How do I download 1.1 beta, if I bought the Steam version?

[Xyphos]

title. I want to test 1.1 but I only bought the steam version, was wondering how to get to test?

[Geschosskopf]

Well, the 1.1 public beta isn't available yet.  That won't happen until the game leaves the experimental (closed in-house) testing.  When that happens, I'm sure there will be an announcement with specific instructions on how to get the 1.1 open beta.  However, I'm sure it will work the same way as for other games.  In Steam, open the game property window and on the update tab, there's a thing to opt-in to beta builds.  Turn that on and you should be good to go (currently I don't think you can do this).

Understand, however, opting in will update your Steam game to 1.1 and there's no going back.  So if you want to continue playing 1.0.5 for any reason, now's the time to take precautions that way.  Simply copy the entire KSP tree from steam/steam apps/common to some other location on your HD.  Because KSP has no DRM, you can play it from this copy directly without having to go through Steam.  Thus, you'll have a both a 1.1 version through Steam and an older version that's not Steam.

[Armisael]

2 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

Understand, however, opting in will update your Steam game to 1.1 and there's no going back.  So if you want to continue playing 1.0.5 for any reason, now's the time to take precautions that way.  Simply copy the entire KSP tree from steam/steam apps/common to some other location on your HD.  Because KSP has no DRM, you can play it from this copy directly without having to go through Steam.  Thus, you'll have a both a 1.1 version through Steam and an older version that's not Steam.

That isn't how betas work on steam. You can switch between the two branches as frequently as you want.

[Geschosskopf]

13 minutes ago, Armisael said:

That isn't how betas work on steam. You can switch between the two branches as frequently as you want.

Depends somewhat on the game devs.  If they use the same filename for the .exe regardless of it being beta or not, then the beta overwrites the public release version and you're stuck with it.  You might be able to get the public version back by opting out of the beta, but that means re-downloading the old version, and that might not be possible.

In any case, the best thing to do is to copy your existing game to a non-Steam location.  Then it will never change and you can keep on playing it all you want, along with all the mods that work for it but don't work in the new version.  This is good practice anyway, even if there's no public beta going on.  That way you have different mods in separate installs and keep playing old versions of KSP long after they've become extinct in the wild.

[TeddyDD]

4 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

 You might be able to get the public version back by opting out of the beta, but that means re-downloading the old version, and that might not be possible.

Not whole old version. Just the different files.

[Armisael]

12 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

Depends somewhat on the game devs.  If they use the same filename for the .exe regardless of it being beta or not, then the beta overwrites the public release version and you're stuck with it.  You might be able to get the public version back by opting out of the beta, but that means re-downloading the old version, and that might not be possible.

That isn't how the steam betas work - there's nothing the devs can do to change the system's basic behavior. Steam changes you files when you switch branches - it overwrites files that are different, adds any entirely new files, and removes any files that no longer exist. When you change branches (and you can change to a branch whenever you want, as long as it exists), steam changes your files as necessary. There's no "maybe" about being able to switch back - you can do it. I can't say how big a download that'll be since I don't have access to that branch.

It's fine to not know how steam works - just don't tell people that you do.

[RocketSquid]

Currently, using "latest stable version" leaves you with 1.0.4 or 1.0.2 or something. Not too sure which.

[Geschosskopf]

13 minutes ago, Armisael said:

There's no "maybe" about being able to switch back - you can do it. I can't say how big a download that'll be since I don't have access to that branch.

It's fine to not know how steam works - just don't tell people that you do.

And again, this is only possible if it's set up that way.  Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.  I've done countless betas through Steam and sometimes there's no going back even if you try to opt out.  So don't talk in absolutes on this subject.

HOWEVER, none of this matters because of mods.  If you only play pure stock, then no problem, all that changes is the .exe.  But if you use mods in your Steam install, none of them will work with 1.1 and in fact many will certainly cause problems with the game.  Therefore, if you plan on doing the public beta, you need to remove all mods from your Steam install.  And if you use lots of mods, going back to 1.0.5 in Steam would mean reinstalling all those mods, setting their configs back the way you like them, etc.  Lots of work.

So for all intents and purposes, if you use a lot of mods in 1.0.5, there's really no going back on your Steam version once you get in the public beta.  Thus, like I said, before you get the public beta, copy your existing 1.0.5 install with all its mods to a non-Steam folder.  Then delete everything in the Steam gamedata folder except /Squad.  THEN opt into the beta.  So your Steam game will be 100% stock 1.1 and your separate 1.0.5 install will have all your mods.

[Temeter]

7 minutes ago, Geschosskopf said:

And again, this is only possible if it's set up that way.  Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn't.  I've done countless betas through Steam and sometimes there's no going back even if you try to opt out.  So don't talk in absolutes on this subject.

HOWEVER, none of this matters because of mods.  If you only play pure stock, then no problem, all that changes is the .exe.  But if you use mods in your Steam install, none of them will work with 1.1 and in fact many will certainly cause problems with the game.  Therefore, if you plan on doing the public beta, you need to remove all mods from your Steam install.  And if you use lots of mods, going back to 1.0.5 in Steam would mean reinstalling all those mods, setting their configs back the way you like them, etc.  Lots of work.

So for all intents and purposes, if you use a lot of mods in 1.0.5, there's really no going back on your Steam version once you get in the public beta.  Thus, like I said, before you get the public beta, copy your existing 1.0.5 install with all its mods to a non-Steam folder.  Then delete everything in the Steam gamedata folder except /Squad.  THEN opt into the beta.  So your Steam game will be 100% stock 1.1 and your separate 1.0.5 install will have all your mods.

When it's an opt-in using steams beta tab, then you'll be able to revert anyway.

Copying the game folder out of steam should be standard tho. For example the actual 1.1 update is gonna overwrite the old folder, even if the beta didn't.

[Vanamonde]

When this is available, there will be an announcement.