Modding in the Witcher 3 Next-Gen Update

[LiloLila]

In response to post #118787133.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

[showler]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368 is also a reply to the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

[Pickysaurus]

In response to post #118721838. #118722318, #118736613, #118750988, #118758088, #118770353, #118772443, #118779948, #118783053, #118783283, #118783603, #118798543, #118803228 are all replies on the same post.

LiloLila wrote: Interesting that they incoorperated bug/glitch fixing mods into the game instead of fixing the bugs themself. But to be fair why should the same work be done twice.
But it's sad that they haven't choosed to incoorperate BiA

I also wold like to know how many individual bugs they gonna fix on their own. Hope these get listed in the update log.

Gabriel424 wrote: Definitely sad that BiA didn't make it in. Now I have to choose between nicer graphics, or 5k+ bugfixes? Easy choice, making a new non-Steam game entry in my library right now. Go figure, CDPR chooses form over function and goes for the graphics update... screw that.

LiloLila wrote: true. They basically just cleaned up the facade.
Sadly I only have Steam and therefor can't downgrade later. But I have backed up a fresh installation of the entire game plus ducuments folder already. Just to be save.
I guess I will test the new stuff but depending on the mods, I might not stay on the next gen for long without BiA.

Gabriel424 wrote: I also only have Steam, that's what I meant... after backing it up, I added it to my library (+ sign in the bottom left corner) as a non-Steam game and called it The Witcher 3: Brothers in Arms. This way I won't have to go offline to actually play; if you leave it with the default name, it'll try to update every time you start up the game while online. Easy to let an update slip in and break the game like that, I went through that nightmare with Skyrim enough tyvm.

LiloLila wrote: I didn't knew you can add local games to your steam library. I have to investigate this.

Can this also be used as a save point to go back to, when you screw up while modding? In that case, if you import the vanilla game, it wold be the ultimate game saver.

Gabriel424 wrote: I assume so, unless I'm confused about what you mean... anything you can do with a backup of the game, you can do with a renamed copy. This just allows you to exempt that copy from forced updates, unlike renaming directories with a batch file which is what people used to use. If you wanted to, you could keep as many copies of the game as your disk space allows and have all of them playable via Steam; e.g. a copy of both 1.32 and next-gen in vanilla, then 1.32 with all your preferred mods as you have them now, and finally a next-gen copy to experiment with new mods on. Just make sure you keep the next-gen vanilla as the one Steam recognizes. It's quite easy to tell - the non-Steam games will have no pictures, achievements, links to the forums/guides, etc. Those are the ones that will be exempt from updating.

LiloLila wrote: Rn I have a copy of a fresh installation in a folder on my desktop. At the moment I would have to copy that folder to another place if I want to mod it to not effect the copy I made as a backup.

My question ist, If I upload that unmodded copy into my steam library, do I still need a backup copy or can I just do something similar like "verify files" (or how it is called in english) to roll the game back to the point when I uploaded it? Because in that case I could save some space (over 50 GB) on my own hard drive.
But if it would effectifely just create an extra "Start Game" button in my library I would still need both the backup and the modded copie on my hard drive. And I could just create a shortcut to the modded exe to play the game that way without steam too.

But another question.
Does a separate library list entry also use a separate documents folder? This alone might be enough to use this feature.
Because rn the old version and the next gen version would write to the same docs folder since both are the same game. And that's a problem if I want to have both versions.

Gabriel424 wrote: Been experimenting with just that myself; apparently they'll both still use the same documents folder, which is a bit of a wrinkle. I guess there'll still have to be a batch file as the target executable, unless there's a way to change the save game location easily. I haven't found one. And yes, you do still need the disk space to keep multiple versions of the game on your computer. 

As far as restoring a modded version of 1.32 to a fresh install of the same version, I suspect verifying your file integrity would either not work at all or would update it to the next-gen version. You'd probably need to keep a backup copy, or just use a mod manager to easily uninstall the mods.  It's not a magic bullet, just a way to keep playing it without Steam auto-updating. :)

LiloLila wrote: Ok, but goot to know that I should never ever delete or alter that backup from now on. I guess I have to finde 50gig of could space some how just to be extra safe.
I hope that someone reads this and creates a mod or tool to change the document folder direction. I have no Idea how that could work though.

showler wrote: Make a new Windows account to use the old game on and you'll have a completely separate Documents folder.  It's a pretty minor annoyance to have to switch back and forth and it ensures you won't have conflicts and can even have two entirely different Vortex setups, one for each version of the game.

LiloLila wrote: I guess you are right. Sounds light the only possible workaround for now.
but ... don't use vortex for TW3 mods.

