Difficulty in games

[wildweasel]

Don't underestimate the power of colored text, either - Resident Evil does this sort of thing all the time.

The teleporter is out of power. I need a fresh Meson Battery.

[insightguy]

So once the player knows that, how would you guys suggest communicating where they can find this meson battery without being too hand-holdy?

Placing it on a pedestal with flashing lights is a tad and giving a player a lit path to it is too hand-holdy (unless it's a trap) and stuffing it in really obscure places makes the finding process is a chore. Place notes hinting at where it is? Make sure the player passed a sign that says "battery storage" before getting to the teleport? NPC tells you that a mechanic was using one nearby? Show them a map and tell the player "you can probably find one here"?

[Matt]

A big sign saying "MESON BATTERY STORAGE".

In some tedious-looking boring area about 15 minutes before the player is expected to reach the teleporter.

And the door is locked and needs a key. ("key" including the alternative of blowing up the door if you managed to find the explosives that might otherwise be used on enemies)


(I mean, it should be entirely in character for the people who ran the facility to have convenient signs indicating where vital supplies would be...)

[Shadelight]

I really love the idea of the environment giving people clues. Like in Metroid, Zelda, etc.

[wildweasel]

Or if you wanted to do it the System Shock way, leave a note or something near the teleporter:

Look, you guys, you can't just leave the meson batteries in a big PILE near the teleporter. Do you realize what happens when one of those is even SLIGHTLY near the 'porter when it's being used? That's why there should only ever be ONE in the teleporter room, IN THE BATTERY COMPARTMENT. I moved the rest of them back to the store room on deck 2. Your section manager has the key, because I do not trust ANY of you to handle this safely.

[Naniyue]

Many Atari 2600 games had freely changeable difficulty settings. Let's just do that again. Though in a menu of course, not by a console switch.

[Reactor]

Very good answers What I was trying to say, it is not good if the game tells absolutely nothing about what to accomplish in that puzzle, and spoon-feeding the solution is also not a good idea. 2-3 vague hints about what the player should look for is a lot better In certain other situations, a radio message or a carelessly placed paper nearby could whisper a solution.

Where to look for a fresh Meson Battery? Well, unless you desire to create a whole level for it akin to Quake 2, there should be a room entitled "Generator", "Power control" or "Energy flow systems". Some other times, a few arrow and danger signs can also help a lot. Uh, a bit similar to Quake 2 and the Power Cubes at the Supply Station stage.

As for setting the correct destination coordinates, a simple control center area will be more than enough IMHO. A computer terminal which operates as a switch, or perhaps more terminals, in case one is just not enough.

[Zen3001]

I personally prefer powerful weapons with alot of weak enemies to slaughter

[Reactor]

In this case, you should either minimize the available ammo for said weapon or maximize the number of weak enemies to balance things out (hidden areas may provide additional ammo). This way the game will not be too easy, nor too hard.

[insightguy]

Barring that, you can give the weak enemies a tactical advantage against you (high ground, flying, ambush and all other nasty tactics) to compensate for their weakness.

[Zen3001]

of course there should be a way for me to die but I'm a more casual player all I want is get in and kill monsters for a while.

[NeuralStunner]

I personally prefer powerful weapons with alot of weak enemies to slaughter

Same here. To me, a roomful of imps is a more interesting fight than a couple hell knights.

There's actually a neat idea for a Doom mod there... Put together some variations on the basic infantry monsters, then replace all high-tier monsters with (roughly) their equivalent HP in gun fodder. Imagine getting panned in reviews when players can no longer 1v1 meatshields with the SSG and actually have to strategize.

[Zen3001]

Same here. To me, a roomful of imps is a more interesting fight than a couple hell knights.

There's actually a neat idea for a Doom mod there... Put together some variations on the basic infantry monsters, then replace all high-tier monsters with (roughly) their equivalent HP in gun fodder. Imagine getting panned in reviews when players can no longer 1v1 meatshields with the SSG and actually have to strategize.

actually I was working on a map based on this, I allready got a bunch of nice looking weapons from realm667 and added more damage to them. I'll start working on it when I get time.

[Reactor]

It's all about balance I think. If you have only your pistol with little to no ammo, or just bare fists (without Berserker Pack), even Zombiemen can be a real nuisance. Same thing shall happen if you have enough ammo, but no means of refilling your health. E4M1: Hell Beneath is a perfect example, where a single shot from a Shotgun guy shall be problematic having only a few blue vials to heal you back - and a single misguided shot from your Rocket Launcher will make you cry when facing those 4 Barons of Hell.

Special level features or the environment can also provide means to increase difficulty and make weak enemies a lot more dangerous. For instance, levels with difficult jumping puzzles, where 2-3 Shotgun guys or a Heavy Chaingun Dude can happily pelt you until you either die by hits or fall to your doom. Same goes for conveyer belt, or places with strong winds and heavy gusts. Narrow walkways, climbable surfaces and fighting on bridges can also give weak enemies a huge field advantage. MAP24: The Chasm is one of the best examples. You won't need Barons of Hell or Mancubi here to make level completion hard, 4-5 Imps or a handful of Lost Souls can do the same. Using a Revenant or a Mancubus here would be outright sadism.

[Shadelight]

It's all about balance I think. If you have only your pistol with little to no ammo, or just bare fists (without Berserker Pack), even Zombiemen can be a real nuisance. Same thing shall happen if you have enough ammo, but no means of refilling your health. E4M1: Hell Beneath is a perfect example, where a single shot from a Shotgun guy shall be problematic having only a few blue vials to heal you back - and a single misguided shot from your Rocket Launcher will make you cry when facing those 4 Barons of Hell.

Doesn't matter if it's tons of stuff being thrown at you with just a pistol. This is the case in most maps after death exits and it's just an exercise in frustration.