Save Scumming

The above act is basically to reload a game to a previous save, usually to gain a favourable result.

It's been about three years since I have done it and most games are a challenge (especially as I play in the lower leagues). But I feel the emotional pull of results more since I 'kicked the habit' so to say.

So how many of us are guilty of this act? Would you say save scumming is akin to cheating? Do you get more enjoyment out of the game by reloading games to get a better result or by taking the result as it comes?

Sometimes i would just ALT+F4 out of rage when things weren't going my way and reload but i stopped doing that since it felt dirty and i would normally give up on the save anyway.

I never do it. Cheating just completely takes the fun out of any game for me. Even accidentally making an illegal move in board-games makes me feel distinctly iffy.

EDIT: Actually I do do it if (when) the game crashes, sending me back to an earlier point in my save. I then save-scum to get approximate same results as I had pre-crash. Still hate it though.

That's different, I had to do the same thing with FM10 when there was a memory leak, but in that case I take the second result.

I had to do it recently, I fielded the wrong team as I thought I was in one match but was actually another, the clubs had the same name, one was united and one was town!

One match was no foreign players cup match and one was a league match. I sent out the restricted team by accident!

I've done it often enough throughout the 12 years of playing football management games. I hardly ever do it now though, I actually wouldn't be able to sleep at night. Then again, if my team is doing that bad then I find it hard to sleep anyway.

Never. It's like cheating at solitaire: who are you fooling and what's the point? But I'd alter the definition to simply"...for a favorable result". There's nothing wrong with reloading after a crash.

Why would anyone do this? - would you also press a "win" button? - then why even play FM?

It's like playing yahtzee by yourself and cheating.. its just pathetic IMO

I only do it when I make horrible mistakes by accident, like subbing my striker for my goalie or thinking it's a home game when it's away.

I missed out of the BSP play-offs on goals scored after losing to the bottom club and missing a penalty. If I didn't reload then, I never will.

I used to do it often back in the old CM days... Then I realized it was sort of pointless and it took the fun away from every long-term save.

Then again I still have a "3 strikes policy" for exceptionally stupid events/outcomes, like that time you lost 2-0 at home against the already relegated bottom club despite having a 20-2 SoG stat and having dominated...

Only 3 reloads per season, not during the final month of the league or in knockout stages of cups.

Constant reloading is a bad idea, but once in a while FM just asks for it

I used to do this way back in CM97/98, when there was a key you could press to quit without saving, but I was younger then, and foolish. I don't think I've been able to bring myself to do it in years, though sometimes it's tempting to 'fix' international competitions or the Champions League when I'm not in them. I always resist.

I used to do it often back in the old CM days... Then I realized it was sort of pointless and it took the fun away from every long-term save.

Then again I still have a "3 strikes policy" for exceptionally stupid events/outcomes, like that time you lost 2-0 at home against the already relegated bottom club despite having a 20-2 SoG stat and having dominated...

Only 3 reloads per season, not during the final month of the league or in knockout stages of cups.

Constant reloading is a bad idea, but once in a while FM just asks for it

Like having 10 + shots on target and 7 + woodwork and lose to an inferior team that shot one time on target.

Like having 10 + shots on target and 7 + woodwork and lose to an inferior team that shot one time on target.

I've had games like that where I was just about pulling my hair out at the end of it, but I figure it's football (because it does happen in real life!) and I should challenge myself to bounce back from those results.

And if I cheat just once in a save, it's basically ruined for me because in the back of my head there would be a voice telling me that 'you didn't really deserve promotion two years ago, you know.'

There's nothing wrong with reloading after a crash.

Agree.

The one issue where it becomes a bit grey is if you actually win a game, then crash before your autosave protects you - then on the reload you lose. I have had that happen a couple of times in my entire time playing FM, and I've just put the crashed game out of my mind. But I can understand why people would reload in that case.

I don't do it in games, but I do it for long-term injuries. I get no fun from having my star winger injured for 6 months. Mostly because unlike games, I have absolutely no control over it.

