Wii U Discussion - Yes, it has nice water - The Something Awful Forums

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Video Games > Wii U Discussion - Yes, it has nice water

Are you getting the Wii U? This poll is closed.
Yes	9031	65.25%
No	1191	8.60%
Maybe	808	5.84%
I'm an idiot	460	3.32%
Waluigi	1603	11.58%
Waa	748	5.40%
Total:	13841 votes

[Edit Poll (moderators only)]

Chaltab: Feb 16, 2011; So shocked someone got me an avatar!

Vaerai Archon posted:

No the character models are all a much higher polygonal count and the textures are a higher resolution. While DQ8 had cell shading, the models were not that smooth and refined.

Also it's not much of a knock against the Wii U considering the basic geometry was built to work on the Wii, even if that version never sees release.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 07:48

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# ? May 28, 2024 23:58

8-bit Miniboss: May 24, 2005; CORPO COPS CAME FOR MY

Wasn't able to watch the IGN live stream but did they visit any heavily populated areas? The game ran really choppy on the Wii version from some Japanese guy's stream I watched a couple weeks ago.

8-bit Miniboss fucked around with this message at 08:24 on Sep 21, 2012

# ? Sep 21, 2012 08:22

Iacen: Mar 19, 2009; Si vis pacem, para bellum

This is pretty interesting. Eurogamer has talked about the CPU with Akihiro Suzuki who's producer on Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper:

Eurogamer posted:

A chat about the power of the Wii U with the developer of a Wii U launch title

We know the Wii U's IBM-made CPU, made up of three Power PC cores, is one of its weaknesses, at least compared to the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360. But how will this impact the performance of Wii U games?

At the Tokyo Game Show earlier today Eurogamer spoke with the developer of one of the biggest Wii U launch games, Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper, to find out.

The playable version of the game on the Tokyo Game Show floor is not up to the performance levels of past Dynasty Warriors games in terms of frame rate and number of enemies on screen, and is shown up considerably by Dynasty Warriors 7 Empires, the PS3 exclusive also playable on publisher Tecmo Koei's stand.

Akihiro Suzuki, producer of the Dynasty Warriors franchise, admitted this was the case when quizzed by Eurogamer, and pointed to the Wii U's CPU by way of explanation.

"One of the weaknesses of the Wii U compared to PS3 and Xbox 360 is the CPU power is a little bit less," he said. "So for games in the Warriors series, including Dynasty Warriors and Warriors Orochi, when you have a lot of enemies coming at you at once, the performance tends to be affected because of the CPU.

"Dealing with that is a challenge."

The exact specifications of the CPU, including clock speed, remain undisclosed for now, but developers, including those Eurogamer spoke to for an investigation into the power of the Wii U, have confirmed it's slower than the CPU inside both the PS3 and Xbox 360.

But one of its strengths is said to be its custom AMD 7 series GPU, and the 1GB of RAM available to games: double that of the PS3 and Xbox 360.

This, Suzuki said, means the Orochi development team had the opportunity to create visuals better than those possible on PS3 and Xbox 360.

"Developing on new hardware in itself was a challenge, and also making that launch date was a challenge," he said. "But from a visual standpoint, based on the performance of the Wii U, we knew the game had the capability of having much better graphics than games on PS3 and Xbox 360. Make no mistake, from a visual standpoint, it is able to produce better graphics. So our challenge was to make a higher quality graphics. We were able to meet that."

Suzuki vowed that the performance of the game will be improved before release. He better get his skates on: Warriors Orochi 3 launches alongside the Wii U on 30th November.

"While the visuals are great, as is being able to improve them, we had to deal with the lower CPU power and how we can get around that issue," he said.

"Actually, we're still working on that. If you see the demo on the show floor and you try it, you'll probably feel it's not up to the PS3 level. But we're working on it!"

As part of Eurogamer's investigation into the power of the Wii U, Digital Foundry boss Richard Leadbetter expressed concern about the Nintendo console. "It'll be interesting to see how future Face-Offs work out," he pondered. "I expect that GPU focused games will benefit from smoother frame-rates and lower levels of screen-tear, but cross-platform titles highly dependent on CPU power could end up noticeably worse off."

According to Suzuki, the main issue is that developers are still wrapping their head around the CPU, and so are yet to work out how best to use it.

"For the PS3 it has multiple CPUs and an SPU, so you can calculate the various motions of the characters on the CPU so overall it runs smoothly," Suzuki explained. "The Xbox 360 CPUs are formulated so they can spread out the processing power so things run efficiently.

