[BUG] Witcher 3 Steam version graphical settings are synced between different machines

[gbdrbob]

I've recently been playing the Steam version of Witcher 3 on both my Steam Deck and my Desktop PC. I noticed that when I configure in-game video settings appropriate to my Desktop PC (e.g all Ultra) they are synced and overwrite the carefully chosen settings on my Deck (and vice-versa).

This means I either need to leave the settings configured for the weakest system on which I play the game, or waste time changing settings every time I switch between machines.

This bug directly contravenes the Valve developer guidelines for Steam cloud, which state:

If the user changes computers, the files are automatically downloaded to the new computer prior to the game launching. The game can then access the files by reading them through the Cloud API or reading them directly from disk as usual. Avoid machine specific configurations such as video settings.

I really hope this bug will be fixed soon, perhaps in the next-gen update? It breaks one of the key advantages of owning a mobile gaming PC like the Steam Deck - easy switching between desktop and mobile.

 

[John_Russell]

That's a Steam bug NOT a CDPR bug ...... CDPR doesn't have access to Steam's cloud servers

 

[gbdrbob]

That's a Steam bug NOT a CDPR bug ...... CDPR doesn't have access to Steam's cloud servers

No, it's CDPR that chooses which files are synced via Steam cloud via settings in the game manifest, configured on the Steamworks developer portal. That's why the developer documentation I linked above notes to be careful not to sync video settings.

If you look in steamdb, you'll see that CDPR bizarrely chose to explicity sync the user.settings file, even though it lives outside of the gamesaves directory and contains machine specific video settings.

 

[Hyos]

That's a Steam bug NOT a CDPR bug ...... CDPR doesn't have access to Steam's cloud servers

You're mistaken, probably because you do not understand the problem/how Steam cloud saves work.

Check steamdb config for Witcher 3. This code describes what to upload to Steam's servers, written by CD Projekt devs, NOT by Steam devs.

0/path: /The Witcher 3/gamesaves/
0/pattern: *
0/platforms/1: Windows
0/root: WinMyDocuments
1/path: /The Witcher 3/
1/pattern: user.settings
1/platforms/1: Windows
1/root: WinMyDocuments

The first line with * pattern means that all files under user directory are being synced, which includes user graphics settings profile as well.
This is a big problem for people playing on PC + Steam Deck, or Desktop at home & Laptop when travelling.

Post automatically merged: Jan 2, 2023

Way more user reports of this being a nuisance to be found here: https://www.reddit.com/r/SteamDeck/comments/101d02f