Please, dont save **** in "Documents and Settings"

[Brothers-Robbo]

The saving stuff in the users / docs and setting folder is a Games for Windows requirement (or at least it used to be). Besides the partial read only property of the program files directory by default in newer versions of Windows, having the game config / screenshots saved per user allows separate computer accounts to have access to only their own screenshots and/or config files, without having to duplicate the game install.

It does make good sense, however it needs standardising, with a proper program data folder in there.

Also, a system restore or upgrade will usually leave the documents folder intact.

[Grobut]

Originally Posted by Brothers-Robbo

Also, a system restore or upgrade will usually leave the documents folder intact.

Yeah, but a "Format c:" does not, and if there's any drive in your system that may need a full wipe from time to time, it's your system drive.

But honestly, you haven't felt confusion and pain untill you've delt with this on a localized version of Windows, then it's double the trouble, because all the folders on a localized version have translated names, but only half the developers out there use them, the other half will create new folders with the english names, so we get twice the folders to sift through..

Everything in my "Doccuments and settings" folders is a giant incomprehensible mess! I have long since given up hope of ever finding anything in there, it just won't happen.. if i need to find a .cfg file in there somewhere, i'll have to use the windows search feature (and that is the only thing i ever use the search for, everything else i have organized).

It's just a cluster**** in there, and i don't even bother backing anything up from in there when i wipe and reinstall Windows, it's easier to to start over than it is to deal with this giant mess they have made of my system.

[Fedorov]

Originally Posted by grobut

yeah, but a "format c:" does not, and if there's any drive in your system that may need a full wipe from time to time, it's your system drive.

But honestly, you haven't felt confusion and pain untill you've delt with this on a localized version of windows, then it's double the trouble, because all the folders on a localized version have translated names, but only half the developers out there use them, the other half will create new folders with the english names, so we get twice the folders to sift through..

Everything in my "doccuments and settings" folders is a giant incomprehensible mess! I have long since given up hope of ever finding anything in there, it just won't happen.. If i need to find a .cfg file in there somewhere, i'll have to use the windows search feature (and that is the only thing i ever use the search for, everything else i have organized).

It's just a cluster**** in there, and i don't even bother backing anything up from in there when i wipe and reinstall windows, it's easier to to start over than it is to deal with this giant mess they have made of my system.

+1000000

[Zetsumei]

Originally Posted by Bobdog

LOL, no they don't. Some games save it in their own folders, some in documents, some in games some in Appdata which is hidden by default...

I said most recent games, not all recent games. It varies but at the least its the most consistent method so far, and most games I've played since the xmas holiday seemed to add the saves in the correct mygames folder.

[Susi]

I dont know what you guys have, but i have

Personal Computer

Which means that its your computer and games shouldnt
think about multiuser/not a admin user things.

Doesnt matter so much now a days, but i made quite
small C:\ drive when i installed my older computer
years ago, and all f**king windows updates, game saves
and tons of other trash made it allways, full. Then it
took some hours to make some space. And repeat
to the end of days.

[jalex3]

I hate opening my docs, its full of junk and the first play I look for anything related to my game its in the actual folder.
Id like games to ask you where to save games, since I hate looking for ages to find my saves before I clean install

[dogbadger]

Originally Posted by Grobut

Yeah, but a "Format c:" does not, and if there's any drive in your system that may need a full wipe from time to time, it's your system drive.

exactly this is why i hate it - on all my pc's i tend to have a small (10gb) windows c: drive, large enough for some essential apps and temp space for large downloads - so i can start afresh and reinstall win if the machine needs a cleanup - the idea being that my games+saves/setting stay intact.
But of course now i need to backup all my docs which defeats the object - and if the drive goes tits-up this may be impossible.
so yes i hate it.

[Fedorov]

Yes, the OS is best kept as isolated as possible from everything else.

[Game-Enthousiast]

Empire TW another example of an extremely (ridiculously) harddrive consuming game. I basically regularly have to delete old save games from the directory mentiond in the OPs point of concern. ETW was even only an example, I had to use Windir stat in order to find the culpits.
Also, steam does not make the slightest difference, you might have a different folder for the actual game files which you predetermine but still Save games(depending on the developers) will often end up being stored in "my documents".

But my best guess and hope for HoS is that it will not affect us that much since a.) we have an fps which does not necessarily has to save as many infos about a point in time in a game as a rts game.
b.) Singleplayercampaigns and modes are a nice bonus or addition to the game but are we not all rather interested in the multiplayer part?
Going multi apart from maybe coop campaigns basically frees us again from the "my documents" issue since we won't have to save nor load any previously recorded/started game.

[Fedorov]

Originally Posted by Game-Enthousiast

b.) Singleplayercampaigns and modes are a nice bonus or addition to the game but are we not all rather interested in the multiplayer part?
Going multi apart from maybe coop campaigns basically frees us again from the "my documents" issue since we won't have to save nor load any previously recorded/started game.

If the single player of RO, is gonna be anything like Valkyria Chronicles (Set up chellenges, playing with the placement of enemies and objectives, etc) you'd have to complete the map in a single run, there shouldn't be any saves during gameplay, other than what levels have you completed, and your stats, and if your stats can easily be tracked with Steam, I'm sure, this can be tracked too with a simple line of code.

