Telltale Games Forums - View Single Post - SBCG4AP

Joren · 12/23/2008, 09:59 pm

I just saw the whole season come up on Steam and since I come from a long line of $35 bucks-havers, I thought I would get it there. So I downloaded the episodes through Steam and decided to give episode one a whirl. After playing for a bit, I tried saving and loading only to find that my game and all my preferences had been DELORTED.

Essentials:

* PC game
* Running on Dell Inspiron 1720 with current drivers and reference nVidia notebook drivers for the GeForce 8600M.
* Windows Vista service pack 1
* Season 1 purchased via Steam.
* Running as Administrator
* UAC is and has been turned OFF - I will not have Vista repeatedly second-guessing me.
* Local files have been verified (Steam) - this is not a corrupt download

Problem:

SBCG4AP will not save or load any games, and also does not remember user preferences. It doesn't matter what episode.

Obligatory Steps to Reproduce:

1. Start a new game.

2. After the introduction stuff, click Gear icon or press Escape to get to menu.

3. Click Save/Load

4. There are four grayed-out slots and only one button. It's on the left side of the first slot, and is blue with a little arrow. I click it.

5. Message appears on screen: "Game Saved". However, nothing has changed. No save-title appears, and no time-stamp. My screen looks like the screenshot provided from someone else's post:

http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/...7&postcount=20

Try loading a game:

1. Click on "Quit it". Choose "Quit to Main Menu."

2. We are going to attempt to load the game that was supposedly saved. Click on "Save/Load".

3. Notice the distinct lack of any saved games. All four slots are empty, and there is only one button next to the first slot. This is the SAVE button, and clicking it results in The Paper saying "Sorry, you can't save right now." THERE IS NO LOAD BUTTON, NO SAVE TITLE, NO TIME-STAMP OF ANY KIND.

Now, I want to see if the game remembers ANYTHING AT ALL. Perhaps, if I can get it to remember something intelligent, I can get a batch of those special Grumblecakes. So, we are going to modify some preferences.

1. Load SBCG4AP. We are going to try changing some preferences, just for kicks, and see if it remembers them. Go to Settings. Change the resolution, or hint level, or whatever you want. For most dramatic example, try changing "Full Screen Mode" under "Graphics Setup."

2. Click on "Quit it." It helpfully asks, "Are you sure you want to quit the game?" choose "Yep!"

3. Load SBCG4AP again. Click on "Settings". Notice that the preferences have NOT been saved; they have ALL been reset to the defaults.

This is most apparent if the preference you changed was the "Full Screen Mode" under "Graphics Setup." It will load in the default letter-box, not full-screen.

So we have established it does not remember anything at all. Now lets see if we can find out whether or not any new files have been created.

1. Back in Windows, go to Start Menu.

2. Select "Documents"

3. Look for folder called "Telltale Games." A ha! There IS a directory called that! Double-click that folda!

4. Look for any episode folders. In my case, right now there is a "homestar ruiner" folder. double-click that one, too

5. Notice that the entire folder is empty. Not a SINGLE file. But wait! Maybe the file is set to "hidden"!

6. Try browsing with "show hidden files" / "show system files" enabled from Folder Options. Or if you're like me and Vista's user interface really frustrates you, you can go to a command prompt and try "cd %userprofile%/documents/telltale games/homestar ruiner" and then "dir /ah". Silly Vista. It uses NEW computers!

7. No files. Nothing.

Ok, so maybe we have a corrupted download.

1. Go to Steam.

2. Right-click the episode of your choice.

3. Select Properties.

4. Go to "Local files"

5. Select "Verify integrity of game cache..."

6. Notice that verification succeeds.

You could also try a different episode. This calls for a DO-OVER!!!

1. Load a different episode of SBCG4AP.

2. Try the above steps and see if anything changed.

3. What does the game do differently Richie? Nothing. Absolutely nothing.

4. NICE TRY!

Try to dig up some more info, or perhaps some ancient ruins under Strongbadia:

Steam insists on putting everything in its own directory. In our case, the game seems to be stored in "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common". Under episode folder, for example, "homestar ruiner", there is a lone executable, some dll, some vdf file, and some subfolders. Let's see if there is a security issue.

1. Under My Computer (or Windowskey-R if you're like me) go to "C:\Program Files\Steam\Steamapps\Common

2. Right-click on an episode folder. Select properties.

3. Select "Security"

4. Select "Advanced" (all good things are hidden behind Advanced; it's a general rule of life)

5. Verify that "Administrators" has full control of everything.

6. Click "Edit"

7. Check box that says "Replace all existing inheritable permissions on all descendants..."

8. Click OK to your heart's content. Turns out it was just a cap off of Coldonesdry.

9. Try running the game. Nothing has changed.

Obligatory what-if: Did I download a virus? Did I download 400,000 viruses?

1. Run Edgar's Virus Hunter (edgarware.exe) or your scanner of choice. In my case, no viruses. Of course, one should probably also run Edgar's Step-mom's Sister's Spyware Scanner (programmed entirely in mom's attic). Nope, no spyware.

This is all I have energy for right now. Thoughts?

Oh, and happy Decemberween everyone!

