[SOLVED]Game no longer saves but says it is.

[AceofSpades]

So with the new BETA tools I thought I would make a save game file for others to use and save them some tree removal-ground flattening time.

I created a large farm in the usual Ravenport start area. Many many saves over the course of 2 days to build the farm with all the terrain mods and placing the farm parts ect.
I took the save file and zipped it in order to later submit it to a website for others to use. Leaving the save file alone making no changes within it. And the zipped copy is NOT within the save folder it is exactly the way it was before I zipped a copy of it.
I went back to do some edits one last time after noticing a few things. But the edits are no longer saving except the money spent!
As a test I go in and do something that costs money, doesnt matter, buy animals, buy a placeable. The money is subtracted, I can place the item, it saves or says it saves and I can exit. When I come back the money I spent is NOT gone and the changes made on the map are not there.

At first I thought maybe this was a bug with the steam cloud feature but disabled that. Started a new game, inserted the old save game files into the savegame1 folder. Everything is there but once again any changes I make is only reflected with a lower bank balance, the actual things I buy do not save with the game.

Any help with this would be great as I can no longer play the game I want.

[AceofSpades]

**ADDITIONAL INFO**
I just did a test with my save game from before I started the BETA tools, this was a modded map and it works/saves fine. So think that eliminates alot and likely a save issue with that save.

I should clarify exactly what the money does because it is weird.......
I get in save game I have 310k I buy something for 2k and I place it right in front of me. I save the game and exit to desktop. On the way in at the save selection screen the game is telling me I have 308k. If I go into my documents/saves and look at the xml files they say I have 308k. So it is safe to assume that when that save game is started that the thing I bought for 2k should be there. When I load up the game though the item is NOT there and I have the original 310k.

So the game is loading a save file from ????????????????????????????? Because it sure is not the save file in my save folder unless it is loading partial or something.
I have steam cloud turned off.

All of this started when steam cloud (which I did not realize was on) freaked out ( I think) and erased my main save forcing me to use my latest back-up. I turned off steam cloud and all my troubles began from there. Steam cloud on or off makes no difference now. Maybe it was not steam cloud but maybe the game freaked out?

It is like it is stuck loading the last steam cloud save or something?

I have also removed all backups from the back ups folder, then started a clean game on the same map, then inserted my save game files and it is still loading up a save from somewhere else ??? So when I first start the save this way it is fine but any further changes and it is like what I said above. I am so confused lol.

[AceofSpades]

**Last Additional info I can think of***

So I figured out where steam cloud save file is for FS19 and I removed it. This did nothing other than to possibly eliminate cloud as the issue.

So the issue seems to be with this set of save files in this save folder. Cannot duplicate on other save game.

[AceofSpades]

Here is the last log from my last test of the night.
One thing before doing this, I noticed I did have two versions of the same mod from an update earlier today.
I removed the older version.
Also from looking at the old log I had a lot of "child" errors from a fence I built so I removed that mod as well.
The log is much shorter, neither of the two things above I tried worked, I still have the same issue.

[AceofSpades]

I guess this can now be reproduced on my end.

So started new game and ended up in the same place eventually. Was able to save and quit and come back all day for about a 6 hr session. No problems. Got on to play and the money level both on the save select screen AND both the money level AND animals I have bought ect are showing up in the save game files. BUT when you get in the game it is all gone and the game is back to the way it was at game start many hours of play. If you quickly quit the save files in the save game folder are still like they were, with the money and animals, vehicles that were there when I saved.


It's like the game keeps my original start stored somewhere and then when it wants just inserts into my game.

[jodamm]

If you are using the Steam version, Steam is synchronizing your savegames when you start FS19. If you want to make changes to your savegames, you have to start FS19 and then make the changes.

[AceofSpades]

If you are using the Steam version, Steam is synchronizing your savegames when you start FS19. If you want to make changes to your savegames, you have to start FS19 and then make the changes.

I have that turned off. So it is not syncing with the games and it would not explain what I am describing. Thanks for the reply.

[AceofSpades]

The plot or the BS gets thicker.....

(just to catch you up)
Ok so I have this save game that in the save files (savegame3 in this case) the careerSavegame.xml and the farms.xml both show an account at 3,700 dollars. It shows I have horses and chickens.
I get into the game it says in game that save I have 3,700 dollars. I start the save and when it starts I am back at the 15k no animal start that I started the farm with over 20 saves ago!.

(how it gets thicker....)
I erase the game. I do not erase my documents FS19 folder. I reinstall the game. I reverify that there is NO steam cloud.
A saveGame1 folder does not exist...I create a savegame1 folder and copy over what is in the saveGame3 folder (remember the game with 3700 dollars) over to the saveGame1 folder. I start the game.

In the save selection screen I now have two games (1 and 3) showing 3700 dollar farms. I click on savegame 3 and start. It takes me to that same 15k no animal fresh start I mentioned before.

I start savegame 1 and it takes me to a 370k start on the same map at what time this game existed, I DO NOT KNOW! lol. It exists nowhere except in a special place that apparently only GIANTS knows. Or maybe don't know. I would not know for I have no response yet. I am just wing dinging it trying to get my game to work.

One thing is clear the save game that the game loads is NOT the save game that shows in the save game folder. In fact, I can send those save game files to anyone else and they start to play exactly where they should. It will work for anyone else, but not when I try and use those save files. (this save file is actually on a couple websites downloaded and used but no complaints of this. I created this save file and uploaded it to the websites for others to use who did not want to spend the time but let someone else do it for them.) It works for them lol, but not for me the creator, wtf is this lol?

Too late to try and get a refund, can't play a game that won't save properly. About as frustrating as it gets.

