oh lord i regret this font choice hahaha
anyway this is an extremely well thought out comment and i really appreciate it, so i'll go ahead and try replying point by point!
- The empty corridors. big agree here, to be quite honest with you. there's a lot i've learned since the release of this game just a few years ago about storytelling and pacing, thankfully.
- the first path unlocking by interacting with an object: that was actually my attempt at storytelling. it definitely could have been more interesting!
- the camera, i also agree, looking back on it. the movement speed isn't high enough, the view size isn't large enough and the framerate is also an abysmal 30 frames per second. the panning left and right was done to give the player some more view space, but because everything is snapping to whole numbers when the screen width is barely 256 pixels or however many, it's - oof. wowie, yeah, i agree, it can look kinda rough.
- the controls: this is actually less of an issue with thinking out the controls themselves and more of a problem with the framerate and balancing the recoil amount. it's a lot more generous and well balanced when the recoil provides a noticeable boost. as far as stopping the jump upon key release, i will certainly stand by that. shooting down by pressing jump was actually a feature in place to prevent people with really old keyboards from missing their input by holding too many keys at once- though it certainly could have been an option, instead of an always-on feature.
- The bullet recharge mechanic is just bad: this, thank god, was completely re-thought for the perpetually in development sequel. the very first upgrade you get doubles your reload speed, instead of the tiny 20% boost each upgrade in this game provides. this game asks the player to really trust in their incremental progress as they find more upgrades, which can be really off-putting at first.
- Each room just kind of blended together: dude tell me about it! the blocks are all kinda ehhhhh looking and a lot of the map, looking back on it, seems to be there for filler. fortunately at least, each sector of the station is themed differently and each sector is a significant difference from the other with their own unique challenges within. graphically i've grown enough to really convey what i want to with level design now, at least.
- spikes: yeah no definitely, they're the worst. they do knockback and stunlock you into a deathpit. i've learned my lesson about spikepits in these types of games - they don't return in the sequel!
the sequel has been on hold for years, though, while i've been experimenting with other games. check out:
https://brainos.itch.io/spacecortex for a more polished overall experience with more of a focus on the shooting bits and cooperation with a second player.
https://brainos.itch.io/biomass for a free game that's a bit more polished than saving princess was, despite being made in just 72 hours for a game jam! it's not a particularly lengthy commitment of time to play through, either.
https://brainos.itch.io/touge if you'd rather quit playing metroid and just watch initial d
i can only keep improving thanks to feedback and criticism like yours, and i really appreciate players like you helping me to grow and learn and become an unstoppable flesh monster.