Talk: Save File Transfer

This article is not nearly as complete as it could be, and organization is definitely up in the air. If you edit this page to add an 'outcome', please take the time to check the other relevat pages to make sure their 'Mass Effect 2 Consequences' section is up to date and accurate! Thank you! --Lilliful 20:33, February 16, 2010 (UTC)

Anderson/Udina Decision - How does Mass Effect 2 know who you chose? It doesn't let you save your game after you start the fight with Saren/Sovereign. It auto-saves there so it can know what choice you made with the council, but there's no auto-save when you make that decision between Anderson and Udina. I sat through the credis too and it didn't give me a save end game option either.

Mass Effect creates a "game completion save" which is basically a normal save file, except you can't have access to it. If you were using the PC version, you could, however, find this file. This file isn't available to access because you can't play Mass Effect after you've beaten it. However, these files are available for you to start a new game plus from, or to import to Mass Effect 2. Each time you beat the game, even on the same character, a new, invisible game completion file is created. Don't worry! Let me know if you have any questions :) --Lilliful 19:39, February 17, 2010 (UTC)

I don't doubt this information, but during Miranda and Jacob's little quiz, you can "change your mind" (retroactively) and have the other person appear in that role instead. I was surprised by this, thinking the Cerberus operatives would correct my "mistake". Instead it came true. 129.177.44.168 22:36, February 27, 2010 (UTC)

I added the gameplay category, if that's not correct then we can change it. It was blank but i thought about putting it under Game Info, not sure though 141.189.251.1 19:47, February 18, 2010 (UTC)

Nice, but in ME2 you *can* actually play after beating the game. I wonder if it's saved as well. I hope that if you decide to continue playing ME2 after completing it you won't have any problems with save file transfer to ME3, that is, the game is still considered completed. Kiadony 17:49, February 25, 2010 (UTC)

Where does the Mass Effect 1 save game come from?

since playing ME1 ages back I got rid of all saves, dlc and game info from my xbox, only thing left was the achievements I earned, when starting ME2 the import utility found a character from 2007 that I apparently played, where could this information have come from?

Hidden save files are created upon completion.

You got lucky, basically.

Avina's Fascist Streak / Bitter Aliens

The article mentions these two traits being a result of a renegade instituting an all-human council. I played my game mostly paragon, with the occasional neutral choice. I focused on Sovereign, and when asked by Udina about humans taking the lead in politics, I chose the neutral option "Would they accept that?" It appears to me that this is supposed to create a human-led council, that still includes other alien members. Yet, Avina has the fascist streak, and there is strong anti-human sentiment on the Citadel. Does that neutral choice give you the renegade, all-human council ending? Or is this article incorrect?

Yes, aliens will be bitter both ways. The only way to sweeten them up is to save the Ascension.

Morality transfer

Does it matter how many points you have actually invested into Charm/Intimidate in ME1? Or just how high the bars themselves are?

Why Didn't I Get Any Bonuses Transferring Level 60 Character?

I transferred a level 60 Infiltrator with Paragon, Renegade, Rich achievement et al and received no bonuses. I didn't even realize I was supposed to receive any bonuses until reading the upgrade guide. Now when I start a new game and import the same character all the bonuses are there (but I am forced to choose between only 2 achievement powers the DLC squad member loyalty quests I completed so far). Is there anyway I can just import my character again without being forced to choose a bonus power I don't want? I guess I can just ignore the power but more importantly, why didn't I get ANY of the import bonuses the first time around? I feel like I wasted hours of gameplay now.

should add default choices for a "fresh" ME2 game

What are the default "Shepard" ME1 choices if you simply start a new game in ME2? This could help people decide how to play the ME1 saved game they want to import. They could try to play as differently from the default as possible, so they can see all of the ME2 content in just a couple of playthroughs. I'm not sure if this information should be added to this article or if it warrants a separate article that could be linked here.Rolenka 01:28, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

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Well I think it is Earthborn, War hero, The back and forth over who died on on Virmire is determined by dialouge(except for Wrex) as well as who became the counciler. Now I am also certain that Shepard left the council to die. But I do not think we should add this as Mass Effect is a game that everyone should play before the sequel. Thats just my opinion though.MEffect Fan 23:15, June 2, 2010 (UTC)

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I don't see how this information would discourage people from playing the original. It would just help guide them in which ME1 save they want to import, since most other things (class, appearance) can be changed at the start of ME2.

