Challenge modes ideas - old and new.

[leonresevil2]

Some uniques would be nearly useless, others (like the nuclear plasma gun/bfg) would be as close to win-buttons as you could get in a challenge mode.

I wasn't thinking the balance through with the shotguns. I guess it would be better with 5x capacity on single-shot weapons. That way, a combat shotgun has 10 shots with a ~0.5sec pump in between shots, and a regular shotgun has 5 shots with ~1.5 sec reload in between each shot.

It's true that shottyman would be completely useless, but majority of the existing challenge modes make certain traits useless.

Overall I think it's a medium difficulty challenge. If it turns out to be too easy, then just reduce the 2x ammo buff to 1.5x or even 1x.

I think the numbers for multiplying are good, they may even be too low. The later levels have less enemies that drop weapons (Arachnos, Barons, Cacos, Revenants, Mancubi, Arch-Viles), so that is where the game will really become hard. Hell's Arena would be harder, Chained Court would be a breeze mostly, The Wall wouldn't be worth it at all, Halls of Carnage wouldn't be bad for Shotguns, Hell's Armory would be THE place to go, everything beyond that would not be worth the effort. Mods would be less important, Uniques would be useless in most cases, so the inventory would be more devoted to health, armor, and weapons. I would keep the ammo amounts as you listed, and maybe increase them according to beta testing.

My twist on the idea:

Angel of First Blood

Hell is a movie, you're in the lead. Every second, you have a chance (2% maybe) that your weapons will be reloaded and filled with ammo for you by the crew. But, you are too tough to use health packs, computer maps, or any kind of items aside from Mods and Environmental suits (can't have you teleporting out of the camera shot with Phase Devices, now can we?) The crew also patches (to 100% probably, unless that is too easy) you up when you go down the stairs to the next scene. But be warned, your fellow cast are deathly serious in playing their parts. (Mwuhaha!)

[ZZ]

A small modification to the Angel of Speed - any screen that don't allow you to see the situation (like '@' or 'i' screens) pauses the game. This will leave some tactics but the rush style of the proposed challenge would leave.

[Frankosity]

I know this is going back ages, even to the previous thread, but I really liked Angel Of Death, the challenge which forces you to get 100% kills on each level. While it wouldn't be initially difficult, higher difficulties and the lowest levels would hurt, since you wouldn't be able to escape the arachnotron caves and mancubi packs and whatnot.

[Fanta Hege]

Angel Of Horde


For the hooorde!
Whats the fun with very little enemies? How about we double that, or maybe triple it, or hell, quadrible on harder diffuculties!
On the brightside though, the enemies are unable to use their ranged attack (and possibly have a slight speed/knockback bonus?)

Nightmare bonus; Each enemy killed drops 2 corpses instead of one.

On consenpation, the exp values are also decreased

For Angel of Indestructible, I think barrels should be destructible, but not destroying things nearby except enemies. Does "Floor tiles" mean that acid and lava won't appear from barrels, or what?

It actually means you can't destroy floor tile, as you know, if you fire a rocket and hit tiles with water tiles, it will destroy water tiles.

[yns88]

Angel Of Horde


For the hooorde!
Whats the fun with very little enemies? How about we double that, or maybe triple it, or hell, quadrible on harder diffuculties!
On the brightside though, the enemies are unable to use their ranged attack (and possibly have a slight speed/knockback bonus?)

Nightmare bonus; Each enemy killed drops 2 corpses instead of one.

On consenpation, the exp values are also decreased

1 arachnotron with a ranged attack is still quite more dangerous than 4 arachnotrons with melee only.

[tiw]

Angel of Perfectionism

Leave an item on the ground? Not checking that dark spot of the map? Not killing that monster! Preposterous!
In this challenge mode you HAVE TO study the entire map, get 100% kills on each level you enter and pick all the power ups or you won't be allowed to leave.

Also, all levers have to be pulled. To compensate, levers will not be destroyed by any means.

[tiw]

Angel of Flight
Any and all knockback effects will knock the victim to the maximum distance possible (to any object/wall that blocks movement.)

Angel of Fortune
All enemies except Lost Souls or the newly-revived drop an additional random item each time they are killed! Unfortunately, there are no pre-existing items or powerups on the map.

[raekuul]

Also, all levers have to be pulled. To compensate, levers will not be destroyed by any means.

A gambler's dream... or nightmare, if you get the wrong levers. I would like this modification to Angel of Perfectionism.... speaking of nightmares, how would that one work on N!?

[metroidRL]

Angel of insanity

Very hard
"You always the craziest marine, always looking for a challenge, or something very hard that the most hardened marine can't do it, and the hellish invasion is one of those.

