Getting Steam Dlc Into The Epic Games Version

Discussion in 'TSW General Discussion' started by Tom Fresco, Aug 22, 2021.

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  1. Tom Fresco

    Tom Fresco Well-Known Member

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    Hello
    When TSW2 came to the Epic Games store, a very popular question was if the two versions are compatible with one another, so if you could buy DLCs on Steam, and get them into the Epic Games Version of the game.
    Well, it is possible, and just with copy pasting the route.
    2021-08-22 (4).png

    Here is the folder where all the Steam routes are in.
    (D:\Steam\steamapps\common\Train Sim World 2\WindowsNoEditor\TS2Prototype\Content\DLC)
    If you select one (here the MSB) and press ctrl+c, and paste it into
    C:\Program Files\Epic Games\TrainSimWorld2\TS2Prototype\Content\Paks, the route will appear in the Epic Games version and is fully playable.
    2021-08-22.png

    2021-08-22 (1).png

    If you can download DLCs on Steam even if you dont own the Base Game, you can buy DLCs on Steam and play them with the Epic Games version.

    Of course this works the other way around, but then the route has to go in the .paks folder of the Steam version.
     
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  2. AhhCaffeine

    AhhCaffeine Member

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    So it just works by pasting the .pak into the EG version? What about DRM/licences? Like this you could just download it somewhere (on a pirating website or via a friend) and play it, or am I wrong here? Doesn't make much sense to me lol
     
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  3. redrev1917

    redrev1917 Well-Known Member

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    yeah doesnt seem plausible to me (or legal!!)
     
  4. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    This doesn't seem right at all.
    I would've thought Epic and Steam have some kind of ownership check in place for DLC and if it isn't doing this it may be unintended.
     
  5. Kim1087

    Kim1087 Well-Known Member

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    The save game data files are compatible with each other, the Epic save files are found in TrainSimWorld2EGS and Steam it's TrainSimWorld2
     
  6. BladesAndRazors

    BladesAndRazors Member

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    But why at all?
     
  7. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Glad to have deleted the Epic stuff.
    Interesting to try for a preview, but I want nothing to do with them.
     
  8. aglomarsale

    aglomarsale Well-Known Member

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  9. Tom Fresco

    Tom Fresco Well-Known Member

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    Yes this absolutely shouldnt be a thing. I even contacted Matt about possible issues with this but didnt recieve an answer yet.
    But that you can just copy routes over with no Problems is a real problem when you think about it.
     
  10. Rudolf

    Rudolf Well-Known Member

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    Even if you can do it, it does not make sense to do so. Why do you want to play on the Epic Games platform, except maybe to gain a sale at another moment that looks good.
     
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  11. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    I wonder if its tied to your user rather than the game itself Tom Fresco does the DLC work if you're not logged into DoveTail live? If it works when you're not logged in then the implication is you could just grab the files from someone else and play to your hearts content. There should be protection in place for this.
     
  12. Glazier

    Glazier Member

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    Yes you can. Not that I ever did it, but you really can :).
    At least - could at some point...
    Also - SEHS playable 3 days before release incident.
     
  13. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    The issue here is being able to play unowned DLC by simply placing pak files into your DLC folder and there being no ownership check in place.....not whether you can play them in Epic or not. The Epic release has just made it easier to test this scenario as the 2 game clients are identical except for some file paths

    It's quite possible this has been a thing since TSW's release if you were to 'acquire' a pak file from someone who owns it and chucking it into your own folder. It's probably more a Steam issue rather than DTG and may not be limited to TSW/TSW2

    It has nothing to do with Dovetail Live...it can be either enabled or disabled and you can still play the DLC once it is in the folder
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2021
  14. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    It's not just a Steam issue, it's an Epic issue as well. Apparently neither of those online shops check for ownership of DLC. While it's not really a problem if one would copy over their owned DLC to the other platform, it does show a vulnerability.

    I wouldn't have thought pirating DLC would be this easy. Reminds me of the good old times you could simply copy games from floppy disks.
     
