Auto-healing. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH (Managing Resources is cool)

[Fuzzy Skinner]

It was an amusing feature when Halo first came out, and to some extent it's a good way to keep the action going in PVP multiplayer action games, but I'm over-all sick of auto healing!

It seems like literally every game that comes out these days has this function (including this game). Do gamers really prefer this? Are most gamers so lazy and entitled now that they expect their resources (such as health, magic/power and even ammo) to regenerate without any kind of work?

I remember fondly the days of having to make serious decisions on whatever or not I was ready to go into a dungeon or an enemy base based on what supplies I had. It made it so even simple enemies were a threat on some level because they drained your resources, requiring you to make the most out of what you had.
It also seems to dumb down good games.
Like when playing through Oblivion and Skyrim feeling as though the game meant for you to use resources to keep your health/magic at optimum levels, but in reality it conformed to the modern way of doing things and all you had to do was "rest" for an hour after each battle, or just simply wait without having to use any potions or spells.

I recently got into an argument online where someone was saying they hope in the new Dead Island that ammo wouldn't be so rare and weapons wouldn't degrade anymore. REALLY? REALLY? That's perhaps the best feature of Dead Island is that resources just didn't constantly fall from the sky and you had to seriously manage what you had.

Bahhh. Maybe I'm getting old, I don't know. Come on game Devs, make us work for it! I don't like being spoon fed.

[fsol]

Fuzzy

if you like the old ways and you havent yet played it ,buy Dark souls or demon souls(this one is only on ps3)
Have them both and they can drive you nuts but they are gems.

[Fuzzy Skinner]

I've heard people talk big about Dark Souls and I am curious about it. I'll look for it in the used game bin next time I stop by Gamestop.
Which of the two would say is better though?

The thing is I'm cool with new games over all and this is a minor complaint, but it's because EVERY GAME now does it, it's starting to get under my skin. I understand things change, but at the very least these games should have an option to allow me to manage my resources instead of being handed everything.
It's one of the reasons I prefer New Vegas over Fallout 3. In New Vegas they had an 'hardcore' difficulty option that required you to use resources to restore health as well as manage hunger/thirst/sleep levels. I love that kind of stuff.

[fsol]

I understand your frustrations hehe,i share them.
Think its because most developpers dont want to scare the current gen away.
Now before ppl react offended its ofc not all off the new gen but today its all about,we want it now/we want it fast
and above all without any trouble or effort.

That being said.
I wouldnt know wich one is better to me they are both ace,the main diference is that in Dark souls you have a more open world while in Demon souls you go trough more linear paths +you need to go to other lvls so to speak before being able to continue the previous one.

Also keep in mind when you die in Demon souls that place gets darker on the map meaning enemies get more health/do more dmg ect ect.So basiccly you die allot you kinda screw youreself.

+you also get invaded by other players.On a sidenote its easier in Demon souls to perform a stab then in Dark souls.

I would if i where you buy the first one you find after that you can always buy the other one.

[Fuzzy Skinner]

I pick it up around the start of the month. I'm kinda burned out on Defiance and figure I'll only play it now for Shadow Wars and when any add-on comes out, but I'm ready for new stuff (but I'm always playing new games).

On topic. Thing is this is ultimately not even an issue of difficulty, it's an issue of control. Even if a game is simple as hell I'd be fine if I'm the one who decides how to use my resources, and it's not automated. I mean, at what point do these games stop being games? If the game is automating things for me, at I really playing it? It's like games are slowly becoming "interactive movies" instead of actually games. This is why I hate the Assassin's Creed series so much, the platforming and half the combat is automatic instead of you actually controlling it. Let me make decisions damn it!

[JMadFour]

running around finding health packs randomly lying around is stupid and has always been stupid. devs just didn't have any better mechanics at the time.

I'm cool with out-of-combat regeneration, so long as it doesn't take 3 years to take someone's shield down(looking at you, Halo).

[Taaltos]

You can get Wizardry Online. It has perma-death.

[Fuzzy Skinner]

running around finding health packs randomly lying around is stupid and has always been stupid. devs just didn't have any better mechanics at the time.

I'm cool with out-of-combat regeneration, so long as it doesn't take 3 years to take someone's shield down(looking at you, Halo).

Yeah, why can't I also have my ammo generate, and also have auto fire. In fact, why can't these stupid games just play themselves while I kick back and smoke a bowl? Geeze, it's like games want me to do all the work. psssh. I shouldn't have to walk around looking for things or doing stuff, it's too annoying.
*rolls eyes*

You can get Wizardry Online. It has perma-death.

That's pretty cool actually. I used to play the hell out of Wizardy V:Heart of the Maelstrom and loved the challenge and the significant possibility of permanently losing a character when they died. Also why I'm a fan of X-com UFO Defense (I even enjoyed Enemy Unknown). Mistakes had serious consequences.

[JMadFour]

Yeah, why can't I also have my ammo generate, and also have auto fire. In fact, why can't these stupid games just play themselves while I kick back and smoke a bowl? Geeze, it's like games want me to do all the work. psssh. I shouldn't have to walk around looking for things or doing stuff, it's too annoying.
*rolls eyes*

how about no health regeneration at all?

through the entire game?

you take enough damage and your legs stop working, and you are reduced to crawling through the rest of the game.

take more damage and your arms don't work. then you can't shoot.

you start the game with all the ammo you will ever get. run out, you are SOL.

medpacks? pffft. who needs em? ammo? that's for lazy losers who want the game to play for them. you should be able to just punch everything to death with your non-working arms.

HARDCORE GAMERS ONLY RAWR.

(see, I can use a ridiculous exaggeration too.)

[Fuzzy Skinner]

Yes, it was hyperbole, I'll admit.
However this has nothing to do with being hardcore, or wanting games to be uber difficult. It's about having options, having control and having a greater level of depth in the game play. Autoheal ultimately takes from that, especially in single player games. I don't know how often, on the hardest difficulty, on any given modern game I just say "**** it" and rush enemy mobs knowing full well that hit for hit I'll come out ahead and then in 3 seconds I'll have all my health/power/magic/shield back so it doesn't even matter. IMO they are actually hurting their own games by adding this feature.
As in Skyrim for example, you have all these potions and food and healing items, but who cares? They added things in the game that become almost useless once you realize after each fight you will be fully restored anyway.
In shooters it's even worse. Just got pummeled by enemy fire because you ran out into the open? Ok, whatever, who cares. Just hide behind the nearest cover for a brief moment and come back out guns a blazing... Rinse and repeat. This has become the over-all game play of nearly every shooter now.

The thing is no one, NOT ONE SINGLE SOUL, was ever complaining about how games handled healing before Halo. Healing items simply require you to actually do something active to keep yourself alive, not just hide like a coward.

I'm just sick of the simplicity that all games are heading towards. It's like in a decade we will find ourselves playing games similar to Sega CD FMV games where it's nothing but an interactive movie now.