Run Pro

The idea of porting run pro to PC, but add better graphics/textures and uploading it to Steam is quite interesting. But there are a few problems in the game that I would like to talk about: 1. We need updates in the game, the last few updates on Android and iOS was “Maintenance”, which did not bring anything new to the game, although it would seem that in a game where the main tool is the level editor, something new could be added like artificial lighting, which could significantly improve the quality of the atmosphere on maps, or add new gameplay features, like a wall block that you can slide on. 2. Maps editor itself in the PC version. Not that it's completely bad, but it's very inconvenient and annoying, and creating levels in the mobile version of the game is much better and easier. I think this can be solved by changing the editor control in the PC version to the PC control itself to make it different from the previous version. As it is, the game is great, but it needs some interesting updates.

Don't get me wrong, I think Run Pro is an AMAZING game. I used to play the mobile version with my cousin all the time. My problem with the game pertains to the PC Port. Firstly tho, let me explain why I love Run Pro. At its core, Run Pro is a game about speedrunning. Similar to games like Neon White, the game requires you to find the fastest path to beat a level. This includes stuff like finding the best paths to take, jumps you can skip and the most optimal way to get to a point with minimal pauses. But unlike Neon White, which has intentional shortcuts and skips you can perform built into the level design, Run Pro's levels are all made by players. So oftentimes, the skips are unintentional and there's no guarantee that levels have skips, so finding them feels really satisfying. The leaderboards reset daily, so the scores on it aren't the best possible times. So there's always a chance for you to be on the leaderboard without having to be perfect. Instead, your competition is almost always the other people in the room. Stealing first place from others feels really satisfying and having first place get stolen from you makes you motivated to do better. The best way to enjoy Run Pro in my opinion is in a call with friends who are all in the same room, trying to beat each other for the record. Now, onto the problems. In my few sessions I've noticed two big problems which prevents me from recommending this game to more friends. First of all, the mouse movement doesn't feel right. I have no idea what's causing it but if you compare the mouse controls of Run Pro to any other first person game on PC, you'll notice the difference very clearly. I don't really know how this could be fixed. The lowest sensitivity also feels a little too high. I don't particularly mind the mouse problem that much, but the next problem pretty much ruins the game for me. The speed of the player character isn't normalized, so you're able to strafe. Basically, when you move forward, you move ahead at a speed of 12m/s. Similarly, if you wanted to move to the left, you'll move left at a speed of 12m/s. However, when you press both the buttons together, the game adds up your velocities and makes you move in 12 m/s in both directions, resulting in you moving diagonally at the speed of 17m/s (ie. 12√2m/s). So moving diagonally makes you move much faster than moving at normal speed. So, if you wanted to get the best time for a level, you'll practically be forced to move diagonally through the level. Which is just... not fun. Moreover, this puts mobile players and controller players at a massive disadvantage. Technically, you can do this on mobile too but you'd have to use 2 fingers to do it instead of using just the thumb, so it's much harder. And you straight up can't do it with a controller. Solving this issue isn't very hard. I think you just have to normalize the input so that the vector sum of horizontal input and vertical input isn't more than 1. Judging by daily leaderboards as well as permanent leaderboard scores on speedrun.com, it seems like not many people are aware of this trick, so I doubt making this change will affect most of the playerbase. TL;DR: really fun game but strafing exists and that makes it annoying to play with friends because you can just strafe and get the record. And if you decide to allow strafing then you have to strafe the entire level, which is annoying to control and messes up all the jumps anyway. Get the mobile version because strafing is harder on that.