Little Bit of a Suggestion For Ending of Episodes

[Bearadactyl]

Yeah, you may want to place in a warning that it doesn't autosave for you. >->

I just completed the Sixth Episode and didn't save until just before the battle atop of the Volcano... I mean, it's not like I have much to do (The battle is a little easy for someone with a water starter IMO), but it's a little bit of a hassle and I think the end-of-episode warning should include a note about it for newer players.~

Anyone else agree or have thoughts?

[Ikaru]

... Doesn't it say "the episode will end when you do x/try to go to y" etc etc?
Although I do remember in, I think episode 3? there was a warning that told you the episode was going to end if you kept going where you were going... Up to Amethyst, mostly.

EDIT: wow nevermind I completely missed the main point; yeah, maybe that's something that should be made a little more obvious...

[Bearadactyl]

My issue was I made the assumption that since it was the end of the episode, it would autosave like it does if the Script Hangs. Or, that it would give me a prompt to save after or before the ending preview. It's not an issue for me now, seeing as I've already cleared the progress that was lost. But, it would be a shame for new players to have their hard work thrown away based on an assumption. I was lucky that I save after every major puzzle in order to save myself the effort should a crash or severe bug occur.

So, I propose to either add an auto-save function at the end of each episode or prompt/warn you before you get to the end to save your progress. Or, at least include it in the Readme that you must save before the end of each episode.

Edited February 21, 2013 by Nutcase

[Ikaru]

Ah, I see; I think the reason there's no auto-save at the end of an episode is because that would prevent further play if someone wanted to do extra side quests or leveling other things, etc; the 4th episode ended pretty much immediately after beating Shelly, so if you saved before battling her to be cautious and allow for resets if things didn't work, you were basically stuck there... I'm not sure if such a thing can be avoided, but if so I do agree that it might be nice.

or prompt/warn you before you get to the end to save your progress.

The example I mentioned did just that. I'll bring this to Ame's attention and see if she can't give a better reply.

[Amethyst]

Yeah, the warning after beating Kiki was pretty much meant to do just that... How should I make that more obvious?

[Bearadactyl]

Edit: I completely misread that... But, regardless my suggestion below is still relevant. It does warn you that the game will end at the end of the Episode, however it gives no warning about the state of your saves.

Perhaps simply add it in to the end-of-episode messages, something like: "Your data will not be auto-saved once you end the episode and it is suggested that you save now."

Edited February 22, 2013 by Nutcase

[Neo]

The issue with that is, it kinda takes responsibility away from the player. Ame's being pretty nice about even notifying you that the episode is going to end. Just like any other Pokemon game, if you don't save, you're gonna pay for it.

[Bearadactyl]

Yes, but you have to consider that this game is:

A. Fan Made.

B. Episodic.

So, one can assume things will be different. As, there are many differences between this game and a traditional Pokémon game. I, actually have preference of this game over the traditional games due to the more mature setting.

Had this game not been episodic, and had this game been played via handheld like other Pokémon games I would have saved much more frequently. It's a matter of, I can leave it running for an indefinite amount of time on my PC while remaining idle and not having to worry about batteries dying or recharging.

It's not an issue of taking responsibility away, as much as it's an issue of it being different from a traditional Pokémon Game. Every episodic game that I've played had some form of auto-save or a save prompt at the end of the episode.

My issue was after I ended the episode it simply went to black. I had assumed I would get an opportunity to save at the boat after the preview. The warning after battling KiKi, does indeed tell you the episode will end. But, my concern is it says nothing about the state of your save. It simply tells you to go about and do things if you want to before the episode ends. I had implied by browsing about and seeing frequently that with each episode your save is preserved, that it could have saved for me or prompted me at the end of the episode. Not to mention the warning also somewhat implies the episode will end and there is no going back, which could lead to one to assume it will save there and prevent any progress or prompt you to do so.

As I've also said it doesn't bother me at this point, because I know. I'm simply pointing out that this is an issue for people new to the game, and there could be a form of miscommunication for them as there was for me. It's not my game, so it's not my place to tell someone what to do with it. However, I can make suggestions and give feedback. Do as you will, I've made my concerns present.

Edited February 22, 2013 by Nutcase