Tillerman wrote:Soulless-Shadow wrote:I don't mind if it's save points or checkpoints. However, I like checkpoints/autosaves more than I do save points. Save points disrupt gameplay and take me out of the game, whereas checkpoints are barely noticeable (other than a little flashing icon).
I would agree with you, but I don't feel like checkpoints make sense for non-linear games. The whole idea of checkpoints is that they save your forward progress, but in a non-linear game progress isn't always forward, so the effect instead is to just have your game save itself randomly. Plus, what if you are experimenting with something and don't want to save your game? Open world games tend to favor experimentation and exploration, and if the game takes away control from the player and forces you to save at specific invisible points, I just think that's gonna annoy a lot of people.
Checkpoints/autosaves can be and have been implemented in non-linear games. They don't just work by walking through a door or reaching a special area. For example, you pick up an important item and BAM! Auto save. You can still explore and do as you please, but that tiny bit of progress (picking up the important item) has been saved. Another example would be GTA4. After finishing a mission it auto saves. Progress is saved, but exploration hasn't been hampered.
Tillerman wrote:Save points also have the slight advantage of giving the player something extra to look for, which is a plus for exploration games, and they also allow you to have the option to challenge yourself to get through a game with a minimal amount of saves, like you could with previous Silent Hills.
I hate being restricted by number of saves. It was a pain in the arse with the first RE games, and it's a pain in the arse for any other game. I'm a cautious person, so no matter how many times I've finished a game and defeated a boss, I feel better if I save first. Never know when something might go horribly wrong.
KiramidHead wrote:I have no problem with save points, as long as there are enough of them. I don't care for pure auto save, since I generally stop playing once I get to a save point, and only having auto save will leave me playing far longer than intended to. I still think checkpoints can be useful, like in between major sections of an area. That way you can still be penalized for dying, but not too much.
Yeah, that's the only downside to autosaves. When I save manually, I'm more likely to turn the game off as soon as I can. But with autosave I lose track of time, and continue to play for longer than I should. But at the same time waiting to manually save can be just as time consuming. For example, when playing Bayonetta I usually turned off after manually saving which only happens in-between levels (even though it also had autosave). Doing that made me play the game for longer than I wanted. I guess it all depends on the game and person though.