How to not have Fallout 4 update with the next Patch?

[fedquip]

I am in the middle of a pretty stable game, and I don't want this next gen update thing to screw up my game if mods are suddenly not compatible. 

In Steam, the game is set to auto-update and I can't seem to figure out how to turn that off. Any advice? Or is this a non-issue?

[363rdChemicalCompany]

3 ways;

1)

Go to Steam,

go to your game library

right click on the game pic

Click the Properties tab

Scroll one down to "updates"

Set as "only update this game when I launch it"

Then only launch the game with F4SE , fallout 4 script extender   (assuming you use mods and therefore F4SE, in Vortex F4SE is right on top for launching it there, but you can also stick a shortcut to F4SE to your taskbar as I have)

 

OR:

2)

Buy the GOG version, but I had some difficulties in making the GOG version work with all my mods. Its seems 20% of my mods dont seem to "hook into" the GOG version.

Its still playaable but I am missing some of my mod added bells and whistles, so I have come back to steam

[363rdChemicalCompany]

3)

go to

C drive

go to

program files x86 

go to

steam

go to

steam apps

go to

appmanifest_377160.acf

right click

Properties 

attributes

Check "read only"

[fraquar]

Don't forget Steam updating is only 1/2 the problem.

The other 1/2 is updating, adding or removing mods mid play through.

------

This is my solution for you - for ANY game you install that you intend to mod.

a)  Install the game

b)  Run it one time, to generate the .INI files/settings.

c)  Back up the entire game directory.  

--------

This way you ALWAYS have a stable source to revert to - so even if a, b, c, x, y and z still don't work - you can revert your game in mere minutes - without having to be online at all.

[Karna5]

3 hours ago, fedquip said:

Or is this a non-issue?

Personally to me it's a non-issue. I've always run with hundreds of mods, tons of them using F4SE, and I've never run into a Fallout 4 update that interrupted any of the mods for more than half a day, if that. The mods which depend on game version number (which are very few) get updated quickly. I know the forums make it sound like a horrible problem, but it's simply never been an issue for me. Most Fallout 4 game updates don't even require F4SE mod updates anymore.

P.S. To rephrase, I've got 10.2 thousand in-game hours in Fallout 4, and the amount of time I've had to wait for mod updates when the game updates is fewer than six or eight hours combined in all the years since Fallout 4 came out.

[fraquar]

I wouldn't call it a non-issue.    I'd call it something you most definitely need to be aware of.

Why?

The clusterflock that happened when Bethesda merged previously paid for content into an update (whether you wanted it or not - and lets be honest even free people didn't want most of that as they were already using better mods on the Nexus to provide that or better content).

USSEP quickly posted an update, which rendered using it with the previous version of Skyrim impossible since they only keep the most recent version for download.

Yeah, there is a backdoor to downloading the previous version - which most people aren't aware of.

---------

My suggestion?

a)  Backup the originals of your mods you download (guilty as charged numerous times for not doing that).

b)  Backup the version of the game you are currently playing - so you can quickly revert without having to be online.

[Karna5]

2 hours ago, fraquar said:

I wouldn't call it a non-issue. 

I respect that. There are two games I've played a lot (Mount & Blade Bannerlord, 1000+ hours, and Fallout 4, 10000+ hours) where forums are generally full of complaints about game updates breaking mods. I respect that people feel inconvenienced having to wait for a mod author they like to patch their mod, and I don't consider them lugubrious.

But aside the patch you mentioned several years ago for Creation Club, a patch which took about half a day to get updated by the relevant mod authors, I've never had to wait more than a handful of minutes from when I decided I wanted to play and when the patch came out for me to make the updates. I can't remember the last time it took even half a day for a mod update to kick in.

It's also been a super long time since I've had to update any mods for a game patch. I don't have a sense of time as for me days blur together, but I think it can be measured in year(s) since I had to look for a patch of that type.

It's the same for Bannerlord. People get really upset having to wait half a day for patches on big changes, but those kind of patches are not only rare but (again, to me) not a big deal 

I guess for me I like that developers keep working on games I like. For instance, Bannerlord Steam forums are full of people begging the dev team to stop updating the game. I disagree with that sentiment whole heartedly. I LOVE when developers still love their creation enough to keep working on it.

Until Fallout 5 comes out (may it happen one day), I don't want Bethesda to forget about the best game it ever made, Fallout 4.

[363rdChemicalCompany]

1 hour ago, Karna5 said:

I respect that. There are two games I've played a lot (Mount & Blade Bannerlord, 1000+ hours, and Fallout 4, 10000+ hours) where forums are generally full of complaints about game updates breaking mods. I respect that people feel inconvenienced having to wait for a mod author they like to patch their mod, and I don't consider them lugubrious.

But aside the patch you mentioned several years ago for Creation Club, a patch which took about half a day to get updated by the relevant mod authors, I've never had to wait more than a handful of minutes from when I decided I wanted to play and when the patch came out for me to make the updates. I can't remember the last time it took even half a day for a mod update to kick in.

It's also been a super long time since I've had to update any mods for a game patch. I don't have a sense of time as for me days blur together, but I think it can be measured in year(s) since I had to look for a patch of that type.

It's the same for Bannerlord. People get really upset having to wait half a day for patches on big changes, but those kind of patches are not only rare but (again, to me) not a big deal 

I guess for me I like that developers keep working on games I like. For instance, Bannerlord Steam forums are full of people begging the dev team to stop updating the game. I disagree with that sentiment whole heartedly. I LOVE when developers still love their creation enough to keep working on it.

Until Fallout 5 comes out (may it happen one day), I don't want Bethesda to forget about the best game it ever made, Fallout 4.

 

I mostly agree with karna but

 but ultimatey i felt the need to answer the OPs question since he has that concern. and I must confess I myself am conferred enough to have switched off steam updates. I do remember a few months ago there was asteam update that was so poorly done (by steam) but peopple save games got moved to another folder and folks had to find them and move them back.

And this was only easily possible after other had solved on the forums and told them.

The update thats coming seems pretty limited which is fine with me, as most everything that Beth might have done (short of a new DLC) is already covered by mods

 

[subaverage]

Maybe this will be the last update FO4 gets. Maybe not. Preventing the game from being updated means you do so from now on and for the future. But it could be a good idea to wait and see what other users say about the update. What I will do is to make a copy of all related game folders as suggested above before I let the game be updated. (Entire FO4 folder, MyGames, Fallout4 in appdata). If everything works or with only a few little problems I'll keep it. Otherwise I revert back to my saved game and prevent the update until the problems are solved.

Edited April 12 by subaverage

[Ondrea]

In addition to the first recommendation regarding updating only on launch, I also always keep Steam in offline mode to prevent updates.