How to manually save and reload?

[Bitcoin Baron]

So I got killed by darkness which in itself is weird (p.s. that noise when you get in the darkness the noise which plays is EXCESSIVELY loud!!!!!!)

Only to then find there is no checkpoint or autosave system, the only save was from about an hour ago when i was in the first area.

Please implement some checkpoint system or even a manual save and load thing even better. I lost all the progress because I got stuck on a puzzle in the room with the priest (you cant pull the boards off the room with the crowbar, because its dark if you put your lightrer away), then I ended up in darkness and couldnt get my lighter out and so when back to an upstairs room where I'd found a tape machine.

This is 2021 not 2003, please respect my time.

[Lanzagranadas]

Welcome to the world of Survival Horror.

This is an hommage to old school Survival Horror, mixing stuff from known games from that era. Using your brain and managing resources is part of the experience.

There is no auto-save or checkpoints, there are a set number of recording tapes that you find (as part of the resource management aspect) and use to manually save the game.

[Bitcoin Baron]

Yeah but this is 2021, no one has that kind of time to replay 30 mins of game to get back to where they were. This feature should have been optional, still hopefully if I save up three save reels then use them and log the memory changes of the game it will reveal what memory location is the save-reels and then this can be edited to give maybe a few hundred so there is effectively infinite saves (even if you have to backtrack to get to them).

It's honestly downright appalling that a game would even be released with this kind of system. This was used back in the day because it was the only way to manage saves. The reason manual saving and autosaves were invented wasnt to make games easier but to respect the time of the player (especially those that arent children with unlimited free time).

[Daikatan]

most survival horror games didnt have ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ tape mechanic (as they had just save rooms here and there) and when they had, they gave you 2 or 3 tapes each time, and not one.

it would not be so much an issue if not for combat here being more clunky than 90s games even were, lol. Like sure you can abuse dodge much for i-frames, but you still have so freaking long cooldown frame disadvantage after everythig you do AND your weapons are very weak so enemies feel bulletsponge AND often you cant interrupt their attack so you hit but they also hit you AND the most "fun" when thanks to camera angles etc. you just get cornered lol.

Also puzzles have problem with being more Myst-like than survival horror-like so some of them will screw your to agony due to hints being too multi-interpretable etc.

All of these issues are not critical themselves, especially for someone who played horrors for years. However, it's combination of all that together that makes experience very tiring. And if at first it gives tension, later it just irritates

But still, despite frustration i finally finished demo after many retries, so there is something in this game that attracts people, heh.

[Acquire]

If you activate the in game debug menu you can save anywhere. I believe the code is: zefckl. Type that twice and you'll hear a chime of sorts. Press the End key and a menu will pop up in the top left that has a Save/Load function that allows you to specify which save slot too. This allows you to save anywhere as much as you want and when loading it up you'll start in that exact location. No more having to waste time replaying things you already did or have to extend your play time because it's time to go but you need to keep playing until you find a save room and tape. I'm not a fan of this save mechanic, but what makes it extra bad here is how few tapes there are. The game forces you to play in large chunks without saves even though you pass by save rooms during that play time.

[Gigi Daša]

Holy ... , yeah, same here. "The game forces you to play in large chunks without saves". And i often have to terminate my gaming session for a longer time ... Acquire, i hope this works! Cheers!

[Lanzagranadas]

Originally posted by Bitcoin Baron:

Yeah but this is 2021...

Yeah, this is 2021, which means you could have done a quick Google search, or download the demo from the store page first, and you would have known about the limited saves beforehand. Then buy something else more suitable for you than this ten hours game that doesn't respect your time.

In 2021 you can also find a Trainer for this game really quick (or check how to enable Debug menu), which would have already given you infinite saves. Or even Shift+Tab guides like this if you don't want to get stuck at puzzles, and cut the time required to finish the game: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2588329008

[Gigi Daša]

Lanzagranadas, yes all that is true. I used to check every game's saving system before buying when my kid was born. Didnt want to loose my progress from my 20 minutes chunks :)

Now from DOS games on, i dont really remember any game has limited saves, except Kingdom come deliverance.

But no problem since we have cheat menu ;)

[Lanzagranadas]

Originally posted by Gigi Daša:

Now from DOS games on, i dont really remember any game has limited saves, except Kingdom come deliverance.

