Should the game include basic difficulty settings ?

[Maxwell Fern]

I'm interested to know what you guys think about this.

Should the stock game stay the same for every player ? After all everybody is free to mod it to their liking. Or should the core mechanics of gameplay be tweakable to address a wider range of player's skills ?

On the one hand, I think the gameplay is now mature enough, as well as the player base is experienced enough, to introduce some difficulty settings. Easy would be the game as it is, Normal would make the Funds and Reputation harder to earn, and Hard would have quicksave/revert disabled, harder contracts, lesser rewards, higher penalty for failure, and why not, a "Game Over" screen.

On the other hand, I keep in mind that this could split the community, which is never a good thing and might push it towards a path where so-called "elite" players look down on "casual" players.

What do you think ?

[morph113]

I am happy the way the game is and don't think that's needed for KSP. However I would like to see the options you currently have in the debug menu (no kerbal respawn, no revert to, no quicksave) to add them at the beginning as options when you start a new savegame. And that once you have started a new career, those options will be permanent for this particular savegame and can't be reversed.

[Superfluous J]

Weird, your poll vanished between the time it loaded and when I tried to vote.

I think the final game needs difficulty levels. There is literally 0 chance that a game that a beginner at KSP could survive in would ever challenge someone who has been playing for some time.

I think though that adding difficulty levels now would be pointless; the game isn't done and any attempt at creating logical difficulty levels would be continuously thwarted with every update.

[Maxwell Fern]

Well, thanks moderators for moving the thread and destroying the poll...

- - - Updated - - -

However I would like to see the options you currently have in the debug menu (no kerbal respawn, no revert to, no quicksave) to add them at the beginning as options when you start a new savegame. And that once you have started a new career, those options will be permanent for this particular savegame and can't be reversed.

I couldn't agree more.

[Beeman]

Rather than difficulty presets, we should have the ability to toggle on or off various things when making a new game. Like, if you don't want missions, turn them off. If you don't want science but do want missions, turn it off. If you want reentry heat and thermal damage or whatever, turn it on and so on. That way you can completely customize your personal experience and crazy people like myself would wind up with three or four different saves with different options enabled and what-not >.>

[Kegereneku]

I don't think it should.

For starter the difficulty is either a matter of parts accessibility or of parts specification.

The only way to make the game easier would be to have access to any parts too easily or to have overpowered engines.

Giving the ability to choose between progression-style is something else. We have "Science-only" but I don't think it would be that easy to separate features that are supposed to rely on each other and balanced as a whole.

To give an idea I don't think we need a "no reentry heat" (if ever implemented) or a "contract-only/no-science" setting.

[Maxwell Fern]

The only way to make the game easier would be to have access to any parts too easily or to have overpowered engines.

Does it really need to be easier ? I think the learning curve is very well balanced for new players, who will unlock parts as they learn how to fly. But for experienced players like most of those on these forums, the first tier of the tech tree is pretty tedious to unlock, and we never get funds issue.

[Michaelo90]

There should be an option to have less rewards for contracts, the standard may be good for new players, but it's too easy for experienced players.

[r4pt0r]

start this in general discussion with a poll mate

[CaptRobau]

I like the idea. KSP needs to be accessible to new players, but at the same time it needs to stay fun and challenging for veteran players (which is far more a problem with long-development Early Access games than traditional games). Difficulty sliders are probably the best way to do that for a sandbox game like KSP. Mods can do it, but stock would be so much better.

[Red Iron Crown]

start this in general discussion with a poll mate

He did, a moderator moved it here.

I like the idea of money/reputation/science multipliers for modifying difficulty. The physics (aero, reentry effects, life support, part stats) should stay the same in all difficulty levels IMO.

[pxi]

I would like to see some form of difficulty implemented - something close to what Beeman suggests, toggleable settings for things like reentry heating, life support etc.

Outside of visuals, and useful stuff like Kerbal Alarm Clock, most of the mods I currently use are intended to add challenge in one form or another.

Edit:

Scaling the 3 currency rewards for contracts is a good idea too.

[Sky_walker]

He did, a moderator moved it here.

Just to add - that also removed the poll, that used to be here while topic was still in General Discussion.

I would like to see some form of difficulty implemented - something close to what Beeman suggests, toggleable settings for things like reentry heating, life support etc.

Yes, please.

[Paul Kingtiger]

...I like the idea of money/reputation/science multipliers for modifying difficulty.

This is a great idea and would make things easy enough for new players while preventing the experts like Scott Manley unlocking everything in 2 missions.

[Vaporo]

Yes. There is no real reason not to add difficulty settings. They would do nothing but good for the game. The difficulty settings should not affect physics in any way (none of this nonsense that I have seen suggested about scaling planet size and changing engine Isp), and should only affect things like rewards from contracts, the organization of the tech tree. and science values. Still, difficulty settings. Add 'em.