DCS: Reverting to a previous version

A very quick article to show how easy reverting to a previous version of DCS is. If you fly MP you need to often be on the same version of the server or your friends, but if you fly SP, then reverting can be a very simple way to ease the frustration then DCS OB releases cause more harm than good. It is also a more serious answer to the *FUN* article I just posted about the issues of the netcode.

In primis locate your DCS_updater.exe.
There are many ways to do it, the simplest is right-clicking on the Desktop icon (if you have it), then Properties and check the path in the Start in: text box. Mine, for instance, is:

“F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin”

Now open the console (Start→type “cmd”), or look for the Command Prompt.

It should prompt at the current user’s location. Mine, for instance:

C:\Users\myusername>

Since my installation folder is on a different drive (an M2 I installed when I upgraded my PC), I need to move there, then navigate to the folder where the executable file is.
NOTE: ↵ stands for the carriage return (the [Enter] button). You can press [Tab] to auto-complete.

C:\Users\myusername>f: ↵
F:\> cd DCS World OpenBeta\bin ↵
F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin>

Now we are in the folder where the Exe is located. If you want, you can verify by running:

F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin>dir *.exe ↵

 Volume in drive F is M2 Games

 Volume Serial Number is 6487-CA91
 Directory of F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin
14/02/2020  19:33         2,031,104 curl.exe

31/03/2020  20:43        16,351,232 DCS.exe

17/04/2020  15:42         7,134,208 DCS_updater.exe

31/03/2020  20:42           240,640 edCefCrashpadProcess.exe

31/03/2020  20:42           285,184 edCefRenderProcess.exe

31/03/2020  20:42           338,944 editor.exe

31/03/2020  20:42           567,296 edm_tool.exe

31/03/2020  20:42           172,544 edterrainGraphicsUtils4.exe

31/03/2020  20:42            52,224 fetchEffects.exe

18/12/2019  13:39            16,384 luac.exe

18/12/2019  13:39            22,528 luae.exe

31/03/2020  20:42            26,112 luarun.exe

31/03/2020  20:42         1,757,184 ModelViewer2.exe

              13 File(s)     28,995,584 bytes

               0 Dir(s)  249,620,054,016 bytes free

F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin>

And finally we can revert the versions. The syntax is simple:

DCS_updater.exe [command] [version]@[branch]

You can also use this command to switch between stable and back to open beta.

I remember using this command a few times in the past, when the updates literally broke the game (see the article I posted above). Nowadays the status of DCS is much, much better, although the recent 2.5.6x has caused many issues, especially in MP. Therefore, if you want to revert to the last 2.5.5x version, this is what you need to run:

F:\DCS World OpenBeta\bin>DCS_updater.exe update 2.5.5.41962@openbeta ↵

Version “2.5.5.41962” is the last version released before moving to the 2.5.6. The complete version numbers can be found here.
You can use any version here, as far as I know. If you immediately change your mind, simply don’t give admin access to DCS updater and it will stop running.