HexGL: I Hit the Wall at Full Speed and Got It
I hit the wall on the third corner and watched everyone pass me.
The Cityscape track in HexGL never forgives greed. The ship flies so fast that braking at the corner entry is already late. I held the throttle till the last moment, hoping to slip through inside. I did not.
The wall that teaches
I started the second run angry. Lifted off earlier than I wanted. The ship took the corner clean, no scraping. The seconds lost on braking came back on exit: the straight let me build speed, and I passed those who had just laughed behind me. Or so it felt. There are no rivals here, only the track and your mistakes.
Speed is not everything
HexGL rests on one paradox: the winner is not the one who holds the throttle longest, but the one who lifts off first. Every corner is a small bet with yourself. I lost that bet five times before I started winning.
Controls are honest: keyboard, and the ship answers at once. Gamepad works too. Touch controls exist, but at Cityscape speeds fingers cannot keep up. Keyboard is sharper.
My third lap
On lap three I stopped watching the speed and started watching the track. Memorized where the wall comes close. Started braking where I used to hope for luck. The lap came out cleaner than all before, though I used less throttle.
Now when my hand wants to hold full gas, I lift half a second early. Sometimes it saves the run. Sometimes not. But I no longer hit the wall.