I can't do this, by the way, since I haven't yet bought ME2. Played plenty of ME1 though.Rolenka 01:28, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

I don't think putting the default choices on this particular article is the right idea. This article is mainly about decisions that carry over across the games and what the consequences of those decisions are. If you're not importing a file, then you've got no reason to look up an article about importing files. If the default ME2 decisions had to go somewhere, I'd say in the beginning of Mass Effect 2 Guide would be the best place. -- Commdor (Talk) 01:53, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

I also agree with Commdor, a list just doesn't serve the point of the article. Also I think defaults are listed in the various articles. Again though, a list of the defaults, just doesn't seem right in this article. Lancer1289 02:00, June 3, 2010 (UTC)

Would there be interest in the creation of such a list? The Supreme Deity 03:22, September 24, 2010 (UTC)

monies?

is that for real a legitimate word? how about funds instead, would that fit in the space provided. The word monies sound unproffesional and always takes me back to invader zim. ralok 18:23, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

AH!??!?! it was changed, when did that happen, im like . . . .really slow today. 18:30, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

Monies. The plural form of money. In other words, a completely legitimate word. And a completely professional word, seeing as it is pretty much exclusively used in the arenas of government, business, and economics. Of the two, monies and funds, funds is actually considered more unprofessional. Of course, since monies was removed and replaced by 'resources' well before your posts here, it's really a moot point. SpartHawg948 22:15, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

I cant help but think your wrong on that, monies to me just sounds like a childish and unproffessional word. I like it how it is now though, so yah no point in discussing further. ralok 22:20, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

You can't help but think I'm wrong, and based on real-world experience I can't help but know you're wrong. Monies is a professional term, because it is a term created by (and used by) economists, accountants, brokers, and other professionals within the field of economics. Go to any currency exchange and ask if monies is a real word, and if using it is unprofessional. You'll be laughed out of the place. Monies is the only legally accepted term for referring to multiple currencies, and in the business and government sectors, it's the most accepted term for large sums of money, which is why monies appears so often in legislation. SpartHawg948 22:25, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

(edit conflict)It doesn't really matter whether you think it looks childish because it is the more professional word, look it up. Bastian964 22:27, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

Indeed. Many professional words look childish or silly to those not of the profession in question. SpartHawg948 22:28, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

The issue here isnt fact, its how i feel about the fact. No matter what nothign you could say could convince me to ever use that word because it just sounds so damned stupid. Sure its proffessional, but to me it doesnt feel proffessional to me. I thought money was also plural anyways, thus adding a heaping helping of confusion onto it all. ralok 23:50, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

No, the underlying issue is fact. After all, your very first post was one questioning the factual accuracy and existence of the word. Seems pretty fact-based to me. As does your questioning of it again, after I provided a definition, when you said you couldn't help thinking (thinking, after all, denotes fact, as opposed to opinion, which is feeling) that I was wrong. And opinion is, after all, irrelevant in the face of conflicting fact. I could be of the opinion that the looks pretty damned stupid being yellow. That doesn't mean it'll be blue. You can have the opinion that monies is unprofessional. That doesn't change the fact that it is a real, professional word. And again, I have no idea why this was brought up in the first place. Monies was removed from the article 10 hours before your first post suggesting it be removed, so this whole thing is really a moot point. SpartHawg948 23:57, July 20, 2010 (UTC)

Stop telling me what i think, heaven help us all if someone posted something even vaguely similiar to what you keep saying to me in response to something you said. You would throw a tantrum. I CANT HELP BUT THINK, why cant i help but think this, because the word sounds friggin stupid, this is my opinion, you presented the fact. I know its fact now, and i think its a stupid fact, allow me to have my god d****mned opinion please. I however had let the matter drop a few comments ago, i said there was no point in discussing it further. You threw a bitch fit. Not only that, but you just pointed out that it was changed a considerable time before i postd the first comment. ALMOST AS IF I HADNT AWKNOWLEDGED TEH FACT BEFORE ANYONE RESPONDED TO ANYTHING I SAID. look back sparthawg, you never needed to respond to anything at all because i premetively pointed out that i was stupid. . . . essentially i tried to end this twice but you flared it up for reasons i cannot comprehend ralok 00:11, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

