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In order to explain PC Game Patches and why they're necessary I believe it's time for a quick software timeline overview. Specifically near the end of development.
What? No it won't be boring.
Why? Because I'm telling it!
Programmers as a rule are a fairly optimistic bunch. Programs can change the world, they can influence lives, make life better...oh, and they'll all be finished by Friday.
That's the issue really, early on everything looks so simple. The given problem is pure and the solution obvious. You only have to work in software for a week to know that it never works out like you think.
Nearly everything gets delayed for one reason or another.
In the world of PC gaming
There are a few major offendors for this. Valve software especially are famous for missing big release dates. HalfLife 2 was released well over a year after it's first advertised release date. This has happened so often with Valve that many fans now refer to what they call "Valve Time" where, for instance if they claim a game will come out in a week, you can expect to wait a month - it's almost official! (Oh, we love Valve really though)
Tiberian Sun, originally advertised in a trailer that came out with the original Command and Conquer game back in 1995, did not get released until 1999 taking over 4 and a half years to be completed. Even then it was a mess!
So late software is a problem as it is, but in these cases the studios were allowed the time to complete what they were working on. Valve because, well, they have no controlling publisher to speak of and Westwood were allowed the tmie to make Tiberian sun because of their reputation (I guess?)
But what if you don't have that time? Your publisher is telling you that your title needs to be ready by next week or no more funding. In that case features get stripped out, testing is rushed and so on. You get the product out of the door and the publisher is happy. The game gets distributed and on release day...
Oh dear, there appear to be a lot of people who can't run the game!
That's the main kind of situation where PC game patching suddenly becomes required - to fix a problem that was not originally found, usually because a game has been rushed out of the door.
PC game patches can cover anything from gameplay issue fixes to graphical updates so it's always, always worth making sure you're upto date.
Tip Number #1 - make sure you read everything you can about the current patched version to make sure it is compatible with any save games you may already have and that it won't actually make things worse (yes, this can happen!)
PC game patches can usually be found on the site owned by the developer or publisher. For example if you want to update your version of Fallout 3 to the latest release then you would visit the Fallout 3 homepage on the Bethesda site. Most site's like this have a "downloads" or "support" area where these are stored. In cases such as this all you need to do is download the executable file from their site and run it on your machine.
If you have an older game and the official site no longer exists then you may be forced to find the patch on a larger file download site such as fileplanet.
Tip Number #2 - if you're getting the patch from a site you're not sure about or where anyone could have uploaded the file, make sure you virus check it first before running it. Especially for older games.
Patches are not the same as Downloadable content
Recently there have been a number of pc games that now offer "downloadable content" or DLC for short.
These are packs of extra content and are not meant as fixes to the game you originally bought. These are usually things like extra levels or game modes so if you're thinking of buying a game make sure you check about DLC first.
I'm against pay-for DLC.
That doesn't mean I agree with pirating it! I just don't think people should bother with it if it's going to cost extra. DLC, to me, is a quick way of getting that little extra from people for a negligable amount of content.
Recently publishers and some developers seem to have the opinion that micro-transactions are going to be the future. I agree that this can be profitable but I'd argue that the initial content must be free to start with if it'll work out, otherwise people will look at the product as incomplete without the extra content. That's certainly how I see it!
And finally back to PC game patching...
It's probably a good idea to check that any patches (or indeed DLC) you install will not increase the system requirements beyond what you currently have!
Tip Number #3 - Always read the changelog/readme file!
PC Game Patches section end - click here to return to the troubleshooting guides index page
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