Save Game Dread

[Shame]

After dealing with a slough of computer problems for months... which have thankfully resolved. Dealing with data loss and backups has made me realize how fragile the experience is of playing this game alone or with friends/family because of the saves being stored in appdata. If I had not thought to backup the save files in appdata before I did a Windows Reset then I would have had to start all over again with my saves that I play with others.

Does anyone else feel dread from such uncertainty? Especially with how unpredictable computers can be. Sometimes you just don't see the signs and then it is all over. But if the saves are stored in documents then there isn't as much of an issue as backup programs can use these folders but they can't use appdata because of the nature of what is contained in these folders and how they are used so it just isn't an option for these programs.
I understand that the file size causes limitations in regards to Steam Cloud storage but they can surely still be contained in Documents instead. If anything I just want to know why it was chosen to be Appdata. Maybe I am a little more paranoid than normal after having to deal with all these issues. It has made me back things up more than I ever used to.

[theFlu]

7 minutes ago, Shame said:

Does anyone else feel dread from such uncertainty?

I used to, then I kinda let go. The games are fleeting anyway; the SW setup I have right now I can build again on any computer. Takes a couple days, but nothing really lost even at a broken drive. If I really want to keep something, I'll take a backup on something other than the main drive. A touch of scripting and you could have it automated, I haven't bothered..

 

I can't remember the details, as I never needed to; but I think you can change the save location via settings. To Documents, or any other place.

[Jugginator]

Using Appdata is pretty standard for a couple of reasons. Mostly, it's always available on every system and doesn't require knowing the user's name to save there, and is more permanent (uninstallers, windows Refresh, etc. leaves it alone). Also it's hidden, so users that access it generally know what they're doing, and you don't have to worry about "what if the user deleted the Documents folder?". Also, Microsoft discourages programs automatically writing to the Documents folder without asking, although I don't think anyone cares about that lol. Windows will leave Appdata alone if you check the "keep my files" during the Reset/Refresh.

 

Note you can also use FIle History to backup your save data, although I suggest you don't backup the entire appdata section, unless you have a very big drive for the backup.

[Riamus]

1 hour ago, Jugginator said:

Using Appdata is pretty standard for a couple of reasons. Mostly, it's always available on every system and doesn't require knowing the user's name to save there, and is more permanent (uninstallers, windows Refresh, etc. leaves it alone). Also it's hidden, so users that access it generally know what they're doing, and you don't have to worry about "what if the user deleted the Documents folder?". Also, Microsoft discourages programs automatically writing to the Documents folder without asking, although I don't think anyone cares about that lol. Windows will leave Appdata alone if you check the "keep my files" during the Reset/Refresh.

 

Note you can also use FIle History to backup your save data, although I suggest you don't backup the entire appdata section, unless you have a very big drive for the backup.

Although various games and apps do use appdata, many use documents, which is far easier for users considering appdata is hidden by default.  Also, going to %userprofile% isn't any harder than going to %appdata% from a programming standpoint. 

 

I have installed at least a couple hundred games on my current computer and go through occasionally to remove stuff to free space on my small C drive, so I've seen what games store in different places.  With those hundreds of games, only a handful place save games in appdata.  Most use a folder in documents and a few use the game folder.  I haven't looked at a clean install of Windows in a long time, but I think My Games is a default folder under documents.  If so, it just makes sense to use that for saves.  There are many games that use appdata for other things; they just aren't using it for saves. 

 

If nothing else, I wish all games, including this one, provided an in-game option for where you want to save stuff.  Most pre-built computers have small C drives, so saving games there is just not a great option. 

 

I would also add that most backup software automatically backs up documents without having to manually add it, unlike appdata.

 

6 hours ago, Shame said:

After dealing with a slough of computer problems for months... which have thankfully resolved. Dealing with data loss and backups has made me realize how fragile the experience is of playing this game alone or with friends/family because of the saves being stored in appdata. If I had not thought to backup the save files in appdata before I did a Windows Reset then I would have had to start all over again with my saves that I play with others.

Does anyone else feel dread from such uncertainty? Especially with how unpredictable computers can be. Sometimes you just don't see the signs and then it is all over. But if the saves are stored in documents then there isn't as much of an issue as backup programs can use these folders but they can't use appdata because of the nature of what is contained in these folders and how they are used so it just isn't an option for these programs.
I understand that the file size causes limitations in regards to Steam Cloud storage but they can surely still be contained in Documents instead. If anything I just want to know why it was chosen to be Appdata. Maybe I am a little more paranoid than normal after having to deal with all these issues. It has made me back things up more than I ever used to.

Add -UserDataFolder="your path" to your startup parameters in steam.  Then move your saves, maps, and mods there.

Edited October 16 by Riamus (see edit history)

[Suxar]

16 hours ago, Shame said:

Does anyone else feel dread from such uncertainty?

In most cases, I don't care. The game has some difficulties at the start, but by the time you've mastered the necessary skills, it turns into a sandbox in which you find something to do yourself. I've restarted the game much more often to try out different start options than I have played in the late game. Therefore, losing saves is not critical for me.

10 hours ago, Riamus said:

I haven't looked at a clean install of Windows in a long time, but I think My Games is a default folder under documents.

The "My Games" folder actually appeared with a certain version of Windows. However, its name will be different in localizations. On my home PC there are two of these folders, one in English, the second in Russian. The Russian one appeared when installing the OS, the English one appeared after some game (I can't remember the name offhand). There, the developers simply forgot that the OS language is not always English.

[pApA^LeGBa]

It would be much easier if appdata wasn´t a hidden folder. There have been a lot of people being clueless how to find their save games due to that.. Did they change this for WIN11?