FAQ : Why aren't my games saving properly?

Despite all the things we have done in terms of the coding and structure of the game, some things can still compromise your game saves.

This is mostly due to the vagaries of browsers.
The first thing to make sure of is that you are using Mozilla Firefox.
More about this here > FAQ : Which browser should I use to play 'The Academy'?

If you are using Firefox then there are a few things that you can do to prevent game save issues.

Account email
For some reason the database does not like any email address which starts with or contains capital letters.
While you should be able to log into the website, you won't see your playername, credits or any game saves. This is simply because the website won't recognise the email address on the database so it won't connect.
If you think that this applies to you, then please contact me via Direct Message on Patreon and we can resolve it for you. 

Cookie caching and cookie limits
Each game play creates the cookies required to make the game function.
There is a limit to how many cookies any browser can handle in a session. For Firefox, that's about 150 cookies.

Once that limit is reached, no more cookies can be stored, and new cookies begin replacing the old ones abitrarily.

An incomplete and inaccurate array of data can then stored in game saves.

Each chapter start point has some coding which clears any upcoming cookies which are due to be used in that chapter. Any cookies from previous chapters may still be present in your browser cache and may not be cleared.
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What should I do?
The best way to prevent this is to make sure you clear out cookies between game saves.
Closing and then reopening Firefox should clear your cache.
But to really make sure that you start each chapter with a clear cache simply do the following.

In Firefox > Go to the three lines in the top right corner > History > Clear recent history... > Select 'Cookies' and then 'Clear Now'.

This will clear all the cookies from your browser cache. You can select how far back you want to clear the cache.

If you do this before you start any chapter, you can guarantee that only the cookies required are being used.  
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What else should I avoid?
Once you have a nice clear cache it's important to avoid a few other things.
Running the game/website in more than one browser tab or window can 'cross contaminate' your game plays.
The browser cannot differentiate between one tab or window and will add whatever cookies it finds to the same cache.

When you make a game save or load in, the cookies from any other tabs/windows can also end up being included in the saved or loaded game.
If you make a game save which has an innaccurate array of cookies then it will always contain an inaccurate array of cookies.
That can have a detrimental effect on future chapters if you subsequently play on from that save.

So please run the website in just one window or tab at a time!
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I have many older saved games, will that cause any problems?
The dsp3000.games website was lauched in April 2022 and has been continously developed since then.
Along the way we have identified and fixed several issues and continue to develop the platform.
There have been a few significant updates which resolved some earlier problems, however some older save may still contain historical issues contained within their data array.

Any game saved before January 2023 is very likely to have innaccurate data.
Games saved before August 12th 2023 are also likely to have some issues particularly around Ch9 and Ch10.  
Another update completed November 11th 2023 further reduced the number of cookies and variables generated during each gameplay.

For this reason, we recommend deleting older saves before August 2023 and especially before January 2023.

Large amounts of saved games can also slow down the connection between the website and database too. This can slow down you playing experience and also negatively impact on game saving and loading.
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Worried about losing your unlocked bonus scenes if you delete saves...?
Take a look here > FAQ : If I delete a saved game will I lose my unlocked bonus scene?
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Updated : 10/10/2024