Question about saving

will it flag cheat in Metaverse

I haven't played a Metaverse game yet as I am still working on learning the game mechanics and strategies. I am also just one of those people that prefer to play on very big galaxies. So this, of course, means that I will not be able to finish a Metaverse game in one sitting, I will have to save the game to continue at some later time. Will this cause my Metaverse games to flag as cheats? Are there any ramifications to saving and reloading Metaverse games?

Cheers,
Reaver
11,379 views 16 replies
Reply #1 Top
Reaver,
You can still save and reload your metaverse games just as you would any non-metaverse game. The only difference is when the game is over you will be asked to enter your password to log into the metaverse.
Reply #2 Top
Well, given the bug that has been around since beta, every time you load your game, the next time you hit 'end turn' it really doesn't end...ie, you lose production and research that 1st turn (every time you reload a game), but your ships can still move again.

Stardock will not address this issue for some reason.

This can be troublesome for all us players than can only squeeze in 1-2 hours of play time each night, giving us maybe 3-4 turns on larger maps...so we barely get anything accomplished with this bug. It's like making the game run 25% slower.
Reply #3 Top
What I have been experiencing, as I too only get to play for an hour or so each day, is that when you load a game, it takes a few turns for your colonies to produce anything. Hence the thought that you lose production each time you load a game. I've even heard someone theorize that Stardock did this on purpose to encourage longer playing sessions.

However, what I have noticed is that once my colonies do begin to produce ships, they tend to have 2-3 new ships in orbit. It is almost as if the 'lost' production actually isn't lost, it just takes a few turns and appears as some sort of large burst of production. For example, I'll get a message that a colony has just produced a constructor unit, I'll visit that planet to launch it, and there will be two, sometimes three constructors in orbit.

And no, I'm not just forgetting about previous production. As I said, I save and load games quite a bit, and this happens to me every time.
Reply #4 Top
Zedt the reason you find more ships or empty build queues is becouse autosave saves your game before you lunch your ships/build , and when you load a game theres no screen that tells you whats done. After loading a game the production and research stops for 1 turn. I remember a bug when after loading a game some ships recieved move points even if they already moved in this turn, so maybe thats just the temporary solution and they trying to fix it in another way.
Reply #5 Top
Lokiju and Zedt - the no production on a turn isn't a bug. It's a feature. My understanding it's only for Metaverse games.

Why you ask? Because it stops a form of cheating. Think - you save before a turn you go to war but you were unprepared that turn. You reload. Or you don't lik how the vote in the UP goes so you reload. Since, people are posting scores you don't want cheating of any type.

I agree it can be a pain. Just don't play metaverse games than if it bugs you so much.

Stardock doesn't care how you win in your own home games. It's just trying to make it even for everyone in the Metaverse
Reply #6 Top
But I don't load autosaves. I play each turn until the green 'turn' button lights up, then save. So the turn that I save on, I've read the production report notices, visited each planet that produced a ship, launched the ship, gone back to the main play screen, moved all my ships, green turn button lights up, then I save. These are the saves that I load. The game loads up, I press the shiny green button, and go from there. Your reasoning also doesn't explain why I sometimes find three new ships in orbit.

When I get my first ship production notice, I visit the planet, and there are two, sometimes three new ships waiting for me. And no, this planet doesn't produce a ship per turn, eliminating the possibility that the game isn't displaying ship completion notices for a turn or two after loading.

So it makes perfect sense to me if there is a noted absence of production after loading a save, then to see production catch up a few turns later in one big burst. I see it too consistently for it to be coincidence. I could very well be missing something elemental to the game engine that would explain this differently, but that is how it appears to me. I'm actually suprised that I haven't read about anyone else experiencing/noticing this.

Cheers!
Reply #7 Top
Well, given the bug that has been around since beta, every time you load your game, the next time you hit 'end turn' it really doesn't end...ie, you lose production and research that 1st turn (every time you reload a game), but your ships can still move again.

Stardock will not address this issue for some reason.

I'd like to see that fixed too. *puppy eyes*
Reply #8 Top
Lokiju and Zedt - the no production on a turn isn't a bug. It's a feature.

