I use the batch file copy as well, and it does not detract from the game experience. Think of it like save points in a video game. You have the leave and reenter the game, losing rested attribute, so it must be used sparingly.

Save game testers should also try the in-game save features (they exist!) Go to main menu and click Start, and then "Manage Saves". You can restore prior versions of character and map from there. I've found the map restore very buggy though. Sometimes I get dropped into a virgin map without any of my buildings, chests, portals etc. Giving them helpful feedback on that feature would be appreciated by them, I'm sure.

Originally posted by tomoscar:

Originally posted by AngryBadger:

To stop people from "save scumming"

I think that the best games let the player chose the way he/she wants to play, using setup choices and difficulty levels. Those games who are fun just for those players who want the game to be really hard, will never hit the big sales.

was that a thread ... lol this game did hit the big sales, so you are little late..

Valheim where you can reload if you mess up seems pretty pointless to me.

Originally posted by tomoscar:

Originally posted by AngryBadger:

To stop people from "save scumming"

I think that the best games let the player chose the way he/she wants to play, using setup choices and difficulty levels. Those games who are fun just for those players who want the game to be really hard, will never hit the big sales.

You say that and yet this game sold well. And elden ring also sold well, and that one is not known for having 10m choices.

Quicksaving & Quickloading are primarily a Bethesda thing, no? For Adventure/RPG games?

I can’t think of any open world survival games with quicksaves. It kind of… defeats the purpose of the game? If you die, there are consequences, that’s part of what makes it a survival game.

i am scum ...so need a save function , a map generator and a big enough inventory to hold all the fishing tackle ....i would choose all three before a mistland update ....just like all the other scummy people we have to save a whole folder to do it ....why are irongate trying to change me from being scum? ..... i am what i am

Originally posted by tomoscar:

I think that the best games let the player chose the way he/she wants to play, using setup choices and difficulty levels. Those games who are fun just for those players who want the game to be really hard, will never hit the big sales.

I believe Minecraft still holds the record for most copies sold, and you can't save in that either. Might also want to check e.g. Elden Ring's sales figures.

It may seem like a great idea to let everyone play the way they want. Until you think about it a little more. Not all design choices make great games. You can make great games where you are expected to save scum, but those games end up looking more like Witcher and less like Valheim. A lot less. Adding save scumming to Valheim would change everything about the game, and not for the better.

Valheim has no built-in difficulty scaling so solo players have to compensate by spending more time with combat engineering to prepare a boss site. Even a manual back-up can help mitigate a disaster. I recently came back after a 6 month hiatus and found that a recent (late summer) Unity update had undone my V+ settings and when I stupidly opened my armor chest the truncation blew away half of my armor sets including my padded set. After applying the V+ update I was able to bring back my June back-up and get my sets back.

I suppose it would remove a fair chunk of tension. Just reloading the save when you die.

You can (and I do) save the entire game folder from Users\<you>\AppData\LocalLow\IronGate.

I do the same. I created a batch file to do that and replaced the desktop icon with the batch file so every time I launch the game it automatically backs up the files first.

In case of utter disaster or a bug (like when my boat just spontaneously overturned in the water) ... I can always go back to where I was at the start of the game session. I will also exit and relaunch to back up everything prior to boss fights, etc.

Originally posted by TyresTyco:

I suppose it would remove a fair chunk of tension. Just reloading the save when you die.

Yup. Some players really love the tension/threat of permadeath or semi-permadeath games. I'm not a fan. For me, it discourages exploration and experimentation. I don't go into the mountain caves because (1) they have nothing I need and (2) the risk of death outweighs any potential reward. Shame. Cool area to explore but just not worth the risk. In the swamp/mountains/plains I get just what I need and get out. When it comes to new mobs/bosses the penalty for failure is too high. When you are constantly dying and having to recover your gear (versus reloading a save from 2 minutes ago) is discourages trying new weapons/tactics. Well, at least for me.

Finding a solution to manually save the game has allowed me to continue to play and enjoy without rage-quitting!

Thanks for tips, but it isn't a simple in game 2 clicks saving that I would like to see.
Maybe that is not possible for game design reasons. Is it designed to be a multiplayer game?

To stop people from "save scumming"

Originally posted by AngryBadger:

To stop people from "save scumming"

I think that the best games let the player chose the way he/she wants to play, using setup choices and difficulty levels. Those games who are fun just for those players who want the game to be really hard, will never hit the big sales.