Change to Save Points

[DustyPorViva]

Hmm, I'm curious... why go through such complications just for a spawn point? Waiting around can be somewhat troublesome for some of the more impatient players. I know 15 seconds may not seem like a lot but when you're on the go(actively questing), that can be a long time.

Though I more bring this up because a spawn point is not the biggest advantage in the world, and it seems like a lot of work for a minor thing. Why not just have it checkpoint automatically at certain places?

[ffcmike]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

Though I more bring this up because a spawn point is not the biggest advantage in the world, and it seems like a lot of work for a minor thing. Why not just have it checkpoint automatically at certain places?

The point you begin a particular quest or task could well be a long distance from the location of it itself, it's also possible that in future there could be baddies on the overworld roaming around somewhere between your start point and destination where if your Save Point was automatically set at both start and end you could still have the same problem.

We also plan to implement side content later on where having Save Points set automatically within mainstream content could set a location far from ideal when you're attempting one-off Quests, this solution makes it entirely up to yourself to think about where the best place to set a Save Point would be.

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by ffcmike

The point you begin a particular quest or task could well be a long distance from the location of it itself, it's also possible that in future there could be baddies on the overworld roaming around somewhere between your start point and destination where if your Save Point was automatically set at both start and end you could still have the same problem.

We also plan to implement side content later on where having Save Points set automatically within mainstream content could set a location far from ideal when you're attempting one-off Quests, this solution makes it entirely up to yourself to think about where the best place to set a Save Point would be.

The time thing is still a problem, Downsider's suggestion is solid. Like I said, 15 seconds may not seem like a lot when you look at the number, but it breaks the flow when you actually play a game. Gamers don't like that at all.

[jacob_bald6225]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

Hmm, I'm curious... why go through such complications just for a spawn point? Waiting around can be somewhat troublesome for some of the more impatient players. I know 15 seconds may not seem like a lot but when you're on the go(actively questing), that can be a long time.

Though I more bring this up because a spawn point is not the biggest advantage in the world, and it seems like a lot of work for a minor thing. Why not just have it checkpoint automatically at certain places?

It is 15 seconds, not 15 minutes.

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by jacob_bald6225

It is 15 seconds, not 15 minutes.

Loading in most games rarely takes more than a few seconds but it's still something that is considered lengthy because even though you think "seconds" when you're in the middle of a game, sitting there doing nothing seems like much longer.

[jacob_bald6225]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

Loading in most games rarely takes more than a few seconds but it's still something that is considered lengthy because even though you think "seconds" when you're in the middle of a game, sitting there doing nothing seems like much longer.

But this isn't loading, it is setting a waypoint that you will respawn at if you die.

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by jacob_bald6225

But this isn't loading, it is setting a waypoint that you will respawn at if you die.

So? It could be accomplished in 2 seconds as well. The point is that it's unnecessary.

[jacob_bald6225]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

So? It could be accomplished in 2 seconds as well. The point is that it's unnecessary.

It could be accomplished with a button too! The point is, I don't think 15 seconds makes or breaks the idea of using beds as check-points. To throw words around like "complications", "troublesome", and "a lot of work" for not hitting buttons on a keyboard for 15 seconds is just asinine.

It isn't like a quest would have a bed in every room.

[WhiteDragon]

Originally Posted by DustyPorViva

So? It could be accomplished in 2 seconds as well. The point is that it's unnecessary.

I guess the part that needs to be explained here is 'unnecessary'.

Any obstacle in the game could be seen as, well, an obstacle: unnecessary and inconvenient.
But, the idea is that certain obstacles make the game more interesting, like, not being able to instantaneously heal, not being able to kill bosses just by slashing at them head-on, and not being able to just respawn where you died in the first place.

A delay on saving could be become one of these obstacles. "Should I waste time saving now or continue on the quest and risk dying and getting sent too far back?"


So my question is, what makes a delay on saving more annoying than any other obstacle to warrant its removal, and what are the general rules you're using to decide that?

[DustyPorViva]

Originally Posted by WhiteDragon

I guess the part that needs to be explained here is 'unnecessary'.

Anything obstacle in the game could be seen as, well, an obstacle: unnecessary and inconvenient.
But, the idea is that certain obstacles make the game more interesting, like, not being able to instantaneously heal, not being able to kill bosses just by slashing at them head-on, and not being able to just respawn where you died in the first place.

A delay on saving could be become one of these obstacles. "Should I waste time saving now or continue on the quest and risk dying and getting sent too far back?"


So my question is, what makes a delay on saving more annoying than any other obstacle to warrant its removal, and what are the general rules you're using to decide that?

Mainly because I consider checkpointing a feature to ease the frustration of a game, not some sort of major benefit. The only point of a save point is to save some time from repeating too many steps that they've already accomplished, or to save them time from walking from far place to another just because they died. Over and over.

However here it's being treated as though it's some powerful weapon that needs to be balanced and it doesn't. A quest is something that involves the player actively playing the game. You either have to walk around fetching stuff, or more complex quests like a dungeon in Zelda. However, either way you actually have to do something. Sitting in a bed just waiting is NOT fun. Do you think it'd be fun? Do you think it's okay to break the flow a player may be having just so they make sure when they die they don't have to do something redundant? I've recently played Braid and they have a secret star piece that you have to wait for TWO hours just to obtain. Doing nothing. Sitting there, waiting for a slow-ass cloud to move across the level. Now this isn't two hours of waiting but the point still remains that to force the player to do nothing is counter-productive to gaming.

All I'm saying is if I'm playing a game I want to keep active. If I'm questing and I need to change my save point I want to get into a bed and get out, because I have no interest in that bed other than making a save point and I see no reason to spend 15+ seconds there for no other reason when I could have made quite a bit of progress doing something constructive.