This game has become near-impossible to start

Yeah, I agree. I've lost count of the amount of franchises that have been ruined for me because of the constant need to dumb the gameplay down. The legitimate counter to the OP is that:

A) It's in stage 1 Beta, the balance will be addressed in future patches.
B ) The issue with 6 billion DPS is a much bigger cause for concern than people finding their starting planet hard
C) It's a RNG, certain planets will be harder than others
D) They haven't implemented any difficulty settings yet which they undoubtedly will

 

I swear, not a single MOB problem since the beginning.
Died 1 time by enemy, but it was my fault, in 3 hours.

Even had a decent and fun battle with the Penguin Boss (finally!), and even than, with low gear.

I really, really DON'T understand what's wrong with your difficulty level.

Maybe you are doing something wrong? (Don't think so, you said you were at the beginning).

 

You still haven't seemed to address my question regarding the beginner experience. What would make YOU believe that the beginning player will take the time to practice or reroll a whole bunch instead of becoming increasingly frustrated?

There should not for the love of goodness be some barrier to playing the main portion of the game, or truly playing it.

 

Ever played a game so mind numbing easy you deleted it?

Having things be the equal of click I win is far, far worse than having a slightly too hard game.

 

Nothing. I would never design a game with those people in mind. If someones unwilling to learn to be better at the game, there is absolutely nothing you can do to make them try to be better.
Just like you can't force someone to eat, or drink. They have to be willing to participate in the experience.

If you genuinely believe games should be built around people who refuse to practice as the core, then all of gaming is dead.

I legitimately cannot think of a single example of a game that was designed to be "entry level" and DIDN'T end up vaporware or worse.

There has to be an accepted standard of expected skill in order to properly balance the later portions of the game- the part when you expect that person to have learned more. If there is no progression of difficulty, you are not playing a game.

 

Well I wouldn't go THAT far. I've had a lot more 'gripping' moments since the hotfix, but I've also done a lot less exo-planet exploring, and building.

The entertainment is now on the, as you put it, side scrolling fighter aspects, and I can see where it'd drown out the other stuff.

 

I did not shun practicing. Sure, practicing and learning is great, but not when you have to climb some sort of skill barrier to actually enjoy a game. Besides, there can be a market for hardcore gamers and that, I can leave alone. But when a game is made for people expecting 'a game' instead of 'a hard game', they do not want it to be 'a hard game' that requires dedication to actually enjoy.

 

I think the problem here is that Mingnon is asking for a slower learning curve, with eventual necessary skill, potentially, being at the same level.

Scynix is mistaking this for asking for the entire game to be dumbed down instead of just a more inclusive tutorial.

 

I'm not calling you bad. I'm calling you casual, that's not an insult in any way shape or form, that's a playstyle and a level of gaming. I'm a hardcore player, I'm not a Pro player, they are so far above me in skill and dedicate I look like a complete and total newb. I'm not a speendrunning player eithier, they are a tier above Pro players, they play a game and know it so intimately they compete to see who can beat the game the fastest. It's not insulting to say that someone is a casual, or that they should practice. Am I better then X? Maybe? Am I worse then Y? Maybe. We all have our own playstyles, the problem is that some people like the OP are flipping tables about how hard it is, where as many of us feel the exact opposite, in some cases (Like my own.) The game feels downright boring, especially after you've moved on from Tier 1, that's not good for a game eithier.

You're right, the game isn't entertaining the way it currently is. Monsters don't act aggresively enough, you deal to much damage, and don't have to play safely enough, they are easy to kill. It's not about exploration, because ore gets dumped on you, there is no reason or explaination for progression in the same Tier anymore, because all planets are the same difficulty, this negates the need to explore past, it's fun.

