Regenerating Health or Health Packs?

[Barnz]

F3 is a bad case. You can carry unlimited health packs (stimpacks). There's no item weight for them. I think there's a regenerating health perk, or something like that in F3 too.

 

[Absinthe]

If you rush head first into a large group of enemies in crysis, you'll end up dead in about a few seconds (on hard or delta).

That still leaves, like, every other FPS on consoles.

 

[flamingdts]

In fallout I think I had around 1000 stimpaks, so it made the game way too easy after while. Other than that, health packs are better. In storymode games, you should have health packs, in multiplayer, you should have regenerating health.

I prefer the other way around.

In multiple player games, where the game gets psychological and very technical, every move you make has a consequence.

For example, CS. In that game, there is no health regeneration nor health pack. You have to plan your move carefully and not rush into enemy territory. If the game had health regeneration, you get to do a quick scout in the area without being penalized.

I guess it does depend on the game. In all health pack system games, you tend to be able to take quick a few hits. In all health regeneration games, you'll die within a few hits. Therefore, in most health regeneration multiplayer games, campers or "I spot you first" players tend to win out, since it takes only a couple of shots to kill you. On the other hand, health pack games tend to require more accuracy in your shots, since you and your opponent can withstand quite a few bullet holes before dying.

 

[VirusType2]

The main problem with health packs is that you spend the game [boringly] searching boring corridors that lead to nothing interesting but dead-ends, seeking pickups everywhere, finding the limits of the map that aren't exactly detailed and would be better missed. It sort of puts me in a cool-down mode where I'm always searching for something, even when I don't need anything. I'd like to take that out of the game. Once you do that, the game seems less linear (you'll never know that the turn you didn't take didn't actually lead anywhere) and less of a boring chore, and focuses on.. playing the game and having fun, instead of searching for an item all the time.

While it's often fun searching every 'nook and cranny' in RPG's, the same can't be said in all action games, like FPShooters. I think Doom 1 & 2 had it right. I can't really remember a better game for this because, you wouldn't have to search every 'nook and cranny' unless you were too injured to go on, then the game turned into sort of a survival quest mode, to backtrack and find the hidden pick-ups, or you wouldn't have the health to continue on. It was tough.

 

[Danimal]

The only time I've had agony with health packs was in Max Payne, which at times I would be constantly quick saving around every corner because I had to do half a level with one health before stumbling onto peelz.

 

[Gargantou]

This is probably my favourite health system. MGS does this to. And the C&C games with some of the units.

I don't recall MGS doing this prior to MGS3..?

 

[Bad^Hat]

I don't really like either. I appreciated what they tried to do in Far Cry 2 with segments of health that regenerated to a point, but needed to be healed once they were completely depleted. The only problem there was you ALWAYS had way too many health shots, so staying healthy was never even a concern.

I always liked the idea of a Fallout-style injury system but for shooters, except the only thing close to that I'm aware of is MGS 3, which is horrible.

 

[Gargantou]

I always liked the idea of a Fallout-style injury system but for shooters, except the only thing close to that I'm aware of is MGS 3, which is horrible.

Played the modern Alone In The Dark?

 

[Sledgehammer]

For multiplayer games with respawn I like not being able to heal at all (like Red Orchestra). Otherwise, I vastly prefer health packs. In Xen in Half-Life on hard I spend too much time sitting in a healing pool.

 

[kupocake]

Health Packs, but only in the Half-Life 2 sense, where what you have are essentially regenerating health packs. Low on health or armor, and you seek out a crate and expect to find a top up: it's a regenerating health mechanic that forces you into the action, instead of making you hide from it. Then the designers identify sections where you're going to take a whomping, and give you health machines to pick up the slack. Perfect.

Regenerating Health works fine most of the time (e.g. Halo, though it does make Legendary playthroughs extremely tedious). It's perfect for Portal, because it's placing emphasis on the puzzles. It's a piece of shit in the later Call of Duty games, where it just forces you to hang around in those pointless quagmired, infinite-spawning 'battle rooms' for even longer.

 

[swan_song1973]

i liked far cry 2's system where you had to take bullets out and stuff. it's a good balance of the two.

 

[pilot7893]

Personally, I like health kits because it makes the game more challenging.
Plus, it's just such a satisfying experience to be at 3 HP and run into a goldmine of health kits right before a really difficult part.

 

[JUL3]

I prefer health packs. That adrenaline rush (kinda) when you sprint out from cover with 9 health to a building, almost ducking your own head so it makes you feel that the MG that is opening up on you is less likely to hit you.

In some game like Halo, err sorry, thing like Halo, where you just run out, spray, jump behind a rock for a few seconds and run back out like Rambo..pfft, what crap is this.

This.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Regenerating health. I like to be able to get cover until I'm safe then pop out and cap some skulls. I'd rather my movement time wasn't devoted to running over specific objects in the game world which have nothing to do with directly interacting with other players or physical space.

 

[VirusType2]

Regenerating health. I like to be able to get cover until I'm safe then pop out and cap some skulls. I'd rather my movement time wasn't devoted to running over specific objects in the game world which have nothing to do with directly interacting with other players or physical space.

And another improvement would be to award power ups and unlock other things by being a good player.

Like if you get on a streak where you have perfect accuracy, or go for a long time without getting hit, you could get powered up, whether temporarily or permanently. It could also be used to unlock features.

Consider Gears of War, with its regenerating health, but imagine if instead of picking up dog-tags, you got bonuses by simply playing well.

I'm only referring to GoW because of you mentioned cover, but really, this could work for any game.

 

[Danimal]

Neither. What's the matter, you pussies? Can't play a game without getting hit?

 

[Tagaziel]

Health packs. Apart from demanding, y'know, actual skill from the player and ability to exercise a degree of tactical thinking, it feels more natural than magically closing wounds and spitting all those enemy bullets of out your mouth, Terminator style.

They're best when coupled with a portable medical kit, like in DN3D.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

Yeah bro, health packs are realistic.

 

[Tagaziel]

Certainly more believeable than magically regenerating health in a 20th century Marine.

 

[BabyHeadCrab]

The way I prefer to enjoy video games is better than the way you prefer to enjoy video games.

 

[Danimal]

A T-Rex could also stomp the crap out of a cat.

 

[flamingdts]

A T-Rex could also stomp the crap out of a cat.

Not if the Cat can exit combat mode and regenerate health.