My ideal for higher difficulties would actually be the introduction of new gameplay rules. I don't like strict linear increases in settings. The exact rules can be up for debate. For example, something like the rarity concept for high-end equipment is a pretty good one, so the first Tiger II might cost 100% prestige, but the second 200%, and so on. Alternatively, expupgrade penalties could be introduced, or elite reinforcement costs could be higher. Or, per your proposal, on Colonel, a destroyed unit can come back in the same scenario if you spend extra prestige, but this option is no longer available at FM. These are just some ideas, not a definitive list.boredatwork wrote:
Fundamentally I agree with you that the reason gameplay late in 43/44/45 is trivialised is due to the snowball effect. I'm just more doubtfull the current system could be made to ***reliably*** prevent the snowball without accidently making it too hard. IMO there are simply too many variables for prestige to cope beyond a dozen or two scenarios in a campaign. IMO I'm doubtfull it will be solved short of adopting a quality based scenario core cap instead of a quantity based one.
But what I was really objecting in my previous post is the concept of tying difficulty to arbitrary linear settings. For example from your post it sounds like you would construct the difficulties something like this:
Level / +enemy str / % of player prestige / exp penalty for unit loss
Colonel / +0 / 100% / 0
General / +1 / 75% / -100
FM / +2 / 50% / -200
In otherwords for your "ideal" hard difficulty you would make the enemy tougher, while limiting expensive equipment, and adding a greater death penalty.
I don't think difficulty modding should be the default option. You need a number of set difficulties, as long as they feel sufficiently different, for players who don't want to fiddle with six sliders before starting a game. It also makes discussion and comparison of strategies easier. (And why just Colonel -> General -> FM? You can add in 3-4 difficulties in between Colonel and FM). Someone else who is determined to play on a custom difficulty is still welcomed to do so, perhaps via an "advanced difficulty settings" option in the game. Playing the game with +5 AI strength is very different than playing it with -75% prestige, and you can't meaningfully compare the two.Which is why IMO the better solution than a proliferation of arbitrary difficulty levels is instead make the difficulty modding the default option in the game - provide a half dozen sliders with descriptions and let the player pick and choose how to build a custom difficulty to suit them. ex: "Prestige - increasing this option will allow you to afford more high end equipment sooner making the game easier" ; "Death Penalty - changes the amount of experience a unit loses for being so damaged it is forced to withdraw from the battle" ; "Enemy unit strength - changes the base strength of enemy units and makes them more or less capable of inflicting damage on you"; etc.
But offer a first-time player this much freedom, and you may drive him off. The game should be easy to learn, and hard to master. Once you played through the game a couple times, then experimenting around with custom difficulties or custom rules makes more sense.
