Saving systems. Lets get them right, yeah?

[Credge]

I recently went out and picked up a few action-rpg's and I've noticed something incredibly annoying about a few of them... They lack a solid saving system. Allow me to go into detail over one in particular game called Sacred.

Whenever I click on save game...

And I go to a screen like this...

I don't expect my double click to LOAD THE LAST FREAKING SAVED GAME! How absolutely broken and absurd of a system is this? Allow me to recap in case this didn't make any sense.

1. I click on "Save Game".

2. I double click the place I want to save the game under.

3. It loads the last saved game.

This goes against all logic. I don't care if there is a load and save button to the right. If I click on SAVE GAME all of my actions on that menu should revolve, and only revolve around saving my game. This absurdly broken system has cost me several hours of game time in only a matter of a few days. It's making an incredibly fun game a tedious chore.

What makes this even worse is that this game isn't anything ancient. For comparison, it came out the same year as HL2. It isn't like an already established system of "Click Save Game, Double click where you want to save or press enter on the save slot to save the game, continue adventuring" hadn't been established since the dawn of save games.

Come on game developers. There are some things you simply leave be. Innovation is great, and I really enjoy it... but not when the innovation revolves around something that has been established as PERFECTLY FINE.

Maybe a face will help express my anger and irritation.

>=(

Also, the game doesn't auto save enough. It only decides to do so whenever I complete a quest that revolves around the story and not when:

1. I level up.

2. I go into a new region.

3. I complete a non-story related quest.

4. After a set period of time (10 minutes?).

 

[Pingrash]

Right that's just retarded. What's the name of this game so I know to avoid it?

 

[Credge]

Right that's just retarded. What's the name of this game so I know to avoid it?

Sacred. It's a very fun game, it's just that the saving system makes me want to cry.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

Also, the game doesn't auto save enough. It only decides to do so whenever I complete a quest that revolves around the story and not when:

1. I level up.

2. I go into a new region.

3. I complete a non-story related quest.

4. After a set period of time (10 minutes?).

When else would you like it to save?

seems like a decent amount of auto-saving to me

 

[Melaisis]

Also, the game doesn't auto save enough. It only decides to do so whenever I complete a quest that revolves around the story and not when:

1. I level up.

2. I go into a new region.

3. I complete a non-story related quest.

4. After a set period of time (10 minutes?).

When else would you like it to save?

seems like a decent amount of auto-saving to me

Nah, he says it doesn't auto-save at those points; points which I absolutely agree should be implemented. STALKER, whilst having plenty of auto-saves, always managed to forget to save in the middle of a level, which wouldn't a problem with any other game, but the levels are so massive and potentially buggy that forgetting to save yourself is absolutely disastrous.

 

[Credge]

When else would you like it to save?

seems like a decent amount of auto-saving to me

Once every 2 hours or so isn't really a whole ton :|.

 

[TheMadDoctorsCat]

At least your "Save" button wasn't greyed out so that you can't press it. I still haven't found anybody who can tell me why "Rome: Total War" does that. Nowhere in the game manual does it say anything about it.

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

Rule 0 for saving games as well : DO NOT give us an autosave BEFORE a cut sequence, one AFTER please so we don't have to go through the whole damn thing time and time again.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

OOhhhh..... totally read that wrong, my bad. Yeah, not enough saving can get annoying. However, if done right save limitations can add a bit more challenge to a game without making it frustrating. For the most part, though, I agree. The more opportunities to save, the better.

 

[Ultrajoe]

When else would you like it to save?

seems like a decent amount of auto-saving to me

Once every 2 hours or so isn't really a whole ton :|.

you just need to game more... the universe is telling you to game more... don't fight it.

 

[Evilbunny]

You know what I hate? When games don't let you save whenever you want. There is absolutely no reason to have "save points" anymore. We should have evolved beyond them by now.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

You know what I hate? When games don't let you save whenever you want. There is absolutely no reason to have "save points" anymore. e should have evolved beyond them by now.

There are plenty of reasons for save points... the most important is so you don't get yourself in a situation where you save at a point where no matter what you do you're going to die, and then have to restart your game. Second, there is no challenge involved in taking two steps, saving, taking another two steps, saving, and loading every time something doesn't go exactly how you want it to.

 

[Ultrajoe]

You know what I hate? When games don't let you save whenever you want. There is absolutely no reason to have "save points" anymore. e should have evolved beyond them by now.

There are plenty of reasons for save points... the most important is so you don't get yourself in a situation where you save at a point where no matter what you do you're going to die, and then have to restart your game. Second, there is no challenge involved in taking two steps, saving, taking another two steps, saving, and loading every time something doesn't go exactly how you want it to.

