How saves work in RPGM games?

[redmedved2]

The usual files in the "save" folder should look something like this:

And I just wanted to know what each of these files represent.

- Why there are 6-15 save files when I only have 1 and 2 occupied save slots in the game.(that's just my case)
- What "config", "global", "locale" files are for.
- Is it okay to fully delete all the files in the save folder when exporting the game in order to create a clean version of it? Or are there any files that need to be kept?
- Would clearing all the files in a folder cause problems such as save incompatibility between game versions?

Thank you in advance.

 

[AnneLaurant]

Answering these according to my limited 1-year experience of using MV.

- Why there are 6-15 save files when I only have 1 and 2 occupied save slots in [my] game.
The .bak files are backups; no need to worry about them. You can freely delete the .bak files. .rpgsave files are the main save files. As for the others, see below.

- What "config", "global", "locale" files are for.
To my experience, those files pretty much relate the different kinds of save-related information from .rpgsave to the game data; example: where a player character was last standing in a map.

- Is it okay to fully delete all the files in the save folder when exporting the game in order to create a clean version of it? Or are there any files that need to be kept?
No, it's fine to full delete all of them before export/deployment.

- Would clearing all the files in a folder cause problems such as save incompatibility between game versions?
No, but when you import files from a previous version of the game, save incompatibility is highly possible.

 

[Nolonar]

- Why there are 6-15 save files when I only have 1 and 2 occupied save slots in the game.(that's just my case)

Those are backups of saves. Notice how they end in .bak
Save backups are only relevant during the saving process. The game renames the existing save file to add .bak to the name, tries to create a new save file, and if that fails, the game will try to delete the new save file and rename the backup to remove the .bak from its name.

This means that you can safely delete any .bak (as long as the game isn't still saving) and it won't affect your game in any way.

- What "config", "global", "locale" files are for.

"Config" is where you store the values you set when you use the "Options" menu. This includes stuff such as BGM volume, Always Dash, etc.

"Global" keeps track of all the save slots. If you create a new save, global will receive an entry for that new save, so the game knows that the save exists.

"Locale" does not exist in RPG Maker MV. It was probably created by some plugin. You'll have to ask the plugin developer what the locale save does. My guess, based on the file's name, is that this has something to do with some localization plugin (a plugin to support multiple languages).

- Is it okay to fully delete all the files in the save folder when exporting the game in order to create a clean version of it? Or are there any files that need to be kept?

You don't need any of the save files when deploying the game. The game will create all save files as needed.

In fact, it's best to NOT include any save files. If you publish your game on platforms like Steam, then every time the player chooses to "Verify File Integrity", the platform will overwrite their saves with whatever saves you deployed the game with. You DO NOT want that.

- Would clearing all the files in a folder cause problems such as save incompatibility between game versions?

It doesn't matter. The save is either compatible to your current game version, or it is not. Keeping or deleting the saves you already have won't change anything.

 

[redmedved2]

Answering these according to my limited 1-year experience of using MV.

- Why there are 6-15 save files when I only have 1 and 2 occupied save slots in [my] game.
The .bak files are backups; no need to worry about them. You can freely delete the .bak files. .rpgsave files are the main save files. As for the others, see below.

- What "config", "global", "locale" files are for.
To my experience, those files pretty much relate the different kinds of save-related information from .rpgsave to the game data; example: where a player character was last standing in a map.

- Is it okay to fully delete all the files in the save folder when exporting the game in order to create a clean version of it? Or are there any files that need to be kept?
No, it's fine to full delete all of them before export/deployment.

- Would clearing all the files in a folder cause problems such as save incompatibility between game versions?
No, but when you import files from a previous version of the game, save incompatibility is highly possible.

Those are backups of saves. Notice how they end in .bak
Save backups are only relevant during the saving process. The game renames the existing save file to add .bak to the name, tries to create a new save file, and if that fails, the game will try to delete the new save file and rename the backup to remove the .bak from its name.

This means that you can safely delete any .bak (as long as the game isn't still saving) and it won't affect your game in any way.



"Config" is where you store the values you set when you use the "Options" menu. This includes stuff such as BGM volume, Always Dash, etc.

"Global" keeps track of all the save slots. If you create a new save, global will receive an entry for that new save, so the game knows that the save exists.

"Locale" does not exist in RPG Maker MV. It was probably created by some plugin. You'll have to ask the plugin developer what the locale save does. My guess, based on the file's name, is that this has something to do with some localization plugin (a plugin to support multiple languages).



You don't need any of the save files when deploying the game. The game will create all save files as needed.

In fact, it's best to NOT include any save files. If you publish your game on platforms like Steam, then every time the player chooses to "Verify File Integrity", the platform will overwrite their saves with whatever saves you deployed the game with. You DO NOT want that.



It doesn't matter. The save is either compatible to your current game version, or it is not. Keeping or deleting the saves you already have won't change anything.

Thank you very much!