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Computer: Game: Adaptive
Multiplayer Game Handicap   (+5, -2)  [vote for, against]

wikipedia: //A golf handicap is a numerical measure of an amateur golfer's playing ability.... allowing players of different proficiency to play against each other on equal terms//
Why don't some multiplayer computer games have this? It would make the gameplay more challenging for the pros and less frustrating for the newbies.
-- ixnaum, Apr 29 2006

Every newb has to get defeated to get better. They learn from their mistakes and eventually start to win. Letting them win from the start is breaking the sacred codes of n00bdom.
-- croissantz, Apr 29 2006


It's boring to play agains an opponent lacking sufficient skill (as i learned when playing h2h against my younger cousin) ... i ended up giving him chances to keep my self challenged ... but it just wast the same as if the game itself gave me a handicap ... unless of course your motivation to play is to feed your ego and dominate rather than compete. In that case this idea is not for you.
-- ixnaum, Apr 29 2006


Why don't you give us some examples to flesh out the idea a little.

I've played a couple of games with handicaps (trying to think of them now - I think a version of Streetfighter, on the Genesis/Mega Drive had one).
-- Jinbish, Apr 29 2006


examples:
Any team sport computer game. Handicap determines player's movement speed relative to the opponent.

Multiplayer real time strategy games. Handicap determines the efficiency of resource extraction.

In both cases a handicapped player will have to be much more strategic.
-- ixnaum, Apr 29 2006


ixnaum, this idea's already baked for football (soccer) games - even back in Amiga days, Sensible Soccer let you play (for example) Brazil vs Bolivia. The better player could voluntarily play as Bolivia (slower speed, worse goalkeeper).

Applying handicaps to multiplayer Doom-style games does seem like a new idea, though, and potentially a good one.
-- imaginality, Apr 29 2006


I think Goldeneye had a handicapping mechanism in the multiplayer - required number of kills or hits for a kill...
-- Jinbish, Apr 29 2006


Reading the annotations it looks like this is widely baked, I know for a fact that the timesplitters games have this - an optional handicap as well as 150 characters of varying shapes and sizes.
-- fridge duck, Apr 29 2006


Quake 3 employs a multiplayer handicap system. Those worse players, or players with a higher handicap recieve a certain precentage less damage when hit than better players - in an ATTEMPT to make a more balanced mulitplayer system. The big flaw is that the developers of Quake 3 didn't mention how to determine one's handicap. Its just kind of a number you never touch and wonder what the hell its supposed to do.
-- Letsbuildafort, May 01 2006



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