RedLilyQueen
Member
I feel like the more critical takes are kind of weirdly aggressive, especially considering it's a WIP. There's way too much focus on the existence of slopes themselves and I think that's kind of clouding judgement. Honestly, the Sonic Utopia comparisons just strike me as bizarre. Where are you all seeing the 90-degree downward slopes, upwards launch ramps and haphazard level design?? Because as I see it, every bit of 2.2 GFZ1 has been adapted, if not expanded upon, just with a lot more mostly-slight slopes everywhere.
Even with the new physics, these slopes are hardly going to give the speed some people seem to think they will. The sharpest slope I can see is the first curve past the waterfall, and considering that not only do you have to go up it first, but it seems to end on a higher plane, it's certainly not going to blast you through the rest of the act or whatever the impression is. Frankly, you're a lot better off trying to compare SRB2 to the original classics, when it comes to 2.3 level design, especially Green Hill in the case of GFZ, I think. There are very few times where the original Green Hill throws a big slope to roll down at you, if more than, like... two. From what I can see, the GFZ1 remake is working under similar philosophy. Slopes are there, but they're not a big deal for the most part.
The way I see it, the biggest reason all these new slopes are being implemented is to help introduce the new physics to the player, get them used to how going up and down slopes feels. It's the first level, so it needs to help new players come to grips with all the controls as well as possible. I think the expansion of the force shield cave into a fuller water area accomplishes similar- it gives the player an early taste of the water physics in a relatively safe spot. That's probably the reason things are a little wider, too- more space to move in for a starter, and who knows, they could've modified Crawla's behavior in a way that makes a slightly wider area around them necessary.
And I do think remaking GFZ1- and the whole rest of the game- is necessary when considering that it'll be using different physics. Egg Rock feels out of place these days, could you imagine placing all the old acts into 2.3 with new zones made with the new physics in mind?? In the end, Sonic Team Jr. are a bunch of fans working on this game unpaid, so they can do what they want with it. If that's different from your personal vision, you should try your own hand at remaking GFZ1, I say.
Even with the new physics, these slopes are hardly going to give the speed some people seem to think they will. The sharpest slope I can see is the first curve past the waterfall, and considering that not only do you have to go up it first, but it seems to end on a higher plane, it's certainly not going to blast you through the rest of the act or whatever the impression is. Frankly, you're a lot better off trying to compare SRB2 to the original classics, when it comes to 2.3 level design, especially Green Hill in the case of GFZ, I think. There are very few times where the original Green Hill throws a big slope to roll down at you, if more than, like... two. From what I can see, the GFZ1 remake is working under similar philosophy. Slopes are there, but they're not a big deal for the most part.
The way I see it, the biggest reason all these new slopes are being implemented is to help introduce the new physics to the player, get them used to how going up and down slopes feels. It's the first level, so it needs to help new players come to grips with all the controls as well as possible. I think the expansion of the force shield cave into a fuller water area accomplishes similar- it gives the player an early taste of the water physics in a relatively safe spot. That's probably the reason things are a little wider, too- more space to move in for a starter, and who knows, they could've modified Crawla's behavior in a way that makes a slightly wider area around them necessary.
And I do think remaking GFZ1- and the whole rest of the game- is necessary when considering that it'll be using different physics. Egg Rock feels out of place these days, could you imagine placing all the old acts into 2.3 with new zones made with the new physics in mind?? In the end, Sonic Team Jr. are a bunch of fans working on this game unpaid, so they can do what they want with it. If that's different from your personal vision, you should try your own hand at remaking GFZ1, I say.