Yeah I get the same crap, I love the game but the devs should allow old games to be loaded with the release of new patches. I was kicking ass in my game now its only a memory.

It's always been like this, I'm really not that surprised that it is like this considering that the new version is well...new compared to the old saved game version.

Epic Fail!

Well yes CC and act of war may be different but you have to take into account the amount of changes that tend to be in stardock patches, just look at the patch notes multiple changes to A.I., the network code and HUD not to mention the variety of changes made to ship stats and gameplay. That many changes and compatibility is an issue.

Saved game compatibility is dependent on what kind of things are changed. If you changed the layout of the map for instance, every position is broken, a saved game being transfered would require reverse engineering the positions through an absurdly complicated bit of code, a colossal waste of time. Depending on how information is stored, little things like unit stat changes are irrelevant, only removal would be a problem. Underlying mechanics and superficial details rarely break saves, save information is one layer in the process, you can generally change what a unit looks like, how it fires, what units it can attack, all kinds of stuff, without altering a save at all. They usually amount to basic stat tracking and positions. How many resources you have, what improvements you have, what units are where, how many hit points do they have, what abilities have they been assigned. The actual details, how much damage they do, would be irrelevant.

Since 1.04 made changes to the actual saved game process to fix a bug, I would expect that's what broke it. Outside of the maps that were altered, nothing jumps out at me as something that should be saved information.

Easy solution: Don't patch until you're done with your current game. It's been that way for 15 years of gaming. If you don't know that already then well...take this up as your first lesson. *Never* assume a previous save will work with a new patch for any game. Never.

Yeah you should read the change log for the patches it specifically states that old saves cannot be used and mini dumps happen at random intervals they have nothing to do with the AI

Plus, in the patches, the old files are overwritten, so it is impossible to have the newer patch play old saved games because of the difference in code.