Argh. This is infuriating. The author does not include instructions on the descriptions on how to set up the program after downloading. The program itself works but the default path to the saved games is wrong, and thus you're literally backing up the wrong files. If you're Steam user and you're getting "steam_autocloud.vdf" after extracting the backup zip files then it's wrong.
*** You must click on "Set Saves Directory" and select the location to where your saves are located. You're at the right folder if you see files in .Sav format***
For Steam users your saved game location is: "C:\Users\YOURPCNAME\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\RANDOMNUMBERS\MORERANDOMNUMBERS\Release\v2". For people playing the game on microsoft store only (without Steam) it'll be different. My guess is the mod was originally made for microsoft users so the default save path should work ( I might be wrong).
And from what "GreyGhost8765k" says, you'll need to also turn off Cloud save (for Steam users) otherwise when restoring backups you'll get cloud errors and run the risk of steam overwriting your changes.
-------------------
And if for some reason you still can't get the program to work, you can just backup your own games every now and then and just replace them when needed. Simply copy paste the .sav files and put them in another folder for safe keeping and replace manually when needed.
YOURPCNAME should actually be YOURUSERNAME. The PC name is what you called your computer, your user name is what you called yourself. otherwise your instructions are on the money. You can also use this utility if you're playing on the Public Test Realm ((PTR), which is available to players with the Steam version only) by pointing it to C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\RANDOMNUMBERS\MORERANDOMNUMBERS\labtech_beta\v2
As to restoring backed up saves, I just manually open the desired backup ZIP file, then drag and drop over the existing save(s).
Also, do NOT save the backups to the working game save folder. The utility will back up EVERYTHING in that folder, including the backups of the saves. This will eventually cause huge backup file sizes and backup failures. Your easiest/safest bet is to create a folder on your C Drive for the backups and point the utility there.
i thought at first we just have to use it, turns out we still need to adjust the save directory manually for the first time. i just keep backup-ing .vdf and when i want to restore it, it can't. i had suspicion before why this tool backup .vdf file, as far as i know this is a cloud file but not a save that game use.
Hey I've been using this for a couple of days now, the program will auto save once and then I get a message on the screen that says "No changes since last save" and the auto saves stop.
Has anyone else come across this?
If I force a back up it still works fine, but the auto saves seem to stop after one time.
I have it set up to save at 5 minute intervals, 10 saves max
This mod is CRAP. When I tried to restore (for the first time) after losing a character, something crashed. I restarted the game, and the mod failed to restore back to the previous save. It's useless to me. I don't recommend it.
Cool mod , but quests are always reset . Can It be fixed somehow ? I mean whole quests list just dissapears and if any quest is in progress - It just wipes out . Thank You !
STEAM version: So I don't get a *.sav file from this backup-mod, only a steam cloud save file with 1kb size. Simply broken, don't know what to extract from where else, it just doesn't do anything useful apparently...
Might have worked and been quite some effort to program, but as of now I have no idea what it's good for.
It can't overwrite files in the games saves directory. Not sure why exactly. As you mentioned another workaround is deleting them yourself, then the restore function works just fine.
Personally, the fact this utility is still like 99% functional is a relief. Since I don't have to worry about any in game Bug / Glitch ruining my experience.
I am confused. I can't get this to work properly. I used the save folder mentioned in this thread. I renamed the saved games instead of deleting them as was mentioned in this thread. This way if I make a mistake I can get them back. I used this program to copy the older saves into the game's save folder. When I load the game, it starts a new community, so it can't find the saves. Why? It looks like I need to copy more than the older saves. Right? Copying the older saves still is not enough to load a saved game. The save that this program uses only has the steam.autocloud.vdf file. No other files. I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
I don't have cloud saving enabled, as I'm pretty sure that overrides the local saves. If you have the directories set correctly then clicking the Text "Open Saves Directory" under the Light/Dark theme drop-down will open the folder where the tool thinks your saves are. This folder should always have 4 files in it.
SaveGame0.sav SaveGame1.savSaveGame2.savSaveUser.savOne of my save games is only 1kb because I don't have a community in that slot currently. I also play on steam and my save directory appears in this location C:\Users\MyPersonalFolder\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\###\###\Release\v2 MyPersonalFolder = Usually your own windows Account name. ### = Long list of I assume random numbers unique to each installation.
The tool does not know by default where your actual saves are at. Different platforms seem to save in different locations.
Clicking the "Open Backup Directory" contains files like this. SOD2_AutoSave_[2022-01-02_06-53-34-613-AM].zip Which is where you've set the tool to store your backups.
Tool seems to have issues deleting or overwriting files in the user folder, so make sure your backup directory ins't located in any protected system folders. Might explain why some seem to have issues with their backups not saving properly.
I use Interval 5 (saves every 5 minutes), and Max 40 (40 saves is probably excessive, but better safe than sorry).
To restore a save from a backup, assuming you have it all setup correctly, exit the game fully then click the text in the Tool's UI "Open Saves Directory" & delete the 4 files in that folder. Then run the restore process, and tell it no when it asks if you want to back it up first (run a Force Backup before you delete the files if you want). Make sure you click the Resume button after successfully restoring or the tool will no longer automatically backup your saves. If you try to restore without first deleting the files you'll only get an error message and it won't work.
