Backup your stuff Thread

I had what could have been a very painful experience if I wasn't diligent about backing up my project data and asset files.Hdd that contained everything related to my project failed. Got me thinking how important it is to keep things backed up, and I couldn't imagine losing what I have spent the better part of a year working on.

I backup all of my project files to dropbox daily in zip files that are incremented by date, that way, if my house catches fire I've always got a backup, and if I want to go back and look at a previous build, I can do that too.

What's your backup process?

Edited by: Eman333

Why don't you use version control? Like git with GitHub or GitLab?

I use Git, but I store the repository on another hard drive instead of on the internet. I back up all changes to an external hard drive that I keep in a fire-resitant box. I use winmerge and SyncToy to help manage all the changes not just for my game, but for my collection of assets and other files. In addition to that, i use Google drive to back up the assets used in my current game.

Bit Bucket for me

All my work is public anyway, so for software development projects, I just use Git.

For everything else (e.g. my password database and personal files I don't want to lose), I have a short Python script that collects all important files into an LZMA-compressed tarball which I copy to a flash drive, and I also burn a DVD with this archive every once in a while. I used to encrypt the archive with GnuPG, but since the password database is already encrypted and nothing else really needs to be kept hidden if it gets into the wrong hands, and I almost had a case where I completely lost my archive because of the encryption, I don't do that anymore.

I honestly don't make my non-software backups as often as I should. Sometimes it's a month or longer in between backups. But the most important stuff, the software I'm developing, gets backed-up in real-time. I make lots of small commits in most cases and always push right after committing.

Ugh, that is terrible when happens.

I usually back up my files like this:
-Twice in my PC, in case I shift+delete something important (I tend to use shift+delete a lot, a bad habit of mine). (frequently)
-Once in my USB flash drive. (frequently)
-Once in my external HDD. (every month)
-And when I had my laptop, once in there too. (every 3+ months)

DropBox, Google Drive and Github are good ways to have your files available on the go, without the need to carry around a USB flash drive or an HDD. But I still haven't used these services to be honest.