How many times do you save in a single level?

[Karnasis]

I sometimes think I am a pro-gamer and try to Ironman some maps, only to be slapped in the face by the reality of my own skills.

 

But, in other cases, I usually only save two times in a single level, right in the beginning, and save a second time during the middle of my playthrough of the level, depending on how much it's kicking my ass. I don't like save-scumming but I also don't like to die because I didn't see a chaingunner with the aiming of a marksman, hundred kilometers behind me, turning me into swiss cheese, and now have to try the level from the beginning, all over again. So because of all of that it's hard to find a middle ground, luckily there is a addon that solves my problem, the Autoautosave mod, which is fantastic! The only problem being that it only works on GZDoom, and I only use that sourceport for modded gameplay, if I wanted some vanilla gameplay, I have to rely on my ADHD brain to remember to save, and you guys know how reliable that is.

 

TLDR: How many times do you guys find acceptable to save in a single level playthrough.

Edited September 6, 2023 by Karnasis

[Jayextee]

Ideally, I save about as many times as there are keys in the map; and usually before opening the keydoor, as ambushes triggered by linedefs surrounding keys are incredibly common. Some maps are either too lengthy or too hectic for this approach though.

[Cutman 999]

Not at all!

[Karnasis]

1 minute ago, Cutman 999 said:

Not at all!

 

Sorry, this is a post for fake gamers, go play Plutonia 2 or something.

[Cutman 999]

1 minute ago, Karnasis said:

 

Sorry, this is a post for fake gamers, go play Plutonia 2 or something.

Lmao i literally pistol started saveless (almost) all of plutonia 2

[DankMetal]

I save when i start the map, when i see a pit and i'm not sure if it's inescapavle or not, or before a trap where i died previously.

[Firedust]

Depends on the level size, difficulty, and whether I've already played it before.

[Pseudonaut]

Depends on the length and difficulty of the map. I think it was somewhere between 50 and 90 saves when I played Degrassi.

[Blast_Brothers]

After I die, I permit myself to save at any point before the fight that killed me.

[Andrea Rovenski]

I don't save unless I play through a whole megawad, and I'll usually save at the beginning of each map or sometimes randomly if I pause for some reason. Unless it's some epic slaughterwad where I just rewind-scum that shit.

[RonnieJamesDiner]

DSDA has rewind and GZDoom has console > resurrect. What's saving? O.o

[Thomased22]

I have an autosave mod that saves when I collect a key, kill a boss, or get 25%, 50% and 100% kills. And I think a couple other funky situations.

[AbeAwesome]

Either once (at level start) or approximately once a frame. I legit had to unbind my quick-save key recently because I couldn't suppress my instinctual reflex.

[LoatharMDPhD]

// Its a Non-Zero figure approaching an infinite asymptote..

[Devalaous]

I save like modern games use checkpoints. There is no way im going to play for an hour, die to a random dickbag trap or trollish RNG, then do all of that again for another hour, repeatedly. If Doom was the *only* game I played, maybe, but ive got all kinds of games all vying for my attention. Self-imposed challenges are one thing, but im happy enough to experience the level and its scenery, fights and secrets just the one time. Especially in the modern day when megawads are increasingly common and increasingly larger than ever. It took me a whole day to beat two of the later balls-hard levels in AV, with saves, I cant fathom doing that over and over and over from scratch with any death.

[Bauul]

I'll save every few seconds if I feel like it (or just spam the rewind key on DSDA).  My gaming time is way too short to be replaying significant parts of a level.

[RonLivingston]

I save many times when I fight the more tougher bad guys and avoid deadly traps in one map

[gibfrag]

Typically right at the very beginning and that’s usually it. If I’m testing a map then I save more frequently so I can load to various spots quicker. 

[Capellan]

No limit.

[RHhe82]

I save as many as necessary. Whenever I feel like it. If I'm feeling real hardcore pro, I save before each key and each obvious trap. I save after each fight I don't want to replay immediatly, and after that save, I might save again when I switch from one weapon to another just to spare me the trouble of switching weapons each time I reload.

 

3 hours ago, Bauul said:

I'll save every few seconds if I feel like it (or just spam the rewind key on DSDA).  My gaming time is way too short to be replaying significant parts of a level.

 

In short, precisely this.

[TJG1289]

3 hours ago, Bauul said:

I'll save every few seconds if I feel like it (or just spam the rewind key on DSDA).  My gaming time is way too short to be replaying significant parts of a level.

Exactly. There have been times where I  start playing a super-long level and die 20+ minutes into it, end up back at the beginning because I forgot to save, and just stop playing. I don't have the will or time to replay all of that. It's why I never finished BTSX Ep 2. That happened to me in Map 15 and there was no way I was going to replay that giant map. So I normally save whenever I feel something big will happen, like when I grab a key, or hit a switch that is a very obvious encounter starter. Plus at the beginning of each map as well. 

[Maximum Matt]

Dozens of times, even in E1M1.

[SMG_Man]

When playing the original games, I can pretty much go level to level with a single save at a time. Playing my own maps, I'll usually save wherever I know a hard part is. Playing someone else's maps, I'll rotate three or more save slots to help offset going in blind.

[Thomased22]

1 hour ago, TJG1289 said:

Exactly. There have been times where I  start playing a super-long level and die 20+ minutes into it, end up back at the beginning because I forgot to save, and just stop playing. I don't have the will or time to replay all of that. It's why I never finished BTSX Ep 2. That happened to me in Map 15 and there was no way I was going to replay that giant map. So I normally save whenever I feel something big will happen, like when I grab a key, or hit a switch that is a very obvious encounter starter. Plus at the beginning of each map as well. 

Exact reason I have an autosave mod. It's not perfect but it's good enough that when rarely worst comes to worst I don't usually want to dive head first into an empty pool. Since I have no manual saving instincts, its either that or restarting from scratch.

[INfront95]

To the point that i have twitch reaction of pressing F5 even if im just standing doing nothing.
Cause i ain't dying to cheap ambush and relpaying 10 minute section again.

Edited September 7, 2023 by INfront95

[Bridgeburner56]

I hate repeating stuff so I save often. I also like playing stuff like Sunder so I save more oftener.

Anyway as always, save as much or as little as you want. Play the way you enjoy, there's no such thing as an "acceptable" amount of saving.

[Steveb1000]

I save very often, usually after each encounter, sometimes also mid fight.

 

It's not to make the level easier because i don't go back to optimise. If i misplay, waste loads of ammo, and have 4% health, I save and play on.

 

For me, the priority is experiencing new areas and new levels, not playing a level repeatedly until I can 'beat' it.

[Zulk RS]

As a save-scum, I save anywhere from once every 5 minutes to 2-3 times a minute.

[kepone]

playing stalker shadow of chernobyl in middle school i think hard wired me to save every 2 minutes in every video game no matter what. if there is a save function i will go down all of the spots saving and then cycle back to the beginning save slot solely because i hate dying and restarting at the very beginning (also pistol starting in a later level irks me).

[Celestin]

I try not to save mid-fight or when I'm low on health (unless the map is too difficult for my skills or I encounter a really frustrating section; this include Post Mortem from Hell Revealed, which is a particularly shameful case, since this map was designed to be played saveless), but aside from that, I don't put other limitations. I usually save after big fights and nasty traps, before a clearly telegraphed setpiece (like when you enter a room, there's a switch in the middle and tons of ammo around - anyone who plays video games knows what it means). Or before a trap that killed me earlier.