Suggestion: Cloud Saves!

[BriennaiJ]

I was playing and loving 8-bit Adventures 2, and decided to take a break to get through the previous game first. I played 8-Bit 2 on my Steam Deck without issues, and was hoping this game would be the same.

Unfortunately, the damage numbers don't show up for any enemies. This isn't too much of a problem when in normal fights as the element system allows you to pretty much guess which moves you should use. But in certain boss fights when you are supposed to see that you aren't doing any damage and adjust your strategy accordingly, it's annoying.

The easiest way to fix this would be to have cloud saves for this game. I got through like 3 hours on Steam Deck before I got stuck, and wanted to swap to PC to get through a boss fight just so I could see my damage values. But since cloud saves aren't enabled, I would have to start the game all over again on PC.

Even if this game can't be made compatible with the SD, just having cloud saves would make the rough spots easy to get by on PC before swapping back to the handheld. Love this series either way, I'm probably just going to restart & play through on PC for now!

[Critical Games]

Thank you so much for all the support and kind words BriennaiJ! I'm not sure if I can make Cloud Saves work with 8-Bit Adventures 1 like I did the sequel (8-Bit Adventures 1 doesn't even properly interface with the Steam UI), but from what I understand, you can manually move save files from a Steam Deck to your PC as well.

https://steamcommunity.com/app/1675200/discussions/0/3428948355364497495/

Now, to be fair, I don't have a Steam Deck myself (we can't get them here in Australia), but a few forum topics I found (like the one above) imply it's possible. Just in case that helps in the interim =)

Regardless, thank you very much for bringing this to my attention; I'm so glad you're enjoying the games!

[WolverineJon]

Just adding a +1 here that it would still be useful to have Steam Cloud support added to 8-Bit Adventures 1!

From what I've read, this can be done with _no_ code changes, but only some configuration of "Steam Auto-Cloud" in the Steamworks App Admin panel? https://partner.steamgames.com/doc/features/cloud#steam_auto-cloud

(I don't have firsthand experience with this; although I am a professional software developer -- and have actually also published my own 8-bit-style JRPG-type game, "Vigil RPG"! -- that was on iOS, not Steam.)

I played, finished, and enjoyed 8-Bit Adventures 2! I've been wanting to come back and play this original game, but the lack of Steam Cloud support has been holding me back; as I typically fit my limited gaming time into a few minutes here and there in my office (where I can use my PC), and before bed (when I use my Steam Deck).

[Critical Games]

Originally posted by WolverineJon:

Just adding a +1 here that it would still be useful to have Steam Cloud support added to 8-Bit Adventures 1!

Thank you very much for the request and helpful post WolverineJon! I followed the information on that page and set up the Auto Cloud as described. I've published the changes, so *hopefully* they should take effect any time now.

Please let me know if it works or not, and thank you for all of your support! I totally get what you mean with finding a few minutes here and there for gaming. Nice work on Vigil RPG too! :D

[WolverineJon]

Unfortunately, Steam Cloud saves don't seem to be working for me yet:

- I saved my 8-Bit Adventures 1 game on my Steam Deck, exited the game, and waited briefly (for the Steam Cloud sync to potentially happen), before shutting down the Steam Deck; then launched 8-Bit Adventures 1 on my PC. At the main menu (on the PC), I only have the "New Game" option, not "Continue".

- The Steam store page for 8-Bit Adventures 1
( https://store.steampowered.com/app/370300/8Bit_Adventures_1_The_Forgotten_Journey_Remastered_Edition/ ), in the "Features" panel (where "Single-player", "Steam Achievements", "Steam Trading Cards", etc. are listed) still does _not_ show "Steam Cloud", as other games that support Steam Cloud saves do.

- I *do* see "Synchronizing Cloud" briefly flash by among the messages that appear in the Steam UI between clicking the "Play" button, and the game actually launching. I'm not sure whether or not this is meaningful! 🤷‍♂️

[Critical Games]

Originally posted by WolverineJon:

Unfortunately, Steam Cloud saves don't seem to be working for me yet:

I sincerely apologise WolverineJon! I checked the settings again, and it turned out there was a box I forgot to tick (I'm actually not sure if it was visible before I set everything up because I don't remember it being there, but chances are I just missed it XD) to take the Cloud system out of beta testing mode.

