Comments 911

Re: Listing Points to Darksiders Heading to Wii U

Discostew

@MadJay1664 Screen tearing is when the system finalizes the next frame in the middle of the display's refresh cycle, resulting in a tear because the display is showing both the old and new frames at the same time. Your display refreshes at fixed periods, such as 60 times per second (60hz). During the refresh periods, it updates the screen from left to right, top to bottom.

With VSync (video sync) on, the system waits until the display has finished a refresh cycle before changing the location the display is set to grab from to show. With VSync off, the system doesn't wait, and immediately changes this location, regardless of what point the refresh is at. This results in showing 2 (or more?) frames at the same time, with a dividing line between them. It's not a blur effect that has multiple frames laid over each other. In fast-action games where everything is moving or things happen quickly, this is extremely noticeable if VSync is off.

DS2 on the Wii U has VSync off, with no option to turn it on.

Re: Listing Points to Darksiders Heading to Wii U

Discostew

I'm playing Darksiders 2 on my Wii U right now, and my new monitor happens to have adjustable response time to sort of diffuse the current screen tearing the game is plagued with. Would be nice if they were able to patch the existing DS2 game on Wii U to fix some of the issues it has.

Re: Review: Monster Hunter Generations (3DS)

Discostew

Even since MH3U on Wii U, I liked Monster Hunter. However, I tried all the demos on my 3DS, and unfortunately, it just doesn't work out for me. I can deal with the screen size and lower quality on my o3DS XL, but the controls just do not cut it because of the lack of a second slider pad, additional shoulder buttons, and simply that for such a game, the slider pad isn't really adequate. I don't plan on upgrading to an n3DS, nor buy a CPP for one single game, so chances of me getting this game are slim to none.

Re: There's an Early Patch Inbound for Mighty No. 9 on Wii U

Discostew

@Luna_110 It doesn't brick. The source that all these articles are referring to has updated that the Wii U that was supposedly bricked works now because of a few simple steps that one does when dealing with a freeze/crash, like what you'd get with Netflix or the YT app on occasion. Unplugging the power, waiting a few seconds, then plugging it back in fixes the issue. Again, it was not a brick.

Re: E3 2016: Check Out the Paper Mario: Color Splash E3 Trailer

Discostew

Looks incredibly nice, but judging by what I saw, it's going by the Sticker Star formula, and that puts me off. The three things that kept my interest in the first two PM games were the story, the battles (complete with XP, partners, etc), and that it introduced new friends/enemies, giving variety to the PM universe. Even SPM did its best to stick to the previous PM games while introducing a different kind of gameplay that was still enjoyable imo.

The latter two points I made are practically absent from this game just like Sticker Star. The first is up in the air, but I wouldn't count on that either. Even the M&L games with Paper Jam started to fall into this situation. Story was meh, and characters were limited to the well-known, paper or not. The battles were at least decent, but still......

I really wish Nintendo would come back to what I consider to be the better PM games. I'll even take remakes of the first two games (or at least TTYD, as I have PM64 as Wii U VC).

Re: Nordic Games is Actually Working on a Wii U Release

Discostew

I would really love it if they could address some of the issues with Darksiders 2, specifically the screen tearing. I have the game, both physical and digital (the latter from the Humble Bundle), but the screen tearing really screws with my eyes. Even got a headache once when trying to force myself to play it. I liked what I played, but it was too much for me.

Re: Reaction: The NX Could Benefit from Using Cartridges Instead of Discs

Discostew

@Hotfusion This applies to all fanboys though, not just those for Nintendo.

Besides, why are people looking at the past as the only comparison, when the present already does many things already mentioned that doesn't have the problems of the past. I mean, the 3DS is a thing, remember? It uses cards up to 8GB.

