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[Tom Penny]

The game doesn't have checkpoints?

Well that's interesting, must suck for console users. I just press F5 baby.

Exactly. No problem on PC. It's unacceptable for a console though. Your in the zone and then you have to pause the game and save. That's lame as hell.

 

[Massa]

Because console gamers/reviewers are complaining about having to do something themselves. See it's totally the game's fault they didn't pay attention and didn't save for 2 hours instead of putting a checkpoint every 10 minutes.

lol

 

[NBtoaster]

Quick-ish saves can still be done on console. The Orange Box on PS3 just had you hold start for 1 second and it saved right there. Guess this game doesn't do something like that though.

 

[Semblance]

Am I missing something? It has manual save, even on consoles, yes? It still has checkpoints anyway, yes?

What's the deal then?

 

[eshwaaz]

You talk like this is Demons Souls?! LOL

id could not do implement proper autosaving in rage because it would slow down the game to unplayable levels. the message you see, is just a cop out.

I have no idea what you're talking about or what your point is.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

You talk like this is Demons Souls?! LOL

id could not do implement proper autosaving in rage because it would slow down the game to unplayable levels. the message you see, is just a cop out.

What? No.

 

[sp3000]

You can quicksave in this?


Might just buy it for that now, even though I had reservations about this being a console port

 

[Mrbob]

Checkpoints suck. Get over the hand holding reviewers. Being able to save anytime on your own terms is a better option.

Maybe they can patch hitting the back button or select to quick save if it is not already in the game.

 

[Wallach]

Am I missing something? It has manual save, even on consoles, yes? It still has checkpoints anyway, yes?

What's the deal then?

It autosaves when you enter a new zone. Sometimes you're in a zone for a while. The reviewers are complaining that having to manual save while you are in a zone to record that progress is "lame."

 

[Massa]

Checkpoints suck. Get over the hand holding reviewers. Being able to save anytime on your own terms is a better option.

Maybe they can patch hitting the back button or select to quick save if it is not already in the game.

An even better option is the system used in a game like Dark Souls which was designed so you don't have to worry about saving at all.

 

[NBtoaster]

It autosaves when you enter a new zone. Sometimes you're in a zone for a while. The reviewers are complaining that having to manual save while you are in a zone to record that progress is "lame."

No one complained about that in Fallout :\

 

[reptilescorpio]

I would gladly go back to last gen graphics in exchange for the ability to save everywhere in every game.

I agree with this man.
The disconnect from being used to console checkpoints to playing The Witcher 2 I think was quite surprising for me. As a long time PC gamer I had just spent a little too long away from my PC and as a result had forgot that I have the ability to save as often as I feel like it.

 

[GhostRidah]

Where to buy a slot on the pre-load queue holy shit

 

[Semblance]

It autosaves when you enter a new zone. Sometimes you're in a zone for a while. The reviewers are complaining that having to manual save while you are in a zone to record that progress is "lame."

I mean ... man. That's beyond sad.

No one complained about that in Fallout :\

An excellent point.

 

[Wallach]

No one complained about that in Fallout :\

Yes, but most of these guys are not good at video games to begin with so a game like RAGE is going to kill them more often. You'd think that alone would make them inclined to save more often, but as reviewers it simply makes them more likely to whine.

 

[GhostRidah]

It autosaves when you enter a new zone. Sometimes you're in a zone for a while. The reviewers are complaining that having to manual save while you are in a zone to record that progress is "lame."

So many people want their hand held this gen, so sad, auto save is nice but if you can save anywhere what is the problem.

 

[DaFish]

Where to buy a slot on the pre-load queue holy shit

yeah no kidding... im sad

 

[U2NUMB]

Call me old fashioned but I sort of enjoy being in control of it like Fallout. Manual saves do not bug me at all. Clearing HDD space on my 360 however will be a pain, but so worth it.

