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Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 3:28 am
by MapletreePaper
I've noticed that a number of VNs, even ones not made in Ren'Py, tend to have Quick Save and Quick Load functions. I never really use them though, the regular save and load screens seem perfectly serviceable to me. Is this common amongst players or am I the exception? If my VN omits this feature will players miss it? I personally see no reason to include it, but I'd like a second opinion. I'm not using Ren'Py anymore, so this is also a matter of effectively using resources and my programmer's time.
Re: Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:08 am
by papillon
This is something that varies by individual playstyle, so some people will never use them and some people use them all the time. Some people don't like the interruption of having to go into a save screen and choose a slot and potentially name a save and all that. I've watched people (streaming) play long games using only quicksave, which feels weird to me. I personally only tend to use it if I'm doing something dumb that I know I'm going to IMMEDIATELY reload after, or if I have to quit a game in a hurry.
It's a quality-of-life function, like many others, which will be useful to some and completely ignored by others. It definitely DOES get used. But if it's a pain for you to program, it's obviously not as high a priority as getting other things working. If you don't have a Skip option, people will yell at you. If you don't have Quicksave, people will probably just shrug.
Re: Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Fri Oct 29, 2021 4:46 pm
by Imperf3kt
I frequently use quick saves and loading. Very helpful for when a choice menu comes up and you don't want to break the immersion by opening up menus and saving, but also don't want to risk picking an option and have it turn out the opposite of what you expected.
Ren'Pys implementation of quick saves (or rather, quick loads), at least in my opinion, is broken, as it still opens a load menu exactly the same as how the regular saving does and is not "quick" as the name implies it should be.
Re: Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 10:50 am
by MapletreePaper
papillon wrote: ↑Fri Oct 29, 2021 8:08 am
This is something that varies by individual playstyle, so some people will never use them and some people use them all the time. Some people don't like the interruption of having to go into a save screen and choose a slot and potentially name a save and all that. I've watched people (streaming) play long games using
only quicksave, which feels weird to me. I personally only tend to use it if I'm doing something dumb that I know I'm going to IMMEDIATELY reload after, or if I have to quit a game in a hurry.
It's a quality-of-life function, like many others, which will be useful to some and completely ignored by others. It definitely DOES get used. But if it's a pain for you to program, it's obviously not as high a priority as getting other things working. If you don't have a Skip option, people will yell at you. If you don't have Quicksave, people will probably just shrug.
Imperf3kt wrote: ↑Fri Oct 29, 2021 4:46 pm
I frequently use quick saves and loading. Very helpful for when a choice menu comes up and you don't want to break the immersion by opening up menus and saving, but also don't want to risk picking an option and have it turn out the opposite of what you expected.
Thanks for the insight, this is exactly what I needed to hear. I'll see if I'm able to implement it after all.
Imperf3kt wrote: ↑Fri Oct 29, 2021 4:46 pm
Ren'Pys implementation of quick saves (or rather, quick loads), at least in my opinion, is broken, as it still opens a load menu exactly the same as how the regular saving does and is not "quick" as the name implies it should be.
I figured as much. If the purpose of the quick load is to save time then I totally agree with you. We are using Ren'Py as a base though, so we better not copy that specific aspect of the engine.
Re: Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 6:58 pm
by Chiagirl
I never use them, and honestly don't see their purpose unless you don't want the player to have access to the regular save & load menus for some reason. I've never found having to access a menu to be 'immersion breaking' so no, I wouldn't miss it.
Re: Q. Save and Q. Load: Useful or Redundant?
Posted: Sun Oct 31, 2021 9:46 pm
by Inksword
I think they're important to include for accessibility issues tbh. The less button presses you need to do something, the easier it is for someone who has mobility issues or pain or low energy to smooth over their experience and remap it to whatever configuration is easiest for them. For some people, being able to save/reload with only a single button press instead of having to navigate menus or make multiple button presses makes all the difference!