You say it's a feature, but it looks like a bug. And as Lokiju pointed out, no one from Stardock will confirm it either way.
Reply #9 Top
Spaceno93, I'm familiar with that theory, and it makes total sense. What I've been explaining is that I see what appears to be 'catch up' production from my starports after loading a save game. Each and every time I load a save game (yes, all of them Metaverse games) I experience the production lag that everyone is talking about.

But, a few turns later quite a few of my starports pump out extra ships. I've been playing this game enough to recognize if this is simply a case of me not paying close enough attention to what is going on. Like I said, this occurs each and every time I load a save game, without exception.

I load a game and I don't get ships produced when I should. (Purposely designed into the game?)
I wait a few turns, and when my starports begin to produce ships once again, quite a few of them have more ships in orbit than they should. I load a saved game and play for about an hour every day, and I have yet to have this NOT happen to me.

So, what basic element of gameplay am I missing that explains this? I'm not complaining about it all, I'm totally fine with it. It worries me that I'm the only one noticing this, as that would indicate that I am indeed missing something that I shouldn't.

Getting a production lag whenever I load definately causes problems when I save in the middle of a war and I'm counting on my starports pumping out warships on a timely basis!
Reply #10 Top
Lokiju and Zedt - the no production on a turn isn't a bug. It's a feature. My understanding it's only for Metaverse games.

Why you ask? Because it stops a form of cheating. Think - you save before a turn you go to war but you were unprepared that turn. You reload. Or you don't lik how the vote in the UP goes so you reload. Since, people are posting scores you don't want cheating of any type.

I agree it can be a pain. Just don't play metaverse games than if it bugs you so much.

Stardock doesn't care how you win in your own home games. It's just trying to make it even for everyone in the Metaverse


I get this as well, but I have not played any Metaverse games. Nor will I for quite some time (still need to get better at managing my early economy). But I get this lost production for one turn thing.

Reply #11 Top
Lokiju and Zedt - the no production on a turn isn't a bug. It's a feature. My understanding it's only for Metaverse games.

Why you ask? Because it stops a form of cheating. Think - you save before a turn you go to war but you were unprepared that turn. You reload. Or you don't lik how the vote in the UP goes so you reload. Since, people are posting scores you don't want cheating of any type.

I agree it can be a pain. Just don't play metaverse games than if it bugs you so much.



Whether it's a feature or a bug, either way, WHY WON'T STARDOCK DISCUSS IT!?

Also, do you really think Stardock should take the stance that the multitudes of players who have families and can't play for more than an hour a night should have such a hindrance in metaverse games, to the point where almost no production is *EVER* completed?

Exploit of the samegame bug:

The game stands still while my better ships get to move across the universe taking out everything in their path, and the AI doesn't get to build much in response. So you see, this bug can actually be an amazing exploit under the right circumstances. Like if I find Rangers...and then keep reloading and reloading while the enemy gets destroyed. No one produces, but their entire fleet gets dead.

Reply #12 Top
Whether it's a feature or a bug, either way, WHY WON'T STARDOCK DISCUSS IT!?


Because it's really a method of mind control! Stardock are turning us all into willing slaves!

Reply #13 Top
Because it's really a method of mind control! Stardock are turning us all into willing slaves!


Time for you to take a break from the game me thinks.

Reply #15 Top
My break is surfing these forums



Well then, hope you're enjoying your time off.
Reply #16 Top
Just wondering but given the ability to save at all in metaverse games why keep the scores. They are pointless. If you had a bad go then just reload. If stardock wants the scores to count have each of us allowed one saved game to stardock server. Then when you start a game your stuck until you finish. You logoff and then login back in and continue. No new game until you finish means:

Every game counts. Loses will be posted by everyone.
No exploits on save that allow everyone to win
This all means the scoring system will actually be worth something.

I never though of reloading a save as I originally assumed that you could not. I would hit alt-tab and leave it minimized then restore when I could play but after having someone else close it 3 times in a row during the middle of a gigantic game then I checked and was surprised to find that you could load saves and even still all I will load is the autosave.