Larian Studios Forums Divinity - Original Sin Divinity Original Sin - Beta Difficulty vs Final stretch of the development

Oh, Hiver.

Such Bile. Very Anger. Wow.

Hiver, I don't believe I ever went down the "innocent victim" road in my post. Nor did I ever insult you in my post. My post addressed a few things:

1) Your need to personally insult folks who post in your threads, calling them dimwits, halfwits, village idiots and the like. This has nothing to do with victimization and everything to do with your attitude and responses.

2) Your general dismissive attitude toward people when they present a differing point of view.

3) The need for the game to appeal to a broad audience.

I further don't see how this is "inventing whatever shit I want." It is a legitimate concern that the game appeal to many players, and not just you or a "hardcore" audience.

Once again, you have been the poster to resort to ad hominem attacks to defend your positions. I've seen nothing in this thread suggesting anyone is a dimwit or village idiot. Everyone who is posting is bringing up valid concerns regarding the game. And they have presented them as simply that.

There is so much irony in this post.

At no point did I say I was referring to you in my last comment in this thread. I actually was not referring to you in my statement, if you must know. I wasn't even responding *to* you, nor (again) was the response talking about you. Why do you always assume everything is about you?

I guess you "simply didn't read" or "didn't understand what you read".

I wonder what that would be called in whatever village you apparently reside in. Not the village genius, to be certain. I'm assuming you're attacking me (again) because of this statement? :


..Yeah.. that wasn't about you. To my knowledge, that wasn't even referring to a discussion that you even participated in. I guess I say "troll" and you immediately feel as if your name has been called, for some reason. Can't imagine why.


It's interesting how you keep assuming that the problem is nobody reads your post, and that numerous people are always inventing accusations about your behavior, and that numerous people are playing the innocent victim card around you. How strange that this always seems to happen to you.

I'm against better loot at higher difficulty for the reasons given elsewhere - it has the paradoxical effect of making hard difficulties easier and also creates the impression (intentionally or not) that hard difficulty is the "correct" way to play.

As for the difficulty levels themselves, it's true that just ramping up enemy health and damage isn't a very good approach. It's apt to make the game more grindy rather than more challenging, and it's also a totally uninteresting way to do it. Changing enemy AI/tactics is a much better approach, and while I'm not sure how readily the game could handle it, changing the tactical challenge is another option.

As a generic example: if the difficulty is set to easy, the archers in this encounter are standing in an exposed location. If it's normal, they're reasonably sheltered behind melee enemies. If it's hard, they're positioned on elevated areas to one side of the battle which makes getting to them even more difficult, and shooting at them from below is also more difficult unless you have a good angle on them.

Replacing one creature type with another of similar power but with different capabilities can also work to this end if it affects the synergies between creatures or even just increases the number of things that the player has to take into consideration while fighting them.

[quote=Hiver]I think you either didnt read or didnt understand what im saying Ellary.

I don't even know what to say...I had something huge typed out..removing it as it will make no diff. =p

@ JoeBart
None of you two or three posters are presenting a differing point of view. All you are presenting is a nonsensical view that has nothing to do with what im writing about. And thats because you are not even reading what i wrote, but each other idiotic posts.

All of your posts, ever sentence in them is just nonsensical manure you invent because you cant read or simply cannot understand. None of that has anything to do with what im talking about.

Im not going to waste my time explaining that to you or defending myself against whatever is appearing in your head.

So,... you guys talk it over and try figuring it out. Just dont do it in this thread here because its not supposed to be about you and what you misunderstand, dont understand, dont read, think, presume or imagine.



/



In the meantime, ill continue writing what i wrote about from the start,

This is for any other posters here who are capable of reading and understanding.
Meaning - the most of those that read this.


Actual purpose being the same - talking about some hypothetical hard difficulty and what features it should or could have for the explicit and specific purpose of leaving normal mode as it is - which is plenty difficult for casual audiences - who even complain it is too difficult.

Which is clearly written in the opening post and several after it...


So, considering that i went through the game with just two Source Hunters, without Lone wolf and Raistlin talents - i kinda have a relatively decent picture of it now.


Steam clock that for about 87 hours, but there was a lot of reloads, going over the beta about three times altogether and just taking my sweet time with it.
I probably spent at least 24 hours just chatting on the global chat out of those 87.

