Gaming wimps

[Bakhtosh]

A comment made in my Jedi Knight 2 thread has me wondering, what difficulty level do you usually play games?

FPS: Easy (maybe the second level up if there's 5)

Strategy: Easy for a couple of games until I get the hang of the interface, units, and specials, then I work my way up to the medium or hard level. I stay away from the insane, 'only the masochists would want to play this' levels. The one exception was X-com, which was actually easier on Superhuman.

Driving/Flight/Space Sims: Easiest-Easy

RPG: Easy-Medium

Sports: Don't play

Action/Adventure: Easy-Medium

Yes, I am a gaming wimp, and I'm proud to admit it. I play games for the enjoyment of the story, even if it's a story I have to make up between turns, like in a TBS. For most types of games, I'm not interested in facing the cheats that are given to the PC on the hardest difficulty levels.

[Smoove_B]

I play all games on the normal setting.

That being said, I have no problems using walkthroughs or cheat codes when the game design stinks.

For example, the end of Vampire was retarded-hard. If it wasn't for the cheat codes, I would have uninstalled the game and never seen the end.

Same with DOOM 3. About half way through I realized the game was pretty beat. But with the cheat codes, I was able to get to the end and actually see some new level design -- namely the caves and tunnels.

Morrwind -- one of the best games ever made. If you could beat that game without some type of guide, you have earned my respect. Me? I used the published strategy guide.

[martindemon]

I don't see using maps in Morrowind as cheating. Every town who have mage scrolls must have maps somewhere! That's just realistic. What is not is the detailed description of what is in those grottos But that did not pose a problem with me. I did not have 500 hours to make a tour of the island.

[Smoove_B]

I I did not have 500 hours to make a tour of the island.

With the guidebook and me playing at least an hour a day (usually 2-3) it still took me 3 months to beat the game.

Without a strategy guide? Good lord. I'd probaby still be wandering the countryside.

[LawBeefaroni]

I usually crank all games up one notch from "medium." The exceptions are RTS and certain RPGs, simply because they are usually designed for the default. And sports games, which inevitably end up on the hardest level as you get better.

[Vinda-Lou]

I would say that for most strategy games I play on easy or medium as I pretty much stink at these games. I mass a bunch of units and blindly throw them at the enemy as I cannot micro-manage in real time.

With FPS, especially war themed games, I crank it up to high. For example, in CoD I set it to either the highest or second highest to really make it realistic. If it's easier, then I usually rambo through the game - so I like to hunker down and have drawn out gun fights where daring a peek around the corner is dangerous. (I wish somehow that the shooting around a corner without looking ala kill.switch could be incorporated into fps)

RPGs are usually set to normal or easy. I play these games for exploration and sight seeing and enjoying the world it takes place in. So if I have to fight a battle for the 12th time (hello BGII) it gets too frustrating. I like to just enjoy the story. System Shock (the first one) had a great set up where you could change the difficulties independently of other aspects of the game. You could make combat hard, puzzles easy, and the story line complicated and timed, or not.

As long as the save system is good, then the difficulty is less of an issue. When the save system sucks then there is only frustration in higher difficulty levels.

[Kelric]

Medium/normal unless it's a game style I've come to be really good at such as the Total War series. Those get played on Hard now. A few RTSes which I keep coming back to are played on Hard now as well.

[The Preacher]

FPS I'm usually on the Hard setting. Most of the time, Medium is a bit too easy.

RTS is normal.

Other Strategy I start slightly simplified a bit but not too much.

I haven't played a flight sim in forever but usually medium, with a couple of factors on easier to begin with.

Sports is a Medium setting. Sports games scale horrible between difficulty levels imo.

[Fretmute]

FPS: Hard. I actually enjoy getting killed, and would rather load a room 12 times than waltz through it on the first try.

RTS: The hardest difficulty that doesn't get outrageous resource bonuses. This is generally 1 level under the max from my experience. On the other hand, I also turn the speed all the way down, so that's pretty wimpy.

Strategy: I generally start easy and try and work my way up. With much practice, I might make it to hard.

Sports: Easiest setting. When I'm playing a sports game, my only interest is accumulating outrageous stat totals, like 98 assists or 759 yards rushing.

RPG: I can't recall the last time I played a non-MMO RPG.

Flight Sim: If I were the last man on Earth and was presented with a situation in which I had to fly my way to safety, there would soon be no men left on Earth. So I go Wimp here. I also turn off annoying things like "engine wear" and "gravity" when possible.

[Freezer-TPF-]

I typically play on Normal difficulty. I want some challenge, but with limited gaming time I don't want to replay many battles over and over.

