[Steam] Does having fewer DLCs installed reduce update filesize?

[FennecFyre]

I'm currently on a metered data plan, meaning if I use more than 15 gigs a month my speed gets slowed down to absolutely horrendous levels, and updating anything through Steam basically becomes impossible. I know ARK's patch downloads tend to be big, but what determines just HOW big they are? If I have few/no expansions or maps installed, will that help slim the patches down a bit? Which DLCs are the biggest culprits for bloated updates? 

[Pipinghot]

17 hours ago, FennecFyre said:

I'm currently on a metered data plan, meaning if I use more than 15 gigs a month my speed gets slowed down to absolutely horrendous levels, and updating anything through Steam basically becomes impossible. I know ARK's patch downloads tend to be big, but what determines just HOW big they are? If I have few/no expansions or maps installed, will that help slim the patches down a bit? Which DLCs are the biggest culprits for bloated updates? 

It will make very little difference.

1) Most of the game's resources get downloaded and installed even if you don't own them, you just can't use them. For example, the graphical files that you need to see Wyverns on your computer are installed with ARK even if you don't haven't purchased Scorched Earth and haven't installed Ragnarok, so if there are any updates to Wyverns in the game you would still get those updates even though you don't have the maps installed.

2) As far as I know, you could save a little bit of size & space if you are not suscribed to the DLC maps (like Center and Ragnarok) but that would only matter if those actual maps get updated. But that doesn't help with Official maps, they get installed with the rest of the game. For example, Extinction is just part of the game so even if you haven't purchased the Extinction DLC you will still have to DL any updates to the Extinction map.

 

[FennecFyre]

39 minutes ago, Pipinghot said:

It will make very little difference.

1) Most of the game's resources get downloaded and installed even if you don't own them, you just can't use them. For example, the graphical files that you need to see Wyverns on your computer are installed with ARK even if you don't haven't purchased Scorched Earth and haven't installed Ragnarok, so if there are any updates to Wyverns in the game you would still get those updates even though you don't have the maps installed.

2) As far as I know, you could save a little bit of size & space if you are not suscribed to the DLC maps (like Center and Ragnarok) but that would only matter if those actual maps get updated. But that doesn't help with Official maps, they get installed with the rest of the game. For example, Extinction is just part of the game so even if you haven't purchased the Extinction DLC you will still have to DL any updates to the Extinction map.

 

Bleh, sounds like there's little way to avoid it then. I could try to install the DLC I know I'll want, then configure the game not to update again, though it would certainly suck to miss out on new content or bugfixes.

 

I haven't played the game in a while, how big usually are these updates? I remember them being a serious pain, but that was all the way back in 2017.

[caleb68]

13 hours ago, FennecFyre said:

Bleh, sounds like there's little way to avoid it then. I could try to install the DLC I know I'll want, then configure the game not to update again, though it would certainly suck to miss out on new content or bugfixes.

 

I haven't played the game in a while, how big usually are these updates? I remember them being a serious pain, but that was all the way back in 2017.

DLC doesn't matter.  Your ark will still take the same size of a update with or without it.

Size of the updates doesn't really matter either, they are still a serious pain in the arse most the time, slow download servers (though ark says its steams fault, it only happens with ark for me) and then the patches... a 600 mb patch can take as long as a 3gb patch to install,  if there is a map update in the patch, it will take even longer for the patch to install.

I've been told by wildcard all sorts of things 'its your hard drive, its your computer, its your internet, its steam" far as patch downloads and installs go, but honestly,  I can download a 15gb patch for fallout 76 via steam, and it will still install faster then a 600mb patch for ark on the same pc, on the same drive, using the same internet.

 

[FennecFyre]

4 hours ago, caleb68 said:

DLC doesn't matter.  Your ark will still take the same size of a update with or without it.

Size of the updates doesn't really matter either, they are still a serious pain in the arse most the time, slow download servers (though ark says its steams fault, it only happens with ark for me) and then the patches... a 600 mb patch can take as long as a 3gb patch to install,  if there is a map update in the patch, it will take even longer for the patch to install.

I've been told by wildcard all sorts of things 'its your hard drive, its your computer, its your internet, its steam" far as patch downloads and installs go, but honestly,  I can download a 15gb patch for fallout 76 via steam, and it will still install faster then a 600mb patch for ark on the same pc, on the same drive, using the same internet.

Sounds to me like WC just doesn't know how to optimize their crap

[caleb68]

well there is optimizing and over optimizing, sometimes its better just to replace something then modify tiny bits in it.  i.e. replacing map chunks in a sub map instead of just replacing the submap.