"With the Wii U being new hardware, we're still getting used to developing for it, so there are still a lot of things we don't know yet to bring out the most of the processing power. There's a lot that still needs to be explored in that area."

_Source

I wonder what impact that'll have on multiplatform games.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 10:22

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

8-bit Miniboss posted:

Wasn't able to watch the IGN live stream but did they visit any heavily populated areas? The game ran really choppy on the Wii version from some Japanese guy's stream I watched a couple weeks ago.

Not that I saw, just a few characters around. Good point though, I forgot how choppy it looked, just smoothing out the framerate seems like it'd be a big improvement (...hopefully that was a graphical thing rather than poor handling of lag/network syncing).

And there was one change I saw mentioned somewhere, accurate shadows instead of the circle shadows! :effort:

Iacen posted:

This is pretty interesting. Eurogamer has talked about the CPU with Akihiro Suzuki who's producer on Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper:

_Source

I wonder what impact that'll have on multiplatform games.

The last part about getting used to the hardware probably means early ports might be sketchy but should get better with time with more familiarity and improved dev tools. And I guess eventually getting away from optimizing for the funky Cell and Xenon architectures as they move work onto the new systems.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 11:09

Duckman2008: Jan 6, 2010; TFW you see Flyers goaltending.; Grimey Drawer

hangedman1984 posted:

Really? I've been called a nintendo fanboy before, but I didn't even like the N64 controller. There was always a third of it that was just pointless (usually the left third)

Yeah but I just ignore that third. Otherwise in just always liked the button combo. Could just be nostalgia too I guess.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 14:15

extremebuff: Jun 20, 2010

I picked up an N64 controller again for the first time in a decade the other day and it feels like poo poo. The joystick is so small and sensitive, buttons are awkward to reach (even now that I'm not ten years old and have Large Man Hands), etc. Probably the worst controller I've ever handled in my life.

Seeing people handle the U tablet, it looks very comfortable, and a lot smaller than I imagined it'd be. I would never transfer games to it though, reason I don't like handheld gaming is because the screen is so small and I need my games blown up on giant screens.

Of course in the old days this hid a lot of very ugly details and pixelation but now that games look like this, give me a drat hdmi cable to connect it to a TV or something.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:02

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

I think I'll play a lot of games on tablet when my wife is home, just so she can watch whatever. I think I'll be able to get away with a lot more gaming not having to monopolize the tv.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:22

Iacen: Mar 19, 2009; Si vis pacem, para bellum

Bobnumerotres posted:

Of course in the old days this hid a lot of very ugly details and pixelation but now that games look like this, give me a drat hdmi cable to connect it to a TV or something.

Jesus, I wouldn't want that on a big screen. That looks horrible on anything other than a small screen. But otherwise you're right, games need to be played big.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:26

Evil Queen Bee: Sep 7, 2011

greatn posted:

I think I'll play a lot of games on tablet when my wife is home, just so she can watch whatever. I think I'll be able to get away with a lot more gaming not having to monopolize the tv.

Yeah I am in the same boat and it is one of the features I am most excited about along with TVii. Those two along with just being hungry for a new console have me sold day one for a console I otherwise could probably wait a year or so to get once more exclusives have rolled out.

Oh and ZombiU has me there as well. A game I just know is going to end up disappointing me, but I am excited for anyway.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:31

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

I can't believe by the way, that every game I am preordering is Ubisoft. Rayman, ZombiU, and Assassin's Creed 3. I wasn't interested in Rayman, ironically, until the news you don't control Rayman that turned everyone else off. The game looked way too frenetic for me and too busy, and not something you explore, but the revelation that you actually are effecting the stage while Rayman does stuff makes it more of a puzzle game where you come up with solutions to obstacles, which is a lot more up my alley.

By the way I read Ninja Garden has online co-op, which is exclusive to the Wii U version. Not something I'm interested in because I don't like ultra violence, but showing there is some online multiplayer from the get go (just not from Nintendo).

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:38

MaxDuo: Aug 13, 2010

Evil Benius posted:

Oh and ZombiU has me there as well. A game I just know is going to end up disappointing me, but I am excited for anyway.

So far, every single hands on has been impressed and in love with the game.

I mean, I guess the beginning / demo could be great and the game horrible... but so far there really hasn't been any big complaints by those who have gotten to try it.

Unlike Red Steel, which got hyped by Nintendo and Ubisoft over and over again... then when people tried it it was like: "Uhmmm it's ok. We like using the Wii Remote to aim a gun and sword stuff seems ok. Maybe the final version will be better." Release: "gently caress this game." Went from ehh maybe it'll improve to HATE.

