Bioshock Infinite: I want my Save Function back.

[PayNSprayBandit]

In the new Bioshock Infinite DLC, which I was rather getting into, I found that I could not save. It was disappointing, but not nearly as much as when I tried to restart wave 9 only to find out after I selected the option that going back to the last checkpoint meant restarting from wave 1.

So, here's my question: Is there a reason that perfectly simple and readily available technology, that would improve my experience in the game I bought, is being withheld from me? I'm seriously asking. Why would such basic technology, that was in the original Bioshock and improved it, not be in the sequel?

Edit:
I answered it in a later post, but people keep asking me why I would want more checkpoints or free saves on a survival challenge.

The first BSI DLC, the only one that's out, is Horde style. There are four maps with 15 waves each. But, instead of each map having a bunch of regular waves followed by a boss wave, every wave is carefully crafted with a wave/map specific challenge. They're called the Blue Ribbon Challenges. So the fifth wave of map A is unique from all other waves, but is the same every time you play Map A, Wave 5. I like some Blue Ribbon Challenges more than others. It's not just about seeing how long I can survive. It's also not about getting the ribbons. I got all the ribbons on the first map in two runs. I still enjoy the challenges.

If I'm in the mood to play a specific challenge repeatedly, the game doesn't really offer that option.

Gears of War 3's Horde mode, by contrast, lets me start from any wave on any map, which allows me to enjoy the experience I'm interested in having. As such, it improved the game for me.

 

[Amethyst Wind]

Good question. Allow me to ask one in return:

Would you like the Bird, or the Save?

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere. Those people will also tell you that being able to save anywhere would undermine the intent that the developers had when they created the gameplay.

I think the people who will tell you that are douchebags.

I agree that you should have the ability to save anywhere you want anytime you want.

 

[IceForce]

Aren't checkpoint saves another one of those things that has become common due to console gaming?

Anyway, that was my main gripe with Bioshock Infinite.
I often have to leave or go out somewhere in a hurry, and I can't save where I was up to before I quit the game.

 

[Extra-Ordinary]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere. Those people will also tell you that being able to save anywhere would undermine the intent that the developers had when they created the gameplay.

I think the people who will tell you that are douchebags.

I agree that you should have the ability to save anywhere you want anytime you want.

Funny thing, calling "save scum" (a term I didn't know about until now) an "easy win" function, because stockpiling and reloading all those saves can be a pain of their own. You get paranoid of dying so your saving almost literally around every corner, and save-anywhere usually takes some time. Then you die, and you got to find out which one won't send you straight into the wood-chipper which is usually a long process of elimination, then you gotta reload the save which also takes some time, and do that over and over and over again until you win.
I had some bad experiences with Doom 3.
Anyway.
I don't mind either way between autosave and save-anywhere functions but I see your gripe and if the people want them, hey, give it to them.

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

Don't get me wrong. I restarted the DLC and I'm having a blast, but I like to try things; I like to experiment. But I can't experiment with wave 15 unless either I can save or I continually grind my way back up to it each time I want to try something new.

Aren't checkpoint saves another one of those things that has become common due to console gaming?

Not for nothing, but The Orange Box on console actually had a Quick Save function set to the select button and it was the best thing ever.

 

[PayNSprayBandit]

Nope. I spoke too soon.

The game just froze on wave 6.

There is no excuse for me not being able to save after wave 5.

 

[Adam Jensen_v1legacy]

I agree that you should have the ability to save anywhere you want anytime you want.

Exactly. If people want to be purists and just keep playing as many waves as they can without saving, good for them. But some people just don't have the time or the energy to do that. Some people would just like to be able to save every once in a while so that they wouldn't have to start over every day after they get back from work. I hate it when developers do this shit.

 

[votemarvel]

Not for nothing, but The Orange Box on console actually had a Quick Save function set to the select button and it was the best thing ever.

They finally added the ability in Mass Effect 3 as well. Aside from mods, quick save was the thing I really missed on the console versions of the first two games.

I would like the ability to save any where, outside of combat, because I can't sit down for long periods of time or my knees start to lock up. I have to get up and take a walk.

 

[DanjCaslaw]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere. Those people will also tell you that being able to save anywhere would undermine the intent that the developers had when they created the gameplay.

I think the people who will tell you that are douchebags.

I agree that you should have the ability to save anywhere you want anytime you want.

I recently put myself through a survivor run on The Last of Us. It actually wasn't that painful, until I got to the part where

Spoiler

you're playing as Ellie, trapped in a cabin fighting off a swarm of infected

and having to attempt that battle over and over again was infuriating. It happened often enough that the point of the game that I found myself being returned to upon death would be set to a few seconds earlier, the idea apparently being that I just needed a wee bit more time to pick up materials that I'd already picked up before on previous attempts. WHICH WASN'T THE PROBLEM. I actually did quite well partway through the first wave, and there was enough of a lull that I could have got away with saving in the middle of it if the game had allowed me to.