 

[Tokubetsu]

Because console gamers/reviewers are complaining about having to do something themselves. See it's totally the game's fault they didn't pay attention and didn't save for 2 hours instead of putting a checkpoint every 10 minutes.

I laughed.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

The game doesn't have checkpoints because it's not a linear corridor shootfest like Call of Duty or any other on-the-rails shooter.

Nothing wrong with a game that puts the power of saving in the player's hands.

 

[NullPointer]

I've never liked quick saves and prefer the console standard of frequent checkpoints.

It keeps you in the game rather than managing save files every few minutes, and manages to keep the tension of the game. The whole idea of challenge goes right out the window if you can hit a save button every few seconds. It may not be a win button, but it definitely a "can't lose" button and is nothing but detrimental to actual encounter design.

But hey, that's just me. People love quick saves and having the option is OK if that's your style. But the reason this game may be getting shit is because consoles usually do things in a different way, and for a pretty good reason at that.

 

[Derrick01]

You guys know what would have made Deus Ex more awesome? Saving every time you turned a corner. That game was just too hard. Thank god those boss fights were in a big empty room, I wouldn't want to get lost in branching hallways or use that hiding thing they make you use most of the game.

 

[NullPointer]

You guys know what would have made Deus Ex more awesome? Saving every time you turned a corner. That game was just too hard. Thank god those boss fights were in a big empty room, I wouldn't want to get lost in branching hallways or use that hiding thing they make you use most of the game.

That's pretty much what I did with my quicksaves anyway, doing a stealth run. After getting about half way through the game it just wore on me and I knew that I'd rather put caution to the wind and give the game a more blatant runthrough where I wouldn't feel compelled to quicksave every time I passed a couple of guards.

Like it or not checkpoints change the way you play out encounters. If you could only checkpoint save after each objective was reached you'd see fewer full stealth runs.

 

[Truespeed]

Checkpoints are just lazy and an exercise in frustration. Being able to save from wherever you are is so much better and saves controllers from being torqued and snapped.

 

[Derrick01]

That's pretty much what I did with my quicksaves anyway, doing a stealth run. After getting about half way through the game it just wore on me and I knew that I'd rather put caution to the wind and give the game a more blatant runthrough where I wouldn't feel compelled to quicksave every time I passed a couple of guards.

Like it or not checkpoints change the way you play out encounters. If you could only checkpoint save after each objective was reached you'd see fewer full stealth runs.

I meant auto saving aka checkpoints

I definitely abused the save system in the game but it was my damn choice when and where which is the way it should be.

 

[EvilDick34]

Where to buy a slot on the pre-load queue holy shit

Posts like this scare me into not pausing my download or closing steam in fear of losing my pre-load and i really want to play some CS:S dammit!!! I guess no CSS until sometime tomorrow afternoon, S I G H.

 

[NullPointer]

I meant auto saving aka checkpoints

I definitely abused the save system in the game but it was my damn choice when and where which is the way it should be.

I think it weakens a game design and even leads to lazy design itself, but I'd err on the side of player choice most of the time. Its a tough call though - imagine if Demons Souls or Dead Rising had quicksaves - they would be shadows of the games they are.

I think the best way out is well designed checkpoint systems.

 

[jett]

hahaha at complaining that the game doesn't autosave every five seconds. it's everything that is wrong with the people that write game reviews encapsulated in a single line.

 

[IoCaster]

I've never liked quick saves and prefer the console standard of frequent checkpoints.

It keeps you in the game rather than managing save files every few minutes, and manages to keep the tension of the game. The whole idea of challenge goes right out the window if you can hit a save button every few seconds. It may not be a win button, but it definitely a "can't lose" button and is nothing but detrimental to actual encounter design.

But hey, that's just me. People love quick saves and having the option is OK if that's your style. But the reason this game may be getting shit is because consoles usually do things in a different way, and for a pretty good reason at that.

