Tighter Controls

[Fost]

Following on from the no inertia thread I've now added in a little bit of acceleration, and a lot more deceleration (although still not quite as much as there is currently). End result is you get going a lot quicker, so it should feel a bit tighter, but you still have enough stopping inertia to reactivate the edge pushoff (i.e. you'll slide of edges again).


If you'd like to try it, grab this file:

http://www.moonpod.com/board/images/misc/topgames/MrRobot.002

and put it in the root of your install dir.

Thoughts welcome!

[Fost]

Anyone any thoughts? I see lots of votes but no comments...

[Sergenth]

I took the new movement style for a little walk, and then went back to the default style (full inertia) and then went back to the newest one again. Here is what I think.

- This "Half-inertia" feels similar to no-inertia. I can jump around and change directions in the air for instance. Aerial play is just as fun.

- Going back to Full inertia, I felt like I didn't like it anymore. Walking is fine, but while in the air, I felt a need for sharp motion redirecting. It turns out I really like to modify my momentum at a moments notice.

- "Stored Inertia Hop-Ups" are now possible again. This is done by walking against a half-height surface, letting go of the arrow key and then jumping. Asimov then jumps up and forward using wonderful mystery inertia.

- Edge Push-off is good. It is actually more unforgiving than the Full Inertia style, because smaller presses of the arrow keys move Asimov farther and faster now (due to increased acceleration), so he is more likely to fall off now as he inches towards an edge. Back with Full inertia, I can move Asimov 1-2 pixels forward with each arrow press, up until his heel is all that supports him.

Overall, this movement style has the nice touches of inertia with the gameplay-forgiving aspects of instant direction changing.

[punman]

AHH! I'm pushing boxes all over the place! They're too easy to push by accident. I end up pushing a box instead of walking around it. Mabye Asimov should stop if he pushes up against a crate before he starts to move it.

[Fost]

[Praadur]

Hm, I've been swapping this in and out for a while now and I've come to agree with Sergenth, mostly as far as Asimov the Jet-plane is concerned.

I like pulling off mysterious turns in the air, maybe I'm just a crusty old gamer who remembers his Spectrum days but it felt a little more like Head Over Heels (which is what Mr. Robot's gameplay is most similar to). Beyond that I can't really explain it.

I also find the jumping to be more enjoyable now as of all the systems I tried (no-inertia, full-inertia, and this), it's this one that seems to strike the most perfect balance. I can really slide up to the lip of something and leap away.

I'm having a great deal of trouble explaining what I like about this but it provides just that extra little bit of control without making things too easy. It even makes the game playable on the mouse!

The only other thing I have something to add in regards to is the crates. I can't really remember at any point having any difficulty with them myself, but I do have an idea. Perhaps Mr. Robot could utilise the same system that many other games do with crate movement.

Here's what I propose:

- To move a crate, one has to stand next to it and hold the secondary action button. This 'grips' the crate for as long as the button is held.

- The crate can then be moved in one of the four cardinal directions from Asimov's point of view. Asimov can side-step to the left, side-step to the right, push forward or pull back.

- Once a direction is pressed, the crate moves forward one tile, but if the player releases the grip key, they stop moving with the crate but the crate continues moving for the rest of that tile.

The reason I added that last bit is for points where a crate has to be pushed off an edge. It would keep this part of the gameplay easy.

As for the rest of it, it would likely make the system easier for more casual gamers too, who aren't so used to a reflexive system (especially that assumedly provided in this new 002 version). They could simply walk up to a crate, hold shift, then tap forward a couple of times to move it into place, that might be much easier.

Anyway, beyond that, I have nothing to add!