Easy Save - The Complete Save Data & Serialization Asset

Thanks Joel -

Also, I know it's hard for you to answer this objectively... .... But i'm curious what the difference is (that you're aware of) with your Plugin and the EZ Game Save one? i.e. is it easy enough for me to save a game state (of many many spawned object positions) using Easy Save?

Thanks!

 

I will try my best to answer this question impartially

Our rivals use a very different method of saving, and one that we disagree with because it's such a performance drain and uses much too much memory. So much so, their method using 'reflection' isn't actually supported by iOS anymore.

Easy Save uses our own libraries which have been used in hundreds of projects, so it is really, really reliable. In the rare case that something does go wrong, it's easy for us to fix the error. It was also originally programmed to run on embedded systems, so it runs very quick and has a tiny memory footprint. It was rewritten so that it is optimised for the way that Unity handles memory, and for the data types that Unity exposes.

We also have some of the best customer support on the Asset Store, mostly because we love talking to you guys and getting your feedback! If there's something you want implemented in Easy Save, we'll usually add it as soon as possible.

Most of all, however, Easy Save is ... Easy. Lets consider your example of saving object positions; there are many ways to do this. Here's a quick example I've written up of a complete system to instantiate GameObjects from a prefab, with a function which allows you to save the position of all of these and then recreate them:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. public GameObject objectPrefab;
3. private List<GameObject> myObjects = new List<GameObject>();
4. private List<Transform> myTransforms = new List<Transform>();
5.  
6. // Spawns an object at the specified position with the specified rotatation.
7. public void spawnObject( Vector3 position , Quaternion rotation )
8. {
9.     GameObject newObject = (Instantiate(objectPrefab, position, rotation) as GameObject;
10.  
11.     // Make sure we add our objects and their transforms to the list so we can access them later ...
12.     myObjects.Add(  newObject  );
13.     myTransforms.Add(  newObject.transform  );
14. }
15.  
16. // Save the positions of our objects to a file named myFile.file
17. public void savePositions()
18. {
19.     EasySave.save(myObjects.ToArray(), "myFile.file");
20. }
21.  
22. // Loads transforms of an object from myFile.file and spawns them in the scene
23. public void loadAndSpawnObjects()
24. {
25.     GameObject[] newObjects = EasySave.loadTransformArrayAndInstantiate( "myFile.file" , objectPrefab )
26.     myObjects.AddRange( newObjects );
27. }
28.  

This is an example I use not because it's the easiest way, but I feel it helps people see how versatile Easy Save is. There are loads of ways you can do things. You could use native arrays, you could use EasySave.loadTransformArray() and instantiate the objects yourself. You could even use the following to automatically save the position of every object in the scene:

Code (csharp):

1. EasySave.save( FindObjectsOfType( typeof(Transform) ) as Transform[] );

... though I personally don't recommend it. The best idea is that if you're not sure what the best way to save is, get in touch with us and we'll write you an example of how we would do it. Anything we can do to help!

ALSO Easy Save 2 is coming along nicely, and it really does take everything to a new level. It's faster, cleaner and even easier to use than the current version of Easy Save. Existing Easy Save customers will get a huge discount, and if you buy it closer to the release of Easy Save 2 you'll get it for free, but we'll give you more details closer to the date of release.

I do apologise for the length of this message. We're really enthusiastic about what we do, and I'm sure I could write an entire novel detailing why Easy Save is so great. However, it's probably best to let our customers do the talking, so take a look at the reviews on the Asset Store if you want extra confirmation of how useful Easy Save is

 

When do you plan to release Easy Save 2?
Thanks

 

Just want to say this is a much needed feature that I have been meaning to implement myself, but will probably just buy yours!

 

Hi Mark,
We don't want to rush it, but we'd love to get it out before the end of January

Thanks! We're always adding new features, so if there's anything you would like to see that isn't already implemented in Easy Save, let us know and we'll see what we can do.

 

That's really great, thanks Joel I appreciate your enthusiasm a lot. The performance part is a big issue for me and makes the decision a no-brainer.

