Game saving - this is what devs should implement

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

This is definitely a nit pick/pet peeve type thing. The way the standard saving system of console games really needs an upgrade. The confirmation prompts like "are you sure you want to overwrite your save?" and "are you sure you want to load this save?" really bug the shit out of me.

The "are you sure you want to load?" prompt is so unnecessary. So what if I loaded the wrong save, all I have to do is load the right save file. There's nothing to lose but a few seconds of my time loading the wrong file.

I understand why the "are you sure you want to overwrite?" confirmation is there, it's meant to be a safety valve to ensure you don't overwrite the wrong save. However, if you think about it, it's really not a safety valve whatsoever. Everyone just ignores that prompt and hits "Yes" without even thinking because 99.999% of the time you DO want to overwrite that save and you don't give it a second thought. With every console now having a HD or flash memory (Wii), there should be a system where the game automatically backs up your last 10 saves (for each save slot) so if you do overwrite the wrong save file, you can just access the save backup system to get back the save you lost.

Also, NO game should make me press a button to confirm that I know the game saves automatically at certain points. I hate walking away after starting a game to get a drink or something only to come back and see that I have to hit X for the game to load to the main menu because of this bullshit. Valkyria Chronicles is the worst offender as it only automatically saves your changes to the options (games saves are 100% manual) yet there is a button press confirmation to get to the main menu.

Lastly, I should always be allowed to save manually and have more than one slot. There are several games nowadays that just autosave and don't let you have more than one save (I believe Assassin's Creed 2 does this). Well, all is well until there is a bug that can corrupt your save (I think this happened with Castlevania) and then everything is lost because you don't even have another save to fall back on.

 

[Irridium]

This is why quicksave/quickload are godsends on the PC. They're essentially what you seem to be wanting.

 

[Lost In The Void]

This is why quicksave/quickload are godsends on the PC. They're essentially what you seem to be wanting.

Thats why I loved Splinter Cell: Chaos Theory, even the console version had quicksave; it was a god send

Edit: Of course I meant quicksave not autosave

 

[Harlemura]

The "are you sure you want to load?" prompt is so unnecessary. So what if I loaded the wrong save, all I have to do is load the right save file. There's nothing to lose but a few seconds of my time loading the wrong file.

Pressing a button one extra time is a waste of time and this isn't?

Okay, I'm just being picky here, you do have a point.
Especially the lack of multiple saves thing. If I've gone around collecting 78/100 doodads, but want to replay the story, don't make me lose my doodad progress. That's just mean.

Although having that little message pop up can be really helpful if you miss the file you were going for. If it had gone straight to saving after a single button press, 'd probably have lost about 120+ hours of gameplay by now, at least.

 

[Lost In The Void]

I understand why the "are you sure you want to overwrite?" confirmation is there, it's meant to be a safety valve to ensure you don't overwrite the wrong save. However, if you think about it, it's really not a safety valve whatsoever. Everyone just ignores that prompt and hits "Yes" without even thinking because 99.999% of the time you DO want to overwrite that save and you don't give it a second thought. With every console now having a HD or flash memory (Wii), there should be a system where the game automatically backs up your last 10 saves (for each save slot) so if you do overwrite the wrong save file, you can just access the save backup system to get back the save you lost.

actually......

there was several moments that I wished I had a prompt that said if I wanted to overwrite a save file in Morrowind.

I still miss my level 20 werewolf archer.........

Don't feel bad I managed to delete an almost finished New Vegas Playthrough, even with prompts...

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I understand why the "are you sure you want to overwrite?" confirmation is there, it's meant to be a safety valve to ensure you don't overwrite the wrong save. However, if you think about it, it's really not a safety valve whatsoever. Everyone just ignores that prompt and hits "Yes" without even thinking because 99.999% of the time you DO want to overwrite that save and you don't give it a second thought. With every console now having a HD or flash memory (Wii), there should be a system where the game automatically backs up your last 10 saves (for each save slot) so if you do overwrite the wrong save file, you can just access the save backup system to get back the save you lost.

actually......

there was several moments that I wished I had a prompt that said if I wanted to overwrite a save file in Morrowind.

I still miss my level 20 werewolf archer.........

Don't feel bad I managed to delete an almost finished New Vegas Playthrough, even with prompts...

This is where the save backup system comes in. You overwrite your save? Then access the save backup system. It's kinda like Windows system restore or how you system keeps a certain number a registry backups in case something goes wrong so when something goes wrong you can go back to the "better" time.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

The "are you sure you want to load?" prompt is so unnecessary. So what if I loaded the wrong save, all I have to do is load the right save file. There's nothing to lose but a few seconds of my time loading the wrong file.

Pressing a button one extra time is a waste of time and this isn't?

How often do you actually load the wrong file? And, if you do, there's no harm done anyways. I bet the time wasted pressing "Yes" adds up to more time than the once in a blue moon you do in fact load the wrong save. And, chances are that prompt isn't going to save you from loading the wrong file to begin with.

 

[SturmDolch]

This is why quicksave/quickload are godsends on the PC. They're essentially what you seem to be wanting.

Yup. I missed that so much when Oblivion died on my PC, then I picked it up for Xbox 360.

... of course, that one died, too, but that's unrelated.

 

[Netrigan]

Why do I have to hit the START button at the beginning of every single game? I started the game, I think I want to play it. Why put an extra button push between loading the game and the main menu?

 

[jpoon]

Agreed except for the save overwrite, that is absolutely needed. It should default to NO, not YES thus making your take the effort to make sure it is what you want to do. It's horribly fucking aggravating to overwrite a good save when you don't intend to.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

Agreed except for the save overwrite, that is absolutely needed. It should default to NO, not YES thus making your take the effort to make sure it is what you want to do. It's horribly fucking aggravating to overwrite a good save when you don't intend to.

