Comments on: It Ain’t Penumbra till the fat lady sings.

By: Will

Will — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 14:47:32 +0000

Winterborn,

As far as precision: I’ve also been playing the Falcon-modified version of Half Life 2, and I haven’t had many problems. Of course, it takes some getting used to, and it can wear out your arm if you don’t rest it on something (those motors are stronger than you think!), but at this point, I’d absolutely choose playing with the Falcon over the mouse if given a choice.

And you’re right, using the Gravity Gun is beautiful.

By: The Shed

The Shed — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 14:29:11 +0000

Hmm, a nice (FPS?) horror title. How come I’ve never heard of this “Penumbra”? I heart horror’s.

Also, NOVINT looks damn intense. Pity they’re limited, not to mention £100+

By: Winterborn

Winterborn — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 03:18:52 +0000

Interesting, the Falcon is the only the only thing I could see replacing my mouse for gaming. The reason I’ve never made the plunge is at that price it did not seem worth the gamble that anyone much would support it(though even for Half-Life 2’s gravity gun alone it would be a blast).

My one question, does it feel as precise as a mouse?

By: Will

Will — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:21:07 +0000

I’ve been playing through the original Penumbra: Overture using the Novint Falcon haptic controller, and I have to say I’ve never experienced anything quite like it. It’s almost unnerving how you can feel the texture of the wood on the shelves, and the weight and momentum of your ax as you swing. At first, I wasn’t sure if I’d want to play the whole game like this, but now I couldn’t imagine playing it any other way.

I doubt the Falcon will get much traction, as it’s a little overpriced and there doesn’t seem to be as much interest among developers as there once was, but it’s worth trying out at least once.

Edit: Looks like I spoke too soon. They just signed a deal with EA to make a bunch of their PC sports games Falcon compatible. I’ll be keeping an eye on that.

By: Matt

Matt — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 19:29:47 +0000

Excellent.

I too am playing through Black Plague right now. Well, I’m trying my best to. Something about this game really terrifies me. It’s easy in games such as FEAR to just blast whatever is chasing you with a shotgun, but as there are no real weapons in this, you have to rely on hiding and/or running like hell, which usually happens to me.

There have been times when I’ve crossed paths with one of those rabid dogs and just ran around in circles in the tunnels trying to find a hiding place, and the whole time I’m hyperventilating like something is chasing me in real life. It’s something that has never happened to me in a game before and I want more people to experience it.

I’m hoping I’ll pluck up the courage to load it up again tonight, we shall see…

By: Shawn

Shawn — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:20:29 +0000

great news. playing through black plague right now, a nice change of pace from shooting thousands of people