Gaming skills.

[Viscra Maelstrom]

and here i am thinking that UV is way too easy yet can't be bothered to whack in sv_fastmonsters 1 every time

it depends on the wad. more modern PWADs have an increased surge in difficulty, and most of the biggest ones out there are very difficult on UV. however, most 90s megawads are incredibly easy on UV, even Hell Revealed isn't that terrible compared to the sequel. i'd want to say that Darkening E2 is the first legitimately difficult PWAD IMO, but that's mostly because it's incredibly starved on health and ammo and leaves you limping at every encounter, thanks to hitscanners and shit.

[Marisa the Magician]

Hm, funny you guys mention that.

I've always played on UV by default. I just never considered that it was supposed to be harder.

[Caligari87]

Yeah, difficulty inflation has been pretty bad in the Doom community for a long time. Nowadays you're generally considered "bad" if you can't beat the stock levels on UV, even though HMP is technically the "normal" difficulty.

That said, it seems to me there's a pretty big spike between HMP and UV. It almost seems like HMP should have been a little harder, or UV a little easier. Take E1M1 for example. Up to HMP, there's no monsters before the first door. One notch up to UV and suddenly four sergeants in the stair room? Really? HMP should have at least two zombiemen in that room or something.

[DoomRater]

Tell me, guys - exploiting the AI dumbness in a game is considered cheating, or is it legal?

Very much depends on the game. Dark Souls doesn't just let you do this, depending on what you are playing as, it's actually an unspoken difficulty slider, and much like being called noob for not completeing ultraviolence on Doom, there are smug players who diss anyone who uses these built in game mechanics to make their lives easier.

On MMOs though it's been considered worthy of bans. Don't do it on an Everquest/WoW server.

[Arctangent]

Up to HMP, there's no monsters before the first door. One notch up to UV and suddenly four sergeants in the stair room? Really? HMP should have at least two zombiemen in that room or something.

To be fair, this makes a ton of sense when you consider you're playing the first level of a genre that most people haven't even touched, with actual 3D physics that most people also haven't seen before. That first room displays this really well, showing that you can look out of windows you can't actually climb over and you have to actually go up stairs and stuff. Of course, even someone confident in their ability is most likely to have chosen HMP at the most, as they're likely to be exploring new ground and giving them a chance to get their bearings before they actively put themselves into danger through opening a door - that requires its own button to do - is just good game design. On the flip-side, if you are cocky enough to go to UV or even Nightmare before trying anything out, you get a taste of what Doom is expecting of you once you've actually acclimated to it - the shotgunners aren't that difficult, after all, but if you're just floundering around they'll quickly clear you, and act as a way to tell you to turn down the difficulty if you don't know what you're doing.

[NeuralStunner]

Tell me, guys - exploiting the AI dumbness in a game is considered cheating, or is it legal?

I do this all the time. I even take it a step further in a Quake port that lets me turn off vis culling and make water surfaces transparent... Monsters won't shoot at you through a water surface, but you can shoot them with (nigh) impunity. (You can, of course, still drown.) FWIW you could always shoot through these surfaces, just not see through them.

To be fair, this makes a ton of sense when you consider you're playing the first level of a genre that most people haven't even touched, with actual 3D physics that most people also haven't seen before.

Aye, the contemporary viewpoint. Much agreed.

[Jeimuzu73]

Original Doom - Usually HMP or UV.
DDR - Difficult (6-12) or Expert (8-11)
Begone (http://www.nplay.com/BeGone/) - You'll find me at the top most often.
DOOM multiplayer - The exact opposite.

I should be a games journalist and get paid with these skills.

[Reactor]

Well that makes me feel a little bit better Once I figure out how the game works, I usually find holes during the gameplay mechanics, and I like to build strategy on them, even if it sounds mighty cheap.
Besides, to discover said holes, one MUST have certain gaming skills, and a lot of patience to learn how the game actually works.

[DoomRater]

Like for example, in Stronghold Crusader:
-buy hueg slave armies
-set taxes to maximum
-free slaves
-get mad cash, the flock of freed slaves will not be able to leave fast enough even if your popularity sinks to 0 from overcrowding and taxes

[Reactor]

Heh, it's pretty similar to the taxation bug in Imperium Galactica II. At the start of the month, set taxes to the second highest (not to the highest or they'll revolt), and at the last day of the month, set taxes to "none". Morale will skyrocket and you'll be literally BATHING in cash! I'm pretty sure it's a glitch, but it works, and AI always sets taxes to "moderate" no matter what, so I guess you could call it an AI dumbness exploit.

