Home Trending Latest threads New posts Developer diaries

Changes to Playing Previous Versions of PDS Titles

Jump to latest Follow Reply
  • We have updated our Community Code of Conduct. Please read through the new rules for the forum that are an integral part of Paradox Interactive’s User Agreement.
Show only dev responses
AndrewT said:
Yes, but you can't leave it like that forever - Steam needs to 'phone home' occasionally to authenticate game and DLC ownership.

But the 'bother' you refer to is putting in one password once. Is that really such a big deal?
Click to expand...

Not really, given that the setup works and codes are made available. But I prefer to do it at my own initiative, when I know there are codes available, all potential bugs are fixed, etc., and I really can switch back to the old version immediately. Because it seems that Steams upgrades to the latest version automatically on Oct. 1, and only on that very same date Paradox provides the codes?

I would liked better if Paradox had deferred the automatic upgrade for a day or two after codes have been provided, and (even better) for it then to only apply to games for which codes haven't been entered for the chosen version.
 
AKronblad said:
Not really, given that the setup works and codes are made available. But I prefer to do it at my own initiative, when I know there are codes available, all potential bugs are fixed, etc., and I really can switch back to the old version immediately. Because it seems that Steams upgrades to the latest version automatically on Oct. 1, and only on that very same date Paradox provides the codes?

I would liked better if Paradox had deferred the automatic upgrade for a day or two after codes have been provided, and (even better) for it then to only apply to games for which codes haven't been entered for the chosen version.
Click to expand...

Just make a copy of your current EU4 game folder and play from that then.
 
AKronblad said:
Not really, given that the setup works and codes are made available. But I prefer to do it at my own initiative, when I know there are codes available, all potential bugs are fixed, etc., and I really can switch back to the old version immediately. Because it seems that Steams upgrades to the latest version automatically on Oct. 1, and only on that very same date Paradox provides the codes?

I would liked better if Paradox had deferred the automatic upgrade for a day or two after codes have been provided, and (even better) for it then to only apply to games for which codes haven't been entered for the chosen version.
Click to expand...
You do understand that these codes are only required for old game versions from before there was GDPR? They will not be required for any already GDPR-compliant versions going forward?
 
gigau said:
@TinyWiking , this will create a slew of problems for big mods which take time to adapt to new versions of the games...
Click to expand...
Understandable alas it's not something that I'm actually involved in :p. This decision is a direct result of the EU implementing the GDPR legislation and we need to play by their rules. It was either lock old versions behind a password or remove them completely and I think we can all agree that the later is less than ideal ;).
 
AndrewT said:
You do understand that these codes are only required for old game versions from before there was GDPR? They will not be required for any already GDPR-compliant versions going forward?
Click to expand...

Yep. And you do understand that I play in v1.12.2 (from the post you replied upon)? And that I intend to continue doing so? Will I or will I then not need to bother about required codes post-October 1st?
 
AKronblad said:
Yep. And you do understand that I play in v1.12.2 (from the post you replied upon)? And that I intend to continue doing so? Will I or will I then not need to bother about required codes post-October 1st?
Click to expand...

Hey AKronblad, we'll talk to the team and see if we can get the codes up before we enable them on Steam, but this is what you should do:

1. Right click EU4 in your library and go to Properties
2. Second tab "UPDATES"
3. In the Automatic updates at the top, select "Only update this game when I launch it"

upload_2018-9-27_10-26-58.png


4. On the day we make this change, apply the password to the "BETAS" tab, before you launch the game
5. Select your version from the drop down list on the the "BETAS" tab

upload_2018-9-27_10-27-21.png


6. Launch the game

This should solve your problem and prevent it from updating to the latest version, you'll need to check to the "BETAS" tab to see if we've turned on the password or not before launching on October 1.
 
Dnote said:
Hey AKronblad, we'll talk to the team and see if we can get the codes up before we enable them on Steam, but this is what you should do:

1. Right click EU4 in your library and go to Properties
2. Second tab "UPDATES"
3. In the Automatic updates at the top, select "Only update this game when I launch it"

View attachment 406890

4. On the day we make this change, apply the password to the "BETAS" tab, before you launch the game
5. Select your version from the drop down list on the the "BETAS" tab

View attachment 406891

6. Launch the game

This should solve your problem and prevent it from updating to the latest version, you'll need to check to the "BETAS" tab to see if we've turned on the password or not before launching on October 1.
Click to expand...

Super! Many thanks: highly appreciated.
 
I am a very privacy-concious user and this is very silly.

Alright, the game will auto-update so you get to see the new privacy policy. I get it. Inconvenient, but necessary. But here's how I would have designed access to the roll-back for EU4:

You start the forced-upon-you 1.27. There's a pop-up on the launcher with the privacy policy. You agree to the policy and the next pop-up says "Thank you so much, btw, here are your codes to access previous versions".

No new accounts, no linking of accounts, no logging-in on a website, etc. Why direct the user to a new mechanism, when you could solve the problem in-app? You have to update the launcher for 1.27 anyway, no excuses there. And should you absolutely need access to the Steam account for verification purposes - why not do it directly in Steam or in your Steam game?

