Ver 0.5

Ver 0.5 Update

Mechanics:

• Double-jump
• Boosted Hammer

Physics:

• Launcher trajectory consistency
• Hammer grips flat ground more effectively
• Consistency and stability of hammer when entering & exiting ball form
• Hammer flailing influences the player body significantly less
• When swinging the hammer downward, it will bias the hammer towards a straight vertical trajectory

Level:

• Adjustment to mercy catches at hooks challenge

From playtesting, I noticed 2 key traits: the controls and the ball & other mechanics.

Controls) The controls didn't behave in the ways that players thought it should. Trying to traverse world with hammer rotations. Falling away from the cliff when trying to climb. There are ways to do those proper, but the nuances for performing those actions weren't intuitive. The controls needed improvements. Luckily, the playtesting also helped me see what areas to focus on, so hopefully the hammer should feel better to manipulate.

Mechanics) The ball mechanic was a pretty isolated mechanic that didn't interact as well with the other mechanics as I had hoped. The issue was that the in & out of ball mode was inconsistent. Puzzles where it felt like "luck" if the ball mode worked as you hoped would just feel bad. However, after many changes & adjustments, the ball has become more stable and consistent. As for the general challenges, the additional mechanics didn't really come into the picture until the second half of the level. Up until that point, it wasn't much different from just GOI challenges.

Addressing these two, I added the double jump and boost mechanics. My original imagined gameplay was something like a mix of Sonic and GOI. GOI as a fast-paced platformer. As a result, the player control is incredibly high. So much so, that the "challenge" aspect of GOI has diminished. However, I think that's fine. I didn't intend Ham Slam to be a rage game like GOI. I just wanted to make a GOI that I felt is fun. And, there's still the challenge of speedrunning the level.

The level hasn't been updated to really make use of the boost and double jump, so I'm pretty sure you can do some cheesy stuff. Though, the level can still be completed without the mechanics. I probably won't change the level unless it feels like the game is being negatively impacted by the mechanics.  I might add some routes that use them, but not certain.

Hope you feel like it's an improvement!