New computer, everything is lost.

[908Chapo]

Hello y'all, i just recently built a new computer and wanted to try payday 2 on it. Considering that my old one is scrapped i figured via my steam account my money and exp would still be there.... that was not the case at all. Anyone know why this happened?

[Yamaha]

Have you checked steam cloud settings? Your saves are kept in the cloud and should transfer over when you log in to steam on a new machine.

[0ptimistPrime (the Gray)]

Originally posted by Zamn Daddy:

Anyone know why this happened?

The "why" of the situation is because each user's save data is primarily stored on your hard drive; the developers did not create centralized servers to store user data.

While Steam Cloud -can- keep track of your local save data, it's not entirely reliable. If a user relies entirely on Steam Cloud to keep a backup of their data, then in most cases everything will be fine. But in some cases, that user just lost all their data.
When it works, it works.. and when it doesn't, you might get screwed.

For these reasons, it's highly recommended that, for any game which stores save data locally, you make manual backups on a regular or semi-regular basis. And preferably keep them on a flash drive. This way, if you ever change computers, or your save file gets corrupted, or your computer dies, or you get a virus and need to wipe everything, etc etc etc, you have a backup.

---

I assume that by saying, "my old one is scrapped," you mean that you no longer have access to your old hard drive.

If I'm wrong in that assumption and you can access the old drive in some way, then try pulling your save file from it.

If my assumption is correct, I can think of two other options:
- if you ever played PD2 from a friend's computer or something, try looking for you save data on that hard drive.
- check to see if Steam Cloud is enabled for PD2 (right-click PD2 in your library > Properties > updates > Enable Steam Cloud sync). If it's enabled and your save file doesn't come through, and none of the other options above are applicable in your situation, you may need to start over. In the future, I highly recommend making backups.


Guide: Locating your save file, and creating/restoring backups:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=170416480

[908Chapo]

Originally posted by Optimist Prime (the Gray):

Originally posted by Zamn Daddy:

Anyone know why this happened?

The "why" of the situation is because each user's save data is primarily stored on your hard drive; the developers did not create centralized servers to store user data.

While Steam Cloud -can- keep track of your local save data, it's not entirely reliable. If a user relies entirely on Steam Cloud to keep a backup of their data, then in most cases everything will be fine. But in some cases, that user just lost all their data.
When it works, it works.. and when it doesn't, you might get screwed.

For these reasons, it's highly recommended that, for any game which stores save data locally, you make manual backups on a regular or semi-regular basis. And preferably keep them on a flash drive. This way, if you ever change computers, or your save file gets corrupted, or your computer dies, or you get a virus and need to wipe everything, etc etc etc, you have a backup.

---

I assume that by saying, "my old one is scrapped," you mean that you no longer have access to your old hard drive.

If I'm wrong in that assumption and you can access the old drive in some way, then try pulling your save file from it.

If my assumption is correct, I can think of two other options:
- if you ever played PD2 from a friend's computer or something, try looking for you save data on that hard drive.
- check to see if Steam Cloud is enabled for PD2 (right-click PD2 in your library > Properties > updates > Enable Steam Cloud sync). If it's enabled and your save file doesn't come through, and none of the other options above are applicable in your situation, you may need to start over. In the future, I highly recommend making backups.


Guide: Locating your save file, and creating/restoring backups:
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=170416480

yeah its gone, but good to know. Now i can just be mad at myself for being a dummy and not a steam for ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ me over lmao