Making Prey a better game in two simple steps

[HRose]

I usually write about mmorpgs game design (http://www.cesspit.net/) but it's almost a year that I follow Prey and I have now something to criticize/suggest about the "death walk", since I believe it would lead to a better game and also to a more fun nightmare/cherokee mode.

The reasoning behind my proposed changes is that the death walk, as it is designed and implemented in the game, removes completely the challenge since it's exactly like a god mode. You don't win a combat by fighting well, you win it exclusively through persistence.

The reason why death walk was introduced wasn't to trivialize the game, though. But to avoid to break the action through reload/saves. And avoid to encourage the player to repeating a fight because it wasn't done in an optimal way (instead of keep going). In two words: no downtime.

Proposed "death walk" changes

- (Normal difficulty) Instead of just respawning the player, all the monsters spawned and still alive would have their hit points completely restored.
- (Nightmare difficulty) Add stacking power-ups to the monsters (hitpoints or resistence) after each consequent death of the player in a short time span (a minute should be good).

The first change doesn't break the original mechanic. It just restores the health of the monsters so that you have to actually kill something when you respawn if you want to progress.

The second one instead isn't as harsh as you may imagine. Not only you would have to kill monsters between each death as in the normal difficulty mode (and that I believe is the BARE MINIMUM for a death mechanic). But you also have to pay attention and try to survive at least one minute after each death so that the monsters don't get a slight power-up on their hit points (a 10% would be too much?). Maybe with a countdown displayed on screen so that you know exactly how long you have to resist and with the monsters hitpoint buff capping at 70-80% of their orginial hitpoint value.

Showing the countdown and even the hitpoint percent buff of the monsters on screen (Guild Wars-style, like the morale/death modifier appearing in the upper left corner of the screen in that game) would be definitely an immersion breaking element. But it would be limited to the "nightmare" mode, which is only accessible after the first run through the game, so with a definite more "arcade-ish" connotation.

The next possible step would about allowing the player to customize the three values of the nightmare difficulty before starting a game: the duration of the countdown, the mobs hitpoint buff and the hitpoint buff cap. So, for example, I could set the countdown at 1.30 minutes (the time I need to survive after each death to not trigger the mobs hitpoint buff), the hitpoint buff at 15% and the maximum value of the buff at 150% (of the original hitpoint value for that monster type).

I don't think it's unreasonable. It just ups the difficulty slightly as a nightmare mode is supposed to. Or not?

It's something I believe could significantly improve the game, but I fear it wouldn't be trivial enough to implement to hope in a patch from the developers, nor I think it could be achievable through a mod.

But you cannot stop me from wishing, can you? ;p

[CodyLamp]

I completely agree, Deathwalk takes alot of the challenge out. Maybe in a future patch they can implement these ideas and hopefully it wont break the game in doing so.

[HRose]

I didn't want to make that post too long but those idea may, in fact, lead to a problem: going low on ammo.

Since you continue to respawn and the monsters get their hitpoints restored you will likely bump into situations where you go out of ammo.

It's a problem but I also think it could be circumvented by regenerating automatically some ammo on a player's death.

So it could be a problem but that I think should be easily addressed.

[SuperSaiyan4]

The points you raised are in fact RPG style.

May I say that this isnt an RPG and I along with others enjoy the game the way it is, it adds a new experience to the FPS genre on how PREY is created.

I am sure HH will look into the possibilities of expanded varieties of new elements IF they decide to work on PREY 2

[Denz]

I would like to have way more enemies. More to kill, because more resistant enemies sucks. You shoot like 20 bullets in one on some games, and they don't die. This sucks. In shadows warrior, the harder difficulty the more enemies you have.

[crunchy superman]

I don't have a problem with Deathwalk. I fail so see how it's any closer to a god mode than the quicksave key is. However, I wouldn't see the harm in the putting in the option of turning it off, for those of you who don't like it.

