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I thought it was about time we all laid down on the table just how we all feel concerning the difficulty balancing in FPS games past, present and future. Recently I have found many FPS based games to be an open struggle from the very beginning even on the most basic difficulty settings. I want like everyone enjoyment from my games, I want that in spades but I can now name a whole list of games that have made playing through initially fun and involving only to turn into a complete patience stabbing chore mid way through.
I am not sure If would call myself a veteran FPS gamer, I was into the whole Quake and Doom scene very early on and found Quake especially one hell of a rollercoaster ride I just never wanted to end. The first time I completed a level, that was it - I was addicted. And FPS games became my favourite past-time from that moment onwards. My FPS skills back then were in their earliest infant stage and yet I never found myself hitting that load button every 10 seconds just to get around a corner. As FPS games have massively evolved in many areas since then with the coming of games such as the Unreal series, Delta Force, No One Lives Forever, Project IGI, Ghost Recon, Soldier of Fortune, Medal of Honour and Return To Castle Wolfenstein (to name but a few) the eye candy/gameplay factors have obviously improved with graphical elements and some innovative gameplay touches but the learning curve in many to date has become a severe hill climb to really truly master.
Suddenly I found myself playing on normal or even easy difficulty settings on more recent so that:
- My progress was steady and I didnt find myself stuck in one level for 3 days
- So frustration didnt set in too early making me regret buying the game within the first 2-3 hours of play
MOHAA was one of the first games that whilst I completed it, I only did so out of sheer hatred from possibly the middle leading towards the very end of the game. Hidden snipers and spawning enemies made the game the least fun I think I've ever had in an FPS to date and I was tempted more than once to simply uninstall it so that it persecuted me no more. But I dont go out and buy games for 30-35 pounds so that they can overly test my patience, make me curse at the screen in sheer temper, throw things around the room in utter frustration or wish Id never bought it at all. I buy games so that I can escape the frustrations and pressures of life and be purely entertained and most of all have fun doing so. Indeed enemy AI in FPS games is getting better with pretty much every release of FPS based games, but if developers lose sight of getting the balance just right in what makes a game enjoyable and what makes a game a completely frustrating and a none rewarding experience by its end like MOHAA then my love for all things FPS may not last another year.
I was in an SOF II clan last year and pretty much playing the game for a solid 8 months I consider my own skills to be vastly improved as anyone would find playing one particular game almost every single night. After leaving the clan though I headed back into what I thought was friendly territory and started playing UT2003 upon its release. How wrong I was. Online I couldn't last 5 seconds and offline against bots I never lasted much longer than that. Suddenly I found my skills finely honed, but with a game I had all but abandoned and sold not long after. Moving onto new FPS releases I am currently struggling to play my way through Raven Shield, which surprises me a little as I am an avid Ghost Recon fan and would say I`m more than competant but Raven Shield I am now still playing on Recruit and still finding challenging, engrossing and yet mildly frustrating. I have read that others have had to replay certain missions 30-50 times depending on difficulty settings and I sincerely hope I dont end up being one of them.
All in all this makes me seriously question myself concerning buying new FPS releases. Vietcong being realeased this month and the warnings are already there as to if I am going to buy them and get the real gameplay/entertainment/fun value I really play FPS games for. Games shouldn't be an upward struggle with moments that make you curse the very day you placed money on the counter for it especially when you are playing it on the lowest difficulty settings offered. Ultra realism in gaming is something that pretty much defeats what a game purely exists for.
I personally feel that the true balance is slowly slipping away with each new FPS game released and with every clump of hair that is left on the floor as I slide back my chair, switch off the monitor in disgust and anger and swear not to play it or even look at it ever again the list grows and grows. Maybe its just me or maybe my skills are just sorely lacking to really get the most out of my new games. Whatever the case, shooting people with oversized guns on strange planets, warehouse districts and underground labs just isnt as much fun or even as attractive as it used to be and I live in hope for the day that a game grabs me in the same way Quake did that hot lemonade swigging summers day all those years ago.
Thanks for reading,
CZ.
