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FTL shares many similarities with roguelikes, especially in that you can't save and load your game easily. However, you can save and quit.

Sometimes I get into a really good position and then die due to some random bad luck. Occasionally I'd like to experience an event multiple times to see what the outcome is. It would be nice if I could somehow save state and restore later if I choose.

Is it possible to back up this save file and restore it later? Where is it stored? Is there anything in particular I would have to do to the file in order for it to be recognized by the game?

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  • 50
    You can backup your save, but no matter how you wash afterwards, you'll never feel clean!
    – Sterno
    Commented Sep 15, 2012 at 18:39
  • 2
    The problem with beginning to save scum is knowing when to stop. It starts with restoring to avoid bad luck, but back luck is part of the game, so the save scumming quickly spreads to other parts of the game.
    – SaintWacko
    Commented Sep 15, 2012 at 19:46
  • 26
    I've been save scumming roguelikes for 20 years, but... I... I can quit anytime I want! Really!
    – agent86
    Commented Sep 15, 2012 at 20:46
  • 13
    Why is everyone honking about the villainy of saving? Games are meant to let us do what we want to achieve maximum enjoyment. Not to pursue some holy grail. Some people... have jobs!
    – bharal
    Commented Jul 21, 2013 at 22:58
  • 8
    meanwhile, * * * * * exec >/dev/null 2>&1 ; cd ~/.local/share/FasterThanLight/ ; git add -A ; git commit -m .
    – Sam Watkins
    Commented Sep 30, 2013 at 3:44

6 Answers 6

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76

On Windows 7, you can find it under My Documents\My Games\FasterThanLight. But only after you've clicked Save+Exit.

But please be aware, that this uncertainty is what makes rogue-like games so enjoyable. I just needed this to copy my career from my laptop to my PC, as the game doesn't seem to support the Steam Cloud.

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  • 33
    Enjoyable here meaning "Truly Frustrating"
    – deworde
    Commented Sep 19, 2012 at 8:58
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    it is less enjoyable if your real bad at this game yet still enjoy it. 10 playthroughs later and i still haven't finished it. got to the end boss 3 times, died twice on the 2nd, once on the first. not to mention the amount of time i've been hoping not to run into anything but a shop at 3 hp. Although the risk is fun, i'd like to, beat the game once :P. (And all this on easy)
    – Andy
    Commented Sep 20, 2012 at 9:18
  • @Andy - on that note, 'Easy' doesn't change anything except the score at the end and the amount of loot/scrap you get from events/battles.
    – Robotnik ♦
    Commented Oct 23, 2012 at 2:39
  • I would say go ahead and use not only save scumming but also memory cheats (like tsearch or cheat engine). Once you've satisfied your curiosity about completing the game you can keep playing it without any saves/cheats. :P
    – Mugen
    Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 2:39
  • @Andy: I beat the final boss on the first time I fought him, you have to have used most of your scraps on upgrades. If you spent too much on buying weapons or drones you will be too weak. Do not forget to pause when overwhelmed.
    – BlueTrin
    Commented Nov 14, 2012 at 23:53
54

In Linux, the savegames are stored in ~/.local/share/FasterThanLight.

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36

On OS X you can back up the 'continue.sav' file from here:

/Users/[your user name]/Library/Application Support/FasterThanLight

Make a duplicate of it on your desktop and then restore it if necessary.

As has been said, though, this kind of defeats the purpose of the spirit of playing a roguelike. Permadeath is a feature, not a bug. ;)

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    I disagree. I can still have the joy of the nerve-wracking "Will I make it", but be able to restart from a key point, rather than back to the first baby steps.
    – deworde
    Commented Sep 21, 2012 at 22:39
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    Also, it allows you to experiment a little with things. I dared leap my units onto an auto-scout. DO NOT LEAP YOUR UNITS ONTO AN AUTO-SCOUT. Suffocation is a horrible way to go.
    – deworde
    Commented Sep 21, 2012 at 23:19
  • And finally, thanks so much for this answer, as it helped mitigate the BLASTED SEGFAULT I got on sector 8.
    – deworde
    Commented Sep 22, 2012 at 15:30
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    We can agree to disagree on the saving thing, that's the beauty of it being a game. Also, leaping units onto an auto-scout can be potentially viable if your transporter is upgraded enough so that the cooldown is shorter than your unit's lifespan in an oxygen-free environment. Sending a couple of Crystals or Rockmen over to take out the weapon system can be a life-saver.
    – Scott
    Commented Sep 24, 2012 at 8:45
  • True. Tried to do it with a type 1 teleporter and a human. That was the mistake.
    – deworde
    Commented Sep 24, 2012 at 12:05
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For Windows Users :

You can use this script to load/save your game (See the code below).
Just copy the script into a text file with your favorite text editor.
Then save it in a .bat file like LauncherFTL.bat then put this file into your game folder.

