Unexpected file format

[bleeper]

My pc crashed when I was making my game, as soon as I got it back I tried to open it to continue.
However I can not open it and it says "Unexpected file format"
My data is still there but I can't edit it what can I do to get my game back?

 

[bgillisp]

Load a backup. That's how you get the game back.

 

[bleeper]

Thank you for replying
what do you mean by backup

 

[bgillisp]

If you don't know what I mean by backup, then that means you will probably need to start your game over. You should ALWAYS backup your work, as unexpected crashes can corrupt your files.

You might have some luck starting a new project then copying the files from the old over one by one until you see which one generates the error message. The one that generates the error message is lost for good though I'm afraid.

 

[bleeper]

well that sucks
thank you for your help

 

[Andar]

what do you mean by backup

Backup means a copy of your work in a different place, so you can go "back" to it when something happens with your current work.
For VX Ace there are scripts that automatically create backups on playtest.

If you have no backup, then you just learned one of the most important lessons for anyone working on computers - allways backup your work.
You are not the only person who lost work because they didn't make backups - that even happens to professionals (I personally know of an architect's bureau that lost all work on a 80k$ task one day before it was due because they didn't make backups).

Sometimes you can repair part of the project by copying files from an empty project - you need to make a new project, and then copy every file listed as missing from the new project to the damaged one. However this usually only rescues the maps, with the database most likely completely lost. If you want to try that, ask for help for it here in the forum.

 

[bleeper]

How can I copy my maps into new works?
Thank you

 

[Andar]

1) check the existing project on how many map files it has (they are numbered, just look for the highest number
2) make a new project with that number of new maps (you need to create the same numbered files in that new project)
3) copy all the map files over the ones in the new project, overwriting them (the editor must not be running while you do this)
4) start the editor, load the new project - all the undamaged mapfiles should now work.

most likely there will be one map that doesn't work, a mapfile that was destroyed - delete that map from the new project as well. But the rest should be repairable (the events sometimes access the database, those events will also need to be re-done with a new database)

 

[bleeper]

Thank you so much my game is now back.