[HRose]

I don't have a problem with Deathwalk. I fail so see how it's any closer to a god mode than the quicksave key is. However, I wouldn't see the harm in the putting in the option of turning it off, for those of you who don't like it.
No, I like it. Turning it off is a bad decision because the idea is good. It's the implementation that could have been better (see what I write about not breaking the action and not force repetition).

It is closer to a god mode because of basic game design. A game is about a given situation that you need to figure out. Something you learn and then apply. This from Tetris to Pac-man, World of Warcraft or Prey. All games are like that.

The death walk in Prey trivializes too much the combat difficulty because it doesn't require you to actually learn anything (beside the puzzles and environments, that are fun exactly because YOU HAVE to figure them out, instead of skipping them).

Restoring the health of the mobs who have survived is really a small change, but that would keep the difficulty at least more consistent, without taking away ANYTHING from the original idea.

[Lagrules]

What is the difference?

death walk-unlimited tries without having to sit through screen load times, unskippable cutscenes (talking mainly quake 4, the horror, the horror of getting killed in ten seconds after waiting 3 minutes for a load screen and another few minutes in a cutscene.

Death walk ruins difficutly?

Like the quick save feature doesn't already do that. It doesn't matter what kind of game you have. Currently, with all the quick save options games have become way to easy. Gamers have gotten spoiled big time.

The things that really should change if anything was going to be changed would be what actually happens in the deathwalk mini game itself.

[sgt Boundford]

Why are people under the illusion that the deathwalk makes the game easier?? If you end up having to do the deathwalk then your crap, the game IS too hard for you! WHY? because you just been killed you plebs!!

[Wolle]

Why are people under the illusion that the deathwalk makes the game easier?? If you end up having to do the deathwalk then your crap, the game IS too hard for you! WHY? because you just been killed you plebs!!
So I've been killed. So what? I can just go back there and continue where I left off.

With a quick save, I'm at least forced to complete the battle without dying. (Possibly in 58 attempts, but still.)

[Pengu]

Why are people under the illusion that the deathwalk makes the game easier?? If you end up having to do the deathwalk then your crap, the game IS too hard for you! WHY? because you just been killed you plebs!!
Dying doesn't mean a game is to hard it means you probibly made an error on your end that resulted in you getting fragged. Instead of having to reload and figure out the best way to attack a group of enemies you can run in and bash them over the head with a wrench if you so chose. Even if it takes 10 deaths you will widdle away their health and kill them. It will work every time. In every other game you would not be able to get away with this the same thing. Infact I often did just that so I could save ammo.

This is an extreme example but it highlights the point the others are trying to get across. With quicksaving this would not be the case. So do not say it doesn't make the game easier it does. It removes any stratagy that could be needed to kill a group of enemies. Under Hroses revision that would not happen. It would be essentially the same as a quicksave then, but with a fancier interactive loading screen.

[Aegeri]

I agree that the first post solution is a fair one. I wouldn't mind on higher difficulty to have near infinitely porting in enemies as well. That would compensate quite a bit and enforce continual firefights and make the deathwalk mechanic more relevant.

As it is, you can get killed, come back with minimal health and inflict a bit more damage just to repeat the cycle. Eventually everything will end up dead.

[dbgt]

meh I like it, cause there is times that if i get stuck in a spot low on ammo and health and keep dying ill probly stop playing for a week or two. But thats because of frustration but his way ill keep going so it works for me

[hell-angel]

Nice idea, but I think the stacking would make the game to difficult in cherockee mode. I do like the idea for normal mode though. :)

[Kalki]

Deathwalk(in theory) could use a little more of a challenge. I haven't played anything of Prey yet so I'm navigating through this forum with my eyes half-closed for fear of spoilers.

My suggestions (for Prey 2) are that the health/spirit replenishment in DW should be limited and that the spirits should disappear in a given time once you start shooting them. Of course, when you exit DW they could follow in your wake, entering the sphere to exact revenge or strenghten your enemies by possessing them.

[CameO73]

So do not say it doesn't make the game easier it does. It removes any stratagy that could be needed to kill a group of enemies.

