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Why do some Series X games on discs require you to essentially re-download the entire game?

TheCrackedJack

TheCrackedJack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,030
Just got my Series X a few hours ago and thought I would see if we could gather some feedback on something. I'll start with Assassins Creed Valhalla, which I remember reading had a day one update of about 2.6GB and I thought that seemed pretty good and I would be into my game pretty quick. But as soon as I put in the game disc, I get hit with a whopping 46GB update instead. The same is true for Watch Dogs Legion.

Now this might not be an issue for a lot of people, but to people with slow internet like myself it makes a big difference to how quickly we can start playing. And can affect my decision to even buy a physical copy in the first place.

Now I don't know whether this is true for all games, which is why I am asking for feedback from other Series X owners. But if it is true, that essentially means that physical Series X games with Smart Delivery don't exist as hard copies, as you have to download them either way.

So if other can provide feedback as to whether this happens with other games that would be much appreciated.
 
dom

dom

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,438
This is the downside of smart delivery where there is no separate Series version of the game.
 
dabri

dabri

Member
Nov 2, 2017
1,728
Seem to remember this being a thing as well on the Xbone. I don't remember if it's combining the file size of the download with what it's pulling off the disk.

Pre post edit:
It looks like it will avoid pulling any files off the disk that are being updated via patch so it does kind of combine the install of the disk with the download itself. Not sure if you are actually downloading 46GB or if that is just the total file size of the fix and data on disk.

Post post edit:
Ah smart delivery is a thing. I forgot. Yeah so the assets on the disk are probably the ones meant for xbone/ series s. It's actually downloading series x assets as well as the path, thus the increased size.
 
Vito

Vito

One Winged Slayer - Formerly Undead Fantasy
Member
Oct 25, 2017
16,040
Did you try playing without downloading the updates OP?
 
Toumari

Toumari

Member
Oct 27, 2017
8,300
England
That doesn't sound so smart.

You would expect the Series X version to be on the disc and not require an internet connection, as some people don't have amazing connections.
 
Lacrimosis

Lacrimosis

Member
Dec 13, 2019
4,785
Yeah this is pretty confusing. Some discsonly have the xbox one game and need a series x download, some have only the series x game and need a xbox one download and some games like Control have only part of either game and need for either console a download.
 
OP
OP
TheCrackedJack

TheCrackedJack

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,030
Keldroc said:
How else are they supposed to do that, exactly?
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One X and base Xbox One games are on the same disc for about 95% of games. I know this because I've tested a lot of them offline and One X support is on the disc. So if it's possible for that, it should be possible for Series X. Also, PC games you get one download for multiple configurations. So it's not exactly black magic.
Vito said:
Did you try playing without downloading the updates OP?
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I haven't at this point, as I figure I will have to download it at some point.
 
SuperRaddy

SuperRaddy

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
882
I had the same issue OP, my internet right now is only 30mb, if i knew it would have wanted to download the entire game again i would have just gone digital in the first place.
 
dom

dom

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Oct 25, 2017
10,438
Toumari said:
That doesn't sound so smart.

You would expect the Series X version to be on the disc and not require an internet connection, as some people don't have amazing connections.
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Dual Layer Blu-Rays, 50GB, means you can't store everything. If it has the xb1 version on the disc, you basically need all new assets for Series version if you want to leverage the new compression tech.
 
EternalDarko

EternalDarko

Member
Oct 26, 2017
1,584
I had a similar issue with network transfer. I've been trying to transfer a bunch of games from my XBO to my XSX, but all the games that have an X|S upgrade then need a huge upgrade downloaded. It's taking ages!
 
leng jai

leng jai

Member
Nov 2, 2017
15,116
Yeah I made the mistake of "preloading" stuff like Gears 5 and Horizon 4 on my 1X so I could just network transfer them over. It was a waste of time since you had to download 70gb anyway afterwards. It's actually even slower because it network transfers the last gen version and then when you try to launch it it detects the upgrade and you need to download the entire thing.
 
