Hardcore mode should turn off save states regardless

[Typhon]

The new version of RetroArch is great, except for one thing - I disapprove of the fact that hardcore mode now has save states in the menu for non achievements games.

Hardcore mode is an easy way to play a game the way it was intended, without save states, like the original hardware. I realize that the hotkeys for save states still worked (even for non-achievements games) on the previous version of RetroArch, but with the new RetroArch, it seems like a step in the wrong direction to add save states to the menu. If someone has Hardcore mode turned on, they want to play without the temptation of save states/rewind features that make the game way too easy.

If someone doesn’t want to play that way, all they’d have to do is turn off hardcore mode. I see it as a nifty feature that (should) easily let you toggle two different ways to play.

Please consider making hardcore mode a universal toggle, regardless of whether or not a game has achievements. You could even put the hardcore mode toggle right in the quick menu, instead of having it in the settings.

[Alexandra]

Bumping because I arrived here via a Google seeking the same feature, and agree that it’d be helpful for the reasons you state.

I’m playing a hardmode hack of a favorite game and have been finding save states just too tempting, to the point that I just googled if there was a way to disable them. My partner is playing natively on Vita and so has no save state ability, and I find myself wishing I had the willpower to reproduce that experience, game overs and all.

I wonder if setting the existing save states to read-only would be at all effective as a means of self-discouragement.

This probably sounds silly for folks who have no trouble abstaining from their use, but some of us clearly find it difficult.

[hunterk]

I believe you can set your savestate directory to somewhere that doesn’t exist or that you don’t have permission to write to.

[febs]

I came four years later to ask for the same. I also feel tempted sometimes and not being able to, just like on the real hardware, should be the way to go to really simulate that.

Didn’t try the workaround yet, but I’d find it uncomfortable to set that up on several platforms (android, pc, raspberry…) rather than just “enabling being hardcore” .

Btw I’d call it “authentic” mode rather than hardcore.

It’s not hardcore not to have save states, it’s just how those games were meant to be played.

Thanks