Did they do something about the game size ?

I downloaded the current version of the game (patch 4 hotfix 1) over the weekend because this forum says the newest patch is bugged.

And now the install is smaller than any other install I have of the game. Only 27 files. Which is how large it was with patch 1, but there the last file was 2 GB. Now the last file is just 400 MB. All other files are of course 4 GB and theres the install which is a separate .exe.

Largest I had so far is 31 files. Thats patch 3 hotfix 3.

Yes. Patch4 merged all the "patch#.pak" files into the main game files. You no longer have the patch files as individual files taking up extra space. My 150 gig install before patch4 is now 120 gig. Any new hotfixes will continue to be installed as "patch#.pak" files until the next time Larian decides to merge those.

Niiiiice.

That means I wont actually need to get a new harddrive to play newer versions.

Well I'll still get a harddrive just for games some time in the future, simply because that will offer better performance.