Saved games transfer

[sektor2006]

Hi everyone,

I am forced to upgrade my OS to either Windows Vista or Windows 7 due to an unsupported application that I need.

Anyway, my problem is that I play the vanilla Silent Hunter III and I have advanced through my career quite a bit and I don't want to lose my game and start all over again.

Is there a way to transfer my SH III saved games to the new OS? If yes, can you please tell me which files I need to copy - I tried finding them but it appears they are well hidden?

Also, how does the game run on Vista or Win7?

Thanks a lot! Any help is highly appreciated!

[Fish In The Water]

The save data is stored in your '[My] Documents\SH3\data\cfg\Careers' folder. If you copy it all over to the drive with the new OS, you should be okay provided you don't make any changes to the actual game files. As for Vista/Win 7, lots of people have SH3 running on them without any issues.

If you happen to need additional help, please see this thread:

http://www.subsim.com/radioroom/showthread.php?t=162165

Hope it works and good luck!

[Pisces]

Best advice is to make sure the patrol has ended. Be in port!

If you are not using any mods then all you need is to copy the SH3 folder in your (my) documents folder. If you also use SH3 Commander then make sure it is rolled back. I also suggest you also copy the "Personnel Files" Folder, also there. It contains the Patrol logs and all that.

If you use any mods, then hopefully you are using JSGME. You should disable all of the mods in JSGME. Then copy the complete MODS folder also, as your Career files might depend on them. If you manually installed modded files by hand then you should make sure they are not savegame critical modifications. Or be very sure you install the same mods back into the new OS.

Small tip for the new install: Do not let it install in the default location in the Program Files folder. Choose a path that is some new folder on your harddrive, like C:\Games\SilentHunter3. If you ever do decide to use mods, or even make a screenshot, then you'll avoid a lot of UAC irritation.

[Jimbuna]

As already stated you'll need an IDENTICAL IN EVERY WAY install but even then a new OS may decide it doesn't like what your feeding it.

The SH3 game enfine can be quite abnormal at times.

[sektor2006]

Thank you everyone!

As to the saves - I found them as you suggested in My Documents. I was looking in Program Files but oh, well... at least now I know where my saves are.

In My Documents I have a folder named SH3. Will I be OK if I just copy it and then put it back in My Documents when I migrate to Vista/7?

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by sektor2006

In My Documents I have a folder named SH3. Will I be OK if I just copy it and then put it back in My Documents when I migrate to Vista/7?

Theoretically yes, provided the new install is exactly the same as the previous one.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by sektor2006

Thank you everyone!

As to the saves - I found them as you suggested in My Documents. I was looking in Program Files but oh, well... at least now I know where my saves are.

In My Documents I have a folder named SH3. Will I be OK if I just copy it and then put it back in My Documents when I migrate to Vista/7?

Should be okay....but awaiting the problem reports.

Sorry....old habits

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by sektor2006

...

In My Documents I have a folder named SH3. Will I be OK if I just copy it and then put it back in My Documents when I migrate to Vista/7?

Yes, except the My Documents folder doesn't exist. It is the Documents folder thesedays.

It is located at: c:\Users\ Username \Documents

[Fish In The Water]

Originally Posted by Pisces

Yes, except the My Documents folder doesn't exist. It is the Documents folder thesedays.

It is located at: c:\Users\ Username \Documents

Technicalities aside, people will probably still call it 'My Documents' for many years to come. It's just one of those ingrained terms that's taken on a life of its own.

When you say 'My Documents,' pretty much everyone knows what you're talking about, so I figure - why fight it?

[Pisces]

Originally Posted by Fish In The Water

Technicalities aside, people will probably still call it 'My Documents' for many years to come. It's just one of those ingrained terms that's taken on a life of its own.

When you say 'My Documents,' pretty much everyone knows what you're talking about, so I figure - why fight it?

I'm a nitpicker by nature. But yeah, I'm guilty too.

[sektor2006]

Sorry for the delay but I feel obliged to report back here. So I would like to inform you that the saved game transfer worked perfectly. The SH3 game save files are located in the My Documents folder and all you need to do is copy the entire folder (usually named SH3) to some other place. After the Windows reinstall you simply need to copy the folder back to My Documents. The game will see it automatically when you start the game.

And one more thing - SH3 works great with Windows Vista 32-bit with no performance loss whatsoever. In fact it loads much faster when compared to Windows XP and all this on just 1 GB of RAM. So go ahead and upgrade your OS - you won't have problems at least under Vista at all.

[Jimbuna]

The SH3 folder in MyDocs has always been transferrable, provided your new installation is identical to the previous one and the game has always worked with Vista OS, provised StarForce is not enabled.