I have taken a little time to play through a few FPS games that have been sitting in my library, unfinished. I completed Doom 2016, Hard Reset and most recently Dusk. I also replayed the entirety of the original Quake, just for good measure. I found so many little things that inspired me how to improve Paradox Vector.
As a result, I have been working on expanding all the early levels, and adding new features. I've been adding new features, like new enemies, fenced off areas, and vents you can crawl through. It's going to be a much more interesting game going forward.
I am trying to have everything ready mid-May for the full release, but there is still a lot to do. We'll see how everything works out. I hope to have a bunch of these new and improved levels out for testing in the near future.
After playing some of these more popular FPS games, I became reacquainted with why I love the genre so much. I realized that Paradox Vector was pretty bare-bones, and that I was relying on the impossible geometry and vector graphics to gather players' interest. However, these other games taught me that you can't replace solid level design with gimmicks! :)
Hard Reset in particular taught me that expectations are important. I felt like I should be able to crawl under things in that game, and realized that players probably expect the same from Paradox Vector. This led to the addition of a ventilation system, where the player can access blocked off areas through these smaller tunnels.
Dusk and Quake in particular reminded me of the importance of secrets. Showing players a secret area, behind an impassible window or fence served to get me more interested in finding that secret area. I am utilizing these fenced off areas now, and have expanded a number of levels to include some of these new features.
Also, the overall complexity of the levels is being increased. My levels were pretty short, making the game feel a bit empty. After enjoying Doom 2016 and those other games, I realized that a good level needs to have some more meat to it. I also want to make the combat a bit more engaging. Doom had so many different enemies, with different attack patterns. I've added a few new enemies, but I think I need to work on this more as well.