How to Manage Worlds and Saves on Your Vintage Story Server

Vintage Story saves your world progress as save files on your server. Over time you might want to switch to a different save, keep a copy of your current world before making big changes, or recover a save after something unexpected happens. The RiverHosting panel gives you a dedicated place to handle all of this without needing to dig through files manually.

Before you start

• You need an active Vintage Story server on RiverHosting. Log in to the panel at panel.riverhosting.com and open your server.
• Stop your server before switching to a different save or deleting a save file. Making changes while the server is running can cause data loss.
• If you want to keep a copy of your current world before making any changes, create a backup first using the Backups tab.

1. How to find your worlds and saves

The Worlds and Saves page is where you manage all save files for your Vintage Story server. Here is how to get there:

1. Log in to the RiverHosting panel at panel.riverhosting.com.
2. Click on your Vintage Story server to open its page.
3. In the left-hand menu, click Worlds & Saves.

You will see a list of all save files currently stored on your server. Each entry shows the save file name so you can tell them apart at a glance.

2. How to switch to a different save

If you have more than one save on your server, you can switch between them from the Worlds and Saves page. This is useful if you want to run a fresh world alongside an existing one, or swap back to an older save.

1. Stop your server if it is currently running. Use the stop button at the top of your server page.
2. Go to Worlds & Saves in the left-hand menu.
3. Find the save file you want to use and select it as the active save.
4. Start your server again. It will now load the save you selected.

3. How to download a save file

Downloading your save file gives you a personal copy you can keep on your own computer. This is a good habit before making large changes to your world or updating the server.

1. Go to Worlds & Saves in the left-hand menu.
2. Find the save file you want to download.
3. Click the download button next to it.
4. Save the file somewhere safe on your computer.

4. How to upload a save file

If you have a save file from a previous server, a single-player world you want to bring online, or a backup copy you want to restore manually, you can upload it using the File Manager.

1. Stop your server before uploading.
2. In the left-hand menu, click Files to open the File Manager.
3. Navigate to the folder where Vintage Story stores its save files. This is typically inside a saves or data folder in your server directory.
4. Click the upload button and select your save file from your computer.
5. Once the upload finishes, go to Worlds & Saves and set the uploaded file as the active save.
6. Start your server.

5. How to delete a save file

If you no longer need an old save, you can remove it to free up space. Be careful with this step because deleted save files cannot be recovered unless you have a backup.

1. Stop your server.
2. Go to Worlds & Saves in the left-hand menu.
3. Find the save file you want to remove.
4. Click the delete button next to it and confirm when prompted.

Troubleshooting

• The server does not load my save after switching. Make sure you stopped the server before switching saves, then started it again after selecting the new one. Restarting is required for the change to take effect.
• My uploaded save does not appear in Worlds and Saves. Check that you uploaded the file to the correct folder in the File Manager. The file must be in the right directory for the panel to detect it. If you are unsure, check the existing save file location as a reference.
• The server crashes when loading my save. This is often caused by a version mismatch between the save file and the current server version. Check the server version under Server Config and compare it to the version the save was created on.
• I accidentally deleted my save. If you created a backup before deleting it, go to the Backups tab and restore from there. If no backup exists, the save cannot be recovered from the panel.
• My world is missing progress after restarting. Vintage Story auto-saves periodically, but some recent changes may not have been written before the server stopped. Check your save file and consider enabling more frequent saves if the game supports it.

Need help?

If you run into an issue that is not covered here, the RiverHosting support team is ready to help. You can reach us through the support page and we will look into it with you.