In previous posts i described and mentioned some of the fights that are nicely difficult, that require usage of almost all of my skills and resources - even with the four members team.
(i did not mention the new one i just discovered... because that was just so freaking awesome and probably the bets moment of the beta for me so far)


-------



Looking over the whole gameplay and everything in it - it seems to me that the game is still actually balanced for the original duo of two Source Hunters alone.
Which is not that surprising seeing that companions were added later on.

Which made me think about possibly using that as a rule, or a feature in the Hard difficulty.
Making it play with just two Source hunters alone. Without companions or Lone Wolf and Raistlin talents.


That has a few problems of its own though.

1. Companions bring their own content and gameplay, parts of the story and other things we dont see yet but that are heavily implied. Im sure most of the people would miss that, as would I.
Nobody likes missing content, hard difficulty or not.

But, currently we dont know exactly how much of the content will be tied to the companions.
Atleast i dont. If someone has more actual info about it please provide it. (i do mean actual real info, ok?)


2. Second problem is that the casual will scream and cry and complain about Hard difficulty getting actually hard. You see, they want hard difficulty that they can actually win so they can brag "hey i won it on hard MAN!!"

Ive seen some post, maybe around here with one poster suggesting "monsters that have more health, hit harder - BUT give moreXP and better LOOT MAN!"

And thats pretty much what it comes down to.



----------



I have no idea would devs actually want to do something like that or something different. Nor do i have any influence on that.

I can just theorize about it, because it is interesting to me... because i think one mean excellent game can be made if a bit different approach is taken.

Maybe the devs can leave even the official "hard difficulty" for the casuals and just make a simple joke out of it, like that poster suggested.

But then some other kind of difficulty mode can be made. If not officially , as a post release free DLC, Update or whatever - then as a mod, hopefully.


And this is what i would do for such a mod, for starters:


1. Source Hunters only (in case that companions missing would not result in loss of content)


2. I would remove about half of the loot you can find now, probably even more. That would increase the importance and value of crafting very much. It would make it actually worthy, valuable and necessary feature.


3. I would remove most of the barrels so conveniently placed right next to the enemies. Not all of them but the most. If some barrels are in some place - there would be a story or narrative reason for that.


4. Increase the capabilities of enemies appropriately for their levels. Archers would have more special arrows where appropriate, mages would have more diverse spells - just like those in the Baron of Bones fight, for example. Mages would use more AoE elemental spells themselves.
(presumably the incredible fire and poison damage will be brought to more reasonable levels before that, because the way they work now just doesnt make any sense, and it wouldnt in any Hard mode)


5. Ai and aiming selection would be better, although it is pretty good now too.


6. Diversity of enemy composition should be increased in combat encounters with more usage of, for example, undead underground ambushes - and other additional types of enemies to bolster various encounters tactical considerations.

- this would be done appropriately, instead of just piling up enemies without any sense to it. It needs to be in line with the story and narrative, main plot etc.

Hiver, I have received many emails complaining about the way you communicate on the first page of this topic, for instance. It is not what you are saying, it is how you are saying it. If you disagree, make arguments and defend your vision, but stop calling people idiots, halfwits, dimwits, etc. This only makes your position less clear and makes your post sound as if you have no real arguments. In the future, refrain from flaming. It will increase the quality of your posts, that often have truth in them, but I tire of having to read them if they contain so many cusswords...

A higher difficulty level sounds like a good idea. It could do things like increase the power of damage-over-time effects (or, if they'll be changed in the next patch, leave them at the current level or higher).

I am not sure if it is possible for increased difficulty to add extra items (arrows, potions, maybe even scrolls if the enemy can use them) to enemy inventories, and remove some of the free resurrection scrolls in chests. Maybe boost enemy resistances to some damage types to make it matter much more what weapon types you use and make the armour-ignoring elemental attacks on enemies less effective.

That's the kind of thing which is makes much more interesting difficulty levels than just a health decrease/enemy damage increase. I do understand that is a whole lot of balance changes, and may not be a feasible thing to add at this stage in development though. (Maybe slap on a "Are you sure? This difficulty is not fair." warning.)




This also is a great way of increasing difficulty without needing to change raw numbers much. An different enemy composition can be much more challenging even if you remove some enemies and replace them with others.

***

However, some of these changes are not going to work in D:OS because you can change the difficulty mid-game, it's not set from the start. Because of that, the options are a lot more limited.