You did say you wanted to let it drop... right after calling me wrong. You do see why it might be hard to let that go, right? 'You're wrong. Let's drop this now.' I never once tried to tell you what to think. Stop putting words in my mouth, sir. And before accusing someone else of throwing a 'bitch fit', maybe look at the responses and see who has responded civilly, and who has used profanity-laced rants with lots of caps for dramatic effect. Accusing me of throwing a 'bitch fit', and of telling you what to think? Keep on dreaming, Moonbeam... SpartHawg948 00:15, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

So, when you put words in someone elses mouth its ok, but at any given moment its ok for you to claim that someone else has put words in your mouth even if theyve done no such thing? Look i cant help thinking what i think, you dont have to force your opinions of proffessionalism down my throat. Just because you choose to massively misinterpret what i say. ralok 00:19, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

I didnt say I KNOW YOUR WRONG, or announces to the world SPARTHAWG IS DEFINITLY WRONG, all i said is that i CANT HELP but think you are wrong. I was expressing my inability to take the word monies seriously and you took that as a personal attack. ralok 00:21, July 21, 2010 (UTC)

Is there a maximum number of end saves?

Back before ME2 was released, there was a lot of complaints about how any end saves after a certain number wouldn't be available for import in ME2. I think the number was 11. Was this ever fixed? Either way, there really should be a note about it on the page somewhere. Mehbah 21:11, August 17, 2010 (UTC)

I don't think there is a limit as I have more than 11 imports, however I can't confirm as I currently only have 14. In any event, if there is no limit, why should there be a note? If there was a limit then yes I'd have to agree, but since there isn't why? Lancer1289 21:16, August 17, 2010 (UTC)

Because Bioware said there would be a limit, and as you can see by my post here, it causes confusion since the page doesn't say anything about it. Mehbah 21:37, August 17, 2010 (UTC)

Actually all I see is you referencing something without support. I never heard that there would be a limit, until now that is. If you can find support for this then perhaps, but again if there is a limit then yes it should be in the article. However if there is not a limit then why whould we make a note of it. Lancer1289 21:43, August 17, 2010 (UTC)

http://meforums.bioware.com/viewtopic.html?forum=144&topic=714128

There is a limit of 11 end-of-game saves that can be imported into ME2. This means that if the player was to complete ME1 12 times, regardless of the number of unique playthroughs used, the 12th save will not be available for import, but saves 1 through 11 will be available.

There you have it. Do you believe me yet? Now, as I was asking, did they ever remove this limit? If they didn't, the article should say so. If they did, it should have a note stating that Bioware once said there would be a limit, but that they changed it. Because anything else is just confusing. Mehbah 22:25, August 17, 2010 (UTC)

Considering your first words, I then must tell you of your language policy against offensive language. However after digging through those forums since your last post, while eating dinner, just to note Pizza Hut's pasta is good, I found this. In the post Chris Priestly states this:

Chris Priestly I had heard that you only support the first 11 saves is this true? This is not the case. The easiest way to determine if your save will import into Mass Effect 2 is to open Mass Effect 1, go into the New Game Plus menu. If you see the save you want to be able to import into Mass Effect 2 in that list you are set.

Since it was a confusing post, Mr. Priestly cleared it up and posted the correct information, which is you can import 300 Shepards if you have the time. According to a later post, the inforamtion that was posted was a miscommunication based on data that was over a month old. Since it was cleared up on the forums, there is no need to note it because the information was resolved by BioWare. Also again this is the first I heard of it and since it was cleared up, there is again no need to note it. Lancer1289 00:00, August 18, 2010 (UTC)

The evil, evil f-word is deleted. I was about edit the post anyway, actually, since I came off as more of a jerk than necessary. Anyway, it's good that this is cleared up. I still think it wouldn't be a bad idea to include it, as the whole thing was a fairly hot topic on various forums, yet the fact that it had been solved wasn't as widely known. That's my impression, at least. But if you say it shouldn't, I guess it's not necessary. Mehbah 02:25, August 18, 2010 (UTC)

