Third difficulty mode?

Own

Moderator
To make it into something players of older SNES games can relate to, a proper challenge for those who want a challenge. :p

Changes:

- May only be picked at the very start of the game, no swapping back and forth. Hardmode characters are unable to join Normal games, and vice versa.
- The game only saves when walking over a teleport plate. Die after that point and you load your save from the last plate walked over.
- Teleportation no longer works unless standing on a teleport plate. How deep are you willing to go into that dungeon? Are you sure you can handle the next room? Can you dash back to the plate? Do you need to run back to town and improve your gear before advancing?
- Increased chance of Elite spawns, card drops, item drops.
- Unable to transition between zones if under attack. (Maybe too much? Would be damn fun, though. That Pecko who divebombs you from the ceiling in the Flying Fortress would suddenly become a proper fight, not being able to just stroll past it. ... On that note, that Pecko really should be a one-time-only guaranteed Elite spawn when it first breaks the ceiling, just for how sudden and surprising it is.)
 
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GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
YES! I need this! This sounds so easy! If I'm not beating the Red Giga Slime in Arcade this week I'll start playing Darksouls or something easy instead. (I've never played Darksouls before but I've heard it's hard.) :p
 

Aurophobia

Halloweed
I don't want something like teleportation only at pads. Putting useless time wasters is not "hard."
Drop rates are fine, making them more common also goes against the concept of "hard."
The only suggestion I like is probably the first one. But still, I'm against something that constricts playing with other people, especially when the game becomes a LOT longer, and no one would be willing to make a new character.
 

Own

Moderator
I don't want something like teleportation only at pads. Putting useless time wasters is not "hard."

It's not a 'time waster'. It's the inability to simply teleport back to Evergrind City anywhere and everywhere for a quick heal, then teleporting back. You're deep in the Flying Fortress, you don't know what's ahead of you. What you do know is that behind you is a few difficult rooms you've already conquered. Your HP is running low. Can you push on, or can you get back?

Teleportation anywhere removes any and all danger, because you can just skip away back to town with the press of a button and immediately save there.


Drop rates are fine, making them more common also goes against the concept of "hard."

It was mainly a 'risk vs reward' idea. Enemies in hardmode are more difficult, decreasing the chance that you'll be able to grind endlessly on them. Especially if you can't teleport away and back for a free heal whenever you like. -Especially- if you haven't saved at a teleport plate in a while.
 

Aurophobia

Halloweed
I don't think many people teleport back to heal as much as you think they do, but I could be wrong.
But there is no reason to do that, you don't get punished if you die...at all. You come back at full health (keep the same amount of arrows), and you keep everything up to the point where you actually die. Teleporting back and forth is a waste of time, and would only make sense in a hardcore like mode.
 

Own

Moderator
Yes, you don't get punished at all if you die. And yes, it would only really help in a hardcore like mode.

That's why this topic is suggesting changes to the hardcore like mode to add in death penalties and remove teleportation safety, making it more like a SNES game. Not the Normal mode.
 

Own

Moderator
Hardmode = Hardcore, isn't it? What's the difference?

Unless you're saying there should be a third difficulty option for all this stuff, in which case calling one 'Hardmode' and one 'Hardcore' would be extremely confusing.

'Nostalgia Extreme' difficulty with all of this wouldn't be so bad, I guess.
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
Hardmode is not the same as Hardcore. Hardcore usually refers to if you die you have to create a new character. Hardmode is exactly as the Hardmode is right now, a more difficult version of the Normal difficulty.
So Hardcore = 1 life
Hardmode = Stronger enemies
Feel free to correct me if you think I'm wrong. :D
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
It might just be that they've combined Hardmode and Hardcore and called it one or the other. But to me Hardcore = 1 life. You can have different difficulty settings like Easy, Normal and Hard but Hard doesn't have to be = 1 life. Might just be me who thinks this. I'm quite a weird fellow from time to time.
 

Aurophobia

Halloweed
9o% of games that use the term "Hardcore" usually refer to "You die, you lose your character"
Diablo is a big example of this.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Permanent_death
  • "Diablo II and Diablo III are noteworthy mainstream exceptions which include support for an optional "hardcore" mode that subjects characters to permanent death. Sacred and Sacred 2 similarly feature or have featured a similar "hardcore" mode. Star Wars Galaxies had permadeath for Jedi characters for a short period, but later eliminated that functionality.[8]"
It is also rogue-likes main selling point, which this games arcade mode is a rogue-like take on that.
 

GarlicJelly

Friendly Moderator (Formerly known as GoodStuff)
What do you guys think of a 1hp difficulty? You will always have 1hp so anything could kill you at any given time. Maybe you could have a difficulty mode that lowers your max hp everytime you die by 5% or something so that the game just totally destroys you as you progress further and further into the game. Having any of these in story mode would almost turn story mode into arcade mode which could be really frustrating and maybe make the game seem a bit repetitive? Anyways it's just an idea so no harm done. :p
 

Quote

Rabby
What do you guys think of a 1hp difficulty? You will always have 1hp so anything could kill you at any given time.

If it were to exist, the difficulty should be called Contra.
"I beat my game on hard" -Guy 1
"Yeah? Well, I beat mine on CONTRA."
 

Wipeout

Green Slime
This is similar to the suggestion I posted a little while ago, perhaps I should have read this first.

I definitely agree with having the difficult be locked in or at least having the option to lock in the difficulty for that character at creation.

I also like the idea of slightly increased rewards for playing higher difficulty.
 
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