Playing the Xbox version, I can only mention the console way to switch targets: right stick (when paused for greater control).
On the PC version it's [Edit, oops, forgot to write this. The last three keys in the keymap are "Acquire/Cycle target lock" (Pause), "Cancel Target lock" (SysRq) and "QuickLock" (Del). These weren't needed though: shooting the nearest thing was usually the best tactic in early combat, "kill everything at once with an area effect attack" usually worked for the last levels, and if finesse was ever needed, pausing made all targetable spells be properly targetable with the mouse anyway: handy in the final battle.]
One of the things I appreciated, but didn't mention, was the ability in the settings to
turn off some of the console-itis. You could turn off the floating hitpoints bubbling up off people's heads, for example. I liked that: the fewer unrealistic game mechanics being thrust into my face, the better, as far as I'm concerned. Couldn't find any way to turn off targeting and loot-bags, but that's what a modding tool would give us, I guess.
Interestingly, when I run AutoUpdate.exe in the Steam version, it tells me there's an update available, even though Steam didn't install one: I might try that to see what it does.
The game was originally designed to allow the dragon form to attack ground opponents, but it required too much memory and had too much of a frame rate hit; see Lar's post in the topic
.
If it's for a good reason like that... it sucks, but I can feel their pain at having to cut it.
You can move crates and barrels around, though the procedure is a little crude to be called pushing.
Yeah, you can sort of kick them, sometimes, but not others. I think the PhysX may not kick in all the time, but this may well be an issue with my system (software PhysX on a CPU below min spec means I can reasonably expect a few physics quirks, I think!)
You can adjust your direction and horizontal speed during a jump or fall.
True, I noticed that, but didn't alt-tab to note. I personally feel that's essential for any game that allows jumping, to compensate for the fact that jumping is fiddly on a keyboard.
Even so... it wasn't enough. If I walk up to a small pillar and hit jump, I want to end up... on the pillar. Not twenty feet past the pillar.
Getting a WASD+jump+duck system working is
surprisingly complex. I didn't realise just how much work is involved in it until I'd tried it myself, and it took me a few days to get something I was properly happy with. Jump in particular is surprisingly difficult to get to feel "right". I think it was found by platformer games in the '70s that a jump felt wrong unless it lasted... ack, I forget, I think it was 0.7 seconds give or take about a tenth, but I don't have my books in this country to check. That number probably won't be universal (though it seemed to be, back in the platformer days), but there will be a sweet spot for each game, outside of which the jump feels wrong and awkward.
I suspect it might also depend on frame rate. So it may be that my low-fps system felt wrong, but everyone else's feels fine, since they can react to correct their jump in time. I don't know