Haloid1177

Haloid1177

Member
Oct 25, 2017
4,530
EvilBoris said:
I've downloaded 500GB of Series X games today ...
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I am envious of your internet. I've shipped my PS5 digital edition to my workplace so I can download all my games there and don't have to worry about it at home. Didn't think I'd need to do the same for this one. Not complaining, just a learning experience.
 
headspawn

headspawn

Member
Oct 27, 2017
14,605
leng jai said:
Yeah I made the mistake of "preloading" stuff like Gears 5 and Horizon 4 on my 1X so I could just network transfer them over. It was a waste of time since you had to download 70gb anyway afterwards. It's actually even slower because it network transfers the last gen version and then when you try to launch it it detects the upgrade and you need to download the entire thing.
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Oh shit, lol.

Here I am sitting around thinking I'm just going to plug in my SSD, transfer it over and jump into nextgen goodness.

Now that I think about it, it makes sense because they're completely different builds but I wasn't quite acknowledging that here I guess. Would've been nice if they let you do it like they did when One X dropped where you could upgrade the files before the console even launched, for some reason that experience is what I was expecting.

That's a PSA.
 
Conor

Conor

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Banned
Oct 27, 2017
450
For future reference you can pre download games onto your Xbox using the Xbox mobile app, even if you don't own the game. It's not ideal but it gives you a head start before you buy your physical copy you can have the game already downloaded if that helps.
 

NeoBasch

Banned
Sep 17, 2020
291
I hope this is just a launch window thing and not a go forward thing so they can keep supporting the X1. :( Makes me wonder what's the point of buying physical if they keep that up. Hopefully they put XSX games on disc in future.
 
-Le Monde-

-Le Monde-

Avenger
Dec 8, 2017
12,613
NeoBasch said:
I hope this is just a launch window thing and not a go forward thing so they can keep supporting the X1. :( Makes me wonder what's the point of buying physical if they keep that up. Hopefully they put XSX games on disc in future.
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I hope so too.
Feels like they didn't think this one through too much.

I do expect x|s only games to install from the disc. Would be nice if people with DMC5 SE could chime in. I think that's got a x|s only sku.
 
EvilBoris

EvilBoris

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Oct 29, 2017
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Haloid1177 said:
I am envious of your internet. I've shipped my PS5 digital edition to my workplace so I can download all my games there and don't have to worry about it at home. Didn't think I'd need to do the same for this one. Not complaining, just a learning experience.
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Yeah I wasn't expecting this either.
When they said that the console would know which version to download, I thought this was marketing talk for we know when to download a patch.
Turns out they were talking straight.
 
Izzard

Izzard

Banned
Sep 21, 2018
4,606
The actual SX game disc, or the xbox one? I can understand the X1 disc getting the large update but the S1 disc would surely contain the data??
 
ghostcrew

ghostcrew

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Administrator
Oct 27, 2017
30,348
Izzard said:
The actual SX game disc, or the xbox one? I can understand the X1 disc getting the large update but the S1 disc would surely contain the data??
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They're the same. There is no Series X or Xbox One disc with Smart Delivery games. You buy 'the Xbox version' and it works on all your consoles.

Obviously the caveat of that is that, in a lot of games, you're gonna need to download a lot because you're not fitting 2 or 3 different versions of a game on one Blu-ray Disc.
 
Vito

Vito

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Oct 25, 2017
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Thank god Sony isn't doing this stupid shit.
 
-Le Monde-

-Le Monde-

Avenger
Dec 8, 2017
12,613
I expected a smarter delivery from smart delivery. Everything prepared on an external drive will require to be redownloaded if its got a x|s version.

