If you play HNTR/ITYTD, do you use pistol starts?

[dobu gabu maru]

So I've been working on adding difficulties to some maps where the player has essentially no weapons, and I've kind of hit a dilemma where I don't think I can adequately balance any skill below UV, as continuous players will be marching into the map with a complete arsenal primed and ready. Plenty of folks pistol start UV so that's never a concern of mine, but how many people run through an episode/megawad on the lower difficulties with pistol starts? Am I wasting my time balancing things when most folks will just BFG their way through problems?

[ReaperAA]

Some times I do HMP pistol starts. But not sure if there is anyone out there who does HNTR pistol starts.

[Pegleg]

I play on ITYTD and HNTR. If I'm playing an episode or mapset that proceeds continuously, then I don't pistol start. I know some people say that playing a map from pistol start is the way the author intended the map to be played, but I don't think that's necessarily the case, particularly if the maps are all made by the same person (or small team). Even with a community project where every map was made by someone different, if it plays continuously, I don't do pistol starts.

 

Personally, I think that people who play on the lower difficulty levels would appreciate the extra effort being made to provide a balanced experience for them, too. I know I do.

[Liberation]

I'm another ITYTD and HNTR player, I never pistol start as it ruins the sense of progression for me personally.

[4everDoomed]

I don't do pistol starts either. I want to carry over my weapons/ ammo and health status into the next level. 

On the other hand, if I'd like to play a specific map out of turn, e.g. E4M5, it has to be doable from pistol start,- no matter what difficulty. 

 

[Tristan]

Always HNTR/HMP, always continuous

[Bauul]

Same as the people above me. I'm a HMP player, and unless a mapset is deliberately designed as a series of standalone maps (like Joy of Mapping or a DW Community Project), I'll always play continuous. Pistol starting always seemed like a thing more hardcore players like to do, and those are always likely to play on UV.

[Liberation]

3 minutes ago, Bauul said:

Pistol starting always seemed like a thing more hardcore players like to do, and those are always likely to play on UV.

 

This is my thinking really, people pistol start for the added challenge above and beyond playing on UV.

[nrofl]

I agree with most other people. Continually pistol starting is daunting in my opinion. Also kind of unnecessary because it can disrupt the map progression sometimes.

[NuMetalManiak]

Been playing HNTR/ITYTD moreso than higher settings, depending on my mood I either continuous or pistol start. Doesn't matter to me on continuous since I can properly gauge how tough something is from pistol start anyways.

[Urthar]

I often play HNTR/ITYTD on some of the tougher mapsets. I might pistol re-start a map if I die, but I rarely if ever cold-start a map with the pistol.

 

ITYTD will double ammo regardless, so it's not intended to be ammo balanced. On small to mid-sized maps, restricting the Backpack can help.

[KVELLER]

I'm probably in the minority here, but I usually play in HMP and I always, always, always play with pistol starts, unless the author says that the maps are specifically designed for continuous play. A lot of maps are pure insanity in UV, but I also often feel that I'm way too powerful if I play continuously, which is helped by the fact that some setpieces simply don't work if you run in with a BFG when you were supposed to be using the shotgun.

 

I just like to play properly balanced maps that aren't too hard for me.

[yakfak]

i play ITYTD pistol start lol

the idea of grabbing just the weapons the mapper wanted on the level is a big part of the mood to me even if im barely participating in the combat

[Bauul]

On the other hand, if it's hard to balance, why not just do death exits on the previous map?

 

Something like Eviternity implements them every few levels for exactly this reason.

[Killer5]

Check out Toilet of the Gods. I think it really pulled off balancing for continuous play.

[Loud Silence]

Always only UV. Continuous or PS (pistol start), depends on how it's intended in WAD. For example Eviternity gives secret levels as PS. The only time i played continuous level as PS was Fomalhaut for DWIronman.

[Korozive]

On 3/7/2019 at 3:35 PM, Liberation said:

I'm another ITYTD and HNTR player, I never pistol start as it ruins the sense of progression for me personally.

I agree. I play everything on HMP, and the weapons I fought to get in the start map are coming with me. Though some authors force you to die sometimes at the end of a level. I guess to make you start fresh.

[Noiser]

Most of the time I play HMP continuously until I die, then I restart the map with pistol start. But since I die a lot, I'm always on pistol start anyway.