Is it possible to launch the game from Steam without installing the update?

[Dmitriy_1981]

Hello. Tell me, please, what should I do if I want to run The Witcher 3 with my mods on version 1.32, which is familiar to me? I would like to postpone the acquaintance with the current sensational update 4.0 until later.
First and foremost, my mods are gameplay mods and they are 100% incompatible with the update. But I'm not completely tired of them yet, and reinstalling the whole game and installing mods on a new one is too long a story.
Secondly, the experience of Cyberpunk 2077 shows that this release will be edited, reworked and improved for a very long time. And from this point of view, I also have nowhere to rush.
I currently have a game installed from the Steam library.
Thanks to the entire CDPR team of authors for not forgetting about our favorite game and us, its fans.

 

[LeKill3rFou]

If you disabled the "auto-update" on Steam and don't apply the update, I think it's possible (and recommanded while using mods in general).

Steam Support :: Managing Steam Downloads & Updates

help.steampowered.com

Interesting post :

In your Steam library, right-click the game, select “Properties,” and go to the “Updates” tab. There will usually be two options, neither of which is “do not update.” That third option appears on some older games, but not on newer ones.

One of the two remaining options is “keep this game up to date,” which basically tells Steam to download and install updates in the background whenever one drops. If this is the option that’s set, you need to select another.

The other option is “update when the game is launched,” which waits until you launch the game from within Steam (the big “Play” button) to download and apply an update. This is the more reasonable option if you have limited internet bandwidth, play over a metered connection, don’t play that title very often, are getting close to full on your disk space, or want to disable updates, but you’ll need to read on to work-around to make it stay that way.

This leaves work-arounds. The first, which works with some games but not others, is to create a shortcut to the game’s executable (you’ll find the .exe file where you installed the game, usually \Steam\steamapps\common\<name of game>\), and then launch from that shortcut. This does not always work, but it’s worth trying. You might also want to make a backup copy of the executable. No guarantees that replacing an updated .exe will undo whatever changes an update made, but it’s worth a shot.

A second work-around is to play in offline mode. You lose access to any of Steam’s online features since you’re putting Steam itself into offline mode, but if it can’t check for an update, it can’t install an update.

A third option is mods. If one of a game’s mods contains its own launcher (common when the mod requires the use of non-game .dll files and does not make changes to the game’s executable to use them), then using a shortcut to that launcher will sort of bypass Steam. If you have the game set to update only when launched, then as far as Steam is concerned, you never launched it from within Steam, so it never downloads any updates. You might need a separate work-around for problems like losing access to achievements or whatever, but you only need the shortcut and to completely ignore the “Play” button to make it work.

And whatever you choose, do not ever tell Steam to verify your game files. It will look at the most recent manifest (which will include updates) and replace any files that don’t match what it’s expecting.

 

[devivre]

Yes and if you already installed the update you can still revert to an earlier version:

I want to revert to an earlier version of the game — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Technical Support — CD PROJEKT RED

Welcome to CD PROJEKT RED Technical Support! Here you will find help regarding our games and services, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

support.cdprojektred.com

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

I tried to transfer Steam to offline mode - the game does not start at all. There is no "play" command in the library at all.
Enabled the line in beta testing "classic release 1.32" - nothing changes, the game does not start at all...

Auto-updates have been disabled for a long time. But the situation seems to be that the game that launched yesterday without problems now just does not start at all until I update it. Some strange policy of imposing content...

 

[Kstruik]

The

Yes and if you already installed the update you can still revert to an earlier version:

https://support.cdprojektred.com/en...-want-to-revert-to-an-earlier-version-of-the-

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Yes and if you already installed the update you can still revert to an earlier version:

I want to revert to an earlier version of the game — The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt | Technical Support — CD PROJEKT RED

Welcome to CD PROJEKT RED Technical Support! Here you will find help regarding our games and services, as well as answers to frequently asked questions.

support.cdprojektred.com

This seems to work

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

Generally speaking, if you are make a re-release using mods, then it would be worth paying attention not only to graphic, but also to gameplay modifications. For example, there is such a cool "Enhanced Edition" mod that transforms the combat system, balance, alchemy, etc.
Modders have found many successful solutions. For example, in this mod, the awkward, uninteresting curved leveling system of the original is replaced by a subtle and meticulously thought-out balance without the use of explicit numerical indicators.
Or, for example, in the "School of Roach" modification, the player's control over the direction of the hero's attacks was coolly done - so that the player had a distinct impression that he himself was fighting.
The new floral pants, or the one hundred and fifth sword, which were already in bulk in the game from the very beginning - this is not what players expect from the re-release.

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

The saddest thing when you return to vanilla after mods is the torment with the direction of attacks ... In vanilla, the camera and the character move by themselves, and it's so inconvenient ... You press the attack button, and for some reason the character starts to rotate around itself, like ballerina and for some reason exposes her back to blows ...

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

For some reason, it was impossible to make the ability to direct the sign in battle with the camera in six years, although modders did it a long time ago...

 

[Dmitriy_1981]

In short, in the end it is clear that this "next-gen update" adds one quest (ordinary), some kind of easter egg with unkillable ghosts, constant performance problems and ten-minute downloads.

It's a sad sight when the game is "finished" by the "new generations of developers" who replaced the real specialists. A very sad picture...