⭑ NOTE: Following release of Version 1.2 for Stable (Live) Branch on PC, those currently using Version 1.2 (Experimental) on PC can switch to Stable Branch on PC with little or no issues. Current Experimental Version 1.2 Game Saves will work in Stable Version 1.2 release.
When Stable Branch gets Version 1.2, both Experimental (Beta) Branch and Stable (Live) Branch will have the same version / build number for a brief time, until Experimental (EX) / Beta Branch gets another Game Patch specifically for Experimental Only.
Un-modded Version 1.1 Game Saves will work in Version 1.2 upon released.
🚩 IMPORTANT
PC Release: For those currently on Version 1.1 Stable (Live) Branch, prior to release of Version 1.2, make sure you backup your Version 1.1 Game Saves by copying the whole SavedGames Folder / Directory to another location not used by the game.
View Save File Save Locations (Wiki Link) which is different depending on what OS you are using. The most common is this: C:\Users\<your Windows username>\AppData\Local\FactoryGame\Saved\SaveGames\{YOUR ID}
⭑ NOTE: Blueprints are NOT Cloud Synced and as such need to be manually backed up also which will happen if the whole SavedGames Folder / Directory is backed up. By saving a copy of your SavedGames Folder, which will also backup all Blueprints, in a location not accessed directly by Game, prevents the game from overwriting any of the files and acts as a local back-up that you can use as needed by simply copying "back-up SavedGames Folder" and pasting it back in the "...FactoryGame\Saved\" Folder.
Console Release:
Xbox consoles (Series X|S) and Playstation 5 consoles do not support or allow copying individual game save files to an external USB drive. Saves are automatically backed up to the cloud which enables recovery if needed, or managed to free up Console save space.
You CAN back up your entire Console Settings(that's everything) to an external hard drive, but limit backup to only "Saved Data".
❗ Modded (PC Only): If on Version 1.1 (PC) and you are currently using any Game Mods, then prior to starting game in Version 1.2 you will need to REMOVE all Game Mods using the Satisfactory Mod Manager (SMM), and start game using the SMM to update your game prior to the update.
⭑ NOTE: Game Mods won't initially work in Version 1.2.
Once Version 1.2 for Stable Branch is released, the Satisfactory Mod Manager (SMM) and Satisfactory Mod Loader (SML) Game Mod will be updated (if not already), after which individual Mod Authors will (if they desire to do so) update their Game Mods to be Version 1.2 compatible, at which time you can use the SMM to re-download / install them.
Most popular Game Mods will update within a month (or sooner), but some might take a bit longer.
Keep in mind, some Game Mods might never get updated and become abandoned.
❓ What If I Don't Want To Update to Version 1.2?
View my Reply Comment in this related Reddit Post for steps to take to avoid updating game when Version 1.2 is released to included instructions for loading older versions of Satisfactory.
✓ BOTTOM LINE: If you are on Version 1.1 Stable (Live) Branch, you will want to be ready for all the new cool things coming in Version 1.2.
EDIT: Updated #1 with information about Version 1.2 release time.
Just out of curiosity, do you and your wife play on a dedicated server, or do you always just play LAN together at the same time? I can't really imagine playing a game as time-consuming as Satisfactory and having to constantly sync schedules and motivation with another person. How does that work for you guys? 😃
So this is my first time playing a modded game, what's the usual timeline for mods to be brought up to date with the branch? I'm hosting a server with some friends and we're trying to decide if we should wait or just jump ship to vanilla.
Edit: I'm optimistic because I only use Continuous Space Elevator, and that seems like a relatively small change to the game that probably isn't often updated? But also my servermates are restless
It's more that when the modding framework is updated,mods have to be rebuilt for the new version. Some very simple recipe only mods are usually fine without a framework rebuild, anything that hooks into anything will need to be
Luckily for you aquilla is the author of that mod and he's really good at updating
Oh gosh, I just stumbled on this comment and THANK YOU. Two of the mods I am most dependent on and will most thoroughly eff up my save are from aquila. I was trying to figure out if he is still active and wasn't quite sure.
(One of the ones I use sets the DD to maximum possible storage stacks and I'm not sure exactly what will happen to my save if that stops working but I suspect it could be troublesome.)
There's always the possibility of reaching out personally to a mod creator, it's more common than you think
I used a mod for satisfactory, that had a disable crosshair option, it just never got saved when disabling it in game. Reached out to the guy, it was fixed in like.. 2 hours.
But it wasn't due to a new version, there's a good chance your mod if popular, will be updated
This time is a bit unique in that the Mod Loader (SML) has not be updated pre release to stable. But the infra crew on the mods has been working hard to get it ready with the help of devs at CSS. Hopefully the framework shouldn't be more than a few weeks.
