Messages

[Pale]

2076

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Animal Crossing: Wild World

« on: December 07, 2005, 03:56:55 AM »

Quote
Originally posted by: Pale
WiFi connection data is somehow passed between games.  As soon as I fired up AC for the first time, it had all my MK connections in the wifi configuration already.

If I'm reading what you're saying correctly, I think it's because the Nintendo WFC Registration thing registers your particular DS.

Easy stuff, getting online.  Well, it's supposed to be.  I still have to shut down my ZoneAlarm to get online...

But yeah, MKDS and AC:WW were a little too close together.  I only just finished the last Grand Prix in MKDS last night...I'm so busy this month with other things so if I get AC:WW, that will really be cramming up my winter days with so much to do!

I know they don't have North American-based holidays anymore.  Does this mean no Christmas, er, Toy Day?  Is there anything in winter I may miss if I don't get the game soon?  

2077

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Another Controller Secret to be Revealed

« on: December 06, 2005, 11:46:41 AM »

How about the return of the Power Glove?

Like we haven't heard THAT before.

2078

Nintendo Gaming / RE:The D-Pad...

« on: December 06, 2005, 11:40:18 AM »

I remember how people on GameFAQs couldn't understand the basic concept that the four cardinal directions on the D-Pad could replace the four buttons if you were right-handed and playing a game that needed you to use a stylus at the same time as buttons.  So long as you don't have to press X/Up and B/Down or Y/Left and A/Right and the same time.  The GameCube D-Pad is essentially that; just four buttons, it's too small, awkwardly placed and redundant to use for movement.

So for the Revolution, I guess they figured that if they're going to make it extremely sleek and unconventional, they might as well put the classic D-pad up for revision as well.  

2079

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Animal Crossing: Wild World Warning!

« on: December 06, 2005, 11:03:41 AM »

A fair warning, I suppose, but I always save like crazy.

I think I've developed a complex over it.  I'm CONSTANTLY saving.  In RPGs where you can save anywhere, for example, I save after nearly every new item I get.
"Oooh!  A treasure chest!  Time to save!"

Animal Crossing was a bit different since I have to go into the house and blah blah blah in the darkness but some days I'd be going in more than a couple times.  Accidental game resets, etc. happen so rarely, I could probably play a huge game all day, saving only at night before bed, but I'd go nuts hoping to save all along the way even if I never truly NEED to.

2080

Nintendo Gaming / RE:2-3 Times as powerful as GC true, sez IGN

« on: December 06, 2005, 10:57:49 AM »

Bill speaks the truth.  I agree with him.

Except the part about Luigi's Mansion.  Okay, maybe I didn't dislike it, but I really would've wanted to have a Mario game or for SSBM to have come out a couple weeks earlier to have made it for launch.  I know you can't talk about rushes with Nintendo (supposedly SSBM was rushed as it was (o_0)) but if not for Rogue Leader, I probably wouldn't have gotten a GameCube right at launch (as in, the first day).

But yeah, specs get lost when it comes to consumers.  Some don't even believe the PS2 is underpowered to the competition this generation.  It basically comes down to the kinds of games they'd want to play.  If the controller does provide new game experiences, and those are games worth experiencing, then it'll sell.

2081

Nintendo Gaming / RE:2-3 Times as powerful as GC true, sez IGN

« on: December 06, 2005, 08:48:54 AM »

Remember when, until a generation ago, it was all about "bits"?

When the Sega Genesis came out, it was a big deal that it was 16-bit.  People saw the NES as technically inferior, being 8-bit.  So when the Super NES came out, it was all about the 16-bitness.  I think the Turbo GrafX-16 got its number from being 16-bit, or at least pretending to be - didn't it really have two 8-bit processors?

I admit to not knowing much about what is being referred to here (the bus? some sort of cache?  I dunno) but most people seem to see this as a doubling of power per generation, whether or not it's entirely true.  If that's how they see it, what's so wrong with the doubling or tripling "power" of the Revolution over the GameCube?  You're getting an expected jump or even better!

Sure, the next-gen Xboxes and PlayStations claim to be multiple times "more powerful" than its predecessor.  Didn't someone say the PS3 was 35 times more powerful than the PS2?  If you think about it, 32 times is already twice to the power of five - and 35 or whatever is even more - so shouldn't that kind of power be reserved for at least five generations later, like the PS7?  And while the graphics are better on the PS3, can you really say it's 35 times better?  How do you quantify that?

Anyway, we had the 8-bit ones, the 16-bit ones, then 32 and 64.  Everyone knows the PSX did better than initally predicted, triumphing over the N64.  If not for the FMV sequences, anybody should be able to visually tell that the PSX was inferior to the N64 even without knowing that they were 32- and 64-bit.