Well, all classic RE games, where a big part of Tormented Souls' inspiration comes from, have limited manual saves. Furthermore, they also have limited inventory space. If Tormented Souls had limited inventory there would be a minority critisizing that too (see Them & Us)

[Arcadian]

Originally posted by Acquire:

If you activate the in game debug menu you can save anywhere. I believe the code is: zefckl. Type that twice and you'll hear a chime of sorts. Press the End key and a menu will pop up in the top left that has a Save/Load function that allows you to specify which save slot too. This allows you to save anywhere as much as you want and when loading it up you'll start in that exact location. No more having to waste time replaying things you already did or have to extend your play time because it's time to go but you need to keep playing until you find a save room and tape. I'm not a fan of this save mechanic, but what makes it extra bad here is how few tapes there are. The game forces you to play in large chunks without saves even though you pass by save rooms during that play time.

How do you know stuff like this?

[Myztkl©-Kev]

there's nothing wrong with the tape system, they just need to balance it better, the first half of the game, tapes are slim, by the end of the game, I had like 7 extra.

[Stoibs]

Originally posted by Myztkl©-Kev:

there's nothing wrong with the tape system, they just need to balance it better, the first half of the game, tapes are slim, by the end of the game, I had like 7 extra.

This is true, from most of the threads around here back when the game launched it was the general consensus that most of us ended the game with 7~10 tapes unused in our inventory.

My proposal was to move like 3 or 4 of the tapes from mid-to-endgame back toward the start somewhere, and maybe add another Tape+recorder in the first room with the Priest in the basement.

But yeah as was posted already there is the cheatcode that folk can use if they're still stuck. Can even use that to add 100 or so save items to the inventory if it's just the *amount* of saves themselves which is the turnoff.

Personally I think this system is fine and right down the middle of either extreme.
I'm currently playing Them and Us, which is so insanely stingy and barely gives you enough causing you to replay huge chunks; and I'm also playing Alisa which is negligible and a non issue (costs 1 'coin' and you typically get 3-6 coins per enemy killed..)

[janne404]

Thanks Acquire, I was about to abandon this one just because of the save system. I like old school games, but I have never been fan of backtracking and never will. So I'm very glad that there is that debug menu option.

[GRRRR]

Refunded because of this. This looked abit jank but interesting but i just cba with no checkpoints or having to use debug stuff to save. Im somewhat old and played games when not being able to save wasnt a design choice but a technical limitation. Waste of time nowadays, doesnt make games better either. Woa i died, time to speedrun back to the point i died redoing everything, wowie exciting.

Heres a thought, make two modes. Hardcore which is the same as the game is now and a normal mode with checkpoints and unlimited saves.

EDIT : Saw the huge thread revolving around the save system. Not interested in a debate, this is my feedback to what i felt about the game, the end.

[Arcadian]

Originally posted by GRRRR:

Refunded because of this. This looked abit jank but interesting but i just cba with no checkpoints or having to use debug stuff to save. Im somewhat old and played games when not being able to save wasnt a design choice but a technical limitation. Waste of time nowadays, doesnt make games better either. Woa i died, time to speedrun back to the point i died redoing everything, wowie exciting.

Heres a thought, make two modes. Hardcore which is the same as the game is now and a normal mode with checkpoints and unlimited saves.

EDIT : Saw the huge thread revolving around the save system. Not interested in a debate, this is my feedback to what i felt about the game, the end.

I just wanted to say that the debug method is easily worth it. You only need to type the code once, and then you can just hit end to bring up the menu and saving takes a second.

[Littl3Diamonds]

Originally posted by Bitcoin Baron:

So I got killed by darkness which in itself is weird (p.s. that noise when you get in the darkness the noise which plays is EXCESSIVELY loud!!!!!!)

Only to then find there is no checkpoint or autosave system, the only save was from about an hour ago when i was in the first area.

Please implement some checkpoint system or even a manual save and load thing even better. I lost all the progress because I got stuck on a puzzle in the room with the priest (you cant pull the boards off the room with the crowbar, because its dark if you put your lightrer away), then I ended up in darkness and couldnt get my lighter out and so when back to an upstairs room where I'd found a tape machine.

This is 2021 not 2003, please respect my time.

respect yourself and switch the brain on before talking.
historically survivor horror game doesn't have autosave (which is pretty clear since you find tapes to save up your progress) - this is the fundamental aspect of the game. It forces you to plan your actions and decisions. Punishes you for mistakes.