SImplified swing for Overture...

http://forums.steampowered.com/forums/showthread.php?t=889471

Or you could play the game as intended, and use the pick as an absolute last resort. You're not supposed to be fighting the monsters.

True enough. It's more or less (for me) to keep the frustration down. I am too set in my ways, at this point, to adapt to a new control scheme for every game.

But you CAN fight them in Overture....... Black Plague you cannot..... So, who says what's "intended"?

You're right, I'm not inside the developers' heads, in order to know for sure what was or wasn't intended. But it's at least fair to assume, given the cumbersome controls and the setting of an adventure ambiance horror game, and not that of a *survival* horror, that you should turn to combat only as last resort.

I'm playing the game for the first time, and I'm enjoying the hell out of it.

IMO, I think the intention is to play the game stealthy. Like Thief. I Think the fact that your character is rather weak in hit points, damage that actually affects movement and the panic attacks reflects this (as well as page 10 in the manual under "hints & tips"). Doesn't mean that you can't engage in combat of course, as I've found to be sometimes necessary when I found myself cornered (A.K.A. last resort).

I can't comment on Black Plague or Requiem. Haven't got that far yet :D

Two points:

1) I'm not sure why players seem to have an aversion to playing the game the way it was designed. Sometimes developers simply did a bad job with a given thing and there needs to be a way around that, there's no denying it and especially in the age where photo-realism is more important to the suits (and most of the players) than quality narratives and tight gameplay. It's maddening. Frictional did a fantastic job and the combat feels right in this game, there's just no need to alter the way it works.

2) I'm playing Penumbra: Overture right now and found it quite easy and rewarding to fight at least the monstrous dogs. Those are the only enemies I've encountered so far and, after being raised by Red on the radio, found a really simple way to deal with them once I had precious little choice. After following Red's first direction and heading to the right after the fence, I bolted past the dog and through the door. The next area loaded and I found another monstrous dog very, very close. Too close: I ran smack into the bastard as soon as I turned the corner.

Before it saw me it realised my dumb ass ran into it (thank God they're stupid!) I had two options: run up the stairs or hop onto the box in front of it. I figured it could run up stairs so I hoped on the box. Fortunately, that was something it could not do but it sure as hell could snap at me. I readied my pickaxe and went full Cartman on it, smacking it every time it jumped up at me. Eventually it howled for assistance and another beast came to help, however I put them down in no time by simply staying out of their reach and attacking.

I'm not sure if those enemies come back after a set time or when I load a save file, but I'm interested in finding out. It's good to know that there is at least some way to fight back when pushed to do so...at least so far. We'll see about later on in the game.

I think it's pretty safe to say that since Frictional removed any combat abilities from every subsequent game, they didn't expect the majority of players to charge headlong into the fray with a crappy pickaxe against horrifying gruesome monsters.

This tweak is essential for people who don't manage to use pick axe properly, to break rocks. And get eaten by spiders.

Most frustrating part of a frictional game so far (and I've played and loved all their games).

Thank you for this !!