PC Game Pass - Cloud save issue

[Leisurely Luke]

Patch 1.0.5R for PC Game Pass (December 29)

Dear PC Game Pass players,
The Patch 1.0.5R was just released for PC Game Pass, featuring a new cloud save verification system.

Please read the full patch notes here: http://go.eremitegames.com/AtS_Patch105

Please back up the following folders before launching the game:

• %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games
  
• %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Packages\HoodedHorse.AgainsttheStorm_znaey1dw2bdpr\SystemAppData\xgs

You should be able to load them (or our custom save files) with the new simplified method.

Unfortunately, again, we had no indication that the update would erase progress for some (many) of you on PC Game Pass. We hope that with this patch we'll be able to avoid any future progress loss due to Xbox App cloud save synchronization. We are, again, super sorry for this whole situation :(

News (December 24)

Dear PC Game Pass players,
The ongoing Xbox App cloud save issue is unfortunate and upsetting for everyone. For you, because you're losing hours of progress. And for us, because you can't experience the game in a way we intended.

As we shared in some previous announcements, we did receive confirmation from our Microsoft representative that this issue has been affecting other developers as well, and there are reports of other, newly released Game Pass titles affected by this issue, including Wartales.

Against the Storm doesn't have a cloud save feature itself. It saves files locally while the cloud save systems provided by the platform are responsible for storing, synching, and uploading the files. If the cloud save system provided by the platform encounters an error, it might result in data loss.

We reported the issue to a Microsoft representative and we were asked to advise players to submit bug reports with diagnostic data via Microsoft's Feedback Hub[docs.google.com]. This should provide the Microsoft team with more information about the nature of the cloud save issue and hopefully allow them to resolve it soon.

There's nothing we can do on our end to prevent Xbox App cloud save synchronization errors. However, we're now working on a system for the PC Game Pass version of the game that would create an extra layer of local save file backups and verify whether the Xbox App cloud save system worked correctly and loaded the latest files. If not, the game will ignore the files loaded by the Xbox App cloud save system and load local backups instead.

This would be a temporary, makeshift solution until the original cloud save issue is resolved. We're now working on the system and testing its first iterations. We aim to send the build to Microsoft certification within the next few days. Unfortunately, as we're in the middle of the holiday season, we don’t know how long it might take to get the build accepted and released to players.

Any changes to the save file system require extra caution, so we're looking into multiple test case scenarios to prevent further save file loss. We also continue to recommend taking frequent backups of the two folders:

• %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games
  
• %userprofile%\AppData\Local\Packages\HoodedHorse.AgainsttheStorm_znaey1dw2bdpr\SystemAppData\xgs

We will keep informing you about the progress and all other news. In the meantime, we also wish you happy holidays and hope that the cloud save issue won't cause you too much trouble.

News (December 20)

Dear PC Game Pass players,
We released a 1.0.2 Patch for Against the Storm, including a potential fix to the save-resetting issue on PC Game Pass. However, to fix the issue with cloud saves, we were asked to change our save structure.

Unlike on other platforms, on PC Game Pass, your main profile data is now stored in the DefaultProfile folder. While the game should automatically migrate the save files to the new folder, for some users this is blocked by the Xbox App Cloud Saves feature. To fix this manually, you need to ‘trick’ the Xbox App Cloud Saves system into accepting the saves.

Here’s a guide how to do it:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/e/2PACX-1vQGxOESeue60jb4PzCgBMFJP-g3Dz6Aj6Vr0ZPhPDPLAz2sqytptgmbEq_fuG4tv5-acX4FExn6bNXj/pub

In the article, we included detailed instructions and optional steps for some edge cases.

If you lost your progress before Patch 1.0.2 and were unable to restore it, we also created several custom save files for you which can help you recreate your progress.

Again, we sincerely apologize for this situation. Losing progress is a particularly frustrating experience and we empathize with all the players who have been affected by this issue. If you need any additional support following the instructions, we're ready to help, so please ask any questions in the ⁠✖⋯pc-game-pass channel on our Discord[discord.gg].

Thank you!

EDIT: The post was updated on December 20.

