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How about an auto backup for only the current layer?

Often times, I'm working on a large TVPaint project, and saving takes quite a while. If TVPaint crashes, I lose the last bit of work I was doing.

A timed auto-backup of the whole project, (optional) would be fantastic, but what about if the user spends 30 minutes or say 15 minutes working on ONE layer,
and only that ONE layer's contents get quick-saved in case of a crash? ( Separate from the whole project auto-backup )

That way, you could have a dialog box asking: "would you like to restore the last work you were doing on layer _x_?" In case of a crash.

I wouldn't mind as long as it's an option. But how about getting a faster harddrive? Or splitting up the projects if the files are getting too big?

Seems like a complex hiearchy of work to implement. If I were you, I would suggest looking into getting a Solid State Drive. I've worked on 3-4 gig TVP files that only take 5-10 seconds to load/save thanks to SSD speed. I only have a small external drive, but it's all I need. They have become immensely cheaper in the last few years too. It is worth the investment, trust me.