And my experience of playing since 2007 is that corrupted saves happen. There is no pattern. There is nothing you can do to prevent it happening. I have NEVER deleted a previous save before saving another of the same name. I have NEVER paid any attention to what was going on when I hit the save button. I have even saved with a torpedo on the way to a target.
Every once in awhile I'll get a corrupted save. So I have two save slots: RR Cruise # and RR Cruise #a. I alternate back and forth, testing the last one after I make it. Then I can only lose the time between the saves. If I lose both of them, which has never happened, I can just rejoin when I last left port.
The rule not to change mods except when you are in port is a good one. Some of the mods must be changed in port. Boat skins, missions, HUD mods all can be switched out whenever the fancy strikes you.
Updating mods is chancy. Uninstalling and reinstalling the same mods in the same order is not an issue. Ever. If it does happen it is because your configuration before you uninstalled them was mod soupy and you were not mod soupy after reinstallation. Even then the soup must be in a very few critical areas.
Overall, SH4 is a very stable and quite dependable game, especially in contrast to SH3. However, just like Excel or Word, precautions must be taken because corruption happens sometimes. It is unpredictable. Superstition may make us feel more in control but it's pure fabrication. Our status is unknowing victim. Bend over please.
