That's a very good and valid tip actually, we definitely could use the AppData folder to store the actual game, removing the privileged requirements.That's good to hear.
Could anything be done to change the need for account elevation? I typically install games in `D:\Apps\Games\`. Which is obviously not a protected folder. I assume then the launcher needs to write to `C:\ProgramData\`. Could the launcher be changed to use the user appdata folder? IE `C:\Users\<username>\AppData\`.
That would make it less straightforward though, and we would need to make an actual uninstaller.
With our current structure, the user knows exactly where everything is and how to delete or move it.
If I'm not wrong the only thing going to AppData right now are saved information (save games and customization), which is the default behaviour of the Unreal Engine game save system. It also prevents the launcher from deleting your saves while updating the game.
I think we're in a kind of tradeoff zone that deploying development resources in it would just change rather than improve. Anyone is welcome to monitor the game communication with the internet, it's probably just with Patreon to verify patronages and maybe Unreal through the crash report functionality.
Sorry about the delay on this reply by the way, it's easter in Canada