It's not about power.  The PSX and PS2 were inferior, technically, to their competition.  And yet Sony is the market leader.  Not knowing what to do to maintain their hold, the simplest idea is to make the PS3 the most powerful.  They're going to wow everyone with graphics.

But since we know that graphics and power aren't everything, the Revolution has a chance.  It's not going to be ugly.  The key here is the controller (and it's backed up by other unique things like the back-catalogue download service, and the always-exclusive Nintendo franchises).  Nintendo's going to make this console inexpensive so that it continues to have high returns.  They just need to dispel the belief that a lower price point means an inferior console, but I think they can do that by showing off the controller more and presenting it as separate from the soon-to-be-traditional consoles.  It's true that they're going to be competing for the same dollars as Sony and Microsoft, but if the controller is all that it's cracked up to be (and if people can stop being stubborn and give it a try) then I think less graphical power than the rest is a minor concern.

Sure, we would want things to look better than the competition.  And some of us would be willing to pay more for it, if only they would offer it.  But hey, it's just the way Nintendo is.

2082

Nintendo Gaming / RE:My Game that wasn't feasable before the controller

« on: December 05, 2005, 11:45:58 AM »

I'm actually not keen on realistic games, actually.  They all start to look alike...give me a Mario sports game over any NBA/NHL/MLBPA/whatever [insert year here].

But a realistic survival horror game, besides realistic physics, biology, and controller ergonomics, shouldn't have an HUD at all.  I think I'd be scared throughout the whole game if I was never sure how close to death I was.

2083

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Another Controller Secret to be Revealed

« on: December 05, 2005, 08:40:29 AM »

I have no doubt that at the very least there will be some kind of connectivity between the Revolution and the DS.  Every generation has had it.  Well, except for the NES with the Game & Watches...

Super NES & Game Boy via Super Game Boy
Nintendo 64 & Game Boy Color via Transfer Pak (okay, it was only for Pokémon/Perfect Dark/Mario Tennis...)
GameCube & Game Boy Advance via GBA-GCN Cable or Game Boy Player

The Revolution and the DS are both capable of connecting wirelessly on their own and also via Wi-Fi to others farther away.  It would be easier to get on the connectivity bandwagon than with the GBA-GCN push that was really more of a wimpy shove, at least compared to expectations.

And it's true that the motion sensors make the controller like the DS's touchscreen (along with a third dimension).  So you could play DS games on the big screen, if you had a microphone, too.

A microphone is a likely controller attachment but I'm not sure how many people would play their DS games on the big screen...anyone know how well the Super Game Boy and Game Boy Players sold?

2084

NWR Forums Discord / RE:Handheld Gamers = Better Lovers?

« on: December 05, 2005, 07:58:22 AM »

Nintendogs picks up chicks.

Well, maybe, maybe not.  But before that came out I remember people claiming a PSP was more of a chick magnet than the DS.  Yeah, right.  No gaming system would ever be, but certainly not the PSP more than a DS equipped with cute puppies.

I suppose there ARE geeky gamer girls, yes, but really, this press release won't be taken seriously by anybody.

2085

Nintendo Gaming / RE:My Game that wasn't feasable before the controller

« on: December 05, 2005, 07:36:13 AM »

I think biology is important in any game where you have to kill things - while it's impressive to see bodies flying from the force of an explosion in closer-to-real-life physics, it's still possible that they wouldn't be dead after that or that others could die from less forceful blows but in more vital areas.  It'd make shooters more fun in that you'd still have to check if someone's dead even after you throw a grenade near them.

As for sleeping, well, in a survival horror game, it could be handled a number of ways.  Maybe the adventure takes place over the course of a day where a person will lose mental sharpness towards the end of it but it will never be necessary.  When a person does sleep, the game could simply cut to when they wake up or you could switch to other characters if everything is handled in real time.  Bladder and bowel things are not an issue, you could make it like the Sims, but with zombies.  A crude biology system is already in place there, a more sophisticated one could deal with blood, injuries, infections, etc.

2086

NWR Forums Discord / RE:Michael Jackson and the Famicom (2 parts!)

« on: December 05, 2005, 06:09:19 AM »

I looked it up in LimeWire, and got a file that looked like it would be it, but then it turned out to be a commercial for something else.  >_<

2087

Nintendo Gaming / RE:My Game that wasn't feasable before the controller

« on: December 03, 2005, 03:24:40 PM »

Morality, insanity, humanity...

If you had a survival game with realistic physics all around, you may find yourself eating other people to survive if food got scarce.  Hey, nutrients are nutrients, but I'm sure cannibalism won't go over too well with the ESRB (or anybody, really).  A game like this could get rated AO even without getting into anything sexual.

Ever seen The Hills Have Eyes?  There's one part where two kids use their recently-killed grandma as bait to capture one of the cannibal stalkers after them.  It would be neat if a game had really good AI that such a plan could be thought up and carried out by the player and have it work, without having the situation scripted at all.

