[Scummvm-tracker] [ScummVM :: Bugs] #14737: SCUMM/HE: Blue's Birthday - Carrying over Red/Yellow CD savegames (fix included)

[ScummVM :: Bugs]

#14737: SCUMM/HE: Blue's Birthday - Carrying over Red/Yellow CD savegames (fix
included)
--------------------------------------+---------------------------
Reporter:  fusefib                    |      Owner:  (none)
    Type:  feature request            |     Status:  new
Priority:  normal                     |  Component:  Engine: SCUMM
 Version:                             |   Keywords:
    Game:  Blue's Birthday Adventure  |
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 ''Blue's Clues: Blue's Birthday Adventure'' is a two-CD game with four
 pathways, two on each disc. The original behavior is that savefiles are
 partially common for both CDs. In the original game, the following
 savefiles are generated:
 {{{
 (for Yellow CD)
 Blues1.nam
 [PlayerName1].bca
 [PlayerName1].sga
 [PlayerName1].sgb
 ...
 (for Red CD)
 Blues1.nam
 [PlayerName1].bca
 [PlayerName1].sgc
 [PlayerName1].sgd
 ...
 }}}
 ''Blues1.nam'' and ''[PlayerName1].bca'' are shared between the CDs and
 contain the game profile, i.e. sign-in information and overall game
 progress across e.g. minigames from all four pathways. The .sga to .sgd
 files are pathway-specific savefiles that get generated once you enter a
 pathway and the game saves progress. [PlayerName1] is whatever gets
 chosen.

 ScummVM generates the same type of savefiles, but its behavior is to add
 "[gameID]-" as a prefix to these savefiles, and to increment gameIDs (or
 targets) when adding what is considered ID-wise the same game. With the
 Yellow CD and Red CD being considered separate games with one default
 gameID, we get "**BluesBirthday-**" and "**BluesBirthday-1-**" as default
 savegame prefixes, thus:
 {{{
 BluesBirthday-Blues1.nam
 BluesBirthday-[PlayerName1].bca
 BluesBirthday-1-Blues1.nam
 BluesBirthday-1-[PlayerName1].bca
 }}}

 The result is needlessly getting separately loaded game profiles and
 progress by dint of ''not loading the same files'', when ScummVM would
 otherwise manage common savefiles for both game entries just fine.

 Here is a proposed fix to easily restore original functionality:

 [https://github.com/scummvm/scummvm/blob/98df6023f5699545770d30ee74f7b7ff9037b2d9/engines/scumm/he/script_v60he.cpp#L155
 /engines/scumm/he/script_v60he.cpp#L155]

 {{{
     // Prepend the target name
     filePath = _targetName + '-' + filePath;
 }}}

 ->

 {{{
     if (_game.id == GID_BIRTHDAYYELLOW || _game.id == GID_BIRTHDAYRED) {
         // Prepend generic name for shared game profile between targets
         // for Yellow CD and Red CD of Blue's Birthday Adventure
         filePath = "BluesBirthday-" + filePath;
     } else {
         // Prepend the target name
         filePath = _targetName + '-' + filePath;
     }
 }}}

 Per MD5s and detection entries, there is only one known Red version and
 Yellow version of the full game and demos don't create these files, so
 probably zero compatibility issues on that account.

 The prefix remains useful so users can distinguish these savegames among
 other ScummVM saves as well as partial overlap with the existing default
 naming.

 A minor drawback is half of the savegames - the ones not added first with
 "BluesBirthday" ID, assuming a Demo is not the initial entry under that ID
 - will stop working until they are renamed. I would say the drawback is
 minimal and the possibility of restoring game profiles by renaming can
 simply be documented in the game's Wiki entry.

 A seamless user experience fix might be to newly add a game configuration
 key by default (e.g. boolean "sharedsaves") when adding these games going
 forward, and to add a check for that configuration key in the code above.
 This way, (the other half of the) existing entries will continue to work
 with the current savegame naming convention and newer entries will have
 shared game sign-in and progress by default. However, this needlessly
 clutters the code.
-- 
Ticket URL: <https://bugs.scummvm.org/ticket/14737>
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