Having trouble playing complex games.

OverweightWhale

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Apr 19, 2010
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Okay so lately I've started to notice something about myself. As soon as I start playing games with some kind of complexity, like strategy or crpgs, my brain just shuts off and refuses to play. I guess I have a problem getting over the learning curve. I desperately want to play games like Baldur's Gate 2, Starcraft 2, Diablo 2, and Total War: Shogun 2. Does anyone have advice on how to slowly get myself to play games like these? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

The Madman

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I sometimes have the opposite problem, if a game doesn't immediately inundate me with a slew of options and needless complexity I get bored and wander off on the presumption the game wont keep my interest much longer anyway with its simplicity. Sometimes I love a more brain-dead experience, but in general I prefer something that makes me think.

That said typically speaking to get through that uncertain phase the best thing I find is just to keep going and stick with it. In the case of a simple game I keep going and begin to understand and appreciate the underlying mechanics. For a more complex game you keep going and eventually come to an understand of how everything works.

Patience. Patience is key.
 

the spud

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I reccomend looking up a guide or walkthrough to help you through some of the more difficult to learn mechanics of a game. It can greatly improve your experience
 

Saelune

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Make them easier? If it has any sort of modifiable difficulty, start small.
Cheating (in single player) can work too. First time I beat Star Craft I cheated like hell. Helped me understand at my own pace.
 

MercurySteam

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Apr 11, 2008
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Practice makes perfect. I have way more issues when playing RTSs than RPGs but just about every gamer has at least one genre they're not as good as they hope to be at. In games that let you choose how to win, try to experiment or even see what others got to work and shape your techniques to work for you. The shit can hit the fan a lot more unexpectedly in an RTS but the key is practice which should allow you to build up to the harder difficulties. Starting small is a great idea for anyone having trouble adjusting.
 

synobal

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Not sure how Baulders Gate 2 or Diablo 2 are complex but each their own. Now the total war series and a lot of RTS can be pretty hard. I in general suck at them I can manage the computer most the time but fighting a real opponent I am screwed. The only game where this wasn't true was Homeworld for me but I think that's just because I'm better at thinking in three dimensions than most people.

The only other really complex games I've been really good at or enjoyed were the civilization games and Alpha Centauri, which is just civilization but way better. I found I got good at these by reading everything. Also googling tips for the game. Not cheats but tips. Sometimes there are really simple solutions to things that just aren't obvious if you're not familiar with the game.

Also Patience helps.
 

aescuder

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Aug 24, 2010
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Agreed with the posts above. Walkthroughs/guides might help a bit too.

If I had to pick between the games you mentioned to start with I would probably go with either diablo 2, because it's basically a hack and slash and starts you out fairly slow and the most you have to worry about is seeing if the item you just got is better than the one you currently have (basic arithmetic, don't even worry too much about stats It'll come).
OR Shogun 2, it does get fairly complicated quick but at least it has a robust tutorial built into the game.

I'm glad to see your initiative to broaden your own horizon! That in itself is the toughest part. The rest should just come naturally just from exploration and inquiry.
 

Lord Devius

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Aug 5, 2010
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I kinda have this problem, but it seems to shift between "Wow, this is a complex game, I'm kinda nervous to go ahead, but let's do it!" and "...EVERYTHING IS TOO HARD, I DON'T WANNA." It's why I don't play RTSes. It's mostly dependent on the time of day and general mood. I seem to be more willing to continue if I'm in a bad mood, actually.

I have absolutely no problem throwing myself at RPGs, though, for some reason. Unless they are dull. ...Or Diablo 2. Just can't seem to get into it.

[sub]Oh, and really tough platforming just doesn't bother me. Just random thought. Played too much Sonic as a kid, I guess.[/sub]
 

ntw3001

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I have the same problem. If I can't learn just about everything in the game by playing it, I'm not interested. Starcraft 2 had far too much book-learning to draw me in, but I love the Mafia mod. I'm kind on interested in the strategy as a concept, but I really don't care enough to go and research build orders and efficient production patterns. I think I prefer to be winging it from the start than beginning with a template strategy, and SC2 doesn't encourage that.

It's the same with strategy games as a whole really, but that might just be my dislike of moving the cursor around and clicking on things very fast. FPS are fine, but mouse-clicking games are not.
 

Erana

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Feb 28, 2008
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If your brain shuts off, then are you really capable of having a good time with them in the first place?
Ask yourself if you want to play in the first place, or if you just feel this way on a whim. Because this could easily turn your play into work.
 

Torrasque

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The Madman said:
I sometimes have the opposite problem, if a game doesn't immediately inundate me with a slew of options and needless complexity I get bored and wander off on the presumption the game wont keep my interest much longer anyway with its simplicity. Sometimes I love a more brain-dead experience, but in general I prefer something that makes me think.

That said typically speaking to get through that uncertain phase the best thing I find is just to keep going and stick with it. In the case of a simple game I keep going and begin to understand and appreciate the underlying mechanics. For a more complex game you keep going and eventually come to an understand of how everything works.

Patience. Patience is key.
I am totally this way.
I love games like Ogre Battle 64 and Oblivion, but I remember seeing my younger brother play this game on PS2 which looked like a typical RTS based in shogun-era China, and it had SOOOOOOOOO many options.
I love being able to change my unit's equipment, build, stats, etc.
But deciding how my economy runs, the morale of my units, and how much money certain businesses get me... that starts getting into the "can't you fucking people DO ANYTHING BY YOURSELF?!?!?!?!"
OverweightWhale said:
Does anyone have advice on how to slowly get myself to play games like these? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Baby steps dude.
Do every tutorial, and only do as much as you know how to do.
Blizzard games have a very easy learning curve, especially Star Craft games.
If you're still having trouble, check out an online tutorial or guide.

If none of that helps, why are you playing these games anyways?
 

Avaloner

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Oct 21, 2007
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You should never think that your first few games of starcraft online will be anything to brag about, simply because the singleplayer campaign doesn't prepare you for it.

Hell I can even remember my first time playing the original online, I told my enemy its my first time and he was kind enough not to kill me off immediately, after I poked my head out after 20 minutes turteling up I saw that he already had 4 bases and could have destroyed me at any time.

RtS against a human enemy normally means you know the game very well, meaning you have to know which unit counters which and so on, thats simply stuff you either read up, watch replays or simply find out during playing.

For games like Civilization or Total War, well its all about knowing when to do what, you have to keep the overview over everything, maybe try to play Imperialism, its always fun to suddenly have all the world declare war on you in the same turn.