• After 15+ years, we've made a big change: Android Forums is now Early Bird Club. Learn more here.

Help Backing up Android game with DLC

B

Bilestoad17

Lurker
I have an app-driven board game (Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth) and would like to ensure that I will have access to the app when my son is old enough to play with me. I do not want to rely on the app being available on the play store for years to come. I am able to back up the apk file and install it on a different device, but then it does not include the dlc. Is there a way to back up the original app plus all dlc so that I can access the complete game on any android device without the play store?
 
I believe that downloaded game data just gets saved to your internal storage (hence why apps that download additional data need access to photos/media).

Use a file browser on your phone or connect to a PC and check your internal storage for an "Android" folder. Inside that there should be one labeled "obb". You should be able to find what you need there.
 
Brian706 said:
I love TiBu but will it back up what he needs without root?

I'm always rooted so I've never used it without.
Click to expand...


Thats a good questions, t tell you the truth I vaguely remember what stock recovery even looks like :) . I have seven years as a rooted user . Yes, I believe root is required. Oops
 
Brian706 said:
I believe that downloaded game data just gets saved to your internal storage (hence why apps that download additional data need access to photos/media).

Use a file browser on your phone or connect to a PC and check your internal storage for an "Android" folder. Inside that there should be one labeled "obb". You should be able to find what you need there.
Click to expand...
The obb folder is empty, but when I run the app on my phone, the dlc is present.
 
What device are you using? And how did you look for the obb? Was it through your PC or through a file browser on the device?
 
MrJavi said:
Welcome toAndroid Forums @Bilestoad17

You might be interested in "Titanium Backup".
Here's some info

https://www.google.com/amp/s/www.androidauthority.com/how-to-use-titanium-backup-286338/amp/


https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.keramidas.TitaniumBackup
Click to expand...
My phone, a Galaxy S7 Edge, is not rooted. To be honest, I'm afraid to root it even though I wish I could so that I could delete all this Samsung crap. Will rooting be necessary for what I want to accomplish, even if I don't use Titanium? Since an apk that includes the dlc and can be installed on any android device without google play is exactly what pirated software is, I can imagine that the process of obtaining such an apk must be difficult.
 
It's definitely easier to back everything up when you're rooted but I don't think it will be absolutely necessary.

Is this a paid game? Free can be surprisingly easy to find online. There are many apk hosting sites that host apk's and even additional download data.

You may be surprised what you find just by searching the name of the app+apk on Google
 
Brian706 said:
What device are you using? And how did you look for the obb? Was it through your PC or through a file browser on the device?
Click to expand...
I'm on a Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge. The obb folder is empty according to both my pc and phone's file manager.

Incidentally, the apk created by my file manager's apk extractor is 84 mb whereas the app is 154 mb according to settings > storage > app info.
 
Can you check again in the Android folder and see if there is a data folder within that? Or have you already checked everything in the Android folder?
 
Brian706 said:
It's definitely easier to back everything up when you're rooted but I don't think it will be absolutely necessary.

Is this a paid game? Free can be surprisingly easy to find online. There are many apk hosting sites that host apk's and even additional download data.

You may be surprised what you find just by searching the name of the app+apk on Google
Click to expand...
The app is free but the dlc is not. Even though I can't find it on any other sites, I suspect the day will come that I will find it if the game becomes popular enough.
 
Brian706 said:
Can you check again in the Android folder and see if there is a data folder within that? Or have you already checked everything in the Android folder?
Click to expand...
In the 3 android folders, media and obb have nothing for the game. Data has two folders for the game: Cache with subfolder UnityShaderCache and Files with the subfolders bundles, il2cpp, SavedGames, Unity and UnityCache.
 
I'm not an expert on this but that may be the stuff you need to back up. I've never really had to deal with it because I'm always rooted and have been able to make full backups with an app when I need to.

One way to find out would be to back that data up and if you have another device to test it on, you could install the app and paste that folder structure onto the device's internal storage and just see if it works.
 
On my rooted Samsung, in order to access this I have to use a downloaded file manager. The app data path is device, data, data, an app package name . Like my friend @Brian706 its been so long since I have not been a rooted user, I simply couldn't say if thus will be possible on a non-rooted device.


Screenshot_2020-05-04-01-42-04.png


Screenshot_2020-05-04-01-42-10.png
 
Last edited:
Brian706 said:
I'm not an expert on this but that may be the stuff you need to back up. I've never really had to deal with it because I'm always rooted and have been able to make full backups with an app when I need to.

One way to find out would be to back that data up and if you have another device to test it on, you could install the app and paste that folder structure onto the device's internal storage and just see if it works.
Click to expand...
This is a good idea but now I suspect part of the folder structure is hiding in an atypical location--I have cleared the app's cache in settings and then uninstalled and I have used revo uninstaller but, either way, when I reinstall from google play, my saved games are still there along with the dlc (without having to restore purchases). I can't figure out if the data is hiding somewhere on the phone or if this is some weird syncing thing and my data is stored on google play. By the way, I also have the app on steam but assume that's an even bigger headache to try to get a steam-free installation. There should be a law against this s$#t.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top Bottom