Pyrian on 26/11/2018 at 06:57
Maybe an Ironman option with an Achievement, so that players who are interested in that style of experience get acknowledged for the accomplishment?
Sulphur on 26/11/2018 at 08:47
In my experience with no saves (AvP classic), checkpoints (millions of games), save stations (A:I, Resi, survival horror in general) and limited saves (Hitman, etc.), the traditional quicksave* has always been the one with the least amount of friction and the most amount of user control. If the players ruin the game for themselves because of save scumming, that's on them.
If you're making a survival horror game or something that would benefit from an added source of tension, save stations are a beautiful mechanic if implemented correctly - not scattered too generously, but also not too far apart, and dropped appropriately at points in the game's pacing spectrum (right after the end of a sequence's climax, to steady the player's nerves and give them some down time before building up to the next sequence of events, for example).
*Leavened by automatic checkpoint saves at important points in this the year of our contemporary overlords 2018
qolelis on 26/11/2018 at 12:16
Thanks everyone for your input. The ironman achievement/mode is a nice idea, because it encourages the player instead of forcing them. Shouldn't be too hard to implement either, and can also be developed further. In-game saving is something I sort of forgot about, but could easily be added now that I have the foundation laid down. Nothing is written in stone yet, so I can still pick and choose. I'll keep all suggestions in mind. Personally I like quick-saving, even if I sometimes lack in self-control and overuse it, so that's where the suggested ironman mode comes in handy. I might make it a mode, an achievement or both (probably both: if I add one, I will most likely add the other too). Technically it's no problem, the hard(er) part is to make sure it's clear what's going on and make it consistent (I can also see how in-game saving can help with that if one for example wants to disable saving in certain areas, generally speaking).
I started with doing what Thief does (manual and quick saving), and then added autosaving to protect against external threats (like powerouts, system crashes, or, as a worst case scenario, game crashes). At first I implemented autosaving at regular intervals, but later skipped that, because I want it to be more up to the player, but also because it's easier to "corrupt" a save that way (like if a save happens in a tight spot -- although I do also keep a couple of older autosaves ready just in case). It also, as a side-effect, protects against someone forgetting to save when they quit (they won't necessarily start at the exact same spot, but they won't lose progress, just because of a simple mistake). Autosaving could be made not part of the game, to give the player even more control, but still be maintained if the need arises. For the manual saving (via menu) I have a number of manual save slots (5x5 grid at the moment) for those who want to keep multiple saves and organize them.
I usually advocate freedom in games, even the freedom to die or be stupid, because that's how I prefer it myself (sooner or later I end up doing things that will probably not solve anything (although sometimes they do), but I still want to see what happens or maybe just look at something from another angle), so I'm not actively trying to protect the player against themselves, but against things they have no or less control over. With that kind of freedom, the ability to gracefully recover is just as important.
Quote:
I think it comes down to the genre of the game.
Yes.
The thing I'm working on is a mix of the genres I play the most, so it's based on exploration, observation, story-telling, and puzzle-solving, but death is also a thing (not as abundant, but still possible).
WingedKagouti on 26/11/2018 at 12:26
Quote Posted by qolelis
The thing I'm working on is a mix of the genres I play the most, so it's based on exploration, observation, story-telling, and puzzle-solving, but death is also a thing (not as abundant, but still possible).
With that description, it sounds like unrestricted Quick Save would not disrupt it in any way I can think of. Especially since you have a manual save as well. Quick Save is simply a "I don't want to open the menu, navigate to the Save option, select a slot and save"-button.
Nameless Voice on 27/11/2018 at 00:17
I'd say that quick saving, manual saving, and occasional autosaving should be the default case. Only vary from that if you have a good reason to do so.
The main reasons you'd consider limited saving are:
* To add extra challenge, so the player has to complete a longer sequence in one go (or, an entire game; see Dark Souls.)
* To make the game more tense, see AvP 2000. This is most suitable to suspenseful horror games.
* To try to make players live with the consequences of bad decisions, which is mostly a thing for narrative- and choices-heavy games.
* Multiplayer games, because save/loading there can be awkward.
It doesn't really sound like your game falls into any of those categories.
Nameless Voice on 29/11/2018 at 01:45
Time for another video, this time it's inventory and item usage!
[video=youtube;q71_HDG9xGM]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q71_HDG9xGM[/video]
henke on 29/11/2018 at 05:32
Very nice NV! Are you actually gonna make a game or is this all just going on the asset store?
Nameless Voice on 29/11/2018 at 08:17
Oh no, thIs is a game.
The marketplace stuff was just something that I was making for the game and I thought was worth polishing up and selling on its own.
zombe on 29/11/2018 at 15:42
Speaking of save-options: one i quite like (when it is appropriate) is akin to Terraria/Nethack/Minecraft/etc. Ie. saving is for saving and not for undoing anything. It autosaves on its own - and some also give the option to force a save at any point manually. What you cannot do is reload without saving your current progression. This tends to be the only option if the save files is just too large.
Have not seen anyone complain ... except Nethack.
smallfry on 30/11/2018 at 20:57
I'm just about finished with my solo project Rats, Bats, and Bones! I took a year off of normal work to make a game and it's finally almost over. It's a nerve-racking feeling being about to release your creative work to the world! :sweat:
[video=youtube_share;8lnAeZqfdn4]https://youtu.be/8lnAeZqfdn4[/video]