Depot downloader is a software not affiliated with valve that allows, with the use of steam credentials and game build info, the downloading of older game versions in the branches you are permitted access (usually just public).

You may be asking "Is it safe?" Yes. Despite requiring my steam credentials, there have never been any issues. I have downloaded old game content for a while with this program and can assure its safety. People talk about it, not in the "Hey guys, here is how to get free robux completely free in 3 easy steps" kinda way, you know, but in the step-by-step stuff made by people who actually know their stuff and aren't running an engagement farm for something that doesn't exist or is made to f#ck with you.

This guide describes the process of how to:

1. Download the software
   
2. find your required information and
   
3. configure it for getting older versions...

...10CC wished to mask the slightest glimpse of any possibility that players could return to older versions of the game after a rundown has released. Even after the re-introduction of the old rundowns in an "ALT" form now, they still bar players from playing older rundowns in the official GTFO discord or even the modding server. When people asked questions such as "How do you play older rundowns?" they would respond with "You can't or "There is no way". There is. There just is.

This applies to not only GTFO, but other games as well and may be used to do things like get achievements that were broken in the latest version.

Not only will downloading old rundowns give you access to the previous content, but it will also allow mod compatibility with older custom rundowns. Some modded rundowns may be specific to a specific version as the creator does not wish to update it to the latest build. If you are an OG and played modded rundowns in EA, or you want to play a specific one with your buds then this is a good reason to download it.

Here is the real question now: Why not just provide an online drive link?
Answer: It takes space, time and/or money to host it. Each version of GTFO is several gigs in size, add that up among all versions or even just the latest build of each rundown and you will need to either make several accounts or pay for hosting the files which may never be downloaded by others. Gdrive allows a max of 15GB free-of-charge, Mega with only 20 and others have even less. There also comes the risk of people attempting to install malicious code of sorts with those files (unlikely because game is dead, but could happen).

It is unlikely people will have drive links for all versions of all games, so knowing how to get them yourself is important as not all developers will provide easy access to downgrading. With depotdownloader, you directly download the game version from Steam which is arguably more secure.

As with many good software or mods [wink wink] these things are put up to GitHub. Link is here[github.com] or if you want the full url for transparency then here https://github.com/SteamRE/DepotDownloader

Simply go to 'Releases' and download the latest version.

Depot downloader requires .NET to run. For this purpose, see the link below and download a version. Do note that .NET versions have an end-of-life support and you may want to upgrade to a later version. If the program does not work on a specific .NET version, downgrade or upgrade to another. .NET 6 should work just fine.

https://dotnet.microsoft.com/en-us/download/dotnet

There are many parameters that you can use for things such as custom install directory or to specify a branch, however I will only discuss the common ones you will use the most. The rest of the parameters and their relevant descriptions are provided here.[github.com]

-app <appID> :

The app[steamdb.info] ID of the game is a number that you need to download the game. Each game is given their own app ID. The number attributed to GTFO is '493520'. For other games it will be a different integer.

-depot <depotID> :

The depot ID is another integer necessary in downloading the older game versions. For GTFO, this number is '493521'.

-manifest <manifestID> :

Manifest IDs are attributed to each version released under a given branch. The latest manifest is tied to the up-to-date release while the first manifest is the early game state such as a beta or alpha. For GTFO you can view the manifest ID list here.[steamdb.info] If you wish to see more manifests than what is listed, you must sign in with your steam credentials.

-username <user> :

This is your steam username. That's it. I can't be any clearer. Watch the case on your username.

-password <pass> :

Your steam password. Watch case.

Here is a table for some of the likely used rundown versions that you may care about, i.e. the most up-to-date release or extended release of rundown builds. The remainder of the manifests are provided here.[steamdb.info]

‎Lockout 1:

• BepInExPack_GTFO v1.5.0 by BepInEx
  
• Lockout 1 v3.2.4 by mccad00
  
• MTFO v4.3.1 by dakkhuza
  
• ExtraEnemyCustomization v0.8.1 by EEC
  
• Tweaker v1.7.2 by Dex
  
• QoLFix v0.3.2 by notpeelz

Lockout 2:

• BepInExPack_GTFO v3.2.1 by BepInEx
  
• Lockout2 v2.0.22 by mccad00
  
• MTFO v4.6.1 by dakkhuza
  
• DakGeos v0.3.2 by dakkhuza
  
• ZaeroGeos v0.2.0 by ProjectZaero
  
• GearPartCustomization v1.3.3 by Frog
  
• EEC_I v1.7.8 by EEC
  
• LGTuner v0.99999.3 by Flowaria
  
• Tweaker v1.9.1 by Dex
  
• SniperMeleeFix v1.0.0 by Kasuromi
  
• CleanClothes v1.0.3 by Frog
  
• DeviousLick v2606.9400.995 by Frog
  
• AmongDrip v900.900.909 by Frog
  
• SilencedWeapons v1.1.5 by Frog
  
• PingEverything v3.0.0 by Localia
  
• DropResource v1.0.2 by Dex
  
• ResourceHelper v3.0.1 by Localia
  
• NoDustParticles v1.0.2 by Untilted
  
• PrisonerAppearanceCustomization v0.1.7 by Frog
  
• EvadeFix v1.0.2 by Untilted

Some of the above are mods that can be complemented, however not included by default. They are not a requirement. If you find issues with installation with mod managers like r2mm, you can attempt a manual installation. If mod versions do not work, attempt using different versions or refer to preferred versions on thunderstore.

For downloading you may use depotdownloader or you may use the steam console, however, i have not had an instance where the console had worked so it's not a guarantee it will for you.

If you have 2FA (2 Factor Authentication) you will need to type it in for the download process.
If your password doesn't work with depot downloader, encase it in double quotes like "password".

