Question on default 'difficulty'

[George Geczy]

Here's a question that we'll need to decide in ... um... the next ten days or so

What should the default difficulty level for the AI be?

Depending upon the scenario you pick, the Military AI can certainly give a new player a good 'spanking'. As they get better they'll be able to learn to defend against a lot of the 'hit and run' harrassment tactics, but there is the fear that if we whip a new player too badly they'll be turned off the game.

So, do we make the 'default' AI hard, and let the player turn it down if they are a newbie? Or do we make the 'default' easier, and let them turn it up when they get better?

Some people even suggest an AI that scales itself to the player, but this is also disliked by a lot of people as being both a little arbitrary and taking away the player's ability to pick the difficulty level they like to go against.

Thoughts?

-- George

[tkobo]

Id say make the default EASY - with ALOT of options to make it harder so the learning curve is adjustable to the players wants.

[aegisx]

I would say Normal should be easier if it is the default choice. I would guess generally that the average player should not be too frustrated right off the bat.

[red]

I favor having the new player turn down the AI. They should expect it, and basing permanent AI settings on a newbie makes the vast majority of the player's experience more confusing. Let the default setting be suited for the player with average skill and who has learned the UI and concepts.

[Son of Moose]

George:

There is the fear that if we whip a new player too badly they'll be turned off the game.

Yes .... I think that this is a very real fear.

I think that it is important that BG should do EVERYTHING POSSIBLE to try to accommodate players of the more popularist (read basic) RTS games who might be curious about the epic nature of SR2010. This potentially highly lucrative market is known to be extremely fickle .... therefore it is vital to "massage their egos" by making them feel that they can "master" SR2010 fairly easily. [Of course, the lucky beta testers (who have played all their scenarios on HARD) would know otherwise ].

I don't necessarily see this as "dumbing down" this superb game but rather as a way of making it more accessible to the masses .... and this should MOST DEFINITELY be the goal of BG.

[BigStone]

Maybe some sort of a -random- difficulty ?
If you have a scenario with say 4 AI opponents one should be weak and
another one should be very strong...

just a thought...

If not possible then a normal level is ok imho..

Cheers

[dust off]

For me this is a tough one. I think it will be a case of you can't please all of the people all of the time.

So I would suggest a middle path, slightly erring on the easy as I see merit in Son of Moose's reasoning.

As long as there is scope for players being able to turn up or down the difficulty then not too many people should feel excluded.

I also like Bigstone's idea of an option for random AI difficulty to be assigned to regions. If this could be linked to different leaders getting into power tha could simulate differing competance levels.

[Thumper]

Well, I don't even play mainstream RTS's very much. Medieval and Rome: Total War held my interest for quite some time but other than that... Age of Empires in Elementary School. I wholeheartedly agree with Son of Moose, don't want a n00b (read: me) starting the game on a "normal" difficulty and getting their ass handed to them within 10 minutes. Just let the player change the difficulty right off the bat if they want a challenge, don't make them play through the game first.

Also, I'd like to say that after I saw the worthplaying preview on EvilAvatar I've been salivating over this game. I'm planning on getting WoW come May (after exams) but I think I'll have to liberally sprinkle some SR2010 "breaks" into my schedule. The sun... what's that?

[Mewshkin]

As long as its made clear (in tutorials, for those adverse to manuals) for people not only how to adjust the difficulty settings to their liking but also that different maps will offer different challenges, I see no problem making the default 'easy' or 'very easy'.
On the basis that someone seeking a tougher game will naturally look for ways to make it so; whereas someone looking for an easy game will not bother.

[prime_642]

Do even need a default? Why not just have a screen come up before the scenario start and on it, there are three(or four or five) choices. You pick the difficulty setting before every scenario. Unless the menu options are locked down... In which case, I say that the default setting should be a special normal-new player setting. In it, the AI plays at normal level, but all the AI players on the map have a non-aggressive/pacifist personality. This way, the player won't come instantly under attack by all the AIs when he is weak due to a disastrous conflict with another AI player.

[Thumper]

Do even need a default? Why not just have a screen come up before the scenario start and on it, there are three(or four or five) choices.

Exactly! Default? Bah. Do it like the Creative Assembly. Before you start a new scenario (campaign? I don't know what they're called) just select a difficulty.

[India 51A]

Do even need a default? Why not just have a screen come up before the scenario start and on it, there are three(or four or five) choices.

Exactly! Default? Bah. Do it like the Creative Assembly. Before you start a new scenario (campaign? I don't know what they're called) just select a difficulty.

Agreed, I like to select my own choice of difficulty in every game I play (usually the easiest ).

[UglyandHasty]

I also like to select the level of difficulties.

[George Geczy]

Thanks for everyone's feedback on this. Yes, we already offer the choice of difficult right up front, on the scenario/campaign start screen. But I also anticipate that most people will click "Start" without changing it from the default setting - so if we set it to "Normal" by default, their first game may be a bit harder than they might want (or we might turn them off, as was mentioned above).

Given the thoughts above, I think we'll be going with setting it on "Easy" by default, and you can change it with a click right before you start up. I'll also try to save your last setting (so if you pick hard and didn't like it, don't forget to set it back down )

-- George.