For something that has long, sometimes frustrating missions with no in-mission save, I will consider playing on easy. The only games I can recall playing on easy though are Freespace and NOLF (the latter due to the game's barely passable performance on my old P2-333 rig).

[Ripstar]

I play all games on normal or medium.

If its a great game and I get through it I will go back and play through again at a higher difficulty setting.

If the game is too hard I will drop down to easiest. I like to play the game through and see it all. Why not I paid for it.

I don't usually use cheats, but will if the game has some ridiculous puzzle that only makes sense to the programmer.

If the game is a really good and will likely stay on my hard drive for some time due to its length or attraction, I like to read background material that further enhances the gaming world. Makes for a more immersive experience.

[AttAdude]

I play all games on normal or med settings. Exceptions being all FPS games those i start on hard and 99% of the time finish on that setting. R:TW gets hard/hard settings with realistic battles.

I am also moraly opposed to cheats, and or Faqs.

[Giles Habibula]

El Wimpo here. first time through on easy. If the game is good enough for a second run through, I'll put it up to medium.

[Hrnac]

I pretty much run all my games on whatever is the medium setting.

-Hrnac

[Blackhawk]

I don't see using maps in Morrowind as cheating. Every town who have mage scrolls must have maps somewhere! That's just realistic. What is not is the detailed description of what is in those grottos But that did not pose a problem with me. I did not have 500 hours to make a tour of the island.

The directions in the game are awful. One fellow tells you too look for bandits to the southwest. They are about thirty seconds away. Another quest tells you to look for bandits north of a certain city - they are literally halfway across the island. Without the various maps, you could literally spend hours looking for a single, hidden door.

Back on topic, I play most games on normal as a default. If a game has a reputation for being difficult, I bump it down to easy - I figure if 'normal' is hard, then 'easy' must be normal. If there is a certain type of game I'm not very good at, I bump it down, too.

JetFred made a post a long time ago on GG about games and difficulty. It got me to thinking - I have fun exploring, handling tactical situations, seeing the sites, hearing the story, collecting goodies, and so on in games. I don't have fun being wound up with tension because every room, every level is mind-numbingly difficult. I don't enjoy having to walk down the same hallway five times in a row to lose the same fight over and over.

Difficulty, repetition, frustration - these aren't the things I want from a hobby! If a game is so hard that I'm not having fun with it, I bump it down. I don't feel like I've failed some divine gamer test by not playing it at the hardest setting. I have no desire to prove myself 733t. I just want to have fun.

[geezer]

I play FPS on default/normal almost always, and I rarely (if ever) go back and play the "super hard" or whatever difficulty gets unlocked when you finish. It's rare enough that I finish a game, so I'm certainly not gonna turn around and do it AGAIN

Flight and driving sims - full real, all the time.

Strategy - normal unless that kicks my ass, then I'll knock it down a level once in awhile.

RPG - I hate trolls, wizards, elves and Hobbits.

[YellowKing]

I'm really inconsistent.

First off, I'm morally opposed to playing most games on Easy difficulty. Even if a game gets so frustrating that I don't finish it. I know, that's a really stupid way to do things, but that's just my nature. I will literally toss a $50 game aside halfway through rather than resort to bumping the difficulty down. That stubbornness has wasted me more money than I care to think about.

Ironically, I have no hesitation about playing a RTS on easy. Yes, I'm a wimp when it comes to strategy games. The computer scares me. By default, I start every RTS on easy, and only bump it up to normal after I get really, really, really good.

I am vehemently opposed to cheat codes. I've only used one PC cheat code in my life, and that was to beat the original Half-Life. To this day, the fact that I had to cheat to beat that game bugs me. I feel like it has left a permanent stain on my gaming reputation.

Walkthroughs are a mixed bag. On adventure games I'll typically use a walkthrough as an utter last resort. If the reason I was stuck was due to a stupid pixel hunt or completely illogical, I'll move on with satisfaction. If the puzzle was something easy and obvious I was just too stupid to figure out, I'll usually end up quitting the game out of disgust, since using the walkthrough for such an easy puzzle pretty much ruined any satisfaction I would get from beating it.

To continue the weirdness of my philosophy, I have absolutely no qualms whatsoever with looking up stuff for MMORPGs. Most of the time I don't even try to figure quests out for myself - I just go straight to the internet, look up who I need to talk to and what I need to kill, and go do it. In MMORPGs, I get my fun from the character advancement and the doing of things - running around trying to figure stuff out is a waste of time that could be spent gaining more XP.

[bluefugue]

I usually go with "normal" right down the line. On RTS skirmishes against AI I will gradually increase difficulty as I get better. Same with botmatch shooters, though I don't think I ever got beyond "adept" level bots in the UT series.