It removes the need for a strategy. It all depends on the player. You could go wrench crazy on the enemy, or you could try to adjust your strategy. You make it sound like you didn't have a choice with deathwalk, but you still have!

[sgt Boundford]

Dying doesn't mean a game is to hard it means you probibly made an error on your end that resulted in you getting fragged. Instead of having to reload and figure out the best way to attack a group of enemies you can run in and bash them over the head with a wrench if you so chose. Even if it takes 10 deaths you will widdle away their health and kill them. It will work every time. In every other game you would not be able to get away with this the same thing. Infact I often did just that so I could save ammo.

This is an extreme example but it highlights the point the others are trying to get across. With quicksaving this would not be the case. So do not say it doesn't make the game easier it does. It removes any stratagy that could be needed to kill a group of enemies. Under Hroses revision that would not happen. It would be essentially the same as a quicksave then, but with a fancier interactive loading screen.

I can see your point, but it still falls down to the players lack of skill, I mean even with the deathwalk exploited youve still technically lost because the enemy has killed you ten times before you manage to kill them once, thats just terrible! and if you get to see the deathwalk through your own blunders then thats even worse. theres nothing more hilarious or humiliating than blowing yourself up with your own rocket launcher :doh:
That really is a true example of a lack of FPS skills.

[HRose]

Like the quick save feature doesn't already do that. It doesn't matter what kind of game you have. Currently, with all the quick save options games have become way to easy. Gamers have gotten spoiled big time.
Quick save and death walk are completely different mechanics. In fact what I proposed in this thread is mostly about realigning the death walk to be similar to a quick save.

The difference is that even when you quick save often you never regain health. This means that to win an encounter you still have to fight well. The death walk gives you back health without resetting the monsters. So not only you "don't lose progress", but you also get an help since you can be back at full health.

This is why death walk IS a god mode. And why George Broussard is absolutely wrong:
You can achieve the same results with lots of quick saves, even during a boss fight. If you quick save every 10 seconds, you will never lose progress in a game.

There is a massive audience of gamers out there that haven't played FPS games for 10 years. It's about time we started thinking about them.

All DeathWalk does is keep you from losing progress. It does make the bosses a little easier, but then again, most people are frustrated by really hard or complex bosses.
This is false. Reloading doesn't restore your health as the death walk does.

[HRose]

From my website:
It's kind of obvious that "challenge" isn't a flaw to remove from a game. What was to remove was the *downtime*, not the challenge. Prey's implementation of the "death walk" removes BOTH.

[John]

:( It kind of alienates the smarter gamers that tend to beat these with ease and without challenge.

[George Broussard]

HRose,

Most people don't find it fun to die a lot, and lose progress. The entire debate depends on which side of that line you are on. Most people just want to progress, see things, have fun, and not be too frustrated.

This is false. Reloading doesn't restore your health as the death walk does.
You do have to earn that health back, pay a little penalty in time and shoot things.

I think the entire debate comes down to how much fun/challenge you get from dying and replaying things. Most people don't really find that fun. Some do. At least we're making strides to try to solve the problem instead of relying on 15 year old mechanics like quicksave, or worse, going backwards and having a checkpoint only system like Far Cry.

I'd rather more people finish out games, than not, and get frustrated and quit on a boss fight or at some point in the game because it's too hard. Every minute of gameplay, you run the risk of a person leaving your game and never coming back. DeathWalk was an attempt to minimize that. Maybe it can be tweaked better in the future.

[HRose]

Even if you stand perfectly still you gain half of your health during the death walk.

As I said, the death walk is a great idea to remove the downtime and keep the game flowing. You also do not lose progress.

The point is that what I suggested above (health regen for the mobs) doesn't break any of those "qualities", while it restores some of the challenge of the combat.

So, again, that idea was very good and I definitely support it. But the way it was implemented not so much. I AGREE on the goals set. But I also think that the execution could have been better.

I was arguing about those "tweaks".

