An entry is long overdue, I know.

I usually have one every day, but I just haven't written one for the last couple of days.

So here I go.

First, Twinsenly speaking.

Cocopuffs left the other day to go fishing, he'll be back in another day or so, so that's not a big deal.

But, I'm left with my thoughts, and no one to bounce them all off.

So let me share a few with you.

The most major one is concerning Twinsens ability to walk.

When you don't hold Shift (default key) Twinsen walks by default, this dictates his type of jump.

Specifically, if walking, Twinsen performs a more vertical jump, and also allows for the uppercut, which acts as a double-jump.

But, if holding Shift and running, Twinsen will perform a much more aerobatic jump- somersaulting through the air and acting as his double jump- is the Spin Slash.

Twinsen will hold his sword out and continue to flip, plus if you have around 1000 points you can perform this move three times on the same jump, effectively a quadruple-jump.

When you consider Twinsens Spin Slash is much safer way to attack enemies, and can help you reach higher points, there is no real appeal to the slower paced uppercut, other than it perhaps being easier to control.

Still, it does not balance out.

What I'm considering, is making Twinsen run by default, and to only have Twinsen perform the vertical oriented jump when stationary, just for the sake of still giving people the option.

If running he still performs the same spin jump.

The mindset behind this decision is simplifying the gameplay a bit, In this case the vertical jump is essentially worthless, and the spin jump is always the better option, so whats the point?

The only thing I don't like about doing this is that we will no longer require a button to run.

I personally really like the extra challenge in maintaining a sprint through the levels in Twinsen.

If you take your finger off for a second, he's back to walking and you have to build up speed allover again, it's rarely a life or death mistake, but it can easily be the deciding factor between a 12 hit combo and a few smaller combos.

After our lengthy discussion on which is the best decision in regards to maintaining a tougher game- I'm torn.

On one hand, the current solution is pointless and unnecessary, but more challenging.

On the other, the proposed solution is significantly simpler, which will make things ultimately easier.

If you have any suggestions, please leave a comment.

If you've got a good idea to somehow make the vertical jump worthy of existence, or would rather opt for a slower-paced jog in place of the current walk etc, let me know.

Other than that, I have a lot planned immediately after we release the demo, the least of which: a full tileset revamp.

I plan to make things more realistic proportionately speaking, so Twinsen and other NPCs can actually fit inside the doors of houses, and also making the levels more diverse and intricate.

Other than Twinsen, not much.

I'm still playing SMR, and frequenting the IRC channel, infact I'm in there right now.

I've hit another wall, and I'm not sure what I need to do… I've found 4 tough morphball sequences that require multiple bomb jumps.

This isn't an issue in the original Super Metroid because you're not limited to 3 bombs, you don't have to wait for them to replenish plus you can un-morph at anytime you want and just wall jump up to wherever you need to go.

Yesterday morning was rather nice (winter here) so I took Jazz to the nearby dog park.

It's a pretty nice walk alongside the river, and the park is almost always empty.

So she can run around like a maniac, she even jumped in the river the first time she went there.

There are some obstacle courses there which she's pretty competent with, running along the zig-zag bridge, up the ramps, through the tunnels etc.

That's all for now, I'll be sure to post an entry tomorrow.

BYAAH!