FAQ: Managing Save Games & States in LaunchBox 13.16

[AstroBob]

Hi Folks,

With the release of LaunchBox 13.16, we’re excited to introduce a powerful new feature: the ability to manage save games and states directly within LaunchBox. Say goodbye to navigating filesystems and renaming files manually.

Check out the release video for an overview, or read on below to find out exactly how it works:

 

Why is this feature listed as early access?

The scope of what we can do with this feature is incredibly broad, and what we have now is just the beginning. We plan to extend this functionality in the future, and some of the workflows may change or evolve alongside it.

 

 

What emulators are currently supported?

Currently, this feature supports platforms using RetroArch. We plan to extend support to more emulators in the future.

 

 

How does this feature work?

First, understanding save directories is key. When you edit a game (Metadata > Game Saves), you’ll find a new section for managing saves and states. 

Within this section, if you have any saves present you'll see them divided into two areas:

• Active Saves: These are your current save files, located in the [RetroArch > saves] directory. There can only be one active save file, which must have the same filename as your ROM.

• Save Backups: LaunchBox manages multiple save files here, located in [LaunchBox > Saves]. LaunchBox automatically appends numbers to keep them unique. When you move saves between Backups and Active, LaunchBox handles the file naming for you.

 

 

Workflow Examples

1) Importing Saves

Let’s say I have a save file dumped from one of my childhood cartridges. From the <Game Saves> window, I can click on <Import Save>. After locating the file, it will now appear under <Save Backups>. It’s recommended to give your saves a unique name to help you identify them. Note that this doesn’t affect the actual filename (LaunchBox handles that for you), so feel free to use memorable names.

To use the save we just imported, click on <Restore Backup>.

 

You’ll be asked if you want to overwrite the active save (if you have one), so make sure to back it up first (more on that below).

 

And that’s it—the save we just imported is now the active save, and I can bask in the glory of my childhood save games.

 

2) Backing Up Saves

Next, let’s say I want to create a snapshot of my save. This is particularly useful for RPGs, which often contain many missable events. You can back up your save intermittently and revert to them if needed.

From the <Game Saves> window, choose your active save and select <Backup Saves>.

A copy of the save is created under <Save Backups>. It’s a good idea to give it a unique name. If you have multiple backups, notice how LaunchBox appends a number to keep them unique. When restoring a backup as the active save, LaunchBox will automatically rename it to match your ROM.

 

3) Deleting Saves

Finally, you can click the trash icon next to any save file to remove it from disk. This is especially handy when paired with badges and playlists, allowing you to easily identify and clean up save files that are no longer needed.

 

 

What about save-states?

Everything mentioned above applies to save states as well. The key difference is that you can have multiple active save states, unlike save files, where only one can be active.

 

 

How do badges and filters work with this feature?

Enable the badge for saved games by turning on [Badges > Game Attributes > Enable Has Saved Games / States]. This shows a badge next to any game where a save file is present on disk. You can also filter your library with [Game Saves > Has Any Saved Game / State] to quickly find games with existing saves.

 

 

What about additional apps?

Each additional app has its own saves, which can be managed similarly. You’ll notice a new tab for managing saves under additional apps.

 

 

I’ve set up a core directory in RetroArch's saves folder. Will this still work?

By default, RetroArch organizes your saves as saves/[platform]/[savefile], but you can also configure it to use a directory like saves/[platform]/[core]/[savefile]. Both structures are fully supported, and LaunchBox will automatically detect and work with either setup.

 

 

See It In Action
If you'd like to see the save management features in action, you can check out our live stream where we covered multiple use-cases for this new feature, including dumping saves from cartridges, managing memory cards, backups, non-supported emulators and much more!

 

There’s still much more we want to achieve with game saves—stay tuned for future updates!

[ALIE]

Super cool.. oh please make a view that looks like the old PS1 memory card manager.. ok I know it wouldn’t be easy but damn those small animated icons for some games..

 Oh that takes me back.

 

[Trevo525]

Very cool! I love how in the example you have "childhood save". That's got to be surreal to have if it was really yours :)

[xevious1974]

Hi,

I can't understand how I do a scan of the games to search the saves.

Atm LB find only 1 games for PSP, I have others games with saves.