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  15. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    Yup my implication is that there is an issue in the Epic client as well. If I were a DTG number cruncher I would be rightly concerned about this loophole but as a loyal player who has invested alot of money into the game I feel somewhat peeved that the loophole exists as well
     
  16. davidh0501

    davidh0501 Well-Known Member

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    Reckon I’m imbivalent to piracy.
    Serious simmers will always buy their software, as they care about their game and want to support the developers.
    Dtg has enough on their plate without adding in software protection.
    And who knows it might introduce new enthusiasts to the game.
    Can but hope.
     
  17. Mich

    Mich Well-Known Member

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    Even if they had extensive ownership checks it wouldn't stop piracy, such protections get cracked fairly quickly usually. And more importantly once it is it means pirates often get versions of games which are better than what you can buy. A recent example I can think of is Resident Evil Village's Denuvo copy protection, it actually causes performance issues, these do not exist on the pirated as it runs much better thanks to the lack of Denuvo, so people who've bought the game are effectively punished for doing so. As counter intuitive as it sounds it's actually the smarter to not implement these measures.


    Here's a video that explains the RE8 situation that happened in a lot better way than my summary if you're curious.
     
    Last edited: Aug 25, 2021
  18. Purno

    Purno Well-Known Member

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    I gotta admit I originally pirated a copy of Train Simulator back in 2016. I was curious but not ready to gamble to purchase a game I might not like. Considering demos are a rare thing these days and no demo is available for Train Simulator, I went pirate.

    I quickly liked the game, bought it, and spent a small fortune on DLC. So I think I'm safe.

    Piracy might not be as bad as people may think. I think many pirates would never considering buying a game if piracy weren't an option. I did a fair share of piracy back when I was a kid and had no real budget available to spent on games (or anything, really). Although when I was a kid, games were sold via floppy disks. :cool:
     
  19. trainsimcz

    trainsimcz Well-Known Member

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    Main problem is, that owner ship is checked only in DLC folder, if you move your .pak to the other folders (like Paks folder) then there they dont check ownership of the DLCs... thats how lame DTG made that. That was the error from the beginning and they never fixed that. But with 2 stores on one platform and have ability to play your owned DLC on other store where you dont even buy it means you can even play your route with other version of the game without counting the time on Steam ... which will mean longer time for testing the route before you decide to refund it (normal time is 2 hours or 14 days) or keep it.
     
  20. Tom Fresco

    Tom Fresco Well-Known Member

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    This is actually a good example for it.
    Many people downloaded SEHS early via the Steam console, but the pak file wasnt downloaded into the dlc folder, but a different one. You had to move the route into the pak folder, where only the routes from the Base game are, instead of the DLC folder, which checks the ownership of the routes. (Of course you owned the route because you bought it, but you had it 3 days before release.)
    This is the same procedere as copying routes over to epic.

    And they even seem to work completey, so Layers are also activated even if you dont have downloaded the route from Epic.
     
  21. Arpadiam

    Arpadiam Active Member

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    also digital foundry did a deep analysis and the results were staggering even with the 2 updates from capcom some issues still persist with the performance of the game


    since the epic version is already cracked i would like to DTG to remove Denuvo from steam version, it will improve drasticaly the loading times and even could cut completely the stuttering while driving the train, otherwise customers who paid for everything we got the lesser experience compared to the players who already have the pirate copy with all the DLCS
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2021
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  22. FeralKitty

    FeralKitty Well-Known Member

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    Where is hard proof that TSW2 uses Denuvo?
     
  23. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    I know TSW2020 uses Denuvo (a quick google search will confirm that from multiple sources); so it is not a stretch to think that TSW2 uses it also (on steam)
     
  24. trainsimcz

    trainsimcz Well-Known Member

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    Epic version is without Denuvo, Steam version is with Denuvo. Proof is inside the main .exe file, just open the file in some program where you can see what is inside and seach for Denuvo and you will find some links to it in Steam version. Steam version main .exe file is 3 times bigger then Epic version.
     
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  25. Mr JMB

    Mr JMB Well-Known Member

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    Unfortunately this pushes us further towards an online-always, subscription model. This is one of the best ways (SaaS) of truely beating piracy but it has quite a cost on the law-abiding majority who don't want to have their game hang everytime the internet slows down at their end. The DTL recent lag suggests that DTG don't really have systems big enough to cope with lots of games being checked constantly for the content that account owns or a current valid subscription for the content they are trying to play. It is also another barrier to trying to open up the game so consists can have multiple different DLCs in them.
     
