[Guide] Back up and Sync GD

Today your game files are saved by default on your local computer. Crate may at some time down the road have a server method for game saves. Until that time, if you are interested in doing something now, there are some options.

Game saves are located by default in …\Documents\My Games\Grim Dawn; at least in Windows 7 and 10. It may be different on your computer.
Example C:\Users\your_user_name\Documents\My Games\Grim Dawn.

The simplest thing to do is manually copy the Grim Dawn folder to…somewhere. If it’s on the same hard drive, you run the risk of losing the save if the drive fails. If you copy it to a different hard drive at least it’s now in two places, but still a risk if one or both drives fail. If you copy it to a USB drive that’s better, but just do it periodically and don’t forget which USB drive or misplace the USB Drive. Finally, add this folder to the Windows Backup.

Options

Manual USB (or other drive/device)
Copy the Grim Dawn folder or zip it up and put it on a USB drive.
Pro: this is decent off-system redundancy, portable, and simple
Con: this is manual, so don’t forget to do it periodically, backup is only as good as the last time you copied it, don’t lose the USB drive, the drive could fail

Automated Windows Backup
Add the Grim Dawn folder to your regularly scheduled Windows Backup (Control Panel\System and Security\Backup and Restore). Don’t have a system backup setup yet? Get on that!
Pro: automated, included with your other backup data
Con: backups can be stale depending on the frequency, the drive(s) could fail, no system external backup, ensure the backups run on schedule without interruption

Automated Software Utilities
There are probably many options one could use. These are a couple recommendations by members.

GameSaveManager – Recommended by FOE. I haven’t used it myself, but it looks viable and provides a GUI method of accomplishing what I describe below. Automated backup and cloud storage using Symbolic Links and Dropbox, Google Drive, etc. Free (optional donation). Tutorial instructions look very good.

Link Shell Extension – Recommended by fearsyth. Similar to the method I’ll describe using NTFS junctions with Symbolic Links and DeLorean Copy for backup. There are some instructions provided on the site. Looks free, but requires more manual setup than GameSave Manager.

Winbolic and Dropbox(Google Drive, Box, etc) – Recommended by corwiniii. More manual method of what GameSave Manager accomplishes with their GUI. I think less manual than the Link Shell Extension method, but I haven’t tried either. I’ll describe it below in my own instructions. Free, automated backup with cloud storage and sync.

  1. Automatically back-up and VERSION your save data
    and/or
  2. Sync your save data between multiple computers

Warning, this takes ACTUAL effort. So it is not a turn-key solution. But, it shouldn’t take more than 5-10 minutes to get working initially for this game and then minutes thereafter for other games. It’s also very useful for other purposes outside of game save files.

I pulled this idea from a Steam forum a while ago. I’ll try to make it specific for Grim Dawn. If you are risk averse or completely technically inept, you may want to stop here. However, it’s not hard and I encourage you to try.

You need:

  1. Dropbox (Box, Google Drive, etc will work too) - An online service that allows you to move files to and from it. They are all free. I happen to have a referer URL for Dropbox if anyone would like to help me and you out with extra free storage - PM me. Otherwise, sign up for an account and install the software on your computer.

Once you get a dropbox account and installed on your computer, create a Game Saves directory and a sub directory Grim Dawn (ex. \Dropbox\Game Saves\Grim Dawn). You do this on your computer in your Dropbox folder, but again this syncs to your Dropbox.com account.

Now find your Grim Dawn save folder (Save) on your computer (ex. C:\Users\your_name\Documents\My Games\Grim Dawn\Save) and MOVE the Save folder to the Dropbox directory you just created (ex D:\Dropbox\Game Saves\Grim Dawn\Save). You might want to back this up first JUST IN CASE. But by moving them you are essentially doing that anyway.

  1. Winbolic link - This allows you to make a “link” FROM the original Grim Dawn save folder on your computer TO the Dropbox folder on your computer. It essentially tricks Windows and the game into thinking the NEW save folder location is really the OLD save folder location. Since Dropbox will sync and version anything in the Dropbox folder to your dropbox account online, you can access this from anywhere - the web or other computers with Dropbox installed and similarly setup.

So, open WinbolicLink. On the Left side pane (Create the link in folder), find the original Grim Dawn save folder directory (C:\Users\your_name\Documents\My Games\Grim Dawn). On the Right side pane (The link points to), find the new Dropbox save folder (D:\Dropbox\Game Saves\Grim Dawn). Now, in the Name of link box type Save. Then hit Create NTFS Junction button. This creates a Windows symbolic link for Save from the original Grim Dawn save folder pointing to the Dropbox folder.

