Well, it's an...
interesting proof of concept right now, but as it stands, it's way too unoptimized to be properly playable. Even on a computer with decent specs, I get maybe 30-ish FPS at any given time. Options to reduce motion blur and shadows would be very welcome here... and all together, I think the level design as is currently just doesn't lend itself to the gameplay well. Moreover, I hate how the game
starts at fullscreen, but as soon as you actually get it going past the control splash page, it reverts down into a 1280×720 window or something. I think that's something that'll need looking at as well.
As for the levels, a more Adventure style is the goal, level design is also not my field so I haven't really started on that.
A "
more Adventure-style" level design isn't a bad idea, but that requires knowing what makes good SA levels fun. To that end, making a free-roaming game densely populated by trees maybe isn't the best idea for that. If the levels are wide and open-ended, they lend themselves to a more exploratory style of gameplay, and having booster plates randomly strewn about seems counter-productive to that idea; if the emphasis is supposed to be on
speed, you need more linearity in your level design with a far snappier camera to show that off—when you hit a booster plate, the camera should immediately be behind the camera to facilitate control after getting a burst of such high acceleration, not to mention a higher framerate would allow players to react to obstacles more readily, and not be jumpscared by green and black lizardmen in a green and black forest. I'd say
Sapphire Speed is a decently good example of this... which is really a shame, because Horoichi seems to have just dropped off the face of the planet around this time last year.
Oh, and to that point... there's almost no way to react to the QTEs as they are now. The minute I get caught by a lizardman, the 'F' prompt immediately turns red and I'm forced into the animation. Even when I mash the button as soon as I walk up to a lizardman, it seems to not do anything... and the attack animation has no heft to it. You swing your hammer, but it feels like nothing connects and no damage is dealt. I'm not sure if you even have enemy health coded into the game yet, but seeing as how Amy can lose rings when she takes damage, I can only assume that you have and the damage scaling is absurdly low right now.
Now for the giant pink elephant in the room (
pun very much intended), and I do so hate to dogpile on a point, but—
One of the reasons I chose the model is because it wasn't the actual body size. Also I don't mind it and I actual like it.
—I can see
why you would've chosen this. Accurately proportioned Sonic-style characters don't really have much going on, barring the fact that their bobblehead proportions kinda make them look... childish. (
Saying nothing for the characters that actually are children, cough cough.) That said, however, I personally think these proportions are way too grossly exaggerated to be attractive. A two-seater dumptruck ass directly adjacent to an ten-inch waist is just jarring to look at... and this is coming from someone who rather enjoys a round and shapely ass, but not when the character itself is 90% ass.
You've already taken steps to distance the model from the "rubber-hose"-style models, and opted for a design with more humanoid proportions, but they're so exaggerated that it's hard to find any attraction to them. If it was a more toned-down model that still had accentuated curves, I think it would be a lot better in the long run. Now I'm not a 3D sculptor or animator, but I wonder if it's possible to convert an STL file (for 3D printing) back into a Blender or Maya object—some really good Sonic-style models with more averagely human proportions are, for example, "
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" by skullter (
no longer downloadable, to my knowledge) or something like ArtGible's
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(
NSFW version on
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; login required for purchase). If possible, you could maybe find (or make / commission) other character models in a similar style like Rouge, Blaze and/or
Cream Vanilla and incorporate those into the game as well with a character select screen for that more authentic "Sonic Adventure" feel.
...but yeah, TL;DR:
- options menu as soon as possible, to be able to toggle resolution / motion blur / graphics and shadows;
- retouch the levels to either be more linear for speed-centric gameplay, or wide open to encourage exploration;
- modify the attack animation to be either a two-handed / overhead swing, with damage tweaks to match; and
- find and use a more toned-down character model...
- ...and maybe remove the dedicated twerk button... because why is that a thing?