I have checked the ps1, and when I have clicked on Castlevania symphony of the night, the save badge has appeared. I have to do a manual check or there is another way?

regards,

g

 

[AstroBob]

22 hours ago, Trevo525 said:

Very cool! I love how in the example you have "childhood save". That's got to be surreal to have if it was really yours

They are indeed the very same ones Nice to reminisce of all the hours I put in 

 

16 hours ago, xevious1974 said:

I have checked the ps1, and when I have clicked on Castlevania symphony of the night, the save badge has appeared. I have to do a manual check or there is another way?

@xevious1974 can you confirm what your RetroArch > saves directory looks like? Do you have it set up to sort saves in content or core directories?

It should scan for saves and apply badges on opening LaunchBox, there isn't a separate scan like there is for achievements. We're investigating instances where folks who aren't using the default RetroArch save structure, in which case we're seeing instances where you need to click on the game in your library for the badge to appear.

If you can let me know what structure your `RetroArch > Saves`  directory looks like, we'll look into this further

[xevious1974]

48 minutes ago, AstroBob said:

@xevious1974 can you confirm what your RetroArch > saves directory looks like? Do you have it set up to sort saves in content or core directories?

It should scan for saves and apply badges on opening LaunchBox, there isn't a separate scan like there is for achievements. We're investigating instances where folks who aren't using the default RetroArch save structure, in which case we're seeing instances where you need to click on the game in your library for the badge to appear.

If you can let me know what structure your `RetroArch > Saves`  directory looks like, we'll look into this further

Thank you a lot for your reply!

I never changed something in the option, but I see that games are saved in a different way.

 

What is strange is that also for the platforms in dir, the saves are not recognized.

The other saves are a mess. Retroarch have mixed all platform in the main save directory. 

[SqHd]

Loving this feature and the badges!

I'm also seeing the same behavior (click on a per game basis to show the save badge). My Retroarch saves to content. No customizations.

Quick feature question: will this eventually be able to find saves for multidisc games that have a random character string for a folder name? Example. Final Fantasy VII on PS1.

[AstroBob]

Thanks for the additional information there. For those experiencing issues where the save badges aren't appearing, after app startup, if you change from one sidebar filter to another, does that kick in the badges?

 

On 9/14/2024 at 10:45 PM, xevious1974 said:

The other saves are a mess. Retroarch have mixed all platform in the main save directory. 

Yes, this is the default RetroArch behaviour if you installed it a while back. There are options within RetroArch where you can organise saves by content & core directories, and LaunchBox will work with these options. Just be wary that if you turn these options on, it won't relocate your saves for you, you'll have to do that manually, but it's worth it once you've done it, since it's much more organised than just putting everything into that single RetroArch > saves folder

 

 

[SqHd]

I switched the sidebar to playlist and back to platform categories. The NES save badges did not auto-populate. Zelda is still not showing a badge for example.

[xevious1974]

13 hours ago, AstroBob said:

Thanks for the additional information there. For those experiencing issues where the save badges aren't appearing, after app startup, if you change from one sidebar filter to another, does that kick in the badges?

I have tried but nothing changed

13 hours ago, AstroBob said:

Yes, this is the default RetroArch behaviour if you installed it a while back. There are options within RetroArch where you can organise saves by content & core directories, and LaunchBox will work with these options. Just be wary that if you turn these options on, it won't relocate your saves for you, you'll have to do that manually, but it's worth it once you've done it, since it's much more organised than just putting everything into that single RetroArch > saves folder

I have found the options in RA but I have 400 file to handle and I dont want to make disasters! It seems to me that I have some saves saved by core and some by content, I should adjust all.

Anyway, if I dont turn these option on Lb will not work? Or simply works "better" with that option? I'll prefet having all well organised but...

[MitchyB]

Will it be possible to set custom folders for my save states and game saves?  I use non-standard folder options in Retroarch for cloud-syncing

[C-Beats]

The save feature reads your retroarch.cfg file and uses information in it to determine where you save files should be located for any given game. As long as RetroArch see's your save files the goal is that LB will as well. If you have a scenario where that isn't the case let us know and attach your retroarch.cfg file found in the root of your RetroArch folder.

[MitchyB]

Haha, I must've misread the save file location.  It is working exactly as described, accessing save files in my Dropbox location.  Cool feature!

[AstroBob]

Hi Folks,

For those still experiencing issues with save badges not appearing correctly, there is a new beta out where we've attempted to make this process more reliable. It would be great if you could give it a try and let us know if that resolves the issues you've been seeing. 

 

[SqHd]

New beta 13.17 solved the badge issue. I tested with core and content save structure. Thx for the fix!