tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post140450855280841370..comments2024-03-19T05:42:08.863-04:00Comments on The CRPG Addict: The Perfect CRPG: DifficultyCRPG Addicthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comBlogger201125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-1127209339217862012019-02-18T05:42:59.536-05:002019-02-18T05:42:59.536-05:00I like games where turning up the difficulty incre...I like games where turning up the difficulty increases the complexity of your goals - e.g. the Thief games, wherein you have more restrictions on how to deal with guards, more loot acquisitions to make etc on higher levels. Thief 3 has enough RPG elements that it might deserve a place on your list.<br /><br />Pillars of Eternity seems to offer different enemies and better tactics at higher difficulties, not just harder hits. Difficulty is changeable but each change only affects hitherto unopened maps. <br /><br />The Gothic and Risen games (I've only played G1-2 and R1) seem to have really carefully constructed worlds in which you can go anywhere from the outset, but you'll get your arse handed to you if you're incautious. Curiously though, there are almost no respawns in the ones I've played. <br /><br />Bravely Default (3DS) has some interesting quality of life additions, basically designed to assist grinding. You can adjust difficulty, encounter rate and combat speed and can program fairly decent auto-battle behaviour. It felt a bit hollow to me because it was too easy to overlevel.<br /><br />Etrian Odyssey (DS and 3DS) is a great SERIES. EO4 is just amazing and it keeps you on your toes the whole way through, even at max levels. A real shame you won't get to play them. Romhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17424138564206888866noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-65401586527320285382015-11-02T01:51:56.351-05:002015-11-02T01:51:56.351-05:00I did that with WWE 2K16 recently using a customiz...I did that with WWE 2K16 recently using a customized wrestler as well.<br /><br />Freaking hilarious to see a paladin getting his nuts kicked by Edge.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-20577612007531075362014-10-03T13:33:39.446-04:002014-10-03T13:33:39.446-04:00My experience was similar to yours.
Companions of...My experience was similar to yours.<br /><br />Companions offer such an enormous combat advantage that I think they should have balanced it by not awarding experience for NPC companion kills. This also would have mitigated how easy it is to reach max level long before the end of the game. That annoyed me more than anything. I maxed with 1/4 of the game and an entire expansion still to go.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-73650160049812698362014-10-03T02:31:14.575-04:002014-10-03T02:31:14.575-04:00Chet, how do you feel about the combat difficulty ...Chet, how do you feel about the combat difficulty in New Vegas?<br /><br />I found the fights either trivial, because my companions calmly executed all aggressors, or absolutely lethal, because the aggressors could kill my companions. <br /><br />I found very few combats occupied a pleasing middle ground when using companionsTristan Gallhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16769219573533545742noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-72283867454325798542014-08-18T14:47:23.038-04:002014-08-18T14:47:23.038-04:00I don't think grinding should be an acceptable...I don't think grinding should be an acceptable substitute for good game balance. I stop playing a lot of games as I get bored with the combat system while grinding. If the combat system will hold your attention for X amount of time, and the game is X long, things are good. If you then add Y extra grinding to it, by the end I just want it to be over. <br /><br />Now, you can help this by adding extra dungeons or goals (Find discoveries [Skies of Arcadia], make new cards [Baton Katos]), for example, but that doesn't help the getting burned out on the game problem. Canageekhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03770924810559440307noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-6335483359854241682014-08-15T19:44:31.587-04:002014-08-15T19:44:31.587-04:00Well, that at least shows that two very different ...Well, that at least shows that two very different kind of players could both have their fun with the game!<br /><br />Grinding is also a skill, even though it's rather challenging your endurance and patience than your mind. It looks like the grind oppurtunities were a bit overdone if you could have more than twice the level (and thus power?) you actually need to finish the game. A level cap of 50 or 60 might have been enough, so at least a bit of strategic challenge remains, no matter how much you grind. <br /><br />I personally like grinding, but I try not to overdo it. Otherwise I feel like I rob myself of any sense of progress during the game. The story alone is rarely enough to motivate me through a game - especially because it loses the point when the villians are laughable weak compared to you.sucinumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198771998880365061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-18895681245128737442014-08-14T21:36:02.531-04:002014-08-14T21:36:02.531-04:00Here's another thing. Citing this JRPG called ...Here's another thing. Citing this JRPG called Final Fantasy 7; a console game that spans over 3 CDs, a feat that was record breaking back then: many players boasted about reaching Level 99 (the greatest amount of levels a character may achieve).<br /><br />Because of the strange length of gameplay on each disc (almost 2/3rd is on Disc 1, 1/4 on Disc 2 and remaining on Disc 3), I reached AND won the game with characters at levels 36-38.