Wild West Pioneers Early Access: saves and playtest transfer

The November 6 patch fixes some saves with negative modifiers not loading. If a save still will not load, keep a copy and send feedback from in-game. Buying a Licence from the Priest now completes the related quests.

Losing your alcohol production licence is now recovered through a quest instead of a pop-up: the day after you leave prison, Agent Jones and Pastor Smith offer a quest to get a new licence. The developer says a save where you escaped prison without buying a licence should receive this quest a few days after loading.

The patch also stops rain starting right at the beginning of a game, stops rapid weather changes causing flashing lights, fixes the Stonemine overlapping nearby buildings and fixes scouts' inventory screen overflowing. Church, Chapel and Bank numbers changed too; see the residents and production guides. No numeric build is given, and Kingy has not tested this patch.

The Frontier Grows (Part 1) addresses several issues that could stop saves loading, but the developer says some saves may still be affected and more fixes are needed. Saves also now list in the right order in Load Game. The update raises settlements to 1,000 residents and storage to 99,999, adds residents moving between settlements through the Logistics Center, and adds Church and Chapel blessings, faster decoration and field placement, three quests and 26 Halloween decorations.

Known issue: the Level 2 upgrades for the Moonshiner’s Outpost and Stone Workshop are cosmetic only for now. Keep a copy of any save that will not load, and send feedback from in-game. Kingy has not tested this update, and the post gives no numeric build.

The hotfix adds Continue in the main menu for the latest save and loading from the pause menu. It reports fixes for freezes and crashes when returning to the main menu, plus a smoother loading transition. It does not promise recovery of every damaged save.

For a reproducible failure, the developer asks you to load the affected save, press Esc, choose Send Feedback, and add a short title and description. Keep an untouched copy; sending feedback is not a repair.

The Steam storefront showed Add to Cart after its announced 12:00 UTC unlock on September 25. The publisher also posted an Early Access launch announcement. The old Request Access invitation was for the ended playtest; use the current store listing for the released game. Steam availability does not by itself verify the opening quest or save behavior.

Use this diagnostic sequence for an existing Steam Early Access save that fails to open. The patch names a Saloon-related failure but gives no error signature that lets a player identify it with certainty. Having a Saloon in the town does not prove the cause. These are suggested checks derived from the note, not a tested recovery method.

1. Record your installed build, the save name, its last known working session and what happens when loading it. Keep the original save intact; do not overwrite it with a new settlement.
2. Install the applicable Steam update and confirm build 0.1.0_19530_20260927_Steam or a later applicable version. Record the new build before retrying.
3. Find the intended save by its name and any details the menu shows. This patch displays longer names and sorts saves by most recent use; the first entry is not necessarily the most advanced settlement.
4. Load that same save. If it opens, check the town, Saloon, active objective and an identifiable recent construction or resource change before deciding that the expected progress is present.
5. If the menu offers a separate new save, use a distinct name after checking progress and confirm it appears in the load list. If loading still fails, report the exact save/build and whether the failure is an error, crash or stalled loading screen.

The developer first acknowledged launch-day crashes, then published hotfix 0.1.0_19478 on September 25. Its notes report fixes for crashes related to resident movement, graphics during long sessions and particles casting shadows, plus increasing memory use after resolution changes, opening some UI and switching applications. The September 26 hotfix reports a fix for a freeze when the Bandit cutscene begins while the player is outside the settlement. The September 27 update addresses crashes from fireplace and light effects at day/night transitions. The September 30 patch says faulty save files now allow loading another file; the October 2 patch reports further caravan restoration and saving fixes. These are developer reports, not a guarantee that every crash or lost save is repaired. Record the installed build and what happened before a remaining failure.

A player in the save discussion describes Escape > Save Game and a new-save option. This has not been independently tested on a known release build. Look for that option in your own menu before a long session; if available, make a separate save and confirm it appears in the load list before relying on it. The autosave interval and a recovery method for already-lost progress remain unconfirmed.

The official notes also report fixes for blank FAQ/pop-up panels after returning, controls failing after starting a new session from the main menu, ESC/cutscene-skip inputs stopping, a permanently stopped in-game clock, and errors around resolution changes or placing buildings where there are few trees. If one of those problems persists, check the installed build and report the exact steps to reproduce it.

The note does not identify a fix for save transfer, autosave or recovery of progress already lost. It does not update the Residents’ Needs tent objective, opening quest, production costs or road behavior. Those answers remain bounded by the separately identified playtest and launch evidence.

The September 26 hotfix increases the Barber Shop operation range. It fixes workshops collecting resources before a full production cycle is supplied, recipe changes stopping production at night, and some linked buildings disconnecting after a Food Store upgrade. It also fixes scouts getting stuck after they return from a popup, missing Moonshine Boxes in the Priest questline, and a freeze when the Bandit cutscene starts outside the settlement.

These are developer-reported fixes, not Kingy tests. The notes do not say they change the Residents’ Needs tent objective, opening costs, road trimming or save transfer. Keep those questions tied to the evidence or your installed build.

The September 28 patch reports a fix for Jamie not responding after loading a save and lowers caravan cost from 20 to 5 canned food. The September 30 patch removes iron ore from canned-food recipes, changes trader unlock and restock behavior, and allows Farms and Cattle breeders to move when no fields or pastures are built. Do not use the earlier cost or movement rules without checking the current update.

The October 2 Week 1 notes report additional quest, production, settler, scout, caravan, saving and interface fixes. They do not provide a numeric build or prove that an already affected save recovers. Match the named issue to the patch note, preserve the original save, and record the installed build and observed result.

The October 7 hotfix reports faster loading for large late-game saves. It also adds pickup highlighting while holding Ctrl and shows a skip option for escape dioramas after 15 seconds. These notes do not promise recovery of a damaged save or resolution of every quest problem; preserve your save and record the installed build before retrying.

Changes to starting resources and quest order are documented. Their effect on an existing save has not been verified here; a new game may be useful for comparison, but is not presented as a required fix.

1. Identify whether the save and walkthrough you have are from the demo, September playtest or Early Access.
2. Keep the original save intact while checking for an explicit transfer statement.
3. On release, inspect the current objective, tent unlock and early costs before resuming an old route.