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[Dan1111]

Hi all,

wasn't sure where to make this post so I've gone for the safe option and stuck it in "general" 

I've been playing DF on and off for the past couple of years and I've noticed that I can only save the game via the autosave once a season.  Whenver I attempt to manually save the game I'm sent back to the menu screen but my game isn't saved.  Is this is a commonly known and easily solved problem?

Apologies if this has been raised before and answered numerous times, I attempted to search the forums but to no avail.

Thanks

Dan

[ventuz]

I didn't have any problem with saving game, are you not using any utility? Are you avoiding "Abandon" choice?

[Ephemeriis]

Are you sure it isn't saving?

When you choose "Save Game" from the ESC menu it should save your game and then dump you back to the main menu.  You should then have the option to "Continue Playing" or "Quit".  If you quit and then come back in...  Choose continue playing...  Is your fort there?  Or does it revert to something previous?

"Save Game" is basically so you can exit without losing your progress.  You aren't prompted with a location or a filename.

You've basically just got the one current game, and then your seasonal archives.  Unless you choose to go in and rename folders.

[bluephoenix]

Are you sure it isn't saving?

When you choose "Save Game" from the ESC menu it should save your game and then dump you back to the main menu.  You should then have the option to "Continue Playing" or "Quit".  If you quit and then come back in...  Choose continue playing...  Is your fort there?  Or does it revert to something previous?

"Save Game" is basically so you can exit without losing your progress.  You aren't prompted with a location or a filename.

You've basically just got the one current game, and then your seasonal archives.  Unless you choose to go in and rename folders.

That and I think toady did it this way to prevent save scumming like you can do in most strategy games.

[rdwulfe]

It's pretty traditional with roguelike games to have one save, rather than multiple like in RPG's and strategy games. Your choices in a Roguelike are supposed to have consequences, not easily revoked. Part of the 'one life' thing that is inherent to Roguelike games.

[Untelligent]

'course you can always use ctrl-alt-delete to savescum. That does have a very small chance of corrupting your world and causing an unavoidable crash (the infamous and ominous-sounding "Nemesis Error") at some point in the future, but that's the risk you take when you savescum.

Or it did back in 40d, anyway. I don't even know if kings can even come to your fortress anymore.

[dyze]

That and I think toady did it this way to prevent save scumming like you can do in most strategy games.

curious way to do prevent that since there is a feature to autosave yearly or seasonally (to separate filenames), which can be loaded normally when starting df.
so i dont really see a reason why there shouldnt be a 'normal' save and load feature, at least in fortress mode..

[Ephemeriis]

i dont really see a reason why there shouldnt be a 'normal' save and load feature, at least in fortress mode..

There is a "normal" save and load feature.  Normal for Rogue-alikes, at least.

Look at the Diablo games.  You get a "Save and Exit" option.  You don't pick a filename or location.  Unless you go in and manually copy files out, your choices/actions are permanent.

The seasonal autosaves are a concession to folks who don't want Rogue-like permenant choices.

[Rexfelum]

so i dont really see a reason why there shouldnt be a 'normal' save and load feature, at least in fortress mode..

Good to put "normal" in quotation marks, because you really do need to emphasize how ambiguous "normalcy" is.  So long as there's no confusion, any of a number of save systems can be used in games successfully (as Ephemeriis said while I was typing . . . ).  I italicized the "confusion" part to show what I think is the issue here: Dan1111, like some other recent posters, may be having a hard time telling that the game has saved.

But then there's my situation.  I don't use seasonal auto-saves, since I'm used to fiddling with folders and such for manual backups.  Thus, I haven't been confused about what game saves do.

--Rexfelum

[dyze]

i dont really see a reason why there shouldnt be a 'normal' save and load feature, at least in fortress mode..

There is a "normal" save and load feature.  Normal for Rogue-alikes, at least.

Look at the Diablo games.  You get a "Save and Exit" option.  You don't pick a filename or location.  Unless you go in and manually copy files out, your choices/actions are permanent.

The seasonal autosaves are a concession to folks who don't want Rogue-like permenant choices.

the diablo/roguelike way of doing it makes sense and is appropriate for adventure mode.
fortress mode is more akin to something like civ or settlers, now could you imagine playing civ using only a save and exit option?

[Dae]

I can.
Either way, I'm pretty sure autosaves were more here because of the game crashes that happen every once in a while. This way you don't lose everything because of a nasty bug.

[rephikul]

now could you imagine playing civ using only a save and exit option?

Sorry dyze I'm a let you to finish but i just want to say that we do that in LAN matches all the times!! ALL THE TIMES!!

[labouts]

fortress mode is more akin to something like civ or settlers, now could you imagine playing civ using only a save and exit option?

I don't savescum in civ, nor do most of the people I know. Winning by timetravel/precognition feels like cheating.

[Ephemeriis]

fortress mode is more akin to something like civ or settlers, now could you imagine playing civ using only a save and exit option?

I don't savescum in civ, nor do most of the people I know. Winning by timetravel/precognition feels like cheating.

Yup.  Any 4X I've ever played, regardless of what kind of save system it offered, was played in with a rogue-like single save.

Cheapens things, in my opinion, if I can just take back all those tough decisions.

[Dan1111]

Sorry all, I don't think I was clear enough in my original email.  Let me try and clarify.  Only the seasonal save "saves" the game.  If I click on save and exit I am booted out to the main menu however when I attempt to load the game I just saved it is non existant.  I can only load from the previous seasonal save.   Let me give you an example....

I start a new game, I play through one season and I get a seasonal autosave ("save 1").  I'm mid way through my next season and I need to stop playing.  At this point I have two choices

a) keep playing until my next seasonal save
b) click "save and exit" which in reality kicks me out to the main menu and means when I next play I have to load "save 1"

Surely this isn't working as intended?