Did an almost full run-through (Hunter Mode) on 1.00.5 (couldn't beat Sigma, he's a butt). Much improvement on this version. Here's what I like:
- Normal buster does more damage against bosses and regular enemies
- Dash lemons
- Weaknesses do appropriate damage against bosses; feels more balanced
- Sigma has a clear weakness (Comet)
- Bugs fixed in Fortress 1 boss fight (no no-clipping from crushers)
Things I wish to see changed or fixed:
- A full Sub-Tank should fill 100% of health bar, and/or should be increased the amount of HP it holds so it fills entire health bar (currently fills only over half)
- Improved defense from Chest armor upgrade. So far it doesn't seem to reduce damage, if any. 25-50% damage reduction would be ideal. Especially helpful for the Fortress bosses.
- Hadouken input does not match the original MMX1, which is down + diagonal + right/left + fire. The input for this game seems to be diagonal + down or down + diagonal + down, or some version of that, but it is not a seamless match of the original.
- Both X's and Boss health bars go transparent or disappear when X hovers within the same frames. Invisible health bars are a disadvantage, as players should know at all times the amount of health remaining
- Make requirement to get Hadouken without having to kill yourself in the pit, if that is part of the requirement. Technically speaking, if you are attempting a no-death or no-damage run of the game or the stage, then that makes getting the Hadouken pointless. If it is a requirement to go to the very bottom of the stage, then make it a requirement to do so without dying.
- Some special weapons deplete all the way (especially wind against Scorpion) before they can be used in their entirety for their intended bosses. As a guideline I would propose that a single shot should only expend only 1 bar, while a charged shot should expend no more than 4. The exception is for over-time use, such as boulder and comet, where 2 bars every few seconds would be fair. Charged shots on Special Weapons should always use up more energy than single shots.
- Fixing camera speed in door entries. Current speed drags gameplay too much.
- Adjust camera positioning or add more floors and platforms in Axolotl stage so floors are always visible in horizontal sections. I would say it's okay in vertical drops to have some unpredictability about what's below, because X at least has walls to slide down to check. In horizontal sections no visibility of a "safe" floor to navigate makes for slow traversal and too much guesswork. Even if there were no or very minimal safe areas on the ground to get to, at least having them visible, would help players make quicker decisions when speeding through areas. An alternate could be adding a few additional platforms so there is always a flat surface to jump to.
- Add more damage to charged beam, or even a damage-over-time when fired at bosses and other large enemies. The beam does less noticeable damage than a regular charged shot. Upgrades should always add more.
I don't know yet how I feel about the double boss health bar. It's okay, but also feels unnecessary and less vanilla MMX. Could simply keep everything proportional (i.e. one health bar, all shots do half damage. Or leave this feature for Veteran mode only. The Sigma fight feels overpowered now in Hunter mode. First phase Sigma feels much more challenging than final phase Sigma, and with the way the Sub-Tanks are not filling up the entire health bar, this is a tough fight for your casual player (Hunter mode), not that Sigma shouldn't be difficult, but when you are 100%, you should be much more balanced out as X, especially in defense. And since he now has a double health bar you can't use his weakness for the whole fight, because it depletes too quickly.
Overall, great improvements. Look forward to new updates.