save-systems

Save systems

A save file is a serialized snapshot of game state that survives restarts. The hard parts aren't writing bytes — they're choosing what to save, writing it so a crash mid-save can't corrupt it, and reading old saves after you ship a patch. Get those three right and the rest is plumbing.

When to use

• Use to persist progress: player stats, inventory, world flags, settings, positions — across sessions and game updates.
• Use to design save slots, quicksave/autosave, and crash-safe writes.
• Use when old save files break after a content/code change (versioning & migration).

When not to use: for Roblox cloud persistence specifics, use roblox-datastores. For the data model the save serializes (resources/SOs), use godot-resources / unity-scriptableobjects. For Godot's FileAccess/ ResourceSaver and user:// paths, defer to the Godot engine skill while applying the patterns here.

Core workflow

1. Decide what state is authoritative. Save the data (hp, position, seed, unlocked flags), not engine objects or scene nodes. You will reconstruct objects from data on load — never serialize live node references.
2. Define a versioned schema. Every save embeds a version integer. This is the single most important field for a game you intend to patch.
3. Pick a format. JSON/text for readability and debuggability; a binary format for size/speed or mild tamper-resistance. Start with JSON.
4. Write atomically. Serialize to a temp file, flush, then rename over the real file. A crash leaves either the old save or the new one — never a half-written one.
5. Load defensively. Read version → migrate up to current → validate → instantiate. Keep a backup of the last good save and fall back on parse error.
6. Autosave on safe boundaries (level change, checkpoint), throttled, and to a separate slot so it can't clobber a manual save.
7. Verify: save, fully quit, relaunch, load — and confirm by inspection that state matches. Test loading a save from the previous version.

Patterns

1. Serialize state as plain data (not engine objects)

# Build a dictionary of pure data. Each savable object reports its own state.
func capture_state() -> Dictionary:
    return {
        "version": SAVE_VERSION,                 # ALWAYS stamp the schema version
        "player": { "hp": player.hp, "pos": [player.position.x, player.position.y] },
        "inventory": player.inventory.to_array(),  # ids + counts, not Item nodes
        "flags": world.flags,                    # e.g. {"met_guard": true}
        "seed": world.seed,                      # regenerate procedural content
    }

# On load, RECONSTRUCT objects from the data — do not expect live references back.
func apply_state(data: Dictionary) -> void:
    player.hp = data["player"]["hp"]
    player.position = Vector2(data["player"]["pos"][0], data["player"]["pos"][1])
    player.inventory.from_array(data["inventory"])
    world.flags = data["flags"]

2. Atomic, crash-safe write (temp + rename)

# Godot 4.7. Write a temp file, keep the previous save as .bak, then rename.
func save_atomic(path: String, data: Dictionary) -> Error:
    var tmp := path + ".tmp"
    var f := FileAccess.open(tmp, FileAccess.WRITE)
    if f == null:
        return FileAccess.get_open_error()       # disk full, read-only, no permission...
    if not f.store_string(JSON.stringify(data)):
        return ERR_FILE_CANT_WRITE
    f.close()                                    # flushes Godot's buffer to the OS
    if FileAccess.file_exists(path):
        DirAccess.rename_absolute(path, path + ".bak")   # keep the last good save
    return DirAccess.rename_absolute(tmp, path)

func load_save(path: String) -> Dictionary:      # empty = nothing loadable
    for p in [path, path + ".bak"]:              # .bak covers a crash between renames
        if FileAccess.file_exists(p):
            var data = JSON.parse_string(FileAccess.get_file_as_string(p))
            if data is Dictionary and data.has("version"):
                data["version"] = int(data["version"])   # JSON numbers load as float
                return data
    return {}
# WRONG: opening `path` directly and writing in place — a crash mid-write leaves a
# truncated, unloadable save and destroys the player's progress.