I remember my roommate got the game and the sword fights sucked. He got tired of trying to play them the right way and realized he could just waggle the remote aimlessly and as wildly as possible and win. Who cares about blocking and special moves when wild hits will eventually hit them? They could barely get an attack in and I think he only ever really died once or twice in late game special boss fights.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 15:47

Seaniqua: Mar 12, 2004; "We'll see how the first year goes. But people better get us now, because we're going to keep getting better and better."

greatn posted:

I think I'll play a lot of games on tablet when my wife is home, just so she can watch whatever.

This is absolutely what will get me to buy 3rd party games on Wii U over 360. There are plenty of games and shows that my wife and I both enjoy, but I'm not too likely to sit and watch an hour of Vampire Diaries. And she's not too likely to sit and play NCAA 2013 for an hour.

Now if only they'd announce NCAA 13 for Wii U

# ? Sep 21, 2012 17:20

kater: Nov 16, 2010

I really wish the screen transfer thing was a system level feature. Something Nintendo forced everyone to incorporate. Did they even say if it worked with TVii?

# ? Sep 21, 2012 17:29

Bombadilillo: Feb 28, 2009; The dock really fucks a case or nerfing it.

kater posted:

I really wish the screen transfer thing was a system level feature. Something Nintendo forced everyone to incorporate. Did they even say if it worked with TVii?

Well, depending on how integrated the gamepad screen is into the controls you might not be able to play a game just on it. Its left as optional because it wont work with some games. Any game worth its salt that is able will include it.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 17:32

Rake Arms: Sep 15, 2007; It's just not the same without widescreen.

kater posted:

I really wish the screen transfer thing was a system level feature. Something Nintendo forced everyone to incorporate. Did they even say if it worked with TVii?

For any streaming content, yes. So Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, and possibly TiVo (?) can be viewed on either screen. For live TV, no.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:12

extremebuff: Jun 20, 2010

kater posted:

I really wish the screen transfer thing was a system level feature. Something Nintendo forced everyone to incorporate. Did they even say if it worked with TVii?

I hope not. Some games won't work with it and I can see a lot of people never even using that feature.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:12

Xavier434: Dec 4, 2002

Rake Arms posted:

For live TV, no.

Was this part truly confirmed? I don't recall reading about it anywhere, but I might have missed something.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:18

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

Yeah, a lot of game concepts depend on the multiple viewing screens. I think every game that didn't, or is a port, absolutely should use gamepad play.

You can't watch live tv on the pad because it is actually only functioning as a remote. Hulu, Amazon, netflix are streaming to the console so can stream to the gamepad.

Two things Nintendo needs to do: get ESPN3. Part Rockstar whatever bribe they need to bring GTA5 over, though driving games will be hampered by a lack of analog acceleration.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:22

Detective No. 27: Jun 7, 2006

Most of us will view using the gamepad in NSMBU's Boost Rush as baby mode. Sure It'll allow the player to add platforms to aide your fellow players, but I see it as a natural evolution of NSMBWii's Chip N Dale's Rescue Rangers" style rear end in a top hat gameplay. I will be using it to wall off key points and place platforms right in a friend's trajectory so that they hit it instead of landing on it.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:55

Katana Gomai: Jan 14, 2007; "Thus," concluded Miyamoto, "you must give up everything you have to be my disciple."

greatn posted:

I wasn't interested in Rayman, ironically, until the news you don't control Rayman that turned everyone else off. The game looked way too frenetic for me and too busy, and not something you explore, but the revelation that you actually are effecting the stage while Rayman does stuff makes it more of a puzzle game where you come up with solutions to obstacles, which is a lot more up my alley.

For the record, that's just a portion of the game; in fact, how big or small a portion it supposedly is is what caused the minor shitstorm here. So far, all the demos show the game as a "proper" jump'n'run (I played it at Gamescom) and while the part you mention does exists (and I am looking forward to it), it's not the whole game.

Still a good preorder.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 18:56

Chaltab: Feb 16, 2011; So shocked someone got me an avatar!

Iacen posted:

This is pretty interesting. Eurogamer has talked about the CPU with Akihiro Suzuki who's producer on Warriors Orochi 3 Hyper:

_Source

Have they confirmed whether or not the Wii U's processor can do Out-of-Order Execution? I'd heard that this could make up some of the deficit.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 19:23

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

Man I'm glad I just work on webcode, efficiency, database, and automation stuff. I just hit compile. I will never have to ask about processor functions.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 19:41

Rake Arms: Sep 15, 2007; It's just not the same without widescreen.

