Autosave or manual?

August 22, 2018

Within the past few months I've had a couple of negative experiences with both automatic and manual save functions. They both have their strengths and weaknesses. For instance, I feel abruptly shutting off a game and corrupting a save file, though rare, is far worse than the much more common problem of forgetting to save and losing possibly significant progress.

If I remember correctly, some games have both of those systems, or a hybrid of those systems, and there have definitely been a couple of iterations of save systems throughout the years. If you had to choose between the two general save types, which one would you pick? Have you ever been playing a video game and lost a lot of work?

Poppy · August 22, 2018

How frustrating to have that happen, milyt g. planet! Hopefully it won't happen again.

I don't have a preference between the two really. I've had a game shut off which caused me to lose the match and affected my ratings, but the save function wouldn't have been beneficial in that instance. It seems to me that when a game shuts off, something has either malfunctioned or overheated. With overheating I've found my gaming history usually remains intact and I can start back at the same spot without problems. However, when something malfunctions I'm usually stuck with restarting the game from scratch.

August 30, 2018

How frustrating to have that happen, milyt g. planet! Hopefully it won't happen again.

I don't have a preference between the two really. I've had a game shut off which caused me to lose the match and affected my ratings, but the save function wouldn't have been beneficial in that instance. It seems to me that when a game shuts off, something has either malfunctioned or overheated. With overheating I've found my gaming history usually remains intact and I can start back at the same spot without problems. However, when something malfunctions I'm usually stuck with restarting the game from scratch.

Yes, very frustrating, but that's how technology is sometimes, and unfortunately it happens to everybody on some level, at some point. I just had something shut off on me about 20 minutes ago, due to overheating. I need several upgrades on certain things when it comes to my gaming and computer set up. I've had a couple of system malfunctions, but I don't think I've ever had to start a game over from scratch, starting from scratch would just be horrible.

August 31, 2018

I can only hope that there won't be any error happens during the saving process. Once your save file is corrupted, it's completely gone.

The importance of saving methods depends on the game. Sometimes both are available as parts of the game mechanics. For example, Final Fantasy XII on the PC allows players to utilize manual save and autosave to beat stronger enemies. I can live without the autosave, but any access to quick reload when our characters suddenly die or when we make the wrong choices is much appreciated.

Zack T · August 31, 2018

I think Bethesda games in Fallout and Elder Scrolls series are great examples of how to incorporate both auto and manual saving. They give you auto saves when you level up, when you rest, and sometimes for other special events, but you can also manually save at just about any time.

I prefer something like that. The technology is there to allow us to save at any point we want, it's just a matter of whether the game allows you to or not.

September 7, 2018

I prefer something like that. The technology is there to allow us to save at any point we want, it's just a matter of whether the game allows you to or not.

Random save points make the game too easy, though. Remote save points encourage you to come up with a game plan to reach the goal. I thought autosave was a bad idea until I realized its limits could be a part of our strategy.

September 10, 2018

@Glimm I didn't know that FF12 for the PC had those save functions. What I do know about the HD remaster is that the OST has been reproduced with live instruments, and the game lets you select between three different versions of it. Also, the ingame character models have full fingers instead of low-poly, block-y hands (that's a nice use of the increased power now available to the game). Convenience counts for a lot, so it's good to hear that a more forgiving save function is among the updates the HD remaster comes with.

And I agree; quick reload is a great feature, especially in the case of when a major wrong choice is made.

@Zack T So many games are based around a player not being able to save at any time, partly because of trends set before autosaving became popular. To some people that might seem unfair that you're not able to save at anytime, I guess at times that's how I feel about certain games.

I haven't played any Bethesda games yet, but I've heard a lot of good stuff about them. The info you gave here about the save system makes me want to check them out.