  26. Arpadiam

    Arpadiam Active Member

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    Standard size for a non denuvo exe is from 10mb to 80mb aprox, any game that uses denuvo the exe size is 450mb to 700mb
    Another factor is that on some reddit community like Crackwatch is listed as a game with denuvo, that why the steam version is still not cracked, you can also use a HexD or any other hex program and you will find denuvo bits all over the exe

    If a game has a form of 3rd party DRM, they should list it on their page. People have the right to know what they're buying into.

    It also been proved on several games and threads on reddit that denuvo causes increase on loading times, stuttering on games that depends of texture streaming and on low end PC up to 25% performance loss
     
    Last edited: Aug 26, 2021
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  27. blazingsoup

    blazingsoup Member

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    Bit of a necro, I apologize, but is this still possible (to buy DLCs and use on Epic Games base game)? I love this game and I've already bought quite a few DLCs through Epic, but there's so many more on Steam, and that are frequently on sale, that I would love to play. It's a bit disappointing that Epic has so much less, and way less sales, makes me wish I had known about this game and got it on Steam before I discovered it when they were giving it away for free.
     
  28. trainsimgaming1001

    trainsimgaming1001 Well-Known Member

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    Because you would need to own the base game plus any of the routes on steam, you would might as well switch to the steam version. Off course, you have to buy your DLC again, but it would probably be worth waiting for a sale. You could also look on CDKEYS, which has the collectors edition for 18.99
     
  29. trainsimgaming1001

    trainsimgaming1001 Well-Known Member

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    Dovetail really need to crack down on Piracy. The fact that it is this easy on a Major Game from a Major Company is ironic. All you have to do is Download the File for the DLC and put it in the PAK folder. You don't even need Unlockers anymore. At least on steam, you even still get the Achivements for the Cracked DLC. When SEHS was discovered to be downloadable before release, I used Steam Console to Download SEHS 2 Days before Release and out of Curiosity signed into my Brothers Account, which has TSW2 but not SEHS on it and it worked. The fact it is this easy now. If Dovetail wants to Continue making money, they need to stop this and re-add Denuvo to Epic Version. Because of the Release on Epic without Denuvo, TSW2 was cracked within about 3 Weeks of Launch on Epic after the steam version was left uncracked and still is, since the Original Release over a Year Ago.

    The fact that Original DLC from steam works on Epic means all DTG need to do is submit the DLC to Epic
     
  30. blazingsoup

    blazingsoup Member

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    So...you're saying it can still work? Bit confused with your first reply to me, cause you said to buy the steam version, but then you said the method still works. I have the base game, and I've been buying the routes on Epic as I go. I agree it is a loophole that should be fixed to stop piracy, but I hope if they do that, they maybe allow some sort of legal crossplay between the Epic version and Steam, because I'd love to buy some of the Steam DLC, I don't even care if they're on sale, just the variety is nice. Or if Epic would add some more routes already.

    Believe me, I really wish I had bought this game originally on Steam, the only reason I started playing this game originally is because my girlfriend always tells me what game is free on Epic, and this was one of them that I thought I would give a try, I had no idea I'd fall in love with this game, and by the time I realized how much I liked it, I had already bought 2 DLCs...I'm now up to 6 lol
     
    Last edited: Sep 30, 2021
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  31. paul.pavlinovich

    paul.pavlinovich Well-Known Member

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    Keep an eye out, TSW2 regularly comes on sale on both Steam and the DTG store. Sometimes at ridiculous prices. Next sale would be around soon based on previous years. If it comes up cheap enough just jump from Epic to Steam.
     
  32. Heywoodwest

    Heywoodwest New Member

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    I know this is an old thread, but having just bought TSW3 on Steam I really wanted to transfer my Epic TSW2 routes across so I followed the instructions in the first post of this conversation. When I tried to launch TSW3 I got "An Unreal process has crashed: UE4-TS2Prototype". It's a pain, but I can always play those routes in TSW2. Evidently Dovetail have fixed the potential piracy issue and caught a non-pirate as well!
     
  33. Yerolo

    Yerolo Well-Known Member

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    You cannot copy TSW2 DLC to TSW3 (Just as you cannot copy TSW3 DLC to TSW4). TSW2 and TSW3 run on different Unreal Engine versions. This is not what this thread is talking about...
     
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