Ah, oblivion...

I got scratched!

*wait an hour*

all good, and not a potion used!, now, whats this urgent mission again?

 

[haruvister]

IMO, the 'quicksave anywhere' is one of the worst gaming inventions ever. I preferred the AvP system of strictly limited saves, but it never really took off. Quicksaves remove all challenge, strategy, and suspension of disbelief from a game. Or maybe I'm just bitter because of the amount of times I've accidentally either A) loaded a quicksave after defeating a boss, or B) quicksaved after getting battered to 3 health.

 

[BlackLiger]

"Thank you for your commentary. It will be taken on board. Once we reach cruising altitude, it will be summarily thrown overboard."

But seriously, yes, this is a very bad bit of design. Be glad it was in the UI and not anywhere else, at least you can make yourself a tasty tasty note that says "DON'T DOUBLE-CLICK WHEN SAVING, FOOL!"

 

[Credge]

IMO, the 'quicksave anywhere' is one of the worst gaming inventions ever. I preferred the AvP system of strictly limited saves, but it never really took off. Quicksaves remove all challenge, strategy, and suspension of disbelief from a game. Or maybe I'm just bitter because of the amount of times I've accidentally either A) loaded a quicksave after defeating a boss, or B) quicksaved after getting battered to 3 health.

That's fine in a game like AvP. However, in an action-RPG, the ability to not autosave is bad design mainly because you're often not anywhere near what would be a conventional save point.

 

[MindBullets]

I don't mind save points that much. It's just frustrating when one of two situations occur:

1. Someone else wants to use the console/TV or something else demands my attentiion and I can't immediately save and quit. This wouldn't be much of an issue, but certain games have an annoying habit of putting their save points ages apart from each other. Having them appear a little bit more frequently would be a help.

2. The save point is rediculously far from a very difficult boss fight. Developers: you made it challenging. You expect us to fail a few times. Is forcing us to trudge along the same bloody corridors, populated only by piss-weak enemies that don't really challenge you at all, for several minutes each time we do so really conductive to player enjoyment? It's like the problem with unskippable cutscenes that Yahtzee was going on about in his God of War review.

 

[Irrok the Wide]

I think saving and loading should always be automatic, ALWAYS. And, the thing I hate most is when a game asks me "Are You Sure". Yeah, I'm sure! Don't make me input a fucking konami code just to play.

 

[Lance Icarus]

I like the idea of save points because it adds a sense of suspense to the game. Nothing quite beats the feeling of accomplishment when you're down to your last health nub and you make that last desperate dive to the save point (this is only when the save point also heals you, of course) and making it, possibly dodging a fireball just before you touch. Oh, what a satisfying feeling that is to power back up and demolish whatever was following you.

I also believe that if you get beaten in a boss fight, they should give you the option to either skip the cutscene while you're viewing it (I HATE games that don't let you do this, especially on your second playthrough) or give you an option to view the cutscene again or skip straight to the boss fight. Case in point: Kingdom Hearts.

This is a potential spoiler here folks, so don't say I didn't warn you.

There's a particularly annoying part where you take on your now evil buddy Riku. You get a nice long scene of Sora asking the constant "why, why" speech all pre-teen heroes give and Riku owning your teammates so it's a one on one showdown. This is fine and dandy, but I get beat up. Now I love watching Donald get slapped away as much as the next guy (Why the hell does a wizard bum rush?), but after that fifth defeat, I was getting really pissed off watching this five minute long cutscene over and over again. That's twenty five minutes extra that boss fight took me.

 

[Lvl 64 Klutz]

I don't mind save points that much. It's just frustrating when one of two situations occur:

1. Someone else wants to use the console/TV or something else demands my attentiion and I can't immediately save and quit. This wouldn't be much of an issue, but certain games have an annoying habit of putting their save points ages apart from each other. Having them appear a little bit more frequently would be a help.

2. The save point is rediculously far from a very difficult boss fight. Developers: you made it challenging. You expect us to fail a few times. Is forcing us to trudge along the same bloody corridors, populated only by piss-weak enemies that don't really challenge you at all, for several minutes each time we do so really conductive to player enjoyment? It's like the problem with unskippable cutscenes that Yahtzee was going on about in his God of War review.

1. I really like games that have both savepoints and that quicksave feature where if you use it, you have to quit the game, and can only load it once. Great for situations like that.

2. Can't say I don't agree. Developers will say it makes the boss fight harder, but so does making the boss stronger, and the latter is a lot less annoying.