<br /><br />Does that mean I'm better? If I am, why are those guys with level 99 characters chortling about how l33t their characters are? It's pretty weird when I'm actively strategizing, planning while performing countermeasures on the fly with limited resources and somehow being considered a lesser when compared to these incessant grinders.Kenny McCormickhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01553499727945099493noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-19411627050235993432014-08-14T09:34:09.879-04:002014-08-14T09:34:09.879-04:00I don't think any crpg should have or even nee...I don't think any crpg should have or even need a difficulty slider, because there's an option right in the genre which allows the player to set difficulty by himself: grinding.<br /><br />In a perfectly balanced RPG, if you just walk though, it's very hard, but still (somehow) doable. But if you manage to find some areas to grind out some experience, you gain more and more option to win fights, which makes the game easier. But this comes at a price: the time of the player. If you don't get how to solve a quest in your current state, you are forced to waste some time killing trash mobs.<br /><br />The placement of grind spots is also important, they shouldn't be too obvious, so finding one is actually a reward. Also they should scale with progress in the game - at the start, you can grind some easy goblins and the opportunity to level very high is only theoretical, while you can lateron grind stronger opponents. Dungeon Master did this very well, with 3 grind spots in the dungeon (screamer room after the worm level, rat room at the end of the rat level and the single black flame you can access from the knight level).<br /><br />Grinding can be either for XP or for ressources (maybe you could solve some quest if you had another 50 healing potions...), so it depends on a good economy the same as on good character development.<br /><br />Levelling monster contradict that and also rob you of the opportunity to slaughter some starter mobs with a endgame character and actually experience your character growth. "Strategies" like staying at certain level (like level 1) just show how awfully balanced a game is and how the devs missed making a coherent story to follow.<br /><br /><br />Another option to balance difficulty are secrets and optional quests. You can leave them out and simply walk up the endboss (more or less), but doing them rewards you in making the further game easier.<br /><br /><br />Permadeath and limited saves are very poor and artificial ways to balance a game. Very few games (mainly roguelikes) manage to make the constant replay of basically the same content interesting. Games without random content can barely pull that off. <br />The difficulty should be in a way that save-scumming doesn't work. Either you do it right and win or you do it wrong, lose and learn something. Losing should be part of the game, but not as harsh penalty, but as a way to learn something, improve your strategy and make it better next time.<br /><br /><br />NPCs and lore can help you making strategies, for example by telling you vulnerabilities and blind spots of certain foes. This way, a game can directly reward a player for taking his time to talk to commoners and experience the game lore.<br /><br /><br />Of course, a crpg needs to allow a lot of different strategies by offering many spells, items and a tactical combat to make all of this work. But only a game which properly challenges a player on his wits and persistance can reward you accordingly.sucinumhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14198771998880365061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11814093584222107602014-01-05T15:43:38.003-05:002014-01-05T15:43:38.003-05:00This wasn't the best-thought argument in my po...This wasn't the best-thought argument in my post. I had in mind games for which I ALREADY knew the difficulty, but obviously, until you play a game for the first time, you don't know how easy or hard it's going to be.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45187637787953876932014-01-04T11:20:18.613-05:002014-01-04T11:20:18.613-05:00I'm not sure I'd agree with the notion of ...I'm not sure I'd agree with the notion of limited saves and locked difficulty. Their primary function seems to be psychological: a safeguard against the player's own, potentially game-deteriorating, tendencies. The downside is that they'd make the game less flexible and frustrating in case the player made the wrong choice in difficulty not apparent right at the start, or the player needed to exit the game then and there and couldn't save. They'd also serve no positive purpose for players who can keep themselves in check.<br /><br />I'm in favor of having tick boxes that can permanently lock some settings upon starting a new game, but otherwise it's just better design to not punish the player for unforeseeable mistakes or real-life occurrences.Mikanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-88838286812669735012013-12-31T09:53:25.057-05:002013-12-31T09:53:25.057-05:00Yes, I meant this way through the uncivilized area...Yes, I meant this way through the uncivilized area. "Pretty far" is quite normal with PoR, where you walk through half of the city, make some fights and go back for training and shopping.<br /><br />"Trouble Surving"? The chances to leave the city alive are much higher than surviving any random encounter once you get outside. (You can rest on your way in the outer area of the library.)Masknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-91996999384990276882013-12-31T02:42:26.025-05:002013-12-31T02:42:26.025-05:00How? I don't feel like fiddling with the codew...How? I don't feel like fiddling with the codewheel again, but to the best of my recollection, there's no exit to the land from the civilized area until you get the boat. If you mean that you can walk from the civilized area through the slums, Kuto's well, and Podol Plaza, and exit there, well yes, that's true, but a low-level party would have trouble surviving the trip, and it's pretty far--well within a reasonable interpretation of "restricts you at the outset."CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-4561256259969163442013-12-30T08:14:02.652-05:002013-12-30T08:14:02.652-05:00"Pool of Radiance restricts you at the outset..."Pool of Radiance restricts you at the outset, but after a few quests, you can explore the entire game world whether you're ready or not."