Checkpoint Systems or Save Anywhere?

LEE929394

LEE929394

LEE929394

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26 Jun 2007
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Well i'm a hit F5 junkie, if a game(especially first person shooters) lets you save anywhere i'm normally saving every few minutes, chickening out before my next enemy!
Anyone else like this? It's completely possible that i'm just crap at first person shooters though!:D (i rarely have die nowadays so must be getting better!)
Been playing gears of war and actually appreciate the checkpoint system, makes you think a lot more in what you're doing without the save anywhere luxury.
Really feels like i've died if i get killed though, losing 10 minutes of your life and starting all over again!
 
i was like that on the max payne games with the realistic damage and 1 life :D in parts you could have max hp, walk round a corner bang! dead :( 3 cheers for F5 :)
gears of war aint so bad, you can at least recover your hp back on there, no more searching for that health box you left behind :p
 
Was quite amusing in Bioshock when it told me I've run out of saves :D

I use F5 about as often as left click in FPS's that allow it!
 
lol i didnt know there was a limit on bioshock lol, at the end boss its stops you from saving thats the only time it stopped me. bit disappointed that they dont let you save a file after you complete the game, just to say that you have completed it :(
 
I must have saved a few hundred times in Crysis, whenever I thought an enemy was coming. :p I tend to abuse saving too much I think. :D
 
One interesting concept I've seen in some games is a limited number of saves. So, you can save whenever you want, but only so many times per level. It actually builds up the tension a bit, because you don't want to 'waste' a save - they become a commodity just like ammo and health. Bet on Soldier used a related approach, where you had to pay cash to save.
 
resident evil games had the right idea with the ink ribbons :) only problem is when you have to stop playing for what ever reason you have to use an ink ribbon that you dont want to :(
 
Operation Flashpoint had an infuriating system if I remember correctly. You had a set series of checkpoint saves, but only one free save. It drove me mad, having survived a beast of an firefight with the commies I'd hit the save button and try to relax... Only to find that three steps forward the auto save would kick in. :( :D It was tough, but it did make you think a little.

On balance I'd prefer the checkpoint system, or perhaps more accurately, severe restrictions on where you can save. I find that "free for all (casual friendly)" saving really destroys modern games.
 
they should make checkpoints instead of F5's, it can be cool like when you want to save just before blowing up 1000 barrels, so you can keep replaying the scene, but it does make games easier (in a bad way imo)
 
The last hitman game had a limited amount of saves per level if i remember rightly, that was a real nightmare if you screwed up!
 
I like the system in mass effect, you can save at just about anytime unless you're in combat. Very good system in my opinion. It stops the ease of hitting f5 after each perfect kill making you plan out each fight a bit more with not as much knockback for a failure
 
Lunatic Dreyfus said:
Operation Flashpoint had an infuriating system if I remember correctly. You had a set series of checkpoint saves, but only one free save. It drove me mad, having survived a beast of an firefight with the commies I'd hit the save button and try to relax... Only to find that three steps forward the auto save would kick in. :( :D It was tough, but it did make you think a little.
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An reasonably solution for this would be to allow only one save inbetween checkpoints (i.e. you get your save back when you trigger a CP), so you don't have to worry about whether there is an autosave just round the corner which would waste your save if you choose to use it now.

The biggest problem with having a limited number of saves per level is that you never quite know how much of the level is left to play (unless you've played the game before, obviously). So often you end up stockpiling them and they never get used.... a bit like tends to happen with ammo for superweapons come to think of it, I'm always saving them for a rainy day like a massive boss fight. Then they get wasted because of some lame-ass trick where all my guns get stolen.
 
I liked the Savepoints in the Final Fantasy Series - it'd let you save anywhere on the World Map, but usually in "dungeons" you'd have to find the save point. They usually come at key points so while you still have to 'be careful' between the save points, you don't die on a boss/event and have to do it ALL again.

FPS is a little different as they're typically quicker to get from point A -> B, but I don't know, maybe a similar thing could be implemented in a game?

I like being able to save anytime, but it does make the game a little too easy. Or at least in a different way. You know you're going to 'win' as such, because you have an infinite amount of attempts and you can just save afterwards and continue - but it's still hard depending on how you do it. I dunno - it depends, I do remember many times getting really frustrated having to retrace my steps just because of a little error or something.

Perhaps like a save 'item' which are rare, and you choose when to deploy it - it'll heal you and save and you can just reload from there.

I don't know - I'm open to something new for sure.
 
I liked Severance: Blade of Darkness save system. Could safe any time, but it gave you a rating by each slot. The more often you safed the lower the rating.

Didn't like Dungeon Siege 2 auto progression save, as wanted to record the ending, but couldn't load game as no positions available.
 
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