I would argue they are very much presenting a differing point of view. Take a look at the second section in your opening post. The first sentence there is "currently the game is very, very easy." Myself and others have argued that for a new player, it is not. I'll rehash what has been said many times, but the elemental arrow damage for a "starter" area is quite high. So much so that even a tanky character can be almost destroyed in a single turn. This is discouraging to a new player. I fail to see how that is purely nonsensical.



See above.



I fully understood what you wrote in your opening post. The essence of your argument is that a proper hard mode should be implemented rather than simply increasing the HP and damage of enemies. Furthermore, you worry that there is no time for a "proper" hard mode to be implemented so you'd like the developers to focus on polishing and improving the normal difficulty. I don't see a single post that disagrees with this sentiment.

If that was not what you intended to write please clarify for me.

What folks took issue with was your insistence that the normal difficulty of the game is very, very easy.




No one doubts you have put forth a lot of time and effort into this game Hiver. No one has said anything of the sort.




Why the need to implement this feature other than an achievement of some sort? If you want this challenge solely for the purpose of self gratification, then simply don't recruit any henchmen. There is no need for the developer to put forth the effort to make a recruitable character unrecruitable.

Your ideas for hard mode being better tactics, AI and so forth are much, much better than this one.




And this pretty much completely defeats the idea of hard mode resulting in the absence of recruitable companions.




I could be wrong, but I very much doubt a person who just purchased this game is going to fire it up on hard mode. I firmly believe the majority of players will play on normal. If they begin on a hard difficulty, that is their fault and complaints would be invalid.




1. As above, you can already do this on your own.

2. Another approach could be balancing the gold received for loot. Part of the fun of a game is finding new and exciting loot.

Another approach could be to decrease the amount of magical loot discovered. That would make finding those items much more rewarding and exciting, as well as decreasing playable character power somewhat.

3. Barrels could be removed. I'm not sure there needs to be story purposes or narratives behind barrels being placed certain places however. The barrels are kind of an ambiance thing. Removing certain barrels could certainly increase the difficulty though.

4. Agreed, this is certainly in line with creating a tactically more difficult mode.

5. Agreed.

6. Agreed.

@Ellary, I didnt see you posted before i finished that last post of mine.
Maybe the second part of it will make things clearer.




The thread was going alright until cromcrom decided to make it clear he cannot read that much text and that he wants me to provide him with appropriate short version, made especially for him, then chimp decided to throw in that spectacular addition and then Dragomist wrote those two replies without even bothering to read what i am actually suggesting here - and he presumed i actually want to make normal mode harder.

While i am actually saying the opposite all this time.

As i said so to Ellary post, previously to that - in a rather simple way.

Then JoeBart felt he just has to tell me how the normal mode of the game should be made for the wide audiences and that what "i want" is wrong and how i should do this or that and how i actually think ... which he assumed based god knows on what, probably just reading that post of Dragomist, instead any of mine. Which is about third or fourth such post of his in a row, over several threads - where he tells me what i actually mean and how i think.

And then he argues against it. And he wants me.. to defend... and excuse myself... from that?

I know you dont care about this and that its just bothersome and boring internet drama but, ... you didnt get that in those emails. Im just saying. (it isnt anything im enjoying in any way either)


Less cusswords?
A bit of a tall order, that. Ill see what i can do...



You arguing about that is pointless - since yes, indeed a new game is a bit more difficult for the new player - duh! - until he learns the rules and generally how things work in it.
It was such for me too the first time i booted this beta up.

That has nothing to do with the purpose of my post, since i argue that the normal mode should be left as it is.
As "difficult" as it is for new and or casual players and as easier for those that play it some more. Whatever.

It was merely a introduction sentence, to which you took objection in that wrong way you just described and made your subsequent posts about - which means they are nonsensical.



There is no "folks" there, there is only you and one or two others who also took offense at that sentence. For some mindboggling reason. Or just got lost in some other assumption without even reading what i wrote, or disregarding it and arguing about some other nonsensical assumption, as you did.

While the game current version is actually very, very easy.

The difficulty some new player experience because he doesnt fully understand all the features is not the realistic actual difficulty of the beta, as it is now.



That section is not addressing you or assumes anyone doubts anything about that. So dont imply that. Dont think it, dont assume it.

I am merely providing clear background to my proposition so anyone who actually reads it can get a quick sense of where im coming from.




Because despite what you are thinking and despite that, so common misconception of "if you dont like it dont use it" - how a game is set up and presented actually matters - a lot.

