Is using SAVES in Doom bad?

[Downcologo one]

The other day I had seen people saying that using saves was wrong and other people saying that it was good, I would like to know the general opinion of the community about the use of saves in Doom.

 

[Andrea Rovenski]

saving is built into the game for a reason. anyone who tells you that saving is wrong are tryhards who aren't even that good anyway :)

[Mr. Alexander]

All that's to be learned from a poll is "opinions differ." But it's fine. I like playing FDA-style for a few runs at first, recording a demo, but that's me speaking for myself. If you play casually, of course you would use them, and if you play seriously, you need to use them to find optimal strategies for discrete fights, stages within fights, etc., so that you can then play the whole thing through.

[TheShep]

lol imma savescumma

[plums]

Save as much as you want, people don't get to tell you how you should enjoy Doom.

 

Since it will be brought up sooner or later: if you want to improve your skill at playing Doom, trying to beat levels (especially ones you have already played) without saves can help you get better. But (a) that doesn't mean its bad to ever save, and (b) you will still improve as you play even with saves, and (c) it's your choice whether getting better at Doom is a goal you want to work at anyhow.

[DankMetal]

You shouldn't feel as a cheater for using a game mechanic, that's all i'm going to say.

Edit: Hola Downco

Edited December 15, 2023 by DankMetal

[baja blast rd.]

Even when you are trying to become skilled at the game, practice sessions with saves are where most of the improvement comes from, and the saveless run is more like the "test" that shows whether you've put it all together and what you need to work on if not. Some improvement comes from the run itself, but not always! And that's not even casual play. 

 

Runners (which are the best players) make ample use of saves, rewind, and cheats to prepare routes, and naturally would not look down on saving. The idea of "looking down on saving" mostly comes from pretend YouTube comment trolls and people with similarly low credibility, and should be ignored. 

[PsychEyeball]

Doom is not Dark Souls. You can save your game in Doom whenever you want and the game encourages you to do so. Don't feel bad doing it.

 

At this point I'm beginning to hate the From Software games just for instilling this tryhard mentality and its "fans" trying to push it in games where it doesn't belong.

Edited December 15, 2023 by PsychEyeball

[Deadwing]

 

Play the way you want.

If you want to avoid relying in saves too much, try to save between setpieces only (or in strategic places if they are too big), but the final rule is always your own

Edited December 15, 2023 by Deadwing

[Li'l devil]

If you were not to save, then how are you supposed to beat a megawad in one sitting, at least the first time you play it?

 

59 minutes ago, Downcologo one said:

The other day I had seen people saying that using saves was wrong

Who are these people? lol

 

43 minutes ago, Mr. Alexander said:

All that's to be learned from a poll is "opinions differ."

So far they don't!

Edited December 15, 2023 by Li'l devil

[Jayextee]

Not only should you not save, but you should only ever play on UV and get 100% kills and secrets on your first playthrough of any map, regardless the cost or method.

[mrthejoshmon]

No.

 

Use saves.

 

If using saves is cheating then memory cards were equal to hacking your console, do not enforce arbitrary restrictions upon yourself for... Whatever the reason (literally cannot think of a good one).

[OniriA]

Yea, it's super bad and you should be whipped for doing it.

 

^{*Does another quicksave in Eviternity 2 meanwhile, don't tell anyone*}

Edited December 15, 2023 by OniriA

[Patrick_Plays_Doom]

"0% Yes"
"100% No"
Well if that doesn't fucking prove it then i dont know what the fuck will

edit: this aged like unrefrigerated milk

Edited December 16, 2023 by Patrick_Plays_Doom

[JRT]

Play how you want, I think there's really nothing wrong with it. I don't have enough time to beat a wad single-segment, and I prefer it over pistol starts. Coming to pc from the 32x its kinda a life saver just to have there incase I get interrupted.

[vyruss]

38 minutes ago, PsychEyeball said:

Doom is not Dark Souls. You can save your game in Doom whenever you want and the game encourages you to do so. Don't feel bad doing it.

 

At this point I'm beginning to hate the From Software games just for instilling this tryhard mentality and its "fans" trying to push it in games where it doesn't belong.

