ITYTD exists. And it is always an option.

[Jayextee]

ITYTD is legit amazing for slaughtermaps that don't have difficulty settings implemented and you just want to take the edge off a little with half damage (and, I guess, those double ammo pickups). Yes, I do, sometimes.

[Cilian]

I have a habit of just playing a different wad when UV is too difficult for me, all or nothing. No shame on those who don't do that though

[OpenRift]

12 hours ago, jmac said:

Higher difficulty doesn't mean a more complete experience by default. If somebody is bashing their head against a wad on UV when it's too difficult for them to enjoy, they aren't getting the full experience. if anything, they're ruining the experience for themselves.

To me that seems more like a WAD design issue than a difficulty issue. You could also just play it on a lower difficulty and then revisit it on UV. The reason I say it's a more complete experience is because pretty much all the singleplayer pieces are on the board, and nothing is hidden behind a higher difficulty. 

[Jayextee]

Bro more monsters isn't more completeness you just got content FOMO.

[Cutman 999]

7 minutes ago, Jayextee said:

Bro more monsters isn't more completeness you just got content FOMO.

when bro doesn't know people like ribbiks modifies entire combat sections in lower difficulties

[Shepardus]

A lot of maps remove resources on higher skill levels, so to get the full experience of picking up those resources you need to play on the lower skill levels.

[Decay]

18 hours ago, OpenRift said:

Play on whatever difficulty you want (I'll still make fun of you anyway)

Wish I could dislike this post.

 

Difficulty settings can definitely change game play in unique ways if done right.

[DiceByte]

Now that I think about it, since it is called “I’m Too Young To Die”, playing it makes veterans think they are too much of a baby, no matter the wad.

[OpenRift]

2 hours ago, Decay said:

Wish I could dislike this post.

well too bad lol

[Stabbey]

4 hours ago, DiceByte said:

Now that I think about it, since it is called “I’m Too Young To Die”, playing it makes veterans think they are too much of a baby, no matter the wad.

 

I don't understand. Are you now complaining that other people, different from you, are making a choice to play on a different difficulty setting than you play on?

Edited March 16 by Stabbey

[Maximum Matt]

Well yeah.  You should UV or GTFO, MF.

[DiceByte]

1 hour ago, Stabbey said:

 

I don't understand. Are you now complaining that other people, different from you, are making a choice to playing on a different difficulty setting than you play on?

No. I am saying that some veterans (not all) believe that they can’t play on any mode lower than UV. And sometimes, NOBODY can play on a mode lower than UV.

Edited March 16 by DiceByte

[Stabbey]

1 hour ago, DiceByte said:

No. I am saying that some veterans (not all) believe that they can’t play on any mode lower than UV. And sometimes, NOBODY can play on a mode lower than UV.

 

Why concern yourself with the preferences of other people? Their personal difficulty level choice isn't hurting you or anyone else. If it upsets you, ignore it and move on. You got your best answer already:

 

On 3/14/2024 at 10:05 PM, Murdoch said:

 There is no worthy debate or discussion to be had here. Play whatever difficulty setting works for you. The game is supposed to be fun. Play whatever skill makes you enjoy a given map or maps. The end. Anyone who disagrees with this needs to stop overcompensating and remember that, again, it's a fucking game.

Play for yourself and don't worry about what other people do or what they say is the "only" or "best" way to play.

 

Edited March 16 by Stabbey
quote for emphasis

[ObserverOfTime]

Imagine caring about what difficulty random people you will never meet play their games on lmao

 

Quote

change my mind

No, I don't think I will.

 

Edit: How do you know someone plays exclusively on UV? Don't worry, they'll let you know!

Edited March 16 by ObserverOfTime

[JackDBS]

Ya know I was playing Sunder today and MAP32 is so BS that I contemplated many things such as my life choices and what I'm doing with myself. Maybe ITYTD wouldn't have caused that but I'm not a pansy so UV it is.

Edited March 16 by JackDBS

[JackDBS]

Ok for real ITYTD is not a good option because the double ammo breaks a map's difficulty. If you suck hard enough at the map to use ITYTD, get better by playing something else. You will never get better playing on ITYTD for most WADs. Ofc, I play on UV exclusively (except Ribbiks maps) because it's the difficulty literally everyone from what I've seen maps for UV first (like me) and then tones it down for lower settings. Save scumming is viable ofc and I do it all the damn time, even on my own maps.

Edited March 16 by JackDBS

[DNSKILL5]

Can I play, daddy? Yeah, piece of cake. 

Edited March 16 by DNSKILL5

[QuaketallicA]

5 hours ago, DiceByte said:

Now that I think about it, since it is called “I’m Too Young To Die”, playing it makes veterans think they are too much of a baby, no matter the wad.

 

What if the difficulty setting were, "I'm Too Pretty To Die"?

 

 

[QuaketallicA]

19 hours ago, Jayextee said:

ITYTD is legit amazing for slaughtermaps that don't have difficulty settings implemented and you just want to take the edge off a little with half damage (and, I guess, those double ammo pickups). Yes, I do, sometimes.

 

That's not a bad idea actually, I might use that some time. I usually land up just turning God mode on or something. But I'm just generally not a fan of slaughtermaps. They're always too brutal, and frankly kinda uninteresting design. There's much more skill and fun to be had in fewer monsters that are intentionally placed (e.g. E4M1) than just doing something akin to nuts.wad.

[DiceByte]

Again, like I said everybody, I am NOT trying to make anybody mad. It is just that I saw some people going “If Sigil 2 is two hard for you (pun intended), than just remember… it IS an option” and others were like “No you are a baby bitch”, so I was just curious how many of you exist.