Actually knowing some specific feature is there or isnt at all - makes a huge difference for each players.

I just finished the beta playing it without companions - as i said - so there is really no need to go and tell me, "well if you dont want just dont take them" - or imply i want that for personal gratification - because I just did that.


Players actually KNOWING there is no companions in some theoretical harder mode, will have a completely different approach and experience with such a mod, then if it is only a "take your pik" feature.

That is why that logic of "if you dont like it - dont use it" is absolutely false and wrong, unless it concerns some really minimal, non important features.


A mod or a game needs to present a focused specific form to the players, in all of its important parts. It cant just be - "choose whatever you want and if you dont like it dont use it" - because that work is then just a pile of random chaotic garbage, not an actual work of skill, art and expertize that has its form, shape, atmosphere, feel, depth, specific setting, story, gameplay. - etc.


All that being said, it is just a simple idea i put forth - and i explained the obvious drawbacks myself - which means you dont need to waltz in and tell me those very same drawbacks mean that the idea is bad.

Its not bad, its not great.

It is put forward for the consideration - not as something that must be!

That is me saying "Here is the idea, it has some merit, - which is this, this and this specifically. But it has these specific drawbacks and we dont know a lot about how actually important that is - so lets talk about it. Lets consider it."


It is not that which will make the Hard mode by itself.
A single feature cannot make anything. All have to work together.
That is just one theoretical such feature.
It is one of the features that can be considered.


And im figuring that, since Larian put in a lot of time and effort into fleshing out these companions (and some new one should appear too i think) - that it probably wont be possible to include it.

But i felt it should be mentioned, since thew game actually plays nicely with two Source Hunters alone.




That has nothing to do with current mass market and games made for it, where normal mode is easy, and hard is barely what normal use to be.

There will be such players, such complaints and demands.

Such "hard mode" can be made relatively quickly and relatively easily.

But i think the time is short to make anything more substantial then that ... which is why this idea came up, and i figured it could be done, with some actual PR benefits to boot.
- Gets you on the first page of Steam for a few days at least.

And you get a bit of a hubbub from all the players commenting on it.


In entirety, its probably a bad idea, maybe best kept for some fan mod - but atleast some features will get talked about and if nothing else Larians could maybe consider a few of them for whatever they will do.




/

there may be some commas in wrong places in my posts...

I see "Noob" and "Casual" being swung around like a morning star. I will have you know I am a casual gamer. I did die a few times..and if anyone wants to make fun of that feel free, but you know what? I enjoyed the game. I did not spend my time picking it apart. I played and looked for errors. (real errors, not "oh I don't like this. change it")

The barrels placed all over? did you ever think that might be to get the players to plan some tactics and use them?

Crafting. if they enforced crafting that would abolish the free class idea. Putting points into crafting hurts you in battle. (and I for one have no idea how to even do crafting ._.)

Removing most of the loot as suggested is a horrible idea..some people enjoy treasure hunting. Why should they suffer because it makes you unhappy?

Enemy AI is being worked on, they stated that. They will use special arrows at random and more Abilities/Spells.


I think we as players forget the work that goes into making a game. We should be thankful for all that is offered in Divinity Original Sin. On top of getting an amazing game~ we are also getting tools to mod the game and make our own stuff for it. Sounds like double win to me ^_^

Good on you. Be whatever you want to be. I actually dont care or have any particular complaints about it. You died a few times only? Then you are playing better then me.

In another news flash - none of the things i mentioned have anything to do with the game or with its normal mode.

Not even its eventual hard mode. Except tangentially and purely theoretically.
You know why? Because i am not working on the game or can do anything about it. At all. Seriously.

...

Ill skip the rest.
Looking forward to repeating all this about fifty more times. Or more.

Nice! I do still have some popcorns.

I've read through this thread. Please point out where cromcrom requests that you provide him with an "appropriate short version." Perhaps you got that from another thread. It appears no where in this one.

I'm not sure what you're describing as Chimp's spectacular addition. If you mean his post that refers to you failing utterly in your attempt to keep the opening post short, I believe it is quite accurate. Your opening post is anything but short. If you desired to create a lengthy, detailed post, perhaps you should have excluded the verbiage "I want to keep this short."

As for your reference to Dragomist's posts, how do you know he did not read your posts? His comments seem completely in line with someone who disagrees with normal mode being too easy, which is exactly what you mentioned in your opening post.