Xavier434 posted:

Was this part truly confirmed? I don't recall reading about it anywhere, but I might have missed something.

Yeah, I linked an interview earlier with the guy who presented it at their show. The interviewer specifically asked if Wii U replaces your cable box, and he clarified that the live tv features just use IR to switch your TV inputs and control your cable box.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:01

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

I have an LG which is a very common brand so I have to assume it will have the IR signature. Switching inputs is a two step process though, no single button does it. You bring up menu and scroll through. So I don't know if their TVii software will be sophisticated enough for that. But I don't mind doing that manually if I have to.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:05

Blackbelt Bobman: Jul 17, 2004; I don't need friends! I've been
manipulatin' you since the start!
All so I can something,
something X-Blade!

Detective No. 27 posted:

Most of us will view using the gamepad in NSMBU's Boost Rush as baby mode. Sure It'll allow the player to add platforms to aide your fellow players, but I see it as a natural evolution of NSMBWii's Chip N Dale's Rescue Rangers" style rear end in a top hat gameplay. I will be using it to wall off key points and place platforms right in a friend's trajectory so that they hit it instead of landing on it.

Is it confirmed that you can use the game pad to help in boost rush mode?

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:21

Astro7x: Aug 4, 2004; Thinks It's All Real

Bobnumerotres posted:

I hope not. Some games won't work with it and I can see a lot of people never even using that feature.

It's strange because of all the different control schemes. You want developers to use the Game Pad in innovative ways, yet you also have single screen play on the Game Pad and the Pro Controller I have a feeling that it's going to be like the 3DS, where on the DS you saw a lot of innovative uses with the two screens, but with forcing your game play to the upper 3D screen it turns the lower one into this auxiliary screen only used for maps and item selection.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:41

ThisIsACoolGuy: Nov 2, 2010; Shaped like a friend

Blackbelt Bobman posted:

Is it confirmed that you can use the game pad to help in boost rush mode?

Yep

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:44

Detective No. 27: Jun 7, 2006

Blackbelt Bobman posted:

Is it confirmed that you can use the game pad to help in boost rush mode?

Yeah, this month's Game Informer confirms it.

quote:

This allows them to place up to four platforms at a time using the Gamepad touchscreen, making those out of reach star coins more attainable. Touching the screen has many other applications as well, including popping friends out of bubbles, stunning enemies, making it easier to touch the top of end level flagpoles, manipulating environmental objects and swatting paratroopas out of the sky.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:46

greatn: Nov 15, 2006; by Lowtax

I will either be turning that off or not touching the screen.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 20:47

Rake Arms: Sep 15, 2007; It's just not the same without widescreen.

greatn posted:

I have an LG which is a very common brand so I have to assume it will have the IR signature. Switching inputs is a two step process though, no single button does it. You bring up menu and scroll through. So I don't know if their TVii software will be sophisticated enough for that. But I don't mind doing that manually if I have to.

Hopefully you can customize the IR macros. It would be especially handy if you could directly input commands from your TV/cable remote into the GamePad's IR receiver. I have a Dynexy, Best Buy's house brand, so I can only hope they're doing whatever they can to make this thing compatible with as many brands/models as possible.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 21:33

japtor: Oct 28, 2005

greatn posted:

By the way I read Ninja Garden has online co-op, which is exclusive to the Wii U version. Not something I'm interested in because I don't like ultra violence, but showing there is some online multiplayer from the get go (just not from Nintendo).

Huh first I've heard about that. Just looked it up:
http://nintendoeverything.com/99039/updated-ninja-gaiden-3-razors-edge-fact-sheet-online-co-op-chapter-challenge/

quote:

Online Co-op Multiplayer mode with Ryu and Ayane � In addition to an up to eight-player multiplayer battle mode, the game now offers Ryu and Ayane as playable characters in the two-player online co-op multiplayer mode.

Might be worth checking out if the latest previews about them adding in actual challenge pan out for the whole game.

Chaltab posted:

Have they confirmed whether or not the Wii U's processor can do Out-of-Order Execution? I'd heard that this could make up some of the deficit.

The GC and Wii CPUs did OoOE :eng101:

, so yeah the Wii U probably does it too, but it can only do so much, particularly with code that's likely tailored around a significantly different setup. It should be simpler to program for so hopefully devs will be able to more quickly get up to speed with it (vs something like the PS3's early days with 360 ports).

# ? Sep 21, 2012 21:36

kater: Nov 16, 2010

Blackbelt Bobman posted:

Is it confirmed that you can use the game pad to help in boost rush mode?

Given Rayman's nonsense I kinda want confirmation you don't need to use the game pad to help in boost rush mode.

