Difficulty levels?

[Sandman25]

I recently started playing DCSS with difficulty levels and I wonder if it's possible to introduce them into Demon as well?
Something basic like +/-N% HP/MP might be good enough and easy to implement I hope. Probably it can apply to PC only if you think it's not a good idea to change max HP/MP of demons after recruiting them.

[Ferret]

Hmm... the numbers are pretty tightly balanced. But, I wonder if I get some movement just by nerfing the enemy AI or, now, by reducing currency costs? This would make enemies less likely to punish mistakes effectively, and also make them easier to recover from.

I didn't realize DCSS had added them, but I only play that during tournaments. Is HP/MP how they do it?

[Sandman25]

The whole point of difficulty levels is to change balance IMHO. Personally I would enjoy Demon more if it didn't require so much attention.

Standard DCSS will never add difficulty modes, I was talking about its branch https://github.com/jeremygurr/dcssca

Edit. Not only HP/MP but also by changing effect of items, experience penalty, out of depth monsters etc.

[Ferret]

The reason I'm twitchy about doing it via direct balance changing is that it's hard for me to predict (since my original numbers weren't designed for it) where the result would end up on the boring vs. easy spectrum. There's a really, really thin line between the two.

That's what has me wondering if I might get a better result from nerfing AI / currency costs, at least as a first swing. It would still feel tense... but with less frequent / less expensive to recover errors, it would hopefully feel easier without wandering into boring?

On the other hand, if one of your reasons for wanting is this is you don't want Demon to require as much attention, this may be the opposite of what you're asking for.

I'll keep my thinking cap on about this, for now. I'll check out the branch you linked sometime, I should have known mainline DCSS wouldn't add difficulty levels, but then again, I haven't understood many of the things they've done in the last couple of years.

[Sandman25]

Oh, do whatever you think is best for Demon, as game designer I am even worse than as player, I just brought the idea. Probably some guys would enjoy hard mode.

[wizzzargh]

I don't think I'd find a difficulty mode that simply increased enemy HP very interesting... but challenge modes like Angel of X in DoomRL could be pretty interesting if adapted to Demon. But I imagine it will be many months or years before such a thing would even go on the 'maybe' list.

Adapting currency costs does sound like a simple way to create difficulty levels without mucking about with the math of combat, though.