I do have a couple of initial questions:
Just looking at your documents, do folders work for iphone and android?
For file extensions, can that be any extension, and again for iphone and android?
Will anything we write using Easy Save be compatible with all, or will we have to rewrite for specific exports (we intend to build for iPhone, iOS and maybe Android, and PC).

I've sent you an email as well on another question that i didn't want to bother everyone here about. Cheers

 

I was about to purchase Easy Save, but wondering if now's a good time to buy considering v.2 will be out in potentially less than a month.

If I buy now, will I be eligible for a free update? I'm just wondering what your cut off point is for free updates.

My issue is that I'm about to code the save functionality, but would rather not waste time if there's a comprehensive solution such as yours already available!

Cheers,
Tarique.

 

Sorry for the late reply everyone. As usual the forum didn't tell me that there were new posts in this thread!

Folders work for all platforms, and the file extension can be anything. On PC and Mac you can change the default folder where saves are stored, but on mobile you cant (due to the security restrictions of the devices).

The save files work on all platforms, so long as you load them using the same version of Easy Save (for example, Easy Save 1 files might not be compatible with Easy Save 2, though we will try our best to add Easy Save 1 file support).

Hi Tarique,

Any purchases within a month of Easy Save 2's release will receive the free update. However, as you've got in touch with us we'll guarantee that you get a free update to Easy Save 2.

In fact, anyone who has posted in this thread before the 24th Dec 2011 and has already bought Easy Save 1 is entitled to a free upgrade of Easy Save 2. Just send me an email at moodkie.com/contact with your Easy Save 1 invoice number and your login name on these forums and we'll email you when Easy Save 2 is ready for release. Think of it as a big thank-you for all of your support over the past 8 months!

 

Was searching about encryption and saving file, then found out about this. Looks really great, and I think I'd rather save my time by spending on this instead, since I need to ship the game around January.

I hope I'm safe and eligible for the free update as well, since waiting for Easy Save 2 would be too late for me at the moment

 

Hey Joel,

Many thanks for that. Will purchase first thing in the morning!

You're a star

 

Hiya there,

I'm going to make it so that if you purchased Easy Save after 24th December '11, you're entitled to a free copy of Easy Save 2. I'm hopefully going to arrange discounts for those who have bought Easy Save before that date too. So you should definitely get a free copy

Not a problem. Glad to help!

 

Sorry if that was asked&answered in a previous post.
Is it possible to integrate and/or hook Easy Save with Playmaker?
I`m not a coder, so I`l be glad to pay some extra for a Playmaker version add-on/upgrade.
Thanks in advance for your answer.

 

Hi Mark,

We're hoping to include Playmaker support in Easy Save 2, though I'm afraid it won't be supported on release. I'll send you a PM when we have more info on when it will be supported.

Best wishes,
Joel

 

After about 1 hour of frustration in the Unity 3.5 Devloper Preiview i found out that this is not working with JS in this version. Worked fine in 3.4 but the 3.5 of unity it seems to be broke.

 

Hi Delconis,

At the moment we are not supporting 3.5 Developer Preview as it is a beta, so there are many errors that Unity needs to fix before it is released. Quite a few plugins aren't working with it, so it's not just Easy Save.

If you let me know what appears to be broken for you in particular, I'll have a go at fixing it.

Best wishes,
Joel

 

Hi joeltebbett,

I havent seen you mention sound datas to download. Is that ok also?

 

Thanks for your question, byerdelen.

Saving/loading sound files is not currently supported. However, loading sound files (locally and from the internet) will be supported in Easy Save 2. We're looking into saving sound files from Unity, but at the moment we've found no way of accessing the waveform data.

Update about Easy Save 2

We've come to another executive decision. Easy Save 2 is going to be free to anyone who has bought Easy Save as we're going to release it as an update to the current version of Easy Save. It's going to be a little bit more expensive, so if you haven't already bought it, buy it while it's cheap.

We're going to try to make it backwards compatible with Easy Save 1 files, though you might have to modify your code slightly to work with Easy Save 2 functions. If that's not an option, either don't update Easy Save or send us an email with your invoice number and we'll send you Easy Save 1. Easy Save 2 is much simpler to use than Easy Save 1, so modifying your code shouldn't be too difficult anyway.

