Beginner's Guide to the Lix Save System

Welcome! This guide will teach you how to save and load game data using the Lix Save System even if you're new to programming.

---

1. Setting Up

First, create an instance of the GameData object. Think of it as a "box" or "save slot" where you store everything you want to save for example, the player's name or score.

using SillyLixStudio.SaveSystem;

// Create the save container (GameData)
GameData mySaveData = new GameData();

// Recommended settings to change right away:

// 1. Set a custom file name (e.g., "SaveSlot1")
mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetFileName("SaveSlot1");

// 2. Enable or turn off encryption (optional, but keeps data safe)
mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetIsEncrypted(true);

// 3. Set your secret keys (make these unique to your game! or even better, generate them dynamically)
mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetEncryptionKey("my-super-secret-key-12345");
mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetEncryptionIV("my-initialization-vector-567");

Check the full documentation to learn more about these settings.

---

2. Saving Your First Data

To save data, use SaveSystem.Set. You need three things:

1. The GameData box to save into.
2. A key (a string label) so you can identify the data later.
3. The value you want to save.

Then call SaveSystem.SaveToDisk to write everything to a file.

// Step 1: Put data into the box
SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "Score", 500);
SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "PlayerName", "Hero");
SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "LevelCompleted", true);

// Step 2: Write the box to the hard drive
// IMPORTANT: If you forget this, data is lost when the game closes!
SaveSystem.SaveToDisk(mySaveData);

---

3. Loading Data

To get your data back, follow these steps:

1. Call LoadFromDisk to read the file into memory.
2. Use Get<Type> to retrieve specific values.

// Step 1: Load the file from disk into your GameData object
SaveSystem.LoadFromDisk(mySaveData);

// Step 2: Retrieve values using the same keys you saved with
//  tells the system you expect a number
int loadedScore = SaveSystem.Get<int>(mySaveData, "Score");

//  tells the system you expect text
string loadedName = SaveSystem.Get<string>(mySaveData, "PlayerName");

// Print results to Console
Debug.Log("Score: " + loadedScore);
Debug.Log("Name: " + loadedName);

Congratulations! You've successfully saved and loaded data using the Lix Save System.

---

4. Complete Example

Here's a complete, ready-to-use example that combines everything into a single script:

using UnityEngine;
using SillyLixStudio.SaveSystem;

public class SaveSystemExample : MonoBehaviour
{
    private GameData mySaveData;

    private void Start()
    {
        // 1. Create GameData instance
        mySaveData = new GameData();
        mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetFileName("PlayerSave1");
        mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetIsEncrypted(true);
        mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetEncryptionKey("unique-key-12345");
        mySaveData.gameDataConf.SetEncryptionIV("unique-iv-67890");
    }

    void SaveData()
    {
        // 2. Save some data
        SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "PlayerName", "Hero");
        SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "HighScore", 1500);
        SaveSystem.Set(mySaveData, "PlayerPosition", new Vector3(10f, 0f, 5f));

        // 3. Write to disk
        SaveSystem.SaveToDisk(mySaveData);
    }

    void Load()
    {
        // 4. Load from disk
        if (SaveSystem.SaveFileExists(mySaveData))
        {
            SaveSystem.LoadFromDisk(mySaveData);

            // 5. Retrieve data
            // check if keys exist before getting
            if (SaveSystem.HasKey(mySaveData, "PlayerName"))
            {
                // get values
                string playerName = SaveSystem.Get(mySaveData, "PlayerName");
            }
            if (SaveSystem.HasKey(mySaveData, "HighScore"))
            {
                int highScore = SaveSystem.Get(mySaveData, "HighScore");
            }
            if (SaveSystem.HasKey(mySaveData, "PlayerPosition"))
            {
                Vector3 playerPosition = SaveSystem.Get(mySaveData, "PlayerPosition");
            }

            Debug.Log($"Player Name: {playerName}, High Score: {highScore}, Position: {playerPosition}");
        }
        else
        {
            Debug.Log("No save file found.");
        }
    }
}

This example shows:

• Setup: Creating GameData and configuring it in the Start() method.
• Saving: Using SaveSystem.Set() to save multiple data types and SaveToDisk() to persist them.
• Loading: Checking if a file exists, loading it, and safely retrieving values with HasKey() before Get<T>().
• Type Safety: Each value is saved and retrieved with its proper type (<string>, <int>, <Vector3>).

---

6. Tips for Beginners

• Use unique keys: keys are case-sensitive! "score" and "Score" are different. you can also save the keys as a const variable to avoid typos.
• Check if data exists: Use SaveSystem.HasKey(data, "Key") after LoadFromDisk to confirm the value is available before you try to get the code.
• Avoid null values: SaveSystem.Set skips nulls, unsupported types, and logs a warning, so ensure you pass actual data.
• Save frequently: Call SaveToDisk at checkpoints or when exiting the game.
• Missing data: If you request a key that doesn't exist, you'll get a default value (0 for numbers, null for objects).

Back to Full Documentation