Play KSP without Quicksaves to fully appreciate it

[SSgt Baloo]

I have anxiety disorders, which means that I have strong emotional reactions to things that even I consider a bit silly. Killing a kerbal without the possibility of reverting to an earlier save before s/he was killed is too stressful for me. The right way for you to enjoy your game isn't always the right way for everyone else. If I were not so afflicted, the added challenge might be fun (but it isn't, so I'll pass).

To each his own.

[foamyesque]

I tried it once, but then my rover tripped over a ground seam and turned itself into a projectile, so I decided to give myself quicksave/load in the event of bloody nonsense.

[SamBelanger]

12 minutes ago, foamyesque said:

I tried it once, but then my rover tripped over a ground seam and turned itself into a projectile, so I decided to give myself quicksave/load in the event of bloody nonsense.

Sorry foamyesque your link does not work.

File not found.

Edited July 22, 2016 by SamBelanger

[foamyesque]

34 minutes ago, SamBelanger said:

Sorry foamyesque your link does not work.

File not found.

That link is ancient. Probably dates back to 2012. I should probably update my signature block.

[Vermil]

14 hours ago, SSgt Baloo said:

I have anxiety disorders, which means that I have strong emotional reactions to things that even I consider a bit silly. Killing a kerbal without the possibility of reverting to an earlier save before s/he was killed is too stressful for me. The right way for you to enjoy your game isn't always the right way for everyone else. If I were not so afflicted, the added challenge might be fun (but it isn't, so I'll pass).

To each his own.

 

I don't think I have anxiety disorder, but a large part of the enjoyment I get from KSP is from having a knot of worry in my stomach when I send my Kerbals on a difficult mission (particularly Laythe, landing on those small pieces of land and the insertion into Jool's moon system is always tricky; I typically exhale deeply after the landing, from there on it's more straightforward). I experience a real emotional care for my virtual kerbals.

And I can have that with F5/F9, so that is splendid. I do this (explained in a minute) and have done it for a long time in many games, mainly sandbox RPGs like Bethesda's or semi-sandbox like Bioware's, and simulations. And I love the very rare and occasional FPS (original Far Cry) that let me play it that way: Basically, I "pretend" to play without saves. That's the goal. If I do have to press F9, that will lead to a great deal of dissatisfaction and disappointment for me.

A very long time ago I developed a dislike for the typical videogame- "Try&Reload" gameplay paradigm. I remember how disappointed I was with Tomb Raider 2. For those who are not familiar with these early games - the first Tomb Raider was possible to play very cautiously with very rare reloads; the second Tomb Raider started with a lot of Death Traps, there's no way to learn to play it without first experiencing the deaths and try different measures with a strict trial and error method. This trivialized death and took all the suspense and thrill out of TR, made it much less enjoyable and (mentally at least) easier, since the only thing you had to do to progress was to try again. I think it was at this time I started to think about these things, decided that I disliked games that trivialized death and actively started to favor games that could be played continuously in a cautious, explorative manner, and where success could be gained from careful reconnaissance & planning rather than from experience of previous attempts by other *lives*.

I think the first game that I consciously formulated private gameplay ethics and rules for was Morrowind. (And IMO it's necessary with personal rules for Morrowind, otherwise the game is experienced as too easy and power-exploitable). Anyway, the experience from Morrowind shaped the rules I've used since. Which are that I do use saves&reloads, but only as a last resort. I would repeatedly lose like 5 or more hours of play in Morrowind, just because of something stupid, like a crash or power failure, or getting the character stuck in a complex 3D surrounding. So yeah, I did learn to start saving again. I'm not a purist. Starting all over from the beginning again every time is just a huge enjoyment failure. But I never reload because things are not progressing the way I'd like, or less optimally. I never "try" different choices in RPGs, or redo a failure. I go on and live with the consequences. That is something I feel is very important for serious RPG-gaming.

So I guess you could say that I "cheat", but strive for a gameplay where I emotionally "don't know" that can cheat as a last resort.

In KSP, this takes the form of  two different modes. What I have described above is basically how I do manned missions. The game is to do them flawlessly, without reloads. And I typically do. Which gives me an enormous amount of satisfaction and dance-around-punching-fist-into-the-air -triumph. -And that is why I play KSP!

Ultimately, I would absolutely F9 to resurrect a killed Kerbal. I'm too emotionally attached to them. But I can only remember having done so once, in my serious games (Jeb fell while testing ladders). So that's how good I've been at keeping my astronauts alive. Otherwise, the decision to press F9 is a judgement. I do so when I feel the game has cheated me some way - that it's not my fault. Lately, that's been a case with changes to the atmosphere and exploding landing gear/strut physics. Same with bugs and crashes. But the goal is to accept minor self-inflicted setbacks, live with them and make them a part of the gameplay. Having to press F9, even as I try to convince myself I'm "entitled" to, annoy me a great deal.

