Closed PSA: Missing Character / Invalid Save File after patch?

If you're having trouble loading your save file or it seems a character went missing once you downloaded the 12/10/2013 patch, that's because the new build is different enough from the old data as to make your old character / save file incompatible.

This means you will need to restart from scratch.

Please note that due to the early stages of the game and it's constant patching, this will happen again.

If you do not wish to restart often, it is recommended you wait for a later Beta phase.

 

The amount of time I have done this...

DO NOT take part in this stage if:

- Bugs infuriate you

- You don’t like spoilers

- You can’t stand LOSING your save

- You want the full Starbound ‘experience’ the first time you play.

It clearly states that in the beta saves will be lost. This thread has been solved.

 

Just adding this for all of the people who read this to view.

http://playstarbound.com/how-the-beta-is-going-to-work/

 

Just wondering, would any of you guys be able to help me here?

http://community.playstarbound.com/index.php?threads/starbound-is-unplayable.45569/

 

Not happy with the save files no longer being usable. The devs could be nice enough to work around this. We did support the game by pre-ordering it. Great game but not going to continue playing it while it is in beta. Contacting Steam for a refund. Not supporting a game that devs can work with the prior saves on. Wasted time I won't get back . Any other Steam user that feels this way, contact support and ask for a refund since it falls under "pre-ordered" to get a refund.

 

And I thoght wtf!!! ^^ Damn now i dont know if i should start again or not^^

PS: I really can understand the anger among other pkayers towards the devs, good thing i played only for 2 hours. its shitty not to know when or / and if there is going to be another reset sometime... :_(

 

Wasted time you won't get back? That's all any game you play is.

 

Have you ever made a game? do you know how much effort it takes to make saves compatible with eachother? ESPECIALLY in a large randomly generated world?

It's early beta, VERY EARLY BETA so they havn't even coded that in yet. It will come, but it's not something you can snap your fingers to do.

Feel free to feel like the awesome experience you had is gone. but you still played the game and were entertained for those hours.

It's not like your save file would have been useful for anything after you were done anyways. Are you going to sell your devil may cry 100% saves on e-bay? perhaps your minecraft saves might go for some money?

/done
*goes to calm down*

 

Enter asshole...

You sure seem to need some special help. Everyone knows that making a game is no walk in a park, no one states otherwise. That doesn't change the fact, that people who pay, will also demand, and to demand is their right, so butt off, and go drink some urbal tea, as it's clear you need it.
I'm fully aware of the consequences of incompatible save files, but still in same position I would have the many players on my mind, and at least would provide means to convert save files to a compatible form. If that's too much, then maybe at least some clear form of warning. I never saw any indication that there is a risk of loosing save files. It should be visible, so that no one would overlook it. You know why? Because this simple act would divide the "angry mob" count at least by half.

Yeah, and i would like to continue, not start over. So your argument is invalid.

Good software engineer always should have backwards compatibility in mind. Otherwise his product lacks the quality. In this case that flaw put a little hole in otherwise great product. That my friend is an undeniable business mistake.

With this approach most people can say the same thing about their education. Does that make it right?

For once people understand the simple thing, that customer relations are. Feedback, no matter positive/negative is always crucial. Stop arguing and just state your issues.

 

a flaw in an unfinished product, still in super early testing?

some rag tag indie devs doing their best to bring people an experience not the best software engineers?

goodness me, this is some seriously important news!

they pretty clearly stated they havn't put in compatibility between saves yet, and that would come as they go, and be pretty much fully implemented for phase 2 of testing.

http://playstarbound.com/how-the-beta-is-going-to-work/

that's what this is btw. acess to the beta, for testing.
this isn't a finished product, we are doing their beta testing.

the fact this is beta is SUPER visible. in that it's a steam early access game. which if you read their FAQ, encourages you to read all things the devs have put out ABOUT the beta, to find out what kind of situation the game is in, before buying.

I only tend to be an asshole when people complain about, and expect things that are already explained by the developers themselves.

especially when they come in there acting tremendously self entitled, like they deserve everything in the world, and the devs better give it to them, else they are bad people.

 

Of course, but that is only ok in case of free open beta.
A product is a product when it's sold, so no excuses there.
Also I wouldn't mind this if it was stated anywhere where i could see it, without searching for it.
NOT DIFFICULT, so worth doing. That's my opinion. Besides, I'm mostly criticising your outburst, because it's a bit out of line.
People pay, not to be shouted on, by any fanboy. The developers on the other hand have their image at stake from the moment of anouncing the product, to the very end results, and they should be always aware of that.

Good prduct quality is always rewarding itself. You don't have to be a genius to do such simple things. Besides, they've done perfect job in every difficult area, so I along side supporting their upcoming efforts will also try to provide a sincere feedback, and that's what my posts are about.

 

You did not buy the beta itself, you preordered the game, and the beta was a bonus on top of that.

