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Best way to sync Witcher 3 save games with Switch?
toojays Jun 23, 2020
I'm thinking about picking up Witcher 3 for the Switch. Some time ago I bought it on GoG (base game, no DLC), and have played it a bit via Lutris. I'd like to have cloud saves working between PC and Switch.

From what I've read I would need to get the DLC for PC, since Switcher comes with the DLC and you need the same DLC config on both platforms. But I'm not sure if it's worth picking up the DLC on GoG since GoG does not support cloud saves on Linux. I might be better off purchasing the GotY edition next time there's a sale on Steam. Presumably Steam supports Witcher cloud saves under Proton?

Does anyone have this working on either Steam or GoG and can clarify?
Shmerl Jun 23, 2020
I don't have Switch so can't say. Is there some way to upload the save manually or it's crazily DRMed and you can't manage files there?

Last edited by Shmerl on 23 June 2020 at 4:32 pm UTC
damarrin Jun 23, 2020
Apparently Witcher 3 on Switch lets you import saves stored on Steam's or GOG's cloud. On GOG that would obviously mean using Galaxy.
toojays Jun 23, 2020
Quoting: ShmerlI don't have Switch so can't say. Is there some way to upload the save manually or it's crazily DRMed and you can't manage files there?
No way to manage files AFAIK. There are a handful of games (Witcher 3, Divinity Original Sin 2, Civ 6) which have Steam cloud save integration built into the game itself. Witcher 3 additionally supports GoG cloud saves.

If I could transfer saves manually with GoG Cloud on the Linux side that would be acceptable. It looks like if I go the GoG route I'll need to get GoG Galaxy running under Wine and launch Witcher from within that.
damarrin Jun 24, 2020
Quoting: PatolaHow can you cope with this?

He’s probably very strong mentally and physically, more in the realm of gods than mere mortals.
toojays Jun 24, 2020
Thanks for your replies.

So far I found this video showing the cloud save integration on the Switch. Since it distinguishes between the GoG base game and GotY edition I figured I would just install GoG galaxy in the same wineprefix as I have the Witcher, and get it to upload. Ignoring the issue that I don't have the DLC for now.

Unfortunately it seems GoG Galaxy cloud sync is broken in Wine right now.
The Galaxy GUI says "Cloud Sync failed. There was a problem while syncing your cloud saves." I see a bunch of this kind of stuff in the logs.

2020-06-24 21:15:05.145 [Information][Comm Service Socket Reactor (63)] [TID 884][galaxy_client]: Sending StartStorageSynchronizationRequest [oseq: 3283389592] to Communication Service.
2020-06-24 21:15:05.145 [Information][Comm Service Socket Reactor (63)] [TID 884][galaxy_client]: Sending message of type 51 [Sequence Number: 3283389592], rseq 0, size 185 (bytes sent: 185), completed OK
2020-06-24 21:15:15.241 [Information][ (0)] [TID 36][galaxy_client]: Waiting for a response to request with oseq 3283389592 timed out.


This is with GoG Galaxy 2.0.14.257, Proton-5.8-GE-2-MF. I tried some older Wine builds as well, no luck.

I expect to get the Switch cartridge next week sometime. Will see if it's fixed with newer Wine or GoG client after that. I wasn't heaps far in with my GoG playthrough and it's been a while so it's not a huge problem for me to just stick with the Switch until Steam have a sale or GoG starts working.

On the "coping" thing. Here's one way: There is so much shit going on in the world. If my biggest difficulty is juggling saved games between two incredible gaming systems, how lucky am I? This is not my biggest problem of course, it is a triviality, but I am still incredibly privileged. I knew the Switch was locked down when I bought it. I intentionally bought the newer version with no known hacks at the time so I could get the better battery life. I understand the trade offs and have no regrets.
Shmerl Jun 24, 2020
For those who don't use DRMed systems and devices, here is one promising handheld, but it takes a long time to come out:
https://www.smachz.com

It actually runs Linux.

Last edited by Shmerl on 24 June 2020 at 3:41 pm UTC
toojays Jul 2, 2020
Reporting back on my experience in practice. Using Proton-5.11-GE-2-MF as my Wine runner for GOG Galaxy, cloud syncs now work. My saved games uploaded to GOG, then I was able to login to my GOG account on the Switch and choose a saved game to download.

Uploading back to GOG from the Switch was a bit annoying, it kept failing. After I signed out of GOG and signed in again, it worked. Then I was able to fire up GOG Galaxy in Wine again and download the save game. It showed up in Witcher running in Wine.

But now I hit the DLC compat problem. AFAICS there is no way to disable DLC on the Switch. My save is unusable on PC until I install all the DLC there. At least it is sale season!
damarrin Jul 2, 2020
Glad you got it working.
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