What I'm worried about is my saved data, I don't want to start from scratch on the ranks and awards. Is this also stored online with Steam or do I need to backup some files if so which ones?
Hello Capt. K'bury,
I think it would be best if you made a complete backup of the SSE folder . It exists in the Vstep folder in Program files (I am not sure how it is with the Steam version as I have the DVD version). In all probability all your rankings are stored somewhere within this folder / sub folders.
I recently had to reinstall SSE and before uninstalling I made a full back of the entire SSE folder. I looked into it and there are some references to rankings. I have to experiment with these to figure if I can retrieve my rankings. One thing I am aware of is that during the process of uninstalling SSE, at a certain stage it does ask you if you wish to retain your stats (not per se but something like that) and it would be wise to say 'yes'. You then have to check again after uninstallation as to where these stats files / folders have been saved and make a back up of those. (Regretfully, I had not said 'yes' so I cannot give you a firm answer here).
I am not sure if this is the location but the references I am mentioning about MAY BE here:-
SSE --> Projects --> SSE --> Game --> Components --> Profile
Regards
vin_sun