Anyway, stepping away from disturbing talk, the Revolution controller would definitely provide a more intense hands-on experience.  Many motions may still be far from the real thing, but it'll be closer than if it were a soon-to-be-traditional two-handed gamepad.

2088

Nintendo Gaming / RE:My Game that wasn't feasable before the controller

« on: December 03, 2005, 09:27:06 AM »

This game would be helped out immensely by the controller, for sure!

You'd need a good physics engine, though.  Like said before, nails holding up boards.

It would be cool if the zombies/creatures/whatever had a physics engine determining whether they are dead or not.  Well, zombies are the walking dead but I mean if they would still be posing a threat to you.  It could be applied to yourself, too.

If you are grabbed a certain way, maybe you could struggle free if you knew how to do it.  But maybe your limbs would've gotten caught, so you might be okay, or they might be bruised, or worse, broken.  If you twist your ankle or break a leg, you'd have to crawl away, and if you did get up and try to run, the damage you'd be further inflicting by running on an already broken leg would be calculated to see if the bone would tear through your leg, for example.  Imagine a count of the amount of blood in your body.  Damage done to certain areas of your body could easily have different rates of bleeding, but a really sophisticated game that really took into account the position of every vital organ (and how vital they are) could determine if a slash to your abdomen would be a scratch, a deep cut, or a severe disembowelment.  You'd probably be as good as dead if your organs were spilling out, but if the game involved a number of characters then maybe the game calculating how long one character is still alive and how capable of movement he is might be a lifesaver if he is able to throw a switch that opens a door before his blood (realistically spilling) runs out.

I suppose too free-form and realistic of a game might be dangerous if people were using it to test whether or not a certain action would kill or seriously hurt someone, though.  Then I might actually have to agree that games are dangerous.

2089

NWR Forums Discord / Michael Jackson and the Famicom (2 parts!)

« on: December 03, 2005, 07:45:45 AM »

Part 1:
http://www.hcn.zaq.ne.jp/cabic508/rsf/mq.swf
Part 2:
http://www.hcn.zaq.ne.jp/cabic508/rsf/mf.swf

2090

Nintendo Gaming / RE:"the graphics...barely better than those on Gamecube"

« on: December 03, 2005, 04:41:06 AM »

No, the Metroid Prime 3 teaser at E3 didn't show anything like that.  I think it was just a pan-around of Samus (unless I'm confusing that with Metroid Prime Hunters), followed by a new ship, assumedly Samus's, coming up behind her with covering fire or something.  Then a big 3 appeared.  It looked like it was infected with something.  I think I heard that it was supposed to complete a trilogy of Prime games, so maybe the infectiousness is related to Phazon or Ing-stuff.

2091

Nintendo Gaming / RE:"the graphics...barely better than those on Gamecube"

« on: December 02, 2005, 12:20:27 PM »

I see you got those screens from http://game-rotr.net/screens.php but how do you suppose that this is supposed to be a Revolution game?  Unless I missed it somewhere...

If so, watch Nintendo take it over and make it a next-gen Advance Wars or Battalion Wars...

2092

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Rare working on 2 DS games

« on: December 02, 2005, 12:17:08 PM »

I guess I'm in the minority here...

I liked Donkey Kong 64 and Star Fox Adventures.  I wouldn't say I UBER-LOVED them, and the Banjo-Kazooie games were better, but I still really enjoyed these two at the time and I don't see why I should dislike them.

And I personally think Conker's Bad Fur Day is overrated.  VERY overrated.  Compared to Rareware's other games, this was a little short, too linear, and not anywhere near as much of a collect-a-thon.  Yes, I like to collect things.  (And yes, I know the Freudian implication of obsessing over collecting.)  Since Conker was one of the last games they made in the N64 days, if not THE last, I had expectations after all their other great N64 platform/adventure games.  I didn't mind the obscenities and etc., but to me it looks like they were using the shock value to hide the fact that the game didn't actually have as much substance, even after all those delays.  (To be fair, though, I don't know much about the Xbox re-release, if they added anything I would care about or whatever, but the N64 game has more praise than it deserves.)

I don't think it's unfair to say that Rareware isn't as good as it was considering I've never heard of any "Grabbed By The Ghoulies" fans.  

2093

Nintendo Gaming / RE:"the graphics...barely better than those on Gamecube"

« on: December 02, 2005, 11:58:47 AM »

I too am curious.  Where did you get these pics?

My guess is the second picture is of "Meta-Kraid"... unfortunately for Kraid, Ridley is way cooler and now shows up in every Metroid game (well, every one that doesn't have a "2/II", and a subtitle).