[GambitMR]

but if you cant beat a boss .. take a break ... and try again later and eventually you get past the boss ... isn't it more rewarding ? What's the point in fighting something that everyone can beat without a struggle ? I'm not saying the system is useless, but you should let the player choose.
Where's the "OMG that dude bet XYZ on ULTRA SUPER HARD"? Just my thoughts (haven't had the chance to really play Prey though , imports to europe for Prey were a little tricky as the americans wanted to keep all the LCE's for themselves :P)

[Steve]

HRose,

Most people don't find it fun to die a lot, and lose progress. The entire debate depends on which side of that line you are on. Most people just want to progress, see things, have fun, and not be too frustrated.


You do have to earn that health back, pay a little penalty in time and shoot things.

I think the entire debate comes down to how much fun/challenge you get from dying and replaying things. Most people don't really find that fun. Some do. At least we're making strides to try to solve the problem instead of relying on 15 year old mechanics like quicksave, or worse, going backwards and having a checkpoint only system like Far Cry.

I'd rather more people finish out games, than not, and get frustrated and quit on a boss fight or at some point in the game because it's too hard. Every minute of gameplay, you run the risk of a person leaving your game and never coming back. DeathWalk was an attempt to minimize that. Maybe it can be tweaked better in the future.
Deathwalk saved me from quick saving and quick loading which is annoying if you have a slow computer - heck, even with a fast computer. To me deathwalk gets rid of quick save which is bloody good.

[Straw Dog]

At least we're making strides to try to solve the problem instead of relying on 15 year old mechanics like quicksave, or worse, going backwards and having a checkpoint only system like Far Cry.

I'd rather more people finish out games, than not, and get frustrated and quit on a boss fight or at some point in the game because it's too hard. Every minute of gameplay, you run the risk of a person leaving your game and never coming back. DeathWalk was an attempt to minimize that. Maybe it can be tweaked better in the future.

You did a really good job. To be honest any time a new gameplay mechanic is invented its going to be analysed by fans to the finest detail. But thank god for all of us there are companies like yours willing to take a risk and try something new. People inherently don't like change. I think its part of human nature to be scared and skeptical about change, it even boils down to something as small and harmless as this deathwalk issue.

I don't think its fair to say it removes the challenge. Without it you're simply gonna reach for the quickload button instantly everytime you die. Having the facility to save a game is what removed the challenge in gaming, not an innovative method of keeping the player shooting in a shooting game even when that player is bested by an enemy in the game. Especially when the shooting is for a reason. Don't forget that if your aim is crap you'll be back in the real world with low health and spirit level. If you just hit the quickload button, you'll be back with as much health as you had when you saved, everytime. That's less of a challenge than deathwalk and deathwalk is a lot more fun than staring at a loading bar when the reason you bought the game is to shoot things, not stare at a static screen.

[George Broussard]

Even if you stand perfectly still you gain half of your health during the death walk.
Yup, otherwise what's the point? You died...you need a little help, right?

So, again, that idea was very good and I definitely support it. But the way it was implemented not so much. I AGREE on the goals set. But I also think that the execution could have been better.
That's hard to debate without trying it and testing it for a couple of months, right? Health regen on a boss might well work, but it may also make the game too hard and some people may not be able to get past a boss on one "life". We errored on the safe side, to make sure that as long as you had the interest to continue, you would not reach a point where the game was impossibly hard for you.

It's at least a good debate, and we'll see how it all works out.

[HRose]

Btw, I want to add that "progress" and "difficulty" are two different elements.

Losing progress can be incredibly annoying. In fact those games that removed reload/saves to replace them with "checkpoints" were always criticized.

The reason is simple. Losing progress is frustrating because you have to redo parts of the game that you've already overcame. This means that you have the competence to solve them, but the game imposes you to repeat them. This is definitely not fun.

"Difficulty", instead, is another thing. It determines a situation that you need to figure out. Without a difficulty the fun DOESN'T EXIST. Because if there's nothing to learn, then there isn't any game either. A game can be boring, fun or frustrating.