I'm not quite sure what to make of the last sentence, specifically "While I'm actually saying the opposite all this time." Are you suggesting that instead of normal mode being harder, it should in fact be easier? That would appear to be contrary to all of your previous positions.



Please enlighten me as to where I demand what you should think. I merely stated that any game should be designed for a wide audience to be a commercial success. Creating a game that is too difficult for a new player could be detrimental to this goal. I fail to see how this is demanding that you think a certain way.

In my latter reply to your post, I mention specifically what the general point of your original post was about. That has not been lost on me.

Again, I'm not sure what you mean by the last sentence. It would appear you're inferring that you're aghast someone would request you defend your position. So, yes, I do ask that you defend your position. Do you think an early game elemental arrow should do enough damage to almost wipe a tanky character? If so, why?



Most folks can have civil discourse without cusswords. I've managed so far. Why is this a tall order for you?



Nowhere in your opening post do I see you arguing that normal difficulty should be left as is. In fact, you specifically mention that developer time should be spent further balancing and improving normal difficulty, thus implying that it should not be left as is.

In addition, your overall tone suggests an overall contempt for normal difficulty and that you would like it to provide a greater challenge.



Then it was a sentence that could have, and should have been removed from your opening post as it has no relation to your overall point. Why mention normal difficulty is "very, very easy" if your entire post is to be about your desire for a properly implemented hard mode?

If you want a hard mode to feature advanced AI, different enemies, less barrels, etc., stick to that and solely that. There is no need to mention you find normal mode "very, very easy."



What do you mean there are no folks here? Are you implying that the individuals posting are not people? I'm having trouble comprehending your topic sentence there. Perhaps I'm obtuse. But a few people could qualify as folk.

And once again, I clearly provided you a clear summary of your opening post, which undoubtedly means I read everything in it. You are welcome to read it again, as it has not gone anywhere and I still believe it is a very, very accurate summary. If it is indeed wrong, provide me with reasons why.

Furthermore, I would argue the "actual" difficulty of a game is indeed what a new player experiences on the first playthrough, and not what that player experiences on subsequent playthroughs. An individual going through a game the second time has the advantage of knowing what to expect in each battle, and what he or she can do to have an advantageous position. Thus, the difficulty of a normal mode should be tailored to an individual who has not had the luxury of playing through the game.



Then why include a description of your merits if you did not assume anyone doubted them? Like I said, no one on these boards doubts that you have put quality effort into the game. You were the one who felt the need to espouse your credentials.




We both argued that henchmen could perhaps be integral to the plot or at the very least provide very entertaining sub dialogue. A player should not be deprived of this for playing on hard mode. If they elect to make the game even more difficult by not recruiting henchmen, that is on them.

A hard difficulty should stand on its own merits. It should not be a forced "no companion" mode. That, in my honest opinion, is a cheesy, forced difficulty option. It is intentionally depriving the player of assets provided to them, and perhaps story plots, with the sole intention of making it difficult.

You have continually argued any harder difficulty should be provided by advanced AI, different enemy layouts and setups, and the usage of different enemy skills. This is very much in line with a plot oriented harder difficulty setting as you have proposed. Your proposal of a forced inability to recruit party members, is in my opinion, a contrived and forced increase in difficulty that is no different from merely increasing the enemy damage and HP.




This is not a complete sentence. Please complete your thought as I'm lost, as are likely most readers. "not an actual work of skill, art and expertize [sic] that has its form, shape, atmosphere, feel, depth, specific setting, story, gameplay. - etc." is very much an incomplete thought. I do not know what you mean by this sentence.




Then please consider that someone else may find that proposal utterly ridiculous, as I do. I've agreed that certain ideas you have proposed have merit. I've argued that others could perhaps use some tweaking, specifically your idea of unrecruitable henchmen.




Only furthers my point that companions should always be recruitable.




Once again, I did not dispute this point. If I'm wrong, quote me where I did. I've agreed that the hard mode you want implemented likely can't be done by the targeted release date. I've also agreed with some of your proposals for a hard difficulty setting many players would likely enjoy.

Crommy my friend! Enjoy the popcorn! I'll be here a while!

BTW, message me if you'd like to play a game sometime. I'm all for it!

Hiver.. your complaint was about the game and about normal mode and how Larian totally screwed it up...I am starting to get the feeling you do not understand what it is you started the topic for.

Please go back and reread some posts.

