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Full Version: List of random design flaws of Penumbra Overture
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I was bored so I have made a list of design flaws in Penumbra. Maybe I am gonna make more lists like this. Many of these flaws was corrected in Black Plague.Here it is:

List of random design flaws




-It is very hard to attack with weapons because you can't aim when swinging.
If player could just press left mouse button to attack it will be much better than swinging with mouse.
+ Right-to-left swing is overpowered.

-If you don't have crosshair then you will be having hard time picking up small items like flares and dynamites.

-When using glowstick for too long you can get headache because you are playing in a dark room and trying to see "into"
the dark in game but you are receiving direct green light. Glowstick should be covered from one side so it doesn't blind the player
but lights the enviroment in front of player's character.

-Flares should be much stronger than glowstick. They are almost as weak as glowstick.

-When you hit Dog and he is trying to stand up the animation looks often very bad.

-Dogs can't hurt you when you are standing on some objects like box or barel but you can kill them.
This can cause some players to try to kill all dogs in game using this super boring tactic and eliminating the sense of danger.
They should hide from the player's view when he is standing on a box so he can't hurt them but as soon he touches the ground they should attack him.

-You can easily kill yourself by igniting the petrol/parafin in first spider's nest.
It should do much less damage in smaller radius but still kill those bastards.

-Rock Worm sometimes growl like dog. But this happens very rarely when you hide from him and he can't get to you.
I think the developers have forgoten to remove that placeholder sound.

-level overlay (This one is for you windexglow Wink ). After the first half of the game I was tired of those mazes.
I wish there were longer linear parts between mazes.




That is all I remember from the game. Please let me know what you think about this list.

Do not flame about how awsome this game is because we all know it is true. If I have made a mistake somewhere then correct me.
Can't say I agree to everything.
I do agree about that the flares are stronger than the glowstick, that is a design flaw at it's very highest. I don't think I used a single one in the entire game more than to test them. The glowstick is overpowered no matter how you twist and turn on it, really. If the glowstick had been weaker and the flares stronger you would start using both flares and the flashlight more.
Also (although the devs probably didn't expect players to do so) having dogs hide whenever the player is out of reach is a very good idea. It would force us to take them down the hard way though.
Also the maze level design is indeed pretty poor. The various rooms and areas you enter are well-made and all but the main mazes connecting all the rooms were a bit boring actually. One or two in the series would had been okay, but now you run back to one of theese "main halls" after having been in every other room which gets kinda repetive.
(05-02-2009, 09:42 PM)Klayman Wrote: [ -> ]-It is very hard to attack with weapons because you can't aim when swinging.

Yes you can.
Press left mouse button to activate the 'swing'. At the same time, when you're holding you're 'left mouse button' to attack from left or right, start to hold you're 'right mouse button' and you can move around with the aim and the swing is still activated.
I think Penumbra overture is perfect, exept there are not enough save points.