I've got Save-itus. Save me! (pun intended) - by DSept
DSept on 20/2/2007 at 22:57
I don't know about all of you but I have this really annoying habit. It bugs me whenever I complete a mission and I really am getting tired of it.
I can't stop quick-saving.
I think that I end up quick-saving every minute or two (no exaggeration) and maybe even more if I'm in a tight spot. Then, when I get hurt or found or many of the other things that can go wrong when sneaking around I reload. Doing this, as I'm sure you can imagine, eliminates the reward when I finish. It makes me feel as if I haven't had as much fun as I could of by practising escapes and refining my technique. I just can't seem to help hitting F11&F12
"Why don't you just disable quick-saving then you taffer?" I hear you say. Oh but I do! As of late I have disabled quick-saving but sadly there is no great improvement and I still end up saving in the menu every few minutes. It seems I waste more time in the menus and loading screens.
So now I turn to you dear TTLG. Do any of you want to admit you have save-itus? Have any of you cured it? Any other comments?
I have thought of a cure. I've decided to try writing down a hard save limit for each mission on paper and tallying as I go along. As soon as I reach the save limit then I reload. There is one problem however, I end up fooling myself that I was being too hard on myself and adding to the limit. For shame.
Any suggestions?
R Soul on 20/2/2007 at 23:44
I have this as well, mainly because I don't fancy repeating the last half-hour of gameplay just because I make a little mistake.
I try to regulate it by only saving after I complete some difficult manoeuvre, for example: a long jump or something that I'm not sure I'd be able to repeat.
I also save just before I'm about to use up a supply (arrow, potion etc). When using arrows, I can at least ensure that I don't use 2 or 3 when 1 is possible.
I've found it works quite well because, so what if I have to sneak down a tile-floored corridor again?
Gnome on 21/2/2007 at 01:06
I know EXACTLY what you mean. In some games, like Half-Life 2, I quicksave every time I kill something, no joke. Every time I'm not being shot I save. It's ridiculous. It even got to the point one time where I ate something and thought this: "Mm, that was good. I'd better quicksave! Oh, wait..." I literally reached forward and tapped the table. I know, I'm a nerd.
DSept on 21/2/2007 at 01:38
That's a relief; I'm glad that I'm not the only one who has this difficulty. Right now I'm playing through 'Gathering At The Inn' (I can't believe I never got round to playing this earlier!) by only using 5 saves. I'm really sticking to it and it's much more fun. Apprehension and satisfaction are much more present when I play like this. Sadly I'm still finding it hard though; I keep going to pause and save especially when trying to nip through the bright corridors.
I just hope I can finish it, I've only saved twice and I have half of the sceptres and quite a bit of loot.
What would be really useful is if there was anyway to actually force a save limit of sorts. It may be quite a bit of editing though.
R Soul: I can see what you mean but I still feel that if I don't make a shot that I should of simply taken more time or made it safer rather than using trial and error. I never seem to feel satisfied if I do the latter.
Gnome:Quote:
I literally reached forward and tapped the table. I know, I'm a nerd.
Now that
is worrying! :p
Aja on 21/2/2007 at 02:26
I'm the opposite; I never save and then get pissed off when I have to steal the same vase fifteen times.
Gnome on 21/2/2007 at 04:23
:(
NeKoeNMa on 21/2/2007 at 04:53
I also quicksave a lot, but that is justified on how I have become a really bad player after some time away from Thief. Every FM I play seems to be too hard for me (I even ranted but I guess it's just me).
Holy Thief on 21/2/2007 at 08:24
Try giving it up for Lent.
Play a mission you haven't done for a while and don't safe whatsoever. If you get caught or die make a mental note of your failings then restart it. After the third time go play a different mission. Don't get yourself flustered repeating the same mission again and again and again. It's meant to be fun but you will improve your skills. Just remember to change your tactics if things go wrong.:angel:
Can I be bad now?:ebil:
snowcap21 on 21/2/2007 at 08:57
I also quicksave a lot and am not very happy about it. When I first played Thief I didn't knew about quicksave and it was much more gripping. But over the last years I somehow lost the patience to sneak ten times over a very long marble floor ...
What I try to do more is stop reloading when a minor thing went wrong (arrow missed etc), that makes it a little better.
Maybe some day I'll try Holy Thief's angelic suggestion - isn't it called "iron man"?
DSept on 21/2/2007 at 11:32
Don't worry Gnome; I've done worse. I have, on odd occasions, gone to pick up something in my room or open a door and become confused when it doesn't highlight... :erm: I think Thief has a strange way of just creeping into your real life over time.
Quote:
I'm the opposite; I never save and then get pissed off when I have to steal the same vase fifteen times.
Gah, that would be my worst nightmare. That's why I quick-saved so often. Mind you, my save limiting seems to be working, I think I may be breaking the habit! The only thing is I do take ages... I also get quite nervous. God knows what I'll be like when I try The Inverted Manse like this. I may just have a heart attack.
I don't know if I'm ready to try not saving at all. Possibly I could do it on something like 'Bafford's Manor' but I think I'll have to wait until I get a bit better. Thanks for the advice though.
And yes, you can be bad now. (Although your name is Holy Thief...)
