[E] Disable/Enable Save Function

[E.D.Revolution]

This is not high priority, but this bears consideration.

Say one author wishes to use the a timer function (and variables related to it). If you save in the middle of a timed section and then reload, you're going to encounter bugs due to the logic behind the timer function.

Also, say an author wishes for players to stop save scumming at what should be the difficult section or the final present. He may want to disable the save function for that very reason.

We know the save function is a good thing, the best innovation in v5. But sometimes players savescum or save at the wrong place that will introduce bugs. Disabling the save function will solve that problem really quickly.

As an addendum, there should be the companion of enable save function so that player can save after a sensitive section.

[mercurialSK]

This is something I'd really like myself, for all the reasons mentioned already.

[drvonkitty]

Maybe an action can be used in the editor that will automatically create saves for the player at certain sections? That might be helpful.

[Unas]

Honestly, I've always considered the choice of saving belongs to the player.
The inability to save when needed (either because it's a difficult part of the trial, or just because the player has to leave and come back to it later) will always be seen as a nuisance.
So I don't think it's wise to make it possible to disable saving.

As far as technical problems go, however, I'm doing my best to only allow saves when it's technically safe in V6. If you try saving while text is typing or a timer is active, it should display a warning.

[GanonZD]

Or perhaps saving should just turn off until the text has been typed and until the timer is not active?

[E.D.Revolution]

Do we even have a legit timer function? Because the one I know of is

Code: Select all

f:get_date()

And variables related to f:get_date() are expressed in milliseconds UNLESS you do some variable manipulation to get seconds or minutes or so.

With this function, you cannot turn off the timer unless you reset the variable for that to 0 after the timed section, which is why a disable save function is needed.

[Bad Player]

I dunno, it seems like it'd be more trouble than it's worth.

For a timed section, I'm not sure if you mean something like a cutscene, or a "ESCAPE THE ROOM IN 1 MINUTE BEFORE YOU RUN OUT OF GAS" sort of thing. For the former, I feel like the player should know better than to save then, and even if they do, even if it desyncs the cutscene, it shouldn't (in theory) cause the player to break. For the latter... well, I'm not sure we have enough of those types of segments to justify it, although I admit if you use getdate, saving would likely break it. But why not just put in a "SAVE NOW, DON'T SAVE AGAIN UNTIL YOU ESCAPE" warning at the beginning? If the player has to leave in 1 minute, I imagine they shouldn't know better than to try a "YOU ONLY HAVE 2 MINUTES TO ESCAPE" segment.

As for savescumming difficult sections... All you're going to do is piss off your players.

[E.D.Revolution]

I was talking specifically of a getdate function, even though I HAVE done that kind of stuff before. It's kinda difficult to do that kind of stuff without breaking the 4th wall.

Like I said, not high priority.

[Unas]

Do we even have a legit timer function? Because the one I know of is

Code: Select all

f:get_date()

And variables related to f:get_date() are expressed in milliseconds UNLESS you do some variable manipulation to get seconds or minutes or so.

With this function, you cannot turn off the timer unless you reset the variable for that to 0 after the timed section, which is why a disable save function is needed.

Oh, okay, I see the point now. I didn't think of this case using get_date in expressions.

I guess I could create a new function like get_playtime, counting the time actually spent playing (so the value would be stored when saving and restored when loading), something like that.

[Phantom]

As for savescumming difficult sections... All you're going to do is piss off your players.

That's a risk that the developer should be allowed to take.