Not going to Steam because of multiple installs. Really?

[Bram Hengeveld]

I have seen the title above coming by a few times now in discussions about GSC's availability on Steam and I must say I don't get it

You can perfectly fine have repeated clean installs of your steam game, although it will require a tiny bit of work.

The biggest benefit of Steam, besides having auto-updates, is that once you have downloaded the core files of the game you can unpack these files as many times as you wish for a clean install without having to download 11GB of files each time.

• If you have a few mods installed make sure you drop these into a separate folders outside of your steam game.
• You can simply "reinstall" GSC by deleting the entire GSC folder in steam
• Restart GSC in steam
• The game files will now extract themselves again and you have a 100% clean installation
• Copy your favorite mod in and enjoy
• Repeat the process for each time you need a specific mod.

 

[takfar]

Really the only downside I see in the single install, is that you never know with Steam when there may be an update, so if you're not careful you might get some modded files overwritten & wonder why the game is suddenly not working properly.

You can change the game properties on Steam so it won't auto-update, tho (you'll have to change to "only update when launched" and play in offline mode, tho). Problem solved =)

 

[Ho3n3r]

That sounds like a lot of work to be honest, if you wanna play 2 or 3 different ones every night.

I agree with @Msportdan - use rFactor 1 to play mods, since they'll play the same.

 

[Tommi-TAG]

Thanks for the information, Bram and everyone.
Alternative way which enables multiple installations on Steam is to "multi-install the Steam itself".
To be more precise,

1. Install GSCE into the current Steam installation and save the basic config & options settings.
(e.g.)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stock Car Extreme [Installation 1]

2. Copy & Paste the entire "Steam" folder into the same directory and rename it ("Steam_Copy" etc.).
Of course, all Steam settings (log-in information, userdata etc.) and "Stock Car Extreme" installation (basic config & options settings) are copied automatically.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam_Copy\steamapps\common\Stock Car Extreme [Installation 2]

3. (a) If we want to play GSCE in "Installation 1", launch the Steam by clicking on "Steam.exe" in "Installation 1" (shortcut works, too).

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe

(b) Also, if we want to play GSCE in "Installation 2", launch the Steam by clicking on "Steam.exe" in "Installation 2" (also shortcut works, too).

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam_Copy\Steam.exe

This is a well known method among Steam users, and I usually use this way to switch STALKER (FPS) series several huge Mods. And this seems to work for GSCE, too.
We have to re-launch the Steam every time to switch GSCE installations though, it's possible to use multiple installations on Steam if necessary.
Personally, I don't have to use multiple GSCE installations because (as Keith commented) I also use Mod Manager (JSGME) to switch Mods.
Just for information.

 

[Anestis]

Personally, I don't have to use multiple GSCE installations because (as Keith commented) I also use Mod Manager (JSGME) to switch Mods.
Just for information.

I agree, using JSGME makes things so much easier (not only for GSCE but for most of the games that instalation of mods is "copy-paste" )

 

[bestuck]

Thanks for the information, Bram and everyone.
Alternative way which enables multiple installations on Steam is to "multi-install the Steam itself".
To be more precise,

1. Install GSCE into the current Steam installation and save the basic config & options settings.
(e.g.)
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\steamapps\common\Stock Car Extreme [Installation 1]

2. Copy & Paste the entire "Steam" folder into the same directory and rename it ("Steam_Copy" etc.).
Of course, all Steam settings (log-in information, userdata etc.) and "Stock Car Extreme" installation (basic config & options settings) are copied automatically.

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam_Copy\steamapps\common\Stock Car Extreme [Installation 2]

3. (a) If we want to play GSCE in "Installation 1", launch the Steam by clicking on "Steam.exe" in "Installation 1" (shortcut works, too).

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\Steam.exe

(b) Also, if we want to play GSCE in "Installation 2", launch the Steam by clicking on "Steam.exe" in "Installation 2" (also shortcut works, too).

C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam_Copy\Steam.exe

This is a well known method among Steam users, and I usually use this way to switch STALKER (FPS) series several huge Mods. And this seems to work for GSCE, too.
We have to re-launch the Steam every time to switch GSCE installations though, it's possible to use multiple installations on Steam if necessary.
Personally, I don't have to use multiple GSCE installations because (as Keith commented) I also use Mod Manager (JSGME) to switch Mods.
Just for information.

Thanks for the info. A question though. Let's just say I did that, and I want mods in the "copy" folder, and one of the mods modifies some files from the game, so it's not just adding a track for example, it actually replaces original files. How does Steam behave in a situation like this? Does Steam allow you to play a game with modified files?

And in any case, if you can't use mods that replace original files, I thought "ok, so I'll just use the "steam_copy" in offline mode", would that solve it? I guess I would have a problem when the game updates but I could just use JSGME to disable mods, update, enable mods again.

(I'm asking you because you said you do this with ARMA so you probably know the answer )

 

[morsify]

Yes you can play the game with altered files without any problem, no need to use steam offline mode.
The only thing to remember is you may get kicked if you try to race online with modded files, unless all players are using the same mod. But it's fine for single player racing.

Yes you are correct - When Steam updates, it may well overwrite some of the modded files making the game or mod not run properly, so a mod manager like JSGME will prevent this problem - you can install your mods and play, then remove them after the session, keeping your game at default state for any updates before you next play.

 

[Tommi-TAG]

I agree, using JSGME makes things so much easier (not only for GSCE but for most of the games that instalation of mods is "copy-paste" )

Thanks for your reply, Anestis
JSGME is very useful not only for playing the Mods but also testing and creating the Mods.
It really saves out time and effort.
　

 

[Tommi-TAG]

Thanks for the info. A question though. Let's just say I did that, and I want mods in the "copy" folder, and one of the mods modifies some files from the game, so it's not just adding a track for example, it actually replaces original files. How does Steam behave in a situation like this? Does Steam allow you to play a game with modified files?

And in any case, if you can't use mods that replace original files, I thought "ok, so I'll just use the "steam_copy" in offline mode", would that solve it? I guess I would have a problem when the game updates but I could just use JSGME to disable mods, update, enable mods again.

(I'm asking you because you said you do this with ARMA so you probably know the answer )

Yes you can play the game with altered files without any problem, no need to use steam offline mode.
The only thing to remember is you may get kicked if you try to race online with modded files, unless all players are using the same mod. But it's fine for single player racing.
Yes you are correct - When Steam updates, it may well overwrite some of the modded files making the game or mod not run properly, so a mod manager like JSGME will prevent this problem - you can install your mods and play, then remove them after the session, keeping your game at default state for any updates before you next play.

Thanks for pointing that out, bestuck.
Keith answered the questions, almost the same answer which I was just about to post.
Thank you, Keith!