I don't do it in games, but I do it for long-term injuries. I get no fun from having my star winger injured for 6 months. Mostly because unlike games, I have absolutely no control over it.

I wouldn't even do that, injuries are a part of the game and you just have to deal with whatever it throws your way.

When ever I see somebody bragging on here about going X-amount of seasons unbeaten I just wonder to myself how many times they reloaded until gaining the desired result in each game

I never do it. But in previous fm I had problems with second season drop of form, so I usually made backup save after first season. If second season was disastrous, I just reloaded backup and tried different tactical approach, sign some different players etc.

My darling 18 month old son switched off the computer when I was playing the game. I am managing Plymouth Argyle in the first season of my game, and at the time I was somehow 1-0 up against Man Utd in the FA cup 3rd round, with just 20 minutes left to play. Man Utd were blazing shots over and wide, and we got a nice breakaway goal after their defensive blunder.

I loaded up the game again, and had 4 or 5 retrys at the same match, but every time I was at least 2 goals down by halftime despite using the same players and tactics. I then gave up and took the defeat as manfully as possible!

I have never cheated one in my life of playing a Football Management Sim ever. Not even the time i reloaded to gain an advantage over a certain spanish gaint team in the away leg. Never...

I guess it's not surprising to see that people who probably do it won't admit to it on here, otherwise this thread would be flooded with replies.

I don't bash people who do it, I know some people who do but I do like to remind them that they do it fairly regularly.

And if I cheat just once in a save, it's basically ruined for me because in the back of my head there would be a voice telling me that 'you didn't really deserve promotion two years ago, you know.'

That's why I don't allow myself to reload in knockout rounds or in the final month of the league...

Then again I don't value my achievements in the game enough to let a bit of corner-cutting here and there become a gamebreaking factor... It's just a game, and my gaming experience is ruined much more by the occasional "sorry, you won't win this" match than by the 10 seconds of guilt following a reload.

I allow myself one reload every 3 years.. but only if my best player gets 4+ months injury..

I did reload couple of times in earlier versions of the game after i lost, but then it completely destroyed my save.. it just felt wrong and i couldn't play that save again..

My friend reloads almost every time, even if he wins like 2-1, its not good enough for him.. he usually finishes season with 36 wins and 2 draws.. d***head..

I've done it once on FM12, and that was because an improbable set of circumstances lead to me winning the Premier League on the final day of the season as Aston Villa. For that to happen, we needed to win away to Newcastle, Man Utd needed to lose at home to Liverpool, and there needed to be an 8 goal swing. It happened. I quit, and replayed, so we finished 2nd. Before the new season started, I decided it felt far too ridiculous for us to even finish 2nd, so started a new save anyway!

I've had games like that where I was just about pulling my hair out at the end of it, but I figure it's football (because it does happen in real life!) and I should challenge myself to bounce back from those results.

And if I cheat just once in a save, it's basically ruined for me because in the back of my head there would be a voice telling me that 'you didn't really deserve promotion two years ago, you know.'

Agree.

The one issue where it becomes a bit grey is if you actually win a game, then crash before your autosave protects you - then on the reload you lose. I have had that happen a couple of times in my entire time playing FM, and I've just put the crashed game out of my mind. But I can understand why people would reload in that case.

Happens too often in this game tho...

i had a lockup after a game i lost, i won the reload.

if i reloaded every time wilfried was injured would still be on season 1

Was thinking bout this today. I did used to do it and was just in the habit of it but I don't anymore. Haven't since fm09. Enjoy the game so much more seeing the fruits of your labour rather than just winning every game. Like the o p said aswell you fell the emotions more if you win or lose a big game. Obviously of the game crashes or whatever u have to reload but I just holiday the replayed game and whatever happens happens.

the fruits of my labours are stupidly ripe i was so tempted to load the game just to lose O.O

I used to do it all the time 10 years or so ago, but I sort of stopped now. Occasionally I may save my game before a match where I'm planning to rest a bunch of key players because quite frankly, I should win even with a bunch of back-ups and youngsters. If that isn't the case then well I'll see how I feel...