Quicksavings and auto savings during the game, makes everything less interesting, and significantly less challenging and immersive.

DLC packs, could include different challenges for single player, while the multiplayer version of that map would be released for free.

But I'm now going to another topic.

[Reise]

Are you guys really formatting your drives enough to make losing saves and things in Documents and Settings an issue?

Are you saying you don't bother backing that folder up BEFORE formatting, even when you know there are possibly important files there?

Way to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

[Fedorov]

Originally Posted by Reise

Are you guys really formatting your drives enough to make losing saves and things in Documents and Settings an issue?

Are you saying you don't bother backing that folder up BEFORE formatting, even when you know there are possibly important files there?

Way to make a mountain out of a mole hill.

Why should we be forced to go through all the hassle of browsing many obscure folders(Double the fun with a localized windows) to backup stuff that shouldn't be there in the first place? then lets see who is the genie that finds out where things goes when he has to put them back. Its easier to complete the game again and make new saves.

If I install something in a partition, I expect its files to be there, where I installed it.

[Reise]

Originally Posted by Fedorov

Why should we be forced to go through all the hassle of browsing many obscure folders

I'm not sure about you, but this is as far as I need to go:

Windows Explorer -> Documents

Everything is there.

At MOST (if I go there the long way through its full directory):

My Computer -> C:\ -> Users -> (whatever your particular account is) -> MyDocuments

It's really not that bad, and it isolates files that most people care about as far as options and saves.

Lets also not talk about UE3's crazy way of organizing these same sorts of files. If RO2's method resembles UT3's, you'll have just as much difficulty getting to them and modifying them.

Saving these files in MyDocuments also makes it easier to wipe drives that are dedicated to storing games/whatever, as simply reinstalling them will let you retain graphics settings and saves. Personally I have one drive for my OS and one large drive for all my big installs. If I feel like getting rid of everything and starting fresh, I can do so knowing most of my games will retain their saves without having to go and manually back them up.

[Fedorov]

Originally Posted by Reise

I'm not sure about you, but this is as far as I need to go:

Windows Explorer -> Documents

Everything is there.

At MOST (if I go there the long way through its full directory):

My Computer -> C:\ -> Users -> (whatever your particular account is) -> MyDocuments

This is just not true.

There is **** in "/Documents" "/Program Data(Hidden folder)" "/My Games" "/Mis Juegos"(Localized windows) "/Configuración Local" and who knows what else... and within each one probably the folder is marked with obscure names, and this is just for one user. Repeat for all users.

[Reise]

Take it up with Microsoft and their crappy localization?

[Fedorov]

Originally Posted by Reise

Take it up with Microsoft and their crappy localization?

Localization is certainly a problem, but not everything is because of it.

And while those problems exist, its much easier to avoid bull****, by just having a save folder within the game directory, as it had always been.

Besides, I'm hardly the only person in the world with a localized Windows, I think that more people use a localized version than not.

Is it Microsoft's fault? yes, but some insignificant rant to Microsoft is certainly not gonna solve our problems, as its not gonna make it remove that folder from their OS, and wont make all devs to store their **** in different folders within Documents and settings either.

This is not a matter of "taking it up" with anyone, this is just preventing a problem. Asking TWI to keep their stuff organized in the game directory is much more plausible.

[Schreq]

I think it has been said before that Windows is a multi user OS. It's like whining that under linux most userspace programs save their config-files/stuff in your home directory.

[Bobdog]

Yeah, but in linux they are consistent about it.

[Grobut]

Originally Posted by Bobdog

Yeah, but in linux they are consistent about it.

Yeah, and that is exactly the problem, if all games saved to the same place, or rather, subfolders of the same master folder, and used consistant naming schemes for thouse subfolders, this would be no big problem (i would still prefer to have my saves in the game dir, but this i could deal with), or better still, just bloody well asked me where i want it to go or for what user when i install, there would be no real problem.

But they don't, they throw them around seemingly at random on Windows, and i never even know what user profile they end up under, let alone where they go or what i should search for to find the bloody thing (this is made especially impossible when they just call the subfolder a random string of numbers!), it's a giant mess, there is no organization in any of it, no clear rules for where things go or what they will be called, and it's just plain in a stupid place, that requires way to many clicks to get there (if you must keep stuff in some kind of central hub, then make the bloody hub easy to get to!).


It's a terrible system, because there is none, it's just a huge cluster****, and it shoulden't even be needed on most systems, because most users out there do not run multiple profiles on their PC, unless they are in the unfortunate position of sharing a PC between several people (and even then, they are just as likely to just share one profile).

And don't even get me started on games that require Mods to be installed there, like UT3 did, that was just retarded.. most of us keep our games on a sepperate and large drive, because games have allways been big, and have only gotten bigger, and now we need to dump half of them to the C: drive too?

[Frostedfire]

and case-in-point, from the first page:

Originally Posted by Alexei

But at least they could use some consistency.
Like putting all games related stuff to "MyGames".
But what you get is: "game1-folder/mygames/My games/publisher1/publisher_1"...
In short, an epic mess.

and from my starcraft 2 replays...