Steam - Automatic Updates Issue

I rebooted my computer recently for the first time in a while (since before buying FM12 at least) and, upon my laptop rebooting Steam, an automatic FM12 update commenced as is expected. However, my problem is that I like to play the game as it comes in the box and do not like to apply updates to my saves, even official patches. I prefer to play the game in offline mode and if I start a game with the original database, I don't like the idea of applying an update which has effects on that save. To that end, I have paused the update, but it will not allow me to play the game in either online or offline mode until the update is complete and I can't find any button which would enable me to cancel the update. I thus have several questions which I hope someone can help me with:

Is there a way to cancel the automatic Steam update once it has commenced?

Will this update automatically apply itself to my save if I allow it to complete itself?

If so, is there a file or folder I can delete once the update is complete that will remove the update?

Is there an action I can take which will prevent further automatic updates in the future?

While I'm sure automatic updates are beneficial to most, it is just frustrating to me; I just want to play the game as boxed and Steam is preventing me from doing so until it completes an action which will circumvent my will and which has no discernable method of decommission. Don't get me wrong, I don't particularly mind Steam, I've played FM12 for about a month with it running in offline mode in the background, resulting in no issues so far apart from this one. Any help would be appreciated in relation to the above queries. Also, it would not help to tell me the benefits of the update and that I should just play with it installed etc., I'm fairly set in my ways in relation to this issue .

Thanks!

1. Not to my knowledge although cancelling it in mid stream will not install it.

2. Yes

3. No -the update overwrites existing files

4. Go to steam, find FM, right click, properties, updates and uncheck the auto updates- there is however some discussion if this option does work effectively.

The advantages of the updates are that any game fixes and improvements will be installed as they happen

1. Not to my knowledge although cancelling it in mid stream will not install it.

2. Yes

3. No -the update overwrites existing files

4. Go to steam, find FM, right click, properties, updates and uncheck the auto updates- there is however some discussion if this option does work effectively.

The advantages of the updates are that any game fixes and improvements will be installed as they happen

Thanks for the response.

What do you mean by "cancelling it in mid-stream"? Is there something that I can do that will stop the update before it completes? It's just that it won't let me play because the update is currently paused and I'd really prefer it to not install.

I understand that it has benefits in that it provides fixes to some crash issues etc., which is fine for the majority, but I personally just prefer to play as it arrives in the box, that's all. So is there any way, considering that I have the update paused in mid-download, that I can now avoid having to apply the update or do I have to let it download and apply itself?

Cancelling any update would usually reset the programme to the previous version so it should still be the installed vesrion without the update- I assume this is the status with steam as well, although I have never halted a steam update personally. If you set the game not to auto update this should stay the same till you choose to update. To be honest, I suspect that you will get yourself in a lot more problems trying to stop the update than just applying it, but the choice is yours.

How do I go about cancelling an update though? I can't find a "cancel" button and closing steam and restarting still leaves the download paused; the only options I am given are "pause update" or "resume update".

I assume therefore that steam will not allow an update cancellation- I suspect that you are now stuck because uninstalling and reinstalling the game will give you the latest version so maybe you will have to stand on your principles this time:)

I just installed FM12 a few days ago on Steam but the automatic updates don't seem to have applied. When I go on the game, it shows as version 12.0.0. Can I install the patch manually?

I assume therefore that steam will not allow an update cancellation- I suspect that you are now stuck because uninstalling and reinstalling the game will give you the latest version so maybe you will have to stand on your principles this time:)

Fair enough! It's not really a principle, more just a personal preference so that my saves are consistent.

Thinking outside the box, would I be able to make a copy of the current files before they are overwritten by the update and then use those copies to overwrite the overwritten files once the update is complete? If so, do you know what files are overwritten by the update that I should copy beforehand?

Also, thank you for indulging me with your help, it probably seems like a silly request but it's just the way I like to play.

Fair enough! It's not really a principle, more just a personal preference so that my saves are consistent.

Thinking outside the box, would I be able to make a copy of the current files before they are overwritten by the update and then use those copies to overwrite the overwritten files once the update is complete? If so, do you know what files are overwritten by the update that I should copy beforehand?

Also, thank you for indulging me with your help, it probably seems like a silly request but it's just the way I like to play.

You would be opening a complete can of worms trying to do tha, with a very high chance of file corruption, so my advice would be no

By the way, I am sure that you know but your computer is multiple posting duplicate messages

I just installed FM12 a few days ago on Steam but the automatic updates don't seem to have applied. When I go on the game, it shows as version 12.0.0. Can I install the patch manually?

12.0.0 is just the database. There have been no changes to the database.

For the game version - you would see game status, which should be version 12.0.4.

You would be opening a complete can of worms trying to do tha, with a very high chance of file corruption, so my advice would be no

By the way, I am sure that you know but your computer is multiple posting duplicate messages

Alright, thanks. I'll just let it install the update then I suppose.

I know about the duplicates, my computer doesn't work too well sometimes. :oh

You can go on Steam. Highlight the game, right click on the game and select properties. Then go on update tab and you will be able to see the change you can do.