That would be a nice mechanic to see put into a game. I would check out a game solely on that idea alone.iblis666 said:
Poll: Do You Miss Health Bars?
- Thread starter Adam Galli
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Depends. Health bars/counters work best when the game is either very linear (like Half-Life) or if game allows you to carry health packs with you (like Dead Space or Bioshock). Health regen works well in games where the setting would make picking up health packs to heal yourself seem ridiculous (like CoD 4). Personally, I like the compromise between the two; a health bar that's divided into sections that heal over time if you only lose a portion of that section, but where the damage remains permanent until you find a health pack if you lose the entire section (I've only seen this twice; in Condemned 2 and Resistance: Fall of Man).
Depends entirely on the game. For example, Fable 3 ditches health bars, which was an absolutely stupid decision. In Bulletstorm, regenerating health works perfectly.
A healthbar with minor regeneration is better than Wolverine Mechanics that flood most FPS games.
If the game is built around slaughter, then regenerating health is okay. A healthbar should be used for games centred around tactics - like cover-based shooters.
If the game is built around slaughter, then regenerating health is okay. A healthbar should be used for games centred around tactics - like cover-based shooters.
...you mean, aside from all those games that use health bars? No, I don't think I can miss something that's still ubiquitous.
It depends. I assume what the OP means is health bars that only go in one direction until you pick up a med pack, ham hock or potion.
The reason it depends is that it turned health into another resource to be expended. Sometimes that made gameplay more interesting, in Half Life in places you could trade health for the quick way to a solution, swimming through acid rather than doing the jumping puzzle, ect.
On the other hand that means that you can paint yourself into corners. Because you can't regenerate health conveniently healing abilities become massively more important. You can be put into paranoia mode to the point you quicksave before every turn and if you take a single hit you quickload because you don't want to end up with a save file that's useless because you only have 10 health left and you're in the room before an enemy that looks like a minigun and a bomb-throwing catapult had a baby.
The reason it depends is that it turned health into another resource to be expended. Sometimes that made gameplay more interesting, in Half Life in places you could trade health for the quick way to a solution, swimming through acid rather than doing the jumping puzzle, ect.
On the other hand that means that you can paint yourself into corners. Because you can't regenerate health conveniently healing abilities become massively more important. You can be put into paranoia mode to the point you quicksave before every turn and if you take a single hit you quickload because you don't want to end up with a save file that's useless because you only have 10 health left and you're in the room before an enemy that looks like a minigun and a bomb-throwing catapult had a baby.
I for one welcome our regenerating health overlords.
Its a pain in the ass to have to go into a bossfight with 1 healthpoint just because you were a bit unlucky in the last encounter and haven't found any magic first aid kits to patch up the gaping wound in your stomach where your entrails are about to fall out.
It makes more sense not to have them, as the devs can then design around the fact that the player will always have the same amount of health when they go into an encounter.
Its a pain in the ass to have to go into a bossfight with 1 healthpoint just because you were a bit unlucky in the last encounter and haven't found any magic first aid kits to patch up the gaping wound in your stomach where your entrails are about to fall out.
It makes more sense not to have them, as the devs can then design around the fact that the player will always have the same amount of health when they go into an encounter.
Really, the realistic games would probably become a little less immersive. However, it would be very helpful (even if you did have regen health) to know where the hell you stand between shooting one more guy and reloading your last save.
btw if it is not in an RPG then a dev team has severely failed.
btw if it is not in an RPG then a dev team has severely failed.
Not really no. It's a horrible experience going through 10+ minutes of a game with extreme caution because you can't find a health pack.
On the other hand though, I think Halo: Reach handled it very well, with its bastard child of a health bar/regenerating "health" system.
On the other hand though, I think Halo: Reach handled it very well, with its bastard child of a health bar/regenerating "health" system.
One thing I hate about regenerating health is that it forces me to be surgically precise with every shot, lest I get killed when sticking so much as a pixel out of cover. Health bars at critical are even worse, as any misstep results in instant death, and the nearest health packs are usually barricaded by rooms full of better-armed and armored enemies.
I do miss them (I'm assuming this is health bar + health packs vs regenerating health btw). It's not about realism either: there is no realism in games. Whether you can take a few dozen bullets to the face, run over a box and are back to normal in a second, or you take the same amount of bullets to the face, run to a corner to cry, and are back to normal in a second, neither makes a lot of sense. The reason I miss health bars is because I miss those situations where you completely get your ass handed to you, there are no health pickups anywhere in sight, and literally everything you encounter next can kill you because you only have 4% health left. Those moments, where you have to be absolutely perfect until you find a health pack, are awesome, and give the whole situation an (dare I use the word) epic quality. You just don't get that when you can shoot, cry/heal, shoot, cry/heal ad infinitum. In fact, that just gets boring in my opinion.