So what's the final deal on save games?

[Galanti]

Hi everyone, just bought the game, patched it up to 1.4b & added GW. I'm pretty blown away! I haven't gone all Das Boot since AOTD years and years ago.

I haven't actually started a career yet, because of all the savegame business I keep reading about. But it seems to be a pre-1.4 thing. Is this correct? If not, what's best way to deal with it? 'Save and continue' versus 'Save and exit' seems to be bandied about, but some people swear by one, and other people swear by the other. Was there a community consensus ever reached on this issue?

[Sailor Steve]

I use both. I 'Save and Continue' once every game day, or during an attack (I have no sound card, and sometimes it crashes when a ship sinks) and 'Save and Exit) every time I go do somthing else.

I've never had a problem with either one.

[Keelbuster]

Not sure what the concensus is - I always 'Save' and then 'Save and Exit' as a different save - usually called 'xit' . Then, if I load and find out that 'xit' is corrupt (which it occasionally is), I load the previous save.

Kb

[Firebird]

1.4 doesn't solve everything, believe me. At this moment my save games in a particular career are actually *invisible*. The files exist, but the load screen is entirely empty. And best of all, it's not the first time that this happens... :damn:

[Seminole]

I always Save labeled as Patrol 1 (or what ever number it is I'm on.)

Then I hit continue and play for a brief time... 30 seconds or so....

Then I Save & Exit labeled Patrol #a

When I want to reload I load the SAVED game and the game deletes the SAVE AND EXIT one.

The reason I do this is if you just save and then hit exit the game abandons your career assuming you are dead...or if your are close to any friendly port allows you to dock there. The screws up your game in SH3 Commander (it also considers you dead/docked...though it will sort out when you resume play) if you are using that ...most players probably do.

The reason I do not just use the SAVE AND EXIT feature alone is that there are problems encountered with this feature that sometimes can and will mess up your game play. I try to never reload from a SAVE AND EXIT saved game if I can at all help it.

[Keelbuster]

I always Save labeled as Patrol 1 (or what ever number it is I'm on.)

Then I hit continue and play for a brief time... 30 seconds or so....

Then I Save & Exit labeled Patrol #a

When I want to reload I load the SAVED game and the game deletes the SAVE AND EXIT one.

The reason I do this is if you just save and then hit exit the game abandons your career assuming you are dead...or if your are close to any friendly port allows you to dock there. The screws up your game in SH3 Commander (it also considers you dead/docked...though it will sort out when you resume play) if you are using that ...most players probably do.

The reason I do not just use the SAVE AND EXIT feature alone is that there are problems encountered with this feature that sometimes can and will mess up your game play. I try to never reload from a SAVE AND EXIT saved game if I can at all help it.

I agree, but what if the save _before_ the SAVEANDEXIT save is corrput? That has ahppened to me - i've auto-deleted the save-and-exit save by going earlier, and then found out tha tthe earlier save was corrupt. A nightmare. I start by trying to load the save-and-exit save, and if that fails, i go back to my backup (i.e. one minute before, gametime). I have a supersticious belief that it depends on two saves having the same save-time (in game time). I SAVE, then wait one minute (game time) then SAVENandEXIT. Since I've been doing this i can't remember any corruption.

Kb

[Galanti]

Thanks for the feedback, guys. I guess it's still something to be concerned with.

Any idea how prevalent it is? I see threads about maximum tonnage reached and guys who have finished whole careers, so is it a showstopper?

Is whether you've un-Starforced the game or not a factor?

[zombiewolf]

wait till the game says OK b4 moving on.
you have to click on save, then wait and click on exit.if you are doing save and exit and it doesn't go to the menu then somethings up

[tbarak]

Had my first bad experience with the save the other day. Great mission, 5 x T3s and a T2 while within a convoy with lots more T2s and T3s for the taking. Got DCed and died and click the exit mission (I think that's what it was called) button. I had a good save in a perfect approach pattern to a big convoy. Reloaded the game last night and it reverted to some useless save just outside of port. Stung like a willow whip across the arse.

[Sailor Steve]

Oh, I didn't mention: Every save I do of any type has the last name of the captain, and no numbers. I always overwrite with the same name, and no problems.

[tbarak]

Whew...that save I through was lost...wasn't after all. Although the save game list showed the mission had no tonnage sunk in the synopsized log, when I opened it, the tonnage was still there. Didn't make trying to attack that damn convoy any easier, but at least I didn't lose anything.

Damn the escorts are killers in late '43. Am I suppose to give up on convoys at this point? Supposedly this is about the time the Allies started to effectively deal with the u-boats. I want to give one last try attacking in heavy fog but it seems the convoys have a lot (6) escorts and they seem unbeatable. :(

[Galanti]

Thanks for the tips, guys. Played for a couple nights and no savegame issues beyond what is apparently the well-known crew management CTD.

The fatigue thing is making me prematurely grey though; wallowing around in the swell at 0 knots while waiting for my swabbies to rest up enough to either a) get the engines going or b) load a fish in the tubes so I can finish off the target (they are too fagged out to do both) is making me crazy. I'm going to restart the career using the NYMG 24-hour fatigue model and the other anti-savegame corruption ideas I've picked up.