We're still hoping to get it out before the end of January, or shortly after Unity 3.5 is released. We're spending a lot of time on the documentation and providing plenty of examples (and a new website for it all to go onto). Thanks for the support everyone!

 

Thanks Joel.
I`m an artist, not a scripter/programmer, but I decided to support it, so it`s done, I bought it.
TBH, I have to say I also bought it with the hope you`ll create a Playmaker version for guys like me.

Many thanks and even though it`s a bit late, Happy New Year!!

 

@Joeltebbett ! excellent news about the Easy Save 2 availability for those that purchased v1.0. As We've been waiting, since we initially bought v1.0, for key functionality that v.2 is finally adding Thank you very much.

 

I've put Playmaker support to the top of the list for post-release functionality, so you shouldn't have to wait for long. I believe the Chinese New Year hasn't happened yet, so I'll wish you a happy Chinese New Year to make up for our New Year having already passed

Not a problem zhx. Thanks for the continued support for Easy Save!

 

Hello everyone,

Thought it was about time for a quick update! Massive progress has been made on Easy Save 2 and we're hoping for an early February release. As I said before, we don't want to rush the release because we would never want to release an inferior product. We're especially focusing on testing this time to make it as reliable as the original Easy Save.

Another aspect we are focusing on is performance. Easy Save 2 will be far faster and require much less memory than the original Easy Save. This is thanks to some restructuring which also makes it easier to detect errors.

Speaking of detecting errors, Easy Save 2 will allow you to catch exceptions. Want to know if you're loading the wrong type of data but you don't want it to crash the program? There's an exception for that! I also mentioned earlier that we're spending more time on documentation, and we're even getting a professional writer in to help us with it. Expect plenty of easy-to-understand examples, useful whether you're new to Unity or you're a Pro. If you're into playing about with settings, we're also going to let you do that. If you're not, there are some basic presets, or you can just use the default settings.

I'd like to thank you so much for being so patient and supportive. Thanks for all of your encouraging emails, and please do keep them coming! If you've still not bought Easy Save, it will be at it's current lower price until the release of Easy Save 2.

Kindest Regards,
Joel

 

Thanks for the update! I'll be picking this up soon.

 

Looks very nice, I'm also picking up a copy in the future!

 

Bought!

 

In my project I only need to save (and load) some int variables about player status level. Actually I am using playerprefs method and it works pretty well.
Is there any advantage or benefit in using Easy Save 2 with this simple case?

 

Thanks for the support everyone!

Thanks for your message angel_m,

If you're just saving a few ints, floats or strings, and don't need anything other than the most basic functionality, there isn't really much advantage. However, if you want to save any other type, this cannot be easily done with PlayerPrefs. You can even save arrays using Easy Save, and Easy Save 2 will have support for Dictionaries, Lists, HashSets, Queues and Stacks too.

With Easy Save you can export the save data to file so it can be used on any platform, or upload it to the web. Also there's the option of encryption. Easy Save 2 will also include scripts which can be dragged onto a GameObject and will automatically save some characteristics for that object (for example, position, rotation, scale, texture, mesh).

That's a list of the basic functionality anyway. There are many other cool things that Easy Save 2 will be able to do which will save you time and add value to your app, so I hope you consider using it.

Kind regards,
Joel

 

thanks for the updates!
hope we'll be able to make it play nicely with iCloud gamesaves too.

 

Hi zhx,

We will be including a function which allows you to load and save save files as a byte array, so it would be easy to get it functioning with iCloud. We can't explicitly add support for a particular plugin because it would cause compiler errors for the many uses who do not have that plugin, and any error in that plugin could cause an error in Easy Save.

For example, you could use something like the following code for the Jemast iCloud plugin:

Code (csharp):

1. string filename = "myfile.txt";
2. Mesh saveData = (GetComponent(typeof(MeshFilter)) as MeshFilter).mesh;
3. EasySave.Save(saveData, filename); // Save data using EasySave
4. JCloudDocument.FileWriteAllBytes(filename, EasySave.LoadAsByteArray(filename) ); // Save to iCloud
5. EasySave.SaveAsByteArray( JCloudDocument.FileReadAllBytes(filename) , filename ); // Load from iCloud
6.  