# ? Sep 21, 2012 21:46

ChuckLogan: Oct 10, 2009; Oh yeah? Well, I had sex with your wife!

Bobnumerotres posted:

I picked up an N64 controller again for the first time in a decade the other day and it feels like poo poo. The joystick is so small and sensitive, buttons are awkward to reach (even now that I'm not ten years old and have Large Man Hands), etc. Probably the worst controller I've ever handled in my life.

Seeing people handle the U tablet, it looks very comfortable, and a lot smaller than I imagined it'd be.

You, sir, have never handled a Jaguar 64 controller. :colbert:

I remember being 14-ish and seeing Miyamoto demonstrating the new controller, then finally getting to play Mario 64. It was amazing for it's time. As to your second point, for some reason when I watch videos/see pictures of the Wii U controller I fear that I am going to be holding a 15" laptop in my hands while playing the next Zelda. :ohdear:

(But I truly hope that everyone in the Nintendo promotional videos are midgets and the controller will be "normal" size.

EDIT: vv I don't doubt that is is light (rated at 1.1 lb., it just looks cumbersome and reminds me of my 10 month old holding an Ipad. :3:

)

ChuckLogan fucked around with this message at 06:29 on Sep 22, 2012

# ? Sep 22, 2012 06:13

Detective No. 27: Jun 7, 2006

From what I've heard from everyone who's tried the Gamepad out, it's extremely comfortable, and lighter than it looks. I'm sure there are a few people in this thread who've tried it out at E3 or PAX.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 06:17

PaletteSwappedNinja: Jun 3, 2008; One Nation, Under God.

Here's some more Nano Assault Neo footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeqXuJZUdw

# ? Sep 22, 2012 08:15

Katana Gomai: Jan 14, 2007; "Thus," concluded Miyamoto, "you must give up everything you have to be my disciple."

ChuckLogan posted:

(But I truly hope that everyone in the Nintendo promotional videos are midgets and the controller will be "normal" size.

EDIT: vv I don't doubt that is is light (rated at 1.1 lb., it just looks cumbersome and reminds me of my 10 month old holding an Ipad. )

I played it at Gamescom, it's fine. So is the "heft" of the Gamepad Pro, by the way. Can we dial back the "prereleaseness" of this thread a bit, maybe? You people freak out over literally anything when hardly anyone in here has even touched the thing or played a game. (I know that's the reason why but seriously, chill out.)

# ? Sep 22, 2012 08:45

gobbledygoat: Jun 4, 2011; Ask me about
Steam_{_ing} Early_{_-onset} Access_{_perger's}

Free Logical Fallacies only in 2014!
_{_{_{_{_{Do not listen to a thing I say.}}}}}

PaletteSwappedNinja posted:

Here's some more Nano Assault Neo footage:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeqXuJZUdw

I always thought the original Nano Assault had an awesome theme but I never really saw it in stores or thought to pick it up. This looks pretty genuinely awesome, I'll probably end up downloading it as soon as I can.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 09:06

Paper Jam Dipper: Jul 14, 2007; by XyloJW

Katana Gomai posted:

I played it at Gamescom, it's fine. So is the "heft" of the Gamepad Pro, by the way. Can we dial back the "prereleaseness" of this thread a bit, maybe? You people freak out over literally anything when hardly anyone in here has even touched the thing or played a game. (I know that's the reason why but seriously, chill out.)

Are you seriously trying to ask people to be reasonable?

Hell, even I got caught up in it after seeing one quote about Rayman and totally misinterpreting it.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 19:38

Agrias120: Jun 27, 2002; I will burn my dread.

I'm surprised about all of the ZombiU hype. I played it at a pre-release event in DC (along with Pikmin 3 :argh:

whyisn'titareleasetitlenintendo :argh:

) and walked away with a bad impression. The utilization of the gamepad for the inventory felt forced to me and the way the camera on screen zooms in on your character prevented you from easily keeping track of your surroundings. I also fell through geometry no less than three times and had to have the machine hardbooted (same with P101, but both of these instances are probably chalked up to pre-release builds). I'm going to have to give it another look once it launches, because the overwhelmingly positive vibe surrounding it is having me second guess writing it off.

# ? Sep 22, 2012 19:56

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# ? May 28, 2024 23:58

Urdnot Fire: Feb 13, 2012

Agrias120 posted:

the way the camera on screen zooms in on your character prevented you from easily keeping track of your surroundings.

I feel like this is done on purpose to add to the Dark Souls-esque difficulty, so I'll be fine with that.

# ? Sep 23, 2012 00:27

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