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So, I don't live in PC-land but there are several point-and-click adventure games I would like to play. I am thinking about getting a dedicated device for this.

Does anyone have an opinion on how well the Surface works for classic adventure games? Is the pen as good as I would expect in a point-and-click or does it not work well for some reason? The ideal scenario would be playing in the sofa holding it as a tablet.

The adventure games I am interested in should be rather undemanding (think Sierra/LucasArts/Daedalic/Telltale stuff here) from a gfx standpoint but if anyone has opinions on that as well, I would be happy.

Alternatively, is there anything cheaper that does the job and looks thin/light/mostly tablet-ish, but that can still run PC games (and not just those that run under ScummVM)?
Post edited August 02, 2015 by guilherme.730
That is a good question.
I never used a Surface, or any other tablet, but here are a few things for you to consider. Maybe someone else will have some experience that is more useful, but here is what is on my mind:

1. I don't think there is a right-click on tablets.
2. Mouse-hover is also hard to implement on most models.
3. You may have to access the keyboard on some games, maybe to save your state. The surface has a keyboard on some (all?) models. But it may be a disadvantage for some tablets.
I'm no expert on tablets and therefor have little to add to the discussion, but I think something you should pay attention to is that quite a few adventure games rely on using the right mouseclick and even more importantly on the mouse pointer hovering over hotspots without clicking. Not sure how compatible these controls are with a touchpad, I could imagine them causing issues.

EDIT: Damn, ninja'd by Gede. :)

EDIT2: I can't vouch for todays netbooks, but my old Samsung NC-10 was good enough to play Sierra and LucasArts classic as well as some newer ones from WadjetEye games or similar. Daedalic's and Telltale's games might be too demanding for it though, and it's not quite as light and handy as a tablet (but closer to it than a laptop).
Post edited August 01, 2015 by Leroux
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Gede: That is a good question.
I never used a Surface, or any other tablet, but here are a few things for you to consider. Maybe someone else will have some experience that is more useful, but here is what is on my mind:

1. I don't think there is a right-click on tablets.
2. Mouse-hover is also hard to implement on most models.
3. You may have to access the keyboard on some games, maybe to save your state. The surface has a keyboard on some (all?) models. But it may be a disadvantage for some tablets.
Secondary-click (commonly right button on a standard mouse, or two-finger tap on a touchpad) is usually triggered with long-press on touchscreens.
Post edited August 01, 2015 by Maighstir
Nice point about right click - I had forgotten about this!

I believe you can "hover" in Surface by holding the pen close to the screen but not touching it. But I wonder if long press triggers a "real" right click, or if it relies on the application supporting the long-press event...

The Lenovo Yoga seems to be an option as well - there are several models much cheaper than the Surface but which should do the trick.
I don't own a Surface, but I do own an ASUS VivoTab Note 8, which has a Wacom pen, including hover functionality and a right click button. (The pen doesn't currently work. I need to get this fixed.)

I played games of various genres on it although I haven't really played much on it (I find Android more comfortable). I did play Yesterday and it worked fine, while in Broken Sword 5 the cursor went completely screwy when using the pen (it worked fine with touch), and I ended up waiting for the Android version and playing that.

Anyway, I prefer playing on Android. Many adventure games can be played on it. I currently have The Dig installed in SCUMMVM and I played Blackwell 4 and 5 using the Android version of AGS (although it crashed/hang a lot, which was annoying). There are quite a few native ports for Android, such as the aforementioned Broken Sword 5. Other native Android apps I played include BS 1 and 2, Blackwell 1-3, and... sorry, forgot the full list. But there are also Simon the Sorcerer, a few modern Telltale games, Grim Fandango and Broken Age, Gabriel Knight 20th Anniversary....

