Can you play one of the older expansions of EUIII if you got Divine Wind??

[Kingmike50]

does someone know if you can play one of the early expansions (heir to the trone, napoleons ambitions, EUIII complete) if you just bought Divine Wind? (all bought on steam). Can you play an earlier expansion as well in solo as in multi? And can you also save a game of those earlier expansions? I hope someone got an answer for me.

 

[jdrou]

If you get them from Steam there's no way to roll back to earlier versions. You would have to make a backup of the game before buying the expansion.

 

[pevergreen]

From the Steam FAQ:

Q: I just bought/redownloaded EU3 Complete/HTTT/DW/Chronicles off steam, and its installed the latest patch/game. I don't want to use that, its incompatible with x.

A: Unfortunately, when steam downloads/installs a game, it will automatically go to the latest patch. You are unable to stop it at 4.0 for example, it will go automatically to 4.1. There is no way to toggle this. You can't roll back to any previous version once the newer one has been installed. Example: If you buy Chronicles or Divine Wind, you can only only play Divine Wind, not any of the other previous expansions.

 

[DDRJake]

This initially pissed me right off but I soon came to feel that there's no way I'd want to play pre-divine wind again.

Of course I was more angry when all the mods were only out for HttT. It's pretty bad practice to only allow the latest version of your game to be played.

 

[jdrou]

It's pretty bad practice to only allow the latest version of your game to be played.

Apparently Paradox has been rethinking this policy. See Johan's blog.

 

[pevergreen]

If you bought Complete, HTT and DW on Steam, rather than chronicles, its steam that prevents you from playing the earlier expansions, not paradox.

This is due to steam treating the expansions as DLC, rather than full games.

 

[jdrou]

To some extent yes but if Paradox stops installing expansions like patches and makes them install like mods instead that would also take care of the Steam problem.

EDIT: And a side effect of that would be that probably any bugs with the mod-dir system would get fixed quicker since they would affect expansions as well.

 

[Kingmike50]

thank you all for your replies. It's ashame that you can't play the older expansions if you bought them from steam. I really hope there will become a patch or something like that for this problem.

 

[jdrou]

I really hope there will become a patch or something like that for this problem.

Patching it really isn't feasible. It can be fixed by Paradox for future expansions but the only reasonable way to fix the existing ones is for Steam to allow installing expansions you've purchased to be optional.

 

[AndrewT]

thank you all for your replies. It's ashame that you can't play the older expansions if you bought them from steam. I really hope there will become a patch or something like that for this problem.

You need to bother Steam about this, it is entirely their problem to fix. If you buy, say, EU3:Complete, HttT and DW from anyone else you can install separately and so play IN, HttT and DW just fine. Paradox have no way of modifying how Steam choose to distribute expansions.

 

[jdrou]

Johan's blog post: http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum...sion-policy-for-the-Internal-Development-Team

We've developed a new system to handle modular expansions so that you can buy the small packages that you want when they're released, and it will all be using the same executable, so whichever expansions you own your game will see continued support. There will be no problems with this in multiplayer, and if you have bought one expansion and your friend has bought another, you can still play together. You will have access to the features you bought and your friend the features he bought. Alternatively, if you'd prefer you'll be able to toggle any expansions "off" before the game starts.

This implies that future expansions will be installed like mods instead of overwriting the original files. Hopefully this can be retrofitted to existing games and not only for new base titles like CK2.

 

[DDRJake]

You need to bother Steam about this, it is entirely their problem to fix. If you buy, say, EU3:Complete, HttT and DW from anyone else you can install separately and so play IN, HttT and DW just fine. Paradox have no way of modifying how Steam choose to distribute expansions.

I recall Steam saying exactly the same thing about Paradox on the Steam Support.

 

[bobjohnny]

The best solution seems to be to not use steam.

 

[jdrou]

I recall Steam saying exactly the same thing about Paradox on the Steam Support.

It seems obvious to me that either of them could change it; Paradox's change would be exactly what they are planning to do with CK2. That probably can't easily be done for already-existing expansions. Also no other distributor besides Steam has this issue AFAIK so Steam can't honestly say there's nothing they can do about it; they just choose to do nothing. This isn't only about expansions though; there are also many reasons why you might want to roll back to earlier patches which is also impossible for games on Steam.

 

[AndrewT]

I recall Steam saying exactly the same thing about Paradox on the Steam Support.

If so, they are wrong. Steam, and only Steam, choose to package expansions bought with the base game as one inseparable download (presumably for customer convenience reasons). Buy Complete, HttT and DW from GamersGate and you simply don't have this issue - they download and install separately. Given that, how it can be in Paradox's remit I can't see at all.

 

[Dutchemperor]

Just dont use Steam, use GG, much better, easier. And you can make a million copies of your game and patch only one.

 

[Valiant_Hogers]

But does GG offer the features of Steam?
No.

 

[unmerged(375644)]

If so, they are wrong. Steam, and only Steam, choose to package expansions bought with the base game as one inseparable download (presumably for customer convenience reasons). Buy Complete, HttT and DW from GamersGate and you simply don't have this issue - they download and install separately. Given that, how it can be in Paradox's remit I can't see at all.

There are several steam games where the expansion is listed separately, or in the same game and you choose what expansion to play from a steam menu after you launch the game.

 

[unmerged(399291)]

I wish I had known this sooner. In my case, I bought EU: Complete off Steam a month ago, and recently decided to get the other two expansions, also from Steam. Heir to the Throne ran fine, but then I bought Divine Wind, and every time I start a game, I crash to desktop within the first month or two of game time. I don't know if it's because of the improved graphics (which, for that matter, should be optional), or some other incompatibility; all that I know is that it's the same crash to desktop every time, even on the lowest settings.

According to this thread, the bottom line is that I can't even play the game anymore, in any version, because I made the mistake of buying all the expansions. That's... annoying, to say the least.

 

[AndrewT]

I wish I had known this sooner. In my case, I bought EU: Complete off Steam a month ago, and recently decided to get the other two expansions, also from Steam. Heir to the Throne ran fine, but then I bought Divine Wind, and every time I start a game, I crash to desktop within the first month or two of game time. I don't know if it's because of the improved graphics (which, for that matter, should be optional), or some other incompatibility; all that I know is that it's the same crash to desktop every time, even on the lowest settings.

According to this thread, the bottom line is that I can't even play the game anymore, in any version, because I made the mistake of buying all the expansions. That's... annoying, to say the least.

Please register your Complete here, and post in the Tech Support forum - we'll get you fixed and running well.