Bit Kid

Just some thoughts and ideas!

- The ability to "look" up and down is really being missed currently. Jumping down into who-knows-what because of the limited view isn't very nice. And many other platformers at least have things like wall jumps or double jumps to help players out when they are falling towards danger, or have fallen into it.

- The current sword attack speed makes it difficult to kill enemies. It gives them enough time to start moving again, whilst disabling the player from jumping away quickly. Feels like it's stuck between a game that wants the player to be nimble and move around to attack versus a game that allows the player to slash quickly like a madman to defeat enemies.

- A lot of the jumps in the game (moving platforms and the like) feel much too exacting. I'm often falling into spikes simply because the gaps seem to require very precise movement, which doesn't feel great. I think games like Metroid had dedicated difficult platforming sections, but mostly the platforming was fairly straight forwards with enemies provided to create the hazard of getting knocked into spikes etc. Especially with the current lack of decent mid-jump combat it can get frustrating.

- Would be nice to see the moving mine platforms creak/settle slightly when the player jumps on them. Also having the chance for the player to cause small rocks to fall from edges or something when they run/jump off.

- In general would be nice to have some more atmospheric animations. Small rocks falling from the roof, torches sputtering, that kind of thing. To make even empty room feel interesting. Just think of what it was like to play Super Metroid the first time, when you first landed, with the crumbling stone sounds and lightning etc.

- The tunnels to and from the rest areas have great atmosphere, but it would be nice to see them be a more logical, straight path. Maybe with some steps. Currently they have those annoying bends/pits to get over, which doesn't make much sense if the player is supposed to have entered a purposely built temple style area, it should feel like it has been constructed well. And perhaps some end-of-the-tunnel light on the sanctuary side of the screen, to increase the feeling of the player reaching a safe area.

You can actually already look around a little bit using the right control stick . Unsure what the buttons are for the keyboard though.

Oh wow, I was using the 360 controller and didn't even try that. Just tried the oldschool normal method!

One thing I really love about Chasm is that it is insantly couch playable. You don't have to tweak the UI or anything to be able to sit right back on the couch and play it like a console game.

Lots of great ideas, thanks for the feedback!

MajorFordson wrote:
- The current sword attack speed makes it difficult to kill enemies. It gives them enough time to start moving again, whilst disabling the player from jumping away quickly. Feels like it's stuck between a game that wants the player to be nimble and move around to attack versus a game that allows the player to slash quickly like a madman to defeat enemies.

- A lot of the jumps in the game (moving platforms and the like) feel much too exacting. I'm often falling into spikes simply because the gaps seem to require very precise movement, which doesn't feel great. I think games like Metroid had dedicated difficult platforming sections, but mostly the platforming was fairly straight forwards with enemies provided to create the hazard of getting knocked into spikes etc. Especially with the current lack of decent mid-jump combat it can get frustrating.

I agree! The shortsword's attack speed is counter productive for it's limited mobility and range. Bats gave me more trouble then they should have! I was glad I got the club when it showed up as the overarc swings from the club and broadsword work really well with the current mechanics. The shortsword should allow free movement due to it's shorter range and have just a little faster swing rate. Symphony of the night is a fantastic example of this and a similar setup was what I was expecting coming into the game. A short backdash that gives you some space between enemies might help this out as well.

I also had the same issue with jumps. Some felt too pixel perfect. I had to hold down jump with a running start just to make a ledge in some of the catacombs' areas and most of these jumps were off of small platforms. In my opinion, pixel perfect jumps are great, but shouldn't be excessively used as they are. The air control in Chasm is fantastic, you have a lot of room to correct jumps mid-way but I feel as though it's not being utilized due to each jump needing you to hold the button so often.

One thing I really missed were the general utility items. I'm more then sure there's plenty in production and haven't been added yet but having played through without a town teleport, minor healing items, temp invulnerability etc. gave a small feeling of tedium. When they get added however it'll definitely make things play much more fluently.

So far I really enjoyed what I played, the contrast between areas was refreshing, the detail in backgrounds was fantastic and the random design really held up. Really looking forward to seeing it completed!

I guess with the game being randomly seeded, we won't ever see the brilliant level of design seen in Super Metroid, with areas being designed with early, mid and late game items in mind. And not only for discovering new exits or hidden items, but many areas in SM were also designed so there would be shortcuts for players with more skill or late game abilities.