Save file sharing is it safe/dangerous to download other users uploads?

[Yoshida Keiji]

This is a technical question not included in the pinned post. How safe is it to download other players save games? Will there also be compatibility issues if the other uses windows and I use MacBook Pro? If the other has mods and I have Vanilla, I assume there will be some issues, and unless specified by the user, is there any way I can still find out without having to ask? Has there ever been reports of downloading save files having caused malware infections in the receiving end?

Besides all the precautionary aspect, how common or often is to see players sharing their save files among trusted users?

[MCreeper]

Malware? What malware? If he managed to put along the save file malware that  somehow works, you should make that face

ask for me how he done it because i don't know, then shout about him being coolhacker.
Though i don't know too how it will work between diffirent systems, and want to know.   
Also, why this in bugs?

[Calahan]

I've moved this to GD because this is not a bug report. If you have any question about bug reports, or how to post them etc. etc. then please post them in general discussion.

As to the questions. AFAIK save files should be compatible between all three O/S's. If you find a vanilla save that isn't then please post it as a bug report.

If a save uses mods then you will usually need those mods to load the save file. But not always. Although even if the save does load there are still likely to be errors going on somewhere. All depends on what mods were being used. The game should tell you what mods a save game uses when you go to load it. Additionally, you can get this info from the log file (after the save game as loaded though), or I think also from opening the save in a text editor. (not 100% sure on that last one though, so please don't quote me).

Malware/viruses: In my 30+ years of gaming I have never known or read of anyone ever picking up a virus from loading a save file via the game's load/save menu. It might be theoretically possible with on-line games if players are sharing info directly with other players (rather than via a central server). But RimWorld isn't an online game so that theoretical scenario is mute.

In theory, and unfortunately, there's nothing stopping someone from getting an infected .exe file, renaming it a .rws file (the extension for RimWorld saves files), and then trying to pass it off as a save file. But the only way it could infect your computer is if you tried to run that file from your O/S. Actually, you'd likely have to rename it yourself first to an extension your O/S recognises as an executable before your O/S would even attempt to run it. But if you tried to load that fake infected save file via RimWorld's load menu the game probably wouldn't even acknowledge the file exists. Or even if it did I can't see any way the game would do anything other than produce an error message when you  tried to load it. (Edit - it seems it does acknowledge the file as I just renamed the RimWorld/exe and copied it to the save folder to test it, and it did appear on the save game list. But clicking "Load" just does nothing as expected).

[Canute]

A save file is basicly just a text-document.
The ending .rws is safe in this kind.
Ofcourse someone can trick you and rename a malware into Mysupercolony.rws.dmg  or Mysupercolony.rws.exe 
But you basicly should see such kind of tricks if you arn't blind.

[ison]

As far as I know there's no way to execute any arbitrary code just by modyfing the savefile, so I think it should be safe.

[jamaicancastle]

Additionally, you can get this info from the log file (after the save game as loaded though), or I think also from opening the save in a text editor. (not 100% sure on that last one though, so please don't quote me).

You can; in fact, the first thing that comes up in the save file after the target version is the mod list. It lists both names and (for Workshop mods) steam ID, and has them in the correct load order.

[Bozobub]

As far as I know there's no way to execute any arbitrary code just by modyfing the savefile, so I think it should be safe.

The only way I could conceive of is someone digging up a buffer overflow somewhere; it's possible but fantastically unlikely.

[SpaceDorf]

Mods on the other hand, that include C# code, could do all kind of things to your system