Difficulty in HL1 and HL2

[nicrd]

I don't know if my copy of HL1 is broken, but I found it really easy on hard . Maybe its because the first time I tried it on hard was after playing (alot of) Halo on legendary .

I really hope HL2 is going to be harder than HL1, or at least have a "harder than hard" difficulty setting :sniper: . Nonetheless, I'll go through the first time on hard.

 

[Roland Deschain]

Yeah, make it like FarCry with a lot of difficultry settings, but

a)make easy easy and realistic realists, not easy hard and realistic frustrating
b)allow for the AI to adopt to your skill throughout the game
c)I don't know why more games don't do that: allow the player to change the difficulty level whenever you want to.

 

[guchi]

c)I don't know why more games don't do that: allow the player to change the difficulty level whenever you want to.

never thought of that one... thats a good idea!

 

[Cerpin]

I think it`s great when you "just make it". The optimal condition (without taking the potential crash/lockup in to account) would be that you only used saving and loading when you didnt want to play anymore.

 

[Edcrab]

In some ways its a pity that the difficulty levels (apparently) only control NPC behaviour and statistics, as well as more subtle things like health supplies and ammunition. It'd be interesting to encounter a game where some areas are entirely different (or entirely absent) depending on the difficulty setting.

Wah... I just had one of my twitchy anticipation moments, just thinking about installing the game, firing it up, and throwing myself into the Hazard Course equivalent by way of a beginning. *shudders*

 

[Cerpin]

In some ways its a pity that the difficulty levels (apparently) only control NPC behaviour and statistics, as well as more subtle things like health supplies and ammunition. It'd be interesting to encounter a game where some areas are entirely different (or entirely absent) depending on the difficulty setting.

Wah... I just had one of my twitchy anticipation moments, just thinking about installing the game, firing it up, and throwing myself into the Hazard Course equivalent by way of a beginning. *shudders*

You should try Perfect Dark. The missions, locales were often totally different depending on the setting. Roughly, easy only gave you access of 50% of the game areas. A good example; In one mission you start off on a hilltop with a sniper rifle, covering a spy chick down on a pier. If you chose hard (or whatever) you actually was the one down on the pier, without a sniper covering you. It`s a lame example, but the whole game was like this, only better. Totally cool.

 

[Llyranor]

Hmm.... After reading from this thread that difficulty levels only affected AI and not actual hp of enemies in HL1, I actually started playing the game again (which would make it my second playthrough) on hard. So far so good. I do in fact seem to be playing through much more easily (almost breezing through it, actually) than in my first playthrough (on normal). I'm at the rail level right now. Of course, this could simply be that I hadn't touched a FPS in years before playing HL1 earlier this year, whereas I've been playing a lot of them recently (though mostly demos and HL1 mods).

Now, I don't know. I'm kind of tempted to play on normal first now. It'll give me a chance to play around with the physics more instead of having to fight for my life all the time, and it'll give me an excuse to play again in hard at some point later on. I don't want to breeze through the game, though, so no easy mode for me. Though... maybe I *could* play on easy first, which'd give me an excuse to play for a third playthrough... Though, actually, if there are more than 3 modes, I'll probably choose the second hardest first.

Hehe, and to think that before my interest in HL2, I had virtually no interest in FPSes at all (aside from the Jedi Knight series, though I only play those for the lightsaber, not the FPS components).

 

[The.Spiral]

I'll play on normal, than on hard... I'm staying away from the easy mode...

 

[iamaelephant]

I cant unerstand this mentality that "playing on easy gives me an excuse to play it again on hard." If you really enjoy the game you shouldnt need an excuse to play it again. And obviously if you didnt enjoy it the first time around there's no reason to go back to it on a harder difficulty.

 

[BigGoose2006]

Did anyone here know that it is possible to unlock two higher level difficulties in HL? You use the console somehow, I don't know the exact command, my brother told me about it, anyway HL was easy, I play it on level 4 difficulty with no sweat, so I am definatly going to play HL2 on hard, and hope that I get creamed and have to go back and start over on easy. That way I will have alot of slack to work up to. But then again if easy is hard, that isn't fair to the less aggresive gamers, and the people who want to mess around with out worrying about dying.... to bad they won't have 5 or 6 difficulty settings, and the top two need to be unlocked by beating the game on the previous difficulty, that would be cool. I just rambeling on...

 

[Sai]

i'm a big fan of twich gaming, i mean i gotta put those cs skills to the test someday, but i'm not a fan of frustration, and i always put games on a norma difficulty, did so on far cry and had an unbelievably fun time, i mean the a.i. is really cool when they're being ordered by a commander and stuff, that just makes it cool/hard.

i kinda hope that enemies go and search for you in half-life2 like in far cry, that way you'll never let your guard down and the game will always have a tense feeling, that's what i want in an fps, far cry certainly had that tense feeling, so did hl1, deus ex, system shock, and others, if hl2 gets that tense feeling down; that's when i know it's a good fps.

i'm playing it on normal

 

[Asuka]

I never felt a difference between hl1 on hard and normal my 10 year old brother beat it on hard in 3 hours 30 mins. 1st time playing (he did watch me play it before tho)

Probably going to play hl2 on hard.