While the changes made in the 2.4 tutorial have been amazing, I think the tutorial makes it really easy to forget that sliptiding exists.
Not being given to players who completed the tutorial in 2.3 and below aside:
While I dont think its the most problematic thing in the world that the sliptide section is optional, I think it's really easy to forget about, and thus the mechanic as a whole. Its easy to do without really thinking too hard about it, and the player may not actually end up applying it in races.
The section comes immediately after the somewhat lengthy SPB chase, which I've seen a lot of players spend quite a bit of time at before it clicks. I believe the player may need a moment of rest after the SPB chase in order for the information to sink in.
Being contained at the end of the drifting tutorial also doesn't expose sliptiding/wavedashing easily in the tutorial overview menu. Perhaps sub categories could be selected from the tutorial menu for players to refresh themselves? (in the case of the drift tutorial: drifting basics, SPB chase, sliptiding. You could also add a little checkmark on completed entries to encourage players to familiarize themselves with each mechanic, while letting them skip to do so at their own pace.)
As for the sliptiding tutorial it's self, I actually missed the fact that there's an optional additional S-Bend road the first time round, and I'm a bit disappointed that wavedashing isn't touched upon. When revisiting the tutorial to see what the S-Bend road is like, i was also having a lot of problems aligning myself with the path because of the camera clipping through the electrocuted walls, which I imagine others may also find frustrating.
With how many (advanced) techniques are present in RR, I think it may be worth considering adding a side "challenge" mode with courses that are meant to cover varying subject matter and address the advanced technique tutorial issue at its core. You can have something like a beginners, intermediate, advanced challenge courses for everything in the game outside the main tutorial, which can ease the player into mechanical mastery at their own pace. These could be be unlocked in their own right and then visited at any time, helping to teach various applications for different mechanics in a controlled environment, and "trick" the player into doing more learning by conveying them as optional side challenges. These could cover sliptiding/wavedashing of course, but other advanced mechanics that I think many players may struggle with or may not even know exist too. Triangle dashing, getting to the ground quickly with ringbail, mastering the garden top, picking up traps with the insta-whip in the heat of the moment, or even more niche stuff like using rings after picking up an item box with the button's negative edge, or subtle things like counterdrifting. Anything you could imagine getting covered on
Eldog's RR 102 series but with learning by doing, basically.
This could even lend it's self to challenges that aren't really meant to be tutorials as much as they are meant to be simply fun challenges in their own right. Think of it sort of like mission mode from Mario Kart DS or
Lessons mode from Kirby Air Riders and you may see where I'm coming from. Maybe they could ultimately culminate in "obstacle course" challenges which are tied to an unlock of some kind (or chao keys)? Or award the player metals/ranks for completing quickly/efficiently? Just spitballing.
Ring Racers is special to me because it really isn't afraid to be a bit complicated for the sake of it's depth. Because of that, I think a world class way to help the player learn the game is something that would go a long way towards the game's sentiment in the zeitgeist as something amazing, as well as contribute to its its longevity with strong onboarding.
I know this suggestion as I've proposed it would take a lot of overhead no matter how its approached. I just really want as many people to see how special this game is in the way I see it, so i appreciate any and all steps to achieve that, in any form or fashion. <3
This post contains a lot of unsolicited critique and ideas-guying:
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