An opinion on custom difficulties

[STFUGB2S]

By creating a new thread instead of replying on one or more existing, I'm going to try and at least bring a specific idea forward regarding custom difficulties. On repeated plays I have felt the desire to be able to meld certain aspects of each difficulty and I'll bet I'm not alone.

One possible way of handing custom difficulty - instead of toggling broad categories on/off - is to work in sliding scales and break down categories. The three existing difficulties are great reference points as players make adjustments. A potential slider might look:

~Wolf Density ~
           Pilgrim                   Voyageur                          Stalker
0-----------|--------{}---------------|-------------------------------|

The same slider concept can be applied to many categories, including the intangibles such as fatigue, cold, hunger and how severely they affect the player.

• Food distribution
• Wildlife density - by individual animal
• Wildlife aggression - by individual animal
• Man-made tool distribution
• Firearm distribution
• Item durability, rate of decay, etc.
• Rate of hunger
• Rate of fatigue
• Rate of dehydration

Other mechanics are toggle-oriented. Food poisoning, illnesses, etc.

I feel that having the ability to customize a game in this detailed manner would allow players to explore, practice, and enjoy the game in a way they want. If I wanted to jack up the difficulty in every way, while having access to a moderate amount of food and supplies, I could enjoy the challenge in fighting and planning for weather, fatigue, and wildlife but at least experience being well-armed to do battle. Or on the other hand roam the environment, having to fend for myself with a bare minimum of supplies - but without being mauled by a wolf as I'm enjoying my leisurely stroll to the fishing hole.

One other idea I have, but the execution is well-beyond me right now, would be to share your custom difficulty somehow. If there was a way to objectively quantify difficulty (maybe on a point basis?) then players could at least have some way to compare their custom experiences. This may be a bit too much work for little payoff though, and difficult if not impossible to balance.

Love the game! Can't wait for the new content!

Cheers.
 

[Hotzn]

This has been discussed several times in the past, and the devs have made a statement along the lines of wanting to offer certain survival experiences and not a toolbox for experiences. But much has changed in the course of development, and maybe it is time to have another discussion about this. The game "Invisible, Inc." for example offers different difficulty modes, but in addition a custom mode where a lot of parameters can be set as one desires. In my view this has not taken anything away from the game, all the contrary.

[ShawnB]

Agreed, I think a sliding difficulty scale in much needed to keep long term players in the game. This mechanic in some ways is just like challenge mode that the community could interact with.  

200 hrs of gameplay in and at this point all my entertainment comes from self imposed challenges like live off the land, don't use any buildings, explore as fast as possible, only use bow, etc.