Yes, yet another difficulty suggestion. This one is simple in implementation and effect though. Steam says that, over the years, I've racked up 2700 hours playing EGS. So, I must like this game. And yet, I've never been fond of FPS shooters. The closest thing to a shooter that I've liked was the original Deux Ex where the combat is rarely frentic. My idea of fun combat is more like Skyrim or Fallout. I play mostly RPG and 4X. EGS is an unusual blend of crafting, building, ship combat, and FPS. So, it's always going to be hard to balance things for different types of players. I'm in the middle of a new playthough. I plan to mostly ignore ground combat. But, I have a completionist's desire to go through all the story missions. My suggestion is that the multipliers for easy/medium/hard enemy difficulty be available in one of the yaml or ecf files. So, that instead of the multipliers being 50%/100%/200%, we can define them lower. Or maybe even put a slider in the UI with easy/medium/hard presets. Or, maybe a "story" mode with a multiplier of one percent. Changing the multipliers everywhere is not a great solution, but it's sufficient. Note that creative mode or freedom mode isn't a solution; the resource and building and other non-combat limitations of survival mode are wanted. What do other players think? That's easy to answer. Just look at the forums - opinions are all over the map. There are well known scenario designers that can beat any POI in light armor with a shotgun and sniper rifle. At the opposite extreme, there are many who use a vehicle to core a POI rather than go in on foot. Many people find things mostly OK and complain more about how the difficulty works - enemy ai vs sponges vs numbers of enemies, etc. On the other side, many people describe combat as frustrating. I think one issue is that it's hard to gauge how many people would like which playstyles. Online forums are terrible for that because you always get a vocal minority. Maybe one day there will be a near perfect solution. In the meantime, let's do what would be sufficient to address the concerns of those who are so frustrated that they stop playing. Please make this game more playable for multiple playstyles. I suspect that most of the people who pick up the game and don't stick with it do so because of dying too easily in combat.
A slider in the difficulty options would be good. The computer doesn't mind what the exact value of the multiplier is, but extending the range of available choices would allow more people to tune it to their individual preferences. Meaning you can (and should) extend the available choices upwards, too. For example, a slider with 10% "ticks" ranging from 10% to 400% should suit everyone, especially if you have one step below the "10%" mark with the value "1%" i.e. the "Story Mode" Arcane Tourist suggested above. Then just have the labels "Easy", "Normal", and "Hard" at the 50%, 100%, and 200% marks on the slider so the player has an idea of what the values represent and know where to click. Default, of course, that standard normal 100%. The extended range 300% and 400% marks can simply be named "Very Hard" and "Insane", or whatever you think appropriate. And believe me, there will be people choosing that "400%". It's a lure that dangles there right in front of your eyes and your ego, making it a personal challenge that will inevitably grate you more and more, as if the devs thought that it's impossible for anyone to handle it... But yes, just give people the choice. Range from 1% to 400%, take your pick as you prefer, and have a fun game.