Pickysaurus wrote: Unless you can provide an actual bug report, please don't tell people not to use Vortex. We've had almost no reports of it working improperly and thousands of users are playing Witcher 3 with it. If you can provide a detailed account of what you feel it isn't doing properly, with steps to replicate the problem we'd appreciate that. Most of the time when people say "don't use Vortex" like this, they haven't even tried it. 

LiloLila wrote: I have to admit that I got influenced to share this opninion. I have never used a mod manager myself, I only know how to install mods manually. So I don't know aka can't say what exatly it is but everytime this topic comes up under any comment, that vortex does not fully work with TW3 mods in generel and that it also depends how they are packed in the first place to be abble to get corretly installed by a mod manager. And from what I have heard (that's where/how I got influenced) does Vortex have the most difficulties from all mod managers with TW3 mods.

But to be fair, I googled it yesterday before posting this comment and according to a github bug report from september does vortex struggle with mods that has to make changes to the input settings or xmls so any mod that adds a mod menu or adds/changes the keybinds might better be installed manually.

I guess next time I should remember that one dokumentet error messege might not be enough to proof all other comments about vortex not being the best option for this game (info for: if its close to midnight again, sleep before commenting)

No worries, thanks for clarifying.

There is a bit of unusual logic there as Vortex has to deploy to both the game folder and the My Documents folder depending on the mod. 

If an issue gets reported though, we'll do our best to fix it :) 

[LiloLila]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

[nicksalz86]

I am totally pumped for the next gen update there is one sript mod that I really hope someone is planning on integrating in the update and it is the complete animations mod, I have always loved the idea that we can see Gerald drink his potions it always wondered why they decided not to use that animation for the third game but when I found out they made a mod for it I was stoked. So if there is anyone out there who may be able to convert that mod over to the next gen version some how I would be really great full and as always you guys are awesome for staying on top of things keep up the great work and good luck on the path!

[mattcat]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808, #118807363 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

LiloLila wrote: Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

I don't mind foregoing the Steam achievements if it means that I can use BiA and continue to make my own little changes to the balance of W3EE Redux. 

Your method seems kind of hard on the hard drive space. Did you try the method Gabriel424 mentioned about adding Witcher 3 as a Non-Steam game? I feel like I don't understand how to go about doing that, but I'd like to try it with some other game to figure out exactly what to do so that everything will be ready before the new update drops Dec.14th. 

I used to be excited about this update but now I'm scared about how it will break so many of the mods I enjoy. I'd rather just play on the old version until I finish my current playthrough, then come back in a few years whenever I get around to picking up the game again once I get a new PC. Edited December 10, 2022 by mattcat

[mattcat]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808, #118807363, #118831953 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

LiloLila wrote: Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

mattcat wrote: I don't mind foregoing the Steam achievements if it means that I can use BiA and continue to make my own little changes to the balance of W3EE Redux. 

Your method seems kind of hard on the hard drive space. Did you try the method Gabriel424 mentioned about adding Witcher 3 as a Non-Steam game? I feel like I don't understand how to go about doing that, but I'd like to try it with some other game to figure out exactly what to do so that everything will be ready before the new update drops Dec.14th. 

I used to be excited about this update but now I'm scared about how it will break so many of the mods I enjoy. I'd rather just play on the old version until I finish my current playthrough, then come back in a few years whenever I get around to picking up the game again once I get a new PC.

Does launching the game from Vortex with the Steam flag "update only if launched" enabled avoid updating the game?

Edit: I looked over some of the Skyrim forums and people there claim Vortex won't trigger the update.
<https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/qpjn3y/preventing_skyrim_on_steam_from_updating/> Edited December 10, 2022 by mattcat

[Dravic1]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808, #118807363, #118831953, #118832103 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

LiloLila wrote: Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

mattcat wrote: I don't mind foregoing the Steam achievements if it means that I can use BiA and continue to make my own little changes to the balance of W3EE Redux. 

Your method seems kind of hard on the hard drive space. Did you try the method Gabriel424 mentioned about adding Witcher 3 as a Non-Steam game? I feel like I don't understand how to go about doing that, but I'd like to try it with some other game to figure out exactly what to do so that everything will be ready before the new update drops Dec.14th. 

I used to be excited about this update but now I'm scared about how it will break so many of the mods I enjoy. I'd rather just play on the old version until I finish my current playthrough, then come back in a few years whenever I get around to picking up the game again once I get a new PC.

mattcat wrote: Does launching the game from Vortex with the Steam flag "update only if launched" enabled avoid updating the game?