[NeuralStunner]

You can do something similar in older SimCity games. (Tax to the max at the end of the fiscal year, then drop back to 0% in January. Best mayor ever!)

[Reactor]

Really? Looks like the problem of raising Falaricae to a metropolis just got solved...
In this case, I think this taxation-thing may not be a glitch at all, as it seems that many games utilized it. Perhaps it was intentional. Glitch or not, it's highly beneficial, and who could blame a player for figuring out programming patterns and finding programming holes? Apart from Pong, Tetris and the likes, there is no such thing as a perfect program.

[Use3d]

Mine seem to have peaked 10-12 years ago. Luckily modern games have all been summarily dumbed down to the point where I can still usually cut the hardest difficulty modes. That last Metal Gear: Revengeance game kicked my ass though. Online games? Eh, I'm kinda over it. I'll play a few rounds on console with whatever my friends are doing, but otherwise they collect dust.

[TheLightBad96]

To be honest i have been holding off commenting on this thread until now because I wanted to hear everyone else out but I guess i will say my piece.
(Warning: LONG POST)

(THIS IS A LONG STORY ON HOW I GOT HOOKED ON VIDEO GAMES) - in spoiler below due to not being entirely related to subject but it being the root cause of my gaming life.

---

I had been playing video games since 2000 " I would have been turning 4 at the time " and more so when i got my first PC for my 6th birthday (it ran on Windows 95 and it had a 512 MB HDD 64MB Ram and it it ran games like Doom and Wolfenstein 3D)

My interest in gaming had started when i first watched my father play games like Doom 1&2, Command and Conquer 1 and Wolfenstein 3D and watching my mother play games like Warcraft 2 and Age of Empires and They would let me watch and would show me tricks and secrets , And after a while with my mothers permission He would let me play Doom while telling me secrets of the levels and if he saw me having trouble with the level he would tell me the cheat codes so i would have a fun time and it got to the point that I beaten the game without cheats on UV something that he had never done since my dad always played HNTR or HMP most of the time and he did not strafe "my father had a look of awe when i finally killed IOS without cheating on UV".

Then on my 6th birthday I Got my first computer "this was the point where i knew gaming is for me" and then my parents taught me how to install games on my computer starting with Doom,Wolfenstein 3D ( My parents were cool with me playing violent shooters because they knew that these games did not cause violence but they did get up me when i allowed my younger brother to play doom " it gave him nightmares and I lost PC privilege for a week" ). and eventually i started playing RTS games like C&C Red Alert 1 or Age of Empires 2 and even though i sucked at it i thought it was fun playing it.

As the years go by I started enjoying the fruits of shareware discs and it opened my mind to some new genres and niches and it was all fun until my Computer Died "thankfully my Father backed up my data 2 months before it died " and it took me a year until i got a new PC (this time is was Win98 and it was at least 5x more powerful than my old pc "it was able to run diablo II a game that i could not play on my old PC") and then my dad taught me how to put it together and upgrading it with new parts and it got hooked up to the internet so i can play games with my father.

Then on Christmas (during 2005) My family got me and my 2 younger brothers a PS2 to share with 2 games ( Ratchet and Clank 3 and Grand Turismo 3 ) and even though my parents told me and 2 younger brothers to share it i ended up playing it most of the time since my brothers had no real interest in gaming despite trying to get them into it by letting them play with my character "by letting them kill people with a my fully upgraded gun". I tried both games starting with Grand Turismo 3 since i have never played a car racing game before and i though it looked cool and found out that i really sucked at racing games and I still suck to this day with the only exception being the Arcade Cabinet that had the car seat thing (not sure what it was called but it was from SEGA).

Over the years I played a lot of video games on different consoles, From playing Halo 1&2 on my Friends xbox on multiplayer to playing my own Modded Xbox at home. even dusting off my doom discs and discovering modding for doom and playing skulltag on my laptop. All of this led to me eventually purchasing my own consoles and then a Brand New Gaming PC which I brought last year after saving up like crazy. all in all if it were not for my family, then my gaming pursuits would not have been a thing.

