That patch also kills any tweaks to the ini files. Which really svcks. Because with that ini files you can significantly improve shadows, add self shadowing for trees, and rocks, etc, and alter the draw distances and much more, far more than anything that is in the options and settings for the game.

ye im still using the original exe that came with the game and i wont be changing until its absolutely neccessary

Steam may be a good place to buy games, but who signed on to have them monitor our computers while we play them. I hate Steam.