Fledgling Fyora CafeSpy Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 I am in the middle of a playthrough , enjoying it thoroughly by the way, took about a week off , came back to the game and i cant save . I get a message that reads " Save Error: Couldn't open the header file." When I quit it reads " Couldn't write preferences file." If some one could please help me as I am in the middle of play through I am really enjoying , I would be very grateful. And before any one asks yes I did verify and repair already. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt TriRodent Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 If the game is still open from where you left it, can you leave the zone you're in? The game should auto save at that point. If not, can you load an earlier/auto save? Have you completely closed the game & restarted? Have you rebooted the computer? Thus ends the extent of any tech help I might give...alas. Thankfully though there are people much brighter about such things than me who will probably be along shortly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 Another question is where did you buy the game? If from Spiderweb site then the problem is with the game or the computer. If from a third party site like Steam, then they add their own layer of software that can sometimes cause problems. Writing to the preference file sounds like a game problem. I've seen that once, but restarting the game fixed it even though lot the save. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 1 hour ago, Randomizer said: Another question is where did you buy the game? If from Spiderweb site then the problem is with the game or the computer. If from a third party site like Steam, then they add their own layer of software that can sometimes cause problems. Writing to the preference file sounds like a game problem. I've seen that once, but restarting the game fixed it even though lot the save. Wait what? I have it from steam!!! Will I lose my saves too? It loads fine for me so far, but I don't want to lose my saves regardless Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora CafeSpy Posted May 2, 2021 Author Share Posted May 2, 2021 (edited) To answer , Yes I reloaded ,restarted went to another zone and prayed to gods of video games and whiskey . It did not help. And I bought the game from GOG. Well, the whiskey helped a little . Edited May 2, 2021 by CafeSpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hatchling Cockatrice Randomizer Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 You only lose the information that you were trying to save when you had the problem. I don't think it will ruin any of your other saved games, however file corruption can still occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ineffable Wingbolt TriRodent Posted May 2, 2021 Share Posted May 2, 2021 1 hour ago, CafeSpy said: Well, the whiskey helped a little . I didn't notice earlier that that was your initial post...reading further down though I've come to the conclusion that you'll fit in well with us reprobates... (hoists my rum & coke off in your general direction) Post 2 is helpful. Is it a specific save location that's the problem (can you save in a different save slot & it works or are 'all' saves corrupted?). As you got it from GOG, try downloading it again & reinstalling. Doing so 'shouldn't' overwrite your saved game files...but before doing so, copy that whole folder elsewhere/rename it so that you have a backup (with a Windows system it's in your 'Documents' folder under Spiderweb Software. Apple I'm not sure but a search in this subforum should find it) CafeSpy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Garrulous Glaahk Chopkinsca Posted May 3, 2021 Share Posted May 3, 2021 Has anything else on your system changed in that week between playing? I'm not a smart person, but it sounds either like file corruption, or something with the write/read permissions on the files/folders. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora CafeSpy Posted May 3, 2021 Author Share Posted May 3, 2021 (edited) Ok I tried deleting and reloading the game . Didn't work . I've noticed I'm able to save and overwrite in other save slots . The first save slot , Quick save and Autosave slots are all giving me those error messages when I try to overwrite them . However , the mystery is I can load the game from either of those spots so this makes absolutely no sense. The only change to my computer in the last week was a nvidia graphics driver update. Also when i quit the game from the Title screen so, no save necessary it gives me the " Couldn't write preference file " error message before exiting. Edited May 3, 2021 by CafeSpy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Artila Biggus Posted July 1, 2022 Share Posted July 1, 2022 (edited) A key symptom of the OP's problem is that he can't save the preferences file. I had the same problem initially. Whitelisting "geneforge mutagen" with his antivirus software should fix the problem. The developers really should reconsider the file location for saves and settings. Computer security has evolved. My Documents now has a level of security that is not needed for games. A well designed game should not require whitelisting. Frequently the game gets into a state where it can't open the header file for saves. Normal saves, quicksaves, and autosaves don't work. Overwriting old saves doesn't work. This makes the game essentially unplayable. I am playing the Epic Games version in case that matters. Edited July 1, 2022 by Biggus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fledgling Fyora barak302 Posted July 3, 2022 Share Posted July 3, 2022 On 7/1/2022 at 11:39 AM, Biggus said: A key symptom of the OP's problem is that he can't save the preferences file. I had the same problem initially. Whitelisting "geneforge mutagen" with his antivirus software should fix the problem. The developers really should reconsider the file location for saves and settings. Computer security has evolved. My Documents now has a level of security that is not needed for games. A well designed game should not require whitelisting. Frequently the game gets into a state where it can't open the header file for saves. Normal saves, quicksaves, and autosaves don't work. Overwriting old saves doesn't work. This makes the game essentially unplayable. I am playing the Epic Games version in case that matters. how did you whitelist the game? i use the epic version(or at least try to use it) and i can't save at all Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Artila Biggus Posted July 5, 2022 Share Posted July 5, 2022 Press command, type "virus" into the search box, and then select "Virus and Threat Protection" Under "Virus and Threat Protection Settings," click on "manage settings" Scroll down to "Exclusions" and click on "Add or Remove Exclusions" After that it's self-explanatory. If you want to confirm the process name press ctrl-alt-delete to bring up the process manager. Or just whitelist "geneforge mutagen" barak302 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Curious Artila Biggus Posted July 6, 2022 Share Posted July 6, 2022 In addition to whitelisting, make sure to install the game on C:. That solved my remaining problem. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Well-Actually War Trall alhoon Posted July 7, 2022 Share Posted July 7, 2022 I have the steam version and I didn't experience problems. Amira The Hot Potato 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.