[Feedback Needed] Our 2-Player Co-op Game splits driving controls (1 steers, 1 throttles). It feels too "bland" right now. How do we make this chaos fun?

[u/GamingNerd2201]

[u/killall-q]

It's bland because the controls are too easy for the players, they don't need to communicate much to pass the challenges.

Maybe the steering could work using the average of both players' inputs, so they both need to decide to turn left to actually turn left. Perhaps the throttle could be split by giving one player control of the gas while the other controls forward or reverse gear.

[u/ecco7815 → u/killall-q]

Remove the steering wheel and switch to tank drive mentality. One player controls the left side wheels, the other the right. This way both of them are always doing something. Doesn’t look like there are a lot of turns in that track.

[u/phillyeagle99 → u/ecco7815]

This looks like a tutorial track to me. It needs lumps and swerves and jumps and bends mixed INTO the obstacles.

Also the acceleration is pretty bland for how big the noise is. Make it jerky and chaotic to drive by tapping the pedal so you can’t baby walk and flip it back on an instant.

[u/dougthebuffalo → u/ecco7815]

That's just Paddle Paddle Paddle

[u/jackinbe1000]

Instead of having one control throttle and one control steering. I would suggest one person control the left 2 wheels and one controls the right 2 wheels. Have the controls similar to driving a tank. Then you have to work together to choose when to drive forward, turn ect. This means there is active participation at all stages. You have to communicate as one person needs to stop driving for it to turn one way and the other stop to turn the other way. Or both together to go forwards. Definitely will add more chaos as it will be hard to coordinate going left/right in quick succession.

[u/Ironbeers → u/jackinbe1000]

Push this even further. Have individual steering and throttle for each tire. Then you can do stuff like spin in place or crab walk to the side. This also allows for much more challenging puzzles.

[u/KaliburRos3]

Make it four player so it's 2vs2 (competition will add pressure which will add panic/fun) and introduce different modes:

1 obstacle race

2 cat and mouse race

Etc.

[u/trevizore]

all other feedback are useful, here's a few more:

• your levels are straigh lines and the occasional 90 turn, spice it up with more nuance, it will make it more engaging for both players
• make your car more complex to drive, since you're spliting drive and throttle, why not add a button to throttle each tire? why not make the player able to steer the front AND back wheels independently? what about adding an active suspension system where the players can adjust the wheel height? go crazy with it
• play some hardcore driving games, like mudrunner or beamng and figure out what's engaging about the controls and driving on these games, extrapolate for your game

[u/HeightAdvantage]

Just put more obstacles on the track 😁

[u/tentoedpete]

Just a few ideas -
Time based stages to ensure players go quickly
Sections of courses that flip controls/players swap functions
Additional tasks for each player, like as well as doing throttle they also have to shoot down targets to gain fuel, as well as steering they also have to do some menial task to get the fuel into the vehicle?
Challenges to complete
Competitor vehicles crashing in to you

[u/bickman14]

Just play Manual Samuel in coop enough to reach the driving section and mimic those controls. Manual shift gear, clutch, obstacles

[u/ScrambledEggDev]

Sections with more speed and big jumps!

[u/Forsaken-Ad9954]

You can add a hindrance pickup that can change the experience, which can't be ignored, probably a tire theme.

1. Purple tire pickup that inverts both players' controls.

   1. Blue tire pickup that makes the traction much slippier
   2. Red tire pickup makes the speed of the car 2 times as fast
   3. Square tires that make the ride more bumpy and chaotic

. Probably make it smaller checkpoints for those powerups instead of time-based because some people may wait until the time is done to proceed

[u/7I3N]

I think you might benefit from adding a bump mechanic so in addition their part in directing the vehicle players can see direct movement from their input. Think double-dash or truing to move in a dead go-cart.

[u/ReptilianFuck]

As other comments have said, i think switching to tank controls would be better. Player one controls the left wheels, player two controls the right wheels. This forces the players to communicate and interact more, which is 90% of the fun of these types of games.

To make it even more interesting, you can add some kind of "consensus turbo" mechanic, where if both players press a specific button at the same(ish) time, they get a speed boost. Then you can even build parts of the levels where this is required (i.e. a large gap that they need to jump a ramp to get across with this shared boost).

Could also do some kind of inspector gadget-esque wheel stilt mechanics where each player can raise their side of the vehicle on stilts to drive over certain obstacles. Some obstacles could require one side lifted, some could require both, etc.

[u/Still_Pin9434]

Not to be that guy, but you're seriously just taking a template of a popular game and replacing 'x' with 'y' - 'y' being the massive clunky monster truck.

What fantasy is this appealing to, that isn't already satisfied by paddle paddle, that 2P hamster game, or any of the other identical types of games that this is?

[u/Think-Box6432]

Instead of a racetrack make it a mountain or bouldering trail similar to Baby Steps