| However, games such as [[Metroid Prime]], which is open-ended but allow you to save whenever you reach a save point, or [[Half-Life]], which allow you to literally save and load ''anywhere'', raise a different question: how many segments should you have? In Half-Life the number of segments can be practically infinite, meaning Half-Life runs can theoretically be optimised frame-by-frame, like a [[TAS]]. Generally for situations like this, a time penalty is added for each segment to discourage overuse of quick-saving and -loading. This theoretically enables all runs, regardless of segment count, to be ranked alongside each other. | | However, games such as [[Metroid Prime]], which is open-ended but allow you to save whenever you reach a save point, or [[Half-Life]], which allow you to literally save and load ''anywhere'', raise a different question: how many segments should you have? In Half-Life the number of segments can be practically infinite, meaning Half-Life runs can theoretically be optimised frame-by-frame, like a [[TAS]]. Generally for situations like this, a time penalty is added for each segment to discourage overuse of quick-saving and -loading. This theoretically enables all runs, regardless of segment count, to be ranked alongside each other. |