So I think the visuals are beautiful here. Its extremely satisfying to look at. I mean that for both the visuals and the animations actually.
My two biggest criticisms related to the gameplay are:
1. Its really difficult to aim a shot (is it even possible? I am trying to aim and it kind of seems like it just doesnt influence shot direction much)
2. Its near impossible to infer where the ball is landing in 3d space because of the lack of shadow. I get you have the option to change the camera, but still.
The AI is quite good (both your team mate and the opponents) to the point where most rallies for me were upward of 20 hits.
For the reasons above, I would say it felt okay at the moment, but not something that had me super hooked. As mentioned, loved the visuals and the anims are super fluid. Can see it being fun for fans of padel.
To answer your questions below:
1. Which moment felt most like real padel? Im not sure I would say it felt like real padel. It felt like arcade padel.
2. Where did you get stuck or confused? Trying to judge where the ball is landing in an isometric camera angle with no shadow grounding the ball, is difficult
5 stars given for a boost.
Thanks a lot for playing this long and writing all this up, really helpful.
You're right about the shadow. It's tiny and almost the same color as the court, so you can't tell where the ball is in the air. I've made it bigger and darker for the next update, and it already feels a lot easier to read.
Aiming does exist, but you basically can't feel it. The shot goes wherever you're holding left/right at the moment you hit. You're usually already running toward the ball, so it ends up kind of random.
"Arcade padel" is fair, that's pretty much what I'm going for. Glad you liked the look and the animations, and thanks for the stars! I'll post here when the update is live.