Energy
In order to boost and to power its shields, the hovercraft relies on a rechargeable resource called energy. Because boosting and shields draw from the same pool, energy management is extremely important.
From a design perspective the idea is to create a risk vs reward scenario. Boosting leaves less energy for shields which makes you more vulnerable to crashing. However, if you don’t boost enough you will run out of time.
Boosting
I cannot overemphasize the importance of boosting! Without it, piloting the hovercraft is not nearly as exciting and is far less responsive. You cannot effectively play the game without it.
You probably have an idea of what boosting is as it is a very common feature in racing games. Usually it allows the player to accelerate and move forward more quickly than usual. This is still the case in Ionic Surge, however it doesn’t stop there.
If you have read the previous devlog you should have a good understanding of how the movement mechanics work. Basically, the hovercraft can strafe left and right without turning. Why does this matter? Because you can boost in any direction not just forward. It takes some getting used to, but this ability makes the hovercraft extremely agile. Good pilots can weave around obstacles and drift through turns without losing speed.
Shields
The hovercraft is equipped with energy shields which absorb damage. Without them, collisions at high speeds would almost always end explosively!
Simply put, shields keep you alive. If there is not enough energy to absorb all of the damage from a collision or trap the hull of the hovercraft takes the remaining damage.