Edit: I looked over some of the Skyrim forums and people there claim Vortex won't trigger the update.
<https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/qpjn3y/preventing_skyrim_on_steam_from_updating/>

won't trigger the update

Neither will just launching the .exe and you can make a shortcut of it, just avoid using shortcuts that are steam://rungameid based - generated by Steam when the game installs etc. Edited December 10, 2022 by Dravic1

[tr40k]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808, #118807363, #118831953, #118832103, #118836333 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

LiloLila wrote: Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

mattcat wrote: I don't mind foregoing the Steam achievements if it means that I can use BiA and continue to make my own little changes to the balance of W3EE Redux. 

Your method seems kind of hard on the hard drive space. Did you try the method Gabriel424 mentioned about adding Witcher 3 as a Non-Steam game? I feel like I don't understand how to go about doing that, but I'd like to try it with some other game to figure out exactly what to do so that everything will be ready before the new update drops Dec.14th. 

I used to be excited about this update but now I'm scared about how it will break so many of the mods I enjoy. I'd rather just play on the old version until I finish my current playthrough, then come back in a few years whenever I get around to picking up the game again once I get a new PC.

mattcat wrote: Does launching the game from Vortex with the Steam flag "update only if launched" enabled avoid updating the game?

Edit: I looked over some of the Skyrim forums and people there claim Vortex won't trigger the update.
<https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/qpjn3y/preventing_skyrim_on_steam_from_updating/>

Dravic1 wrote:

won't trigger the update

Neither will just launching the .exe and you can make a shortcut of it, just avoid using shortcuts that are steam://rungameid based - generated by Steam when the game installs etc.

?????

[LiloLila]

In response to post #118787133. #118803368, #118803808, #118807363, #118831953, #118832103, #118836333, #118837923 are all replies on the same post.

mattcat wrote: I have over a hundred mods, an older PC with a videocard that doesn't support ray-tracing, and no interest in the new content. My copy is the Steam version of Witcher 3.

What can I do to ensure that I can continue to play the game without the update breaking half of my mods? It would be nice not having to go into Offline Mode each and every time I try to startup Witcher 3, and pray that I never make a mistake.

Will there be a deconversion patch that keeps the game at v.1.31, much like how there was a mod that reverted it back from 1.32 to 1.31?

LiloLila wrote: I guess the best option you have is to make a backup copy of your current game plus documents folder, then deinstall and reinstall it (or verify your files, but I have never used that option in steam), copy that fresh installation to create another fails safe backup (and never ever change anything directly in that backup) and deinstall ist from steam to not get the update.

Luckily you can play the game without steam but sadly you wont get any steam achievement and so on that way.

showler wrote: If you look in the Skyrim SE forums there are instructions for blocking Steam from applying updates to the game.  The instructions might be adaptable to TW3 if you track down the manifest numbers.

LiloLila wrote: Might be a good time to share that knowhow here too.
Everything I could find was just how to block a game temporarily from updating but you have to do that console command trick everytime before you want to start the game.

mattcat wrote: I don't mind foregoing the Steam achievements if it means that I can use BiA and continue to make my own little changes to the balance of W3EE Redux. 

Your method seems kind of hard on the hard drive space. Did you try the method Gabriel424 mentioned about adding Witcher 3 as a Non-Steam game? I feel like I don't understand how to go about doing that, but I'd like to try it with some other game to figure out exactly what to do so that everything will be ready before the new update drops Dec.14th. 

I used to be excited about this update but now I'm scared about how it will break so many of the mods I enjoy. I'd rather just play on the old version until I finish my current playthrough, then come back in a few years whenever I get around to picking up the game again once I get a new PC.

mattcat wrote: Does launching the game from Vortex with the Steam flag "update only if launched" enabled avoid updating the game?

Edit: I looked over some of the Skyrim forums and people there claim Vortex won't trigger the update.
<https://www.reddit.com/r/skyrimmods/comments/qpjn3y/preventing_skyrim_on_steam_from_updating/>

Dravic1 wrote:

won't trigger the update

Neither will just launching the .exe and you can make a shortcut of it, just avoid using shortcuts that are steam://rungameid based - generated by Steam when the game installs etc.

tr40k wrote: ?????

if you add the game to your steam library as a non steam game you still need the copy on your hard drive. Just like you would with a normally installed game.
And if you want to keep a clean version of the game that you can use in case you break something on your modded vesion, you still need that clean version as a separate backup on your hardware too since you can't "verify your files" on a non steam game since steam only adds a play button to its library but doesn't save any information about your files.

So adding the game to steam manually is basically the same as just launching the exe yourself.
Same with launching it through vortex.
Luckily you can start the game without steam. Just make sure, if you create a shortcut to start the game, to create a shortcut to the original exe and not to any steam related files.