Exactly how could the patch work?

[feeq14]

Does anyone know how this is possible?

I mean I can understand downloadable content to an extent but how could EA patch gameplay errors that are inherent in the games code. How well have patches worked before because I can remember people complaining that previous patches were ineffective past years.

Im looking for a semi technical answer if possible

[Skulletor]

the vast majority of the data on the disc are assets: textures, character models, music, stadiums, the background photos, etc.

While I don't know the exact details of the Xbox 360 patching model, I assume the game engine is modular. So the patch gets downloaded, so when the executable loads the module with the patched code, it gets the path from the HDD. I don't know how patches work in the non-HDD scenario (loaded into memory?)

I've worked on Xbox 360 development, and our executable was pretty small (< 1MB, so the whole thing could be patched)