Is the only way to save sleeping?

[Loko8]

Is it?

[The Y'All Of Us]

Yes.

[Alriosa]

So far, yes, it's the only way. And it's quite annoying because sometimes i have to go or i want to plat something else but i did a lot of stuff and i have to go to sleep to save the game... Annoying if you ask me.

[The Y'All Of Us]

The day cycles are relatively short, so you find yourself saving every twenty minutes or so (depending on how much of that time is spent in menus, events, or cutscenes). It's a pretty softcore time management system in that it expects you to take stock of what your situation is, and what actions you're going to take before proceeding to the next cycle. Since changing your mind about something that isn't easily reversible would push you to redo those twenty minutes, there's a sense of permanence to each decisive action you take- which is tempered by the fact that most actions in the game aren't really all that permanent; rather, they are inconvenient to correct.

While I've personally included this short savecycle in my list of 'pros' when relating the game to others, specifically in the words "I can pick up and play the game even when I only have about a half hour of free time without worrying about when I'm going to have to stop", this can also work against someone who doesn't want to lose their progress, but also doesn't want to waste the remaining five or ten minutes in the games' day.

All in all, I still appreciate and support the single saving method- and while there are a couple situations in which it can be considered irritating or inconvenient, the benefits would outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

Having the save function only work in the one place isn't something that's new to the genre, or to gaming in general- though I'd be hard-pressed to name many other games that only have the one save point, or restrictively connect saving to one function (oddly enough, I've come to think of GTA: Liberty Citys save function having you sleep in a properties' bed and pass some time).
Making the save function only work by sleeping in the bed at your farm helps to further solidify the farm as the games' central location- also, its' status as the most important location to the game. no matter what you do with your day, it starts and ends on the farm- you're walking across it every few minutes, so you've got more incentive to take care of it.

Having the save function always progress the day cycle means that you can't use it to avoid the consequences of a task or action without a mild penalty- which in an action oriented game would be a detrimental block to your gameplay. This isn't an action game, though.

Unltimately, a save point is a save point. The difference between an open save feature (saving anywhere/anytime) and a restricted save feature (Using a save point or a save cycle/checkpoints) is mainly a choice in design- whether you want to emphasize freedom or progression. Open world or Adventure games will most often use an open save feature or provide a smattering of progressively accessible save points (an RPG with a mix of overworld and dungeoncrawling elements will often use both EX: Final Fantasy), as will most sandbox games.

Stardew Valley is a bit hard to place- it's a game of progression, and its' nature could be arguably compared to a partial sandbox, but it's also a roleplaying game. Since it's core mechanics revolve around farming and socializing, it's not the sort of game that would really benefit from having an open save feature.

I was going somewhere with this but I feel like I'm forgetting where, so I'm going to leave it there. While the benefits of a restricted save feature can be difficult to grasp, they're just a part of the roleplaying genre- and SDV is a roleplaying game/farming sim with a substantially restrictive save feature that overwrites itself every time it activates. The purpose behind it is to enforce the idea that you are living day-to-day in this world, that time passes and you have to make decisions and plan for the future.

But no seriously, I'm just going to stop typing. Something is really nagging me now.

[Alriosa]

Originally posted by Charlotte:

The day cycles are relatively short, so you find yourself saving every twenty minutes or so (depending on how much of that time is spent in menus, events, or cutscenes). It's a pretty softcore time management system in that it expects you to take stock of what your situation is, and what actions you're going to take before proceeding to the next cycle. Since changing your mind about something that isn't easily reversible would push you to redo those twenty minutes, there's a sense of permanence to each decisive action you take- which is tempered by the fact that most actions in the game aren't really all that permanent; rather, they are inconvenient to correct.

While I've personally included this short savecycle in my list of 'pros' when relating the game to others, specifically in the words "I can pick up and play the game even when I only have about a half hour of free time without worrying about when I'm going to have to stop", this can also work against someone who doesn't want to lose their progress, but also doesn't want to waste the remaining five or ten minutes in the games' day.

All in all, I still appreciate and support the single saving method- and while there are a couple situations in which it can be considered irritating or inconvenient, the benefits would outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

Having the save function only work in the one place isn't something that's new to the genre, or to gaming in general- though I'd be hard-pressed to name many other games that only have the one save point, or restrictively connect saving to one function (oddly enough, I've come to think of GTA: Liberty Citys save function having you sleep in a properties' bed and pass some time).
Making the save function only work by sleeping in the bed at your farm helps to further solidify the farm as the games' central location- also, its' status as the most important location to the game. no matter what you do with your day, it starts and ends on the farm- you're walking across it every few minutes, so you've got more incentive to take care of it.

