discussion Does Anyone Else Drop a Game When Old Saves Don't Work?

[1qaz2wsx3]

No, if game wroth playing that long that i came back after update. I can easily start over.

 

[Sperrin]

I drop unless its the final update

 

[MattShizzle]

If the new update has a scene that I really want to see, I just skip the whole game until I get to the new update

That can take a long time still, especially if the dev puts those idiotic non-choices in (where you have to click a "choice" but there's only 1 option.)

 

[gestved]

I don't play them long enough for that to happen

 

[Squeeky]

not unless i think the game is mediocre, i often restart games anyway

This is my position as well. If I like the game, I put up with it. I even restart games even when the saves do work, worried that there's something waiting to break later. That's when I skip stuff, unless it's a really good scene.

 

[hubbabubba]

depends how hard it is to skip through dialog and how many "choices" you need to take to get back to where I was

 

[kuraiken]

It usually makes me delay replaying the game until it's a LOT of new content or the final version.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's unavoidable for save games to break. There's a ton of different ways to handle savegame data and data re-imports in later versions, but each and every one comes with disadvantages that can create new problems (locked game states, erroneous data, crashed due to missing data).
Sometimes adding a cool feature that makes a game a lot more enjoyable cannot be done without also breaking saves.

 

[MattShizzle]

It usually makes me delay replaying the game until it's a LOT of new content or the final version.

Unfortunately, sometimes it's unavoidable for save games to break. There's a ton of different ways to handle savegame data and data re-imports in later versions, but each and every one comes with disadvantages that can create new problems (locked game states, erroneous data, crashed due to missing data).
Sometimes adding a cool feature that makes a game a lot more enjoyable cannot be done without also breaking saves.

The way I see it they should have all their shit together from if not the start, from not too far in. I'm not going back through hours of play, where I'm not going to remember all I did, especially if it's one that has a long boring part before any real (penis/vag or penis/ass) sex. I just delete it and if I was a patron drop. If they find some cool feature that would break old saves, save it for the next game.

 

[kuraiken]

The way I see it they should have all their shit together from if not the start, from not too far in. I'm not going back through hours of play, where I'm not going to remember all I did, especially if it's one that has a long boring part before any real (penis/vag or penis/ass) sex. I just delete it and if I was a patron drop. If they find some cool feature that would break old saves, save it for the next game.

If the game is literally just a picture gallery, yeah, sure.

If the game has gameplay? That's not how savedata works. There's a ton you cannot anticipate in the system design for save data, including how you handle your data to begin with. Unless you've already made the game, you cannot preempt everything. And if you've already made the game? You don't have the issues you're talking about.

 

[MattShizzle]

If the game is literally just a picture gallery, yeah, sure.

If the game has gameplay? That's not how savedata works. There's a ton you cannot anticipate in the system design for save data, including how you handle your data to begin with. Unless you've already made the game, you cannot preempt everything. And if you've already made the game? You don't have the issues you're talking about.

Main thing is to not add new variables or change versions once a few updates in. Remember the 7 Ps - Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Everything should be mostly planned out from the start.

 

[falafal]

When do you drop/give up on a game?

I've been following several for a while now, but between not liking the directing and slow updates, I'm close to dropping them.

What is your standard for dropping a game?

 

[cynist]

Dropping from supporting, or dropping from following when they do updates?

 

[kuraiken]

Main thing is to not add new variables or change versions once a few updates in. Remember the 7 Ps - Prior Planning and Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance. Everything should be mostly planned out from the start.

That's completely impossible on any advanced game.
Everything is a variable. Enemy values, boolean checks if an object is in posession, if a door has opened, if a quest has been completed.
So you're essentially demanding every dev should know:
- exactly how many objects will exist in the final game and where and whether they require pickup booleans to determine whether of not they can respawn or disappear
- exactly how many doors, switches, etc. the entire game will feature
- exactly how many quests the game will have, what phases and conditions they will have

Essentially, you're expecting the game to me mapped out to such a degree in advance that the only way for a dev to actually completely plan this is to build the game in its entirety. And at that point, your issue no longer exists, because the game is done.

A work-in-progress game that is more than a straightforward Renpy game will always have savegame breaking. It's not possible nor feasible to anticipate literally tens of thousands of variables and booleans in advance while the game is just a hypothetical construct in someone's head.

 

[falafal]

Both? Either?

Personally, there are some that I loved that, as time has gone on, I just stopped caring about since they were updated so slowly.

 

[cynist]

Both? Either?

Personally, there are some that I loved that, as time has gone on, I just stopped caring about since they were updated so slowly.

Most developers do it in their spare time, which can fluctuate greatly depending on what happens in their lives. I've had to stop my development when real life work became 12-13 hour days, six days a week, and I had zero energy to do anything on my one day off a week. My point is, sometimes there's a real reason for a slow update.

If someone is just naturally slow - as in, slow over multiple updates - then that would be their norm. Personally, I don't download games until there's at least three or four updates. It's a good number to see how long they take as well as having a good idea on what amount of content is coming out each update. Both are good to know as some developers do fast updates with small-ish content while others take much longer because it is a lot of content and the quality is good.

