Quicksave or not ???

[Xilema]

Will Half Life 2 have a quicksave/quickload
system?
Personally I hope... YES, just like the first HL...
Magazine info ?

 

[switch]

It wouldnt be HL without quicksive! I havent seen any confirmed info on it but it has to be in there.

 

[The Monkey]

Yes, hopefully.

 

[Kel Thuzad]

i bet it has quicks...although well placed system of autosaves makes up for great atmosphere...imagine Doom 3 without quicksaves...brrrr...

 

[Clavius]

In this screenshot you can see the letters saved... half dissapeared, so ,yeah, I guess its in. It'd better!

 

[Muhwi]

imagine Doom 3 without quicksaves...brrrr...

I actually played Doom III for a good while without quicksaving, 'cause I didn't know there was the possibility to do so As soon as I found out the game lost a lot of it's atmosphere, it used to be really spooky but with qs it became what it is, the ultimate "shoot-'em-first-ask-questions-later".

 

[DeltaBlast]

In this screenshot you can see the letters saved... half dissapeared, so ,yeah, I guess its in. It'd better!

I don't see anything...

Anyway, in the leak thing there was the possibility of quicksave and I doubt they took it out

 

[Forau]

Don't all shooters have quicksave options these days?
(part from the console ones)

 

[ViolenceJack]

Quicksave spoils games. It makes the hardest setting easy. In some cases you may end up saving around every single corner and if you lost too much health in a battle you end up loading.

 

[Absinthe]

Gabe was talking about quicksaves in one video interview. He said players should have the ability to do it, but they want to make it so that you can rely on autosaves. It's much better if you can trust the developer when it comes to those things, rather than quicksaving every five minutes out of fear that you're going to get an unfair curveball thrown at you. They aren't on a mission to defeat the player.

All that said, and considering there was quicksaving in the leak, I'm positive that it's in the final game. Plus, it would just be stupid not to have it.

 

[epmode]

Quicksave spoils games. It makes the hardest setting easy. In some cases you may end up saving around every single corner and if you lost too much health in a battle you end up loading.

i agree, but i think we're in the minority here.

i loved the save system in halo. it made portions of the game a bit more frustrating, but on higher difficulties, you really had to know the level to succeed. much more rewarding, in the long run.

 

[Icarusintel]

ummm.... quicksave rocks, several games i wouldn't have beaten without it

 

[Forau]

Quicksave spoils games. It makes the hardest setting easy. In some cases you may end up saving around every single corner and if you lost too much health in a battle you end up loading.

That is your problem, not mine
I just like to save in front of a difficult leap, not round every corner.
Perhaps there should be a system where you can only quicksave once in every ten minutes?

 

[Clavius]

quicksave is like the spoilertags here, it's there, and its up to you to decide to use it or not.
If you think quicksave spoils the game, dont use it! If you cant control yourself and use it anyway, well than thats your own fault.

 

[Xilema]

Thanks.

 

[Absinthe]

Perhaps there should be a system where you can only quicksave once in every ten minutes?

You people get more and more ridiculous every day.

First seeing Gordon in mirrors.

Then grab engines.

And now quicksave restrictions.

 

[Wildhound]

I think there's an argument here for both sides. Personally I don't mind either way. I think removing quicksaves can enhance the gaming experience as there's actually something at stake if you die. However, it can occasionally get irritating.

I think you could make a game where there were no quicksaves and pull it off quite well if your autosave system was... not like Far Cry's.

But yes, HL2 will have quicksaves.

 

[Xilema]

But yes, HL2 will have quicksaves.

Sure ???

 

[Dead-Inside]

That is your problem, not mine
I just like to save in front of a difficult leap, not round every corner.
Perhaps there should be a system where you can only quicksave once in every ten minutes?

That might force people to play slow. A *2* minute quicksave would be much better. Then you can't QS around every corner but you still have the ability to save when there's a momentum that requiers you to.

