Apologies for any points at which my grammar may've stumbled. It was quite late when I finished this comment.
I'll try to clear up anything I might not've explained too well, and just show I fully understand what the deal is. It's good to talk in-depth about this, but I don't want to take up all your time with it. That being said, here's another lengthy comment.
I honestly hadn't thought about that aspect with her attire at the start, and now you've explained that, not only am I completely on board with it, but I also request that the sprite not be changed any further; You've had to work on that enough by the sound of it, but this is an artistic statement. This is your idea, and it's relevant to the game. I take back what I've mentioned about the character model, and would just like to say thank you for reminding me of a time when artistic value wasn't stifled by whining about being offended.
And just for the record; Despite the fact I said anything about it, that wasn't the direction I was coming from. I'm just an oddball is all. But after seeing other people lean so heavily on that one, I feel bad about it. Seriously, I hope I haven't replied too late, and you're not already changing that sprite.
I know this may sound weird, but I immediately recognised the level of love for Super Metroid, the second that cryo tank started counting down. I remember pre-ordering SM when it was on the shelves, and booting it up for the first time. For what it's worth; I think you nailed that same kind of feeling, and getting to play even these first 30 minutes that are subject to change was like experiencing that again.
If you mean the comment/thread I think you mean... You really shouldn't get too worked up about it. That person is badly in need of professional help. It was an argument that no one could win, because he was only interested in antagonising people. I'd call it trolling, but it just turned out to be tragic.
It has occured to me that you're on what's left of your ship for a very short time, and then it's onto Zordak itself. Starting off with Station X is the main reason I went "Oh yeah, Fusion" (Despite the fact you have Ceres Station in SM).
Still, I'd recommend trying to get a copy of that one. It's probably the creepiest in the Metroid series.
Oh & speaking of; Really like the sound of that ominous statement on all the corpses. Sounds like this planet is going to be a bad time in the best ways.
Alright, gameplay stuff;
- Glad I could help confirm any issues with pickups.
- As said, it's easy to get used to the crouching, so if it stays the same, people will just have to pay more attention to the controls.
- I did not spot that option, and how you plan to improve this part will nullify the issues I mention. Good to hear that more animation is on the agenda as well. I know stuff like this takes hours, and don't want to seem demanding & ignorant.
Also, I have no problem with the transition, if you mean between rooms. Didn't even think of that since it's a room transition. That's all fine.
- Here's another attempt with the control fluidity; When doing a running jump, it feels like she's a bit resistant to jumping forward in accordance with how fast she runs. It doesn't break the flow, but it does kind of jolt it. But since you plan to give her more horizontal speed, that should fix it.
As for the crouching, the only thing I could recommend is giving her the ability to crouch while on the move. This does slow down the pacing by just a fraction of a second. However, it pays to remember that Metroid didn't sort out this kind of thing until the Prime games, and even then, you still have to watch her transform into a ball for a second or two. The only game that actually gives you a smooth transition between standing & morph ball is AM2R & possibly Samus Returns.
- Again, glad I could confirm something that's already on the list of fixes.
- Looking forward to whatever changes are made with the audio.
I did think about trying to message you privately about that idea, because that thought had occured as well. Also looked for a way to do so, but nearly as hard as I could've looked. Either way, it's no worries if the ideas not of any use, but if it can be used for anything in the game then all the better :3 I'll say this; If it doesn't show up in the end result, that's fine. But if it does, I assure you I'll go "Ayyy!", then feel a bit smug. Probably.
I'm really glad to hear that response from you on the character front. Again, the choices you've made to convey the story should stay as your decision. After hearing about it, I can safely say it matters that you stick to your guns & don't worry about people choosing to complain because they don't get the point. That's why critics & fans get to rave on about this kind of stuff years after something comes out; It's given time to be deciphered.
Any delay is fine, and I know this is a lot to talk about. My objective with all this is to be helpful & supportive, but I don't want to distract you from making any progress. If it takes a while, it takes a while.
Lastly, you'd be 100% correct on the references! :D However, I will admit to being a bigger fan of Quake, and the starting weapon in the second game happens to also be called the Blaster.
Thank you for taking the time to look through all of this, and I hope that I was able to be clearer on anything that might've been confusing. Please remember; I'm fine with any delayed response, if you feel the need to say anything further. I know exactly what it's like to have this kind of workload.
Best of luck with moving forward.