It could be worth a try to have slower with snappier movement and auto braking, and booster mode (let's say by holding LShift) where it's all inertia and no safety guarantees. I played on medium. Traction beam is not that bad, but since you need to switch out from a weapon and turn off shield to use it you can buff it to maximize the fun rather than put you on the mercy of more physics. It could be snappier, powerful out of the box, with more uses to make it something that helps players handle the inertia heavy physics reliably. Think more in the direction of gravity gun from HL2? Sure players can upgrade it, I did, but the starting point should give you a decent start and get invested into it ie. by slingshotting small asteroids into enemies.
Viewing post in Aste-Droyds Demo jam comments
Honestly? I think making it HL2-like is a great idea, I'll work on that. Regarding movement, it becomes a lot more responsive as you acquire more movement upgrades, and I kinda want to keep it this way. I will experiment with stronger auto-braking, though.
Needing to turn off a shield to pick up things was something I didn't put much thought into, it just felt "right", but if it's a source of annoyance then I'll opt against it.
Needing to turn off a shield to pick up things was something I didn't put much thought into, it just felt "right", but if it's a source of annoyance then I'll opt against it.
I don't think so. It adds gameplay friction but in a good way since player is perfectly in control. Stuff like this should actually be common across the game, as the game teaches you its nuances in intuitional ways. Even better if there's additional depth by implementing obscure and situational ways to utilize the collision between shield and crystals.