harsh opinion sorry :'(

[ThugLifeOne]

I really love the first synthetic and my honest opinion about this new part is;
it's ♥♥♥♥

I'm sorry for the harsh wording and i'll clarify a bit now

gameplay: idk what you changed in the engine but the controls and the flow of the game is so much worse it just feels sluggish and unresponsive i never got the feeling of playing synthetic during the demo more struggling with how it functions now.
it feels a lot less crisp and clean.

Graphics: imo the style of the original was super good very minimalist but achieving something visually unique and interessting, this new one does not have any of that and feels/looks very bland like every other generic xcom looking clone.

Again sorry to the devs for these harsh words but this is honestly how i'm feeling, i really hope they change track and even start from zero making it play and look more like synthetic 1 but i'm afraid that will not happen with the august 19 release date very close.

please guys think about this i'm a real fan <3

[Hofi]

I have the same opinion like you.
The graphics is OK for me, but the gameplay itself is slow and feels unresponsive. I'm playing Synthetik with keyboard and mouse. Something felt very bad in this version - it was like I had to use up+right to move right and the movement was not natural for me. Maybe it's about the muscle memory....
I jumped back to Synthetik 1 after playing the demo and it was i night and day difference for me - smooth gameplay / ultra fast response compared with Synthetik 2 at alpha stage (demo)

[Varenvel The Festive Dinosaur]

i think a lot is up to the camera , and im posting this in few comments to maximalise chance for devs to see , warframe and risk of rain 2 are good fast paced games , who show why camera placement is important , you cant have fast paced game where camera floats around and you fight the camera and not the enemies

this is not 2004 where games who had that were just empty level

first or 3rd person perspective is best for this kind of game.

[orb]

YEA MAN JUST TURN THE TOP DOWN ROGUELITE GAME INTO A DIFFERENT GENRE

[Stenk]

Guys seriously, it's a demo of an alpha build... I considered it as some kind of treat rather than something to build an analysis upon. Don't you feel like you treat that like the first early access build?

What i mean is that your comments are accurate but at this point of the project, it's only spreading negative communication for something that barely exist. Zir will recognize its most faithful follower when the time comes. Only divine weapon for me, you Ultra male.

[Hofi]

I believe devs released this demo to get some feedback. Synthetik 1 is a masterpiece in my opinion and reviews just prooves it. Negativity was not the driving factor here. I wanted to provide my honest opinion on alpha and help devs with my 5 cents.

[BlackjackGT]

It's alpha/pre-alpha/primorial soup, so I would say let's see where it is in early access and later. I wasn't crazy about the viewpoint change but I have an open mind. And if the sequel looked and played exactly the same, what would be the point of it anyway?

Other thing is, Synthetik 1 was essentially by a two-man dev team and now they have by comparison an army. Which should be for the better, but it's simply not going to feel the same as the first game when the majority of the new team didn't work on the first game.

The first game also worked out its kinks on itch.io before it ever reached Steam, and I remember reading about it and thinking "wow, how did I not know about it?" And that's because it was working out its kinks on a tiny indie games network (itch.io) and not on Steam and not trying to live up to a brilliant first game. :)

I don't think anyone would argue that the devs should stick with a less than state of the art gaming engine (Game Maker Studio) that never seemed designed for this type of game. Or that original devs Taro and Shrike should've kept working 20 hour days (or whatever) as a duo instead of hiring a team to work with them.

I would say for me the sequel alpha has felt a bit "loose" in how it plays, aiming, the general feel, and not as "tight" as Synthetik did, and that's terribly difficult for me to explain or to describe. But it will be interesting to see what it's like at the early access launch point. :)

[Uthael]

I hadn't played it, but if it's sluggish... Is there any acceleration to moving? If so, maybe that's causing the sluggish feeling.

[Vadise Sagukari]

The first post description is still accurate to this day. And while it is still early to give judgement on the project, what I have heard from Shrike about the direction S2 is going toward it is likely to disappoint a portion of the people who love S1. I for one am not super hyped about the game anymore, and not because of it's current technical shortcomings, it is an alpha after all.

