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NNTP-Posting-Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2024 16:27:00 +0000
From: Spalls Hurgenson <spallshurgenson@gmail.com>
Newsgroups: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action
Subject: Re: What difficultly level do you play one?
Date: Tue, 09 Jul 2024 12:27:00 -0400
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On Mon, 8 Jul 2024 21:46:05 +0100, JAB <noway@nochance.com> wrote:


>Strange really as when I look back at say Dungeon Master part of the fun 
>was getting the graph paper out and making a map. Possibly games have 
>swung too much they other way were it can feel like you're playing 
>follow the quest marker. Another one I don't like is kneel behind a wall 
>to recover health or the ability to 'long rest' in the middle of a dungeon.

YMMV. 

Even back-in-the-day I disliked the 'make your own map' requirement of
a lot of adventure and role-playing games. Especially since it
promoted stupidly labyrinthine (and unrealistic) dungeon design whose
sole purpose was to artificially lengthen the game rather than provide
a fun experience. 

When games like "Ultima Underworld" or "Might & Magic III" started
adding automap as a standard feature, I rejoiced. All of a sudden
dungeon crawls could be FUN rather than tedious step-by-step grind
where you had to carefully mark out every step. I could focus on the
ambience and environment rather than have to jump away every step to
scribble some marks on a piece of paper.

(In fairness, nowadays I've got a pretty good sense of direction and
usually can figure out my way through most dungeons -old school or
not- without resorting to maps. I'm pretty sure my years playing
Wizardry and Bards Quest and the like are to thank for that skill ;-)

With that out of the way, I've kept many of my older hand-drawn maps
from that era and have a certain nostalgic appreciation towards them.
But I'm not going to ever bother doing anything so insane again. If
your game's labyrinths are so complex that mapping is required? That's
a game I'm probably not playing. (you're probably the sort of
developer that thinks teleport traps and spinners are fun too.)




(Long resting in a dungeon is a different issue. I've no problem with
it if it carries some risk. Although -at least in my tabletop game- if
you think an 8-hour sleep is going to cure you of all ailments, you've
got another think coming. A nap doesn't cure stab wounds in my
campaigns ;-)