Note: Image shows SaveData folder, which has been changed to just Save now

Now, start the game. Ideally if everything worked correctly, your characters, stash, etc. show up. If you have a second computer with the game, install Dropbox on it, let it sync the Dropbox data to your second computer, and then use Winbolic link again on the second computer. Now both computers are pointing to the same game save files synched with Dropbox. If the game crashes and you lose your save files, you can grab them either from the second computer or from your Dropbox account online. Since it versions everything, you can actually go back in time to older versions too.

I’ve done this with many games, and use Dropbox extensively at work and home among many computers. It’s freaking awesome. So, I would recommend Dropbox anyway as a useful service even if you never do any of this.

This is some useful info, i am in the habit of backing up my file manually but this does it automatically and “offsite” so even if your storage fails you still retain your saves. Good post. :slight_smile:

Symbolic links are handy. I used them in the past to load gigs of game data files into RAM. Makes data access blazingly fast!

A good idea, but remember that GD continuously updates the save files while playing and Dropbox continuously synchronizes changed files. You’ll be constantly uploading data while playing. On my laptop all that activity causes some stuttering ingame, and it ruins your ping for online multiplayer.

As a compromise you can pause Dropbox while playing, and only sync after a gaming session.

Or you can use GameSave Manager!

It also support Grim Dawn and can use Dropbox etc.!

True. I got 99 problems, but a ping ain’t one. Performance will be system dependent. But by pausing the sync you remove one valuable feature, which is saving the game in the event of a system crash which deletes all your game files, though you will have the last sync worth at least, hence the compromise. Reading reports of this in other threads is what prompted me to make the guide.

Interesting, seems like a packaged GUI to do a lot of what I just wrote out. I’ll give this a try.

I’m not usually of a mind to necro old threads, especially bumping my own…

However, I’ve seen a few recent threads about losing save data, for whatever reason.

So, I’m bumping this on the off-chance it might help someone else or start the/a new discussion on the options available.

moved and stuck. so feel free to develop the first post into a nice guide with as many options as possible.

thanks

The mklink command allows you to create symbolic and hard links. It is available starting with windows vista. Unless you change security settings, an elevated administrator process/command prompt is required.

XP had junctions. The Microsoft system internals tool, Junction http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/sysinternals/bb896768 is available.

Microsoft Windows uses links but they have never advertised the functionality much. I never knew if this was because they thought it would confuse users (follow vs not follow links) or if there were technical reasons to minimize their use.

If you use erase on a directory symbolic link, it erases the entire target directory?
Use rmdir to remove the link.

Just to give another option, I use Link Shell Extension:
http://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html

First I junction all save folders to one folder. So I end up with a “My Games” folder containing folder junctions for every game’s save folder. Using the DeLorean Copy function on the “My Games folder”, I copy to an external drive.

The way it works is, it will only copy changed files, and hard link unchanged ones. So, only the changed files take up space.

Sure it is a bit more advanced, and takes a bit to set up. End the end though, I simply have a shortcut named “Backup Games”, that when I click it, it does all the work.

Updated first post with options-driven information from others in this thread. I need to figure out how to anchor to posts in the thread to jump to, rather than have them as URL links which open in a new tab/browser…

Let me know if you find mistakes or have other backup utilities you recommend.

This is an important concern.

Also note that your firewall, anti malware, anti-phish software might be checking up on what is happening.

File under: what you get is what it is.

I actually got game save manager for all my games that are not on steam or another service with cloud saves or that are to old and came before the cloud age. I use it to sync to google drive since I already had it but it supports microsoft skydrive, dropbox, box.net and private ftp. Works pretty good and has an officially supported database of games it can auto-detect.

Oh also I should mention that since I use google drive I can click the tray icon and pause the sync or limit bandwidth to an amount so low it can’t interfere.

Does this backup/restore still work? Is it likely that Crate will change how/where the game stores your data or is the general opinion that it will likely stay in the same place (If I’m not mistaken, I think TQ kept everything in one location)?

I’ve been backing up my save data just in case of HDD failure or file corruption. Don’t want to loose my 400+ hours of play time to hardware or software failure.

Thanks,

  • VR

useful…good idea…

I’m relatively new to the game and stumbled across the issue of wanting to continue where I left off on a different machine. Replacing teh save folder doesnt seem to do the trick: it copies keybindings and settings, but no character data. Is there any updated info about this issue? Like if Steam cloud is improved over the years? Or where can I find the character data which needs to be copied?

Thanks for anyone’s reply :wink:

Are you sure cloud saving is turned off in both Steam and in the ingame options menu?

If so then copying the Save folder and replacing it in the other machine should work.