Save points: Yes or no?

[Nightblade50]

So do you all use save points in your games, or let the player save from the menu whenever?
And do you mind the use of save points in games you are playing?

I don't use or like them because I don't have a bunch of time to sit and play video games until the next save point just happens to come. If I need to get up, I appreciate being able to open the menu and save and quit whenever.

 

[ShadowDragon]

Im using save points, but not that you have to walk 30min to reach one, but on a logical locations
where you come alot.

Like summon night sword story, I believe you can only save in town, not outside,
but you can get save tickets to save anywhere which I also implent for safety.

you can either found them or gain it as reward. but a big game that can be hard to walk
or need grinding to level, saving anywhere can be usefull.

some games only let you save outside dungeons and houses, but not when inside of those.

it really depends on the dev that creates teh game and see how it will fit.

In zelda, there are around 8 save points, on the map, easy to reach within 4-6 min.
and mostly outside the dungeon, so inside you cant save it unless you go out and save by than.

I dont mind if it save anywhere or on save points, but not save points that you need to walk
and find for 30min or longer. 6 min tops.

 

[pasunna]

more like it depend on game mechanic
the save point is artificial difficult
so you don't just save before hard sequence choice or boss room

but... as a player yes!
I like to save it anywhere
I don't want to loose progress
I want to save time to walk around to the difficult boss
I'm more of a cheater lately
because I don't feel good
to spend a lot of time play game anymore as I had job to do

but in the other way
game like dark souls or difficult game surviver game
I understand it had to be hard
check point is part of the design
to make you feel the pressure

but... in rpg maker turn base game
long sequence with un saveable between make me really piss
because already beat mob and cutscene is very boring
you repeat to do the same thing that the last thing I want to do

so... It's up to game designing to choose what save type...

 

[bgillisp]

Big NO. I played a game that had save points and it also after a little bit of gameplay had me go 1.5 hours unable to save, and then I died. Incidentally this happened to put the game past the 2 hour window to get it refunded on Steam.

Also remember that save points were originally due to disc space issues, and NOT a design choice. Games in the 80s/90s had almost no disc space to use for a save game as the entire disc was crammed with the game, so they used save points due to that. In fact many PC gamer *hated* it when games ported over with save points that were NES or SNES games, in fact they constantly were like I got a HD with 40 MB. Why can't I save anywhere?

And finally if you go and check out most late 80s and any 90s PC most RPGs were save anywhere. Might and Magic III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, Wizardry VI and VII, Betrayal at Krondor, any D and D gold box games (and those were 1988 - 1992 for when they came out), Spelljammer, Dark Sun, Ravenloft, I could go on. All were PC RPG's from that time, and all let you save whenever you wanted to. No save points required.

Remember, not everyone grew up on the NES/SNES Rpg's.

 

[Johnboy]

I use a combination of save points, auto saves and free saving. Save points will only be found immediately before a major encounter in dungeons. Auto save is done on every map transfer, which has two dedicated slots for autosaving and alternates saves so that the player has the possibility to go back a couple maps if they missed something. All my towns and my overworld you can save freely whenever. I tried to go with a mix so the player can make a dedicated save before a boss encounter but not be punished severely by dying. (And not having free saving in town or on overworld maps is stupid in my opinion).

 

[rue669]

Nope! You can save anywhere, like in most games these days.

 

[Hyouryuu-Na]

Depends on the genre pf the game. In most rpgs, I'd like no save points... just to play a little and then save whenever i want and do my other work seems good. But for survival horror or games where you want to make the player worried (aaa what if I die before saving!? I need to replay this part again~~) I think save points are good.

 

[CraneSoft]

Save points in dungeons, and save anywhere outside dungeons. I don't have a problem with save points unless they are deliberately placed far apart or absent in important locations such as before a boss.

 

[NinjaKittyProductions]

We like to have the ability to save anywhere. We also like having save points right before really important moments so as to let the player know they should probably save.

 

[Kes]

I have a combination in my games:
Save anywhere, plus save points immediately before a boss fight, plus autosave on changing a map. That last one is in case there is a power failure or similar so that when the game is loaded again, the player will be almost at their previous point. I've fixed it so that the player is unable to save into the autosave slot, as I've done that myself by mistake and I hate it.

