From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action


CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)


#


Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes



Answer honestly. We won't judge you by your answer... much. ;-)


#


Myself, I tend to default to Normal, but depending on the game I may
ease it down to easy. I'm too old to want to prove myself to the
computer or to some unseen developer; I've done that in the past but
these days I play games for fun. If the challenge gets in the way of
the experience --which for me is the story, the environment, the
setting and appreciating the mechanics-- I'll happily make things a
bit less difficult. But that's usually for my first playthrough; if I
come back to a game, I tend to up the difficulty because, well, I've
already seen the new stuff the game has to offer; time to revel in the challenge.

Still, even on second play-throughs, I generally avoid the Nightmare difficulty-levels; I just don't find pitting myself against a computer
all that fun. I've done it, mostly to see what it's like, but I find
it more distraction than enjoyable.

#

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?



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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 9/24/2026 8:04 AM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)

#

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

Answer honestly. We won't judge you by your answer... much. ;-)

#

Myself, I tend to default to Normal, but depending on the game I may
ease it down to easy. I'm too old to want to prove myself to the
computer or to some unseen developer; I've done that in the past but
these days I play games for fun. If the challenge gets in the way of
the experience --which for me is the story, the environment, the
setting and appreciating the mechanics-- I'll happily make things a
bit less difficult. But that's usually for my first playthrough; if I
come back to a game, I tend to up the difficulty because, well, I've
already seen the new stuff the game has to offer; time to revel in the challenge.

Still, even on second play-throughs, I generally avoid the Nightmare difficulty-levels; I just don't find pitting myself against a computer
all that fun. I've done it, mostly to see what it's like, but I find
it more distraction than enjoyable.

#

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?

Can we define /Cryptohack/ as a video game in the Pythonic programming language? If so, I play on somewhat intermediate level, because I try
to code my own mathematical primitives in Python [1], before I totally
give up and use something else like SymPy.

Now, when it comes to scoring in actual video games, I'm somewhat rub-
bish, yet, I managed to right justify the text I am typing to reply to
you.

What do you think?


[1] It's a technicality but the game can be played in a different pro-
gramming language, even though the /developers/ don't support anything
other than Python.
--
Johann | email: invalid -> com | http://www.myrkraverk.com/blog/
I'm not from the Internet, I just work there. | via XS News https://bsky.app/profile/myrkraverk.bsky.social | for ( ;; ) _:;
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 9/23/2026 5:04 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)

#

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

Answer honestly. We won't judge you by your answer... much. ;-)

#

Myself, I tend to default to Normal, but depending on the game I may
ease it down to easy. I'm too old to want to prove myself to the
computer or to some unseen developer; I've done that in the past but
these days I play games for fun. If the challenge gets in the way of
the experience --which for me is the story, the environment, the
setting and appreciating the mechanics-- I'll happily make things a
bit less difficult. But that's usually for my first playthrough; if I
come back to a game, I tend to up the difficulty because, well, I've
already seen the new stuff the game has to offer; time to revel in the challenge.

Still, even on second play-throughs, I generally avoid the Nightmare difficulty-levels; I just don't find pitting myself against a computer
all that fun. I've done it, mostly to see what it's like, but I find
it more distraction than enjoyable.

#

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?

Much like you. I'll start at the default difficulty, maybe tweak it
some to make it more enjoyable. I play to relax and have some fun, not masochistically torture myself.

PS. Make up your mind. Is it "playthrough" or "play-through"?
--
I've done good in this world. Now I'm tired and just want to be a cranky
dirty old man.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

A because the games do get really hard later on!


Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> wrote:

CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)

#

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

Answer honestly. We won't judge you by your answer... much. ;-)

#

Myself, I tend to default to Normal, but depending on the game I may
ease it down to easy. I'm too old to want to prove myself to the
computer or to some unseen developer; I've done that in the past but
these days I play games for fun. If the challenge gets in the way of
the experience --which for me is the story, the environment, the
setting and appreciating the mechanics-- I'll happily make things a
bit less difficult. But that's usually for my first playthrough; if I
come back to a game, I tend to up the difficulty because, well, I've
already seen the new stuff the game has to offer; time to revel in the challenge.

Still, even on second play-throughs, I generally avoid the Nightmare difficulty-levels; I just don't find pitting myself against a computer
all that fun. I've done it, mostly to see what it's like, but I find
it more distraction than enjoyable.

#

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?

--
"We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." --Romans 5:3-4
Note: A fixed width font (Courier, Monospace, etc.) is required to see this signature correctly.
/\___/\ Ant(Dude) @ http://aqfl.net & http://antfarm.home.dhs.org.
/ /\ /\ \ Please nuke ANT if replying by e-mail.
| |o o| |
\ _ /
( )
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Wed, 23 Sep 2026 20:04:20 -0400, Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> wrote:

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

Depends on the genre. If it is a strategy game, I start on the easiest difficulty to learn the game. Then I move up from there. I tend to
stop at one level above Normal though, which is usually 'Hard',
because I never play the game long enough to get better at it.

