Stoneshard: How to Save

Stoneshard's design is inspired by old-school RPG mechanics. In keeping with the tradition of tense, gritty gameplay, it invokes a save system that’s equal parts punishing and rewarding. It's definitely unusual, but it lends itself to the immersion and atmosphere of the game. When this game is out of Early Access, it might earn a place on the list of Best Modern-Day CRPGs.

The save system has been a hot topic in the discussion surrounding this game. Some players are demanding an "easy mode" that enables more frequent saves. There is a case for why Soulslike games should have an easy mode, and Stoneshard definitely fits into that conversation. The developers are in a tricky spot with this issue, though, since there are limitations in their procedural generation engine that make saving often all but impossible. According to a Devlog that came out February 8th 2020, the game’s save system “saves the seed of visited locations, regenerating the world on each loading, they don’t save the state of the world, as it was left by the player.”

The "City of Gold" update that came in November of last year was able to make one small improvement though, by implementing a "Save & Exit" feature. This can save the game if it crashes, and it enables players to pick up where they left off. However, "Save & Exit" only goes so far. According to the patch notes, "These saves are deleted upon loading, so in case of your character’s death, you’ll be brought to the latest “hard” save made by sleeping."

How the Save System works in Stoneshard

In the Prologue, there are checkpoints spread throughout the quest zone that automatically trigger a save. The game saves whenever players cross into a new floor, for example. After the Prologue, however, there are no checkpoints. Saving can only be done by sleeping or exiting the game. It's similar to how Kingdom Come: Deliverance updated its save system.

There’s beds at inns that can be rented and slept in. Also, Brigand camps, once cleared out, have a bed that can be slept in.

The innkeeper offers an option to rent a room where the player can save their game.

Alternatively, a Bedroll can be purchased from Bran or Bert in Osbrook or Gerlot in Mannshire.

The description for the Bedroll object which takes up a 4x3 grid in the player's inventory.

Brigand Camps and Inns are few and far between, so the Bedroll is a very useful item. It does take up a considerable amount of precious inventory space, though, and only lasts for one use. That said, it’s best used just outside a dungeon, so it won’t be a burden for long.

The Bedroll becomes a pile of useless material after it's used.

It's possible to Save & Exit from the Start menu. This saves the game and takes the player back to the Main Menu. However, when the Save is loaded, it’s immediately deleted, so it isn’t possible to use this to create a checkpoint.

Multiple Save Files

Stoneshard saves each character in separate save files. Every new game creates a new set of save files for that character. It’s even possible to have two save files for the same character.