[OBSOLETE] Cloud Saving for KSP

Since KSP does not currently provide Cloud Saving, I decided to make a guide on how to quickly set up your own Cloud for KSP. For this you'll simply need Dropbox (or any equivalent program) and your computer's Command Prompt/Terminal. This guide works for all platforms KSP is playable on.

Version française ici - French version here

Similar guide for Rogue Legacy
Similar guide for Subnautica

UPDATE : THIS GUIDE IS NO LONGER RELEVANT

KSP now (finally!) features cloud saves, so this guide is now obsolete. I will leave it as an archive, but that is pretty much it.

Introduction

Kerbal Space Program has been released after 4 years of intense development, and the developers have said that they want to minimize the use of Steam features, thus it is almost certain that they will never implement any Cloud system for the game, which is sad. A few people have found ways to make a home-made Cloud for KSP, but none of them have made a Steam Guide for it, so I decided to do it myself.

This tutorial is quite short and very simple ; it only requires you to have Dropbox (or any similar program) and to enter a command in your computer's Command Prompt/Terminal. I prefer Dropbox since it works on all platforms and is free. These steps will have to be repeated on each computer on which you play your KSP saved games. Also, the Cloud can be used between different platforms since the save files are treated the same way regardless of what OS you are using.

NOTE : This does not work on Windows XP since the "mklink" command we will use does not natively exist on this OS. However, tools like Junction[technet.microsoft.com] can be used to reproduce the desired effect.

Many thanks to the creator of this guide[windows7themes.net] ; his tutorial helped me a lot. Also thanks to OdatNurd for his help on the OS X and Linux parts, and to Big Al for some tips about Microsoft OneDrive.

Step 1 : Installing Dropbox

This trick surely works with other similar programs, but here we will do it with Dropbox. Register on the Dropbox website[www.dropbox.com], download the program, and install it.

NOTE : When installing the program, make sure you install it on the same drive your KSP game folder is located in. Otherwise you might not be able to link the two afterwards.

You should now have a Dropbox folder in your computer.

Step 2 : Moving the save files

Now that Dropbox is set up on your computer, we need to move your save folder to the shared space and make it so KSP still finds it. But first, we are going to write down its location, which should normally be something like this :

• Windows 32-bits :

  C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\saves
  

• Windows 64-bits :

  C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\saves
  

• OS X :

  ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/saves
  

• Linux :

  ~/.steam/steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/saves

NOTE : Before you do the next part, I strongly recommend that you to make a security backup of the save folder ; you never know what might go wrong....

Next thing is to create a new folder in your Dropbox folder called something noticeable like "KSP SAVES", because you won't want anyone to touch your save files once your Cloud is set up. Then move the "saves" folder in that new folder you just created, so that the "saves" folder isn't in your KSP folder anymore.

Your "saves" folder should now be located here :

• Windows :

  C:\Users\your username\Dropbox\KSP SAVES\saves
  

• OS X & Linux :

  ~/Dropbox/KSP\ SAVES/saves

Step 3 : Linking the KSP folder to Dropbox

Windows

Next, you will need to open the command prompt. To do this, just hit Windows Key + R, type "cmd.exe" (no quotes) in the window that appears and click OK.

NOTE : You must be running cmd.exe as an administrator, or else you won't be able to make the correct changes. If Windows asks you if you want to allow this program to make changes to your computer, don't click "Yes". Instead, hit Ctrl + Shift + Enter. This will open the program in admin mode.

A black window (the command prompt) should now appear. You should read a bunch of text followed by a line saying "C:\Users\your username". Now, enter "cd\" (again, no quotes) and hit enter.

Now enter the following command (quotes must be typed this time) and press Enter (of course, if your file locations differ from the ones I wrote here, you'll have to modify them in the command accordingly) :

• Windows 32-bits :

  mklink /J "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\saves" "C:\Users\your username\Dropbox\KSP SAVES\saves"
  

• Windows 64-bits :

  mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\saves" "C:\Users\your username\Dropbox\KSP SAVES\saves"

OS X

Next, you will need to open the terminal. To do this, go to Launchpad -> Other -> Terminal. A black window (the terminal) should now appear.