Edited March 16 by DiceByte

[Fadri]

On 3/15/2024 at 10:47 AM, Jayextee said:

ITYTD is legit amazing for slaughtermaps that don't have difficulty settings implemented and you just want to take the edge off a little with half damage (and, I guess, those double ammo pickups). Yes, I do, sometimes.

Thanks to ITYTD's half damage, I beat Dimensions Map01 without saves a few years ago, when I was worse at the game than I am today (but I haven't tried beating that map at a higher difficulty yet xP).

[mrthejoshmon]

I was just thinking, given that you can place things (entities) differently depending on difficulty chosen, I wonder what it could be like if you use something like blocking pillars or teleport destinations or player starts to make a level play out differently depending on difficulty.

 

TimeSplitters 2 had different objectives and shorter levels depending on difficulty, I wonder if I can do something with that, maybe use Keens or something.

Edited March 16 by mrthejoshmon

[97th Century Fox]

Just now, mrthejoshmon said:

I was just thinking, given that you can place things (entities) differently depending on difficulty chosen, I woner what it could be like if you use something like blocking pillars or teleport destinations to make a level play out differently depending on difficulty.

 

TimeSplitters 2 had different objectives and shorter levels depending on difficulty, I wonder if ai can do something with that...

180 Minutes Pour Vivre's Map10 (Triléthal) might be worth checking out, it does something like this

[mrthejoshmon]

1 hour ago, 97th Century Fox said:

180 Minutes Pour Vivre's Map10 (Triléthal) might be worth checking out, it does something like this

Thank you, I'll take a look at that when I get a chance and see if I do something similar.

[Spicy tacodemon]

Very interesting opinions on this thread, but since no one has mentioned something similar yet, I want to share my approach to choosing the right difficulty (right for me, that is).

 

One of the greatest aspects of classic Doom is how easy it is to modify the game in a lot of ways. Taking advantage of this, and thanks to the help of some very friendly and cool members of this community (mainly plums, thank you again!), I created and fine-tuned my own skill level, which I call "I'm too young to UV". It is a dehack patch that is always on my autoload folder on DSDA-Doom, my source port of choice, and among other stuff, does the following:

 

- Any armor is blue armor (50% damage reduction, 200 points)

- Stimpacks are no more, they are replaced by medikits, all other healing items remain unchanged

- Reduced damage for some enemy attacks, e.g., the max damage revenant rocket for me is 64, not 80

-1.5x ammo, e.g., box of shells gives me 30 shells, box of bullets is 75 bullets

 

Using this, I can experience UV with some of the benefits of ITYTD, so is like having the best of both worlds. I recently finished Headless Chicken (great WAD, by the way, you should play it!) doing pistol starts and no saves with this custom UV difficulty and had a blast! I enjoy playing like this because it makes UV easier without changing the enemy placement.

 

I definitively recommend experimenting with this kind of stuff if you are struggling to find the difficulty that feels right for you.

[Drago]

On 3/15/2024 at 1:50 AM, ᒐack102 said:

Yeah, I mostly play Hurt Me Plenty, and I'm gonna say it, THAT'S the main mode. Most the levels feel much more natural and fair on that difficulty. Hurt Me Plenty is the perfect Doom difficulty. Every casual player should try it for a good mix of casual and challenge.

Not to rough was a breeze, ultra violence kicked my ass, but hurt my plenty is just perfect.

[VICE]

Playing on anything easier than UV feels like cheating.

Edited April 30 by VICE

[LegendaryEevee]

The main goal of my Youtube Channel is:

1. Getting people excited about DooM.
2. Showing them how to find all secrets.
3. While also showing what the harder difficulties entail.

     Please check the below video.  Though they are UV-Max runs, the focus is on teaching and exploration with my videos.  If you like what you see please Like, Share and Subscribe to help us expand our DooM content.  I am currently posting DAILY.

 

 

[Deffers]

I'm definitely a UV Derangement Syndrome sufferer. Personally, for me, it's about trying to meet the mapper where they're at when it comes to encounter design. I try to get what they're actually trying to convey with the encounter, so for me, UV is the default difficulty-- even if, frankly, a lot of the time, a lot of encounters I tend to not enjoy at that difficulty in 2024.

 

Of course, there are mappers in this very thread talking about how they modify the difficulty with a view to accessibility. That's a fun compromise and all, but how is a player supposed to have foreknowledge of this? And how's a player supposed to have foreknowledge of if a mapper's difficulty concerns are germane to their skill level? I posit they can't. If a player's interested in engaging with what the mapper's putting out there conceptually even if it's beyond their personal skill level, that still might make them conflicted-- even if the mapper is like "I made this easier for you" that might not necessarily be good if you're trying to engage with the design concepts the mapper is putting out. One thing I'd like to posit as a possibility to signal to the player that the mapper has taken this into account is something done by U.D.I.N.O-- Ultimate DOOM in Name Only. Essentially, they renamed all the difficulties. ITYTD became HNTR, HNTR became *UV,* UV became *I Lust For Death,* and Nightmare stayed Nightmare. That tipped me off right away that some thought was being given to the difficulties, and knowing that names like TimeofDeath were on the roster that got me to actually break from UV Derangement Syndrome, by... er, playing on UV. Some signal like that to the player can honestly be helpful.

Edited April 30 by Deffers

[Trigsy]

On 3/14/2024 at 10:54 PM, OpenRift said:

I think the thing about UV is you're getting the most out of the levels you're playing, and seeing the full extent of a WAD's design. ITYTD and HNTR are valid ways to play (they're included in the menu for a reason)