Upload an existing How to Fish save to Steam Cloud
Dazed Games added Steam Cloud in Patch 1.0.12. The developer gives one important migration step for campaigns created before this patch: run How to Fish on the PC where the save already exists, then exit the game once to upload that save.
- Choose the source device first. Use the PC or Steam Deck that currently shows the campaign, island progress, equipment and currency you want to keep.
- Restart Steam and install Patch 1.0.12 or later. Do not start the migration from an older build.
- Open How to Fish on that source device. Confirm the expected save appears before entering or creating another campaign.
- Make one normal save cycle. Press Save if appropriate, then leave through Main Menu or Quit and close the game.
- Let Steam finish synchronization. Keep the source device online and do not immediately open the game elsewhere while Steam is still processing the exit.
- Open the destination only after upload completes. Confirm the campaign, island and important equipment before continuing play.
Sync a save between Steam Deck and Windows PC
Steam Deck Verified and Steam Cloud are separate features, but How to Fish now has both. Verified covers Deck compatibility; Patch 1.0.12 supplies the save-sync feature. Use the same Steam account, upload from the device with the correct campaign, and wait for synchronization before switching.
| Situation | Safe sequence | Do not assume |
|---|---|---|
| Deck has the wanted save; PC is blank | Update and exit once on Deck, wait for sync, then open on PC | That opening the blank PC first will fetch the right campaign |
| PC has the wanted save; Deck is blank | Update and exit once on PC, wait for sync, then open on Deck | That Steam Deck Verified alone performs save migration |
| Both devices show different progress | Close both games and back up both local folders before choosing a source | That How to Fish merges two campaigns |
| Destination still has no save | Stop creating slots, preserve the source and repeat the version/sync checks | That reinstalling will reconstruct the missing campaign |
Check skin unlocks separately after switching devices
Community mod documentation describes skin unlocks as a separate local profile shared by world saves. Patch 1.0.12 announces save-file synchronization without specifying that profile's Cloud coverage. Keep the source data, then check both the campaign and the unlocked skin collection on the destination. A correctly loaded world alone does not establish that every skin followed it.
Steam Cloud still looks disabled or the save is missing
An earlier post described Cloud looking disabled after the patch. A September 13 community post now describes no Cloud upload starting before a planned switch to a laptop. The author does not identify a game build, error message or completed recovery. Steam Cloud support does not guarantee every upload succeeds, and this report does not establish a missing or deleted campaign.
If Steam never starts synchronization, stay on the device with the correct save. Check the installed update and source-device launch-and-exit sequence below before opening the laptop. If Steam instead shows an error or a conflict, preserve both local copies and record that exact status.
- Fully restart Steam. Install every pending How to Fish update and confirm the game is no longer on 1.0.11.
- Return to the source device. Confirm the wanted save is still present there. If it is, do not delete or replace it.
- Exit normally again. Open the wanted campaign, save, return to Main Menu or Quit, and allow Steam time to finish the upload.
- Check that Steam Cloud is enabled in your Steam client. If the client reports an error or remains out of sync, keep both local copies intact instead of repeatedly launching both devices.
- Report the exact state. Include Patch 1.0.12 or later, source and destination device, whether Steam showed synchronization, and whether either device still has the correct campaign.
Do not use a replacement executable, unknown cloud utility or another player’s save. Those actions add new variables and can overwrite the only intact local copy.
Did Steam Cloud delete my inventory?
An empty inventory after loading does not, by itself, show that Steam Cloud caused the loss. A September 12 community report describes losing the whole backpack on a second load, but does not mention switching devices or a Cloud conflict.
If this happened on one device, start with the same-campaign inventory checks. If it happened after moving between PC and Steam Deck, compare the campaign and last known good state on both devices. Close the games and copy both local data folders before resuming synchronization; preserve the device with the wanted inventory first. Do not repeatedly open and exit the empty state to force an upload.
The upload steps above apply to a source campaign you already know is correct. Cloud support is not an item-restore tool, and a newer timestamp does not mean that copy contains the inventory you want.
Skins and fish index missing after a laptop session
A September 15 community report describes a main PC losing skins and fish-index entries after a laptop session on the same Steam account. Campaign progress, achievements and weapon upgrades reportedly remained. The account describes the order of events, but does not establish which files changed, whether Cloud caused the loss or how to recover the missing collections.
If this matches your situation, stop using the normal upload sequence until both devices' data is preserved. Close the games and keep a separate dated copy of each complete local folder. Compare the equipment's unlocked skins and the in-game Tab collection as well as the world; an intact campaign alone is not enough. Use the five-part progress check to record what remains.
Patch 1.0.12 announces save-file sync without describing skin-profile or collection-file coverage. Do not force a newer upload, merge the two folders or replace profile files on guesswork. Preserve any last known good copy and the Steam sync messages for a recovery report.
Protect two different local saves before resolving a conflict
Dazed Games has not published a How to Fish-specific rule for merging two divergent campaigns or deciding which timestamp wins. If both devices have meaningful progress, preserve both before responding to a Steam conflict or opening the game repeatedly.
- Close How to Fish on both devices. Stop new saves while the states differ.
- Back up each local folder separately. On Windows, copy the complete
%USERPROFILE%\AppData\LocalLow\Dazed Games\How to Fish\folder to a dated location. Do not merge its files with the other device. - Record the state you want. Note the island, equipment, currency and last-played time shown on each device.
- Select one source only after comparing both. Keep the other backup untouched until the chosen campaign opens, saves and reopens correctly on the destination.
The Windows folder is community-documented rather than published in the patch note. Confirm it exists and matches the current modified time before treating it as the live data folder.
What Steam Cloud does not prove
- Steam Cloud does not replace the corruption checks and backups added in Patch 1.0.11; these are separate protections.
- The announcement does not document conflict-merging behavior, backup filenames, retention, quota details or a manual cloud-restore browser.
- Cloud sync on one Steam account does not establish that a host world can be transferred safely to a different account.
- A successful upload cannot restore items or progress already missing from the source save.
- The Steam store feature panel may lag behind the official patch announcement; the explicit Patch 1.0.12 statement is the current game-specific answer.