Combat, death and reloading

Combat, death and reloading?

  • Never reload - accept the consequences!

    Votes: 5 5.7%
  • Only reload when a party-member dies

    Votes: 35 40.2%
  • Regular reloader - I sometimes like to optimise the outcome

    Votes: 37 42.5%
  • Habitual reloader - I'm a perfectionist

    Votes: 10 11.5%

  • Total voters
    87

Dhruin

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We've asked previously about your preferred "death" system in CRPGs and although a healthy percentage like modern twists, the overwhelming majority prefer a traditional "dead is dead" system. This came up again in a recent conversation about Dragon Age, so I thought I'd ask about your re-loading habits.

Do you faithfully accept the consequences and soldier on, reload only if a party member dies or, perhaps, do you even reload if the battle just didn't go as smoothly as you'd like? Maybe you used a potion or two too many, or pulled out that big, reserve spell. A reload with might get you through in tip-top nick without wasting resources...

Be honest, now!

The question relates primarily to combat but feel free to comment about other circumstances, such as trying out different dialogue options.
 
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Was torn between "only when a party member dies" and "regular", but my tendency towards "regular" was stronger". :) ;)
 
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MY FPS heritage puts me between 'Regular' and 'Habitual' ... but more and more I'm closer to 'Regular'.
 
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I only reload when a party member dies but <ahem> that is kinda regular for me.

When I'm just very badly wounded, I make a save named "Ouch" and then stay off the quick saves until I can get back in good shape again. (Pure checkpoint save systems make this impossible - stupid consoles.)
 
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I just replayed most of the Might and Magic series, and in the earlier ones, you had to accept death and its penalty because it tended to happen so often!
 
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only when a party member dies, and only if I have no easy way to bring him/her back. In particularly tough fights, I even accept someone dying, save the game and reload and try the fight one more time. If nobody dies the second time, cool, if one person dies, I continue like that, if 2 people die, I reload the previous outcome and continue with that char dead.
 
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Only when a party member dies or I make a horrible mistake (sometimes I will select the wrong dialogue in error but sometimes I just get a result so not what I was aiming for as I misread the dialogue).
 
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i am a little confused about the choices. I only reload when the game says 'Game Over' because I died. The first option sounded like a hardcore option, meaning when you die your character gets deleted type stuff.
 
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If a party member kicks the bucket, then I reload. Everything else I keep on playing.
 
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Interesting that the "hardcore" guys are posting comments but the actual voting says most people don't accept a dead character. In fact, a big chunk of people don't even accept a mediocre outcome - they reload and fine-tune until they win easily, or at least at minimal expense.
 
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i am a little confused about the choices. I only reload when the game says 'Game Over' because I died. The first option sounded like a hardcore option, meaning when you die your character gets deleted type stuff.

Most games like that don't actually allow you to reload, no? What would be the point in deleting your character if you can just reload?

The options refer to a standard death and save-anywhere system. Option (1) means you don't reload when a party-member dies or just to re-try the fight and do better -- you always keep going unless forced to reload (ie, all dead).
 
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I reload. Am I going to go blind?

When a game is real hard I sometimes reload on treasure chest outcomes. I hardly ever reload if a battle goes poorly provided everyone survives.
 
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Playing hard tactical games like BG2 makes it impossible to use option 1.I like design of injurys that is in Dragon Age much better than annoying reloads.
 
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I can't answer on this correctly. Why? Ashbery mentioned BG2... I didn't reload just because I had a ressurection on main character (cleric) unless the damage on a party member was so big that resurrection was not possible.
Another example is PST - I never reloaded that one because of a NPC death. Not even because of a main character death. ;)
However in some other games, for example Risen, I did reload if a neutral NPC died not just party member because I didn't know if that NPC will be a part of another (sub)quest later.

I simply won't vote here because it should state exactly which game(s) is the poll about.

But generally, I do reload if a NPC dies when I didn't want to get him/her killed and when I have no means to bring him/her back to life. Regular/habitual? Nah. Not my kind of stuff. I'd rather replay the whole game then repeat the same thing dozens of times all over again.
 
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I'm a perfectionist. I reload a lot. Tons. I also save a lot. In fact, I save/reload all the time when playing RPGs, whether to check out various outcomes, or get an improved result in a difficult fight.
 
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Hmm, I voted "only when a party member dies".
I tend to save the game alot because I hate having to go through the same things again if I end up dead.
But about reloading, it depends on the consequences of a party member's death.
If I can bring him back relatively easy then I don't reload.
Also, I never reload afterward a successful fight because I used to many instant stuff, scrolls, potions etc. Because then I wouldn't use them in the first place.

I think my irritation of having to go through the same thing again keeps me away from reloading to often just to get a more perfect result.

It all comes down to the consequences. Did I loose the party member forever, did I fail a quest or is it to much of a hassle having to bring him back vs the hassle and chance of a better result by going through the fight again.
 
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I love hardcore characters mainly because they are the best medicine against chronic restartitis but this is most in aRPGs or games without much focus on MQ, in MQ driven cRPGs it gets very boring having to replay part of the game so i voted for 2nd option .
 
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Strange. It says "You may not vote on this poll" and I haven't voted before.
 
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