Does anyone else feel that the current Autosave functionality does not default in functionality and by design to the least destructive action? In the past this could be stretched into a TRC/TCR issue on consoles even. The issue arises with ToI in that the user is forced to accept destructive action against his or her data by changing maps into a hostile area. Consider the ramparts in Raedric's Hold. Transitioning between levels of the keep can result in immediate large-scale combat against your party i.e. you click on some stairs and once it's done loading, even while in sneak and with high stealth, you are locked into immediate combat with 3-5 enemies. Since Autosave performs it's save at completion of the map transition you are now forced into combat and no longer have any safe savegame state. This becomes alarmingly more aggressive against players who are seeking their Triple Crown solo experience as well as for players who are attempting to play the game in less traditional means as an added challenge (not leveling up, gaining minimal experience, pacifist, etc etc). I could have also squeezed compliance issues from the fact that the player's data is overwritten and thusly destroyed without prompt (the only inkling of a warning stemming from the description of ToI being "...only one save file is kept for the entire playthrough" but even that does not alert the player that their are instances throughout the game where the game itself will automatically overwrite their data to lock them into combat/destructive situations). It may sound a stretch but I have cancelled builds for less.
I understand the nature and spirit of ToI, and fully support the challenge, but throwing players to the wolves (literally at times) and locking them into moving forward by forcibly destroying the integrity of their data is poor design at best. I understand the idea of "well if this were real life you wouldn't be able to go back in time to when you were safe; if you entered somewhere and got caught by security you couldn't just jaunt back to a time when you didn't do the crime" is what's trying to be captured... but this is a game. The challenge should be in having only one save file, and trying not to die, but not in the game overwriting your data with a new save in what can often be a no-win scenario despite the player's best efforts. In fact I'd go so far as to say the challenges should only ever be presented as in-game obstacles and never as obstacles born of the interface or the external mechanics around how your data is handled in the real world. Forcing players to memorize every aggressive map transition location before venturing forth out of fear of autosave functionality in their 40-80+ hour save is more immersion breaking than having a player select to quit the game to load his save once every blue moon due to said transition.
Solution? I fully believe we deserve an option, without detrimental recourse against a player, that dictates when the Autosave functionality is to take place, be it immediately before a map transition or immediately after...wIthout having to rely on functionality from a third-party mod (although thank you Bester in the meantime).
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XxDarkonxX
Does anyone else feel that the current Autosave functionality does not default in functionality and by design to the least destructive action? In the past this could be stretched into a TRC/TCR issue on consoles even. The issue arises with ToI in that the user is forced to accept destructive action against his or her data by changing maps into a hostile area. Consider the ramparts in Raedric's Hold. Transitioning between levels of the keep can result in immediate large-scale combat against your party i.e. you click on some stairs and once it's done loading, even while in sneak and with high stealth, you are locked into immediate combat with 3-5 enemies. Since Autosave performs it's save at completion of the map transition you are now forced into combat and no longer have any safe savegame state. This becomes alarmingly more aggressive against players who are seeking their Triple Crown solo experience as well as for players who are attempting to play the game in less traditional means as an added challenge (not leveling up, gaining minimal experience, pacifist, etc etc). I could have also squeezed compliance issues from the fact that the player's data is overwritten and thusly destroyed without prompt (the only inkling of a warning stemming from the description of ToI being "...only one save file is kept for the entire playthrough" but even that does not alert the player that their are instances throughout the game where the game itself will automatically overwrite their data to lock them into combat/destructive situations). It may sound a stretch but I have cancelled builds for less.
I understand the nature and spirit of ToI, and fully support the challenge, but throwing players to the wolves (literally at times) and locking them into moving forward by forcibly destroying the integrity of their data is poor design at best. I understand the idea of "well if this were real life you wouldn't be able to go back in time to when you were safe; if you entered somewhere and got caught by security you couldn't just jaunt back to a time when you didn't do the crime" is what's trying to be captured... but this is a game. The challenge should be in having only one save file, and trying not to die, but not in the game overwriting your data with a new save in what can often be a no-win scenario despite the player's best efforts. In fact I'd go so far as to say the challenges should only ever be presented as in-game obstacles and never as obstacles born of the interface or the external mechanics around how your data is handled in the real world. Forcing players to memorize every aggressive map transition location before venturing forth out of fear of autosave functionality in their 40-80+ hour save is more immersion breaking than having a player select to quit the game to load his save once every blue moon due to said transition.
Solution? I fully believe we deserve an option, without detrimental recourse against a player, that dictates when the Autosave functionality is to take place, be it immediately before a map transition or immediately after...wIthout having to rely on functionality from a third-party mod (although thank you Bester in the meantime).
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