Now enter the following command and press Enter (of course, if your file locations differ from the ones I wrote here, you'll have to modify them in the command accordingly ; also note that spaces in file names are written "\ " in terminal commands) :

• ln -s ~/Dropbox/KSP\ SAVES/saves ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/saves

Linux

Next, you will need to open the terminal. To do this, just hit Ctrl + Alt + T (if you are running the Gnome desktop environment, you will find the terminal under "Accessories" in the "Applications" menu instead). A black window (the terminal) should now appear.

Now enter the following command and press Enter (of course, if your file locations differ from the ones I wrote here, you'll have to modify them in the command accordingly ; also note that spaces in file names are written "\ " in terminal commands) :

• ln -s ~/Dropbox/KSP\ SAVES/saves ~/.steam/steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/saves

Step 4 : Checking the link

What you have just done is called a directory junction. You can see that some sort of "pseudo folder" named "saves" has been created where the original "saves" folder was before. If it isn't the case, start everything from the beginning and make sure you do exactly as explained in this guide (don't forget to delete the "pseudo folder" that was created before you start over).

The last thing you need to do is to check that the junction has been correctly made by launching the game. Your saved games should all be there as usual. Again, if that is not the case, revert to the beginning of the tutorial.

NOTE : Remember to repeat these steps for each computer that will need your saved games, but for these other computers, don't move the "saves" folder to Dropbox. Instead just delete it (it should be empty, unless you have splitted your saves across multiple computers).

Also for Microsoft OneDrive users : you will have to right click the "saves" folder in OneDrive and click "Make Available Offline".

If you have any problems with this guide, or notice any mistakes, just leave a comment : your help is welcome, and I will be happy to provide answers.

I hope this guide helped you improve your KSP experience. Please rate up ! :)

Extension : Mods, Plugins and Custom Flags

This technique could be further extended to mods, plugins and custom flags. Unlike your crafts and your saved games, these are not stored in your "saves" folder, instead they can be found in your KSP root folder under :

• GameData (for Mods)
  
• Plugins (for Plugins)
  
• GameData -> Squad -> Flags (for Flags)

NOTE : As you can see it here, the Flags folder is part of the folder used for mods, so if you synchronize your mods on your custom cloud, your flags will automatically be synced too, thus you won't need to use the command for the Flags folder.

By entering a variation of the command used earlier, it is possible to have those shared across all your computers, just like your saved games. As before, you need to move your folder(s) to the Dropbox folder, and then enter the following command (replace "###" by the emplacement of the folder and "@@@" by the name you want it to have in your Dropbox folder ; also don't forget to separate with "\" on Windows and "/" on OS X and Linux) :

• Windows 32-bits :

  mklink /J "C:\Program Files\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\###" "C:\Users\your username\Dropbox\KSP SAVES\@@@"
  

• Windows 64-bits :

  mklink /J "C:\Program Files (x86)\Steam\SteamApps\common\Kerbal Space Program\###" "C:\Users\your username\Dropbox\KSP SAVES\@@@"
  

• OS X :

  ln -s ~/Dropbox/KSP\ SAVES/@@@ ~/Library/Application\ Support/Steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/###
  

• Linux :

  ln -s ~/Dropbox/KSP\ SAVES/@@@ ~/.steam/steam/SteamApps/common/Kerbal\ Space\ Program/###

[Nagra]

Haven't played KSP in a long time, I definitely will update.

[Chris Solomon]

might be time to update or take down this guide as KSP now supports steam cloud saves

[hobokiller77]

I went through the steps but when I launch KSP it says loading asset definition bundle and the load bar doesn't progress. I am using onedrive on win 10

[Aoi Blue]

There are similar tools to do this for Google Cloud.

[Disane]

Updated repo with my script: https://github.com/Disane87/Kerbal-Space-Sync