My Skills with gaming are varied but I will try to explain as much as possible

FPS Games: I normally play on the hardest setting due to the challenge and most of the time I am really great at it when i play on PC but when playing on Console I do tend to get my ass kicked because aiming with a controller can be a Bitch ( especially if it involves using a sniper rifle )

Games of this genre that I am best at that are personal favorites: Doom 1/2, Return to Castle Wolfenstein,Deus Ex 1 and Human Revolution, Fallout 3/NV/4, UT99 and 2004, Blood, SiN, No One Lives Forever, Perfect Dark, Goldeneye 64,The Timesplitters Series,Hexen 1/2, Borderlands 2 and New DOOM

Games of this genre i Dislike and Hate : CoD Series, Half life or anything from VALVE in general and Deus Ex 2 was a disappointment

Third Person Games : It is extremely vaired due to the third person game having several genres. With Third Person Shooters like Gears of War or Max Payne 1/2 i am generally good at it but not great . If it is a third person hack and slash game like Bloodrayne 1 or Blood Omen 2 then I am pretty good if not Excellent at. But with games that are like Grand Theft Auto it is a mixed bag (since i suck at racing).

Games of this genre that I am best at that are personal favorites: Bloodrayne 1, Ratchet and Clank 1 through 3 (only played those 3), the Uncharted Series,GTA Vice City, Max Payne 1 and 2, Gears of War 1, Blood Omen 2, And both Starfox Adventures and Assault ( I do like the arwing segments but i am best on foot ) and Syphon Filter 1-3

Games of this genre i Dislike and Hate : Syphon filter - Logan's Shadow, Bloodrayne 2 (disappointment), GTA 3

RPG/Action RPG games : I am generally Great at ARPG games due to the fact that I can act immediately, but unfortunately with Standard RPG games besides Fallout 1/2/tactics I have not played many but my skills range from average to below average. I also prefer to Grind for XP and try to do all of the side quests

Games of this genre that I am best at that are personal favorites: Diablo 1 and 2, Front Mission 3, The Baldurs Gate Series (including the Console ARPG), The Fallout and Paper Mario and Mario and Luigi Partners in time ( 2 of the 6 Mario games that Consider Great others include "SMB 1&3 and the Remake and SM64 ).

Games of this genre i Dislike and Hate : Not really into the Final Fantasy series.

Real time strategy Games: My Experiences with RTS games are mostly positive with some being a little crap, and I am pretty Good with the ones i do play (especially with games like Age Of Empires 2, Dawn of War, Empire Earth) i am also average with the command and conquer series, but when playing online i do suck all kinds of ass.

Games of this genre that I am best at that are personal favorites: Most of the C&C Games, Age of Empires 1&2, Empire Earth 1.

Games of this genre i Dislike and Hate : C&C 3 and Generals, Empire Earth 2 and 3.

Racing Games: I am absolutely crap when it comes to racing and due to my lack of skill in racing games I don't have any favorites.

Multiplayer Skill: I Don't Really Play much online games "except when it came to the new DOOM game" and my skill is varied, I do sometimes win but at the same time i also die a lot and Lose Very Badly. I Rarely get over 1.00 K-D ratio and I despise campers, and playing Doom mod's on online co-op is just awesome and i prefer to play it that way. Not a big fan of MMO-RPGs

I do play other styles of games but it would take forever to list all of the types of games.

But my skills are varied as you can see and their are always ways i can improve my self, would I classify myself as PRO, no I would not but I do however Play these games for personal enjoyment and i could not care if someone is better than me. And I do not give to shits about graphics because it the gameplay is great then I could not care if the graphics look like something out of the Early PS1 Era.

P.S. I also suck a bit at platforming, I love and are extremely good at metroidvania styled games, and i legitimately despise the Half-Life series (in my opinion i think it's an overhyped Piece of Shit but that's just me)

[InsanityBringer]

Gaming skills.

about the best thing I can say with regards to this thread is that I managed to make it halfway through stage 4 (starting from the first stage) of Mushihimesama on one coin on the default arcade difficulty

I'm slowly getting better at shmups in general. its fun