Game Saves

Battery saves, save states, and syncing your game progress

There are two ways to save progress in Provenance:

• Battery Saves — The game's native save system (in-game save). Portable and reliable across updates.

• Save States — Emulator snapshots that freeze the exact state of the game at any moment. Powerful but fragile across updates.

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Battery Saves

A battery save is created by the game itself when you use its built-in save feature (e.g., saving at a save point in an RPG, or choosing "Save" from a game's menu). These are the most reliable way to preserve progress.

How to Save

Use the game's own save menu — this varies by game. For example:

• Pokemon (Game Boy): Start menu → Save

• Legend of Zelda (SNES): In-game save screen

• Final Fantasy (PlayStation): Save at a save point

The save file is stored at: Battery States/[ROM-Filename]/[ROM-Filename].sav

Supported Formats

System	Save Format(s)
Game Boy / Game Boy Color	.sav
Game Boy Advance	.sav
SNES / Super Famicom	.srm, .sav
Nintendo 64	.eep, .sra, .fla, .mpk
Nintendo DS	.sav, .dsv
Genesis / Mega Drive	.srm, .sav
PlayStation	.mcr (memory card)
Most other systems	.sav

Importing Saves from Other Emulators

Battery saves are portable — you can move them between emulators (unlike save states):

1. Start the Web Server in Provenance (tap + or Settings → Import/Export)

2. Navigate to Battery States/[ROM-Filename]/

3. Upload your save file into this folder

4. Rename it to [ROM-Filename].sav (must match the ROM filename exactly)

5. Stop the Web Server and load the game

6. Use the game's in-game Load option

If the game doesn't recognize the save, verify the filename matches exactly. Saves from a different ROM region or version may be incompatible.

Converting PlayStation Memory Cards

If you have PlayStation memory card files from another emulator, convert them to .mcr format:

• Windows: MemcardRex

• Cross-platform: MemCard PRO or similar tools

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Save States

Save states are emulator-level snapshots that capture the exact state of the game — every pixel, every register, every byte of memory. They let you save anywhere, even mid-battle or during a cutscene.

Save states are NOT guaranteed to survive app updates. Emulator core changes can break compatibility. Always keep battery saves (in-game saves) for your important progress. See Save State Version Mismatches for details.

Saving a State

1. While playing, tap the pause/menu button

2. Select Save States

3. Tap + to create a new save state

4. Or tap an existing state → Overwrite to replace it

Auto-save: Provenance can automatically create a save state when the app is backgrounded or when you return to the library. Enable this in Settings.

Loading a State

1. While playing, tap the pause/menu button

2. Select Save States

3. Tap a save state → Load

When launching a game, Provenance may offer to resume from the most recent auto-save state.

Deleting a State

1. Open Save States from the pause menu

2. Tap a state → Delete

Deleting a save state is permanent. Back up important states before deleting — see Restoring Files.

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Syncing Saves Across Devices

Provenance Plus (iCloud)

Provenance Plus subscribers get automatic iCloud sync of:

• Battery saves

• Save states

• ROM library

• Settings and preferences

Enable in Settings → iCloud Sync. Progress syncs automatically across iPhone, iPad, Mac, and Apple TV.

Apple TV users: iCloud sync is included free — no Provenance Plus subscription required.

Manual Sync

Without Provenance Plus, you can manually transfer saves:

1. Export saves via Web Server, Files app, or AirDrop

2. Import on the other device using the same method

Full guide: Restoring Files

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Best Practices

1. Use battery saves for important progress — They survive app updates and core changes

2. Use save states for convenience — Quick-save before a hard boss fight, risky decision, etc.

3. Don't rely solely on save states — Create an in-game save periodically as a safety net

4. Back up before updating — Especially if you have save states you can't afford to lose

5. Enable iCloud Sync — If you have Provenance Plus, let it handle backups automatically

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See Also

• Save State Version Mismatches — What to do when a save state is incompatible after an update

• Quick Continue — Save state previews and core picker on game launch

• In-Game Menu — Create and load save states from the pause menu

• Provenance Plus — iCloud sync for saves across devices

• Restoring Files — Backup and restore instructions

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Need help with save management? Ask on Discord.