My WIP is starting to get long enough to worry about a save system, but I don’t fully understand how all that works when you’re frequently updating the files. I also noticed writers adopting a few different ways of handling saves (checkpoints, the plugin, just allowing players to jump ahead to a chapter, maybe others?) but I couldn’t find a thread getting into the pros and cons of all these. So I’m curious: what method do you all use and why? And as a player, how do you like saves to be handled?
I also have some other thoughts/questions: with the save plugin, do saves carry over when you add new content or change previous content? The bulk of Chapter 1 mostly doesn’t change but I find I’m often tinkering with it a little (sharpening the code to make later chapters easier, fixing typos, etc.) as I work on Chapter 2 and I’m not sure how this would affect players if I use that plugin.
Besides this, I don’t like how the plugin makes it so you have to save. As a player and a busy mom I’m constantly navigating away from a game and coming back to it later, and I like it when it just stays the way I left it without having to actively save. But I get that it’s annoying if you have to keep replaying an entire WIP to get to the new content. Hence wondering if there’s a better alternative.
Thanks in advance!
CoGDemos uses its own savesystem, but if you use itch you’ll need to put in the plugin if you want saves.
The checkpoints are usable also in the published games, which the save plugin is not, so if you want them in your game you may want to put them in while you’re working on the game, so that any potential bugs can be caught.
Checkpoints reset when you restart the game, unlike the saves.
Chapter skipping is useful when the saves don’t work for whatever reason and you don’t want to have to replay everything.
In theory, using the *ifid command (see the official documentation) should allow that to happen, but if your browser decides to reset and/or clear cache, you may be out of luck.
I don’t understand how the plugin forces you to save though? The browser does what it does whether or not you’re using saves, from what I can see.
ChoiceScript resets to the start of the chapter where you’re in if it’s updated. Also if you’re changing variables or making changes to earlier chapters that affect what values your stats can have and the like, using an old save may seriously break your game, so it is always advisable to start a new game after updates like that. I believe CoGDemos forces to restart the game after it’s been updated to avoid those issues, but I’ve seen conflicting reports on that, so I’m not sure there.
I’ve just noticed that games that include a save option tend to reset my game when I switch tabs or something, whereas games that don’t tend to be the same when I come back. Perhaps it’s just not done with the *ifid command? I don’t know I am newb.
Thanks for all the info though!
