David Stark
For #gamedev research reasons, I'd like to know how you play strategy games in terms of using save/load
Reload if anything doesn't go perfectly
9.8%
Reload to an earlier save if things go badly
54.2%
Don't reload but start a new game if needed
18.2%
Play until the bitter end
17.8%
Poll ended at .
Jul 11, 2024 at 12:25pmWeb
Show threadYukari Hafner Jul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen Depends veeeerrryy much on the type of game, I think.
Show threadKaspar (allegedly not haunted)Jul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen Getting confused, stop playing, never touch the game again.
Show threadTess, Joint Chief of StiffJul 11, 2024

@Zarkonnen I think for a lot of strategy games, my mistakes are cumulative, but loss is sudden. So I don't realise what mistakes I've made till I just suddenly get overwhelmed, or fall behind.

So I'm often restarting the the mission/game over to try and do each bit better, or try a different strategy.

I don't *hate* that, I like the fresh start, I just think there is often no feedback on where you've gone wrong. Suddenly you see "oh I have no way to win here" and thats it.

Show threadbetalars  @homeJul 11, 2024
@diffractie yeah lacking options and insentives to recover is really a problem for me that tends to make games less enjoyable.
Show threadErisaJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen for my first playthrough, I'm raw dogging it, whatever consequences my choices cause I'm living with it till those credits roll. Then on my second playthrough I'll usually aim for something specific I saw on my first playthrough and I'll reload saves until I've met that goal
Show threadndrayJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen i wouldn't mind a limited number of reloads if things go bad.
Show threadbetalars  @homeJul 11, 2024

@Zarkonnen I kind of love and hate the approach mindustry takes.

I kind of always play to the bitter end, as things usually go badly pretty quickly.

But I do a lot of pause scumming (pausing the game to place a lot stuff quickly) and that is a habit I really should resolve to have more fun in a game.

However when you loose a map, the game does not put you to square one. A lot of stuff will be destroyed, but your schematics and some of the buildings survive, so you only loose some progress.

Show threadBoxOfSnooJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen depends on the game. If the game carries over your mistakes (Homeworld!), I will save scum until I make none. If you can recover from them, I try to carry on and if possible and win from a weakened position (early Total War games). This can be quite rewarding.
Show threadSlightlyCyberpunkJul 11, 2024

@Zarkonnen Depends on the game and why I'm playing. Almost never play to the bitter end though lol.

But if it's my first time running a certain mission I'll definitely hang on longer so I can learn more about what I'm up against. On the other hand, if it's a game I've been playing for years then I probably have something very specific that I'm trying to do on this run so I'm more likely to restart if it doesn't go perfectly (but probably won't bother to save at all if it's a game I've already beaten.) And if I keep losing then I'll start saving more often and reloading the instant something doesn't go as planned, while on my first few runs I'm more likely to keep going if I think I have any chance at all.

Show threadCahatstropheJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen i always play on Ironman/one save slot mode if it's available because i know i'll be tempted to reload if i can, even though i find it more satisfying to play to the bitter end
Show threadThelsimJul 11, 2024

@Zarkonnen

I like to reload if a gambit failed. I don't think I'd enjoy a game if I couldn't safely try some risky move without having to start all over again if it fails.

Then again, I'm someone with poor impulse control and atrocious strategic insight.

Show threadAngua HTG Jul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen

Reload if anything doesn't go perfectly
AND
Reload to an earlier save if things go badly
AND
Don't reload but start a new game if needed

Depending on the game
Show threadMaxTheFoxJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen @mynameistillian I savescum to test for ambiguous interactions of mechanics, or when utterly bullshit RNG or a bug makes me lose or heavily sets me back. Otherwise I don't savescum.
Show threadVelinionJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen
_Really_ depends on the game. Probably used every approach in the quiz at one time or another. If the game is sufficiently perfection focused, I might quicksave before every action and again after every successful one.
That said, I fully enjoyed Hollow Knight with just the bench system, and have done probably hundreds of ADOM runs with it's Roguelike death and semi-random character creation.
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseJul 11, 2024
@Zarkonnen i tend to only reload when things go really badly (game over ofc, but also stuff like a character irreversibly dying who I don’t want to die, accidentally starting a war because of some glitch or misunderstood/badly made game mechanic, that sort of thing). But I’m more of a casual player when it comes to that kind of games. I don’t feel the need to do things over and over again until I did them perfectly or sth like that. (Talking mostly about strategy RPGs here like baldurs gate 3 or fire emblem: three houses, both of which I started playing because the story and stuff appealed to me, not because of the strategy game aspect, but especially with fire emblem three houses started to like the strategy game aspect after playing it for a while)
Show threadBluefox Longtail ΘΔJul 12, 2024
@Zarkonnen When playing straight, I just play through and restart if I have to. But I'm also a completionist when I get really interested in a game, so if there's multiple ways to fail and multiple ways to succeed, I want to get all of them, and will then begin saving every moment so I can revert if I go down the wrong path.
Show threadHelgeJul 12, 2024
@Zarkonnen I *want* to play to the bitter end generally, but I feel most games are so designed and balanced around frequent reloads that it's not an option.