 

I'm sorry, I know i'm a bit out of line, I just get really frustrated and upset.
Especially when people buy an early access game expecting a fully functioning finished product, which absolutely isn't what early access is, as steam has said again and again.
there is a large "EARLY ACCESS" banner that people don't seem to listen to.
I'm not a fanboy, I just really hate when people don't understand what systems are for, then instead of reading about them to find out, they try and use them, and complain when the very things that are normal for that system happen.

Early access is there to match smaller companies with beta testers who are willing to put up with it to help the game. It's a sort of pre-order mechanic, and not actually a full finished product yet.
You are paying for the finished product, for access to optional testing now.

Smaller devs especially find this useful, because it comes with an updating system that's really quite good, so they don't need to make one themselves. which is the main reason they put it on steam early access. so their resources can go towards finishing the game.

 

Backwards compatibility is a scourge on the earth. Yes, it's necessary to a point, but past a point, it just slows progress to glacial speeds. It was clearly stated that we'd lose our saves at some point, am I disappointed anyway? Yes, I am, despite my best efforts, I got attached to my character and its inventory. Do you hear me bitching and moaning about it? No. I am going to stop playing for a big, maybe until stage 2 of the beta, but I'm not angry at anybody but myself, because that's the only person who can be blamed.

Quit being such a baby, Steam refunds are a pain in the ass to get, don't waste your time on a great game like this that you'll end up buying again later. You should have read the FAQ.

 

You're not out of line, he is. You're entirely right.

 

I was a bit out of line, my tone was frustrated, and can be seen as a bit insulting.
I'm not nearly as calm as i should be.

 

I read the first few posts and then skipped the rest to reply.

What bothers me is whiners. Whining about getting to play awesome games before they are "released," and then griping about problems with said "pre-release" game while the Devs scramble and sleep less and less to give these whiners what they want. This game is not finished. Quit acting like it is, and just because you paid for it, doesn't mean you are entitled to any special treatment that some other company may offer. Grow up, and enjoy what you have, quit asking for more.

Also, look at it this way. Your pre-wipe characters get a TASTE of what will be there in the future. More comes with each new patch and you will have more of a reason to re-explore and grab all those resources. Gives you a reason to go get them, and now we have a reason to go below the surface. This is going to be a repeatable bonus for us, and now you have some extra experience in knowing where to look, and what to do/not do when exploring.

TL;DR - Quit yer QQ'in

 

That's your opinion.
I agree with most of the things said above, up to a point.
I don't say that they are unfair towards us or anything.
I'm just pointing out, that if a customer, which we are, if we paid (doesn't matter if it was called a preorder), has always the right to state his concerns.
That is what the beta part stands for. We test, then we form our evaluations, then we send the feedback.
It's perfectly understandable that some of us are not happy with the save incompatibility.

Besides, thinking in categories "quit bithing because I ain't" is seriously immature. At least stating that you are unsatissfied with the save compatibility tells the developer, that maybe it's something that should now get more attention.
It's their choice, but now at least they know what we think, and what is more or less a priority to us.

So where exactly was I out of line? (Besides the asshole part, I apologize)

BTW:
To draw the issue a bit more clearly imagine this:
My friend hears from me: "Hey, there is this great game, you must see it!",
then buys the game, starts playing, gets emerged, and the next day loses all of his progress.
Bound to happen - his reaction: "Oh, so it's like that... Ok, I think I will pass on playing for some time".

My take on this - cool I recommended a friend something, that he is unsattissfied with, so will I recommend it to anyone else?

That is the whole point in my opinion. The product is the image of the company. The customer won't care if it's Beta, or if the developer is independent or affiliated. The customer only cares if his money was well spent.

 

I understand and respect your opinion.
It's just a little frustrating, because they are working on save compatibility, and will continuously until it's in a good place.
It's just not the forefront at the moment, because they would rather push out fixes for people's performance issues and crashes, as well as more features.
because as soon as they get most of the features in the game in some form, the sooner they can completely finish save compatibility.

They really clearly stated that's where the game would be at until stage 2, when most the features are implemented in some form, and save compatibility is pretty much entirely finished.
http://playstarbound.com/how-the-beta-is-going-to-work/

A lot of us have expressed that we wish Tiy would put this link on the steam page to keep people from getting confused, but that still isn't much of an excuse not to do your research on an early beta game before you buy it.

It's not like they are ignoring it, and are unaware people don't like losing characters. It's just this is how this stage of beta HAS to be in order to get the game into a better state for a while.

while you have been pretty even headed, and some other people have when we explain to them.
a lot of people come in here completely irate, and insulting everybody. It's really hard not to let that get under your skin when dealing with hundreds of these people in day complaining about the same thing.

additionally, I'm sorry if my tone came off insulting or harsh. I got pretty irritated, and a bit fed up with this constant stream of people.

 

I agree, so let's keep supporting, and avoid pointless arguments. A response "they're doing their best" is the best way to deal with this issue IMO.