It's boring when there's no challenge and you've already mastered it. It's fun when the difficulty is well calibrated and you are actively learning and getting better, it's frustrating when there's something that blocks you and you don't have tools to get past that situation.

In the idea I propose you DO NOT lose progress. If you run down a corridor, kill a monster and then die, the moster stays dead.

At the same time some of the challenge that now is completely missing in the game (which also kills the replayability) is restored.

[HRose]

Health regen on a boss might well work, but it may also make the game too hard and some people may not be able to get past a boss on one "life". We errored on the safe side, to make sure that as long as you had the interest to continue, you would not reach a point where the game was impossibly hard for you.

It's at least a good debate, and we'll see how it all works out.
If a boss becomes too hard then you reduce its overall health.

Balancing the game is one thing. The point is that if the game was balanced around those changes it could have been a better game (my point of view). I'm not really asking for an overall harder game. Just for a death walking mechanic that would be more appropriate from the point of view of game design.

I also think that only a couple of days of playtesting could offer already enough data to get things very close to perfection since you already know the average difficulty.

You could even increase Tommy hitpoints if you wanted to reduce the number of times on average that a player dies and respawns.

[0marTheZealot]

Yup, otherwise what's the point? You died...you need a little help, right?


That's hard to debate without trying it and testing it for a couple of months, right? Health regen on a boss might well work, but it may also make the game too hard and some people may not be able to get past a boss on one "life". We errored on the safe side, to make sure that as long as you had the interest to continue, you would not reach a point where the game was impossibly hard for you.

It's at least a good debate, and we'll see how it all works out.


Why don't you give players infinite life, infinite ammo, autoaiming guns and all enemies 1hp. Surely then everyone will finish the game, there'd be no loss of progress and the game would never be impossible. Bosses would never be too imbalanced. I mean if you are going to balance the game for the worst possible player, why not cut out all the bullshit and just implement the suggestions above? If you are so paranoid about people not having the skill or the means or the inclination to finish your games, then why not do it for them?

[George Broussard]

Omar, you can make the same argument against quicksaves, from a "checkpoint only" point of view, and that argument doesn't hold up, either. The people that favor checkpoints over quicksaves, use the exact same arguments you are. "It's too easy - there's no skill or tension".

I think Far Cry would have sold better with quicksave, and if it was a little easier. A lot better.

We will all have to wait and see what happens, and how DeathWalk is perceived overall.

[Noam sane?]

The only way you could have made deathwalk better would have been to have made it slightly different each time, customized somehow for the situation just experienced. Then it would seem even more like a continuation of the game.

As far as responding to the critics claiming that the game style is too easy you just have to ask yourself if you are in the entertainment business or in some kind of medical reflex testing business.

[Nessus]

I'm a quicksave whore and the one and only problem I had with deathwalk (mostly I like it) is that Tommy does not take very many hit points before dying, it's basically impossible to finnish many big battles without dying. I would rather your hit points were a little higher in general.

[9Nails]

The only way you could have made deathwalk better would have been to have made it slightly different each time, customized somehow for the situation just experienced. . .

There are columns that are added and start to block your vision if you use Deathwalk too much. It might be related to the ending levels or based on a count of how many times you've been to the Deathwalk level. I'm not positive there. So the level does change. But I think you might be looking for something more than that.

[JobivanHiob]

Lol the thread-title sounds like a recipe! :D

[Noam sane?]

There are columns that are added and start to block your vision if you use Deathwalk too much. It might be related to the ending levels or based on a count of how many times you've been to the Deathwalk level. I'm not positive there. So the level does change. But I think you might be looking for something more than that.

I refer to the entertainment value in deathwalk. Immersion in the story and interesting choices are what is entertaining. Passing an eye test or some kind of adolescent designed "IQ" reflex test would not be fulfilling entertainment for me. If you could be encouraged by Grandpa concerning the specific just failed attempt forward or something like that. That would not only keep the flow but keep it specific to the current situation.