Obviously Windows still has a lot more games, but the selection on Android isn't bad, and considering that Android tablets tend to be smaller and lighter than Windows ones, and native games work well with touch, I find it a better mobile gaming environment than Windows.
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Leroux: EDIT: Damn, ninja'd by Gede. :)
Well, if nothing else, you validated my concerns. ;-)
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Maighstir: Secondary-click (commonly right button on a standard mouse, or two-finger tap on a touchpad) is usually triggered with long-press on touchscreens.
I was under the impression that that is a behaviour built into the touch applications (or the touch-able OS layer), like guilherme.730 also mentions. That is, the programmers made the application work with either a "click" or a "long press". Does anyone know if the OS can report a long press to a "legacy" application that is expecting a right-click? Maybe SCUMMVM can do that conversion if needed.
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Gede: I was under the impression that that is a behaviour built into the touch applications
Yes, it's application specific on Windows, far as I know. (Don't know about Windows 10.) However Surface tablets come with an active pen, which supports both hover and right-click. Any tablet with an active pen should support this.
Wouldn't it make more sense to just get a cheap PC? Something for this kind of 2D point & clicks should not be hard to get for a reasonable price.
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guilherme.730: Alternatively, is there anything cheaper that does the job and looks thin/light/mostly tablet-ish, but that can still run PC games (and not just those that run under ScummVM)?
The Dell Venue 8 Pro is probably the cheapest ($99 not including pen). I have no idea if the pen works with the currently sold model, the product page doesn't mention it. A stylus is mentioned for all the larger Venue Pro tablets, and it was originally a highlight of the 8 Pro too, so it might still work. Most models except the highest end one are cheaper than the Surface.
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Breja: Wouldn't it make more sense to just get a cheap PC? Something for this kind of 2D point & clicks should not be hard to get for a reasonable price.
Depends on needs. For me an Android tablet is the best solution. Certainly cheap PC's (including Windows tablets) are less portable.
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Gede: 3. You may have to access the keyboard on some games, maybe to save your state. The surface has a keyboard on some (all?) models. But it may be a disadvantage for some tablets.
On screen keyboard should work reasonably well. At least it did for me in Android for the Blackwell PC games.
Post edited August 02, 2015 by ET3D
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ET3D: ...
It was nice to have a tablet expert showing up and explaining things. Thank you.
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Gede: It was nice to have a tablet expert showing up and explaining things. Thank you.
You're welcome, and it's nice to be considered a tablet expert. :)
The surface has a right click built in on the track pad of the keyboard accessory. My advice, don't buy the surface as a tablet only, that is not its strength. Buy the keybaord accessory and use it as a laptop hybrid as it was designed.

I have the first gen and it plays many more games than I ever thought it would. While rough in places, I have played Thief 4, Dishonored, Torchlight 1 and 2, and Painkiller on it.

That USB port comes in handy. You can either plug in just a mouse, or plug in a hub (KVM) to add speakers, monitor, external storage, etc.

If you are simply talking about playing games on the sofa and you don't want any attachments, I'd still go with the keyboard attachment and a laptop table for your lap... like this:

http://www.target.com/p/ecom-workstation-blue/-/A-17215048?ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&AFID=google_pla_df&LNM=17215048&CPNG=Seasonal&kpid=17215048&LID=20pgs&ci_src=17588969&ci_sku=17215048&kpid=17215048&gclid=CjwKEAjwovytBRCdxtyKqfL5nUISJACaugG1rDlBP4115pPRTI6bS1ABenxxq_uHwR_STIV5CMocRxoCwGjw_wcB

I use something similar to use a laptop in the bed when I'm sick. The surface is sturdy enough to stand up and I use a big book with a mousepad on my side and can play any game this way.

Not exactly what you asked for, but hopefully will help you with options.
Point & Click Adventures are indeed well suited for tablets/touchscreens, due to the simple controls. In fact, many new Adventure games are fully optimized for tablets ( as are various games from other genres, such as Shadowrun Returns or Banner Saga ). Older games are a hit or miss affair -- sometimes the cursor control won't work properly, due to the differences between a regular mouse, and the way touchscreens or other pointing devices work.

I'd recommend you look for a tablet with multi-touch functionality and an active digitizer/pen ( for cursor hovering ), since some games might be unplayable otherwise.


Edit: Also, triple 6 rep for me. \m/
Post edited August 03, 2015 by CharlesGrey
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CharlesGrey: Edit: Also, triple 6 rep for me. \m/
<span class="bold">\m/</span>