Jump Improvements?

This is an open thread for discussing ideas on making the capsule jump "mini-game" more fun than it already is.

In most space games you pick fights because combat is more fun than flying around. That is what we want to happen with capsule jumping, you jump because it is more fun than not jumping.

I don't play any racing games, so perhaps some others can suggest ideas and changes.

Here are a few ideas to stir things up:

The jumps are built out of linked segments. Right now those segments are in fixed order. We add some randomization to the segments. If we want to reward player knowledge, we randomize only a few of the segments, the rest stay the same each run, allowing a player to learn the pattern. This might be important for the longer more deadly routes that have harder segments.

We add some harder segments to the mix. These segments might have larger objects inside the tunnel, forcing the player to one side. Or they have lights in clumps instead of evenly scattered. Clumps could be located where the natural path of your ship would be located, forcing the player to dive down, or up, or turn more tightly than expected.

We add some other weird effects. Nebula that gets thicker and becomes very hard to see through (making dodging lights harder. Or some other color light that slows or speeds the player ship (it is hard to push a player ship sideways, cause POG does not have functions for it. It is easy to change a ships forward speed). We could have hitting some lights distrupt the player for a brief second, making hitting those lights not instantly fatal, but likely to cause other collisions.

How about adding an exploration aspect?

We could have branching tunnels that lead to different systems? Make it a bit like the err....warpy space in Babylon 5? Mysterious, unknown, and holding more than a mystery or two?

Increase the length of difficult jumps? That in addition to increased 'nebula' effects, 'lights' etc.

I like the idea of more exploration, but currently the whole system is designed around point to point connections. Branches would change everything from maps through pog etc. I would rather focus on how to make the flying aspect have more/different challenges.

I removed the sounds from the jump tube lights. I like it better! The "tunnel" music is very nice. I didn't realize how much it was overwhelmed by the capsule sound. There was no improvement in frame rate (I am getting around 12-14 fps. I guess I didn't notice it was quite so low before. Must have been trying to survive).

It is the fact the lights are moving. I gave them all zero velocity and the frame rate jumped up to 6ofps in a deadly route.

Hey I worked hard on that music! Glad you like it. I will try that change too.

Yeah, I liked the music too.

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