Issues with L4D2 Workshop Uploads (AppID Discrepancy, Size Limits, and Errors)

[kirillka77734]

I'm encountering significant difficulties and inconsistencies when uploading addons to the Left 4 Dead 2 Workshop, particularly concerning the interaction between Crowbar, the L4D2 Workshop Manager, and Steam's AppIDs. This leads to upload failures, size limitations, and a confusing user experience.

Observed Behavior:

1. "No Connection" Status in Steam: Whenever Crowbar or l4d2_workshop_manager.exe (run independently) attempts to upload content, Steam consistently displays a "No Connection" status. This is perplexing as internet connectivity is stable.
   Furthermore, when attempting to upload very large addons via Crowbar, the Steam client itself frequently freezes and crashes. This occurs even when the PC is otherwise idle, with only Steam and Crowbar running.

2. AppID Discrepancy and Tool Interaction:
   • Crowbar & Independent l4d2_workshopmanager.exe: Both tools, when run directly, appear to upload content using AppID 550.
   • L4D2 Authoring Tools Workflow: The intended workflow, as designed by Valve, involves launching "Left 4 Dead 2 Authoring Tools" from Steam, then navigating to the Workshop Manager within it. This method uses AppID 563 for uploads.
   • Consequence: The Workshop Manager launched via the Authoring Tools (AppID 563) does not recognize or display items uploaded via Crowbar or the independent l4d2_workshopmanager.exe (AppID 550). This creates a fragmented and confusing management experience.

3. Workshop Size Limitations:
   • AppID 550 (Crowbar/Independent Manager): There appears to be a strict size limit of 4 GB for the total content of an addon.
   • AppID 563 (Authoring Tools Manager): This method imposes an even stricter limit of 2 GB for the total content of an addon.
   • Workaround for Clearing Space: The only known way to "clear" Steam Cloud space for these uploads is not to delete the VPK, but to replace it with a much smaller VPK (e.g., 1 KB) of the same filename. Steam then perceives the space as free.

4. Upload Failures with Large Files:
   • AppID 563: Attempting to upload an ~800 MB addon via the Authoring Tools method (AppID 563) consistently results in "Error 9".
   • AppID 550 (Crowbar): Attempting to upload a large addon (e.g., ~800 MB or ~1 GB) via Crowbar (AppID 550) results in generic errors like "Error:" or "Error: content too large" (or similar messages indicating excessive content size).

Problem:

The current state forces users to split large addons (e.g., ~1 GB) into multiple smaller parts (potentially 6+ parts for AppID 563), which is highly undesirable, inconvenient, and clutters the workshop with multiple entries for a single addon. I have observed other users successfully uploading single addons exceeding ~500 MB, suggesting there might be a method or a way to bypass these limitations that is not apparent.

Desired Outcome:

1. AppID Alignment/Choice: A clear understanding or mechanism to choose/align the AppID used for uploads (preferably 563 for consistency with the official tools and potentially better integration).
2. Increased/Bypassed Size Limits: A solution or workaround to upload larger addons (e.g., 800 MB to 1 GB+) as a single item, similar to what other users seem to achieve, without resorting to splitting the content.
3. Clearer Error Messages: More descriptive error messages from Crowbar when uploads fail due to size or other issues.

Steps to Reproduce:

1. Attempt to upload an addon > 200MB
2. Observe "No Connection" in Steam and the specific error message from Crowbar.
3. Attempt to upload an > 500MB addon via the L4D2 Authoring Tools Workshop Manager.
4. Observe "Error 9"