Savestates.. next step?

[skeezix]

So with version 009 you can now have 4 savestates banked up.

Since you can erase them from the main file picker, I could remove the "erase slot x" type options from the options menu, and thus get you space for 8 or 9 save slots.

Is that a good idea?

I could also make it so that instead of being "global" 1-4, they're actually disk specific -- A_097.SV1 for slot 1 against disk A_097.STT, say.

The problem with that approach is if you are loading (say) Civilization thats 4 disks long; if you save state on the 3rd disk (main game) then you'd get GAU354.SV1, and then if you had it go to disk 4 for whatever reason (alter in the game?), then you saved state, you'd have GAU355.SV1 *as well*! As the disks change, your save states would go to a different file.

Thats why I went with global slots for the first cut.

So what do you think?

Shoudl I just have say 8-or-9 save-slots (more to come when I add scrolling dialog support , or would you want 4-9 save slots on a per-disk basis, knowing that as you change disks, you'd end up saving to other slots?

jeff

 

[Tobriand]

Hmm... I'd go with global to discourage cheating (possibly... not entirely decided yet).

Or you could have a switch between them - both per-disk and global. If global is the way to go, an extra few states would be nice, along with a write of the disk name the state game from to stcache1.txt (possibly in a header, so it doesn't get confused) - that way no-one'll forget what's there...
If that was the case, again, we don't need the "erase state" (just as we prolly don't need the "eject disk" in the floppy inserting bit) since we can do that from the file selection menu...

 

[stickofjoy]

how big are save states with this first cut? 1MB?

 

[Axeman]

I think more savestates is definitely the way to go... delete them from teh main file picker....

 

[Avigrace]

The 8 or 9 would be better, I personally like the global system that you have in over disk specific ones.

How about the option to create a savestate then give it a name? If I had filled up the savestates and was in a game it would be nice to know what one I was going to overwrite. At the moment I have to remember what game is assigned to each state.

 

[skeezix]

The savestates are actually zipped to save space; for instance, I save-stated Xenon 2: Megablast after all the loading junk but before starting up a game. The savestate is about 250 or 300k for it, and its keeping the entire 1MB of RAM and all the cpu/acia/ikbd/sound/etc settings in it, too.

I don't compress the .sav files, since they're actual .st disk images you could pop into another emulator to use. But the savestates are only good for Castaway/GP, so I don't mind compressing them.

There is *no* way to know what *game* you are in, to save the gamename in there. The best I can do is to modify the savestates so they have the disk name in them (which they do, mind you, since they load up the disk when you restore them and show the disk name in the disk picker.. ie:

SAVE_1.RAW <A_097.STT save>
SAVE_2.RAW <GAU353.STT save>

What do you think of that?

Then give you 8 or 9 save slots total (not per disk, just a total of 8 or 9 save slots).

And then when I add scrolling dialog, I could give you more slots, since you coudl scroll the dialog up and down

(I need to add that, since I intend on using the dialog system for the file picker in a little while

jeff

 

[Avigrace]

That would work, any indication of what the states actually were would do, and you normally know the game from the filename it has anyway.

I could not really imagine needing more than 8 or 9 states

 

[Bonks]

8 or 9 would be fine here too, no point having more games than that going on the trot, and aye it would be good to see the name of the disk so you know exactly what game that save's for (both in save state menu (where you save) and in the disk select menu if possible......

I know your thinking of getting folders so we can put each games disks into its own folder (really cool idea BTW), so any chance you could have a folder specifically for these?


Actually heres an idea i just thought of... how about that when you load a game from a folder, the save states go IN that folder, so generally IF you had every game in its own folder, then you could have the current 4 save states PER GAME, and youd know what they were cause of what folder there in

If the game resided on the top level with loads of other games, they would still share the 4-9 saves.

Just an idea of a way round it, but i still wouldnt mind if you left it at 8-9

 

[Tobriand]

Like that as an idea Bonk - per folder save-stating gives best of both worlds, really