Theoretically, it should now work! Sorry for the trouble there.

[WolverineJon]

No worries at all, I sincerely appreciate your efforts in trying to get this working for your fans! :-D

However: I'm *still* not seeing Steam Cloud listed on the Steam store page for 8-Bit Adventures 1. 🤔

(I don't have multiple devices in front of me right now, so I haven't re-tested actually freshly saving my game on one computer, and then re-loading it on another; let me know if you'd like me to take a few minutes and give that a try, although I have my doubts about whether it's likely to work given that the store page is still stubbornly refusing to show Steam Cloud support for some reason.)

[Critical Games]

Originally posted by WolverineJon:

No worries at all, I sincerely appreciate your efforts in trying to get this working for your fans! :-D

However: I'm *still* not seeing Steam Cloud listed on the Steam store page for 8-Bit Adventures 1. 🤔

(I don't have multiple devices in front of me right now, so I haven't re-tested actually freshly saving my game on one computer, and then re-loading it on another; let me know if you'd like me to take a few minutes and give that a try, although I have my doubts about whether it's likely to work given that the store page is still stubbornly refusing to show Steam Cloud support for some reason.)

Hi WolverineJon! Did you happen to get a chance to test it on your devices? I'm sorry, I forgot to explain last time, but "Steam Cloud" being listed on the store page - as far as I know - actually has no bearing on the functionality; it's just a tick box on a page where I list my game's Steam features.

However, just in case it affects anything, I've ticked that box and added Steam Cloud to the store page listing. It hasn't updated at the time of my post, but it's ticked and published in the Steamworks backend.

Anyway, please let me know how you go with the functionality - fingers crossed =)

[WolverineJon]

Steam Cloud still isn't working for me with 8-Bit Adventures 1. :-(

I'm sitting in front of my PC, and have my Steam Deck in my lap. Both devices have 8-Bit Adventures 1 installed, are signed in to the same Steam account, and are connected to the network (online).

On the Steam Deck, 8-Bit Adventures 1 save file is present. I can select "Continue" from the main menu, and the game loads up as expected. I can change the game state (e.g. walk a tile or two on the map), and save the game, and it does save successfully. When I exit the game, I see Steam reporting that it is synchronizing the cloud save.

On my PC, I then start 8-Bit Adventures 1. Steam reports that it is synchronizing the cloud save. Unfortunately, at the main menu, the "Continue" menu option is disabled (apparently indicating that no save file is present).

I've tried this process a few times (updating my save file on my Steam Deck, closing the game on Steam Deck, letting the cloud save sync, then opening the game on my PC), but with the same results.

Steam doesn't report any cloud conflict or other indication of a problem. I'm not sure on my end what the problem might be!

I'd be happy to share the contents of directories on either or both devices, if that would potentially be helpful in tracking down the problem -- just let me know!

[Critical Games]

Originally posted by WolverineJon:

Steam Cloud still isn't working for me with 8-Bit Adventures 1. :-(

I'd be happy to share the contents of directories on either or both devices, if that would potentially be helpful in tracking down the problem -- just let me know!

I'm so sorry WolverineJon! This tends to be the fun of game development - no matter how simple something seems on the surface XD

Okay, so what I've tried is specifying the exact Save1/Save2/Save3/Save4.rxdata files that Steam Cloud should be picking up (whereas previously I told it get *.rxdata files - which should've grabbed them all automatically (as it does on 8-Bit Adventures 2), but you never know).

I'm sorry to keep asking, but would you mind trying again on your Steam Deck and PC? If that doesn't work, it would definitely be helpful to see what's in your app install directory on both devices. Thank you so much for all your help! =)

[WolverineJon]

It still isn't working -- same symptoms / behavior as I described previously.

Possibly an important clue: From the 8-Bit RPG page in my Steam library, in Properties > General tab > Steam Cloud, it says "0 bytes stored"! This is the case on _both_ my PC and my Steam Deck.

https://jonschneider.com/images/steam/8BitRpgPropertiesGeneral.png

Here's what the game's folder looks like on my Steam Deck (in Desktop Mode). The "Save1.rxdata" file _is_ present in the game's root folder, as you would expect (since the data does save/load correctly on that local device!)

https://jonschneider.com/images/steam/8BitRpgSteamDeckFolder.jpg

On my Windows PC, the install folder is "D:\SteamLibrary\steamapps\common\8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition". There is _no_ "Save1.rxdata" file present in that folder. (Again, this is as expected, since the "Continue" option is disabled at the main menu on that device.)