Well we all get frusterated. My solution is to go and blow up some Zerg, or currently, a few Star Destroyers. Anyway there was a lot of posts after the lockdown on the thread about the save thing since people couldn't find the post, in which case they were redirected to it and BioWare had to put a sticky on the top of the forum redirecting people to it. The 35 pages on that forum, of mostly the same authors, no I didn't list them all, pretty much closed the issue. Again I never did hear about this, mainly becuase I don't patrol BioWare's forums, unless I'm looking for something, so I missed out on something, and what a week it was apparently. Again becuase it was sorted out on the forums, within 2 weeks, and most people took notice of it, I really don't think that it is necessary to have a note. Lancer1289 02:41, August 18, 2010 (UTC)

Defaults, Again

Not necessarily related to this article, but I don't know where else to put it, other than every other page on the wiki where it's an issue. Lancer previously dismissed noting the defaults on this article (not my problem), but did so on the grounds that they are noted on the relevant pages. Wrong. There has been a massive failure on this wiki to note defaults for new players not importing a save game. Most notably, the page for Wrex makes no mention of what the default is, consequently, I have no idea what the default is (I haven't done a new game without import in ME2.). The page for the Council also makes no mention of the default. Neither does the page for Ashley or Kaidan.JakePT 07:39, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

I wouldn't be averse to having the defaults listed. Were you thinking here, or on the relevant pages, or both? As to the defaults themselves, we really only know a few (Shep's background, the Council dies, Wrex dies, and IIRC, Udina becomes Councilor), and every now and then can extrapolate on others (dialogue from LOTSB seems to suggest that default Shep in ME2 killed the rachni queen in the first game), so as of now I don't see it being a totally complete list, but something would seem to be better than nothing, in this case. SpartHawg948 07:43, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

I was mainly talking about noting things on the relevant pages. I don't particularly mind if they're listed here or not, I can see the reason not too, since this article is dedicated to transferring the save file, not what happens if you don't. As for the defaults I also mean on articles like Fist. Since he's dead in my game and I don't have a start-from-ME2 game, I have no idea if he (or characters like him, such as Helena Blake, Rana Thanoptis, Parisini etc.) show up in ME2, and reading the relevant articles doesn't tell me.

If I use the Fist example again, the current page says "If Fist survived his previous encounter with Shepard", but I think it should have a note somewhere, either in the body of the text or a Note: after saying something like "If the player did not transfer a save file Fist will not appear". I'd add that myself, but not having the appropriate save I don't even know if that's true.

I'm not so much talking about the default choices, but rather note on relevant pages if events happen or not for new players, not necessarily saying that Shepard made the associated choice, if you follow me. Using the rachni, pre-LotSB, as an example, instead of saying "default Shepard killed the queen", we'd simply say, on the relevant page, "If the player did not import the save, the asari will not appear". In this case it doesn't definitively say that Shepard killed the Rachni, but it does note what happens if the player doesn't import.

I'd be more than happy to start a game to answer these questions, but I figure if people already know this stuff, they can add it.JakePT 08:16, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

The absolute worst thing I hate is being misquoted. I never said that they were noted, I said that and I quote, "I think defaults are listed in the various articles", because I thought they were. Please do not twist my words as that really aggravates me to no end. Since they aren't apparently listed, then I wouldn't oppose posting them on the relevant articles. However this page is for listing things that transfer over via the Save File Transfer, and as such I don't think a list here of defaults is appropriate here. In the relevant articles, yes I can see no reason to oppose that, but it doesn’t fit with he contents of this article, which is to describe the things that transfer using the Save File Transfer. Articles, great, here, not so much. Lancer1289 12:45, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

Why shouldn't there be a mention about what happens if you choose not to transfer a save file in the save file transfer section? I believe there is purpose in an additional headline for it. Ilovetelephones 15:05, September 15, 2010 (UTC)

Complete if you can [1] --Perj 16:43, September 22, 2010 (UTC)

Multiple imports?

Is it possible to import the same file multiple times? Beroya 13:14, September 22, 2010 (UTC)

Definitely - it will just create a new game with the same import bonuses (and, if you've already done ME2 once, even more starting bonuses from that completion). Bronzey 13:41, September 22, 2010 (UTC)