well, this helped me figure out one thing. Always had the question of having the option to play without timer, or like you said, at least the tutorial levels. Kind of didnt want to remove the timer to force a certain pace, but if the player never learns the level because of all the pressure of having a timer plus all the frantic action, something has to be changed.
First, no map will start with the player wide in the open to be shot at. Then next to him will be a "machine" so that he can activate a training session. Basicly it removes the timer, makes the AI braindead so that the player can memorize their spawn locations, and doesnt save stats (you can still do the objectives to get an idea of how many to kill for what score, or what has to be done to complete the other ones, they just wont be saved when you restart or quit). Basicly you can take the time you want to learn without playing a toned down version.
That may help to give a breather, and a way to look at the space with time to really plan out something.
This is the big change im gonna try. There are others, like the audio feedback (eventually got to get some real audio guy to help out) and the kicking in air (a bug that still havent figured it out).
Thanks for giving your feedback