I am not sure If would call myself a veteran FPS gamer, I was into the whole Quake and Doom scene very early on and found Quake especially one hell of a rollercoaster ride I just never wanted to end. The first time I completed a level, that was it - I was addicted. And FPS games became my favourite past-time from that moment onwards. My FPS skills back then were in their earliest infant stage and yet I never found myself hitting that load button every 10 seconds just to get around a corner. As FPS games have massively evolved in many areas since then with the coming of games such as the Unreal series, Delta Force, No One Lives Forever, Project IGI, Ghost Recon, Soldier of Fortune, Medal of Honour and Return To Castle Wolfenstein (to name but a few) the eye candy/gameplay factors have obviously improved with graphical elements and some innovative gameplay touches but the learning curve in many to date has become a severe hill climb to really truly master.
Suddenly I found myself playing on normal or even easy difficulty settings on more recent so that:
- My progress was steady and I didnt find myself stuck in one level for 3 days
- So frustration didnt set in too early making me regret buying the game within the first 2-3 hours of play
MOHAA was one of the first games that whilst I completed it, I only did so out of sheer hatred from possibly the middle leading towards the very end of the game. Hidden snipers and spawning enemies made the game the least fun I think I've ever had in an FPS to date and I was tempted more than once to simply uninstall it so that it persecuted me no more. But I dont go out and buy games for 30-35 pounds so that they can overly test my patience, make me curse at the screen in sheer temper, throw things around the room in utter frustration or wish Id never bought it at all. I buy games so that I can escape the frustrations and pressures of life and be purely entertained and most of all have fun doing so. Indeed enemy AI in FPS games is getting better with pretty much every release of FPS based games, but if developers lose sight of getting the balance just right in what makes a game enjoyable and what makes a game a completely frustrating and a none rewarding experience by its end like MOHAA then my love for all things FPS may not last another year.
I was in an SOF II clan last year and pretty much playing the game for a solid 8 months I consider my own skills to be vastly improved as anyone would find playing one particular game almost every single night. After leaving the clan though I headed back into what I thought was friendly territory and started playing UT2003 upon its release. How wrong I was. Online I couldn't last 5 seconds and offline against bots I never lasted much longer than that. Suddenly I found my skills finely honed, but with a game I had all but abandoned and sold not long after. Moving onto new FPS releases I am currently struggling to play my way through Raven Shield, which surprises me a little as I am an avid Ghost Recon fan and would say I`m more than competant but Raven Shield I am now still playing on Recruit and still finding challenging, engrossing and yet mildly frustrating. I have read that others have had to replay certain missions 30-50 times depending on difficulty settings and I sincerely hope I dont end up being one of them.
All in all this makes me seriously question myself concerning buying new FPS releases. Vietcong being realeased this month and the warnings are already there as to if I am going to buy them and get the real gameplay/entertainment/fun value I really play FPS games for. Games shouldn't be an upward struggle with moments that make you curse the very day you placed money on the counter for it especially when you are playing it on the lowest difficulty settings offered. Ultra realism in gaming is something that pretty much defeats what a game purely exists for.
I personally feel that the true balance is slowly slipping away with each new FPS game released and with every clump of hair that is left on the floor as I slide back my chair, switch off the monitor in disgust and anger and swear not to play it or even look at it ever again the list grows and grows. Maybe its just me or maybe my skills are just sorely lacking to really get the most out of my new games. Whatever the case, shooting people with oversized guns on strange planets, warehouse districts and underground labs just isnt as much fun or even as attractive as it used to be and I live in hope for the day that a game grabs me in the same way Quake did that hot lemonade swigging summers day all those years ago.
Thanks for reading,
CZ.
It truly has been a long time since I have seen a urine soaked post in chat.
Well done. Arrrr.
Well done. Arrrr.
I Have to agree with you there, but with some exceptions. Some games are pushovers, some games are so crap they MAKE you die, and some games are just too unbalanced.
Level designers and programmers have to pull off a very tricky stunt when they determine what the player must go through to emerge victorious, or otherwise.
i remember clearly the grunts and groans of annoyance and desperation, as my dad tried to get past a certain area on medal of honor. on other occasions, i'll find myself completing a game on hardest with no difficulty at all.
its a fine line...