There will be quite a few SaveAs and LoadAs functions, though maybe not at release. We're hoping that SaveAsXML and LoadAsXML will be ready for release, so you will be able to parse saved data easily.

 

thank you, as always, for your great support/assistance

 

I thought I would quickly explain how Easy Save 2 will allow you to save multiple types of data into a single file using tags.

It's simple really, so I think the best way to explain it is to give an example. Lets say that you wanted to save the Mesh, the position, the rotation and the name of an object into a single file, you could do something like this:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. EasySave.Save( (GetComponent(typeof(MeshFilter)) as MeshFilter).mesh , "myFile.ext?myMesh" );
3. EasySave.Save( transform.position , "myFile.ext?myPosition");
4. EasySave.Save( transform.rotation , "myFile.ext?myRotation");
5. EasySave.Save( gameObject.name , "myFile.ext?myName");
6.  

And then to load them you would do this:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. (GetComponent(typeof(MeshFilter)) as MeshFilter).mesh = EasySave.LoadMesh("myFile.ext?myMesh" );
3. transform.position = EasySave.LoadPosition( transform.position , "myFile.ext?myPosition" );
4. transform.rotation = EasySave.LoadRotation( "myFile.ext?myRotation" );
5. gameObject.name = EasySave.LoadString( "myFile.ext?myName" );
6.  

There will also be a few interesting things you can do with tags. In this example, there will be an Append mode where you can add multiple tags with the same name to a single file, and load them all as an array:

Code (csharp):

1.  
2. // This code might not work with the release version of Easy Save 2, but it won't be much different to this.
3.  
4. EasySave.Save( go1.transform.position , "myFile.ext?myPosition", EasySave.SaveMode.Append);
5. EasySave.Save( go2.transform.position , "myFile.ext?myPosition", EasySave.SaveMode.Append);
6. // Load all Vector3's with a given tag.
7. Vector3[] positions = EasySave.LoadAllVector3( myFile.ext?myPosition );
8. // Load the first Vector3 with the given tag.
9. Vector3 firstPosition =  EasySave.LoadVector3( myFile.ext?myPosition );
10.  

As you can see, Easy Save 2 is going to be fairly powerful. But if you want something a bit simpler, tags are completely optional, so the old style of saving will still be supported.

And while I remember, Easy Save 2 will include the original Easy Save code, so it will be backwards compatible. We've avoided naming conflicts because Easy Save 2 uses (tidy) upper case method names.

 

Hmm...I don't quite understand what this asset is. Is it to save the game if the player hits the save button? Can I use it to save if the player levels up to like level 2, quits the game and doesnt have to start from level 1 again?

 

Hi there jricky,

This asset allows you to save a large number of data types to file, so it could be used to do either of the things you suggested. There's also a load of other cool things you can do with it, so it's worth checking out the documentation at http://www.moodkie.com/easysave/docs.php.

 

Today we've been assessing performance and on average Easy Save 2 is 20% quicker than the original Easy Save.

The best thing is that I still think we can still get a bit more speed out of it!

 

thats quite a performance increase!
does easysave2 support encryption?

 

It certainly does. And this time you can encrypt separate pieces of data instead of encrypting the entire file. This also means that Easy Save can tell when data is encrypted, so when you load you don't have to worry about telling it that the data you're loading is encrypted.

 

Hi Joel / Moodkie Interactive / Unity community

I've just bought Easy Save on the Asset Store, but I am such a newbie at coding, that I can't understand how to work with it.

What I am totally unable to to do is, i guess, a very basic issue:

I am creating a simple 3D adventure game, what I'd need to be saved are 3 things:

(1) Several Inventory GUI textures pixel inset positions, which are my inventory items in the inventory.
IE - when player picks up a certain item, the relevant GUI texture pixel inset is moved from its default position far
away from the screen to a pixel inset position inside the inventory bag, so that the player can interact with the GUI texture button. My script is something like this:

PHP:


var lanternIcon : GameObject=GameObject.Find("InventoryButton_Lantern");
lanternIcon.guiTexture.pixelInset.x = -485; // moves the lantern button back on screen in the inventory
lanternIcon.guiTexture.pixelInset.y = 209.1073;



Note: I don't move inventory items GUI textures transform positions, because inventory items are already child of inventory bag, which by default is off screen, and i need them all to move in screen with the bag , when inventory is activated by the user.


