Skyrim save size: what issues can it bring?

[Ramagast]

So, I'm trying a heavily modded game. Clean, well-known mods with compatibility patches etc, but a lot of them. Script-heavy ones too (like Frostfall or SkyRe). No mods with dirty references or leaking scripts, no abandoned mods with tons of issues. Latest SKSE with [Memory] tweaks, ENB with ENBoost, you get the picture.

And I can't help but notice my growing save files. They've started at 10MB and now, after 30-40 hours of gameplay, they are reaching 21 MB. And they won't stop there. I've checked with save cleaners - no orphaned scripts of script references (I'm doing it each 5-10 hours, but currently it's nothing to clean). Cell reset won me a couple of megabytes, of course, but my travels quickly brought them back. So, my saves are just big cause I'm using a lot of mods.

So I've started to wonder. What will happen if my saves hit, say, 30MB? 40 MB? 50 MB? Obviously, it'll take longer to them to save and load. But what else? Will the game start to fail? Will its performance drop? What can I expect? Has anyone played modded Skyrim with 50 MB save size and lived to tell the tale? And what are my options otherwise than starting a new game with, well, less mods? =)

I've tried to google it, but most topics I've found are quite old, dating back to the time when saves where a big problem on consoles.

[Hyacathusarullistad]

All the experiences I've had with save files that size were the result of dirty mods and such, and it led to not only the longer save and load times you mentioned, but also general instability and random bugs out my ears -- quests not firing, buggered AI, unresponsive UI, and the like. I've never had a seemingly clean, healthy save get any larger than about 30MB, even after 80+ hours of play with the beefiest of mods. Keep an eye on it, sure, but usually my save size, when it's grown so quickly, plateaus around level 35-45 and hovers around the 25-30MB range from there forwards.

[camaro_69_327]

First i will say ...i run 250+ mods....:)All teh heavy hitters...Frostfall, Sky-Re, Convient horses, IW , IC, name it. IF you are checking your saves and don't see any Orphaned Scripts, Keep tabs but don't worry to much , as you Progress the game should start its clean up routines , clearing dead bodies...ect..ect.

 

Do you run SKSE and have an SKSE.ini with the "ClearInvalidRegistrations=1" , its SKSE trying to keep up on orphaned scripts for you. (if not check my SIG).

 

MY very first save is 5 MB

20 HRS = 14 MB

50 HRS = 19 MB

90 HRS = 22 MB

My Current save is 130 hours and = 27 MB

 

IT has slowly grown......no real jumps in size...Save often, Make new saves a lot leaving the old behind :smile:

 

Now the important Question....DO you throw things on the ground? . Swords, shields , clothes , armor and what not? I never do , if i have something i need discarded i put stuff in dead bodies or a barrel i know will respawn. The game has to track every last thing you drop...Forever! That Sword you dropped on day one will be there on Day 200.***

 

***Edit, Actually i have not verified this in Skyrim, it was true in all the previous games...Gonna have to go Drop that Apple (did it for my Horse in Oblivion) the previous Apple in Oblivion survived 900 hours of game play...hahahha

Edited October 28, 2014 by camaro_69_327

[Ramagast]

I'm not throwing items on the ground - well, mainly because I've played Oblivion too =)
Neither do enemies - I'm using Unofficial Skyrim Patch which deals with weapons that enemies like to drop in vanilla Skyrim.
But... I may be using Jaxonz Positioner =)
Only for my house, but it's somewhere around a hundred items in non-respawnable cell that game has to keep track of.

My save size has gone down slightly when I've finished a couple of quests in Windhelm (which is somewhat strange).

Thanks for your answers! They are slightly reassuring.
Still, It'll be great to hear from someone playing with a big save size =)

[Ramagast]

Hope I can "up" this topic, if this is not against forum rules. I'm sure someone else encountered growing save sizes without leaking scripts before? What was the maximum save size upon finishing the game?
Big thanks to Hyacathusarullistad and camaro_69_327 for their answers.

[saurusmaximus]

I think the largest savegame I ever had was in the 23mb range, that's with ~200 mods in my load order, several of which were actually merged files (I actually don't know exactly how many mods are in my game anymore, shame on me). I don't use SkyRe or anything like that, but I do have EGO, Wet and Cold, DSR and things of that nature. I don't do a lot of item dropping, if I have something I don't want, I either sell it (increase that Speechcraft you know :) )or dump it in a chest somewhere. I can also tell you that I have had to use the Savegame Script cleaner on more than one occasion to rescue a save that wouldn't play anymore.