Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

I do think its amusing how the hardcore people are saying that people who want to have the option to save games "lack the will power".

Um... what are you afraid of? If saving games is made an option you don't have to use it. That is... unless YOU yourself lack the willpower.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

I myself lack will power to not save and reload or use "unbalanced" options if the game gives them to me. While I can see uses of a save game feature (mostly for research and replaying battles) I am absolutely certain that I would use it to avoid unpleasant events, or reload a few turns earlier to prepare for an unexpected attack.

As it stand now it is possible to "Save" the game by copying the files in the directory structure, but this is inconvenient enough that I wouldn't use it in a SP game.

So I like how it is... because I would abuse a save if it was available to me.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

It seems kind of sad to me that the designers and the fanboys here would limit the ability of many, many players to enjoy the game because some people can't muster enough will power to simply not reload the game.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

I definitely enjoy the game better because I have to think about my choices more and take some risk. I'm sorry if it doesn't accommodate the immediate-gratification and no-consequenses crowd, but a lot of the rest of our society does, so perhaps you can consider this an opportunity to take a walk on the wild side.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

But thats like setting candy out at a diabetics meeting, or having an open bar at alcholics anonymous. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/smilies/happy.gif

Besides I dont think its as simple as use or not use. If the no-save people can be insulted as weak-willed then the save-mongers can be insulted as greedy destructors (not by me of course). The people who want saves might not be considering the big picture. They think that their game will be improved but in the long run it makes the game less fun. Even for them. The replayability, the challenge, the long-lasting of the game.

It can be argued that adding instant and unlimited save/restores would not improve the game, but would actually damage it in the long run. Even in marketability since I think the game has more to sell it to hard-core strategists than to short-attention-span video gamers. Adding things like saves and cheat codes might sell more Dom3 but would probably hurt the market of Dom4.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

I agree, and it doesn't bother me a bit if people call me a fan-boy for saying so.

The same people can then go out and buy Warcraft3 or Age of Mythology or Heroes V and tell themselves that they're rebelling against our evil conformist ways, and I will wash myself clean in the river of irony.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

No one is stopping you from not restoring your game... so what is the problem? Funny how you label them "immediate-gratification" crowd when you, yourself don't have any faith in your own will power.

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

I don't think I ever said that I didn't have faith in my own will-power. Unless we're talking fresh pasta with a really snappy sauce, I have plenty of confidence in my personal stoicism. The problem is that saving games for a long time have reminded me of that monkey who's head they wired up so that he could keep on stimulating the pleasure center of his brain for as long as he wanted.
Eventually he starved to death, dying with a big blister on his little monkey finger and a big monkey grin on his little monkey face. If the save game feature is there and easy to use, at some point it's going to be used. Saved games, for me, turn "games" into "further sources of stress I don't need in my life". It's not that I need to use them, it's that I need to exert my will-power not to use them.

Saved games can be recovered and replayed, with some amount of difficulty-and I really like Gandalf's suggestion about restarting random worlds. I'd be up for that, as long as that's where it ended.

I just like the fact that I can play this game through to the end without having the Devil sitting on my shoulder saying "go ahead, monkey, press the button...just...once..."

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

So... you say you aren't worried about your will power then you say you say you compare it to a devil on your back? I'm sorry... your post doesn't make sense. You either lack some sort of self control or you don't.

If you won't restore then why do you care?

Re: Why no Save game Feature
 

Velusion, that's like saying "if you aren't doing anything wrong, then why do you mind if the government installs video-cameras in your home?"

Some things just intrinsically cause stress. They don't necessarily turn you into a crack-head, they just make life a little less enjoyable and a little more pathetic.