I think the benefit to having this system as an option as it allows you to play through the story and path that you’re paving, and to stick with your decisions — good and bad – as it makes a more interesting and dynamic story. Problem with most RPG players is they use game saves as a crutch when something doesn’t go exactly the way they planned.
Having a hardcore mode kind of stops people from doing this, especially for those who have weak discipline. I think it’s good to have as an option.
Why does it matter if players reload? That should be their decision not enforced through a difficulty mode by the developer and if people want to see alternative options without having to play the entire game then that should be there.
I feel it’s just difficulty for difficulty’s sake. I get it some people enjoy hardcore options, but they really don’t add much to a game if they’re added as difficulty options.
Hardcore or not… Would be nice if we can setup the saving option before starting a new game.
Its a lot of fun for me to have to live with my lost and mystake instead of having every thnig and always win.
Why not the game ask what kind of save you want in your new game regardless of the dificulty level?
Its probably because im an old school gamer… im just curious: what the fun in a game when you can exploit every thing in the game with save/load game? So your nice horse die in the last combat… lets reload. You did not succed in a mission because you took the wrong way… lets reload. …
I hope i will be able to play this game without those temptation 
This is why there is a normal and hardcore mode. There are two options, which appease both sides of the fence. Personally, I don’t care all that much, but I will say that I don’t think it is necessarily difficulty for difficulty’s sake. I think it’s a system that can force someone–to a degree- to live with their decisions. It’s not forced upon you by the developers, but rather an option the developers present to you where you can force it upon yourself. Most people, if given the option, will replay something if they don’t particularly like the way it panned out. But, these same people (a lot of them at least), when asked, would prefer if the game didn’t allow them to restart the game.
It kind of gives you ease of mind, per se, where you can play through the game and live with your decisions, because you know that there’s “no going back”, so to speak. When you know there’s going back, and you can replay something, that’s a temptation that is hard to avoid. So really what the developers are doing is helping you have discipline by making it harder (or impossible) for you to reload a past saved game.
Most people won’t reload a past saved game if they know that it would make the last hour+ of gaming a waste. Hope I am making sense.
I think there was some confusion where there wasn’t a choice. The choice is choosing Normal OR Hardcore mode. So for those who do not like Hardcore mode, they don’t have to select it.
Why not have both choice… 1,2 or 3 saving game and easy, normal and hardcore dificulty.
This way every one should be happy 
But i like saving with: beer, potion or prayor.
Keep those trash difficulty options out of here. Thanks. That’s all I’ve gotta to say to the notion of making some easy mode.
I voted for #1 (anywhere + autosave)
I like to be able to play for a flexible amount of time and then save when i like to. Or you get a phone call and have to leave or you get some unexpectedly guests. I don’t like games where i loose progress in game because i have to leave and can’t save.
You could use option 1 as the normal way to save the game and have an “checkbox” while choosing the difficulty level of the game that says “allow only autosave”/“save the way it’s meant to be played”…
I don’t like the gamification idea. Yes this is a game but we have no dragons and no magic, why would you boost stats or something for not saving in a game that wants to be realistic? Maybe i just don’t get the idea behind that?
But it’s your game, choose what you want as long as you don’t force me into a autosave game only.
Autosave on exit would be always present, regardless of save system.
Ha! I accidentally hit the hardcore option (I thought I had to click the graphic to get to the poll itself). Actually, I would have opted for save anywhere, for I am a weenus who dies a lot.
Thats it right there.
This game is not about fighting, this game is about experiencing history based story. This is survival action adventure game. Who says that you have to fight?
One thing you have to do is live long enough to complete your “destiny”. How you do it is up to you.
Shall we leave that up to each individual to decide for itself?
Its a medieval RPG game so im sure at some point you will have no choice but fighting!
Against Cumans small talk or bribe will probably not work.
Im for giving the choice to the player on each new game he start.
But if only one way of saving… im for saving any time but only at one place like tavern, church or our own place. Not saving any where any time… its to easy… Im for living with our choice if we can change idea any where any time its take away all the fun for me.
Please add the choice of saving way at each new game start so any one can be happy.
I think they gamification is a BRILLIANT idea.
I don’t want the game to be no consequnce like skyrim, but this system will allow you to go back if it’s really important, but discourage exploitation, I htink it’s the perfect middle.
I also like the idea some others have said, having all three options available at gamestart.
Will the autosave overwrite your current save file or will it be a separate dave file a la skyrim?
I always liked it being a separate fiel so it could be used as a back up and also to prevent overwriting and then being stuffed by potential bugs. Two things I think are very important.
I like different save slots for one very important reason - I sometimes accidentally skip some important part of dialog, which can be very frustrating in narrative driven game…
I look at it from a very practical point of view.
If you don’t live alone, it may be that something disrupts you in your play and you need to save and quit quickly.
In some games I saved every few minutes because of crashes. You planned to open the game to modding. Modding brings crashes. A couple of different things no one thought about before brings crashes. Saving often is the only way for people not to get frustrated.
The second option is quite an interesting one, but it doesn’t really have an explanation in game and if you are victim of external circumstances it feels more like a punishment than a reward.
Plus it takes away a little of players control, trying to keep the player on a certain path in how to play the game. And this freedom is one reason I like sandbox RPGs.
In the end I feel that it would just overcomplicate things and let the player’s mind circle around the mechanics instead of being immersed in the game.
i like your idea and it makes sense, saving anywhere really is pointless and autosaving every 5 minutes or so is also pointless. now if it autosaves before a major event happens and a normal save happens with sleep then you can’t go wrong, you start off refreshed.
I like the idea of gamification. It doesn’t prevent a player from saving anywhere at any time, but it does give him a reason to not save all the time and because of not saving all the time your virtual life becomes much more important. There is some thrill in this. The worst idea possible is permadeath combined with no saves (only autosaves on exit). Why?
I played Pillars of Eternity. There was an option to play it hardcore, with no saves - when you died, you died and had to start game from the beginning. I thought it was a cool idea and enable this option. How it worked out? I entered into a cave where there were two bears (way over my level and party size). They locked me in combat and because there is a severe disengagement mechanic - aimed to punish you for trying to kite enemies - I died. My character died. It was a game over. After that I knew there were two bears, so I avoided that cave on my second approach, but then I realized it’s pointless to play it this way: if I was going to learn where everything is “by dying” I would still be acquiring and applying some precognition with each “death”. When I understood that I switched back to normal saves, because it shortened the whole process and reduced tedium cased by going through the same parts all over again.
Limited saving capabilities and permadeath are fun (rogue-likes are games I enjoy immensely), but in different kind of games, where everything is fresh with each game you play (levels, enemies, items, encounters, etc.).
If you can, allow people to pick their poison. I doubt anyone would be against that, but then again I can understand it’d consume time and resources in order to implement option for everybody.
Why restrict the player? If they like playing it by saving every second they walk, let them? This game is singleplayer only so why not let people play it the way they want to? Besides, if there’s difficulty levels on hard it can be turned off, as suggested in the OP.