[Tareeq]

To this day, the fact that I had to cheat to beat that game bugs me. I feel like it has left a permanent stain on my gaming reputation.

Your reputation was unblemished until you volunteered that information.

Cheater.

[Azhure]

I will usually give a completely new game a try first at normal, then will increase the difficulty if I find it isn't challenging enough and don't have any qualms about lowering the difficulty either if I just can't get it.

I generally play strategy games and usually end up playing them at the hardest levels but having fun is more important than what difficulty level it is.

[Jeff V]

I usually prefer playing at whatever level doesn't cheat. I don't care much for being handicapped either, unless the game is terribly imbalanced in my favor.

[Thunderspark]

I usually play through at least once on normal. Then if it was too easy or too hard, I'll adjust accordingly. I always tell myself that I'll play on different difficulties if there are 'extras' on a harder mode(like Heart of Fury mode in IWD), but I never actually do.

[hitbyambulance]

for shooters, i usually play on the hardest level, as it doesn't really feel like i've 'beaten' it if i don't. i also have to play sims on full realism as well.

[dbt1949]

Except for wargames I always go at whatever the "beanie" level is.If I'm lucky I can work my way up to easy after 20-30 games.

[JayG]

Always the default setting. I'm not really one for walkthroughs, and it probably explains why I gave up playing adventure games. They used to be fun, and it was possible to complete one even if it did take a while. Games like Sam and Max, Monkey Island, the Gabriel Knight games, all of them were fun and the puzzles might stump me for a day or so, but I would always figure them out. Nowadays the genre is full of stupidly obscure puzzles, insane ways of using objects, having to speak to the same individual 20 times for one obscure nugget of information and no clues as where to go next. I don't enjoy them no more, especially with the consolation of the genre where crate puzzles are seen as the next big thing (yes Broken Sword 3, I'm looking at you). I was really looking forward to the new Sam and Max, as I thought it might show everyone else how it should be done, but it wasn't to be.

The only other game I had problems with was Age of Wonders 2, but when you figured out the various tricks it became a lot easier. I would love a AoW on the DS. Would make my trips away a lot nicer.

Football games and sports games in general, I always start at beginner, and work my way up to the highest level. I liked the Speedball 2 approach, where instead of difficulty levels you had different leagues, and had to upgrade your team to prepare for the champions league.

RPGs seem to be a lot easier then they used to be. But it could be the lack of puzzles or boss monsters in recent games that makes me feel this way. I sometimes think that KOTOR could be completed without me actually doing any playing.

[Two Sheds]

I'm usually a "hard" guy, myself, especially in FPSs. If there's a "realistic" setting that means one-shot kills and all that jazz, I'm there. For strategy games I start out on medium/normal and work my way up. I started at "normal/normal" the first time I played a Rome campaign, and now I only start campaigns on "very hard/very hard."

[Jaymann]

Most games on Normal, though I will sometimes start a game on easy just to get a feel for it , then start over on a more appropriate setting. The best games allow in-game difficulty settings to avoid frustration.

[Cyjon]

Another gaming wimp here. I always start out on super easy and, if I play again, bump up the level.

For shooters, I just hate playing the same room over and over. I've found my limit is 3; if I have to load the same save more than 3 times, it's time to look for cheats, walkthroughs, or just quit. If it's good, I'll go back and play through again on a higher level.

To be fair, I remember playing the demo for Outlaws and thinking "yawn, it's Doom with six-shooters". I went out on usenet and saw a bunch of people saying the same thing, and the consistant response was "Play it on the hardest level. Trust me." Wow, they were right. It was a totally different game, and Outlaws was the only game I ever got that I played on the highest level from the start. If hard means "realistic", I love it; if hard means "millions of unkillable monsters" I'm bored.

I've also had it pointed out to me that in strategy games, the problem with playing easy and cranking up the level in future games is that you learn bad habits that keep you from doing well at harder difficulties. I think that's probably true, but I still do it. I remember playing the original Civilization and never being able to get past the second difficulty level. I saw advice that the way to win was to "emulate the Mongols" -- in other words, be militaristic, aggressive, and expansionist. I did that, and easily won on the highest difficulty level...and was bored out of my mind. It just wasn't the way I wanted to play. So I find that with all 4X games, I play one notch below the medium difficulty level, but I still have fun.[/i]

[Kraken]

I take the default. After I learn a strategy game, I nudge it up until winning gets difficult. GalCiv's approach of letting you customize each race's AI was pretty ideal.

