Save data

Creating a save data backup using the Ctrl + Alt + B shortcut

Save data is the record of your game progress stored in various files. Many of these files can now be opened (with care!) in a text editor, since update 0.5.1.0. However, world and map files have proprietary data structures that are not readable by any standard software.

You can backup your active save file data by pressing Ctrl + Alt + B while in the the main menu. This will create a CoreKeeperSaves.zip archive file on your desktop. That may be sent as part of a bug report to the developers. Or used later to restore the save data, by extracting the contents of the archive file to the appropriate save data locations shown below.

Save data location

This is where the root save directories can be found for each operating system:

Name	Path
Windows	%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\Steam\<user-id>
Windows dedicated server	%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Pugstorm\Core Keeper\DedicatedServer
Linux	~/.config/unity3d/Pugstorm/Core Keeper/Steam/<user-id>
Linux dedicated server	~/.config/unity3d/Pugstorm/Core Keeper/DedicatedServer
Notes
%USERPROFILE%	This is a Windows environment variable that points to the current user's profile folder. This is short for C:\Users\<user-name>. You can copy this variable into a folder address bar and it will recognize the path.
<user-id>	This is your 8 or 9 digit Steam ID number. Player's don't need to know this, except to differentiate between multiple Steam users who have played the game on the same machine. So, simply copy and paste the above addresses without the <user-id> into a folder address bar, then there will likely be only one numbered folder to pick from.
Hidden folder	The AppData folder in Windows is hidden by default. To make a hidden folder visible, change the setting by going to file explorer option, click on the view tab, and then check "Show hidden files, folders, and drives" option and click OK.

Save files

A typical Windows save file root directory

Character and world files are named with the index number of their save slot. The numbers start from 0, representing the top slot in the menus, while 1 represents the second slot, and so on. Active save files:

File / Folder	Name	Notes
/saves	Character data	Stores character data in plain text files named <character-index>.json, including: Character name Character type (standard or hardcore) Character equipment and inventory Character stats and skills Character souls progress and icon
/worlds	World data	Stores all your world data as <world-index>.world.gzip, the most important file, which includes: Generated world, including all ground, walls, and objects Generated enemies All storage, placed objects, and loose items World statues activation Last position of each character
/worldinfos	World info	Stores meta data about a world, named <world-index>.worldinfo. This information is stored in a plain text format and mostly just for display in the game menus. They include: World name Unique identifier guid World seed number World Boss Statues activation states World creation date World save icon World difficulty - stored as "mode": 0 = normal, 1 = hard. Manually editing this value will enable/disable hard mode.
/maps	Character maps	Stores world mapping data in sub-folders named by their character save slot number, so <character-index>/<world-index>.mapparts.gzip. Each character has a separate map save for each world they have visited. So visiting other player's worlds, not stored locally, will cause the numbers of file names to become offset from the locally stored world slot numbers. Otherwise, with single player only and no world deletion, a map for the character in slot 2, for the world in slot 3, should be stored at /maps/1/2.mapparts.gzip. These map files can be viewed using the 3rd party Map Tool website.
/servermaps	Cartography table maps	When a cartography table is used in a locally stored world, it will created or append to a map file named as <world-index>.mapparts.gzip. These files are identical in structure to the character map files. So they can be swapped out, in principle, or viewed with Map Tool.
prefs.json	Configuration file	Stores your in-game settings, such as language and display options.

Backup files and data recovery

ALWAYS backup your entire save game root directory before moving, editing or renaming any save files manually. It is recommended to archive the entire <SteamID> folder and all its contents as a zip file. Then place that somewhere else safe on your PC. 7-Zip is a reputable free software download that can be used to create and access zip files. Automatic game file backup locations in order of relevance:

File / Folder	Name	Notes
*.pugbackup	Backup files	Every player data file listed above (character, world, worldinfo, map, servermap) should have next to it, in the same folder, a backup version with a *.pugbackup extension added. These backups should be incremented each time to game closes, over-writing the previous versions. If a data file is lost or corrupted (e.g. character or world) this should be the first file type to try to restore from. This can be done by renaming it to replace the active file, by simply removing the ".pugbackup" extension. Move the active version of that file somewhere else first, if you think you might need it.
/backups	Backup folder	Receives duplicate copies of all other save folders and files upon starting a newly updated version of the game for the first time. It may not exist until such a time. It is potentially useful for restoring lost data, although files are likely to be somewhat outdated.
/cloudconflicts	Steam cloud sync conflicts	This folder should be created to contain any local files that would have been overwritten by different versions of the same file, from the Steam cloud. Synchronisation happens during game launch, downloading more recent files from the cloud, and on game close, uploading changed files. Files stored here could, on rare occasion, be useful for restoring data lost through issues involving synchronisation.

Copying or modifying save data and world difficulty

Warning: Before you modify anything, backup your save data by pressing Ctrl + Alt + B on the main menu.

Character data and world info save files are encoded with their index number. It is not possible to copy or move their data to a different slot by renaming the index number, but it is possible to copy them as is without changing the index number. For example, when you are restoring your character, or transferring them to a different PC.

Unlike world info, world data and world map save files are not encoded with their index number. This makes it possible to modify and/or copy an existing world to a different slot with the following steps:

1. Create a new world in-game in whichever slot you wish to copy your old world to
2. If you want, you can name it differently, use a different save icon, or change its difficulty mode
3. Exit the game
4. Delete the new world data file /worlds/<world-index>.world.gzip
5. Copy the old world data file and change its index number to the new world data file you just deleted
6. Optional: If you want to copy your uncovered world map, make sure to also delete and copy the world map file similar to step 4-5. Do this for each character you want its world map restored at /maps/<character-index>/<world-index>.mapparts.gzip

Any statue activation progress stored in world data will be added to the world info the next time you save your game. However, this is only one-way addition. You can't remove any statue icon on world info once it's saved.

Steam sync may need to be disabled if changes you make are being reverted. Right click the game's title in you Steam Library -> Properties -> General -> Untick "Keep games saves in the Steam Cloud for Core Keeper". Caution! Your save files will then not be backed up to the cloud, or automatically available on other machines, until you re-enable it and carefully confirm any conflicts.

Alternatively, remaining in Core Keeper's main menu and tabbing out to make the file changes, can avoid them being overwritten by cloud sync on game launch.