That kind of style isn't going to work for everyone, and honestly, there are times I break from that custom. A great number of these games are not commercial successes, yet many expect them to be top tier excellent games and get pissy when they aren't.

 

[falafal]

D

Most developers do it in their spare time, which can fluctuate greatly depending on what happens in their lives. I've had to stop my development when real life work became 12-13 hour days, six days a week, and I had zero energy to do anything on my one day off a week. My point is, sometimes there's a real reason for a slow update.

If someone is just naturally slow - as in, slow over multiple updates - then that would be their norm. Personally, I don't download games until there's at least three or four updates. It's a good number to see how long they take as well as having a good idea on what amount of content is coming out each update. Both are good to know as some developers do fast updates with small-ish content while others take much longer because it is a lot of content and the quality is good.

That kind of style isn't going to work for everyone, and honestly, there are times I break from that custom. A great number of these games are not commercial successes, yet many expect them to be top tier excellent games and get pissy when they aren't.

Don't get me wrong; I don't blame them. I know these game aren't exactly racking in the cash for developers, and im amazed at how big the community is despite that! I'm just struggle to maintain interest in anything over long periods, and am wondering what others experience.

 

[cynist]

D

Don't get me wrong; I don't blame them. I know these game aren't exactly racking in the cash for developers, and im amazed at how big the community is despite that! I'm just struggle to maintain interest in anything over long periods, and am wondering what others experience.

That is totally valid. Developers do need to produce, or at the very least communicate, to be relevant and keep people interested. I've got a both a piss-poor memory and a forgiving mindset so if a game does "go dark" for a while, I won't exactly miss it. I also don't automatically get every update when something I am watching comes out with new content. After a few days, I'll forget it updated and then when it happens again... oh, hey, wait, I didn't get the last one. Rinse, repeat, and bam. I go from 0.15 to 0.20 in Neko Paradise. Lots of content.

As I've said, what works for me isn't going to work for, likely, anyone else. The key to peace and happiness, IMHO, is understanding one's self and coming to accept both the light and the dark in each of us. Live our lives upon that.

Can you give a couple examples of ones you have lost interest in?

 

[falafal]

That is totally valid. Developers do need to produce, or at the very least communicate, to be relevant and keep people interested. I've got a both a piss-poor memory and a forgiving mindset so if a game does "go dark" for a while, I won't exactly miss it. I also don't automatically get every update when something I am watching comes out with new content. After a few days, I'll forget it updated and then when it happens again... oh, hey, wait, I didn't get the last one. Rinse, repeat, and bam. I go from 0.15 to 0.20 in Neko Paradise. Lots of content.

As I've said, what works for me isn't going to work for, likely, anyone else. The key to peace and happiness, IMHO, is understanding one's self and coming to accept both the light and the dark in each of us. Live our lives upon that.

Can you give a couple examples of ones you have lost interest in?

That is typically how I'll do it. Basically just haunt the "latest updates" tabs, lol. If it looks like it has enough updates from the last time, I'll try it again.

 

[MattShizzle]

That's completely impossible on any advanced game.
Everything is a variable. Enemy values, boolean checks if an object is in posession, if a door has opened, if a quest has been completed.
So you're essentially demanding every dev should know:
- exactly how many objects will exist in the final game and where and whether they require pickup booleans to determine whether of not they can respawn or disappear
- exactly how many doors, switches, etc. the entire game will feature
- exactly how many quests the game will have, what phases and conditions they will have

Essentially, you're expecting the game to me mapped out to such a degree in advance that the only way for a dev to actually completely plan this is to build the game in its entirety. And at that point, your issue no longer exists, because the game is done.

A work-in-progress game that is more than a straightforward Renpy game will always have savegame breaking. It's not possible nor feasible to anticipate literally tens of thousands of variables and booleans in advance while the game is just a hypothetical construct in someone's head.

Yeah, I generally only play straightforward Ren'py games. I don't like ones that deal with objects, quests, etc.

 

[falafal]

That is totally valid. Developers do need to produce, or at the very least communicate, to be relevant and keep people interested. I've got a both a piss-poor memory and a forgiving mindset so if a game does "go dark" for a while, I won't exactly miss it. I also don't automatically get every update when something I am watching comes out with new content. After a few days, I'll forget it updated and then when it happens again... oh, hey, wait, I didn't get the last one. Rinse, repeat, and bam. I go from 0.15 to 0.20 in Neko Paradise. Lots of content.

As I've said, what works for me isn't going to work for, likely, anyone else. The key to peace and happiness, IMHO, is understanding one's self and coming to accept both the light and the dark in each of us. Live our lives upon that.

Can you give a couple examples of ones you have lost interest in?

Ravager is one, though thats because I have no idea what the latest updates are, but they dont seem like enough for another playthrough.
Umm... pulling a blank for others. Oh, Personal Assistant - loved it, but the updates are taking a while and I'm generally just kinda "meh" on it now. Same for headmaster.