As I mentioned earlier, I do see Steam briefly report "Synchronizing Steam Cloud" both when 8-Bit RPG exits and when it loads, so I'm not sure why it's evidently failing to find the save file to upload to the cloud.

[WolverineJon]

Ooh -- there are log files of Steam Cloud activity, per https://help.steampowered.com/en/faqs/view/68D2-35AB-09A9-7678#log !

I fished the most recent log entries for 8-Bit RPG out of my Steam Deck's ~/.local/share/Steam/logs/cloud_log.txt file:

[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Starting sync (up,AC Exit,)
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Running AutoCloud on exit. Looking for new and updated files
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Evaluating rule 0 with root="GameInstall" path="" pattern="Save1.rxdata" (recursive)
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Found 1 files that match /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Save1.rxdata
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Found 0 files that match /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition//Audio/Save1.rxdata
(... Omitting a bunch more "Found 0 files" lines for brevity ...)
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Evaluating rule 1 with root="GameInstall" path="" pattern="Save2.rxdata" (recursive)
(... Omitting a bunch more "Found 0 files" lines for brevity ...)
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Found 0 files that match /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition//Graphics/Windowskins/Save4.rxdata
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] File /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Data/Actors.rxdata no longer matches any patterns (1). Removing from cloud
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] File /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Data/Armors.rxdata no longer matches any patterns (1). Removing from cloud
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] File /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Data/Classes.rxdata no longer matches any patterns (1). Removing from cloud
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] File /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Data/Map425.rxdata no longer matches any patterns (1). Removing from cloud
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Persisting file /home/deck/.local/share/Steam/steamapps/common/8-Bit Adventures - The Forgotten Journey Remastered Edition/Save1.rxdata to the cloud
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] AutoCloud complete
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Currently already synced to global change number '5', should be nothing to download
[2026-01-23 23:12:28] [AppID 370300] Upload complete in build list

It looks like from the 5th-from-the-end line that the cloud save IS persisting the Save1.rxdata file to the Steam Cloud.

I'm not sure how to reconcile that with the game's properties dialog reporting "0 bytes stored" for the Steam Cloud. Hmm.

[WolverineJon]

Another clue: At https://store.steampowered.com/account/remotestorage , I do _not_ see any entry at all in the list of games for 8-Bit Adventures (or variant names thereof).

(I _do_ see an entry there for "8-Bit Adventures 2", as well as entries for many other games that I own and have played on Steam.)

[WolverineJon]

I tried asking Google Gemini about this problem (with some of the evidence above), and it came up with some plausible-sounding things to check in the Steamworks configuration:

https://gemini.google.com/share/714edbe7a1d8

[Critical Games]

Originally posted by WolverineJon:

I tried asking Google Gemini about this problem (with some of the evidence above), and it came up with some plausible-sounding things to check in the Steamworks configuration:

https://gemini.google.com/share/714edbe7a1d8

Oh wow, thank you very much for all the research and troubleshooting you've done Jon! I read through the log, but it didn't reveal anything clear sadly. The Gemini analysis was an interesting read too, but I'd done everything except set up a Root Override on the Steam OS. I'm not sure if it'll make any difference, but I've set that up as Gemini instructed and now published it.

Beyond that, though, I really don't understand what could be going wrong - the log seems to imply that everything's working XD I sincerely apologise for the trouble, but thank you so much for all of your work! Please let me know if the above made any difference.

[WolverineJon]

Question for you, Josh (I assume it's Josh I'm talking to? :-D ) -- Do _you_ see, in your 8-bit RPG (Steam game page) > Properties > General tab > Steam Cloud (and after saving your game after all of the config changes you've made) a non-zero value for "bytes stored"?

(For anyone else who may have been following this thread -- same question for you!)

If so, then maybe the problem is on my end -- i.e. some issue with my Steam account? In that case, I can try reaching out to Steam support for a resolution!