Poll: Difficulty and Cheating.

[quiet_samurai]

I'll cheat on my girlfriend before i cheat on a videogame. I think if I'm not good enough to beat a game it shall then sit on my shelf basking in it's glory as a reminder to myself that i am but a man and it is better then I.

 

[jsplat24]

Cheating on a game is just as lame as playing to 'spank noobs'. Grow a pair, challenge yourself and let others have their fun too.

 

[TheCameraman]

I usually play on normal difficulty my first playthrough, maybe another "harder" run later on if I feel for it.

The one thing that annoys me though, is people who play on easy or use cheats and then complain that the game "is too easy". Or those who go through a whole puzzle/adventure game with a walkthrough, and then complain that the game is too short, I got a few friends like that.

 

[Skullpanda]

I typically play on either normal or easy, depending on if the game I'm playing has 2 or 3 difficulty levels. I'm one of those weird people who plays for the story, not for the capability to prove how much free time I have by perfecting each level. If I can relax and unwind by playing a game, then I have a good time.

Cheats really only come into play when I start playing hell games (e.g. "Run Like Hell". You literally cannot beat that game without cheating.) or when I've decided to not care about anything and see how messed up I can make the game. Normal play, not so much. The only games I've ever really cheated in while playing through for the first time are the GTA's. and that's just because I attract mobs of enemies.

 

[Lukeydoodly]

I play games to decimate noobs and make myself feel as if I have accomplished something.

Seriously.

I play games to follow people like this about and piss them off. It's fun.

On single player games, I usually play to see the storyline and make up new and exciting ways to hack people apart - I don't give a damn about challenge, so I usually put it down to the easiest setting. That said, I'm playing through Fallout 3 on the hardest setting, because it makes everything seem far more "real".

So it's YOU who uses the stealth pack and sledgehammer!

What's wrong with stealth 'n sledge (yes, i've given it an awesome name)? You're just jealous because you lack the mad skillz needed for it.

I also lack the wireless connection to use it

 

[RicoADF]

I turn on cheats when I don't want to re-play puzzles (i.e. late at night when I just want to run into a room and chainsaw monsters to death). Never on the first run through though.

Usually I play on the hardest setting available. I don't play so much online, so it's just for me and just for the challenge. I enjoy knowing I've beaten an AI - especially when they have been artificially enhanced (i.e. multiple epic units in an RTS or supreme headshot accuracy in a FPS) - because I "out thought" the programming. The way the AI works in the FEAR series is enjoyable for this reason, because it is not scripted beyond some very basic notions.

The challenge for me also satisfies my sensibilities as a programmer, because I tend to think like the programmers who built the game, giving me the chance to "pit my skills" as it were, against professional developers.

The thing is that higher level of AI just = AI cheats, literally. AI dont get smarter their just allowed to cheat more or allowed to cheat, depends on the game. Generally I play or Easy or Normal, depends on the game, as long as I dont notice AI cheating because it ticks me off to no end.

 

[JesterRaiin]

Years ago i tried to play clean. I cheated but rarely.
Nowadays, when +/- 5 fps stands for difference between living and dying i cheat almost all the time.

 

[Gitsnik]

I turn on cheats when I don't want to re-play puzzles (i.e. late at night when I just want to run into a room and chainsaw monsters to death). Never on the first run through though.

Usually I play on the hardest setting available. I don't play so much online, so it's just for me and just for the challenge. I enjoy knowing I've beaten an AI - especially when they have been artificially enhanced (i.e. multiple epic units in an RTS or supreme headshot accuracy in a FPS) - because I "out thought" the programming. The way the AI works in the FEAR series is enjoyable for this reason, because it is not scripted beyond some very basic notions.

The challenge for me also satisfies my sensibilities as a programmer, because I tend to think like the programmers who built the game, giving me the chance to "pit my skills" as it were, against professional developers.

The thing is that higher level of AI just = AI cheats, literally. AI dont get smarter their just allowed to cheat more or allowed to cheat, depends on the game. Generally I play or Easy or Normal, depends on the game, as long as I dont notice AI cheating because it ticks me off to no end.

Artificial Enhancement of the opposing team (i.e. permitting faster resources or more special/unique units) isn't really cheating. They still follow basic rules and attack patterns. True, if someone else did that it would be considered cheating, but you're not playing against someone else, you're playing against basic rules.

There was a study done (I wrote code to test it myself after I read it and confirmed for myself the same fact) that basically said: The more agressive the AI, the more likely it is to win. Artificial enhancement of the skill base or not.