2094

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Kid Icarus

« on: December 02, 2005, 11:27:48 AM »

Nintendo's always been leery about anything religious...note the omission of the "Devil World" trophy in the North American version of SSBM...

I always wondered if Greek mythology crossed their "religion" line.  Mythology isn't exactly religion but who knows with Nintendo.

So having some creepy Angel of Death or whatever and references to Heaven and Hell would certainly be a stretch for Nintendo.  If they were starting a new franchise, like with Eternal Darkness or Geist, etc., there's a possibility they might, but if it's anything at all related to Kid Icarus, I think that possibility is extremely small.

I remember the rumours of the canned Dead Phoenix game by Capcom as being resurrected as a next-gen (Kid) Icarus game, since the hero was an angel (or at least a guy with wings).  Seeing as how Dinosaur Planet became Star Fox Adventures just because the hero looked like a fox (and that too was bumped up a generation), that might still be a possibility, would it not?

2095

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Kid Icarus

« on: December 02, 2005, 10:09:13 AM »

There's actually two Kid Icarus games, the second subtitled "Of Myths And Monsters" for the original Game Boy.  (I should know, I put it up as the December Maps of the Month for my video game maps web site, which I'm not going to mention in case it's considered spam, though I'm sure some of you have an idea what that site is already.)

Like some early Game Boy games were, as far as I can tell, it's simply a portable version of the NES game.  The gameplay looks like it is very similar.  The final boss is different, sure, but it's mostly the same thing.  But maybe I wouldn't know what I'm talking about - I only played a little bit of the original.  It was probably a good game at the time.

It's often been called the "sister game" of Metroid...but Samus is everywhere now and where is Pit?  Often I wonder that if not for the fact that there were TWO characters from Kid Icarus in Captain N: The Game Master, would Kid Icarus be as cherished as it is?

2096

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Kid Icarus

« on: December 02, 2005, 08:21:16 AM »

I found this yesterday and thought it was neat:
http://www.kennethfejer.dk/pixelart.htm
This page of "pixel art" has mock-ups of games, including a version of Kid Icarus for the DS, and also one for the GBA (scroll down for that).  (That artist is skilled in both 3D and pixel art and there are other neat things to see on his site, like IsoCity...)

Anyway, even if they could make a Kid Icarus game in 3D, I think they could find ways to make it interesting on the DS.

*pokes Eggplant Wizard in the eye with stylus*

It's cheaper to make DS games and they could test the waters to see if Kid Icarus is wanted enough by the general population.  I'm sure most casual gamers have no idea who Kid Icarus is.  Or at least if they haven't seen Captain N.  I'm a Nintendo fan and I've never finished the Kid Icarus games myself...  >_>

2097

Nintendo Gaming / RE:True Crime: New York City

« on: December 02, 2005, 08:09:45 AM »

I rented it and will be returning it tonight or possibly early tomorrow.  I think I've done nearly all that I could with this game.

While enjoyable, for some reason I liked True Crime: Streets of LA a lot more.  New York City isn't as memorable.  A good game that takes place New York is Def Jam: Fight For New York, and I don't even listen to rap, or much music, really...

2098

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Your First REV downloads

« on: December 02, 2005, 07:59:37 AM »

I like Spak-Spang's ideas about developers giving away downloads per game in the same or related franchises.

But I think in the case of registered Revolution games "unlocking" games for download availability, I don't think that should be the case.  Maybe someone really wants an old game but doesn't want to buy the new game for it.  Sure, that'd be incentive for oldschool gamers to be more open to buying new games, but if they REALLY don't want to buy them then there's lost revenue for the download as well.  But perhaps registering games could give you a discount on those downloads, or if Nintendo periodically releases some old games at a time, maybe registering games could let you get to particular downloads earlier.  

2099

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Your First REV downloads

« on: December 02, 2005, 07:39:25 AM »

Bandwidth could be one of the factors supporting higher costs to download an N64 game over a NES game, but it shouldn't be the sole thing or directly correlated.

Aren't NES games like 100-200 kB and N64 games like 4-16 MB?  I'm not keen on an N64 game (@ 16 MB) being 160 times as costly as a NES game (@ 100 kB).

2100

Nintendo Gaming / RE:Your First REV downloads

« on: December 02, 2005, 06:41:10 AM »

Hmmm, if that's true, I'll need to get on that before someone beats me to the punch...

That reminds me of some law that get adjusted or something a little while ago.  Or maybe a year ago.  Some law concerning old software that people mistakenly believed meant the decriminalization of ROMs and unauthorized abandonware.  In reality it was all still illegal, but I think there was something about if a company that has the rights to them could still make money off of them, they would never be truly abandoned.  I see the download service as not only being an extra source of revenue for Nintendo and all those other gamemakers involved, but also a way of enforcing their hold on their games.  Like copyright extensions beyond the usual 75-year-hold.  Or something.