Pistol start

[Lars2500]

This seems to have been requested before and not yet implemented in ZDoom and since I'm currently playing a megawad where it would be REALLY useful I thought I'd bring it up again.

When you die and have saved your game before ZDoom always takes you back to the last savegame instead of pistol-starting the current level again.

In "10 Sectors" which I am currently playing and where it is even recommended in the Readme that each level is pistol-started I designed myself a custom Mapinfo which resets health and inventory on each level. Now when I die, the best (and vanilla Doom) behavior would be to pistol-restart the current level. Instead, I am always taken back to the last savegame even it is several levels before.

So, since it is certainly not much work to include a configuration option in ZDoom that pistol starts you in the current level after you die instead of automatically loading the last savegame, I hereby "suggest" that option again

[Kate]

[wiki=CVARs:Configuration#File_storage]DisableAutoSaves[/wiki] 1.
Or go to the menu, go to: Options → Miscellaneous Options → Enable autosaves: Scripts Only.

[Lars2500]

[wiki=CVARs:Configuration#File_storage]DisableAutoSaves[/wiki] 1.
Or go to the menu, go to: Options → Miscellaneous Options → Enable autosaves: Scripts Only.

This is not about autosaves. It is that the last savegame saved through the "Save game" menu gets autoloaded each time the player dies.

[Gez]

If your mapinfo actually has the resethealth and resetinventory keywords for each level, then you could just enable autosaves, so that when you die you restart at the last save, which is pistol starting at the beginning of the map.

[Lars2500]

If your mapinfo actually has the resethealth and resetinventory keywords for each level, then you could just enable autosaves, so that when you die you restart at the last save, which is pistol starting at the beginning of the map.

Yes, that would actually work. At least as long as I don't save in the current level, because then that last savegame is always loaded instead of the autosave. Plus, I don't like auto saving much and would prefer to keep it disabled.

Is there actually a reason why "always pistol start" is not implemented as a configurable option despite it has been suggested a number of times? Or is it just deemed not necessary? It can't be that hard to code since the default behavior is already the pistol start in every level as long as the player has not saved any game.

[XutaWoo]

Using that logic, you could just idclev or map "" each map, no?

Initializing a game and moving onto another map are two separate things entirely. Granted, the behavior is indeed already there on a map-by-map basis, which was what you just quoted and it's kinda odd you didn't just refer to that in the first place.

[Lars2500]

Using that logic, you could just idclev or map "" each map, no?

Initializing a game and moving onto another map are two separate things entirely. Granted, the behavior is indeed already there on a map-by-map basis, which was what you just quoted and it's kinda odd you didn't just refer to that in the first place.

I'm sorry but I seem to be completely missing your point ...

What has changing levels manually via cheat code or console, or "initializing a game" to do with the fact that upon the player's death ZDoom always autoloads the last saved game if there is any?

[XutaWoo]

Because, unless I'm mistaken, ZDoom reinitializes the game and starts it on the map you died on if you don't have an save. Thus, it's actually different from just advancing the map and giving the player their starting inventory, which is what would happen if there was an 'always pistol start' option on the player's side.

[Xaser]

That's exactly what he's after, though. The issue at hand is that ZDoom will load any save made during a game session, including regalar and quicksaves and whanot, so if you save just once, bad luck -- you have to restart the game to get pistol start behavior again.

You can sorta fake it by disabling autosaves for a session, but there's no workaround to the fact that ZDoom will automatically load a save on death if it finds one.

[edward850]

... ZDoom will automatically load a save on death if it finds one.

Doesn't zdoom do this to make sure hubs don't screw up? As in making sure you don't get stuck on a map you ended up restarting from.

[LilWhiteMouse]

... ZDoom will automatically load a save on death if it finds one.

Doesn't zdoom do this to make sure hubs don't screw up? As in making sure you don't get stuck on a map you ended up restarting from.

My first version of Chibi Rebellion on ZDoom had this problem. If you died, ZDoom would respawn you where you entered, but everything would be reset. Essentially a game breaker. You'd commonly find yourself on the wrong side of a locked door with no way to get the key.

I thought I'd be a clever bitch and post this simple (I thought) fix, but it doesn't work:

Code: Select all

script "PistolStart" DEATH {
Teleport_NewMap (GetLevelInfo(LEVELINFO_LEVELNUM), 0);
}

ZDoom seems to ignore Teleport_NewMap() when the destination is the current map.
[EDIT] Or when the player is dead perhaps?

[Lars2500]

... ZDoom will automatically load a save on death if it finds one.

Doesn't zdoom do this to make sure hubs don't screw up? As in making sure you don't get stuck on a map you ended up restarting from.

Agreed. For Hub gameplay it is essential that after death, the last savegame (or autosave from the beginning of the level) is loaded.

It still should be made a config option so that you can disable it if you want and "force" pistol starts for normal gameplay. Just as with the autosaves - you also have the option to disable them (which by the way breaks hub gameplay as well).