[Exanima] This game has a weird tryhard difficulty philosophy that's probably keeping it down.

[JohnSmith24601]

No offense to the devs, but I've just read some of their posts in the past and thought of the following points.

One dev actually said that the checkpoint save mechanic is already a "gross violation" of their "choices have consequences" philosophy. What, does he expect people to beat this game in one go with no save? That's hours and hours of exploration, fighting and puzzle solving...and players are expected to make no mistakes in all that time? No critical hit to the head, no falling down accidentally, no tripping, etc...Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know...

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options. It's kind of easy to keep yourself alive if you are like me (who spent about 8 hours grinding in the arena), but anyone who's brought Derrin along can tell you that he does not stay alive easily. For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic because "choices have consequences". What about bandages? What about eating a full meal and then laying down and sleeping it off? There, healing without divine/magic intervention.

I know this post is probably going to trigger a LOT of people, but honestly this is what's keeping the game down from my perspective. There's actual hardcore design philosophy, and then there's arbitrary difficulty that's both unrealistic and unreasonable...I think the worse part is that these options could've been toggleable. That way the hardcore players can play it the "hardcore" way and the rest of us (who actually have a job/school to go to) can play it the normal RPG way, and everybody would be happy. But no, somehow that's violating the dev's vision for the game...Most of the time, I'm actually on the git gud side of hardcore games, but this game is too much even for me. (Not the difficulty that's too much, it's how arbitrary the difficulty is)

 

[Harthwain]

One dev actually said that the checkpoint save mechanic is already a "gross violation" of their "choices have consequences" philosophy. What, does he expect people to beat this game in one go with no save? That's hours and hours of exploration, fighting and puzzle solving...and players are expected to make no mistakes in all that time? No critical hit to the head, no falling down accidentally, no tripping, etc...Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know..

It sounds to me like there will be some choices later down the line (or did they mean it in the context of Sui Generis?), so having saves means you can simply suicide yourself and go back to an earlier save state to make a different choice that way. Having no saves makes the game more akin to a roguelike, where you have to stick to everything. But since developers did recognize that losing ALL progress is too punishing - and added the option to toggle it on or off - I don't see why you're complaining about it?

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options.

The game isn't THAT punishing. A single mistake alone won't get you killed, especially when you're wearing enough armor to not suffer permanent injuries. Early on you don't have to look for fights, if you aren't good at it or don't have good enough gear to compensate. The bigger problem is that new players don't know this, so they will launch themselves against anyone, wielding nothing more than a plank ripped off a chair and a shirt on their back. And they don't know how to fight, on top of that.

 

[Yaar Podshipnik]

Already have a thread, https://rpgcodex.net/forums/threads/sui-generis-exanima-early-access.77528/page-28#post-6832891, this was discussed as well. This is not a dungeon crawler game - it's a survival game, in which you need to crawl through a dungeon to survive. Treat it like that, and you'll have no problems.

 

[Thac0]

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options. It's kind of easy to keep yourself alive if you are like me (who spent about 8 hours grinding in the arena), but anyone who's brought Derrin along can tell you that he does not stay alive easily. For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic because "choices have consequences". What about bandages? What about eating a full meal and then laying down and sleeping it off? There, healing without divine/magic intervention.

Are you genuinly retarded? Healing bandages dont magically make wounds disappear irl, they stop you from bleeding out. Take a knife and slash your arm open, and then look how long that takes to heal with modern doctors and technology. Now imagine you had the same done to you in the middle ages, in a damp dungeon with only death around you. There is no healing without divine/magical intervention on any wound that goes beyond a surface wound. Realism is that wounds only heal by magic.

Thats the good thing about DSA as a ruleset, recovering from a rough fight can take you literally weeks if you dont have an abnormally high regeneration rate as a perk, a skilled doctor (who only halves the time it takes) or a magician at your side.

 

[AdolfSatan]

Oh Johnny boy, just wait until you give KOTC2 a try, Exanima's gonna feel like a walk around the park.

 

[agentorange]

"Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know..."

Then don't play the game. I see this reasoning given all the time for why a game should have an easy mode, save anywhere features, etc. and it never ceases to be retarded.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

One dev actually said that the checkpoint save mechanic is already a "gross violation" of their "choices have consequences" philosophy. What, does he expect people to beat this game in one go with no save? That's hours and hours of exploration, fighting and puzzle solving...and players are expected to make no mistakes in all that time? No critical hit to the head, no falling down accidentally, no tripping, etc...Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know..

It sounds to me like there will be some choices later down the line (or did they mean it in the context of Sui Generis?), so having saves means you can simply suicide yourself and go back to an earlier save state to make a different choice that way. Having no saves makes the game more akin to a roguelike, where you have to stick to everything. But since developers did recognize that losing ALL progress is too punishing - and added the option to toggle it on or off - I don't see why you're complaining about it?

