Did they announce a date and time for pre-loading yet? I just heard on Twitter that it "will happen", not when. Thanks.
pre-loading
- Thread starter AchedTeacher
- Start date
-
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.
Pre-loading usually happens a few days before the actual release.
Since Paradox games can run without Steam, not sure how pre-loading will work with this one.
Since Paradox games can run without Steam, not sure how pre-loading will work with this one.
Yeah but what I'm saying is that since it is supposed to be able to run without Steam, pre-loading would essentially mean early release?
Or perhaps they'll just let us pre-loading most of the game and just let us download a patch when official release hits to be able to play the game.
We might not get a preload option because of this reason. Another way could be Steam just keeps the exe file and offer preloading the rest, making it quickly downloadable once the game is out.
IIRC, I was able to pre-load Skyrim, and until a certain patch it was playable without Steam (hence why I only had every other main-story achivement). But I'm not 100% sure though, but I don't think it's going to be a problem. They can give us most of the files and keep either the .exe or other crucial file(s) off until release.
Just provide the exe at releasem the rest can be preloaded safely then. Pre loading will me more interesting for me from a modders perspective then a time saving device on release probably 
For those who pre-ordered via Steam, sure. The rest of us won't get our keys until release, remember? :laugh:
Ah but you would be wrong - You see, a preload isn't actually "just the files". It is more like an encrypted file that happens to contain 99% of the "release" version. Come release day, Steam will send your client the descryption key, and let you download the last missing files so that you can play the game.
They do this to avoid piracy - The decryption was broken years ago if I recall correctly, so they also removed a few critical files to render the files unplayable until the release day. For the customer it means a few minutes of "installation" and downloading a few files before playing it - still beats having to download the whole thing on the day.
Ugh, don't remind me
So you did - I mistook your post with one from another thread. :laugh:
Pre-loading can also reduce server load so you don't have a ton of people trying to download a multiple-GB file at midnight on launch day. This is particularly true about MMOs where users download content from the servers while they're playing, and if the server is backed up, that affects your game experience.