Backing Up Projects.

[MobileSuitSonic]

Today, I had to do a system recovery out of the blue and lost all the data on my project (at a fairly early part in development, thankfully).

Is there a way to save projects in the event something like this happens so you don't lose your progress?

 

[Guiguimu]

Well, with a pen. From time to time I save everything in a pen, so I don't lose much if something happens. And then, there is Steam Cloud but I don't know if you own rpg maker through Steam... Pen is a good way to go.

 

[Trihan]

Save a copy of your game on every PC you have legal access to and a few that you don't.

 

[bgillisp]

Yep, it's called making a backup yourself. What I do is I zip up the project directory into a .zip file, then upload it onto mediafire. That way I have one backup on my computer, and one digital.

 

[Lantiz]

I've put my project into a dropbox folder which is the one I work on, and a copy at OneDrive whenever I make a significative change.
Also I have an external copy aswell.

 

[Lihinel]

Zip it and copy it to a USB stick every day as well as upload it to Dropbox once every 1-2 weeks.
You could even use multiple USB Sticks, the 8 or16 GB ones are pretty cheap by now.

 

[Andar]

@Lantiz working directly on a cloud folder increases the risk of the project getting damaged.
That is because the RPG-Makers keep the files open while working on them, and if a cloud syncronisation happens at the same time a file is open and accessed by the editor, you can say goodbye to that file.

Work on your project locally and only move it to a cloud folder as a backup procedure

 

[Zeriab]

Backup is important
Backing up your game is a way of mitigating and managing the risk and impact of losing data. I recommend taking both what I call active and passive backup. Active backups is in my eyes any backups that a virus make reach from your computer. Making copies of the game on your hard drive is an example. By passive backups, I mean such as burning down your game on a hard drive, or having say 5 USB sticks that you keep using in a round-robin fashion. Should you be unlucky and get a virus or ransomware it is extremely unlikely that more than one USB drive will be affected. Ransomware is basically the same as a disc-wiping virus with the addition that it tries to make you throw away money as well. (Never pay, you cannot trust that they will actually hand your stuff back, nor that it will as it was before)

Uploading to Dropbox or similar services, I would call a form of active backup, though should they have versioning that is another layer significantly reducing the likelihood of actually being reachable. Bonus here is that the data will be unaffected by your house burning down. Using multiple services perhaps some more frequently than others can also decrease the likelihood of losing too much of your work. A downside by using multiple internet backup services is one of theft. Basically you will have a greater risk of leaks.

Taking backup takes time, particular the passive variants. Try to find the right balance for you. I may for example only take a passive backup once per week while I make active backups up to several times per hour.

 

[Lantiz]

@Lantiz working directly on a cloud folder increases the risk of the project getting damaged.
That is because the RPG-Makers keep the files open while working on them, and if a cloud syncronisation happens at the same time a file is open and accessed by the editor, you can say goodbye to that file.

Work on your project locally and only move it to a cloud folder as a backup procedure

Actually that never happened, the sync only happens when I save the project and never had a problem with the project open.
And I even use plugin and core files open on a text editor while working.

Ofcourse, follow what Andar say, If you do as I do, you'll be taking the risk.

EDIT: Just to say that I understand and I'm taking the risk on my own. Also I still have another copy at OneDrive and at an external drive.

 

[Andar]

It depends on how the cloudsyncprogram works, if it detects that a file is open and abandons syncro at that moment, nothing will happen.
However, we had half a dozen user already reporting damaged projects due to cloud syncing in the wrong moment.

Just check all the topics "my project fails to load file XY" - about half of them admit that they used a cloud folder (the other half are either windows crashes or similiar happenings)

 

[Lantiz]

Yeah I'm aware.
That's the reason of my edit on the last post, I know it's not 100% safe it's just how I do.

 

[Fernyfer775]

I throw mine into a zipped file and throw it onto my google drive at least once a week, or when I make significant changes. When my last PC crashed and I had lost over a month worth of progress, it was a painful wake up call for me.

 

[Dust]

Use Dropbox/OneDrive/GoogleDrive or a full-fledged versioning system with hosting like git: https://github.com/

You get a lot more control over changes than with Dropbox & Co. but there's a bit of a learning curve, so it really depends on your personal requirements.

 

[PlayBoyMan]

I have my projects on Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive and MEGA. For MEGA I have the desktop client, which updates every time there is a change in any file. Let the worst happen, I'm ready.

MEGA also has a lot of file storage than the others, and you have encryption as well for security, which I think is a plus.

Edit: one last thing, no matter what project you are working on, it is always important to have a backup of your critical files. Documents, pictures - if it is something you can't work without, back it up.