You start with a plasma pistol (5d5, (with unlimited ammo, no splash damage)) and a power sword (prepared slot (5d4)) also you have 2 armor protection (like 2 TaN trait's) and 200% (never go down) unfortunately you can't pickup any powerup or item also you can't get healed (not even Iron man can do that) and this challenge is played on UV or N!.

[ChaoticJosh]

Angel of Veteran

You're an old guy, you know lots of stuff, but unfortunately, this old dog can't learn new tricks. You start the game with five traits, but can't level up.

[ChaoticJosh]

If noone minds me doubleposting, I just wanted to comment on something.

Angel Of Horde


For the hooorde!
Whats the fun with very little enemies? How about we double that, or maybe triple it, or hell, quadrible on harder diffuculties!
On the brightside though, the enemies are unable to use their ranged attack (and possibly have a slight speed/knockback bonus?)

Nightmare bonus; Each enemy killed drops 2 corpses instead of one.

On consenpation, the exp values are also decreased


It actually means you can't destroy floor tile, as you know, if you fire a rocket and hit tiles with water tiles, it will destroy water tiles.

I like the idea of a 'horde' but if I may suggest something similar and simpler:

Have Angel of Horde simply being a normal game with the spawn rate of Lost Souls, Demons, and Pain Elementals upped 10-20 times, and having everything else spawn with normal frequency. This way, you have to slog through MANY nuisance enemies, while needing to desperately conserve your ammo that you only get from other foes.

[BEEF]

Angel of Avarice: Oh, lovely gold! You're more interested in looting Hell's treasury than in actually wiping out the evil there. You're free to kill monsters in any way you can imagine, but you won't get experience from it like you would from finding golds.

Levels are generated with a new item type lying around, golds $. They act like powerups in that they're used immediately when picked up and you don't need any free inventory space, but unlike powerups, intuition doesn't reveal them. When you pick one up, you get a certain amount of experience, which can vary by the type of gold. The total value of golds generated is determined by the experience value of the monsters on the level. Special levels have pre-placed golds.

Overall, this works out about the same as Angel of Perfectionism, but instead of forcing you to explore the whole level before allowing you to continue, it just penalizes you for forging ahead. Also, it gives you the ability to actually pull off a 0% kills game that isn't AoP.

[Thomas]

Angel of Avarice: Oh, lovely gold! You're more interested in looting Hell's treasury than in actually wiping out the evil there. You're free to kill monsters in any way you can imagine, but you won't get experience from it like you would from finding golds.

Here's a possible variation to that:

Angel of Avarice: Who cares about the demons invading Earth? You're just in it for the money! And boy are those demons loaded, they'll drop a big heap of cash on death. Money, being the most powerful force of the universe, will provide you with experience instead of kills.

But pick it up fast! You're in hell, and greedy demons have a habit of making coins "disappear".

Player doesn't gain EXP from killing demons.
Demons drop $3 for every 2 experience points they're usually worth.
Every second, each pile of money on the ground loses $1 for every $15 in the pile (rounded up)
Player gains 1 EXP for every $1 they pick up.

[BEEF]

That's not really the same challenge at all though. If golds are generated with the level, you get experience from exploring, and lose it by making explosions and environmental hazards out of your vision. If they're generated by killing monsters, you get experience from killed monsters, and lose it by killing them with environmental hazards, killing them out of sight, and fighting groups of monsters.

Not that I think it's a bad idea, but I don't think the flavor fits as well as something like Angel of Undertaking, where they leave $oul Wisps or something instead of treasure. It also sounds absolutely brutal, since you'll have to immediately rush to every corpse if you don't want to lose experience. I know the numbers can be balanced, but if an experience pile starts at 150% and degrades 1/15 per second, then it drops below 100% after only 6 seconds. Even if the degeneration is reduced to 1/30, you'll probably be getting less experience unless you're playing a melee build.


Anyway, here's another idea, Angel of Tunnel Vision:
Projectiles always miss monsters and barrels other than their intended target, although shotguns and splash damage work normally. For monsters, this means they will never injure each other or blow up a barrel, unless it's a former sergeant firing, or some explosive projectile hits the player or a wall. For the player, your projectiles won't even roll to-hit except against your target: if there is a monster or a barrel under your targeting X, that is your target, otherwise the first monster or barrel the projectile encounters is your target.

Mobs of enemies are significantly more dangerous, since all those former humans will be shooting you instead of each other. Even worse, if your chaingun misses the first guy, you don't get the consolation prize of it hitting the guy behind him. On the flip side, you don't have to kill five mancubi for every hit you land on that arch-vile.

[Melon]

HM... Coins? How about we can only kill an enemy while rocket jumping on him? Also, when you destroy a wall, there is chance that a mushroom or magic start is spawned which grants you some powers (such as infrared vision, you can see many colours, you get hungry and so on...)