Good news! Most of the things you said have been improved upon in updates (or I’m planning to).
1. I’m planning on adding more decoration and some cheering audiences near the finish lines, still resolving some design problems around it.
2. The first tracks were a bit too long, yes. The newer ones are shorter. I plan on letting the first tracks as the longest in the game, and change the track order when there are more of them.
3. There IS a drift mechanic! There wasn’t any controls screen in the first version so it was easy to miss it. There is now, though!
4. The weapons fit more in the tank theme, but as I add new decoration the cat theme will be more prevalent in the tracks. Check the cat statues in the bowl track, for example.
5. I reduced the auto-turn on the boosters (still present, just a bit subtler now)
6. I added a right trigger alt for accelerating in the default controls, plus controls are customizable now!
7. The camera shift when moving vertically was fixed too.
Plus you’ll be welcome to give any ideas on how to improve the game. I really appreciate feedback!
Oh, and I definitely love CTR. I’ve 100%ed it for fun so many times! It’s one of the best karting games in history!