[Unfeeling Robot]

I lost my save

I completed the first settlement after the tutorial and left the game, the next time I logged in, the save was completely erased and I again had level 1 and the tutorial, is it possible to return the save?

[Oumura]

game progress keeps reseting.

hello im not playing on steam but on the xbox gamepass version. i have this problem but i dont know where to ask besides here. see every time i come back to the game. the progress of my game gets reset. and i have to start from the begining (including tutorials.) i wanted to know if theres a reason for this and if theres a fix.

[HungryDante]

Gamepass version is broken

[Myrkana]

Gamepass games always seem to have some weirdness to them.

[Sarek]

Looks like the problem has been fixed, the Against the Storm folder in %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games\ no longer exists and is deleted every time the game is started if you restore a backup to this folder and the save seem to stay up to date in %userprofile% \AppData\Local\Packages\HoodedHorse.AgainsttheStorm_znaey1dw2bdpr\SystemAppData\xgs

[Leisurely Luke]

Sarek původně napsal:

Looks like the problem has been fixed, the Against the Storm folder in %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games\ no longer exists and is deleted every time the game is started if you restore a backup to this folder and the save seem to stay up to date in %userprofile% \AppData\Local\Packages\HoodedHorse.AgainsttheStorm_znaey1dw2bdpr\SystemAppData\xgs

I'm afraid that the problem hasn't been resolved yet and that you may still encounter the issue with the game not loading your save file :(

[Leisurely Luke]

Hey! I wanted to give you all a little update from us and Hooded Horse:

We're aware that some players on PC Game Pass are experiencing issues with loading save files, and we're working directly with the team at Microsoft on this issue. We will keep you all updated on the progress.

We hope that as we learn more about the nature of the issue, we'll be able to work with our partners to ensure it can be avoided in the future. Losing progress is a particularly frustrating experience and we are really sorry for the players who were affected by this issue.

A possible solution to recover the save files is to restart your PC. It will trigger the Xbox App cloud sync. After restarting the PC, you should be able to continue playing where you left off before opening the game with 0 progress. However, until the problem is resolved, the missing save files issue may keep reoccurring and the system-restarting solution may not work for you.

We apologize for any inconvenience this is causing, and rest assured we're trying to work with Microsoft on a solution as quickly as possible.

Thank you all for your patience,
Eremite Games & Hooded Horse

[Soulseeker]

Just happened to me to on xpass :<

[Zebulan]

I'm having this exact same issue (on Game Pass). My progress keeps getting deleted, it doesn't matter if it's a new profile or the default profile, it just gets purged.

[Dante]

Same. Thought it was just me.

[Zebulan]

Sarek původně napsal:

Looks like the problem has been fixed, the Against the Storm folder in %userprofile%\appdata\locallow\Eremite Games\ no longer exists and is deleted every time the game is started if you restore a backup to this folder and the save seem to stay up to date in %userprofile% \AppData\Local\Packages\HoodedHorse.AgainsttheStorm_znaey1dw2bdpr\SystemAppData\xgs

This was incredibly helpful for me. I'm affected by this Game Pass Sync issue, and after restarting, I still didn't have access to my save game (which was on a second profile, because after the second time I lost my progress, I thought it was profile related). It turns out this sync issue affects everything in the folder, which means the Profiles.save file is also out of sync.

Using the file structure above, I managed to discover and edit the Profiles.save file to have the second profile and point it to the folder that had my latest save games. So restarting downloaded my old save but didn't restore the Profiles.save file (Or, alternatively, the Profiles.save was overwritten when I loaded the game, forcing only one profile).

Nevertheless, I at least have access to my latest save again which is a sigh of relief.

[SympliKrazi]

To be clear, yall are saying that the Smoldering City upgrades you bought disappear and you need to buy them again from the bottom up? Also, your level ups and deeds accomplished are reset?

[Zebulan]

Yes; the issue has been identified by the developers as a sync issue with Game Pass.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/1336490/discussions/4/4040355479654410860/

[Sarek]

The workaround I use until fix is making a zip file of that save folder everytime I quit the game to keep backups of my save. If it can helps ;-)

[Carvalho]

Didn't work for me, I lost my save 2 times... gonna take a break from this game until I can actually play