Anyway, I have EU4 on my Paradox account. I sincerely hope this allows me access to the codes, because no way am I linking my Steam account. My Steam account is none of PDX's business. The whole point is that under the GDPR regime companies should only collect the necessary data and no more (Art 5(1)(b) "limited to what is necessary"). You don't need to know more about my Steam account to figure out that I own EU4. You already know that.

In that regard: Many years ago, when I first installed EU4, to my delight I was asked if I wanted to participate in data collection, or not. I of course declined. To the best of my knowledge, this is the latest agreement between PDX and me. So if I'm now forced to accept telemetry to play the game, this is a huge downgrade. And don't give me this "We are forced by GDPR" nonsense. No you are not. You could just give your telemetry servers a new address so only compliant versions' data is received. No need to remove old versions as you could just reject their connections or immediately void any data they send home. Nobody forces you to collect data about old games/versions!
Besides, if I have to agree to the PP, lest I cannot play the game, do you not run into big issues, because providing access to EU4 is conditional on consent to the processing of personal data which is absolutely not neccessary for performance of the contract? I can play EU4 (especially old versions) perfectly fine without providing telemetry data and my IP address to PDX (in fact, I already do, since I've blocked EU4's process from accessing the network so it doesn't phone home). So wouldn't forced consent to this mechanism make it not "freely given" in terms of GDPR Art 7(4)? Can't I just object to the processing under GDPR? Will I get a refund for my game and all DLC if I do not want to give consent to superfluous data collection about my behaviour? I have already spent the money and now you are forcing hoops and contractual terms on me, I might not agree to. Seems hardly fair.
 
rmdsc said:
Why don't you just test it out (i.e. see if the copy launches)? I'm pretty sure they can't officially tell you how to circumvent the GDPR.
Click to expand...

Launching is one thing: that works. Whether it actually would work for this purpose is another: hence, my question.
 
AKronblad said:
Launching is one thing: that works. Whether it actually would work for this purpose is another: hence, my question.
Click to expand...
It's irrelevant. Steam update only changes the files in your install folder, it doesn't snoop around your whole computer to see if you've made copies. So if you copy the version you want to play with now, it will stay the same no matter what Paradox does on or after 1 October.
 
That seems all good and well, but I don't see the games I bought before the Paradox Store (I bought CK2 as a pre-order on GamersGate, which migrated to steam version ages ago). I only see my recently acquired DLCs for CK2...
 
rmdsc said:
It's irrelevant. Steam update only changes the files in your install folder, it doesn't snoop around your whole computer to see if you've made copies. So if you copy the version you want to play with now, it will stay the same no matter what Paradox does on or after 1 October.
Click to expand...

Excellent! Sounds like the easiest solution then, at least for the near future! Then the code can be entered as and when the time is right, and until then I can play on the copied 1.12.2 version.
 
Can I please just point out that this is not in line with Article 7 (4) of the GDPR at all?

In order to be able to continue to use Paradox’s games I have to agree to game telemetry being transferred over? That should be entirely consent based and considering I’ve already purchased the products in question it shouldn’t

Can we please have a complete breakdown of the data that is being transferred to Paradox.

At the end of the day, I should be able to refuse your collecting that kind of telemetry because it simply isn’t freely given consent. And that of course applies to the previous versions of the titles. They either need to have that capacity switched off, patched or as much as I hate to say it removed if its truly such a crucial component.
 
TinyWiking said:
Understandable alas it's not something that I'm actually involved in :p. This decision is a direct result of the EU implementing the GDPR legislation and we need to play by their rules. It was either lock old versions behind a password or remove them completely and I think we can all agree that the later is less than ideal ;).
Click to expand...
Yeah, removing completely the possibility of access to previous version would be worst. I hope it won't harm mods too much.
 
There are some strange implications. (to my understanding)
For example :
>If you are under 16 you are not allowed to have a Paradox account so no old versions to you.
>If you do not agree you might get services (games) denied. Which is to my knowledge against GDPR.
>your data can be sold in case of a bankruptcy (not sure if that condition can be valid)
Well I might of cource be wrong but that is what I understood reading the policy.
 
This should be a great opportunity to ask for refund for the game and all expansions, since if company wants to change its contract with the user, the user has right to withdraw.
 
I get that it is not technicaly feasible to update all the pre-GDPR game client builds. What I do not understand however is why can't Paradox Interactive just instantly discard all the data received from the old game clients on the server side ( data > null )? Wouldn't that make them GDPR compliant since in effect no data would be collected? Or is this the case where they'd rather make their users adapt to their needs rather than them stopping collecting data? Especially so since they ask ursers to give access to their Steam accounts. All under the pretext of compliance with the law.
 
Welcome to Earth Alive and Kicking.

When Paradox was an indy company they did not had to collect any data and still made great games (eu3, Vicky 2).
I can not see why is it needed now.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back