ok so there are 100% singleplayer games that have no actual patches that truely matter and include mods that require things like F4SE(Fallout 4 script extender) and some of those mods are literally included in the in-game mod browser like with fallout 4, this means that bethesda themselves accept that sometimes you NEED to defer updates to a game, yet modern coding of steam literally refuses to let you launch the game at all anymore and if you forget to open steam before clicking the F4SE shortcut on your desktop instantly you update, without permission or justified reason, and suddenly the only way to downgrade the update you did not consent to and cannot tolerate, is to figure out how to use your needlessly complicated manual depot down-loader syntax for the version of the game I did not consent to leave
I understand there is sometimes complaints with UNMODDED bugs that are patched if they just update, but we DEMAND AND REQUIRE an "advanced" user setup for each game that allows us to manually set the game version no matter what the dev's want, if only for mod stability and user sanity, literally I expect this feature to show up before my july 7th birthday or I literally think steam should just be declared an illegal platform, because you actively refuse to stop damaging my user data on my pc that has no reason or justification to break just because some idiot pushed an update that was not yet ready for general use
I just realized that with the commonality of mods, it actually is a crime for you guys to force updates according to the very legally binding terms of use of most games since the dawn of gaming
I am allowed to use the software however I please up until one of a very few edges are reached, modding and core code changes are allowed and legally protected, hence it is illegal for you not to offer a way to completely disable automatic updates without stopping me from launching the game in it's current state
this entire exploding basically legal discussion would be solved by having an obscure or otherwise custom launch option that allows removing version scanning/allowing manual version settings on any game without a multiplayer setting
this means games like Skyrim and Fallout 3/4 which have absolutely no native netcode, can easily be defaulted to have the same version selection in the "betas" as games like Kerbal Space Program have
literally adjusting the default setting for every game on the platform to check if netcode is part of the core game and then automatically include version settings in "beta versions" based on a game having no netcode solves every issue ever, including support tickets, as if you manually set a "beta" version you know by that very term it will have bugs, you can still ask fellow gamers if a third-party patch exists but it instantly blocks your support tickets for the game from being accepted with a simple canned response like "any version of the game that is not the latest patch is refused from valve support, if a community patch exists try that, otherwise update your game"
literally just set all games to do that simple behavior, no forced updates on games with no online play, simple, it causes 0 issues and fixes so many in the modding community which is legally a protected use of the game that you have no right to interfere with