Why no Save game Feature

[Gandalf Parker]

Wish_For_Blood_Slaves said:
restart game is not a bad idea, really.

I like that. We have an option to restart the turn. Id like an option to restart the game. Im not sure if the game saves all of the settings in a way that would allow that but it would be nice to use the same map, same number of AIs, same starting race for me, etc etc and create a new game from all of it.

[Wish]

Saxon said:
A Bloo Bloo Blah Bloo

That is the sound someone makes when they are trying to talk while also crying so hard.

maybe the feature can be added to the wish spell, so that when someone wishes for some cheat that isn't implemented in the game, they'll get their way.

(P.S. I am just ribbing, try and read it in a gutteral voice like someone trying to be hard core.)

(P.P.S. Jokes!)

(P.P.P.S. Stop crying and sack up.)

[HoneyBadger]

It bugged me at first, I admit, but when I was a kid I didn't like asparagus. Now I'm older, and if you steam it for just a minute or two, drizzle olive oil over it, add lemon and crushed garlic, freshly grated Parmezan cheese, and just a little white pepper, it's really quite good.

Sack up.

[Wish]

I too was a little like "wha.... huh?" when I first realized there was no save/load.

In the end the when you remove the crutch, you develop better players. Don't be afraid of losing from time to time. this isn't tic tac toe.

[FaceLess]

I don't have that much problems with the no save feature since backing up the game files is pretty easy (with longer turns you even do that during the processing of the turn) but if a save option is a cheat, why not have a restart game option. If things go wrong I like to restart the game with same settings regarding opponents, pretender etc. Are there any command lines I can use to do that?

Sort of related, when I choose save and quit, it sometimes does sometimes does not remember the orders I already gave to some of the commanders. Is there something that determines that behaviour?

[Potatoman]

Makes me wish I spent that money on Neverwinter.

Burned!

There's another thread with most of the relevant arguments on this issue in it. It eventually turns into a flame war and spirals out of control for seven pages.
http://www.shrapnelcommunity.com/thr...5&o=&fpart=all

[Saxon]

When you make a game easy to mod, you are explicitly choosing to let players do what they want with the game. In line with that philosophy, making it truly easy to save the game would make sense. The player can do what they want with it.

However, the designers have made a decision otherwise and there is little doubt it is a deliberate decision. After ten years of working on the game, they have not spent the hour or two to put in what most of the strategy community considers a standard part of any game. Let us be clear, we are talking about saves from an in game menu, saves which you can name.

Illwinter has made thousand of good design decision and a handful of bad ones. We argue about them on the forum every day. This is one that I think is a bad one.

And finally, can we get the terminology correct if we are going to insist on using play ground language in our discussions? You don’t say “sack up.” You say “suck it up” or, more insultingly, “suck it up, princess!” If you prefer, you can tell me to “cowboy up” or ask me if I am “afraid to play with the big boys.” Alternatively, you can call me a “big girl’s blouse”, a “Jessica” or a “pansy.” Where I grew up, you would tell me to “go play with the kids from Tranquille,” but then I would have to break your nose, so perhaps we should leave that out. Or we could just try arguing reasonably and leave the “funny” insults where they belong, while respecting each other. This isn’t a Blizzard forum…

[Archonsod]

I wouldn't say it's a concious decision, or necessarily a bad one. After all, the functionality is there (as in, moving and renaming files yourself), it's more a matter of polish (as in, it's not automated or presented within the game).
It's not the only rough edge the game has either. Much as I love additional content and similar fun stuff, I do wonder if perhaps the actual presentation is being over ignored.

[Edi]

Implementing a save game option would not be difficult. A subdirectory or three or five in each savegame subdir that store the turn files for e.g. 1 to 5 turns previous and then start overwriting them in order of oldest first would be about as much anybody could ask for. Whether we get it is another matter entriely.

Personally I don't need it in Dominions, never have. In some other types of strat games like the HoMM series and the old Warlords series I like it. In Dominons, I like the ironman approach. For me, it's no problem starting over if things get screwed up. Typically if I do have to start over, it'll be at a point early enough that it doesn't really matter and later I've generally managed a position strong enough that a few setbacks won't be eeough to stop me. Hurt, yes, but not stop. That's a part of the game for me. I don't like the "Take overly big risks and go back to a saved game if it fails" approach that many people like to use. The solution is to take smaller risks.

Edi

[PDF]

Archonsod said:
I wouldn't say it's a concious decision, or necessarily a bad one. After all, the functionality is there (as in, moving and renaming files yourself), it's more a matter of polish (as in, it's not automated or presented within the game).
It's not the only rough edge the game has either. Much as I love additional content and similar fun stuff, I do wonder if perhaps the actual presentation is being over ignored.

I do think likewise. I don't think IW "didn't want" to do it, rather that either they didn't have the idea or felt there was something more interesting/important to do.
Also note that Dom2 worked exactly the same and yet I don't remember much (any) rumbling about the lack of save feature..
Maybe the game is getting more popular so there's more demand for a "standard" feature that is missing.

Personally I'd be glad to have it but can live without.

Also note that if Dom doesn't have a real save feature like "all" other strat games have, it has *lots* of features that *no other* strat game has