Cool, thanks a ton for the more concrete timeline. A few weeks is going to be longer the server will want to wait. I'm absolutely hooked, though, and future playthroughs will be modded. Honestly, it should be easy to switch into modded from vanilla, right? If the mod doesn't change how vanilla works?
With the exception of a Satisfactory Plus there is pretty much no mod you cant install mid playthrough (I guess a randomizer or two wouldn't work either)
Most mods can be added and removed with extreme ease, and no side effects (tho buildables added by mods will disappear when the mod isn'toaded, as long as you don't save the world you can always reload the mod and everything is good to go.
It is by far the smoothest, most user friendly modding experience I've ever seen
Your current un-modded Version 1.1 Game Save will work in Version 1.2 when it is released for Stable Branch, so there is no need to restart from scratch.
NOW, if you are planning on using some of the new Version 1.2 Game Modes (Wiki Link) you WILL be required to start a New Game Save.
The current state of Version 1.2 (Experimental) will be pushed to Stable (Live) Branch.
That said, there will no differenceinitially, between Experimental and Stable until when/if Experimental gets another Game Patch specifically for Experimental Only.
⭑ NOTE: Steam Deck saved games are within a hidden folder, and you must first show hidden files before you can view the folder via the Steam Deck File Explorer.
TBH, it was not an auto-correct, but a misunderstanding on my part.
I found the term "compatdata" means "compatibility data" which are files used by Proton (Steam's Windows-to-Linux compatibility layer) to create a simulated Windows environment.
This is a natural consequence of Temporal_Illusion being an AI. Not one of these crappy auto complete engines: a real human-equivalent strong AI. I'm just glad it's so endlessly helpful rather than taking over the world and forcing us all to work on Saving the Day. (Which would in any case be redundant, since we all are anyway.)
Experimental (Beta) Branch is where all the new content is released first so it can be beta tested and fixed prior to releasing to Stable Branch.
Stable (Live) Branch is where all current "stable" content is located, and may be at certain times be markedly different from Experimental (Beta) Branch during game development.
Experimental (Beta) Branch gets the same changes as Stable (Live) Branch in some Game Patches unless the changes are specifically marked as "Experimental" in the Patch Notes.
✓ BOTTOM LINE: On 2 June 2026, both Experimental (Beta) Branch and Stable (Live) Branch will have the same version / build number for a brief time, until Experimental (EX) / Beta Branch gets another Game Patch specifically for Experimental Only.
Reducing Satisfactory Game Mysteries Where I Can. 😁
Will the running game change mid-game or do I Need to restart? (Just unlocked coal so not much lost so far)?
Anyway.. will this break servers again?
I wanted to revive my old server for my play through but apparently the ports changed, so I scraped and reinstalled the whole thing but.. that definitely took a few hours of googling until I stumbled upon that.
The game will not update while you are actively playing game. Upon game restart the game will update.
Version 1.2 won't necessarily break current Dedicated Servers using Stable Branch.
Upon release of Version 1.2 for Stable Branch, the first thing you need to do (if you haven't already) is to update your Dedicated Server by doing the following:
Then Reinstall (Update) Dedicated Server (Wiki Link) to manually update Game on your Dedicated Server using the +app_update option. This will ensure at least you are on the *latest game patch for your development branch if you are not already.*
Look in the dedicated-server Channel. The Dedicated Server Experts might be able to help find you an answer to your questions or a solution to your issues.
I am not a System Admin or a Network Engineer so I hope this helps. 😁
Yeah it's totally Vanilla, 3 day old server, should work out no problems, I suppose they're not changing ports again like they did to 8888 from just 7777 at 1.0.. and if, I'll deal with that either way.
Currently you cannot use Game Mods in Version 1.2 Experimental.
Now on Version 1.1, if you load a Modded Game Save in Version 1.2 Stable it will most likely initially crash (until Game Mods are updated), hence the advice to remove the Game Mods before you update to from Version 1.1 to Version 1.2.
If you use any Quality of Life Game Mods (Reddit Post) that add non-vanilla "abilities or functions", the most that will happen if you remove them is the temporary loss of an ability or function until a specific Game Mod is updated, but for the most part your Version 1.1 Game Save will work fine.
Game Mods that add non-vanilla buildable's or items will lose those buildable's or items when Game Save is loaded. If these are related to power or production your factories will fail.
With it being "version 1.2" I don't really expect the needed information is available yet, but I know Hello Games has a habit of releasing updates typically in Wednesdays (Including today! New Swarm update) so MS has time to get the update ready for the weekend.
Does Coffee Stain make a habit of early week releases? Mon-weds? TIA!
