Downgrade Steam Games ?

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

So, I like having the first release of games so that I can record stuff for my YouTube channel, but I just found that I've got the latest version of Sonic Mania installed for Steam.

Is there any way whatsoever that i can get the older version back? So that I can record the glitches that have been removed? Any help appreciated!

 

[Pedeadstrian]

So, I like having the first release of games so that I can record stuff for my YouTube channel, but I just found that I've got the latest version of Sonic Mania installed for Steam.

Is there any way whatsoever that i can get the older version back? So that I can record the glitches that have been removed? Any help appreciated!

Very few games have that functionality, and when they do it's because it's in Beta/EA. When Steam updates your game it doesn't copy your original game and then paste it elsewhere and update the files there. If it did a 50GB game would quickly become 100GB, 150GB, 200GB, etc. If you right click Sonic Mania in Steam and go to Betas, click the dropdown and find multiple versions in there then you can do what you want fairly easily. If there aren't multiple versions you'll have to follow a guide like the one that can be found here. Be sure to make a backup of your saves beforehand in case they're incompatible.

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

. If there aren't multiple versions you'll have to follow a guide like the one that can be found here. Be sure to make a backup of your saves beforehand in case they're incompatible.

I found that page briefly after I posted this question, however I'm having some difficulty with it.

I can download the older version of the game with no issues. But when I replace the game files in 'steamapps /common', trying to load the game in offline mode won't work. It says the game has to be started at least once in online mode, which I think updates it instantly.

I'm gonna try messing with the 'appmanifest_584400' file and see if I can modify the manifest version with the old one. As well as changing the update line from "0" to "1".

There's also a line you can use in the Console tab that apparently allows you to skip updates for games until you exit steam and reload it.

That should trick it into loading, right? I'm not sure of another way to make steam think it's been loaded one time... Frustrating.

 

[bootmonster]

I found that page briefly after I posted this question, however I'm having some difficulty with it.

I can download the older version of the game with no issues. But when I replace the game files in 'steamapps /common', trying to load the game in offline mode won't work. It says the game has to be started at least once in online mode, which I think updates it instantly.

I'm gonna try messing with the 'appmanifest_584400' file and see if I can modify the manifest version with the old one. As well as changing the update line from "0" to "1".

There's also a line you can use in the Console tab that apparently allows you to skip updates for games until you exit steam and reload it.

That should trick it into loading, right? I'm not sure of another way to make steam think it's been loaded one time... Frustrating.

That was an issue with the early versions that you needed to be online, lots of people complained about it and it was fixed in a subsequent update.

I think the only way to play the launch version on PC currently is to get a cracked version. Not that I'm recommending that of course.

 

[Monty Kensicle]

That was an issue with the early versions that you needed to be online, lots of people complained about it and it was fixed in a subsequent update.

I think the only way to play the launch version on PC currently is to get a cracked version. Not that I'm recommending that of course.

Well if OP actually has a legit copy of the game as well I don't see why not.

 

[MikeyTaylorGaming]

That was an issue with the early versions that you needed to be online, lots of people complained about it and it was fixed in a subsequent update.

I think the only way to play the launch version on PC currently is to get a cracked version. Not that I'm recommending that of course.

Well if OP actually has a legit copy of the game as well I don't see why not.

I know the initial version of the game needed online, but the version I'm trying to use is the 30th August 2017, the one that removed the need for online access. Apparently you still need online to launch it for the first time though which is crappy.

I do have a legit version. But when it comes to steam I have no idea how to install cracked games etc. Before I used steam I tried to install Sonic Adventure 2 Battle with no luck now I just purchase them, and easier.

 

[Pedeadstrian]

Found this on Steam's forums. May or may not work, but worth a try:

This thread is a bit old but I'll post the solution here anyway:

0. Make sure to have steam closed before you begin and just to be safe go into your downloads tab in steam, pause and delete the update for the game you want to play

1. Go into your steamapps folder, you should see a bunch of .ACF files labelled 'steammanifest_(the game id number here)'

2. Locate the ACF file for your game, you should be able to identify it by googling '[game name] steam id', or simply opening it up in a text editor like notepad and looking at the text after "name"

3. Once you've found the relevant ACF file open it up in a text editor simply change the number after "StateFlags" to 4

4. Now change the number after "UpdateResult" to 0

5. Open Steam in offline mode and your game should now be playable, enjoy!


Just keep in mind that you'll likely have to repeat this process if you open Steam in online mode at some point. If you don't want this to happen go into the properties window for your game, go to the updates tab and change the 'automatic updates' option to 'don't automatically update this game'.

 

[bootmonster]

If you can't get that working, this seems to be the version you would need to hunt down.

https://imgur.com/vLaOyGz