And I'm thinking what the 'intent of the developers' must have been in deciding on a 'restricted save' system when they've got aggravating bullshit like that in the game. Is it, in fact, to royally piss off a certain percentage of your players, when they come across snags like that?

I don't want to hear this 'oh but the checkpointing in TLOU (or other games) is really generous' BS. No. Game developers, I, the player, am a better judge of where the checkpoints and savepoints need to be.

There's no good reason to not have 'save at will' in your game, unless your game's Dead Rising 1/2/3 (and that's because the game gives you the option to start over with the XP you've gained up to that point if you die).

 

[CannibalCorpses]

I haven't played the wave mode you are speaking of but isn't the whole idea of wave battles to see how far you can get in one go? To see how good you are compared to other people on a fair basis(one life, one chance)?

As for checkpoints over free saves, checkpoints make games more challenging. Yes, it's annoying as fuck having to go pick up items everytime you die but that isn't the checkpoint systems fault, it's shitty coding by the developers. The checkpoint system forces you to get better at a game before you can finish it thats all...and the more you play a game before it's end, the more likely you are to buy the next installment. It works on every level as far as i can see but then again, i don't need free saves to finish games...i don't feel hampered by checkpoints...i don't feel challenged by games.

 

[Lyri]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere.

It is a fucking single player game, what in the actual fuck is this term "save scum"?

If I wanted to make the game easier, I change the difficulty setting. This is the most high horse statement I have ever read in my entire life.

 

[DanjCaslaw]

I haven't played the wave mode you are speaking of but isn't the whole idea of wave battles to see how far you can get in one go? To see how good you are compared to other people on a fair basis(one life, one chance)?

As for checkpoints over free saves, checkpoints make games more challenging. Yes, it's annoying as fuck having to go pick up items everytime you die but that isn't the checkpoint systems fault, it's shitty coding by the developers. The checkpoint system forces you to get better at a game before you can finish it thats all...and the more you play a game before it's end, the more likely you are to buy the next installment. It works on every level as far as i can see but then again, i don't need free saves to finish games...i don't feel hampered by checkpoints...i don't feel challenged by games.

Care to take a challenge? Explain how, say, Fallout New Vegas would be improved by doing away with a free save system.

 

[Evonisia]

I thought they removed the Save Function (other to annoy some people) because they wanted to make more like the standard shooter-type game of the day which generally give you an auto-save every five steps.

There's no proper excuse to get rid of something that worked just fine in the original game.

 

[Guy from the 80's]

Checkpoints = less programmer work?

anyho

 

[Geo Da Sponge]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere. Those people will also tell you that being able to save anywhere would undermine the intent that the developers had when they created the gameplay.

I think the people who will tell you that are douchebags.

Well maybe I'm a douchebag, but yooooou're a dirty casual!

Okay, okay, I admit that in a regular single player story mode you should ideally be able to save whenever you want. But isn't a wave/horde mode entirely about the challenge of it, and how far you can get? Seems to me that being able to save along the way with that defeats the point of it. Maybe the Bioshock Infinite version is different in some way, but I assume that either the waves are infinite (it would be fitting, after all) or beating every one is supposed to be a major achievement, and just letting you pick up where you left off defeats the point of that in my opinion.

 

[hermes]

Maybe I am missing something, but... you do realize the new DLC is an arena, right?

You play it to see how far you can get, like a survivor mode in fighting games, or a horde mode in gears of war. There is no point to a save function because there is no point to playing the later half of a match and, if you complete all the waves, you get nothing but a pat on the back. If you die, you get the money and try again... being able to "save scum" beats the propose of the mode.

 

[Samantha Burt]

I think Shamus did an article about this, explaining why it's actually a lot harder to do any-time saving than you would believe.

Here it is

 

[Milanezi]

Some people will tell you that saving anywhere in the game will cause people to "save scum" and constantly save all the time, making any kind of difficulty a joke because you'd just be able to reload the game from anywhere. Those people will also tell you that being able to save anywhere would undermine the intent that the developers had when they created the gameplay.

I think the people who will tell you that are douchebags.

I agree that you should have the ability to save anywhere you want anytime you want.

I would also like to add that those people most likely have the privilege of playing games so much that saving is not a big deal. When you're older (and have a a social life with someone you love) it really comes in handy that you can save whenever you want, only so you can STOP whenever you want...

EDIT: my opinion is not about the DLC. I did NOT realize we were discussing the DLC and, if the DLC is an arena, yeah, than the checkpoint system makes sense.