Hey, not all of us souls nerds are like that!

 

No seriously, whoever is saying this kind of dumb thing statement that amounts to "using game feature y is bad and you are bad if you do" are the same kind of folks that would try to build a 1000 meter building with extension ladders and rope pulleys from ground level while having a system of measurement based on the size of the foot sole of the biggest person on the job site while communicating with unintelligible gibberish.

[yakfak]

my toxic trait is forgetting to use saves and then skipping to the next map when I die

[MFG38]

Is using saves in any game where it's a standard feature bad?

[Gregor]

Nothing wrong with regular saving but excessive use aka "savescumming" can keep you from getting better at Doom, so that's something to be aware of.

 

Apart from that, there's of course always the whole "git gud" argument, which challenges you to abstain from any form of cheating (which includes savescumming) and, to quote John Carmack, "embrace the grind", but that is also often used more as a flex than an actual philosophy, since in order to truly get gud you will have to practice efficiently, which will require saving.

Edited December 16, 2023 by Gregor

[DankMetal]

23 minutes ago, yakfak said:

my toxic trait is forgetting to use saves and then skipping to the next map when I die

Just like me FR.

Sometimes the map is so goddam fun to play that i forgot to save, and dying kicks me out of the zone so hard that i just activate god mode for the sake of it.

[plums]

5 minutes ago, MFG38 said:

Is using saves in any game where it's a standard feature bad?

Not quite bad, but there are some games where you need to save a minimum amount of times in order to get a certain ending or unlock something. Even then that's usually meant as "extra content" and not something you're intended to try on your first go.

 

While I'm posting, I remember Ribbiks used to complain about people saving at the wrong time when playing his maps. When you're really low on health, the impulse is to save so you don't die, but if you're using only one save slot you definitely don't want to use it when you're already in real trouble. Use multiple slots or just only save when you have good health and supplies.

[Duderald]

"Ey, Ton'! Why would 'dey make saving a feature in 'da greatest and biggest source port if 'da DOOM community was gonna do some of 'dat savescummin' anyway?"

[MFG38]

5 minutes ago, plums said:

Use multiple slots or just only save when you have good health and supplies.

 

Reminding me that this is something I still need to learn. And I've been playing the game for 15 goddamn years! :P

[Roofi]

Playing a lot on Dosbox, I tend to save because vanilla maps are sometimes poorly designed and I sometimes come across a surprise VPO and it's always frustrating to lose progress after the game crash.

Edited December 15, 2023 by Roofi

[Fonze]

I'm unclear if yes to the poll means yes saves are good or yes I agree with people saying saves are bad. Either way, I'd just echo what rd said.

[Syoku]

I'm playing Eviternity with saves cause its been kicking my ass. I think its fine, personally.

[NinjaDelphox]

3 hours ago, PsychEyeball said:

Doom is not Dark Souls. You can save your game in Doom whenever you want and the game encourages you to do so. Don't feel bad doing it.

 

At this point I'm beginning to hate the From Software games just for instilling this tryhard mentality and its "fans" trying to push it in games where it doesn't belong.

Sir I think you have the wrong software company, Id software was the one to add the permadeath no saves mode to the modern doom games, FromSoft games pretend to be hard and crumble under their own RPG mechanics, and they only become hard if you make them.

 

Also relating to the OP, saves in classic Doom could never be bad because the game has no checkpoint system.

[Async Unicorn]

If there's an option to save your progress, then why you shouldn't use it if you want to? It's an absurd!

Don't bother your mind with silly argues about what kind of playing is better in singleplayer, it's your game!

You can play as you wish, that's what it makes this game interesting - various play styles for different players.

Pistol Start / Continious Game, With Saves / Without Saves, etc.

 

 

(well, though sometimes you wouldn't want to save your game in vanilla doom if it would crash your game because of save game buffer overflow)

Edited December 15, 2023 by Vanilla+Unicorn

[Azafran]

From the Doom™ 1993 game manual:

[maxmanium]

Dude... think critically for just a single second... WHY would they add it in the game if you're not supposed to use it...