This is the first game I actually purchased through Steam. I know, call me old fashioned, but I usually like to have a physical disk that means I actually own a game.

Anyway, how do we revert back to previous patch? I don't see the patches listed on gamesas site so I can reinstall and just update to 1.4.

Where are the install files so I can re-install the game if need be?

Can't.

Downside of STEAM is that it'll automatically upload you to the latest patch. Even if you scrub your Harddrive and redownload the game, it'll download, and then apply 1.5.

Welcome to one of the many downsides of Steam. Developer releases a busted patch? You're hooped until the next one comes out.

FYI even disc games you still don't own. Whether it's a disc or a download, either way all you're granted is a license to use the software.

As far as downgrading, there are methods, but they're pretty close to piracy and so can't be discussed here.

If you are a Windows 7 user you can disable the Steam's auto download and restore the changed files using right click Skyrim folder > properties > previous versions.

As fae as I understand it, you can't disbale Steam's auto download. The option 'do not automatically download updates' I think only means that update downloads will be delayed, but still installed.

Fantastic solution. Thank you. I can wait for new kill cams.


Ok, so I own the discs. Either way, if Valve goes out of business in 5 year, they didn't even give me the install files to back up. I mean I still play Age of Empires 2, a 13 year old game and never have to worry because I own them. I might just have to go buy the Skyrim disc used or something and forget Steam.

Fair enough. I can't see Valve going out of business anytime soon though, and discs can break or scratch

The disc version still requires Steam to run. The only difference is you don't have to download GBs worth of game when you have the disc version.

I don't see any options for previous versions. And Steam overrides the option to not automatically update the games files by forcing a Steam client update on you that resets the automatic update option and updates the game for you like it or not.

There's nothing wrong with Steam or Skyrim's 1.5 patch. What is wrong is that one/some of your mods aren't compatible anymore and are breaking the game.

The patch has been tested, mods haven't. And, as far as I can tell, Steam's been pretty successful...

I do remember reading somewhere though, that Steam does have some mechanism in place (should they ever be under threat of going under), that would allow everyone to get hold of their games/patches. No idea what that mechanism might be though...

Oh, I'm sure Steam isn't going anywhere anytime soon, but I said the same thing about Interplay and still waiting for that last Descent 3 patch. Just makes me feel better when I can hold it in my hands, you know?

Anyway, about 1.5. I tried it on another PC (only bonus to Steam, it links my pc's on the same account) that doesn't have mods and the underwater issues was still there and Ambient Occlusion is still gone. If other issues are mod related, still rather run 1.4 for a bit so the modders can catch up.

Kinda true
3d vision worked pretty dang good with Skyrim, even though Todd said its not supported, and there were no issues with shadows. Now in 1.5 the shadows are rendered at screen depth which is like the UI and other 2D interfaces. I believe this was done to "optimize" shadows, but even people playing in 2d report strange effects with shadows if the camera is moved up and down similar to nodding. This is not a mod issue. Most of the time issues are with mods but sometimes problems do slip through beta. Take the PS3 slow down with lots of saves problem.

I like to have steam in offline mode so that it doesnt update anything unless I decide to connect. I had the same problem...

Thanks "Theoutlander" for your tip on how to revert. It was successful, and I made a back-up of the old Skyrim folder. I have also done as fronzenaffiars said and am playing in offline mode.

I always back up my game exe. I still have 1.4 & 1.3 on my usb key.

Yeah I felt the same way about Direct2Drive and spent a few hundred dollars there
look up www.direct2drive.com
(Its gone btw)

You must be a Bethesda fan, right? Bethesda can do no wrong?

Otherwise you wouldn't make a statement like that.

I run no mods and both my archery characters have seen a large jump in bow damage after the patch was installed.

One bow went from 36 to 88; the other from 120 to 221. No other weapons have seen similar issues.

So, your statement isn't quite true.

This

Nope, you're wrong. I removed ALL of my mods, and I am still having incredibly terrible issues. These issues make the game unplayable.

I backed out of all of my mods also and almost every teleport results in a CTD the first time. And I cannot get into Breezhome from the front door, period. Ironically, the only door that still works into Breezehome is the door from the Dovakiin's Hideout. And yes, I have tried the front door with and without the Dovakiin's Hideout mod installed. I've been into Breezehome with the CK and I am suspecting that the navmesh got messed up in the update because there are islands in the mesh, but I don't really know that those were not already there. I'm tempted to clean up the mesh just to see if it works. I guess I could post the result on Nexus as a mod if it does, but I'm not sure it is happening to anyone else, or what the consequences would be for someone else who uses it.

But it is entertaining to see someone who has assumed Beth and Valve are obviously perfect just because they must be. I think the real problem is that Skyrim started out as an unbelievably complex game that had an amazing and remarkable number of moving parts. I recall all of the broken quests and remember that I needed to fix quite a few of them in the console to play all the way through the first time. It was very frustrating until I learned how to maneuver the console commands. And now it has grown even larger and more complex through the release of the CK and the amazing work of the modding community. Beth can't possibly anticipate all of the problems an update is going to cause as they respond to demands from the community to fix this glitch or that bug.

The game, by default, doesn't crash to desktop on fast travel nor does it crash on entering Breezehome.

This doesn't help you because it sounds like your save has been screwed by a mod. Or you could say it's Bethesda's fault for allowing something very bad to happen to your save.

I read on the Steam forum that if you go to the folder that has the TESV.exe (spelling??) file in it, right click on that and then select the option to go back to the previous version.

The poster didn't say if that actually fixed his problems - so be careful.

The update to 1.5 replaces a few more items than just the executable. It would be stupid to just revert that file.

Another way to back up may be to use system restore, and go back to a time before the patch was installed?

Also, if you do back up to 1.4 - if that works - before doing that you need to go to Steam and put yourself into "off-line" mode. Otherwise, as soon as you log on the Steam with 1.4, patch 1.5 will start to download and install again.

Also, there's a setting on Steam where you say, "don't download patches," (or something like that), well, that doesn't do what it says - at least that's what I read on the Steam forum. Only sure way to not download/install a new patch is to go to off-line mode.

Good luck.