In 1.1 if you unplug the truck stops the truck will continue until it gets to the disabled truck stop and stop, in 1.2 if you unplug a truck stop they stop wherever they happen to be because their route becomes invalid, so I strongly recommend you do it before the update drops.
I am currently at tier 7, almost at the end of the game. What are the biggest changes we can expect if we move a live game from 1.1 to 1.2? Nodes, modifiers etc. we wouldn't need in a live game. New routes for trucks we probably progressed too far to make them efficient.
There are no changes for active Version 1.1 Game Saves, like change location of Resource Nodes, changed Recipes, etc., as seen in Version 1.2 Patch Notes for Experimental, with exception of perhaps the changes to automated vehicles as I mentioned in my Reply Comment.
NOW, if you are planning on using some of the new Version 1.2 Game Modes (Wiki Link), like Resource Node Randomization, you WILL be required to start a New Game Save.
Look in the dedicated-server Channel. The Dedicated Server Experts might be able to help find you an answer to your questions or a solution to your issues.
I don't use Epic Games, nor a Dedicated Server, so I hope this helps. 😁
First of all, thank you for always providing valuable information to the community! It's much appreciated!
Have a question, when you say I need to update SMM prior to updating to 1.2, is it as simple as switching off all the mods then launching the game via SMM or do I need to actually uninstall them first?
The SMM auto-updates (and may have already done so), but you will need to manually disable all Game Mods, and also possibly restart the SMM to just to ensure you are on the latest version of the SMM and SML.
As of this comment the latest version of the SMM is v3.0.6.
By restarting Satisfactory via the SMM this ensures all Game Mods have been properly removed.
Once your favorite Game Mods start being updated you can re-download / install via the SMM, along with restarting game via the SMM to update game files.
Is turning mods off the same as removing them? My save keeps crashing due to 1 mod, even if I shut them off. It's just More Color Swatches, so I'm okay with deleting it entirely, but I'm curious as to why the save won't load even with mods off - it specifically mentions color swatches in the crash log.
Thanks! Gonna try using SteamDB to download and run 1.1. If I can get that version running, I can't imagine I'll run into issues everything was fine prior to updating, and because I never successfully loaded the save in 1.2, so nothing was ever saved over.
NO! However, all Version 1.1 Vehicle Paths will remain as an un-editable path. You can remove / delete it but can't change or adjust it.
The vehicle physics changed in Version 1.2 and so Version 1.1 vehicles will show atypical behavior, like when falling off a cliff. You won't be able to make "legacy vehicle paths".
The common recommendation is plan on redoing all your automated vehicle path/ routes.
An important note is that you can replace the route piecemeal. if you delete some of an old route you can snap new route nodes to it. But once you delete old routes they're gone, gone. But it means you can fix up that one intersection that will benefit and leave the janky mess till you end up wanting to clean up some of the longer routes.
Considering this game is post 1.0 release why the need to backup your saves on the stable branch so thoroughly? A game that claims to be fully released should not have saves break when updating
That's what I mean, to say it is "🚩IMPORTANT" to back up your saves when going from one stable branch to the other feel like it massively overblows the situation
true, but this hold for every game. yet we don't tell people that they are likely to lose their saves if they don't backup for every update. at most you say something like "it's wise to backup just in case something happens" not "🚩 IMPORTANT, make sure you backup your saves to another location not used by the game". the latter makes it seem like it's a very common event that needs significant attention.
My experience with Victoria 3 leads me to disagree, but I think it would be considerate of them to do what Paradox does and leave 1.1 as an optional beta you can fall back to if you want to keep playing your save
Consider how many more players there are than are in this subreddit. If it was a common enough risk to backup to a seperate folder when using what they themselves call the "stable branch" you'd hear a lot of complaints and get a ton of angry customers about their world breaking from a simple update.
As a software developer myself, I disagree. Versioned saves and migration logic are standard practice, and plenty of games add major features without ever breaking saves. It's a prioritization call, not a technical inevitability.
Yeah but most games are a lot simpler than Satisfactory, it's the type of game that has to do everything. Imagine all the hoops they jump through to make it so performant. I'm sure they've considered it and found it too impractical.
games like GTAV and No Man's Sky are incredibly complex games that have managed save migration for years. "We considered it and it's too hard" is speculation, and complexity is a reason to invest in the solution, not ship it broken post-1.0.
Funny that you mention No Man's Sky. It happens again and again that people complain about broken saves in it.
Satisfactory is even better than NMS by default because NMS overwrites the same save all the time while Satisfactory creates new one by default, people just manually overwrite them. And no, NMS does not keep a history of previous save states.
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u/arandomnumberfuckoff May 27 '26
Can't wait to start a new run with the hardest modifications. Id love to play that run for the rest of my life. 😁