I was kind of hoping for a refreshed S1, with better graphics, more level variety, mod support and more than 2 player coop.

But from my understanding, S2 is going to move away from S1's fast-paced, arcade-like, absurd, blood-pumping twin stick action to a more 'tactical' and slow paced action. And the way that mods are apparently going to be handled is interesting at best, with not all mods being multiplayer compatible, because of it being exclusively server based. And some mods apparently being paid. (As of my current understanding. Please correct me if I am wrong)

We are nearing November, so I am not super hopeful that a change of direction is possible before EA. But I can only cross my fingers and see if the game becomes something I'll love during the EA period. I do intend to get the game regardless, just because I'd like to see more indies working on what they truly want.

I hope this isn't overly negative or offensive to anyone, what I mean to say with all this is "S2 is not S1 with better graphics. It is (as of today) a completely different game, taking place in the same lore universe as S1, so adjust your expectations accordingly. Maybe give it a while after EA begins to see some reviews and game-play before you make a decision if you are unsure."

And if you would like to see more, definitely jump on the discord and watch Shrike's devstreams. He is friendly and will answer questions as long as they are relevant to what he is working on. Or just ask questions in the many server channels, you'll get answers relatively quickly.

[orb]

Originally posted by Vadise Sagukari:

true on many points, while a lot of it is down to lack of polish (such as early reload failure prevention, which is a thing in the first game but not yet in S2)

my primary concern is that even though the next game plans on having tons more attachments/items/enemies the overall experience will be more predetermined. how?

the faction based design means that if youre fighting the chrono squad, youre fighting the chrono squad. if youre using the railgun, you dont get 4 attachment slots, you get a stock slot, a grip slot and so on. technically the amount of attachments, weapons and enemies that are planned is leagues above S1 but they arent mixed in the same way, and while shrike views that as a upside, it worked to the first game's favor (just like how the classic HUD was better than the current S2 HUD, for many reasons that probably weren't even intended).

a more relatable way to put this would be "noone remembers any of the five mag47s they picked up, but they remember the tribolt one."

this also goes for technology perks, which aren't in yet, but time will tell how those shape up. taro convinced me somewhat, but will have to see how that works out ingame.

currently the issue is that i cant be the judge of anything because most feedback is easily and often dismissed by "it's work in progress", but as it stands its borderline impossible to give feedback on actual gameplay because pre-alpha testers CAN'T know what the game will be like once everything falls into place. as it is right now, most weapons are awful, but will that change once pierce is implemented? etc.

i am probably one of the biggest whiteknights of the game as it is (and i think some points are overdramatic. having pre-alpha access myself) but i will say this:
Don't buy the pre-alpha early access release if you want to experience a complete, polished, balanced, or even working game like S1 (for the most part) is. Wait for beta and follow development, but hold off with your purchase. There is a reason why pre-orders aren't possible. This isn't a Cyberpunk 2077, but an actual pre-alpha EA, called so by the developers and players for a reason.

Originally posted by Vadise Sagukari:

And the way that mods are apparently going to be handled is interesting at best, with not all mods being multiplayer compatible, because of it being exclusively server based.

they want to make everything work but they dont yet know if thats possible.

Originally posted by Vadise Sagukari:

And some mods apparently being paid. (As of my current understanding. Please correct me if I am wrong)

noone is entitled to other people's hard work, if the quality bar is high enough i dont see an issue with mod devs asking for money. they could call it community DLC and noone would be complaining, people are simply still angry at bethesda and valve for something that happened half a decade ago

Originally posted by Vadise Sagukari:

But from my understanding, S2 is going to move away from S1's fast-paced, arcade-like, absurd, blood-pumping twin stick action to a more 'tactical' and slow paced action.

s1 was also tactical, people (who are, for the most part, the people who die all the time) simply try to play it like it's doom or ultrakill. a lot of the current pacing issues come down to issues with AI and my current favorite bug where the player can get headshot (which theyre looking into).