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Publishing updates on Steam always very large

Legacy Tools (Unreal Engine 3 / UDK) UDK Programming and UnrealScript
#1

Hi guys. Every time I publish updates to Steam, the update side (file diff) is always 200mb+ (even if the update is only code changes and no asset changes).

Anyone know why this is?

My routine for publishing updates:

  • Package the game in frontend (with a full recook).
  • Install to packaged game to a local directory.
  • Run the Steam CMD to upload the installed game.

Another annoying thing, is after each update, all player have to accept the UDK eula when launching the game. This also seems to add an additional item in the Windows programs list.

I’d appreciate any insight from anyone else that has dealt with these issues (or if you just have any ideas of how to resolve them).

Cheers

#2

AFAIK the recook will always produce a different file. I can’t remember the reasons but I know this issue to exist from the cooker itself. IIRC the cooker produces the same file but with something minor changed (something in the file header or something. I’m speaking from memory on a topic that was spotted by a co-worker so I don’t know much details).
maybe a non-full recook would help. it might also be worth a shot to make a file diff (locally, not with any Steam stuff) and check what has changed
I’m interested in this as I plan to publish on steam as well. my game is quite small (less than 450mb atm) but even smaller patches would be great

regarding the UDK eula adding the game again to the windows programs list, there was another thread about it: Many Multiple "My Game Long Name" found in ADD/REMOVE PROGRAMS on customer's computer - Epic Games Forums
the guy apparently fixed it, so if his method works for you it would be nice if you report back on your results :slight_smile:

#3

Awesome, thanks for the info @Chosker.

#4

That thread helped me solve the issue of the multiple installs and the EULA on every update. Thanks again @Chosker!

#5

good to know the solution worked :slight_smile:

will you still look into the patch size / diff issue?

#6

Hmmmm, I’d like to bring the patch size down, but that was much less of a concern than the EULA and multiple game installs. Having that fixed has given me a very nice sense of freedom in my patch releases.

I may experiment with not cooking and seeing what happens. Not sure exactly what cooking does. I should do some reading. Any insight is welcome.

#7

From past experiments cooked level files are subtly different, open one up to see…
After cooking level files can be copied directly from Editor-CookedPC to Build folder.
But it may only work for Level and Kismet changes solely and not upk / uc changes.
So upk saves / uc compiles don’t carry over properly or a new app ID is created etc.

#8

From past experiments cooked ‘level’ files are subtly different, open one up to see…
After cooking level files can be copied directly from Editor-CookedPC to Build folder.
But it may only work for Level and Kismet changes solely and not upk / uc changes.
So upk saves / uc compiles don’t carry over properly or a new app ID is created etc.

#9

From past experiments cooked ‘level’ files are subtly different, open one up to see…
After cooking level files can be copied directly from Editor-CookedPC to Build folder.
But it may only work for Level and Kismet changes solely and not upk / uc changes.
So upk saves / uc compiles don’t carry over properly or a new app ID is created etc.