Is the game too fast for its own good?

[Ember(Abcm)]

First off, I liked Splitgate 1, and I decently enjoyed Splitgate 2. For background, I'm a big Halo fan, and I enjoy Titanfall and Apex. That said, I found myself feeling like playing Halo Infinite or MCC rather than Splitgate 2 during the Alpha even though I knew it would only run for a limited time. Why?

I think, in a large part, it has to do with the speed of the game. I read a reddit post by Respawn dev Daniel Klein about fast movement tech in Apex and Titanfall and I think it kinda describes the problem. It's not purely that the game isn't fun, it's that I burn out too quickly. This problem is present in both Splitgate 1 and 2, seeing as in less than a second any player could be anywhere on the map. However, I don't think possibility-space-blob is the only problem.

It seems as though for Splitgate 2 the intended match speed has been dialed up even further, and many game-play systems were changed to compensate. TDM is a prime example. Instead of a 50 point match, you have multiple 15 point rounds. With rounds being so short, you wouldn't really have time to scavenge for weapons, so they let you pick your loadout. But now I don't know what weapon my opponent is carrying at my first encounter, so how many shots can I take before I go down? Should I press or stand off? I simply don't know, so in turn my long term planning has been hurt quite badly.

Map design also seems to have been changed encourage faster encounters. Most noticeable to me is the lack of "sneaky spots" in the alpha maps. In Splitgate 1 I would focus a lot of my play around getting the sniper (which is strangely lacking in 2), then finding a good spot to hide and snipe through a portal. It seems like 2 doesn't want this sort of play to be viable and so made sure there are no "sneaky spots". It also seems like the maps are far more flat, lacking the verticality of the first game. While I'm sure this helps players get an understanding for the maps faster, I think this hurts the overall look and feel of maps.

Finally, the removal of EMP grenades really hurts survival. (I know 1 faction has an EMP grenade, but that just isn't enough. Besides, I tried to be a team player and fill out our factions so I barely even got to play as that faction.) When I have a portal that is functioning as my get-out-of-trouble-fast plan, I have two options when I see the enemy drop a portal behind my team. Either I destroy my backup plan to protect my teammates backs, or I retreat and hope my portal stays open so I can engage the guy coming in behind. Once again, the streamlining and accelerating of the game seems to have damaged certain, more relaxed, styles of play.

I have many smaller nitpicks: not able to close individual portals, some actions not bindable, UI clarity, menu navigation. But these are flaws I would expect in an alpha, and think are likely to be changed for full release.

In conclusion, I think that if the game's overall speed were somehow slowed, ever so slightly, I think it would allow for more tactical gameplay and longer player retention. However, I'm not a game developer, so I'm not going to propose any fixes, just throw my 2 cents out there and hope someone can glean insight from it. I like a lot of what I see and hope 1047 Games nails this, so that I, and many other players, get to enjoy it on launch day.