How Saving Works in The Scroll of Taiwu (Auto-Save Explained)

Short answer

There is no manual quick-save in The Scroll of Taiwu the way most RPGs have one. The game auto-saves at the end of each in-game month, when the calendar rolls over. That single rule explains almost every "I lost my progress" report on launch day.

If you quit in the middle of a month before it changes, you can lose everything you did since the last month rollover. That is the save system working as designed, not a random bug.

• No traditional manual save / quick-save.
• The game auto-saves at the end of each in-game month.
• Quitting mid-month can discard progress since the last rollover.
• Wait for a month-change save before closing the game.

When the game actually saves

Your progress is committed when the in-game calendar advances to a new month. As you take actions and time passes, the month eventually ticks over, and that rollover is your save point.

Because actions cost time, a long session might only cross one or two month boundaries. The practical takeaway is to watch the calendar and treat each new month as a checkpoint.

• Save point = the in-game calendar advancing to a new month.
• Actions consume time and push the calendar forward.
• Treat each month rollover as your checkpoint.
• There is no separate "Save and Quit" confirmation like a typical RPG.

How to avoid losing progress

If you want to stop playing, advance time until the month changes, confirm the calendar has rolled over, and only then close the game. If you alt-F4 or quit mid-month, the actions taken in the current, unfinished month may not be saved.

This caught a lot of new players on launch day who expected a manual save button. Once you know the month-end rule, the system is predictable.

• Before quitting, advance to a new month so the autosave fires.
• Confirm the calendar changed before closing the game.
• Mid-month quits risk losing the current month's actions.
• Plan stopping points around month boundaries.

Where save files live

The 1.0 English client stores saves in the game's SaveGames folder (with a parallel SaveGames_test set used by the test branch). You can reach the install folder from Steam by right-clicking the game, choosing Manage, then Browse local files.

This is also where the Imprinted Character transfer tool writes when it migrates an old imprint into 1.0. If you want a manual backup, copying the SaveGames folder while the game is closed is the safest option, since there is no in-game backup feature.

• 1.0 saves live in the SaveGames folder (test branch uses SaveGames_test).
• Open the folder: Steam → right-click game → Manage → Browse local files.
• The imprint transfer tool writes into SaveGames / SaveGames_test.
• For a manual backup, copy SaveGames while the game is closed.

Manual-save mods and old saves

Early Access had community mods that added on-demand saving. Most of those broke with 1.0's systems rebuild, so do not count on them on the English client yet — wait for authors to update.

Separately, old Early Access save files do not load in 1.0 at all. Only Imprinted Characters can be carried forward with the transfer tool. If you are trying to recover an old run, see the old-saves guide rather than fighting the save system.

• EA-era manual-save mods mostly broke on 1.0.
• Do not rely on save mods on the English client yet.
• Old EA save files are not compatible with 1.0.
• Only Imprinted Characters transfer forward — see the old-saves guide.

Related paths