-- Joren

12/23/2008, 09:59 pm	#1
Joren Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 2	SBCG4AP - Not saving [Steam on Vista] I just saw the whole season come up on Steam and since I come from a long line of $35 bucks-havers, I thought I would get it there. So I downloaded the episodes through Steam and decided to give episode one a whirl. After playing for a bit, I tried saving and loading only to find that my game and all my preferences had been DELORTED. Essentials: * PC game * Running on Dell Inspiron 1720 with current drivers and reference nVidia notebook drivers for the GeForce 8600M. * Windows Vista service pack 1 * Season 1 purchased via Steam. * Running as Administrator * UAC is and has been turned OFF - I will not have Vista repeatedly second-guessing me. * Local files have been verified (Steam) - this is not a corrupt download Problem: SBCG4AP will not save or load any games, and also does not remember user preferences. It doesn't matter what episode. Obligatory Steps to Reproduce: 1. Start a new game. 2. After the introduction stuff, click Gear icon or press Escape to get to menu. 3. Click Save/Load 4. There are four grayed-out slots and only one button. It's on the left side of the first slot, and is blue with a little arrow. I click it. 5. Message appears on screen: "Game Saved". However, nothing has changed. No save-title appears, and no time-stamp. My screen looks like the screenshot provided from someone else's post: http://www.telltalegames.com/forums/...7&postcount=20 Try loading a game: 1. Click on "Quit it". Choose "Quit to Main Menu." 2. We are going to attempt to load the game that was supposedly saved. Click on "Save/Load". 3. Notice the distinct lack of any saved games. All four slots are empty, and there is only one button next to the first slot. This is the SAVE button, and clicking it results in The Paper saying "Sorry, you can't save right now." THERE IS NO LOAD BUTTON, NO SAVE TITLE, NO TIME-STAMP OF ANY KIND. Now, I want to see if the game remembers ANYTHING AT ALL. Perhaps, if I can get it to remember something intelligent, I can get a batch of those special Grumblecakes. So, we are going to modify some preferences. 1. Load SBCG4AP. We are going to try changing some preferences, just for kicks, and see if it remembers them. Go to Settings. Change the resolution, or hint level, or whatever you want. For most dramatic example, try changing "Full Screen Mode" under "Graphics Setup." 2. Click on "Quit it." It helpfully asks, "Are you sure you want to quit the game?" choose "Yep!" 3. Load SBCG4AP again. Click on "Settings". Notice that the preferences have NOT been saved; they have ALL been reset to the defaults. This is most apparent if the preference you changed was the "Full Screen Mode" under "Graphics Setup." It will load in the default letter-box, not full-screen. So we have established it does not remember anything at all. Now lets see if we can find out whether or not any new files have been created. 1. Back in Windows, go to Start Menu. 2. Select "Documents" 3. Look for folder called "Telltale Games." A ha! There IS a directory called that! Double-click that folda! 4. Look for any episode folders. In my case, right now there is a "homestar ruiner" folder. double-click that one, too 5. Notice that the entire folder is empty. Not a SINGLE file. But wait! Maybe the file is set to "hidden"! 6. Try browsing with "show hidden files" / "show system files" enabled from Folder Options. Or if you're like me and Vista's user interface really frustrates you, you can go to a command prompt and try "cd %userprofile%/documents/telltale games/homestar ruiner" and then "dir /ah". Silly Vista. It uses NEW computers! 7. No files. Nothing. Ok, so maybe we have a corrupted download. 1. Go to Steam. 2. Right-click the episode of your choice. 3. Select Properties. 4. Go to "Local files" 5. Select "Verify integrity of game cache..." 6. Notice that verification succeeds. You could also try a different episode. This calls for a DO-OVER!!! 1. Load a different episode of SBCG4AP. 2. Try the above steps and see if anything changed. 3. What does the game do differently Richie? Nothing. Absolutely nothing. 4. NICE TRY! Try to dig up some more info, or perhaps some ancient ruins under Strongbadia: Steam insists on putting everything in its own directory. In our case, the game seems to be stored in "C:\Program Files\Steam\steamapps\common". Under episode folder, for example, "homestar ruiner", there is a lone executable, some dll, some vdf file, and some subfolders. Let's see if there is a security issue. 1. Under My Computer (or Windowskey-R if you're like me) go to "C:\Program Files\Steam\Steamapps\Common 2. Right-click on an episode folder. Select properties. 3. Select "Security" 4. Select "Advanced" (all good things are hidden behind Advanced; it's a general rule of life) 5. Verify that "Administrators" has full control of everything. 6. Click "Edit" 7. Check box that says "Replace all existing inheritable permissions on all descendants..." 8. Click OK to your heart's content. Turns out it was just a cap off of Coldonesdry. 9. Try running the game. Nothing has changed. Obligatory what-if: Did I download a virus? Did I download 400,000 viruses? 1. Run Edgar's Virus Hunter (edgarware.exe) or your scanner of choice. In my case, no viruses. Of course, one should probably also run Edgar's Step-mom's Sister's Spyware Scanner (programmed entirely in mom's attic). Nope, no spyware. This is all I have energy for right now. Thoughts? Oh, and happy Decemberween everyone! -- Joren Last edited by Joren; 12/23/2008 at 10:09 pm. Reason: Thought I should link the image directly...