Level designers and programmers have to pull off a very tricky stunt when they determine what the player must go through to emerge victorious, or otherwise.
i remember clearly the grunts and groans of annoyance and desperation, as my dad tried to get past a certain area on medal of honor. on other occasions, i'll find myself completing a game on hardest with no difficulty at all.
its a fine line...
I thought it was about time we all laid down on the table just how we all feel concerning the difficulty balancing in FPS games past, present and future. Recently I have found many FPS based games to be an open struggle from the very beginning even on the most basic difficulty settings. I want like everyone enjoyment from my games, I want that in spades but I can now name a whole list of games that have made playing through initially fun and involving only to turn into a complete patience stabbing chore mid way through.
I am not sure If would call myself a veteran FPS gamer, I was into the whole Quake and Doom scene very early on and found Quake especially one hell of a rollercoaster ride I just never wanted to end. The first time I completed a level, that was it - I was addicted. And FPS games became my favourite past-time from that moment onwards. My FPS skills back then were in their earliest infant stage and yet I never found myself hitting that load button every 10 seconds just to get around a corner. As FPS games have massively evolved in many areas since then with the coming of games such as the Unreal series, Delta Force, No One Lives Forever, Project IGI, Ghost Recon, Soldier of Fortune, Medal of Honour and Return To Castle Wolfenstein (to name but a few) the eye candy/gameplay factors have obviously improved with graphical elements and some innovative gameplay touches but the learning curve in many to date has become a severe hill climb to really truly master.
Suddenly I found myself playing on normal or even easy difficulty settings on more recent so that:
- My progress was steady and I didnt find myself stuck in one level for 3 days
- So frustration didnt set in too early making me regret buying the game within the first 2-3 hours of play
MOHAA was one of the first games that whilst I completed it, I only did so out of sheer hatred from possibly the middle leading towards the very end of the game. Hidden snipers and spawning enemies made the game the least fun I think I've ever had in an FPS to date and I was tempted more than once to simply uninstall it so that it persecuted me no more. But I dont go out and buy games for 30-35 pounds so that they can overly test my patience, make me curse at the screen in sheer temper, throw things around the room in utter frustration or wish Id never bought it at all. I buy games so that I can escape the frustrations and pressures of life and be purely entertained and most of all have fun doing so. Indeed enemy AI in FPS games is getting better with pretty much every release of FPS based games, but if developers lose sight of getting the balance just right in what makes a game enjoyable and what makes a game a completely frustrating and a none rewarding experience by its end like MOHAA then my love for all things FPS may not last another year.
I was in an SOF II clan last year and pretty much playing the game for a solid 8 months I consider my own skills to be vastly improved as anyone would find playing one particular game almost every single night. After leaving the clan though I headed back into what I thought was friendly territory and started playing UT2003 upon its release. How wrong I was. Online I couldn't last 5 seconds and offline against bots I never lasted much longer than that. Suddenly I found my skills finely honed, but with a game I had all but abandoned and sold not long after. Moving onto new FPS releases I am currently struggling to play my way through Raven Shield, which surprises me a little as I am an avid Ghost Recon fan and would say I`m more than competant but Raven Shield I am now still playing on Recruit and still finding challenging, engrossing and yet mildly frustrating. I have read that others have had to replay certain missions 30-50 times depending on difficulty settings and I sincerely hope I dont end up being one of them.
All in all this makes me seriously question myself concerning buying new FPS releases. Vietcong being realeased this month and the warnings are already there as to if I am going to buy them and get the real gameplay/entertainment/fun value I really play FPS games for. Games shouldn't be an upward struggle with moments that make you curse the very day you placed money on the counter for it especially when you are playing it on the lowest difficulty settings offered. Ultra realism in gaming is something that pretty much defeats what a game purely exists for.