........

A pigeon cookie recipe! That's entertainment!

[9Nails]

It's like shooting fish in a barrel?

[DavoX]

Omar, you can make the same argument against quicksaves, from a "checkpoint only" point of view, and that argument doesn't hold up, either. The people that favor checkpoints over quicksaves, use the exact same arguments you are. "It's too easy - there's no skill or tension".

I think Far Cry would have sold better with quicksave, and if it was a little easier. A lot better.

We will all have to wait and see what happens, and how DeathWalk is perceived overall.
I loved FarCry because of its difficulty and Checkpoint system.

[Noam sane?]

It's like shooting fish in a barrel?

If you use dynamite you won't need the barrel. And your fishing will be done about the time your pigeon cookies are baked.

[vhold]

One of the main things I wonder, when people complain that the death walk takes all the difficulty out, is whether or not they are even -trying- anymore to stay alive, or if they just stand there shooting enemies while standing still and using deathwalk -over- and -over- and -over- again?

I like deathwalk.. I'm one of those obsessive FPS players that is constantly quick saving because I hate replaying areas over.. but I generally almost never have to reload because I also play excessively carefully.. it's kind of a gimp combination.

Deathwalk works well for me because I almost never die, and when I do, it keeps the rhythm of the game going and I'm right back in, playing as intensely as before. I suppose though it does take a significant chunk of any feeling of danger out, only when you think about it from a powergamer perspective and not a purer videogamer perspective.

I can't think of any way to change the current system that wouldn't encourage people to become obsessive quicksavers/loaders. Maybe something that just -temporarily- makes you and your guns more powerful as you start to rampage without getting killed?

[SomeDude]

I don't like Prey for one minor detail included.

The lights. While playing the Prey Demo, noticed an increase in my heart rate, not to mention the blinding light for my sensitive eyes almost made me want to leave the demo completely.

Not sure if there was a feature to turn off lights and such, just annoying to have to play a game which caused me to put on shades for a while.

Guild Wars is another game with lights too, I had to stop the brief gameplay, uninstall the game, and store the box+game in my Tv's desk forever.

I'm hoping I'll get the chance to play Duke Nukem Forever, but if there's lights I'll just buy the game to store.

Of all 3D games I've encounter lately, this seems to be included for all titles. Am I stuck playing text games for a while?

I'm not talking about lights from lasers, bullets, and the like from a typical FPS game, talking of lights such as in Prey, the Portal light, the light on the grav walk, and anywhere else.

Is myself stuck having to wear shades while playing today's games? or is there an option to turn the lights "off" ?

[d3ad connection]

Well, if you turn lights off, you'll be playing as if Tommy was blind.
Try turning down the brightness on your monitor while playing.

[Twin]

i think george is right on some points...

i personally quit farcry near the end of the game because it was getting so annoying with the checkpoints and i kept dying, so i didn't bother finishing it right to the end...

but of the other hand the death walk could've been done slightly better i think...

maybe it should just give you an option of either regenerating your health or go back into the fight with half of your health...the only thing i found annoying about deathwalk was when you had to do it 10 times in 1 minute beecause you kept dying :p

[hiob]

you can deactivate that light it´s called glow in prey and i guess Bloom in other games

[bummerman]

Well, without reading thru all theposts, I have to say that "Death walk" as is is fine for "normal" mode but is counterproductive when you play "Cherokee". I suggested in another post that you could make the player earn his "right " to Deathwalk by requiring a full spirit health bar upon death otherwise he goes back to the previous save point. This causes the player to make decisions such as "Should I arrow this critter and risk dying before I replenish my health?"This also raises the importance of "spirit depleters" that come areound from time to time. As is, all they accomplish is remove your ability to shoot arrows while alive. George,ppl that play on Cherokee can handle a little frustration

[Marty]

well for its length (which i didnt mind) i thought some of the scenes which were nothing that special could have been compensated for something more interesting like....

