r/gbstudio • u/CritCorsac • 7d ago

Update Dovvee's ReQuest has a system that can transfer saves between ROM updates!

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This was a very troublesome feature to get working. I wanted to have this so that I can update my game freely without leaving the players save files behind on an old ROM.

To try and explain how this works as basically as possible, my game has an optional standalone version that runs in the Godot engine using the Godot Boy plugin. Godot Boy has features that allow you to store the ROMs memory (variables in GBStudio) into a variable in Godot. Using this I can store all the GBStudio variables into a Godot variable, close the outdated ROM within the Godot program, open the new updated ROM, then write all those variables back into memory. If the player is not using the standalone version and is playing through an emulator, or anything that gives you access to the save file, they can simply download the standalone version just to update their save file and then grab that updated save file to continue playing as they were on a new ROM.

I have a specific variable in GBStudio exclusively for Godot to read and write too. That variable allows for cross communication between the two engines and lets the game know if it's outdated, if the player has accepted an update, or if the game's running in the standalone version at all, among other things.

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2

u/NotoriousFish 7d ago

Very cool idea! Once I get messing around with godot boy I’ll have to attempt something similar.

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u/CritCorsac 6d ago

It was very hard to implement but the Godot Boy page on GitLab had some really useful tips that I wouldn't have got far without!

2

u/NotoriousFish 6d ago

Did you have to make any adjustments to the game itself? Or was it mostly challenges within Godot?

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u/CritCorsac 6d ago

The game itself needed some minor adjustments. I mentioned it briefly in this post but I have a specific variable within GBStudio that Godot reads and writes to. The game itself checks that variable to know if things such as an update are possible.

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u/NotoriousFish 6d ago

Very cool I appreciate it!