<br /><br />You have to clear Sokol Keep if you want to use a boat for faster travelling, but you can go everywhere by land as soon as you start.Masknoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-980886602354638072013-11-08T16:31:28.943-05:002013-11-08T16:31:28.943-05:00I think you're probably right in your assessme...I think you're probably right in your assessment of why I didn't like DA:O combat. <br /><br />It's nice to see a difficulty slider that does something more than just adjust enemy hit point and damage, Still, I feel like a lot more could be done with the difficult options, such as restricting the frequency of saves, improving enemy AI, or even changing the type of enemy that you face. That way, replays at higher difficulty levels would feel like slightly different games rather than just harder games.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-84499426207996792642013-11-08T07:36:15.170-05:002013-11-08T07:36:15.170-05:00One interesting thing the difficulty setting doe s...One interesting thing the difficulty setting doe sin dragon age, is that it enables/scales friendly fire, in the easiest difficulty, area spells do not damage allies, a bit Harder and allies take half damage, increase the difficulty again and allies take full damage.<br /><br />I know you didn´t liek the combat in DA:O, but I honestly believe that is because you played the X-Box version. Played on a PC using the Active pause system it is an experience much closer to tactical, turn-based combat.<br /><br />I hope you get to play the PC version.CJGeringerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10367654304370593518noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-11889085752846162972013-10-29T08:56:16.453-04:002013-10-29T08:56:16.453-04:00I have to agree with the commenter far above and f...I have to agree with the commenter far above and from more than one year ago...the MMORPGS don't do bad here. Different modes, unadjustable without losing progress, fixed levels in certain areas. MMORPGS and CRPGs could learn some things from each other.<br />Mass Effect 3 gave you an achievement if you played on hard difficulty all the time, and never changed once. It's at least something....<br />I do think that the saving options should reflect the challenges you face. If there is a string of 3 encounters that were meant to be fought in one piece, then there should be no option to save within that encounter. You should be forced to beat the challenge as it was meant to be. Sometimes you can trick probability by saving. However you should still be able to save freely outside of combat, so you don't end up in a battle you can't win (yet).Alexander Sebastian Schulzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15135338616598357444noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-54579136158554358512012-08-24T08:59:03.860-04:002012-08-24T08:59:03.860-04:00I just always assumed it was "Go."I just always assumed it was "Go."CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-36120093689861660622012-08-22T09:25:58.223-04:002012-08-22T09:25:58.223-04:00I give all cudos I have to you fine sir.I give all cudos I have to you fine sir.Giauzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045059974421586849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-75190113935076798552012-08-22T09:19:48.819-04:002012-08-22T09:19:48.819-04:00Though I suppose I am good with 'guy- oz' ...Though I suppose I am good with 'guy- oz' if you prefer.Giauzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045059974421586849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-80650245841102080842012-08-22T09:16:38.317-04:002012-08-22T09:16:38.317-04:00Pop! AWESOME! Glad you're back and still aliv...Pop! AWESOME! Glad you're back and still alive CA!<br /><br />I pronounce my pseudonym '(little)g (big)E and oz like Wizard of Oz. To reitterate: 'g- E- oz.'Giauzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09045059974421586849noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-64744942675171666862012-08-22T08:45:35.598-04:002012-08-22T08:45:35.598-04:00Woohoo!!! The crpgaddict is back! And what do I se...Woohoo!!! The crpgaddict is back! And what do I see? I see 180 comments, well I see some of them are old, but as far as I'm concerned I kinda deserve my 44 cudos!!! It was 180 when I checked to see how many.innategamerhttp://innategamer.tk/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-27114586749969690192012-08-21T23:41:32.625-04:002012-08-21T23:41:32.625-04:00I had utterly forgotten about that! The first CRPG...I had utterly forgotten about that! The first CRPG actually had a difficulty setting.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-45731491400780102742012-08-21T23:40:21.804-04:002012-08-21T23:40:21.804-04:00Clint, it's good to have you with us. Your app...Clint, it's good to have you with us. Your approach to your CRPG sounds like a good one, and I look forward to hearing about its development.<br /><br />I want to do a special posting at some point about how different CRPGs deal with death. Some resurrect you, some just force you to restart, and a few do what you suggest.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-85008529289149548642012-08-21T23:31:22.644-04:002012-08-21T23:31:22.644-04:00I keep hearing good things about M&B. I wish I...I keep hearing good things about M&B. I wish I could jump to it and give it a try.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6162314467762792782.post-39386816018445987702012-08-21T23:30:34.489-04:002012-08-21T23:30:34.489-04:00I think that's a little unfair. I didn't t...I think that's a little unfair. I didn't think it was the greatest game EVER or anything, but I didn't dislike it. It's in the top 30% of my list, I think.CRPG Addicthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01238237377918550322noreply@blogger.com