Most people aren't forcing everyone to play super hardcore, we're just asking that the game not be made even easier then it already is, and instead a difficulty level of some kind is added, this way people like the OP, who are eithier new tot his style of gaming, or simply aren't "hardcore" players, can have a fun and enjoyable experience, without the need for frustration and anger. Where as us "hardcore" players as we've been labelled, can still enjoy a game that isn't so mind-numbingly boring I regret pre-ordering it and being so hyped about it.

I think they need to add difficulty modes before they start balancing to much, because this camp will ALWAYS be split. No matter what you and I debate and discuss, there will always be players on both sides of the fence.

Actually, people are saying to make birds easier, they've said it alot in this thread, like A LOT.

Armor does do something, in full Steel I don't take as much from Threat Level 1 planets, as I did running around in my skivvies, that means armor does something, just because it doesn't do enough to satisfy some people, doesn'tmean it doesn't work at all. Again, difficulty modes would fix these issues on both sides.

Shields do work, whether or not as intended is another story, they make you take less damage albeit not much, but still less.

Equipment does do something, it's not a huge difference, maybe that's bugging people? It doesn't need to be, the game is fairly easy right now. You just have to play smarter not harder, I'm in no way saying "u suk get gud" I'm saying, if at first you don't succeed, don't try the exact same plan that failed 100 times, because no it won't work if you try, try again. You have to re-think, and go at it another way.

Threads like these, and people arguing and battling one another on the forums will continue until difficulty modes are in, period. I find the game exceptionally easy, OP finds it exceptionally hard, some people think it's just right. Sadly we're all right in our own opinion, because gaming is not a blanket effect, different people have different experiences and skill levels, that's the reason games like League of Legends, and Starcraft 2 have leagues, this way Grandmaster players aren't against Bronze players, it'd be no fun at all for the Bronze players would it? They'd just get stomped repeatedly, difficulty modes are desperately needed to make this game viable for all people.

 

I was literally about to say this exactly. I think this is where the confusion stems from. I'm against nerfing the entire game based on a knee-jerk reaction to SL1 planets.
I'm NOT against making the game easier for people to learn.

 

well Mingnons first post is all valid points ... and it doesn't point to asking for a "easy" game , just fixing certain things , which will eventually get fixed

 

No they are not valid.

A. Needs to be tweaked but can also be easily fixed by sniping them with a bow or just blocking them off. AKA it is extremely easily to counter or stop
B.That is the point of night time.. for it to get harder and for you to build a shelter or go mine.
C.If dealing with attack patterns easier than the nes era is to hard... Well I have nothing nice to say on that. Humans freaking made axes out of stone and sticks and this guy has a hard time reading 3 different attacks.
D.Um.. This is called learning not to trap yourself in a group of monsters.
E. This is RNG. I experienced the exact opposite so far. And is probably the only valid point I can agree with needs a seriously look.

All but E can be solved by thinking and using your brain a wee bit.

 

Funnily enough, Pokémon. No really, have you played X and Y? Those games are so easy, and so boring now it's a waste of time to play them, yet they still sell millions and millions, and probably will for some years to come, that said? I agree with your post.

I can't find the post now (Sorry I lost it when I clicked away.) Someone said increase Coal ore on starting planets, this is a solid idea, Tiyuri said your starting planet will ALWAYS be a forest planet. Instead of just increasing it on starting planets, why don't we make it so Coal Ore is super plentiful on forest planets, make gold ore harder to find, and put more gold ore in say desert planets, put more iron in snow planets etc. This way people have a reason to explore and go somewhere other then their starting planet?

Edit: As a person who is hated on by every RNG to exsist ever, period end of discussion, even "odds" in real life, I think the RNG could use some tuning, that is one thing I will definitely agree with, make it so your starting experience isn't so varied. Other planets sure, but not TL 1 forest planets. Make it easy to know what to expect, Mind you, don't make it EASY just make it easy to prepare, and know what to expect when you start. If that makes any sense.

