Do I have a problem?

[Total War]

I've played Civ3 since it first came out, and I have become a decent player. I usually play Monarch difficulty, but I may start playing on the next level (thanks to many of the tips I have read here!). I really want to get good enough to play at higher difficulty levels, but I fear that I have a problem that is holding me back:

I save my game once, twice, sometimes three times a turn! If something REALLY bad happens, then I usually reload the game from a previous save and prevent it.

One of my friends helped me notice that I save the game too much. We were playing a hotseat MP game, and I was always saving it on my turn, but he would rarely, if ever, save his game.

I have recently tried to stop this habit, but I still feel like I need to save my game constantly. Is my habit really that bad, and does anyone have any advice so that I am not so paranoid about losing my game!

Also, how often do YOU save your game?

 

[Padma]

I save my game when I stop playing for the day. Period. It is the only concession I make to the "iron man" rules: no saving or reloading - ever!

 

[puglover]

Before gigantic invasions and after I'm finished playing.

 

[wilbill]

If you're reloading regularly to keep bad things from happening to you, you're effectively lowering the difficulty level you play by at least 1/2 level, maybe more. A big part of the challenge for me is learning to overcome bad luck. A lot of the challenge in playing civ is its inherent unpredictable nature.

 

[Total War]

I usually only reload when something has happened that completely ruins my game, i.e. three civs have signed a military alliance against me in one turn, and are sending in all their forces. At most, I may reload once for every 2 or 3 hours I play.

However, I still have a "saving obsession", just in case I do need to reload.

@ willbill: That makes sense...there is no challenge or unpredictability in my method of playing. I will try and keep that in mind next time I play.

I think I will play a Regent game and try not to save until I'm finished playing. On an easier DL, I will (hopefully) not feel the urge to save every turn. Then I can move up from there.

I'm still interested in how often everyone saves their game...curious to see if anyone saves as much as me!

 

[Elysium Dreams]

I save every several minutes (which means a couple times in one turn if it's a busy turn, and one time over a couple turns if I'm just sitting there burning through turns), but I rarely reload unless I make a bona fide mistake (e.g. ending turn before I'm done, or accidentally accepting AI proposals to sell a key tech for ridiculously low).

 

[Khan_Asparuh]

I only use the autosave (I quit playing in the beginning of the next turn), and I think that reloading wastes the fun of playing.
Imagine if the AI had the chance to reload

 

[Renata]

When I had my old computer (prone to crashes), paranoia had me saving every few minutes like Elysium Dreams. Now that I have a good one, I'm losing the habit. I don't think saving in and of itself is a problem -- how could it be? The reloading is, though, if you want to really know how you're doing.

Give yourself permission to mess up once in a while. We're all only human.

Renata

 

[Scuffer]

You can learn a lot from losing. It's probably the only way to become a better player in the end.

 

[The Fjonis]

I once had my game crash on me at the end of a veeeery long turn (first turn in a war - took more than an hour), making me lose all my progress. So I guess I save quite a lot - but I rarely, if ever, reload if something bad happens. At least I'm trying.

 

[Alcamar]

Predominantly, I only save when I stop playing.
It doesn't feel right to restart just because something happened I don't like, makes the game too easy and predictable.

However, sometimes I do use the autosave option; 1) when the computer crashes / blocks
2) to test different strategies I sometimes start 2 deviating pathways.

 

[mikehunt]

I usually save every few turns, but rarely reload
it's mainly in case of a crash

although last night I purposely saved with the intent of possibly reloading. I did a revolution and was still in anarchy after 4 turns so I decided to go back and just live with monarchy

 

[TimBentley]

Other than at the end of a play session, I'll usually only save if I've done something significant (eg lots of trading, some stuff affecting happiness) and I'm too lazy to check everything out, so MapStat can give me information instead. If there's a crash or a significantly damaging misclick, I'll just reload the autosave.

 

[gmaharriet]

2) to test different strategies I sometimes start 2 deviating pathways.

I'm still learning, and just recently moved "up" to War Lord. Like Alcamar, I may want to try deviating pathways and seeing the alternative outcomes.

My other reason is that IRL I'm philosophically opposed to wars of agression, so while I've learned to defend my Civ pretty well, it's sooooo hard for me to attack without being provoked, and I have little practice at it. Last night I attacked my Greek neighbors, and they'd been so nice to me that I felt guilty. I have to keep reminding myself that it's just a game.

I've read the articles in the War Academy, but it's not quite the same as actually putting them into effect. I haven't a clue what the outcome will be, so reloading just before going to war gives me a chance to try several approaches. I learn so much more that way than waiting for a brand new game with completely different circumstances. I'm sure I'll give that up when I feel more confident of what I'm doing.

 

[colontos]

i dont reload anymore, since it made things stupid. imagine if real life germany, in 1946, just reloaded to 1941 and didn't invade the USSR. i do do "alternate history" though, like replaying the game when its over from a key point, usually changing one important decision to see how things change.

 

[Jaded_Feriluce]

I generally save after making big trades or at some other turning point in the game (if I remeber) I only make one save file and save over it everytime so I wont be tempted to try and reload. It feel too much like cheating.

 

[poolking]

I usually only reload when something has happened that completely ruins my game, i.e. three civs have signed a military alliance against me in one turn, and are sending in all their forces. At most, I may reload once for every 2 or 3 hours I play.

Try 4 civs waging war against you at once, which happened to me last night, being bombarded for 30 years and still winning on culture.

 

[Chieftess]

Just turn on the autosave. It saves your game every turn.

It never hurts to be too careful though. In the late game when you're moving around hundreds of units, it helps. (Then again, I usually spend a few hours per turn by that time - i.e., huge map, 200+ cities.).

 

[Peck of Arabia]

I don't save my games, I'm not emotionally involved in them enough to care if something goes horrifically wrong. Although I am really tempted to do so now after ideas involving "Alternate Histories" cropped up.

 

[Chris1111]

I've reloaded and do so quite addictingly but not every battle like some lunatic . The RNG just once in a while gets way to frustrating for me to be able to properly enjoy the game. The miracle of sudden invincibility of the AI just happens way to often for my tastes.