Hard to learn, easy to master

[RhombusHatesYou]

For me that kind of game was X3. I bounced off it twice because of the ridiculous (at the time) control scheme and the fact that I found it super hard to earn some real cash.

Yeah the X universe games can be beasts to get your head around now. I've been playing them since the original X:BTF so I've only really had to deal with a few incremental changes each time but coming at X3 or X3:TC cold would be pretty daunting... and not helped when Egosoft occasionally decide to bundle some mods they really liked into a patch.

 

[fuckwit]

Your mom. Somebody had to say it and I apologize.

No, someone didn't have to say it. I'm sure there are millions of things you could have said but, no you had to say the old "Your mum" joke. Seriously get some originality.

Excuse me for hurting your butt. You took it personally, and thus fed the troll. Well done!

Oh, and on a more serious note, I call trolling to be hard to learn, but easy to master.

 

[Axeli]

Every RPG ever.

Figure out how the stat/skill system works and learn the few basic tactics there are and you are set.
Few of them require much thought after that.

 

[EBass]

Company of Heroes has a very steep learning curve for an online RTS but once you understand it attaining the skill in which you can beat some of the top players is far easier than in a game like Starcraft for example.

 

[Celtic Cynic]

Definitley the Skate series. My friend couldn't figure out the ollie system to he took to running while off the board and hippy jumping onto rails.

 

[Glademaster_v1legacy]

Ninja Gaiden I think that game pretty much sums up this thread quite nicely.

 

[Korikitsune0]

Killer7. Hard to get used to at first because its so different than what you're used to in any other video game, but once you get used to it, it's easy to hone your skills very quickly.

 

[Dark Sup3rn0va]

I'm going to say WoW(not that I play it anymore), at first I was playing on my mate's 70 and I was confused as hell because of all the buttons, but once I figured it out it was simple.

 

[maninahat]

For me that kind of game was X3. I bounced off it twice because of the ridiculous (at the time) control scheme and the fact that I found it super hard to earn some real cash.

Same here. Except I never actually mastered it. After pouring in hours of upon hours of gameplay, I still wasn't a space tycoon. I gave up entirely when I realised the game was just a second job.

 

[Phlakes]

Planes in Battlefield 1943. It took me about a week to get the tilt-to-the-side, pull-up-to-turn thing that was going on. And I still can't fly helicopters in either Bad Company.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

I'm gonna say Dwarf Fortress. Man, I wish I had the patience to learn that game, but the learning curve is such a sheer cliff, that I just can't be fucked. I can imagine it'd all come together at a certain point though.

I'll second Dorf Fortress here, since it's pretty much the definition of "hard to learn, easy to master".

Dwarf Fortress is almost impossibly hard to get into, having amazingly deep and complex gameplay tied to an amazingly bad interface. The fact that its graphics are extremely confusing for new players doesn't help at all, nor does portraying a 3d game in 2d layers.

Once you get the hang of it though, it practically plays itself. Seriously, once you get good at Dwarf Fortress it becomes almost impossible to fail unless you do something really stupid or mess things up on purpose.

Dwarf Fortress is most fun in between those two stages: The part where you're good enough to understand what's going on, but still new enough that new situations or unexpected developments catch you by surprise every now and then.

 

[Fetzenfisch]

Sudden Strike and games of like. The Day After for example. Very hard at first but when you got the steps to follow for victory its always more or less the same pattern.

 

[veloper]

Galciv 2

Once you figure out(FAQ) how to avoid the slider problem and learn the optimal tech sequence, there are only few decisions left to think about.
Psionic beams for everybody.

 

[The Lawn]

Dragon Age.

Once you realise you should be pausing with the radial menus all the time it makes the game a lot less tough.

It's still no cakewalk, mind you.

Thank goodness for Cone of Cold.

Actually, the game was hard until you realized that if you had Morigan and Wynne as your heal slaves that you would never die ever.

 

[Kajt]

Dwarf Fortress

Dragon Age.

These two, and maybe the first three Fallout games. They can be quite hard at first.

 

[Daedalus1942]

As in topic, have you ever played a game that was just terribly hard to understand at first (the control scheme, overall plot and WHAT THE HELL AM I SUPPOSED TO DO) but when you got through that first barrier became extremely easy to master (not easy overall just easy to master)?

For me that kind of game was X3. I bounced off it twice because of the ridiculous (at the time) control scheme and the fact that I found it super hard to earn some real cash. But than after playing it for one day (for real this time) getting over the controls and actually starting to do shit... I like sucked all the knowledge about it at one go and became the ultimate master of the universe at one go (well not really but you get the point).

So, ever had a game like that?

I recently had that experience with Sacred 2: Fallen Angel. Quite a fun little game once you understand all the different combat arts and skills. It took me about a half hour to grasp (the manual was bloody useless, to be honest), but after that, it has been a simple joy to play.

 

[Crossborder]

Mirror's edge. It's a pain to figure out what all the buttons do, but when you finally know what button does what it becomes pretty easy.

 

[Xeros]

All rhythm games. They take a while to get used to, but once you do you begin to blaze through the difficulty settings.

 

[Lord Beautiful]

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Having never played a Tenkaichi title before that, I was insanely lost, getting beaten to a pulp on nearly every stage of Dragon History in my first playthrough on Normal difficulty.

Then I got better. Very very quickly.

 

[Lullabye]

Dragon Ball Z: Budokai Tenkaichi 3

Having never played a Tenkaichi title before that, I was insanely lost, getting beaten to a pulp on nearly every stage of Dragon History in my first playthrough on Normal difficulty.

Then I got better. Very very quickly.

holy hell yes.
Recently my friend has been bringing over Tenkaichi 2, and I swear I've never played such a complicated fighting game in my life!
Then once I figured out the combos and such, even SSY4 Gogeta on the hardest difficulty was mince meat. Though I'm still trying to figure out alot of things, like some of the teleporting combos and dodging punches and such.
Another game I found hard to learn but easy to master was Sins of a Solor Empire. I never bother with the tutorials, so this was especially challenging at first. Then i realized you just make the pirates do everything...