Below there are two ways to interact with the depot downloader, either through a shell like your command prompt or through a bat file that we make. It's up to your preference which is easier, but, in general, the bat option will be the easiest over time.

For the purposes of this guide I will assume the user is utilizing WindowsOS and not MacOS or Linux. If you are using other OS, seek help online for methods pertaining to your needs. Keep in mind there are macOS and linux versions of depot downloader on the github releases.

For this shell explanation we will utilize windows powershell. First, make sure you have depot downloader installed in a directory of your choosing. Next, open depot downloader to the specific directory. If you don't know how to do this, go to the folder directory of your depot downloader and follow the steps below:

---

There are, of course, other ways to open powershell to the specific directory. If you want to know those ways...look it up.

You want to structure your poweshell to have the following format:

.DepotDownloader.exe -app <appID> -depot <depotID> -manifest <manifestID> -username <user> -password <pass>

You can, instead, create a .bat or BATCH file to run that will have the information for every time you want to install something. You only need to modify the appID, depotID and/or manifestID to change game or version. If using another account or you changed your password you must edit them as well for the program to login.

To start, create a text or .txt file in the folder path of the components and leave its extension alone for a moment. Next, inside the file we will type the following to it:

dotnet DepotDownloader.dll -app <appID> -depot <depotID> -manifest <manifestID> -username <user> -password <pass>

Save the file by clicking FILE and SAVE or simply hitting CTRL and S. Next, we must edit the file extension. If you do not have them enabled, i.e. files saying .dll, .json, etc. at the end of them, here is how to enable that:

Once the file is now "whateverthef#ckyouwant.bat", all you need to do is run it. You should get a shell window like command prompt that then will either ask for authorization of a 2FA code or immediately begin the download. If it encounters an error, the window will close before the process is complete. Once the process it complete it will auto close.

If you encounter errors which result in the shell window closing too quickly, add the following to the end of your .bat file:

|| pause

This will pause the window so you can analyze any error messages, otherwise it will run and close like normal. The code would look something like this:

dotnet DepotDownloader.dll -app <appID> -depot <depotID> -manifest <manifestID> -username <user> -password <pass> || pause

You can choose to use the steam console, however, whether it will actually work or download anything is beyond me. I have not had an experience where it functions to download the old content. Regardless, I will leave this as an option if you want to use it for other games.

The console is unlocked by typing the following into your browser and opening it with steam.

steam://nav/console

Here is how you should type your download request into the console:

download_depot <appID> <depotID> <manifestID>

So, for example, to download the latest R1 build you would type:

download_depot 493520 493521 8000105074755596729

You will need to wait for the download process to finish and will not be given real-time progress indication. If you lose your connection your download will pause and once the download finishes steam will provide you the directory for the files.

You got the files? No? They should, if you didn't specify a directory, be in the depotdownloader subfolder named "depots". Found it? Good. Now, there are several ways to get this to work, but I will show you the simplest and less painful methods. You can decide which of these you like best.

There are many launch options that you can include in your game properties. These can be found here if you're interested:

• https://steamproxy.net/steamhelp/en/faqs/view/7D01-D2DD-D75E-2955
  
• https://appuals.com/steam-set-launch-options-and-full-list/

The specific one we will use is %command% which is attached to the end of the directory of your game. For example:

"D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\GTFO_R1\GTFO" %command%

Inserting this into the properties page for GTFO on steam will run the executable in the given directory instead of the default one from the install. If you have multiple rundowns, you must edit this to the others every time you want to do a different rundown. Every time you go to an older rundown or swap rundowns, your game settings such as quality or keybind changes will reset. You can save a copy of your settings in:

C:\Users\CurrentUser\AppData\LocalLow\10 Chambers Collective\GTFO_Settings

This process is, honestly, annoying and makes you remember what the path name for the file of another rundown is and you needing to rename it to launch it. There is a better option instead that displays all rundowns at once on your library like you own different games.

The simplest way to have your up-to-date version and downgraded version(s) together is to add a text file to the downgraded version(s) called "steam_appid.txt" with the appID of the number, 493520 for GTFO, and that's it. It's that simple. You can now run the executable and it will launch as if it was GTFO's latest version without having to replace the files of the game to the current build, rename the original GTFO folder to something else while the old rundown is named GTFO to path to that, or any other special, inefficient stuff.

493520

To make it easier to access, you can add the executable to steam as a non-steam game and launch it from steam so you don't need to navigate to the folder directory every time to launch.

You can place the folder containing the game files in a specific directory such as your C drive root or the steamapps directory. Do not rename the game to 'GTFO' if it's in the same directory as your latest version game as this will delete all the data if you wish to also play Rundown 8. Set the folder names to something you can quickly identify like GTFO R1 or something else, your choice. Once you've done that, you need to add the game executable as a non-steam game.

Open steam, and do the following:

'Games' --> 'Add a Non-Steam Game to My Library' --> 'Browse...' --> 'SELECT .EXE'

Your game should now be in your library under 'Uncategorized' at the very bottom. You can categorize it or not, it doesn't matter. Once you have done that, you can begin to make the game look nice in your library as if it was an actual steam game. To begin, select the game and right click the empty background. You can add a custom logo or background to the game which you can download online. The choices of the images are up to you. You can also go to your home and enter the collections mode by clicking the 4 squares icon and right click the rundown to modify. Here, you can set custom artwork that, again, you have the choice in. That's about it, have fun.

Repeat if you download several rundowns.

*WARNING*: Each game version is several GBs in size. If you only own a single drive (C:\) which is likely a 256 GB SSD, you should not download all rundowns or consider investing in a more spacious SSD for a D:\ drive or HDD if you prefer.