I'm like the Lord of Save Scumming in SoD2. I use this tool religiously, and I don't have any issues with it. However, I did accidentally change the folder name the tool itself was saved in which caused it to lose all it's settings without me noticing once... just FYI.
Yesterday, all of my zipped saves had the cloud file
Did you disable cloud saving? Even when I temporarily had cloud saves on it used a different folder than the actual save games. C:\Users\MyPersonalFolder\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\SaveGames
My previously post is pretty detailed on how to manually setup the tool.
83 comments
*** You must click on "Set Saves Directory" and select the location to where your saves are located. You're at the right folder if you see files in .Sav format***
For Steam users your saved game location is: "C:\Users\YOURPCNAME\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\RANDOMNUMBERS\MORERANDOMNUMBERS\Release\v2". For people playing the game on microsoft store only (without Steam) it'll be different. My guess is the mod was originally made for microsoft users so the default save path should work ( I might be wrong).
And from what "GreyGhost8765k" says, you'll need to also turn off Cloud save (for Steam users) otherwise when restoring backups you'll get cloud errors and run the risk of steam overwriting your changes.
-------------------
And if for some reason you still can't get the program to work, you can just backup your own games every now and then and just replace them when needed. Simply copy paste the .sav files and put them in another folder for safe keeping and replace manually when needed.
YOURPCNAME should actually be YOURUSERNAME. The PC name is what you called your computer, your user name is what you called yourself. otherwise your instructions are on the money. You can also use this utility if you're playing on the Public Test Realm ((PTR), which is available to players with the Steam version only) by pointing it to C:\Users\YOURUSERNAME\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\RANDOMNUMBERS\MORERANDOMNUMBERS\labtech_beta\v2
As to restoring backed up saves, I just manually open the desired backup ZIP file, then drag and drop over the existing save(s).
i thought at first we just have to use it, turns out we still need to adjust the save directory manually for the first time.
i just keep backup-ing .vdf and when i want to restore it, it can't. i had suspicion before why this tool backup .vdf file, as far as i know this is a cloud file but not a save that game use.
Has anyone else come across this?
If I force a back up it still works fine, but the auto saves seem to stop after one time.
I have it set up to save at 5 minute intervals, 10 saves max
Thanks
Thank You !
so my manual backup not to be included
So I don't get a *.sav file from this backup-mod, only a steam cloud save file with 1kb size. Simply broken, don't know what to extract from where else, it just doesn't do anything useful apparently...
Might have worked and been quite some effort to program, but as of now I have no idea what it's good for.
It backs up perfectly, but crashes on attempting to restore, others have posted same issue below and also a workaround.
My own workaround is just to open the compressed file up and manually copy over.
Still could use a proper update if you're still around Bilago.
Your utility mods are awesome and we miss your good work.
Personally, the fact this utility is still like 99% functional is a relief. Since I don't have to worry about any in game Bug / Glitch ruining my experience.
have the same problem, I restore an old save with the modprogram and restart the game, and the game found not community.
I used the save folder mentioned in this thread.
I renamed the saved games instead of deleting them as was mentioned in this thread. This way if I make a mistake I can get them back. I used this program to copy the older saves into the game's save folder. When I load the game, it starts a new community, so it can't find the saves. Why? It looks like I need to copy more than the older saves. Right? Copying the older saves still is not enough to load a saved game. The save that this program uses only has the steam.autocloud.vdf file. No other files.
I can't figure out what I am doing wrong.
SaveGame0.sav
SaveGame1.savSaveGame2.savSaveUser.savOne of my save games is only 1kb because I don't have a community in that slot currently. I also play on steam and my save directory appears in this locationC:\Users\MyPersonalFolder\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\Steam\###\###\Release\v2
MyPersonalFolder = Usually your own windows Account name.### = Long list of I assume random numbers unique to each installation.
The tool does not know by default where your actual saves are at. Different platforms seem to save in different locations.
Clicking the "Open Backup Directory" contains files like this.
SOD2_AutoSave_[2022-01-02_06-53-34-613-AM].zip
Which is where you've set the tool to store your backups.Tool seems to have issues deleting or overwriting files in the user folder, so make sure your backup directory ins't located in any protected system folders. Might explain why some seem to have issues with their backups not saving properly.
I use Interval 5 (saves every 5 minutes), and Max 40 (40 saves is probably excessive, but better safe than sorry).
To restore a save from a backup, assuming you have it all setup correctly, exit the game fully then click the text in the Tool's UI "Open Saves Directory" & delete the 4 files in that folder. Then run the restore process, and tell it no when it asks if you want to back it up first (run a Force Backup before you delete the files if you want). Make sure you click the Resume button after successfully restoring or the tool will no longer automatically backup your saves. If you try to restore without first deleting the files you'll only get an error message and it won't work.
I'm like the Lord of Save Scumming in SoD2. I use this tool religiously, and I don't have any issues with it. However, I did accidentally change the folder name the tool itself was saved in which caused it to lose all it's settings without me noticing once... just FYI.
C:\Users\MyPersonalFolder\AppData\Local\StateOfDecay2\Saved\SaveGames
My previously post is pretty detailed on how to manually setup the tool.