What to back up before an update

[cup a joe]

Hi guys I have another n00by question for ya'll

I want to be able to back up my game before updates as I have mods n'stuff but I don't really want to back up the entire KSP folder if I can help it. Rather I would like to know the bare minimum that will let my mods work, and ships stay should a update cause problems. (My desktop is on the fritz so I have been using my laptop which has a tiny SSD and the ksp folder is 1.77GB. I have found using the cloud to be annoying when it comes to large files.)

I have looked online and Google has said just the save file and persistence is fine but I just don't trust that for some reason. I will back up the entire thing if I must but I would much rather not.

On another note I'd like to know how to save a copy of the current MK1 cockpit before the 1.0.5 update as those little bulges on the sides have helped me to degrees that they really shouldn't.

Thanks!

If this is the wrong place for this thread let me know and I will change it!.

[Alshain]

Well if you don't backup the entire game folder, you can't restore it so there is not really any point to it. You can just copy out the saves folder, but you also need the GameData folder for any mods you are using. If 1.0.5 does break your game, you need the whole thing anyway or those files won't be usable.

It's unlikely to happen. What they have described probably won't break a thing and you could just continue your game. If you have an existing craft with the changing parts in persistence, it might look a little out of place but it should still be usable. (This includes the Mk1 jet parts, Jet engines, the Torroidal Aerospike Engine, and the XM-G50 air intake, unless I'm forgetting something) If you have an existing saved craft you may have to take a part or two off and put it back again. If you can, bring any planes using these parts home and recover them to prevent minor issues.

In the past changing parts didn't cause a whole lot of harm, in some cases they looked like they were floating because the size or node position changed and no longer match the texture, but they still worked.

Edited October 10, 2015 by Alshain

[Floker]

/GameData is the folder you're looking for. This is where the mods are located. Somewhere in /GameData/Squad you can also find the cockpit. So if you keep a copy of the GameData folder you have a backup of all the parts by squad (+ interiors) and your installed mods.

The savegame folder contains your savegames and your craft files.

So if I'm not forgetting about something here you can backup savegames + GameData and you're good to update.

Hope this helps a bit. :-)

[Archgeek]

I'd say update your mods to the latest good version you can find, and copy your KSP folder to a larger, non solid-state drive, like an external or a NAS (Network Attached Storage, pretty much an external or several in one box, sitting on your local network). You're pretty much stuck backing up the whole thing, but you can at least back it up off your SSD and just drag it back if you need it. Heck, it's not that huge, so you can even shove it on flash drive if you like...maybe even zip it up so you only get one file's worth of transfer latency, which would also be good for the NAS solution.

[Floker]

That's true. It's best to keep the whole thingy. 16GB sticks are available for like 5 bucks and you're safe :-)

[Skalou]

yep,

my advice: find a way to save everything!

you won't be able to download to old version after the update. keep it at least a few time, just to be sure you can play the new version without waiting a mod update or needing to go change a craft before the import.

you don't have a usb key?

if not, the minimum is to save the "save" folder and make a list of the mod you are using.

[RocketPilot573]

Just back up the entire KSP folder. Otherwise you'll be stuck with the new update.

[Sabor]

Hi guys I have another n00by question for ya'll

I want to be able to back up my game before updates as I have mods n'stuff but I don't really want to back up the entire KSP folder if I can help it. Rather I would like to know the bare minimum that will let my mods work, and ships stay should a update cause problems. (My desktop is on the fritz so I have been using my laptop which has a tiny SSD and the ksp folder is 1.77GB. I have found using the cloud to be annoying when it comes to large files.)

I have looked online and Google has said just the save file and persistence is fine but I just don't trust that for some reason. I will back up the entire thing if I must but I would much rather not.

On another note I'd like to know how to save a copy of the current MK1 cockpit before the 1.0.5 update as those little bulges on the sides have helped me to degrees that they really shouldn't.

Thanks!

If this is the wrong place for this thread let me know and I will change it!.

If you're like me, your mod folder is larger than the entire vanilla KSP. Some mods won't work when you update to a new version of Kerbal, and will have to re-download an updated version of the mod. You may as well back up the entire game onto a flash drive and keep it around (This is what I do) So at any time you can go right back to your fully functional and modded previous version of KSP until the mods you DO want have been updated. But if it's specific parts/configs/mods you want, they'll be in the Gamedata folder