Tommy gets captured and they decide to f**k around with him so they confiscate his weapons and throw him through a portal where he's constantly falling through portal after portal taking him through many scenarios in the sphere. eventually by the aliens mistake, the portal drops him back to earth in a deserted gas station in Texas. The aliens follow to execute him and Tommy has to fight his way (starting again with the wrench :D ) to teleport back to the sphere. IMO the bar scene was the one of the most interesting parts and to have to go through a similar scene to break away from machine world would be better than solving more simple puzzles with the spirit mode.

also thought about the aeroplane scene. it would be cool if Tommy somehow teleported onto the plane while its coming down. at that point he has no idea whats happening, all he knows is that the plane is filled with slaughtered bodies and the aliens laugh while they teleport from the plane. however, Tommy reaches the other side to the cockpit and see's a full view of the plane coming closer to its demise. A more powerful hunter is finishing off the pilot and begins fighting with Tommy. The hunter opens up a portal where Tommy follows and kills off the hunter and watches the plane go down.

sorry for the long post but it just came to mind :D

[nossr50]

So George, will their be a penalty for dying in DNF?

[Frogacuda]

HRose,

Most people don't find it fun to die a lot, and lose progress. The entire debate depends on which side of that line you are on. Most people just want to progress, see things, have fun, and not be too frustrated.


You do have to earn that health back, pay a little penalty in time and shoot things.

I think the entire debate comes down to how much fun/challenge you get from dying and replaying things. Most people don't really find that fun. Some do. At least we're making strides to try to solve the problem instead of relying on 15 year old mechanics like quicksave, or worse, going backwards and having a checkpoint only system like Far Cry.

I'd rather more people finish out games, than not, and get frustrated and quit on a boss fight or at some point in the game because it's too hard. Every minute of gameplay, you run the risk of a person leaving your game and never coming back. DeathWalk was an attempt to minimize that. Maybe it can be tweaked better in the future.

I think if there's one thing we learned here, it's that not everyone likes the same thing. That's why games have had selectable difficulty for years. Unfortunately Deathwalk effectively breaks the sense of challenge for a certain segment of the population, no matter how other aspects of "difficulty" are adjusted. So there needs to at least be some options for different approaches (a no deathwalk mode, a mode with health regen, or limitations on deathwalk are all viable options).

There's no reason you couldn't make everyone happy here.

[Malgon]

I was mixed on DW when I first played it. I actually felt like I needed that break from the game when I died, and to stare at the load screen, since that's the way I'm used to it. Later on in the game it felt better to stay in the game, as I was becoming more immersed within the environments. Now I don't mind it and have grown accustomed (even though I still think it's not perfect). Any adjustments to DW could be made for future versions of Prey instead. :)

[Denz]

The auto ajustable difficulty is supposed to give more difficulty, but it looks like it's not adding that much difficulty. I wonder what it adds, more enemies, more health to enemies (which would be the dumbest thing ever), or enemies with different weapons?

[Malgon]

Making Prey a better game in two simple steps:

1.Start up computer.

2.Load up Prey again.

Had to be a smartass. :D

[0marTheZealot]

The auto ajustable difficulty is supposed to give more difficulty, but it looks like it's not adding that much difficulty. I wonder what it adds, more enemies, more health to enemies (which would be the dumbest thing ever), or enemies with different weapons?

It doesn't do anything as far as I'm concerned. The enemies flat out refuse to dodge my attacks, shoot back or be aware of what's happening. Half the time, the Hunters simply refuse to shoot back. At least the spider thing and the flying halfman shoot back. It's a shame you only fight them 6 or 7 times in the entire game. The rest of the time, you fight retarded Hunters that don't know how to move, how to shoot and how to dodge grenades.

[Carbide]

Yeah they just yell GRENADE!! and they die, hehe

[Antosa]

Most people just want to progress, see things, have fun, and not be too frustrated.



I am perfectly of agreement with you:)

[paul2006]

I like it because it gives you reason to complete the game again without remembering everything in the game. by going over and over the same part.