If it is a CRPG that even has difficulty choices, then I usually just
play it at normal or hard. Never more or less. I do not want a game to
be too easy, as that is boring. I do not want it too hard as that is frustrating.

I never use cheat codes unless I am just testing something out. I tend
to focus on mods that add features, quality of life improvements and
graphical updates. I do not necessarily look for ones that change the difficulty in either direction.

So, to answer your poll.... B and C only. No other options above
really fits my playstyle.
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:01:05 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<[email protected]> said this thing:

PS. Make up your mind. Is it "playthrough" or "play-through"?

Play through. ;-)

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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> wrote at 00:04 this Thursday (GMT):

CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)

#

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

Answer honestly. We won't judge you by your answer... much. ;-)

#

Myself, I tend to default to Normal, but depending on the game I may
ease it down to easy. I'm too old to want to prove myself to the
computer or to some unseen developer; I've done that in the past but
these days I play games for fun. If the challenge gets in the way of
the experience --which for me is the story, the environment, the
setting and appreciating the mechanics-- I'll happily make things a
bit less difficult. But that's usually for my first playthrough; if I
come back to a game, I tend to up the difficulty because, well, I've
already seen the new stuff the game has to offer; time to revel in the challenge.

Still, even on second play-throughs, I generally avoid the Nightmare difficulty-levels; I just don't find pitting myself against a computer
all that fun. I've done it, mostly to see what it's like, but I find
it more distraction than enjoyable.

#

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?

Pretty much always A or B, I'm way too scared that the game will be too
hard if I turn it up more. The only real exception is rougelikes, where starting modifiers are clear enough on HOW my gameplay will change that
I am sometimes willing to enable them :P
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> wrote at 16:33 this Thursday (GMT):

On Wed, 23 Sep 2026 18:01:05 -0700, Dimensional Traveler
<[email protected]> said this thing:

PS. Make up your mind. Is it "playthrough" or "play-through"?

Play through. ;-)

i always see it said as one word with no dash :P
--
user <candycane> is generated from /dev/urandom
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

On 9/23/2026 5:04 PM, Spalls Hurgenson wrote:

CRAP poll time? <checks calendar> Yup, CRAP poll time!

Here's the question. And hey, look at that; it's even a
semi-legitimate gaming question, as opposed to the usual nonsense I
come up with! ;-)

#

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play
C) Hard mode, because I like a challenge
D) Nightmare mode, because I! AM! HARD-CORE!!!!
E) I only play games that let me tweak the difficulty to my tastes
F) I use cheat-codes and mods to make things super-easy!
G) I use mods to make things harder-than-hard!
H) I like games that play the hard parts for me!
I) The games I play don't have optional difficulty modes

So where do you fall in this gamut? What level of challenge do you
find an acceptable starting point? Do you go for the easy or the
impossible, or somewhere in between?

These days mostly I) as that's what souls games are. But other games
mostly B) with some C) if it's too easy, very rarely A) because if I
can't beat it on normal mode, it's too hard for me, though I keep
thinking of trying the new Doom game and Hades on easy.
--
-Justisaur

ø-ø
(\_/)\
`-'\ `--.___,
¶¬'\( ,_.-'
\\
^'
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From Newsgroup: comp.sys.ibm.pc.games.action

Spalls Hurgenson <[email protected]> writes:

Typically, what difficulty level do you play your games at?

A) Easy mode, because it's all about the experience.
B) Normal mode, because that's what the developers
expect me to play

Mostly B, normal mode or whatever the default is. However, I did
recently set "combat difficulty" to easy on the System Shock Remake
after playing it for a while. Combat there just felt senselessly hard
and pointless, especially in the beginning when you don't have much of a
gun. And there's no XP or loot so it just drains your ammo. Lesson
learned, this is not Doom. The enemies will respawn but your ammo
won't. Energy weapons can offset that but a charge point might be just
the place for enemy respawning...

Sometimes I might look up how to get better weapons early or play DLC
for same effect. System Shock Remake again, there's a secret area on the
first level that has a little pocket cannon and a few rounds. But then I
ended up hoarding that scarce ammo and never used the thing. Oh well.

Mafia 3 was like that too, if you played one of the DLCs first (or
early?), you'd get a magic instant-silent-kill throwing knife which made
the tedium of the fights much more bearable. I think you could even pick
up the knives after throwing so you never ran out.

Generally about difficulty, I just don't see the point when everything is
super hard to kill and maybe has auto-heal too. Borderlands 2 "ultimate
vault hunter mode" comes to mind. Even worse, some of the BL2 DLCs had
enemies that'd level up others or themselves. So some enemy starting out
at a tough your level+2 goes up to your level+4 and suddenly you can
barely scratch the paint on their armor.

Also in Borderlands 2 I got into a situation once where difficulty
apparently reset itself to four player co-op level while I was playing
solo. That was no fun at all but apparently some people liked that,
there was a tool developed to control this. Good thing for me, I managed
to fix my save file.
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