games are like that and the patching still works fine in Steam.

That's because they use Steams GCF files, or don't release major patches anyway. Steam can't work with BIS pbo files.

[Windexglow 10]

Most games keep the textures and models separate from the data, too.

[Fiya 10]

They did screw up. It's the only game with this problem. Other games can get incremental patches in Steam. Just send your overdownload bill to BIS.

No. Wait till other people respond, its not the only game like this. There has been others.

Windexglow is correct aswell.

People are so stupid and ungrateful.

[shataan 1]

I have the Steam version and just had a patch update. Didn`t have to d/l the client again.

[cole 0]

It's Steam fault you had to download the whole files, not BIS.

And, at last: please, don't blame us for the steam update. As it was mentioned on several places and threads it's a Steam issue. Instead of downloading just the difference data to be replaced inside of your pbo's (normal D/L update does this exactly), Steam users must download the whole pbo's and files affected be the update, which is about 4.3gigs in total.

By the way, we have the response from Steam, that they plan to implement more sophisticated method of updating games to avoid such situations.

The patch using data diferences in addons is aprox 130MB. The addons that contain those changes at the end are more than 7Gigs. Most probably in other games the patches do overwrite much smaller files.

[Baldman 10]

Yeah, same here. I was saving my last gig for the quotas month end (27th) and it got blown to hell by the download and now I owe my ISP a good chunk money since we pay by the MB exceeded, I don't ever expect to incur such a massive download from steam unless I'm downloading a game. I can take a 4-500 meg patch here and there, even exceeding the limit by a few hundred MBs is bearable, thats why I set so much of the quota aside but.... Ouch.

0.15c per MB after the limit is reached

3000MB over the limit after the patch

$450 bill on top of the normal charge of $139 (I have the plan with the largest quota) payable by months end. Nice $589 of ARMA II goodness, thanks steam.

With such a large DL did they have to use the auto patcher? Surely they could have used a confirmation letting us know we're about to dl another 4gbs to update the game or just given us a little popup letting us know a patch is ready and what size it is? Whoevers brilliant idea this was just cost me $450, personally I can think of far better things to spend that kind of money on.

Not once in the entire time I've been using steam has an update ever been more than 1GB in size, 4GB is just crazy.

And thats only if the talk of it being 4GB is true, I can't bring myself to check my bill online right now or I'll blow my top. I'll stroke if its 8GB as people are saying, thats a $900 hit to my pocket in one month for a $60 game.

Edited August 7, 2009 by Baldman

[Placebo 29]

Covered in the 1.03 patch thread, was caused by Steam, not by us.