The save backup system is there so you don't need the save overwrite prompt.

 

[jpoon]

Agreed except for the save overwrite, that is absolutely needed. It should default to NO, not YES thus making your take the effort to make sure it is what you want to do. It's horribly fucking aggravating to overwrite a good save when you don't intend to.

The save backup system is there so you don't need the save overwrite prompt.

There are no save backups on a PS3, this what I was mainly referring to. I guess I should have been a bit more specific. For a PC I could agree with you though.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

There are no save backups on a PS3, this what I was mainly referring to. I guess I should have been a bit more specific. For a PC I could agree with you though.

My initial post was my idea for how console games should do game saves, not how they do it now. The overwrite prompt really isn't a safety valve to begin with, we've been programmed over the years to ignore it. On the rare occasion that I do overwrite the wrong file, I realize it as it is being overwritten. My thing is remove the prompts and put in the save backup system. All consoles have internal memory for game saves nowadays.

 

[Vohn_exel]

I just hate that they lock the save games. So you can't back them up incase something happens to your PS3, like, I don't know, the YLOD. If they're going to do that, they should reinstate the memory card. Infact, a memory card would help with what you're talking about.

 

[Phoenixmgs_v1legacy]

I just hate that they lock the save games. So you can't back them up incase something happens to your PS3, like, I don't know, the YLOD. If they're going to do that, they should reinstate the memory card. Infact, a memory card would help with what you're talking about.

I really do hate the locked saves on the PS3, it's pure bullshit. I think it's done for trophies but trophies are meaningless whereas having a backup of save can be very meaningful. I actually blame Sony for this (even though it's the devs that decide to lock the saves), it shouldn't even be allowed in the first place. If you have a PS3 hardware failure that's not a HD crash then you have no way (outside of fixing the PS3) of getting your saves back even if you did a system backup.

 

[MiracleOfSound]

Why do I have to hit the START button at the beginning of every single game? I started the game, I think I want to play it. Why put an extra button push between loading the game and the main menu?

Geez guys, we're getting pretty petty in here.

Pressing 'Start' has a couple of functions -

It's symbolic from the first days of gaming as your first interaction with the game. It's part of the build up and thrill, like seeing the curtains pulled aside at a theater.

It allows for a nice title screen free from the clutter of menus

 

[Vohn_exel]

I just hate that they lock the save games. So you can't back them up incase something happens to your PS3, like, I don't know, the YLOD. If they're going to do that, they should reinstate the memory card. Infact, a memory card would help with what you're talking about.

I really do hate the locked saves on the PS3, it's pure bullshit. I think it's done for trophies but trophies are meaningless whereas having a backup of save can be very meaningful. I actually blame Sony for this (even though it's the devs that decide to lock the saves), it shouldn't even be allowed in the first place. If you have a PS3 hardware failure that's not a HD crash then you have no way (outside of fixing the PS3) of getting your saves back even if you did a system backup.

Yeah, I have a YLOD and apparently some burns on the motherboard of my PS3, so I can't get it fixed and my saves are gone like...FOREVER. I know it's because of trophies, but thats irritating. Not to mention, I'd sometimes use gamesaves to get past a point I was stuck on, or a level I hated, or even just see what else a game had to offer.

Like in MGS4, after beating the game I downloaded a save that had everything unlocked. It was fun playing with the camo and guns and infinite ammo, but they weren't anything that I would want to play through the game over and over for. Since gamesharks have gone the way of the dodo, there's not really alot of options for stuff like this in gaming anymore. By the time I get a perfect score in a game, I'm not gonna want to use whatever tidbit I unlocked.

But, I'd be somewhat ok with it all if they allowed for some way to transport and backup those saves, like with a memory card. I mean, if I want to bring a game over to a friend's house to show him, I shouldn't have to start from scratch. If they had a memory card that wouldn't allow you to write to a PS3, but the PS3 could read it, then you could at least show them your gamesave, and they couldn't get it from you. If your PS3 broke, at least you'd still have your save somewhere, just like in the old days of the PS2.

 

[squid5580]

I can't help but think if they didn't ask how many threads there would be to "improve gaming" saying we need to be asked if we want to save. I just overwrote a very important save file because it didn't ask me.

It ain't perfect. But better to be safe than sorry

 

[Netrigan]

Why do I have to hit the START button at the beginning of every single game? I started the game, I think I want to play it. Why put an extra button push between loading the game and the main menu?

Geez guys, we're getting pretty petty in here.

Pressing 'Start' has a couple of functions -

It's symbolic from the first days of gaming as your first interaction with the game. It's part of the build up and thrill, like seeing the curtains pulled aside at a theater.

It allows for a nice title screen free from the clutter of menus

so you couldn't think of a logical reason either

I'm not sure I buy reason #1 since the earliest games usually had a start button that indicated how many players and it actually signified the *start* of the game. They existed to let players get situated before their quarter started. Earliest consoles rarely had a start-up graphic. E.T. did but who wants to be reminded of that.

It's pretty much a non-issue except for a handful of games that require you to press three or four buttons before you can start playing. The Lego games have you press start, then confirm that you shouldn't turn off the console while saving, then you have to confirmthe load game you're using. Fallout is probably the only game whose start button annoyed me because it was like rubbing salt in the wound after freezing on me.

But there's no real reason why *every* game has one. A lot of menu art is set up so the menu doesn't obscure anything. Pressing New Game or Continue Game is more symbollic of the way early video games worked... when pressing Start meant your game actually started. It's just another button push at the start like fast forwarding through all those game studio logos.

Okay, I thought of one good reason for it. To add a different button push on load up so you don't accidentally hit the first menu option on start-up. Because when you're trying to get to the action, you don't want to watch the full animation of everyone's logo.