They are gigantic without compression.
#Please compress the save files.
hallow pivot
somber tulip
I think they need much more work than compression. The game is probably keeping track of every action and interaction possibly within a period longer than any game usually runs for. I can't say for sure. But the save files easily balloon to a size larger than the bug reporter will let you submit after just a day or two in-game
hallow pivot
Now THAT is a great compression ratio. 2%
somber tulip
I stand completely corrected. That's insane
This is also super super important to do ASAP, as many save files become too big to send in the bug reports very quickly
tame gorge
there is probably some work that can be done to reduce the game's save file size before compression as well, though some of it might reduce the 'ratio' of compressibility such as removing redundancies, though over all there would be an improvement in file size
somber tulip
I was able to submit a feedback and bug report at the start of a fresh game, so I'm taking that as a sign that the larger save files are hobbling the ability to send in bug reports
tame gorge
city sizes probably aren't helping too much for them either
hollow cedar
the way the saves are handled in general could a lot of improvement. it takes 5+ seconds to quicksave, sometimes 10
grizzled venture
there is probably some work that can be done to reduce the game's save file size...
this plus compression will help a lot
I already have like 5gb of save files I can't imagine the bug report server lol
hasty galleon
Here's a workaround method for save compression, until the issue is fixed.
You can create a batch script, all it does is starts a console command with set parameters in a current location the batch file is in, when you execute it.
@echo off
cmd /c "compact /c /a /i /f /exe:lzx"
pause
It uses compact console command, lzx compression algorithm is an improved deflate, which is used in zip, at least that's what wikipedia says.
The cool part is that windows uncompresses files automatically, when they're in use.
You can read up on it here
https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows-server/administration/windows-commands/compact
119mb got compressed to 7.55mb
granite widget
Apologies for slightly off topic, but where is the save folder? Deleting files in-game one by one takes a million years.
candid gorge
C:\Users#your username#\AppData\LocalLow\ColePowered Games\Shadows of Doubt\Save
hardy trail
😮
grizzled valve
I think it would be better to have one Savefile for the generated map and one for the actual progress since the town layout and so on does not change as far as I know. But like keep static stuff in one file and have the rest be incremental new files associated with it
warm shadow
they already are
grizzled valve
they already are
Oof
ebon dock
Adding my signature here, my save files are over 150 meg EACH, it takes 10-20 seconds to save the game, and I've only done 4 cases so far. At some point I suspect the game will just stop working if I keep playing for too long, not to mention that my hard drive doesn't have oodles of space for these big files >_<
I'm sure there's a bunch of clever ways to rework the game to solve the issue, but in the mean time, adding some compression, while it would make the save longer, would at least make my hard drive happier 🙂
hasty galleon
Adding my signature here, my save files are over 150 meg EACH, it takes 10-20 se...
You can use the method I described higher for now
fathom grove
Holy god I need to stop making new save files
grizzled valve
You can use the method I described higher for now
That's a Windows only "solution"
hasty galleon
It is Windows only, but it's not a solution, it's a workaround
waxen pier
Here's a workaround method for save compression, until the issue is fixed.
You c...
does this automatically compress files when you save or do you have to run the file each time
and you said it automatically uncompresses?
hasty galleon
By automatically uncompresses, I meant that the compressed files are used by the OS like regular files, unlike compressed archive for example, you'd need to uncompress it first to use it
I think it flags the folder for compression, which compresses new files, but not with lzx algorithm, so you need to recompress saves from time to time manually
waxen pier
I see
And just to double confirm, when you mean compressed files are used by windows like normal files, does that include SoD, as in you can load a compressed save, no questions asked?
hasty galleon
Yes, I'm using it, in fact I compressed my whole steam folder
And every game works as usual
hasty galleon
Well, it took quite a while, and it was on nvme ssd, it was a while ago don't remember specific amount of time and size
Let's say ~ 250gb maybe took about 3 hours
tame gorge
would also mention that using anything on the drive after you have the whole thing compressed like that adds overhead via decompression
(ie, the time it takes to access it could increase, probably not noticeably for you), as well as additional load on your cpu
convenient for when you have a drive that's full of things that aren't dissimilar, but a game drive won't benefit very much,
as games do tend to be a little more complex then a save file.
I'd recommend just having SoD's save location marked as compressed.
sudden galleon
That's a Windows only "solution"
your filesystem doesnt support transparent compression? coal
tame gorge
not every OS is going to be user friendly enough to have an archaic setting, tucked behind two different options windows, that haven't been touched by a dev in over 3 OS generations.
sudden galleon
huh ext4 doesnt support it
sudden galleon
not every OS is going to be user friendly enough to have an archaic setting, tuc...
not archaic, its touted as one of the better features of btrfs
it can be used to overcome the limits of spinning rust by compressing and decompressing data transferred over SATA for files that compress well, while excluding files that dont compress well like images and videos
tame gorge
not archaic, its touted as one of the better features of btrfs
I'm saying this happens to be one of the very few niche use cases of a feature most modern windows users would never know about, and much less of would even use.
sudden galleon
well the topic is non-Windows
tame gorge
kinda, more an encompassing of a feature not directly tied to any one OS, but started, and has mostly continued on as a conversation about windows
sudden galleon
the claim was that its a windows-specific solution, when many other filesystems used by other systems support transparent compression
tame gorge
fair enough
sudden galleon
ext4 though doesnt seem to, which is the most popular Linux fs