All my saved files disappeared because conflicting with steam cloud

[Cloud]

Every day I work on a project in TTS. I had it saved, so whenever I started a new game I'd load it up. But today, randomly, I logged in and it said I had files conflicting with my steam cloud. I googled it and there wasn't a definitive answer, so I just clicked "download to machine". It downloaded files from my project over a year old, and my newest version of my project is no where to be found.

Please, if someone has the good graces to help me recover my now lost project, I would be in your debt.

[Cloud]

To clarify, the same save file I've been using for a year+ with hundreds of hours of work put into it, is gone. And save files I haven't touched since febuary have replaced all of my save files...

[Cloud]

Even my TTS saves folder is full of old ass saves. WTF happened????

[goBallistic]

For some reason your TTS saves and files weren't syncing to steam cloud. When you clicked "download to machine" you downloaded saves from the last time you sync'd to steam cloud, and OVERWROTE the saves from your machine. STOP using your computer RIGHT NOW and download a data recovery software like Recuva immediately. Otherwise, sorry to say, but you're out of luck.

[Cloud]

@goBAllistic

omg... ty... Recuva couldn't detect anything deleted in My Games\Tabletop Simulator\Saves ... Is that where my save file for my game was stored? Is it not detecting it because they were overwritten?

[SaltyO]

Yikes, I hope you didn't lose everything, but it's happened to me a couple times with Steam stuff,
There is a recovery process, but you'll be ok.

which is why I backup everything, especially creative work and potentially special TTS mods that might disappear forever.

If you have multiple installs of Steam, or if you just were not synching to Steam because of some settings change, or if you've installed Steam AGAIN on your machine or on a new one since the time you started that work you did a year ago, there might be a synching issue.

For the record, I hate cloud storage as an option for everything. I've had too many messed up syncs and lost data experiences to trust it. Cloud should be secondary and thought of as a convenience.. Backup everything on externals, because cloud synching is stupid messy, not to mention one of the great horsemen of the infosec apocalypse, but I digress.

If you REALLY need to know if that data is gone for good, there's a very good chance you can recover it with Testdisk/Photorec, it's an open source data recovery tool and as good as any of the ones that cost money. I think it serves all OSes.

[Cloud]

I think it won't recover them because they were overwritten, because TTS save files share the same damn names and not the custom names you give them in-game. They were not deleted just completely overwritten.. I already started working on my project from scratch again and I know now not to trust windows or steam lol

[Bone White]

The problem isn't with Windows or Steam, but your lack of experience with dealing with snching issues.

If you ever get a synching issue I would perform the following steps:

1) Copy your entire out of synch folder to a new location (preserving the local out-of-sync files)
2) Then Download the "most recent" version (which will overwrite as what happened to you)
3) Now you can manually compare the local out-of-sync files with the "most recent" downloaded ones, and overwrite where you require.

It happens rarely but it does happen.

[SaltyO]

Yes, I would have linked to Steam's little "guide" to synching, but I couldn't find it anywhere. I don't recall them being too hekpful in this department.

[Cloud]

I wouldn't have had to worry about this if windows enabled restore points by default. And I don't understand how my files became out of sync when I didn't do anything out of the norm, and proceeded doing what I've been doing for over a year.

[TheLimeyDragon]

Sadly it's a live and learn experience. I'm suprised the files were that out of date tho on the cloud.

I can only assume you had steam cloud disabled for TTS and it got re-enabled so the next time you tried to TTS you downloaded the long out of date files that were still stored.

[Marquise*]

Would it help if I copy and relocate the folder called Saves containing the .json and .png s (My some of the table snapshots .pngs are missing in my list)?
Or should as well get the Mods in the way?

I knew a program on Steam that kinda -no matter- what rewrote every copies for an older Workshop version.

The thing never happened to me but true I spend a lotsa hours on it when I use it.

[Cloud]

@Marquise

lol that's what I'm doing now keeping a backup saves folder. Thank God a lot of my work was still in Saved Objects.

[Marquise*]

*cybermental hugs* Brrr that feels outright nightmarish! Hope it never EVER happens to you EVER again.