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options.

The game isn't THAT punishing. A single mistake alone won't get you killed, especially when you're wearing enough armor to not suffer permanent injuries. Early on you don't have to look for fights, if you aren't good at it or don't have good enough gear to compensate. The bigger problem is that new players don't know this, so they will launch themselves against anyone, wielding nothing more than a plank ripped off a chair and a shirt on their back. And they don't know how to fight, on top of that.

Like I said, I am quite proficient at fighting. I only got hit once on level one, but by the time I got to level two, Derrin is at 20% health because for some reason he doesn’t know how to block. I am forced to always leave him behind, which is very weird because it seems the game sets him up to be your buddy. Some of his dialogues actually seems to help explain the lore greatly.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

"Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know..."

Then don't play the game. I see this reasoning given all the time for why a game should have an easy mode, save anywhere features, etc. and it never ceases to be retarded.

I am very retarded in general, but asking for a game to be more accessible is perfectly reasonable. There’s a reason that the save mechanic was invented. Nowadays these indie devs have this tryhard attitude that their games are automatically “hardcore” if they go total luddite on gaming conventions. Some game are actually well done in this aspect, like FTL, but this game just feels so...arbitrary.

The worst thing I think is it appeals to some retards’ ego. “Oh I beat this arbitrarily hard game by practicing 8 hours a day for 2 weeks straight. All you’ll who complain about the difficulty are filthy casuals. Wish the game is even more difficult!”

 

[JohnSmith24601]

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options. It's kind of easy to keep yourself alive if you are like me (who spent about 8 hours grinding in the arena), but anyone who's brought Derrin along can tell you that he does not stay alive easily. For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic because "choices have consequences". What about bandages? What about eating a full meal and then laying down and sleeping it off? There, healing without divine/magic intervention.

Are you genuinly retarded? Healing bandages dont magically make wounds disappear irl, they stop you from bleeding out. Take a knife and slash your arm open, and then look how long that takes to heal with modern doctors and technology. Now imagine you had the same done to you in the middle ages, in a damp dungeon with only death around you. There is no healing without divine/magical intervention on any wound that goes beyond a surface wound. Realism is that wounds only heal by magic.

Thats the good thing about DSA as a ruleset, recovering from a rough fight can take you literally weeks if you dont have an abnormally high regeneration rate as a perk, a skilled doctor (who only halves the time it takes) or a magician at your side.

Don’t give me that fucking “oh, it’s not realistic!” speech when you can ALREADY regenerate health in game. In fact, you can regenerate the yellow health quite rapidly. So what is it? You get a little knife cut and you can’t regenerate, but then you can just bounce back up to full health in minutes when you suffer massive blunt force trauma? Wtf

 

[Maxwell's Demon]

"Accessibility" is why we have walking simulators. Actual accessibility involves features like a colorblind mode and rebindable controls. If you don't want to play a game, go watch TV.

 

[Thac0]

Don’t give me that fucking “oh, it’s not realistic!” speech when you can ALREADY regenerate health in game. In fact, you can regenerate the yellow health quite rapidly. So what is it? You get a little knife cut and you can’t regenerate, but then you can just bounce back up to full health in minutes when you suffer massive blunt force trauma? Wtf

You were the one making the realism argument in the first place you massive faggot. Ohhh nooo this game is too hard for me, only magical healing is not realistic.

I am very retarded in general, but asking for a game to be more accessible is perfectly reasonable. There’s a reason that the save mechanic was invented. Nowadays these indie devs have this tryhard attitude that their games are automatically “hardcore” if they go total luddite on gaming conventions. Some game are actually well done in this aspect, like FTL, but this game just feels so...arbitrary.

No its not. You need to know your audience, a game that sells on its unforgiven hardcore experience trying to become more accessible is just a Blackguards 1 to Blackguards 2 speedrun. From over 2000 Steamreviews to barely above 500 and the series is dead because they catered to butthurt casuals.

The worst thing I think is it appeals to some retards’ ego. “Oh I beat this arbitrarily hard game by practicing 8 hours a day

like me (who spent about 8 hours grinding in the arena)

top kek


Leave this site if you want easier games, accessability is a massive driving factor in the casualisation of rpgs.

 

[overly excitable young man]

Leave this site if you want easier games, accessability is a massive driving factor in the casualisation of rpgs.

LOL Actually all this site stands for are piss easy storyfag games.

 

[Harthwain]

LOL Actually all this site stands for are piss easy storyfag games.

O'rly? I thought it was mainly about murderhobo games.

