Plugin Manger removed all my save games

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Champripper
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed, 1. Oct 08, 04:17

Plugin Manger removed all my save games

Post by Champripper » Sun, 14. Jan 18, 04:57

Hello,

I installed Cycrow Plugin Manager so I can activate a script for X3:TC. It asked me to use save manager to backup my files, I said yes, then converted game from Vanilla to Modified. I started the game and wanted to load one of my save games, nothing was there. I exit the game and reverted back to Vanilla game. Started the game again and the save games are still not there. I searched my computer, nothing...

Any ideas? I had hundreds of hours invested in my game.

Thanks.

Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Sun, 14. Jan 18, 15:11

Hi. Wherever you installed the Save Manager .jar, there should be a folder called 'Campaigns' with no apostrophes. Your saves should be in there in a folder titled whatever you called the vanilla campaign.

Use Search on your PC for 'Campaigns' if you cannot find it easily yourself.

Please note that it was almost certainly not Plugin Manager that removed your saves - rather you have likely done something unwanted regarding the installation and use of Save Manager (which I use frequently). A common error is using the X3AP Save Manager and instructions for an X3TC game, or vice versa, which means that the campaigns folder probably installs in the wrong place by default. Another similar error is not setting the Save Manager up to use the correct directory path to the relevant 'save' folder in your Documents, etc.

You might wish to rethink your thread title to save misunderstandings and offence to the mod authors. Also note that this forum is intended for vanilla game issues. Good luck! :wink:
A dog has a master; a cat has domestic staff.

Champripper
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed, 1. Oct 08, 04:17

Post by Champripper » Sun, 14. Jan 18, 22:23

No luck in finding the 'Campaigns' folder you mentioned.

My X3:TC and X3:AP are installed in the same folder.

In the plugin manager it gives me a drop down menu to switch between the two games. One of them however (the X3:AP) has forward slashes instead of backwards ones... not sure what's up with that.

d:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude [X3: Terran Conflict v3.2c]
d:/games/X3 Albion Prelude [X3: Albion Prelude V3.0 Shady Business]

At some point I went in settings and unchecked the Save Game Manager, then re-checked.


Do you have any other suggestions on what to try to find the save games?

Champripper
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed, 1. Oct 08, 04:17

Post by Champripper » Mon, 15. Jan 18, 00:21

I did a few more tests, I started X3:AP game, did two saves, then went and switched the plugin manager to Modified then back to Vanilla, the savegames were gone...

I removed both directories and just added one directory, re-did the tests and now the plugin created a folder called D:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude\PluginManager\Saves in which I see Vanilla and Modified.

I'm guessing having two directories screwed me save games...

Unless you can think of another place it might have stored them, but at this point it looks hopeless..

Alan Phipps
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Post by Alan Phipps » Mon, 15. Jan 18, 17:27

Wait a moment, Plugin Manager is probably just doing what it says on the tin. Starting a fresh type of game in its own save location and ignoring any saves left in the usual X3TC save folder in your Documents in the process. That is what it does.

Plugin Manager may look in 'D:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude\PluginManager\Saves' but a vanilla game and probably Savegame Manager by default would look in 'C:\Users\Your Name\Egosoft\X3AP\save'. It will be similar in principle for X3TC. I don't know if Steam or GOG has an impact on your modded game save locations too.

Plugin Manager does not switch between different campaigns of games with the Mod/Vanilla switch, you are merely telling it what type of game you want to play and enabling or disabling use of mods/plugins. That is why the Plugin Manager recommends backing up any saves you want to keep as separate campaigns using Savegame Manager - a totally different but supporting application.

I thought you were saying in the OP that Plugin Manager had wiped the campaign saves from Savegame Manager, which I'm pretty certain it just cannot and would not do as it wouldn't know where they are. Your task is to track down where Savegame Manager (not Plugin Manager) put its Campaigns and hence your vanilla saves - usually that will be in a vanilla campaign sub-folder in a folder called Campaigns probably wherever you put the Savegame Manager .jar file. Search for the Savegame Manager file 'Thex3tcSavegameManager.jar' and look around there.

It is interesting that you said in the OP that you were playing X3TC yet you are quoting a PluginManager X3AP save location. The two different games will not use the same save locations, nor the same Savegame Manager campaign locations.

What I am most worried about is that you may not have set up Savegame Manager to look in the correct X3TC save folder either in PluginManager or in your Documents, or that you pointed it to store its campaigns somewhere that it could not access. Then your campaign of vanilla saves may not have been created in the first place - but Savegame Manager should have warned you of this (?).

I suppose telling Savegame Manager to switch to a campaign that has no saves would indeed wipe your current save folder, but it *should* first save the previous campaign somewhere.

Good luck with the search. Now you can see why we don't like to address modded game issues here. :D
A dog has a master; a cat has domestic staff.

Champripper
Posts: 5
Joined: Wed, 1. Oct 08, 04:17

Post by Champripper » Tue, 16. Jan 18, 18:16

My X3:AP is installed here: D:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude

In this folder I have both X3TC.exe and X3AP.exe

There is a subfolder called Addon that contains another set of .dat files. I'm guessing the main folder is the root files of X3:TC and the Addon is root files of the X3:AP

I installed the Plugin Manager in D:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude

I did not make any backups of my save games. I was new at this plugin thing, I just wanted to enable a script that allows me to buy ATF ships at the Moon ship yard.

I ran the plugin manager which asked me to switch to modified game in order to enable that script. It also asked me if I want Savegame Manager to backup my savegames. I said yes. Then I realized upon starting the game that there are no more save games. I exit the game, reverted the plugin back to vanilla, re-entered the game, still no save games.

Whatever happened, the plugin manager or savegame manager never created the folder D:\Games\X3 Albion Prelude\PluginManager\Saves where it stores Vanilla and Modified save games.

I did a through search on my computer, I can't find any of the files you mentioned.

I'm pretty sure it's a lost cause. I started playing X3:AP instead.


Thanks for all the help!

vrod
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Post by vrod » Thu, 18. Jan 18, 17:23

Look in your TC root directory for a directory named "PluginManager". There is a "Saves" directory. Your game saves MIGHT be in there.

If the save dates look correct, you need to copy them to c:/users/(your name)/My Documents/Egosoft/X3TC. At least that is where X3TC looks for my saved games.

I hope this solves it for you. I know how it feels to invest so much time into a game.

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