Godammit, can't you just summary your thoughts ?



Playing obtuse just makes you look obtuse. You should know that.


Yes, it must be a great mystary.



:lol:

From claiming one false and utterly ridiculous notion as "my actual desire" to claiming even worse idiocy... claim, claim ,claim.

Just because you felt personally slighted because i said that the game is very, very, VERY, VERY EASY.



Enlightenment...

Could be achieved only if i could talk to you personally.
Since that is hard to achieve, unfortunately, enlightenment will have to wait for some such opportunity.



As any mass market drone would and should. Design for the lowest common denominators.

You must be new to the internets...



Yet when i tell you directly, for the moment putting aside the fact that you are intentionally playing obtuse and basically trying to flame me, while pretending to lead a "nice conversation" and being all proper like ...

- that changing the normal mode has nothing to do with what i said since i actually am talking about hard mode specifically -

- you tell me that is not correct and that i actually think: something,... blarrgbbb, blrrghh, bllrbbhh ...

Sorry, thats how most of your sentences look to me dear chap.

Oh right, you tell me i dont really think that but that i actually want to change the normal mode and then you argue about and against that.



Then you are intentionally obtuse all this time.
Well, isnt that a surprise?

You mean to tell me that all this is just you being butthurt because someone said that on the normal the game is very, VERY; VERY; VERY EASY?



Against intentionally idiotic accusations you have simply invented yourself - yes.



mhmm? you dont say?

Gee, well.. maybe it should be made a bit harder? Because right now it is balanced for the likes of you.




Yes, improving the game in its beta stage, the horror.




Ah, you know what i really think from my..."tone"... on the internet. So, you are telepathic!
No, no...that contempt is aimed at you personally Joe.
You think that anyway, because i said that the normal mode is very, very, very, VERY; VERY; VERY EASY... so i might as well.

Rightfully so.



Because someone with quite limited intelligence like you will not tell me what sentences i will use or not.


The game normal mode is very, very, very easy - which makes you feel bad personally.






You know what that means and being actually obtuse doesnt change that. You are not some kind of majority, a large group, or "folks". You are just one pathetic obtuse individual who thinks everyone else fell onto internet from a tree yesterday.
(i know you wont understand that, and thats alright)


I just told you why. Right there.

What you assume that i am assuming is just a sign of a deep psychological problems.
Which are very blatant.

merits... :lol:




Thats... not a surprise.
And its alright. You are not meant to understand everything. Nor is any of your opinions required any further.

They are ... dully noted.

I read his initial post to be sure, but that isn't what he wrote. He stated normal mode serves its purpose with the changes he is suggesting being focused on hard mode. So those who enjoy the game as it is have no fear of it being changed as that is not be suggested here.

Past that, the various comments about specific balance in the game and what changes would attend to a more reasonable increase in difficulty is the topic of discussion.

As for the comments about types of players (ie casual, hardcore, etc...), I didn't see anything accusatory or demeaning comments in his beginning post, just a simple point about why some may see normal as being hard or proper challenge.

Hey Hiver, how about you come down off the high horse?

You do know in your attempt at coming across as "intelligent" you are showing how lacking of functional brain power you truly are? <-(I don't expect you to understand this)

So Hiver feel free sit back, take a chill pill and stop insulting people because they won't go "Oh Mister Hiver you are so right!"

*finger twirl* You are just another insecure fragile ego jackass on the internet~ deal with it and move on. No nice way for me to put it... there is some true material for you to complain about.

^ (If I get a ban for that, I am ok with it..but it had to be done~ no hard feelings to the mod who might have to issue the ban)




Tip: Take a moment to read the forums, notice not everyone agrees on things? but they don't start acting all superior and slinging insults. No excuse for age or where you are from and make it acceptable to be rude. Also just because it is the internet and you will most likely never see someones face. They are still real people. Remember that.

Personally, I think that the difficulty that is associated with not knowing the the game features or understanding how to use them isn't difficulty, but ignorance. Ignorance is not a proper measurement of challenge in a game.

For instance, chess does not become easier because you learned how all the pieces move. Understanding how to play the game is required from the start and the challenge is in each play of the game, not if someone forgot a rule or how a particular piece moves.

If the game becomes easy once someone knows all the rules and features, then it was never difficult in the first place. Rules don't make a game difficult, that difficulty is in the persons ability to learn the system which is irrelevant to actual game play.