As you say, it's "OK" to have the option. Since it's there as an option then there's not much justification for whining about not using the feature when the player gets owned and has to replay from the last checkpoint. Also the game is looking like a good challenge on even the normal difficulty setting. Being able to save anywhere in a level is going to be extraordinarily useful for a lot of people.

 

[MentalNoiz]

Holy moly are the Steam servers overloaded. I've been trying to resume the pre-load for 4+ hours now. Is this normal on day one of pre-load's ???

 

[Wallach]

Holy moly are the Steam servers overloaded. I've been trying to resume the pre-load for 4+ hours now. Is this normal on day one of pre-load's ???

Not really, but you usually aren't waiting as long for people to move off the pre-load servers either.

 

[Nizz]

Checkpoints suck. Get over the hand holding reviewers. Being able to save anytime on your own terms is a better option.

Maybe they can patch hitting the back button or select to quick save if it is not already in the game.

I think it's pretty cool that the consoles have a quick save feature. I wish there would have been quick save in Far Cry 2. It was a pain sometimes to have to find a safehouse to save my game. I remember once losing about a half hour progress in FC2.

Man, I wish I could get this day one but I just don't have the money right now. Hope to get some good PS3 impressions in this thread.

 

[Fjordson]

RAGE, first 20 min( PS3 version). You can notice fade ins from textures, hope 360 version fares better.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O6yvW72A8q8
Got to say that draw distance is spectacular. Really really awesome looking, especially for 60hz game.

Damn, looks gorgeous.

And I've been managing save files on 360 in New Vegas for the past few months so my body is ready for no checkpoints.

 

[Wallach]

I think it weakens a game design and even leads to lazy design itself, but I'd err on the side of player choice most of the time. Its a tough call though - imagine if Demons Souls or Dead Rising had quicksaves - they would be shadows of the games they are.

I think the best way out is well designed checkpoint systems.

The way Dark Souls saves is a necessity of the game design because unlike the game we're talking about, the game is not over when the player dies. You are moved to the last "checkpoint" but the game progress is still moving forward, not backward. Compared to the system we're talking about, Dark Souls only saves when you quit out of the game altogether.

 

[snoopen]

So I've been off the pc gaming bandwagon for a while, how does the pc version compare?

I know Carmack is known for pushing the limits with his engine, but by the sounds of it bf3 is more technically advanced than this? Doesn't sit right with me.

 

[Neuromancer]

I don't mind checkpointing as long as it's done well. But I think I prefer being able to save whenever I want. Hopefully there aren't too many button presses/menus involved.

Serious Sam 1 HD is the only console game I'm aware of that actually had a dedicated quick save button on the controller, which was awesome.

 

[Salsa]

I think im gonna go straight up Nightmare difficulty from the get go (if the game lets me) considering there's quick saving

 

[eshwaaz]

I think it's pretty cool that the consoles have a quick save feature. I wish there would have been quick save in Far Cry 2. It was a pain sometimes to have to find a safehouse to save my game. I remember once losing about a half hour progress in FC2.

The PC version did have quicksave. This scenario is the worst - when the PC version has quicksave, and the console versions do not. There's no way to balance a game's design and difficulty for both. Those stupid, unnecessary save houses instead of quicksave in the console versions seriously compromised the fun in Far Cry 2.

 

[EvilDick34]

So I've been off the pc gaming bandwagon for a while, how does the pc version compare?

I know Carmack is known for pushing the limits with his engine, but by the sounds of it bf3 is more technically advanced than this? Doesn't sit right with me.

That would purely be because bf3 is pc first which means they could go apeshit on the features for the engine while id for all that i love them are morons for being console first which means they had to cut features. Believe you and me that if id had focused on pc first and then porting to consoles id tech 5 would blow bf3 engine out of the water.

 

[MentalNoiz]

Is it normal for the preloading to say "Pre-load starting ..." but then nothing happens ?

