how often do you save?

[raymoohawk]

i used to save a lot, specially when low on health, but i found that i enjoyed the game less and less the more frequently i saved.

now i try to only save from setpiece to setpiece, or if the map is small to medium size then i try to avoid saving, unless i have to move away trom the computer

[hex11]

I've been playing in single player co-op mode (-solo-net), so no saving needed.
But there is the added challenge of leaving some resources (ammo, health) behind, because those don't respawn if/when I die.

[Spectre01]

I generally save every few minutes outside of combat.

[snapshot]

Hmm ... Never.

[Azuruish]

Every second, every tic :D

[durian]

I've been playing without saves for a few years now - I definitely found that my enjoyment and immersion in the game shot up once I knew that death meant death. It's nice also because, assuming it takes me a few deaths to beat a map, I spend more time than I otherwise might with the maps that I play, and so get a better handle on the layout and the encounters, and a deeper appreciation of the things the mapper has done well. I recommend trying it out, though obviously it's not without its downsides if you want to get through maps more quickly.

[MFG38]

Not often enough.

[Marlamir]

after every combat = save, i use this method for yeears

[Jayextee]

I save at the beginning of a new map, usually. Exceptions exist if I find maps to be overly-long or filled with assholish encounters (and at that, I'll try to only save just before new key-doors, that kind of thing), but generally "death means death" is a more rewarding method of play for me.

[nxGangrel]

Either never, at the start of a level, or if I'm low on health - after every corner.

[ShoDemo]

I save quite a lot:
1) At the beginning of a new map.
2) Before grabbing a key in the open, that screams: <<I'm here! Come on grab me! There's no ambush here!!!>>. And the next moment, I am facing 50 Cacos, 2 Arch-viles, 2 Pain Elementals, 3 Barons, 5 Hellknights and some Imps (We're so fucked. Shit outta luck. Hardwired to self-destruct.).
3) After defeating one lonely high tier enemy (Arch-vile, Cyberdemon and Spider-Mastermind).
4) And before grabbing a nice item (soulsphere, invulnerability, mega armor and a few more).

I will probably replay Doom 1 and 2, like I did before, in UV, without saving that much to get rid of this habit.

[NuMetalManiak]

I save a lot every time I kill the last monster so that when I do the thumbnail shows it in the middle of its death animation. I always find that endearing for some reason.

[RightField]

All the time, I despise doing things twice, and games are supposed to be fun, right?

[Megalyth]

Pitifully often. I've accepted the fact that im not as good at Doom as I once was.

[SaladBadger]

during the trickiest levels in my plutonia run, I think I saved around four-five times in a level. In general I do try to avoid oversaving. I imagine once I move onto newer, harder mapsets, I'll probably save more often than that, but I'll probably avoid saving after every kill, saving to try to make a certain situation go well, or dumb things like that.

[roadworx]

i use to save waaay too much. all the time outside of combat. but, now i just save at the beginning of a level.

[AD_79]

Depends on the map, really. For longer levels I like to save once every 7-10 minutes or so, though I'll lower the time between saves if it's a particularly hard map. As for shorter ones (less than 15 minutes in length), I enjoy doing them in one go without saves.

[Koko Ricky]

I generally play medium-to-hard maps (slaughter maps are extremely rare) and I've reached a point that, if the map isn't too big, I'll save maybe twice within the map, sometimes once, on UV. Pretty proud of myself. For really big, tough or ambitious maps, I'll save a couple more times and usually it's right before it looks like things are about to get hairy. I find it's really thrilling, although sometimes very frustrating, to try to get through as much of a map as possible without saving.

[Mithran Denizen]

I'll only occasionally save if I need to step away from the game unexpectedly in the middle of a good run. Beyond that, what durian said applies. I appreciate both the gameplay and the level design more playing without saves.

The same goes for keeping track of where I am in megawads, too. It's fresher to just warp to whatever level I had left off in.

[Demon of the Well]

During leisure play, I generally don't save at all, situations where I know a map or encounter can easily break/malfunction notwithstanding. This has been my way for many years now. I have somewhat recently developed the habit of occasionally saving during FDAs on hard/hard-ish maps, however--more convenient/practical for all parties concerned, I figure. In the latter case, I don't really have any conscious rule or practice for frequency I follow, beyond the simple maxim of not saving in the middle of encounters, or immediately after barely surviving a fight on 3% health or something. These are foolish and self-defeating practices, kids--don't do them. And if you currently do them, try breaking yourself of the habit (while feeling free to save compulsively at all other times)--you might be surprised how much this elevates your enjoyment of the game (and maybe even your skills!) in the long run.

[Aaron Blain]

This question can't be answered properly in isolation.

Ironmanning the iwads with carryover is fun.

Blind pistol starting modern megawads on UV is beyond me. I tried no-save playthrus of AV and Epic 2 and I'd be stuck on the same level for weeks. Doom level design incentivizes foreknowledge much too strongly. So an archvile pops up. NBD. Quickload and have the rockets already in the air when he appears. I wish Doom didn't work this way but that's that. I never could have finished Valiant without frequent saves.

By the by, I find carefully rehearsed UV/max demos very boring. It's like watching a Sikh Gatka routine pretending to be a swordfight when it's really more of a dance. Same with most martial arts movies, really.

I've started to theorize that modern map design is largely unconsciously shaped around creating bubbles of action where it isn't practical to save until the player gets things under control. It's only in those stretches where real danger exists.

[Gerardo194]

In classic Doom games I only save at the beginning and at the end of the level if I left something behind. In Doom 3 I use its own autosaves. I used to save a lot but I felt very uncomfortable doing it because it killed the action to me. That's my opinion.

[Sayok6]

I barely save.

[rehelekretep]

pretty much never at this point

i will save for mapper's FDAs so they can see how i get through the map rather than watching me die over and over again :D

[Spocks_Beard]

Probably every 5 minutes or before a big battle. Wish I could rebind quicksave to a regular key since my F keys don't work depending on the game I'm playing.

[riderr3]

-at start of level, also on another save slot
-near the exit, and then finding remains of monsters and goodies
-in front of key, cause it's cheap map trick - many PWAD mappers place ambushes in this cases
-when see cyberdemon or 2 arch-viles or more.

[Cruduxy Pegg]

Save when am done playing only. Not that great if the map is very large but I generally dislike those for single player and skip\don't play them.

[NaZa]

After finishing off a group of monsters.

However, while I save a lot, I don't really die too much so I save thrice as much as I load. Saving is only a routine of mine I guess.

[AnonimVio]

Every few minutes/seconds.

[TheOrganGrinder]

After every major encounter, or when I come to a point with an obviously high probability of failure or a multitude of possible ways forward and few/no clues as to which is the correct path.