Save game files exploding

[GameCerevie]

I am getting a large number of load lock ups, as well as crashes when I quit to main menu.

It appears that my save files are exploding in size; prior to the newest patch, my largest save file (out of dozens) was in the 69k range. My current largest save file is 1.399MB--which won't load. The cutoff seems to be in the 540k range for being able to load. These files are too big to parse with my text editor, so I have no idea what is in them at this point.

I have all DLC enabled (though no EUIV converter).

Note: on this series I am running as Mali and trying to keep the other pagan religions alive (for grins and giggles--Tengri is reformed, and Norse close to achieving it), so I occasionally stop and surrender Catholic winning wars to avoid the Christian hordes sweeping across northern Europe.

Is there something new being tracked in save files that is causing these huge sizes?

 

[Zolotaya]

I did the manual fix for saved games (moving the siege leader trait from one txt file to the second) - the game worked so I saved it for supper, and came back to a save that will not load now.

Edit: The save grew in size from 93k to over 1.5 mb in size.

I played this game from 867 until Jan 1444; I'm not very happy with what is happening.

 

[Doomdark]

This sounds pretty serious. The biggest saves you should be seeing are in the ca 100Mb range (yes, that's also too big and something we're looking into, but it's not bugged.) I really need a test case to fix this, so can you zip up your original old save and send it to me (henrik@paradoxplaza.com) or post it so I can try to reproduce the bloating.

 

[Zolotaya]

Will do. I'll send the save prior as well so you can see them. The one thing the OP and I share is changing rulers - I was preparing the save for the EU converter, Maybe this will help you troubleshoot.

 

[Doomdark]

Thank you! I've identified the problem. Unfortunately, it's pretty serious, so we will be putting out a hot fix on Friday. In the meantime, avoid frequent save/reloads. If you let the game run for a year, then save and reload, the save should be much smaller.

 

[Zolotaya]

I'm glad you found the problem.

Thank you for the workaround as well.

I'm sorry this patch is giving you so much trouble during the launch of EUIV. I imagine things are hectic over there.

 

[unmerged(474298)]

This sounds pretty serious. The biggest saves you should be seeing are in the ca 100Mb range (yes, that's also too big and something we're looking into, but it's not bugged.) I really need a test case to fix this, so can you zip up your original old save and send it to me (henrik@paradoxplaza.com) or post it so I can try to reproduce the bloating.

Did you need anymore save files to test? My CK2 game I was prepare to convert to EU4 continues to crash at the same date. When I did convert the game, I am now no longer able to open the save file. The file size is just over 1MB.

 

[dvallance]

am I missing something all my ck2 saves are in the 10-50mb range increasing in size with each save, both before and after the patch are they not supposed to be this large?

 

[Sopot]

am I missing something all my ck2 saves are in the 10-50mb range increasing in size with each save, both before and after the patch are they not supposed to be this large?

That's how big they are if you aren't constantly saving your game apparently.

 

[dvallance]

That's how big they are if you aren't constantly saving your game apparently.

well whatever it hasn't caused me any issues so hopefully it won't break my game before get to the end

 

[DominusNovus]

For what its worth, I'm pretty guilty of save scumming often, and on my Mac version of CK2, I'm not experiencing any save game bloating. Yet.

 

[trusion]

Wait wait...my saves have always been 20+ MB in size (100+ MB with some mods). This talk about saves being under 1MB is confusing - are you guys talking GB?

 

[Micgoo]

My 867 Start date save (without a single in-game day pass) is at 11,234KB which means 1.1MB and stays quite consistently this size.

AFTER the patch1.11 Dynasti are now tracked and that should make it 'a little' larger. BUT the 'Trait shift' problem and some other unknown issue caused....

THIS:
The Emperor of Abasid should supposedly be descendent of Muhummad. He wasn't due to trait shift. Some event caused his Prestige to drop down to -20000. Then I saved a game at 350MB in size and opend it up with Notepad++.
He somehow took out thosuands of loans (delayed event 38002) all belonging to him. Which is what caused the explosion in save file size. No matter how long in-game I wait the next save will aways be 750MB at which point my computer fails to handle.:wacko:

I will refrain from using `kill 34017 and plot his death, wait out the loan period and make a save. I will let you know if that solves the problem or not.

*I already fixed the trait-shift at the time I'm writing this. (All Blind Byzzies went back to born in the purple)
And this isn't the start date save it's 900 And playing as France.

EDIT: There are actually tens of thousands of events and delayed events in the save file that have the same character, just different seeds, one of them involves a regent ruling for 15 years and stealing the throne. Are these new events in Patch 1.11 which doesn't have a 'firing limit'?

 

[Hardin4188]

My saves are always quite large. 50mb+ isn't uncommon for me.

 

[zijistark]

My 867 Start date save (without a single in-game day pass) is at 11,234KB which means 1.1MB and stays quite consistently this size.

~11,200KB is not 1.1MB but 11.2MB.

Still, that's pretty impressively small. I generally don't play Vanilla but my initial (before unpausing) save size approaches 20MB, then explodes for the first decade, then begins only pseudo-linearly increasing in game time afterward. The initial size explosion period is obviously due to the explosion in the amount of new characters generated during the first decade and, more importantly if you use a mod that incorporates family relations, the explosion in the amount of opinion modifiers between said new characters, which are represented in the savegame format in a rather, well, bloated manner.

 

[zijistark]

That's how big they are if you aren't constantly saving your game apparently.

That makes no sense. There is nothing about the save game format that would bloat their file size if you frequently saved your game (or didn't).

 

[trusion]

Yeah, it does seem like people are actually talking about save game sizes in the GB range (Bug Report thread).

Correct unit conversions: the key to unconfusination!

 

[Micgoo]

Yes, it's 11.2MB instead. My bad.

Anyway, I'm quite sure that the explosion after Patch1.11 is due to thousands of 'Money lending' event and delayed event pairs written into the saves. There's also the 'Fifteen years of regentcy = steal the throne' pairs. They seem to have no limit in triggering.

The reason why sometimes waiting a year in-game shrinks the save-file is because they're dead.... I tested this by using the kill command. Unfortunately there's always monachs going into debts because of wars..... I just can't kill everyone.

Or Can I? Mwahaha......

 

[unmerged(335563)]

I downloaded the new fix today. My previous save file had exploded to 560+ MB (crazy I know.) I then loaded it up, let one in-game day go by, saved again, and it shrunk it to 292 MB. While that's a substantial size difference as it shrunk it nearly in half, it's still a large file compared to the 2MB ones I used to get. Will it continue to shrink as the game goes, or am I stuck with these huge files?

 

[Sopot]

I downloaded the new fix today. My previous save file had exploded to 560+ MB (crazy I know.) I then loaded it up, let one in-game day go by, saved again, and it shrunk it to 292 MB. While that's a substantial size difference as it shrunk it nearly in half, it's still a large file compared to the 2MB ones I used to get. Will it continue to shrink as the game goes, or am I stuck with these huge files?

I doubt it'll shrink, it sounds like you have been playing for hundreds of years and that is all the details of dead babies and other stuff in there.