Launch the game with LauncherFTL.bat afterwards and use the menu to save/load your game. 

:init
@echo off
set saveFolder=%userprofile%\Documents\My Games\FasterThanLight
set saveFile=continue.sav
set backupFile=continue.bak
set saved=1
set loaded=1
:choixLauncher
cls
@echo Menu FTL
set choice=
set /p choice=(S)ave/(L)oad/(F)TL/(Q)uit:
if not %choice%=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if %choice%==s goto fctSave
if %choice%==S goto fctSave
if %choice%==l goto fctLoad
if %choice%==L goto fctLoad
if %choice%==f goto launchGame
if %choice%==F goto launchGame
if %choice%==q goto :eof
if %choice%==Q goto :eof
goto choixLauncher
:fctSave
cls
if exist "%saveFolder%\%saveFile%" (
    if exist "%saveFolder%\%backupFile%" (
        call :choixSave
    ) else (
        echo Creation nouveau backup..
        call :save
    )
) else (
    echo Pas de fichier a sauvegarder...
)
goto launchGame
:fctLoad
cls
if exist "%saveFolder%\%backupFile%" (
    if exist "%saveFolder%\%saveFile%" (
        call :choixLoad
    ) else (
        echo Restauration du backup..
        call :load
    )
) else (
    echo Pas de fichier a restaurer...
)
goto launchGame
:launchGame
@echo Lancement de FTL
start /wait FTLGame.exe
goto choixLauncher
:choixSave
@echo Ecraser l'ancien backup ?
set choice=
set /p choice=(Y)es/(N)o:
if not %choice%=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if %choice%==y goto save
if %choice%==Y goto save
if %choice%==n goto launchGame
if %choice%==N goto launchGame
goto choixSave
:save
copy "%saveFolder%\%saveFile%" "%saveFolder%\%backupFile%"
set saved=%errorlevel%
goto :eof
:choixLoad
@echo Ecraser la sauvegarde actuelle ?
set choice=
set /p choice=(Y)es/(N)o:
if not %choice%=='' set choice=%choice:~0,1%
if %choice%==y goto load
if %choice%==Y goto load
if %choice%==n goto launchGame
if %choice%==N goto launchGame
goto choixLoad
:load
copy "%saveFolder%\%backupFile%" "%saveFolder%\%saveFile%"
set loaded=%errorlevel%
goto :eof
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  • 2
    This is the best and most complete answer in this whole post, excellent! It's funny how it starts in English and ends up in French :D
    – chech
    Commented Dec 18, 2018 at 22:55
7

You can backup the save file and restore at a later point if you die. The save 'files' are located in /My Documents/My Games/Faster Than Light/prof.sav and /My Documents/My Games/Faster Than Light/continue.sav Copy those two somewhere, and when you need them just put them back. ;)

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4

You can save and restore your progress by backing up the 'continue.sav' which is generated every time you press Save & Quit. Details here: http://pcgamingwiki.com/wiki/FTL:_Faster_Than_Light#Quicksaving

The save games are located here: \%USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\FasterThanLight\

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  • 1
    This adds no new information.
    – kotekzot
    Commented Sep 17, 2012 at 19:10
  • 2
    Not true. It does mention the exact save file in that folder.
    – Mugen
    Commented Oct 26, 2012 at 2:57
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    FWIW, %USERPROFILE% actually expands to C:\Users\ (username), making the C:\Users\ redundant. And actually, if you happen to install Windows on the D drive, it's wrong. So for those of you looking to copy and paste in the address bar: %USERPROFILE%\My Documents\My Games\FasterThanLight\
    – rtf
    Commented Sep 18, 2013 at 23:07

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