 

[epmode]

If you think quicksave spoils the game, dont use it! If you cant control yourself and use it anyway, well than thats your own fault.

not necessarily. the inclusion of a halo-style checkpoint system can dramatically alter the gameflow. this is from another board, but it does a great job explaining what i'm talking about:

Here's how I see it:

When using checkpoints properly (as in Halo), the game design itself is radically changed. Using Halo as an example, it is clear that the areas between each checkpoint are very specific scenarios with a certain set of challenges for the player. It is never explicitly implied, but these "mini-objectives" really add a great deal of substance to the experience. Recall the infamous transport bay encountered immediately upon arriving onboard the Truth and Reconciliation. That room has several varying waves of enemies and essentially presents you with a very simple objective, but achieving victory is difficult and requires you to LEARN the room. When you finally complete it, you have really accomplished something. Throw in quicksaves, and the entire aspect of mastery is tossed out the window. You kill an enemy, you save. If you lose a bit of precious life, you reload and try that EXACT moment again. You are no longer attempting to complete the entire room...

The checkpoint system has more in common with classic action games of the olden days, and that is part of what makes it appealing to me. It is a superior game design to those who appreciate a little challenge.

Of course, this also walks hand in hand with Halo's excellent rechargable shield system. Need to quickly relocate yourself? A bullet or two isn't going to cause permanent damage, so you can cleanly transition. As I was playing Doom 3 recently, I found myself using the quicksave all the time. If I took one too many hits during a run and gun, I'd feel that it's entirely possible that it could cause problems for the next segment. In order to keep my health in prime condition, I'd have to reload my game upon taking any significant damage in order to pass the segment with minimal life lost. Due to the nature of quicksaves, a difficult situation will often find you pressing the damn quicksave key after each enemy is killed in order to prevent lost progress. You might say "why use it, then"? To you I say "The game is designed for it!". As I said earlier, you don't simply choose one type of system...you design your entire game around it. Checkpoint games that failed to realize this have, well, failed.

It's just that I enjoyed the system SO MUCH that I've been disappointed at the general lack of similar setups. For me, quicksaves are like the random battles of FPS games. I still enjoy RPGs with random battles (Shadow Hearts 2!!), but I'm sitting there the entire time wishing that they weren't there and feeling as if my experience is somehow being damaged by their existence. That's how I feel about the quicksave. I can't help but use it, but I hate the way games are designed around them.

I've been an enemy of the quicksave ever since complaints forced them to be added to Alien VS Predator. The game COULD have used a couple checkpoints rather than forcing a level restart, but the action was just SO much more intense due to the lack of a quick save. You learned the level very well and had accomplished much by the end. When you can save around every corner, something is lost. The intensity of the experience is down the drain...

I HIGHLY doubt that I'll ever be able to convince anyone here of this. Go ahead, quote this post and tell me how wrong I am. I'm not trying to convince anyone that they are wrong here, I'm simply stating how I feel. It isn't as if there is any point in making anything out of it, you already won. Quicksaves are EVERYWHERE. They DOMINATE the FPS genre...

I may as well map the damn thing to my right mouse button and be done with it.

 

[Yellonet]

Yes, unfortunately.

 

[Warbie]

Quicksaves are the devil!!!

 

[Mr. Redundant]

it probably will (and since we saw the words "saved" in a recent ss I think it would be safe to assume so)

I hope however there is an option to turn it off.. or its disabled in higher difficulties.
I tend to quicksave too much (and lose immersion and focus) when the option is there, and its hard to not use it... take Farcry for example.
it had no save function... you had to make your way from autosave checkpoint to the next... it was great.

however thats my opinion, as I said it would be cool to have an option to disable it/it be disabled at higher difficulties (it should really to make things harder).

 

[Gorgon]

yes it will, all latest games got them, so YES.

 

[Peqkx]

I personally don't like it because I'm compulsive with saving, after every battle, item pickup or anything like that. I hate myself for it but can't help it. Doom 3 was hell for saves. But then pre determined saved points are annoying too.

 

[ViolenceJack]

they should double the difficulty settings. basicly easy with or without QS and the same goes for the rest.