Having the save function always progress the day cycle means that you can't use it to avoid the consequences of a task or action without a mild penalty- which in an action oriented game would be a detrimental block to your gameplay. This isn't an action game, though.

Unltimately, a save point is a save point. The difference between an open save feature (saving anywhere/anytime) and a restricted save feature (Using a save point or a save cycle/checkpoints) is mainly a choice in design- whether you want to emphasize freedom or progression. Open world or Adventure games will most often use an open save feature or provide a smattering of progressively accessible save points (an RPG with a mix of overworld and dungeoncrawling elements will often use both EX: Final Fantasy), as will most sandbox games.

Stardew Valley is a bit hard to place- it's a game of progression, and its' nature could be arguably compared to a partial sandbox, but it's also a roleplaying game. Since it's core mechanics revolve around farming and socializing, it's not the sort of game that would really benefit from having an open save feature.

I was going somewhere with this but I feel like I'm forgetting where, so I'm going to leave it there. While the benefits of a restricted save feature can be difficult to grasp, they're just a part of the roleplaying genre- and SDV is a roleplaying game/farming sim with a substantially restrictive save feature that overwrites itself every time it activates. The purpose behind it is to enforce the idea that you are living day-to-day in this world, that time passes and you have to make decisions and plan for the future.

But no seriously, I'm just going to stop typing. Something is really nagging me now.

Would you believe me if i told you that i read all of this. I like your explanation , and i agreed with it.

[Hyper Realistic Blood]

http://www.nexusmods.com/stardewvalley/mods/444/?

Here you go.

[WonkoTSane42]

Originally posted by Charlotte:

The day cycles are relatively short, so you find yourself saving every twenty minutes or so (depending on how much of that time is spent in menus, events, or cutscenes). It's a pretty softcore time management system in that it expects you to take stock of what your situation is, and what actions you're going to take before proceeding to the next cycle. Since changing your mind about something that isn't easily reversible would push you to redo those twenty minutes, there's a sense of permanence to each decisive action you take- which is tempered by the fact that most actions in the game aren't really all that permanent; rather, they are inconvenient to correct.

While I've personally included this short savecycle in my list of 'pros' when relating the game to others, specifically in the words "I can pick up and play the game even when I only have about a half hour of free time without worrying about when I'm going to have to stop", this can also work against someone who doesn't want to lose their progress, but also doesn't want to waste the remaining five or ten minutes in the games' day.

All in all, I still appreciate and support the single saving method- and while there are a couple situations in which it can be considered irritating or inconvenient, the benefits would outweigh the negatives in my opinion.

Having the save function only work in the one place isn't something that's new to the genre, or to gaming in general- though I'd be hard-pressed to name many other games that only have the one save point, or restrictively connect saving to one function (oddly enough, I've come to think of GTA: Liberty Citys save function having you sleep in a properties' bed and pass some time).
Making the save function only work by sleeping in the bed at your farm helps to further solidify the farm as the games' central location- also, its' status as the most important location to the game. no matter what you do with your day, it starts and ends on the farm- you're walking across it every few minutes, so you've got more incentive to take care of it.

Having the save function always progress the day cycle means that you can't use it to avoid the consequences of a task or action without a mild penalty- which in an action oriented game would be a detrimental block to your gameplay. This isn't an action game, though.

Unltimately, a save point is a save point. The difference between an open save feature (saving anywhere/anytime) and a restricted save feature (Using a save point or a save cycle/checkpoints) is mainly a choice in design- whether you want to emphasize freedom or progression. Open world or Adventure games will most often use an open save feature or provide a smattering of progressively accessible save points (an RPG with a mix of overworld and dungeoncrawling elements will often use both EX: Final Fantasy), as will most sandbox games.

Stardew Valley is a bit hard to place- it's a game of progression, and its' nature could be arguably compared to a partial sandbox, but it's also a roleplaying game. Since it's core mechanics revolve around farming and socializing, it's not the sort of game that would really benefit from having an open save feature.

I was going somewhere with this but I feel like I'm forgetting where, so I'm going to leave it there. While the benefits of a restricted save feature can be difficult to grasp, they're just a part of the roleplaying genre- and SDV is a roleplaying game/farming sim with a substantially restrictive save feature that overwrites itself every time it activates. The purpose behind it is to enforce the idea that you are living day-to-day in this world, that time passes and you have to make decisions and plan for the future.

But no seriously, I'm just going to stop typing. Something is really nagging me now.

I read this and agree. Honestly I prefer this feature. To me this game is very relaxing and fun to play but I love that the daily time limit makes things more challenging and forces one to plan a day's tasks. Just that little addition of time-limit-challenge makes me want to push to see if I can accomplish more and more each day and I really like that.