Automated save backups

[drunkenmonkey (OP)]

Hey guys, new player here.   Because I'm a nervous newb, I wanted to be able to save my game periodically without having to actually leave the game.   I have some batch scripting skills, so I put them to work for a few hours and came up with something that can periodically (e. g.  every 5 minutes) back up my database files for me without disturbing me or the game.   

If anyone is interested in trying it out I'd be happy to share my work.   Feedback, including "this seems unnecessary, nervous newb" is welcome.

[Father Tim]

Thanks!

You are not the first to build such a thing, but I don't remember where to find any of the older ones.  I suspect most of us use a more manual backup system of 'make a copy of the db every hour or so if I remember, or at the beginning of each play session, or whatever'.

The good news is that C# Aurora has this functionality built in, as it has been asked for so often, so when Steve releases C# Aurora late next year we'll all be set.

[Erik L]

There are two utilities currently which perform backups. They are the Aurora backup utility by me, and the Aurora Wrapper by AcidWeb.

They both have subforums under Installations.

[drunkenmonkey (OP)]

Thanks guys!  I feel a bit silly now.   Maybe there's still value in posting it?  Let me know.   The things that it does are:
1) Uses shadow copy to avoid interfering with Aurora running.
2) Makes two copies and compares them to ensure consistency - if Aurora was writing to the file(s) it starts the process over again to ensure a good backup.
3) Compresses the backups.   With my new game I'm getting about 90% compression with 7-Zip (25MB file goes to 2. 5MB).
4) Date/Time naming scheme means the files are always unique and sortable.   
5) Generically written, so can be used to capture just the main Stevefire. mdb, all Stevefire. mdb. X files too from the wrapper, or other things (e. g.  use it for something other than Aurora if you like).
6) Configurable parameters, including the timer and the backup location, and can turn off each of these options (shadow copy, compression) based on preference.

The one thing it does not currently do is manage old backups, e. g.  the revolving backup scheme done by the wrapper.   Compression means you can keep a lot of them around, so far I don't see a strong need to delete them.   Thoughts?

[drunkenmonkey (OP)]

Well, since no one has asked for it, I'll just continue using it myself.   If anyone is interested feel free to send me a note!