(2) Scene to be loaded when game is loaded, and possibly first person controller transform position in scene

(3) Some game object geometry active true or false
IE if key has been picked up my script is like this :

PHP:


var keyGeometry : GameObject = GameObject.Find("redkey");
keyGeometry.active = false;
keyAcquired = true;



Disclaimer:
I am a bit ashamed to ask assistance for this .
Please forgive me, I am a one man team (woman actually), trying to build up a simple 3d action adventure.
Its just 2 months I've started self-learning Unity Script (Java), and it's basically the first scripting language I try to learn in my life, my C scripting knowledge is more or less: level = 0 (like kung fu panda used to say on his kung fu level )

It has been an herculean effort, but, thanks to books and tutorials, I have managed to learn how to deal with triggers, ray cast, GUI interaction, and some other basic stuff: being a simple game, this is enough for now to get the game going.
The problem is that I need also a save/load function for this game.
Sadly, since now, although I've struggled with Moodkie Interactive website documentation and your provided examples inside Easy Save folder, as well as with Unity documentation and forums about saving using various methods (xml, saveprefs..)....
Until now, I've not come out with nothing but more confusion in my head about the issue.
Sorry for the dubness of the question, thank You in advance for any help available

PS If the help i ask is beyond the normal product assistance You would normally provide, I would of course agree to pay for specific assistance, if available, by You or anyone in the community expert in using Easy Save.

 

Hi there,

Thanks for your messages. I've sent you an email as I've made some scripts for you to try out!

Best wishes,
Joel

 

Thank you very much! Great Customer Support!
Thank you!

 

Still casting a keen eye on the release of ES2!

I do have a question - will it work for Mac APPs? (i.e desktop APPS)....

 

Will probably purchase ES2 depending if I need it. Sounds good.

 

@mangoblue: Hi! It'll work with Mac Apps as long as you have permission to write to the folder. EasySave 2 will also have an option to write to PlayerPrefs instead of file if you would rather let Unity handle it.

@Shallows: Glad you like our plugin; we've got more features to announce, so hopefully it'll be even more tempting in the coming weeks!

I've been working on getting the Web Saving functionality working with Easy Save 2 today. We've modified it to work with tags, and you can now Append to a web file. There will also be additional parameters (exactly like the parameters you get in web addresses) so you can specify your settings in the filepath. For example:

Code (csharp):

1. //Append our data to the file named 'myFile.txt' with a tag named 'myTag'.
2. EasySave.Save(myData, "myFile.txt?tag=myTag&savemode=append" );

There will also be an EasySaveSettings object which you can include if you find that way easier.

All the best,
Joel

 

Just a quick note: Easy Save is going to be at it's reduced price until the release of Easy Save 2.

You'll get Easy Save 2 free with Easy Save, so if you've not already bought it, get it while it's cheap!

 

You tempt me but it is still 40$ in the Asset Store. Was not that it's original price?

 

The price will be going up for Easy Save 2. However, I've just dropped the price by 25% to avoid confusion. You should see the price reduction on the Asset Store within the next 24 hours.

Be quick though, as this the 25% discount will only be applied for a day or two!

 

The 25% discount is live for 24 hours only. Get it while it's cheap!
http://u3d.as/content/moodkie/easy-save

 

Thanks Joel. How secure is writing PlayerPrefs though? i.e. the Player could access this file on their mac and change, for example, their score etc?

 

I'm so buying now if you get the ES2 upgrade free! Thanks Joel!

 

Hi mangoblue,

If file tampering is an issue, Easy Save supports encryption. And with the new system, you can encrypt single pieces of data instead of having to encrypt the entire file. It uses AES, so it's quick enough even for mobile devices, and it's really secure.

Also Easy Save 2 will still be free to anyone who has previously purchased Easy Save.

Thanks,
Joel

 

Dam, you wouldn't mind doing another in 6 Days? Payday <3

 

Sorry Shallows, I'm afraid we can't do that as we're hoping to have Easy Save 2 out before then.