I thought smart delivery was something else. Like just being able to download the extra data that makes x|s enhanced.
 

t26

Avenger
Oct 27, 2017
4,544
I wonder how it would work on Call of Duty, where the XSX version is also playable on Xbox One
 
aspiring

aspiring

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,545
Not a big deal and I don't care, but it was something I found when I got the console. For all their PR about smart delivery one disc and it sees which console you have and it plays that version, it really did at the end boil down to the same shit as the Playstation where you insert the disc and it downloads the next gen version.

at least with the PS5 they offer PS5 versions on disc for those with data caps I guess.

really though I have no problem with it, but fuck MS messaging was on point to the fact that most people thought it was something different from how Playstation were doing it
 
TheGhost

TheGhost

Banned
Oct 25, 2017
28,137
Long Island
Vito said:
When I buy a PS5 game I get a PS5. Not a PS4 game that makes me download the PS5 version.
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Ok but a lot of people are upgrading ps4 games to ps5 because there is not enough units out there and when Spider-Man comes out that number of people is just going to increase. People won't be buying ps5 Miles and waiting until January to get their hands on a ps5
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

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Apr 25, 2020
25,953
So you actually have to download both versions of the game, both the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X at the same time? I don't...why? Can the disc really not recognize that you're on a One or Series X? Or is there no way to chose? That seems kind of crazy to me.
 
Vito

Vito

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TheGhost said:
Ok but a lot of people are upgrading ps4 games to ps5 because there is not enough units out there and when Spider-Man comes out that number of people is just going to increase. People won't be buying ps5 Miles and waiting until January to get their hands on a ps5
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And? Sony is still offering both options.

MS is fucking over people with datacaps or slow internet.
 
HiLife

HiLife

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Oct 25, 2017
39,611
leng jai said:
Yeah I made the mistake of "preloading" stuff like Gears 5 and Horizon 4 on my 1X so I could just network transfer them over. It was a waste of time since you had to download 70gb anyway afterwards. It's actually even slower because it network transfers the last gen version and then when you try to launch it it detects the upgrade and you need to download the entire thing.
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Wow. So I should cancel some of these downloads (Siege, For Honor) if I'm just going to redownload the whole thing?
 

Right

Member
Nov 24, 2017
1,068
I was assuming that they will use triple layer discs and drop support for launch X1, didn't expect them to use dual layer discs and put the burden on XSX users instead
 
Lord Fanny

Lord Fanny

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Apr 25, 2020
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leng jai said:
Yeah I made the mistake of "preloading" stuff like Gears 5 and Horizon 4 on my 1X so I could just network transfer them over. It was a waste of time since you had to download 70gb anyway afterwards. It's actually even slower because it network transfers the last gen version and then when you try to launch it it detects the upgrade and you need to download the entire thing.
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Holy shit, wow. My internet is slow as turds, that shit would take me like whole week. Not even joking. It takes about 5-6 hours just to install Tetris Effect lol. Yeah, I'm kind of regretting getting the Xbox version of Yakuza now...
 
Jawmuncher

Jawmuncher

Crisis Dino
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Oct 25, 2017
38,379
Ibis Island
This won't impact non-crossgen games or those small enough to fit. Or so I've been told.

still not my preferred option, but can be argued it's a better environmental Option I guess. Definitely not better for preservation reasons though.
 
hanshen

hanshen

Member
Jun 24, 2018
3,853
Chicago, IL
You can download the game without purchasing it first. I just started downloading Valhalla even though I'm picking up my disc later today.

Jawmuncher said:
This won't impact non-crossgen games or those small enough to fit. Or so I've been told.

still not my preferred option, but can be argued it's a better environmental Option I guess. Definitely not better for preservation reasons though.
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I'm not sure how much impact it'll have on preservation though, given how much games nowadays rely on day one patch to work properly.
 

Deleted member 17184

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dabri said:
Seem to remember this being a thing as well on the Xbone. I don't remember if it's combining the file size of the download with what it's pulling off the disk.

Pre post edit:
It looks like it will avoid pulling any files off the disk that are being updated via patch so it does kind of combine the install of the disk with the download itself. Not sure if you are actually downloading 46GB or if that is just the total file size of the fix and data on disk.

Post post edit:
Ah smart delivery is a thing. I forgot. Yeah so the assets on the disk are probably the ones meant for xbone/ series s. It's actually downloading series x assets as well as the path, thus the increased size.
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Probably not for the Series S as it doesn't have a disc drive 😛

But OP, this might be a good thing to confirm with Xbox Support. Just in case there's a solution we don't know about already.
 
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