I personally feel that the true balance is slowly slipping away with each new FPS game released and with every clump of hair that is left on the floor as I slide back my chair, switch off the monitor in disgust and anger and swear not to play it or even look at it ever again the list grows and grows. Maybe its just me or maybe my skills are just sorely lacking to really get the most out of my new games. Whatever the case, shooting people with oversized guns on strange planets, warehouse districts and underground labs just isnt as much fun or even as attractive as it used to be and I live in hope for the day that a game grabs me in the same way Quake did that hot lemonade swigging summers day all those years ago.
Thanks for reading,
CZ.
I am not sure If would call myself a veteran FPS gamer, I was into the whole Quake and Doom scene very early on and found Quake especially one hell of a rollercoaster ride I just never wanted to end. The first time I completed a level, that was it - I was addicted. And FPS games became my favourite past-time from that moment onwards. My FPS skills back then were in their earliest infant stage and yet I never found myself hitting that load button every 10 seconds just to get around a corner. As FPS games have massively evolved in many areas since then with the coming of games such as the Unreal series, Delta Force, No One Lives Forever, Project IGI, Ghost Recon, Soldier of Fortune, Medal of Honour and Return To Castle Wolfenstein (to name but a few) the eye candy/gameplay factors have obviously improved with graphical elements and some innovative gameplay touches but the learning curve in many to date has become a severe hill climb to really truly master.
Suddenly I found myself playing on normal or even easy difficulty settings on more recent so that:
- My progress was steady and I didnt find myself stuck in one level for 3 days
- So frustration didnt set in too early making me regret buying the game within the first 2-3 hours of play
MOHAA was one of the first games that whilst I completed it, I only did so out of sheer hatred from possibly the middle leading towards the very end of the game. Hidden snipers and spawning enemies made the game the least fun I think I've ever had in an FPS to date and I was tempted more than once to simply uninstall it so that it persecuted me no more. But I dont go out and buy games for 30-35 pounds so that they can overly test my patience, make me curse at the screen in sheer temper, throw things around the room in utter frustration or wish Id never bought it at all. I buy games so that I can escape the frustrations and pressures of life and be purely entertained and most of all have fun doing so. Indeed enemy AI in FPS games is getting better with pretty much every release of FPS based games, but if developers lose sight of getting the balance just right in what makes a game enjoyable and what makes a game a completely frustrating and a none rewarding experience by its end like MOHAA then my love for all things FPS may not last another year.
I was in an SOF II clan last year and pretty much playing the game for a solid 8 months I consider my own skills to be vastly improved as anyone would find playing one particular game almost every single night. After leaving the clan though I headed back into what I thought was friendly territory and started playing UT2003 upon its release. How wrong I was. Online I couldn't last 5 seconds and offline against bots I never lasted much longer than that. Suddenly I found my skills finely honed, but with a game I had all but abandoned and sold not long after. Moving onto new FPS releases I am currently struggling to play my way through Raven Shield, which surprises me a little as I am an avid Ghost Recon fan and would say I`m more than competant but Raven Shield I am now still playing on Recruit and still finding challenging, engrossing and yet mildly frustrating. I have read that others have had to replay certain missions 30-50 times depending on difficulty settings and I sincerely hope I dont end up being one of them.
All in all this makes me seriously question myself concerning buying new FPS releases. Vietcong being realeased this month and the warnings are already there as to if I am going to buy them and get the real gameplay/entertainment/fun value I really play FPS games for. Games shouldn't be an upward struggle with moments that make you curse the very day you placed money on the counter for it especially when you are playing it on the lowest difficulty settings offered. Ultra realism in gaming is something that pretty much defeats what a game purely exists for.
I personally feel that the true balance is slowly slipping away with each new FPS game released and with every clump of hair that is left on the floor as I slide back my chair, switch off the monitor in disgust and anger and swear not to play it or even look at it ever again the list grows and grows. Maybe its just me or maybe my skills are just sorely lacking to really get the most out of my new games. Whatever the case, shooting people with oversized guns on strange planets, warehouse districts and underground labs just isnt as much fun or even as attractive as it used to be and I live in hope for the day that a game grabs me in the same way Quake did that hot lemonade swigging summers day all those years ago.
Thanks for reading,
CZ.