A crash now leaves the old save, the new one, or (between the two renames) only the .bak — which the loader tries next. Two limits to know: rename() replaces the target atomically on POSIX (same volume), but Godot's Windows rename_absolute deletes the target and then moves, so that platform relies on the .bak too; and neither flush() nor close() calls fsync, so a power cut right after a save can still lose the newest file. Check the returned Error and tell the player when a save fails instead of carrying on.

3. Versioned load with migration

SAVE_VERSION = 3

def load_save(raw_bytes):
    data = parse(raw_bytes)                  # JSON/binary -> dict
    v = int(data.get("version", 1))          # no field = the first shipped schema
    if v > SAVE_VERSION:
        raise NewerSaveError(v)              # save is from a newer build; refuse
    while v < SAVE_VERSION:                   # apply migrations in order, v -> v+1
        data = MIGRATIONS[v](data)
        v += 1
        data["version"] = v
    validate(data)                            # check required keys / ranges
    return data

# Each migration is a pure function from one version's shape to the next.
def migrate_1_to_2(d):
    d["flags"] = {k: True for k in d.pop("completed_quests", [])}  # list -> set-map
    return d
def migrate_2_to_3(d):
    d.setdefault("difficulty", "normal")      # new field: old saves get the default
    return d
MIGRATIONS = {1: migrate_1_to_2, 2: migrate_2_to_3}

4. Save slots + throttled autosave

const SLOT_PATH := "user://save_%d.json"      # manual slots 0..N
const AUTOSAVE_PATH := "user://autosave.json"  # separate file: never clobbers a slot
var _autosave_cooldown := 0.0

func autosave_if_due(dt: float) -> void:
    _autosave_cooldown -= dt
    if _autosave_cooldown <= 0.0:
        save_atomic(AUTOSAVE_PATH, capture_state())
        _autosave_cooldown = 60.0             # throttle: at most once a minute
# Trigger an immediate autosave on checkpoints/level transitions, not mid-combat.

Pitfalls

• Serializing engine objects/node paths ties saves to scene structure; renaming a node breaks every old save. Save data, rebuild objects on load.
• No version field. The day you ship a patch, every existing save is a guessing game. Stamp version from version 1.
• In-place writes corrupt saves on crash/power loss. Always temp-write then rename; keep a .bak.
• Trusting the file blindly. Saves get truncated, hand-edited, or cloud-synced stale. Validate on load and fall back to backup on failure.
• Floats and locale. Text serializers can drop precision or use comma decimal separators in some locales. Use a locale-invariant serializer.
• Godot JSON turns every number into a float: version 3 loads as 3.0, so migrations.has(data["version"]) is false and integers above 2^53 (64-bit IDs, big seeds) lose digits. Convert with int() on load, store IDs as strings, or wrap the state in JSON.from_native() / JSON.to_native(), which round-trip int, Vector2 and other engine types exactly.
• Loading objects from save files. Godot str_to_var/get_var with objects allowed, a ConfigFile that stores objects, or ResourceLoader on a .tres the player can swap will instantiate an object with a script attached, and that script runs during the load. Saves get shared online; keep them plain data.
• Autosave clobbering manual saves, or firing mid-action and saving an inconsistent state. Use a dedicated autosave slot and save on safe boundaries.
• Storing secrets or trusting client saves in multiplayer. A local save is player-controlled; never treat it as authoritative for online state. For cloud, handle the device's data limits and conflicts (roblox-datastores).

References

• references/versioning-and-migration.md — schema evolution strategies, the migration chain, backups/rollback, format trade-offs (JSON vs binary), a load-time validation checklist, and where saves live per engine plus Steam Cloud setup.

Related skills

• roblox-datastores — cloud persistence, request limits, session locking.
• godot-resources, unity-scriptableobjects — the data model you serialize.
• procedural-gen — store the seed to regenerate worlds instead of saving them.
• rpg, survival-crafting, visual-novel — genres that compose this skill.