So to accomplish safe missions, I develop and test a lot. With unmanned rockets, sometimes with manned, when it should be safe and astronauts are needed for some purpose. Testing unmanned rockets, I use F5/F9 freely (and "revert" too). This is just for expedience. I never use Hyperedit though. For anything. As much testing as possible is done around Kerbin, as it realistically should be. Dress-rehearsal, final testing is done the long way. Arriving there, I do however cheat again and do repeated maneuvers like landings with F5/F9. Again for expedience.

Playing career mode would be a tremendous challenge for me, since I need unlimited funds for all my testing. That's why I haven't tried it yet. Also, I'm quite happy with the content I get from my own ambitions and plans in KSP. So I don't need career mode. At least not now.

 

Edited July 23, 2016 by Vermil

[theJesuit]

I too play quicksave enabled but no quickloading.

I find this is the best compromise as then rather than instead quick load out of habit from a 'whoops' I use the alt f12 menu and enable the quickload (it reverts back on the reloading) or, if I'm looking for self-flagelation, I quit the game and rename the quicksave as the persistence file.

So rather than reloading too easily with a single keypress it is a multistage process and requires conscious decision making.  As I've been playing this way for a while I often for a while tend to quicksave once I have completed a particular part of a mission such as having actually landed, or docked or setup an interplanetary manouver node.

A further alternative is that Kerbal Alarm Clock also quick saves for you which again is more of a backup rather than trialling a particular landing over and over.

Peace.

[worir4]

On 4/21/2016 at 4:36 PM, Frozen_Heart said:

I've been playing KSP since 0.17 and have yet to quicksave or quickload. I don't even know the keys.

That would explain why you have a frozen heart... The suffering you must have endured.....

 

[THX1138]

I screw up about three times per minute so this will never happen for me.

[LordFerret]

In all the time I've been playing, I've used quicksave only once ... and at that, when I restored, it bit me in the butt. So I've never used it again/since. That puts me in the play without category 100% of the time.

[Alshain]

On 4/21/2016 at 10:01 AM, 5thHorseman said:

When the game stops crashing or eating my ships for no reason, I'll start an Ironman save.

Same here.  The game has too many glitches to not use quicksaves.

[Effwon]

On 21/04/2016 at 5:36 PM, Frozen_Heart said:

I've been playing KSP since 0.17 and have yet to quicksave or quickload. I don't even know the keys.

Good on you... I have never used quck saves, and I have been playing since 1.0.5 and I am nowhere near even understanding why you need them...

[severedsolo]

I personally dislike reverts. "La-la-la you caused hundreds of deaths, oh well never mind" doesn't cut it for me.

So I use KCT's simulation mode to sim launches, and send unmanned crafts as testers if I'm not sure it's going to make it. Then, and only then Jeb and the boys follow behind.

Having said that, I'm fine with quicksaves... 1 I don't use them often, 2) things (bugs) happen.

[wumpus]

I have quickloaded at least once to an inevitable explosion.  Didn't happen right after I saved, but 1.1 decided to load from save with the engines off then ignite the engines.  The stress on the rocket caused it to immediately destroy itself.

[Kosmognome]

I'm playing with RSS, so my take might be a bit different.

 

In real life, we use simulations to find out what works and what doesn't. We also use computers and fly-by-wire. For those reasons, I see no shame in using KER, MJ, GravityTurn, kOS etc. This also means that I use quicksave to evaluate rockets. I usually use MJ to help with the ascent, but end up writing kOS scripts for it.

 

When all is set and done and I'm confident that I have simulated everything about the rocket that I need to know, then I do the "proper" mission. And yes, that is usually done without qiucksaving/quickloading, except for some bug in the game (which can happen, sadly).

[RocketSquid]

I alternate between "Oh-gosh-something-might-go-wrong-so-I-should-quicksave-before-and-after-every-time-I-fire-the-engines!!!" and "Oh, it seems I don't have any quicksaves for this mission. Oh well."

[ZooNamedGames]

I rarely quickload; but I revert almost every time, even if my mission is a success.

[Joonatan1998]

I have sometimes played without quickload, and agree that it can be much more fun.

It makes it feel like your actions actually matter.

But with the amount of glitches that happen, I prefer to keep quickload enabled and just don't use them for reasons other than glitches.

 

Edited July 24, 2016 by Joonatan1998