[AceofSpades]

Ok, I tried one last thing I could think of and it apparently results in a workaround no matter how insane it is. But this also is the first real clue.

I copied the save files from saveGame3 over to saveGame2 where I had an old game from a different map.
I started the game and when it loads I have 3700 dollars and animals ect.
So I will play this until it gets buggy and eventually, I will have to create a saveGame4 and then 5 and 6 and so on. I will end up with hundreds of unusable save slots.

And this is why I know this.....

My saveGame 1 folder was the original folder I was using to create the saveGame file I uploaded to mod sites. During the creation process, I ended up uploading two copies to mod sites. The first was an initial version and was not set up with any kind of start. After uploading it to mod site I continued to work on it to finish it up and create a more official type start with money and vehicles. During this time after taking a break and coming back I realized the save was showing as saving but when you got in the game it was reverting to the state of the game that I uploaded to mod sites.

After trying to get it to work I downloaded my own save files that I uploaded from the mod site. I already had a game in slot 2 so I created a save game 3 and put the files I downloaded in there. It worked and I continued to work on it. I finished my work the game was saving fine, I edited the xml files for 15k start with certain vehicles ect, made a zipped file of the save game and uploaded that as the final version to mod site for others to use if they so wish. After doing that I decided to start to play what I created, I played for about 6 hrs or so, saving many many times along the way, autosave was on. The next day when I came back my save game looked fine in the menu but once in the game I was back at the 15k start(the one I zipped).

So what was learned from this is that both times the game keeps loading an invisible(unknown location) save game that is the exact same point that I made a zipped copy of the save game files in order to upload. This makes no sense to me but it seems that making a zip file of the save game files (it is not left in the folder but cut and copied to another location) forces some kind of bug. And it forever locks that savegame slot even if I go in and erase the save game and start a new one.

I will try and reproduce this.
......

update= I cannot reproduce with a simple test of taking the save game 2 that seems to be a now savable copy of save game 1 and 3. Make changes, save, zip the files in the folder, move zip file to the desktop to be out of the savegame folder and the game loads fine WITH the changes made. I did the exact process I did when doing what I did with savegames 1 and 3. The only difference would be time, multiple save attempts and computer shutdowns.

So that is all the info I can come up with. I can resupply a log file if the one above is not good enough, or the save files, whatever.

For now I will just continue on with this savegame2 and report if and when it stops saving.

[AceofSpades]

MORE INFO= ok so I figured out how to solve the issue but not the cause or if it will happen again.

The save game that SHOWS in the menu system(load game screen) is the save game from the savegame folder but the save game it LOADS is the top file from the savegameBackup folder.

Which means that,
1) The game stops making backups once this bug occurs because my savegame3 had like 20 saves as I played for hours but the only thing saved and what is listed as the most current save in the back up folder is the "original". So it saves the game your working on in the normal way but it is not moving anything to backups.
2) This seems to coincide with the same timing as zipping those files up. Could this somehow break the save game backup feature from working? (note using 7zip and it creates a copy that it inserts into the zip file, the process used is: highlight all the files, right click choose 7zip/addtoo"currentfoldername".zip it creates copy of those files and creates a zipped file with those copies in it)
3) Erasing all files in the savegameBackup folder and emptying recycle bin allows the game to once again load the game that shows in the load game menu.


I would really appreciate some official or even semi official reply from a non-dev GIANTS web moderator.

[Falke51]

I may have registered similar issue. Once I wanted to load my saved game, the game did not loaded from last save, but from las backup save. My solution was to immediately end game without saving. I cleared all backups even for other saved games. And started the game again. In that moment my game loaded correctly last saved game. It has not even happened again... so far...

game on PC - Steam version

[Rahkiin]

If you have a zip file named savegameN.zip (where N is 1-20) then it will load the ZIP instead of from the folder. You said you have this zip file, so that might have been the issue.

We do not read from the backup folder, we only write new backups to them.

[AceofSpades]

If you have a zip file named savegameN.zip (where N is 1-20) then it will load the ZIP instead of from the folder. You said you have this zip file, so that might have been the issue.

We do not read from the backup folder, we only write new backups to them.

Maybe I explained it wrong, so just so we are for sure on the same page, the zip file was created inside the savegameN folder. It was then moved out of that folder one step to the PC/Document/MyGames/FarmingSimulator2019 folder which does have the save game folder as well.
So are you saying that in Documents/mygames/FarmingSimulator2019 folder if you have both a savegame1 folder with save files in it and ALSO a savegame1.zip it will load the .zip instead of the folder?
If that is exactly what you are saying and NOT a .zip INSIDE the savegame1 folder then I think this solves the mystery. Because I left those .zip copies both 1 and 3 infact in that folder as backups and I am pretty sure when I cleared out the savegameBackup folder I also decided to just remove those two .zip files as well. It would also explain why the test I did above did not reproduce the issue. I will do a quik test but if that is what your saying I am pretty sure that explains it.

I appreciate your reply. Thank you.

Edit - Just did a quik test and that is exactly what happened. Thanks for the response once again.

A quik question though..... even though it loads from the zip file it still actually saves to the savegame folder but it does not move copies to the backup folder. Is that supposed to work that way? The backups stop at the point in which you make the zip file.

[Rahkiin]

So are you saying that in Documents/mygames/FarmingSimulator2019 folder if you have both a savegame1 folder with save files in it and ALSO a savegame1.zip it will load the .zip instead of the folder?

Exactly.

I am not sure regarding the saving when using the .zip. I do know we can't write to zip files and it might be the case that creating backups does not work because it is a zip as well (can't easily copy over files from zip to new folder as we can with normal folders)