 

[Hazar]

Quicksaves are the devil!!!

The don't use them!!!!

It will be like the original HL, so yes.

I'm glad, I hate the checkpoint system.

 

[epmode]

The don't use them!!!!

did you read my last post? i know it's on the previous page, but it directly addresses this.

 

[Clavius]

The hitman games among some others try to solve this by giving you a number of times you can quicksave.
Say, you start with 3 savegames left, you quicksave about halfway, then you have 2 savegames left.
Oh and: a used savegame= a used savegame. deleting them doesnt give you a savegame back.
When you finish a level, you are awarded a extra savegame.

Anyway epmode is right, you cant just 'not use' the quicksave. The problem is, as stated in the quote, the fact that the game is built with the quicksave in mind.
I too think the halo approach is the best, fixed autosavepoints and that are not to far apart.

 

[Absinthe]

did you read my last post? i know it's on the previous page, but it directly addresses this.

Then I guess HL2 just won't be your cup of tea. What a shame.

 

[epmode]

Then I guess HL2 just won't be your cup of tea. What a shame.

don't get so defensive. hl2 will deinitely be my cup of tea. and then some.

i just wish pc developers would adopt a better saving scheme. unlimited quicksaves in an fps can remove much of the game's challenge. a simple scheme that allowed saving whenever you're not in a combat situation would help dramatically.

 

[Xilema]

yes it will, all latest games got them, so YES.

Thanks :thumbs:

 

[Yellonet]

Then I guess HL2 just won't be your cup of tea. What a shame.

Why do you have to be so defensive? If you can't handle a little criticism against your favourite game you're just a fan-boy with a incredibly biased opinion who no one have to mind :cheers:

 

[Yellonet]

don't get so defensive. hl2 will deinitely be my cup of tea. and then some.

i just wish pc developers would adopt a better saving scheme. unlimited quicksaves in an fps can remove much of the game's challenge. a simple scheme that allowed saving whenever you're not in a combat situation would help dramatically.

They should have an option about which saving system to use before you choose difficulty. I mean, how hard can it be? And it would satisfy so many more than the "quicksavers".

 

[ViolenceJack]

The don't use them!!!!

It will be like the original HL, so yes.

I'm glad, I hate the checkpoint system.

Didnt HL have a checkpoint system plus the QS. It had auto saves at certain points which is technically a checkpoint.

 

[epmode]

Didnt HL have a checkpoint system plus the QS. It had auto saves at certain points which is technically a checkpoint.

technically, yes, but it wasn't a dynamic system(ie. saving at appropriate non-actiony parts.) it worked more as a level select.

 

[Asuka]

In the valve info thread they confirmed it will have quicksive.

 

[Xilema]

In the valve info thread they confirmed it will have quicksive.

Link please...

 

[dusk]

Like Clavius said, you can see where it says "Saved" in that pic with the zombie, basically looks just like current quicksaving in HL1.

Personally, I don't think I'll have a problem with quicksaving in HL2, I"m not gonna worry about losing a little progress on a game this great, it'll just be a chance to go back and see how things work out if I try something different.

C-zero deleted scenes on the other hand were a quicksave nightmare....you almost have to quicksave because every other corner you go around some sniper 100 metres above you is ready to knock 40 hp off you if you don't know exactly where he is and can take him out as soon as you enter his line of sight. Except the game does everything it can to dissuade you from quicksaving with those big white letters right over the crosshair that don't fade for at least 5 seconds, when you know there's gonna be at least one enemy right around the corner...sorry...rant over

 

[ViolenceJack]

technically, yes, but it wasn't a dynamic system(ie. saving at appropriate non-actiony parts.) it worked more as a level select.

I know it saved after each lvl most if not all games do that in one way or another but didnt HL have autosaves throughout the lvls. Im pretty sure HL did, i cant really remember because of the QS i sort of remember getting annoyed with the save list just filling up with loads of pointless saves. It may not have been HL though, the mind plays tricks.