Dutchie_Diatribe said:
I'm not saying that Steam should stop with the updates, just make them optional or something or make it so i can play my games even when their updating.
So in conclusion
Should Valve change the way that Steam downloads updates?
I agree 100%.
The way I feel is that I should be able to download them if I want to, but just play the damn game if I don't want to. While I understand some multiplayer games sort of REQUIRE updates to get to the most current servers, others DO NOT. For example, there are plenty of servers for older versions of Quake, Quake III, UT, and Battlefield 1942. At the same time, every one of these games have a singleplayer component that might be untouched by a steam patch, or might not be upgraded in a way that I care about. What I would be wanting in that situation is not to wait for ~15 minutes of downloading, but to just play the game 'as is' without downloading the update, or WHILE downloading the update.
I think that for every singleplayer game on steam, updates should be optional. And for every multiplayer game with a singleplayer component, updates should be optional. And for every multiplayer-only game, if the game allows us to play with an old version, let us. If it doesn't, make the update happen.
And at least make the update THE FINAL UPDATE. Steam's version of UT only updates to 436, when the most recent version is a fan-made patch of 451b, which is what 90% of the online servers use. And patching a steam installation is a bit different than any other install, so they should at least have some semi-complete instructions on that. I realize they can't support a fan-made version, but it wouldn't take much to do some research and display a link in the library page to the fan patch.