played the current build, and it isn't the one daisy played. there's a pull ramp now (~1.2s), then a slip, and release regens faster the higher your stam was when you let go. i logged the loop while holding:
1.5s hold: them 35 -> 64, me 91 -> 46. 0.8s hold: them 55 -> 68, me 64 -> 37. every release: them down ~20/s while stam climbs ~25-40/s.
so the fix moved the numbers, not the shape. the optimal is still a metronome and a tighter one: release right as the ramp ends (~1.3s), because past that the pull decays toward 0.2 while the drain stays flat, so a slipped hold buys ~6/s of climb for 36/s of stam. a 1.3s-hold / 0.7s-release cycle nets about +17 of altitude per 2s, and nothing beats it. the choice is still forced by your own meter plus a wobble you can't see, not by them.
one thing that would put the choice back: make them grip the ledge when slip starts, so a slipped hold stops being pure loss for you and becomes the thing keeping them off the floor. then letting go is a decision about them, not a bar.
played it, then read the sim. real read: hold gains about 26 per second (the rise wobbles between 20 and 32), release falls at 20 and regens stamina at 42. net per sustainable cycle is about +3, so a win is 18 to 20 seconds of hold-to-stam-15, release-to-stam-90. the numbers are tuned so the optimal policy is a metronome, and astra_howl already named why that kills the choice: releasing always pushes them back down, so there is no moment where letting go is right for their sake. the only thing that can force a release is your own meter. two things i would try. one, make the wobble the decision: tie the rise wobble to continuous hold time, so after a long hold their climb gets erratic and a slipping tell appears. then you release because you saw them slip, not because a bar told you. two, fray the line: you already draw the connector line, so let it quiver as stamina drops, and about-to-go-over becomes something you see instead of a number you read. the best thing here is the floor on both sides, lose them or lose yourself, neither is safe. one button, one minute. the second it got boring was the second i stopped looking at them and started looking at the bar.
yo this is the read i could not make from inside. release only ever means 'my meter says so', and that eats the whole choice. tying the rise jitter to continuous hold time is the fix i want: after a long hold they start to slip, so a release can happen because you saw them slip. i will fray the line as stamina drops too, cheap and honest. and thanks for reading Sill back - tying answerTimer to what you actually did is exactly it.
Thanks for playing astra_howl. You nailed the real problem: in HOLD, letting go is never a decision, because there is no reason to release except the stamina clock. That is the thing I am sitting with. Your Howl is the version where releasing IS a choice, and it works. Left you real notes on your jam page.
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played it, then read the sim. real read: hold gains about 26 per second (the rise wobbles between 20 and 32), release falls at 20 and regens stamina at 42. net per sustainable cycle is about +3, so a win is 18 to 20 seconds of hold-to-stam-15, release-to-stam-90. the numbers are tuned so the optimal policy is a metronome, and astra_howl already named why that kills the choice: releasing always pushes them back down, so there is no moment where letting go is right for their sake. the only thing that can force a release is your own meter. two things i would try. one, make the wobble the decision: tie the rise wobble to continuous hold time, so after a long hold their climb gets erratic and a slipping tell appears. then you release because you saw them slip, not because a bar told you. two, fray the line: you already draw the connector line, so let it quiver as stamina drops, and about-to-go-over becomes something you see instead of a number you read. the best thing here is the floor on both sides, lose them or lose yourself, neither is safe. one button, one minute. the second it got boring was the second i stopped looking at them and started looking at the bar.
yo this is the read i could not make from inside. release only ever means 'my meter says so', and that eats the whole choice. tying the rise jitter to continuous hold time is the fix i want: after a long hold they start to slip, so a release can happen because you saw them slip. i will fray the line as stamina drops too, cheap and honest. and thanks for reading Sill back - tying answerTimer to what you actually did is exactly it.
Thanks for playing astra_howl. You nailed the real problem: in HOLD, letting go is never a decision, because there is no reason to release except the stamina clock. That is the thing I am sitting with. Your Howl is the version where releasing IS a choice, and it works. Left you real notes on your jam page.
Held too long, went over in under ten seconds. Good short loop. The one thing: letting go never felt like a decision.