I also dislike games that don't give me save anywhere, including in dungeons, because my playing time is limited and if I need to finish I don't want to have to redo a chunk all over again because there hasn't been a recent save point.

 

[FleshToDust]

I prefer Auto-Save. Most people here don't but to me that's the most modern way of saving your progress and Auto-Saving is one less thing for the player to worry about since it's done automatically.

Only thing to think about as the developer is to not put an Auto-Save in a place the player could get stuck without any recourse.

 

[Countyoungblood]

Skyrim has a nice system of autosaving itself but allowing you to save or load either your own slot or the autosave..

Recently got the switch port of ff9 and it autosaves every time you zone

All theory aside i just wouldnt play a game that used only save points.

 

[FleshToDust]

@Countyoungblood The Souls series only uses autosave. I really don't think that's a series you should skip out on. If autosave doesn't mess you up I'd think there'd be no need for other save options. I think most people will stick to the traditional save options though just because that's what's always been done in RPG Maker.

 

[bgillisp]

@FleshToDust : As someone who has had saves corrupted in games that only saved via autosave, I'm leery of games that don't let me save to my own save slots and when I want to save, regardless of why they do it. I don't got time to play a game 2x just because I got unlucky and my save was garbaged.

 

[Countyoungblood]

@Countyoungblood The Souls series only uses autosave. I really don't think that's a series you should skip out on. If autosave doesn't mess you up I'd think there'd be no need for other save options. I think most people will stick to the traditional save options though just because that's what's always been done in RPG Maker.

Big fan of dark souls maybe i wasnt clear if i can only save at certain points (crystals moogles fountains statues ) i wouldnt play.

 

[TheoAllen]

Save Anytime > Autosave > Save Point

The thing is, save points may be better for people who seek a challenge and have time on their side, while save anytime is for people who just want to have a good time playing the game and probably don't bother with a challenge. I'm the latter.

See, the usual arguments of savepoint is because it creates a challenge. You fail, you try. The game will be 'broken' if you can save it at any time which is a legit reason. Personally? I don't. Why? I hate walking from the save point to the last destination. Especially when it is really tedious (like a jumping platform). I would rather get "Crap, I forgot to save" rather than a restart. But it can be solved by putting autosaves.

I know how to have a good time with a game. I don't need a game to give me a challenge all the time (like save point and a challenge in between). Save scumming may break the game challenge, but I could have a good time with it. It let me quit the game at any time. It let me retry right away. It releases my anxiety, if something goes wrong, I can just reload.

Besides, most of the time I tend to disagree with the game design. How do I know if something was there or the enemy behaves like this and like that? How do I know if the last piece of the puzzle lied in a corner that I never realized? Then the game punished me for not knowing it and throw it back to the last save point. And that is just a few examples of many cases that I often disagree with or feel cheated by the game design. Just give me save anywhere or at least autosave. It at least makes it a little more bearable.

 

[Eliaquim]

it depends on your game mechanics...
But I would go with the two styles.
The player can save anytime he wants.
And also has Save points(in case the player forgot to save).

An example is that you want a game that has the permadeath feature. If the player is dead, then you reset all save files. If not, let him save the game whenever he wants. maybe he is just want to have a break ^^

 

[HumanNinjaToo]

I do both. I allow save anywhere and then add save points in key locations as a reminder to save the game. Plus the save point in my game is also where you can do crafting, and it's a teleport spot for fast travel. But I think having the save anywhere option is mandatory these days. I have kids, so I like to be able to save and turn off at a moments notice.

 

[DJK1NG_Gaming]

Save Point - In Towns and Dungeons
Save Anywhere - On world map.
That how I do it. Like every other classic/classic style JRPG.

I don't mind them at all but if you're gonna enable the players to save anywhere even when their save point just remove the save point. Offer Heal/Restoring Point.

 

[BURNING_JUSTICE_Games]

For convenience, I think it's best to let players save anytime, and to have an auto save just in case!

I think save points are best used as warnings before bosses or progression points that will prevent the player from returning to previous areas, and/or hubs for unique features like full heals, teleportation, camps, etc!