How do I implement a save system and new game+?

I’ve read through a lot of guides for CS coding, but, I don’t know where to look for reliable info on the Choicescript Save System and how to code it. Does anyone have any links to guides or anything like that? I know I can Google it, but, I also wanted to ask something else.

I wanted to ask, if it’s probable to have, like, a new game+ file, where, you save your game at the end of a COG book trilogy, and then you use that file in the first book in order to have a new game with all your old stats and some new options. Do you think that would work?

3 Likes

while uploading the game on dashingdon, you can use a savefeature there (when uploading it gives you a how to do that tutorial when you enable using saves)

with the finished game you can’t have a regular save feature (at least I wouldn’t know how), but you can let the player ‘save’ between chapters/important bits by having ‘save’ variables that save the stats etc.

New game plus can be arranged via achievements and achievement checks.

3 Likes

I’m not talking about the dashingdon save system, I’m talking about the save system between different Choicescript games that you can do (Importing book 1 choices into book 2), stuff like that.

And then the new game+ would be where you take a save from book 3 and use it in book 1.

1 Like

Oh that.
That’s done by CoG if you ask them to plug it in. Edit: But not backwards i think.

Like, if you have one game you do it via achievements.
Between several games…
It could theoretically be possible, but so far no one did it to my knowledge

1 Like

Ah, okay. Thanks. I thought it was gonna have some sort of complex code.

If no one has done it, I can be the first! Perfect!

1 Like

The question you should ask yourself is this:

If you really go like this:
Write 3 separate games, then have players have to buy play all 3 and load a save from the 3rd game into game 1 for a small bonus… won’t this drive people away from the game?

1 Like

It’s completely optional in order for replayability. In newgame+ you have extra choices, some of which can help you avoid tragedies that were unavoidable at first, others are just things like “MC knows that this character is a traitor, and is going to roast them cos they can.”

May I be honest? A lot of this sounds like a dealbreaker.

For example ‘avoid things unavoidable at first’ seems to mean ‘you will lose at this no matter what unless you bought all my games’…

If you’re talking about New Game+ mode in general, hate to break it to you buddy; @MichaelMaxwell and his co-author did it on Breach first.

But yes, you would be the first to do something like you described. Although I would take @MeltingPenguins’ advice into consideration while doing this, they have a good point.

1 Like

Fair enough. I’ll file it under “cool ideas on paper, not cool in practice.”

It was still worth asking, at least.

I can tell you how i’ll be handling a similar concept in my superhero game, if you’ll like to hear it

Sure, go for it.

my game will have an dlc bonus chapter that can be bought after one plays through the game once.
After that I’ll be working with purchase checks to let the player pick if they want to start a regular new game or start with the bonus (set 10 years before the maingame) and gain some bonus scenes, stats, and a new plotline when going from the bonus into the maingame

That sounds cool.

The rule of hand kinda sorta seems to be this:

A ‘New Game +’/DLC should really only add to the existing game. If you make a game that very much requires the dlc to be enjoyable/not frustrating, that might/will be a dealbreaker for a lot of people.

Maybe a newgame+ where completely new story paths are unlocked for the whole story?

I’m sure it could be technically possible (although you most likely would need to negotiate with the company for that!) but… why?

Because I think it would be cool

that unlocking can be done with achievements.

But you should maybe provide an in-universe explanation as to why something suddenly happens like this