(edit) I only go to Easy if I'm trying to race to the end of a game. When I worked in the industry I would sometimes rush through games just to evaluate them.

[shaggydoug]

FPS: Default setting

Strategy: Easy for the first level then I replay at default settings.

Driving: Default

Flight/Space Sims: Medium

RPG: Haven't played one yet (see other thread)

Sports: Rookie then up it as I get better. I've played NHL games at All-Star level. However, I find that most other good human players can beat me pretty easily.

Action/Adventure: Medium

[Gwen]

I'm such a wimp. I still play warlord level in CivIII.

I'm playing normal in Thief: Deadly Shadows and having no problems.

Morrowing: the strategy guide was my bible.

[Beer Goggles]

Usually the medium setting except for the Thief games and fan missions, which I always play on expert. If I like I game, I will replay it on the hardest setting.

[yossar]

I almost always play everything on normal. And even if the game is way too hard (rare) or way too easy (common) I have serious reservations about changing difficulty. I feel like if I bump up the difficulty, the game will eventually start getting more difficult and I'll be screwed (even though I could bump the difficulty back down later).

I'm playing KOTOR right now, and 99% of the game is ridiculously easy on normal. However, at the very end they throw endless waves of baddies at you and I'm finding it ridiculously difficult. But will I bump the difficulty down (can you even do that midgame?)? No way.

[Lynn]

I'm bad for not finishing games and tend to not return to them once I stop playing, or have bought something else.

RPG (the genre I play the most): Easy level. I play these for the exploration (I'm a pixel hunter) and for goody gathering. I just have to have the best armor and weapons and hate to think I'd left something behind. I have no issues with consulting strategy guides but will not cheat.

Shooters: Depends on how hard they are, but I start on the Medium setting and bump it down if its too hard. Its rare that I will move up the difficulty.

Sports/Sims (Flying, Driving): Don't play these types.

Simulations (city builders, for example): Whatever the default setting is.

Like someone mentioned above, I play games to have fun -- frustration and aggravation is not fun.

[Enough]

You gaming wimps had better watch out, soon you'll be breaking the law by using cheats!

blueZhift writes "This Reuters report on CNet states that Tecmo has filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act accusing the site owners and perhaps some users of game hacking site www.ninjahacker.net (now offline) of knowingly infringing on their game software. This should be another interesting test of the DMCA and just how far it can be pushed to restrict what end users can do with/to their software purchases. This might ultimately affect the legality of cheat devices like the Game Shark and even the mere sharing of cheats or exploits."

Go DMCA, send the cheaters to jail!

/freak out

Whoops, I use cheats sometimes to finish a game I wouldn't otherwise. Forget that call for jailing cheaters. Umm, yeah...

[Jaymann]

You gaming wimps had better watch out, soon you'll be breaking the law by using cheats!

blueZhift writes "This Reuters report on CNet states that Tecmo has filed a federal lawsuit in Chicago under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act accusing the site owners and perhaps some users of game hacking site www.ninjahacker.net (now offline) of knowingly infringing on their game software. This should be another interesting test of the DMCA and just how far it can be pushed to restrict what end users can do with/to their software purchases. This might ultimately affect the legality of cheat devices like the Game Shark and even the mere sharing of cheats or exploits."

Go DMCA, send the cheaters to jail!

/freak out

Whoops, I use cheats sometimes to finish a game I wouldn't otherwise. Forget that call for jailing cheaters. Umm, yeah...

Uh, couldn't the developers just delete the cheats when a game is finished if they didn't want people using them?

[Ronin]

For pretty much any game, I start out on the default setting and then adjust as necessary.

The only real exception is flight sims, where I turn on everything with ultra realistic flight dynamics.

Why? Well, nowadays it just doesn't seem right not to.

[Eduardo X]

For pretty much any game, I start out on the default setting and then adjust as necessary.

The only real exception is flight sims, where I turn on everything with ultra realistic flight dynamics.

Why? Well, nowadays it just doesn't seem right not to.

Bragart.

[DireAussie]

With FPS and RPG's generally somewhere between medium and the hardest levels.

For turn based strategy games I start off on normal but then for subsequent games I put it up depending on how much the AI cheats at higher levels and other factors. For example, on diety level in civ 2 the enemy civs hate you from the start and there is no way to avoid sneak attacks and war with everyone. I think that's retarded because diplomacy is half the fun.

[Met K.]

I generally play all of my games on normal the first time through, then hard or hardest the second time through... its kind of a pussy thing to do, getting to know the game ahead of time before you whoop some ass, but I think it better helps you to adjust to the learning curve, especially with games like Halo and Wolfenstein, where the difference between normal and hard is astounding.