 

[Thac0]

I can appreciate a tough as nails combat only game like Dungeon Rats or even KOTC 1 (although I still think that is overrated here due to 3 classes). I can appreciate a storyfag game where the combat is close to impossible to lose like FFIX or Planescape Torment.
But I dont buy one and then cry that it is not the other.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

Don't even compare Age of Decadence and Dungeon Rats with this game. They are not even on the same level.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

Don’t give me that fucking “oh, it’s not realistic!” speech when you can ALREADY regenerate health in game. In fact, you can regenerate the yellow health quite rapidly. So what is it? You get a little knife cut and you can’t regenerate, but then you can just bounce back up to full health in minutes when you suffer massive blunt force trauma? Wtf

You were the one making the realism argument in the first place you massive faggot. Ohhh nooo this game is too hard for me, only magical healing is not realistic.

In case you are five and can't tell, I was mocking the game's constant boasting of "realism". I'm not the one making "the realism argument" in the first place. Your comment here is as retarded as it can get.

 

[Kalin]

git gud

or get out of da kitchen

too hot for ya

 

[Thac0]

In case you are five and can't tell, I was mocking the game's constant boasting of "realism". I'm not the one making "the realism argument" in the first place. Your comment here is as retarded as it can get.

For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic

Not just a faggot but a lying little faggot aswell. You complained that the realism argument is no reason to restrict the healing to magical healing while in fact it is a fucking good argument for it. Now get the fuck off this site or play some easier games, crybaby.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

Leave this site if you want easier games, accessability is a massive driving factor in the casualisation of rpgs.

LOL Actually all this site stands for are piss easy storyfag games.

Yeah I remember this ThacO guy now. He seems to constantly post retarded tryhard comments on every thread I posted. Still holding a grudge or something? In any case, I thought this comment was so detached too. If anything, the favorite games on the RPG codex forums are mostly super easy games that focus more on the story/narrative.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

In case you are five and can't tell, I was mocking the game's constant boasting of "realism". I'm not the one making "the realism argument" in the first place. Your comment here is as retarded as it can get.

For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic

Not just a faggot but a lying little faggot aswell. You complained that the realism argument is no reason to restrict the healing to magical healing while in fact it is a fucking good argument for it. Now get the fuck off this site or play some easier games, crybaby.

Yeah that's why I put quotation marks on realism and physics. That's called mocking, you illiterate moron. You're just a pathetic tryhard loner who has no life and think people somehow care if you beat this game or not. It's just so fucking dumb to fangirl over "realism" and in the same breath justify magic healing.

 

[AW8]

Something that annoyed me in the campaign is how you need to wield a torch to see in the dark areas, but the zombies seem to be able to fight just as well in complete darkness.

At least for the first level, it felt necessary to use a torch and a one-handed weapon, or to run to the nearest light source when using a two-handed weapon.

 

[Ninjerk]

Skyrim sounds like it's more your speed

 

[TheImplodingVoice]

No offense to the devs, but I've just read some of their posts in the past and thought of the following points.

One dev actually said that the checkpoint save mechanic is already a "gross violation" of their "choices have consequences" philosophy. What, does he expect people to beat this game in one go with no save? That's hours and hours of exploration, fighting and puzzle solving...and players are expected to make no mistakes in all that time? No critical hit to the head, no falling down accidentally, no tripping, etc...Not all of us have time or patience to spend probably dozens of hours to hone our skills in one little game, you know...

Permanent health damage with EXTREMELY limited healing options. It's kind of easy to keep yourself alive if you are like me (who spent about 8 hours grinding in the arena), but anyone who's brought Derrin along can tell you that he does not stay alive easily. For a game that boasts "realism" and "physics", it's weird that you're forced into healing by magic because "choices have consequences". What about bandages? What about eating a full meal and then laying down and sleeping it off? There, healing without divine/magic intervention.

I know this post is probably going to trigger a LOT of people, but honestly this is what's keeping the game down from my perspective. There's actual hardcore design philosophy, and then there's arbitrary difficulty that's both unrealistic and unreasonable...I think the worse part is that these options could've been toggleable. That way the hardcore players can play it the "hardcore" way and the rest of us (who actually have a job/school to go to) can play it the normal RPG way, and everybody would be happy. But no, somehow that's violating the dev's vision for the game...Most of the time, I'm actually on the git gud side of hardcore games, but this game is too much even for me. (Not the difficulty that's too much, it's how arbitrary the difficulty is)

Go play some storyfag shit if you are too much of a pussy. If it's too "difficult" then play something easier you silly cunt. Todd Howard might have the solution for you

 

[Mr. Magniloquent]

Save on exit would be nice for the labrynth mode.They don't yet have that due to technical issues they have yet to overcome. I haven't played the dungeon in years for this reason. I keep enjoying the arena until they finally out saving in.

 

[JohnSmith24601]

LoL a lot of git gud guys who probably haven't even gotten past the 2nd level. Talk is cheap.