 

That's an incredibly closed minded and insensitive position. without mainstream and new players continuing to become "gamers" there would be no games because this would be a dead industry. Also as someone at least in their mid thirties please adjust how you speak. You should be encouraging and helpful. Not smarmy and sarcastic. I am sure that even you agree that if you pay for something you should be entitled to enjoy it just the same as everyone else. If this game was returnable I'd have no qualms with the difficulty but you can't. A lot of people came to starbound (like myself) after playing terraria on a console. I wanted a game focused on exploration, space travel, and creation. The game as it is now has these things offered but are dangling out of reach due to the difficulty. I don't mind things being hard. In fact I relish in accomplishing something I found difficult but after finally being comfortable on my starter planet I felt burnt out and sick of the game instead of feeling ecstatic and ready to move on to the next challenge.

 

You see Mingnon, I believe this game is not even on "average difficulty" at the moment. And i'm telling you this not by the perspective of the "Mothafuckaproplayer", but from a guy that he relaxes while playing, making no effort at all smashing and beating things.

I think there must be something wrong within the game if somebody find it too difficult, and others not at all.

 

Sorry but. The problem is the current generation of gamers are weaksauce. Most hardcore console games still baby the player beyond belief. So many gamers now are so used to having everything as easy as possible that if there is a tiny bit of hardness to it they run and cry.

 

It's not that you want games to be good or entertaining. It's just that you want to exclude others so that you can feel like you're part of some kind of elite.

Not having an "Easy" option just makes games worse. (Barring PvP experiences)

Get. Out.

I am more of a gamer than you will ever be. Your tremendous self-righteousness and worshipping the 'hardcore' is like poison to the industry.

 

This is entirely RNG. Sometimes it does, sometimes you can't find copper or coal in large enough quantities to make proper equipment OR get off the starting planet. (I posted coordinates for such a starting planet in another thread about lack of coal on starters).

Agreed.

What kind of game were you expecting? It was billed as basically Terraria in SPAAAAAACE. By one of Terraria's original developers. And Terraria was/is much simpler with much less engaging combat than Starbound already.

I'm just confused why you would be hyped for and pre-order it if you can't enjoy it for the mining and exploration and instead require difficult combat.

Well, okay, birds are an exception, and are pretty broken right now as their attacks on level 1 planets can hit for up to 80 damage, ignoring all damage resistance, and they tend to fly too high to be hit by a broadsword if you're on a level surface. First part is obviously a bug in damage calculations, second part would be fine if they didn't have buggy damage calculations.

Well, you know, except for the fact that I was specifically talking about tier 1 armor, which literally doesn't do anything.

They reduce damage by 1 against equivalent enemies. They do nothing to knockback. They're completely useless.

Technically they do SOMETHING, yes, but that's merely arguing semantics. Which is silly.

These threads are useful though, because Devs can look and be like 'okay, like, pretty much everyone is complaining about birds, maybe we should look at that'. It's not really about making it easier or harder, but certain aspects (birds/shields/low level armor) are clearly not working in an intended fashion.

Having people complain about this kind of thing is, quite literally, why betas exist.

 

Just gonna put this out there but would them making ONLY the alpha sector planets easier be a possible compromise on this? Games should start of relatively easy and get harder as they progress anyway in my opinion. Granted I think the problem will be solved if they just fix birds and armor but still.

 

A game getting really hard at the end of the game, or the middle, or even shortly after you beat the first section of the game can be fine. Bringing that level of difficulty to what is essentially the tutorial stage of the game is bad design. More so because as people who claim it is easy noted, it gets a whole heck of a lot easier later on into the game as your options for dealing with the difficult parts of the game expand. And I'm not sure a game with an inverted difficulty curve is something that should be aimed at.
The difficulty of that first stage need not affect the rest of the game anyway, merely making the RNG outcomes more homogeneous and less unforgiving at the first stage goes a big way toward alleviating the difficulty newcomers find, and leaves the rest of the game alone. Making a big fuss about people wanting the tutorial level to be more welcoming and keeping out difficulties best reserved for later in the game seems like a waste of time.