 

[snoopen]

That would purely be because bf3 is pc first which means they could go apeshit on the features for the engine while id for all that i love them are morons for being console first which means they had to cut features. Believe you and me that if id had focused on pc first and then porting to consoles id tech 5 would blow bf3 engine out of the water.

This is very sad to hear.

Oh well, the master race will push on!

 

[EvilDick34]

Is it normal for the preloading to say "Pre-load starting ..." but then nothing happens ?

Means the servers are shitting themselves with overloading.

 

[NullPointer]

The way Dark Souls saves is a necessity of the game design because unlike the game we're talking about, the game is not over when the player dies. You are moved to the last "checkpoint" but the game progress is still moving forward, not backward. Compared to the system we're talking about, Dark Souls only saves when you quit out of the game altogether.

You're probably right on this point, but there are still examples of well done checkpoint systems even in open world games like Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption or Just Cause 2. Throw in quick saves on top of that if needed and I guess everybody wins.

By the sound of things Rage has a weak checkpoint system and uses quicksaves to mitigate it. On consoles this means taking you out of the game and into a menu quite a bit.

 

[Wallach]

You're probably right on this point, but there are still examples of well done checkpoint systems even in open world games like Borderlands, Red Dead Redemption or Just Cause 2. Throw in quick saves on top of that if needed and I guess everybody wins.

By the sound of things Rage has a weak checkpoint system and uses quicksaves to mitigate it. On consoles this means taking you out of the game and into a menu quite a bit.

I haven't ever played RDR or JC2, but I have put about 70 hours into Borderlands this past month.

Borderlands is actually a bit like Dark Souls in that part of the reason the checkpoint system works alright is that your character is essentially immortal, and when you "die" the game is still in a perpetually forward moving progress line until the game session is ended. On the other hand, it also causes a lot of problems in multiplayer and really is not much different than your standard quicksave system because they throw a checkpoint at you every time you fart or blink. They're seriously everywhere; the only functional penalty for dying in Borderlands is the cost of credits, and because the credits system is so unbelievably broken in that game, the main inconvenience of death is the forced teleport to some other location.

 

[Niblet]

Wow I just found out this game costs 60 bucks on PC. What the heck? Have they justified the price in any interviews?

 

[AEREC]

Checkpoints suck. Get over the hand holding reviewers. Being able to save anytime on your own terms is a better option.

Maybe they can patch hitting the back button or select to quick save if it is not already in the game.

Checkpoints arent really hand holding, if anything "save anywhere" makes games too easy since you can save just before a big fight or even mid way through a fight so you can keep retrying until you do it perfectly.

Checkpoints on the other hand promote different strategies since your last save isnt 5 seconds ago, so you are more cautious about how you approach a situation instead of relying on trial and error.

 

[sp3000]

Wow I just found out this game costs 60 bucks on PC. What the heck? Have they justified the price in any interviews?

No, and the fact that it's a console port also irks me. If your going to charge that much, at least take advantage of the extra hardware power instead of that "same experience across all platforms" garbage.

 

[Deleted member 17706]

Wow I just found out this game costs 60 bucks on PC. What the heck? Have they justified the price in any interviews?

Don't think there has been any official word about it, but Skyrim is $60, too.

 

[Massa]

Wow I just found out this game costs 60 bucks on PC. What the heck? Have they justified the price in any interviews?

Steam is getting more money from a PC purchase than either Microsoft or Sony on consoles.

 

[NullPointer]

Checkpoints arent really hand holding, if anything "save anywhere" makes games too easy since you can save just before a big fight or even mid way through a fight so you can keep retrying until you do it perfectly.

Checkpoints on the other promote different strategies since your last save isnt 5 seconds ago, so you are more cautious about how you approach a situation instead of relying on trial and error.

Exactly. As long as the checkpoints aren't onerous it works out pretty well. Much better than constantly saving every few seconds or bringing up a menu every time you do absolutely anything of interest. I don't understand how game designers balance difficulty in quick-save games, or if they even feel the need to worry about it.