Also, not sure what your point is about 3rd-parties having to buy the cards from Nintendo. All 3rd-parties have to buy the media from the console manufacturers, or to be specific, the publishers for the games do. Do you think the PS4/XB1/U discs are just regular BR discs that you can pick up as your local store? Here's a video about the manufacturing of PSone discs.

https://youtu.be/L6ek2bKW22A

Re: Reaction: The NX Could Benefit from Using Cartridges Instead of Discs

Discostew

@MailOrderNinja 64MB vs 700MB is a vast difference. 1.4GB vs 4.7GB is not as vast, but still damaging. What is happening now is 32GB ROM chips vs 25/50GB discs, yet only the biggest games with lots of FMVs are using anything more than 25GB, so it's not the same problem as it used to be.

@DarkKirby Yet the DS and 3DS has shown that the size of the ROM chip doesn't necessarily affect the cost of the game to consumers. There are 3DS games that use 512MB ROM chips. Others than use 4/8GB ROM chips, but they're all priced the same to the consumer. The actual cost of the chips for Nintendo is not nearly as much for the amount we may find for SD cards, because not only is the tech different (for instance, the game cards are write-once, not rewritable), but also because Nintendo is buying these chips in bulk, and a lot of them.

Gone are the times where discs could hold more data than flash chips.

Re: Reaction: The NX Could Benefit from Using Cartridges Instead of Discs

Discostew

People really need to know the difference between cards and "cart"-ridges. The latter is much faster than both cards and disc, insomuch that most game code runs straight from the cart itself rather than loaded to the system RAM and then ran there, like what is done with cards and discs. This speed is the reason why cartridges back in the day were expensive. Cartridges act more or less like an extension of the system's own RAM, with addressing just like RAM (0x80000000 is where they normally start addressing cart ROM in systems like the GBA). Direct addressing is also how they can run code straight from them.

With the game cards like those for DS and 3DS, the game code has to be loaded into RAM, then it can be executed. Not as fast as cartridges, but certainly faster than discs. Data cannot be accessed directly like with carts, but go through various protocols. Not being as fast as carts grants them to be far cheaper.

It's like comparing DDR3 to eDRAM. eDRAM is extremely fast, runs circles around DDR3, but is far more expensive for so little memory. If 3DS cards were carts with the benefits of carts, then they wouldn't be going for $40 per game. They'd possibly go into the hundreds.

Re: Reaction: The NX Could Benefit from Using Cartridges Instead of Discs

Discostew

Now is time to make my own top 10 list of the benefits of cards (they aren't exactly cartridges like NES/SNES/GBA/etc) over discs, though some might overlap with others.

1) Faster to read.
2) No moving parts.
3) Require less power to read.
4) Take up less console volume.
5) Take up less storage volume (I love my 18-slot 3/DS case).
6) Doesn't generate as much heat.
7) Won't require game installation.
8) Faster to swap and launch games.
9) Save RAM on the cards themselves.
10) Silent

These were off the top of my head, and I could go into detail about each point, but right now I can't.

Re: PlatinumGames CEO Tatsuya Minami Has Resigned

Discostew

@Kid_Sickarus Bad enough this sort of attitude like Yasume is showing has spread even to here. On other sites, people are trying to claim he stepped down because of the reviews, even though he stepped down last month.They even quote the article, with the mention of March in the very first paragraph.

People don't read anymore. They make assumptions.

Re: Review: Star Fox Zero (Wii U)

Discostew

Interestingly enough, I keep hearing around the web how Assault is considered a good game, but if we're to use Metacritic as the be-all end-all for a game's quality, then you might as well drop Assault and go play Zero.

Re: Feature: Breaking Down the My Nintendo Loyalty Economy, Again

Discostew

Marked 'Just for You', so may vary per user

I understand this with regard to what's available, but what I don't understand is why the actual discount, or point requirement is different. Here is mine that differs from the list made here (not including differing games/discounts, just the discount amount or point requirement). I'm in NA, btw...

15% off Yoshi's Woolly World (Wii U) - 750 Platinum Points
15% off TLoZ: A Link Between Worlds (3DS) - 600 Platinum Points
15% off Super Mario 3D Land (3DS) - 450 Platinum Points

30% off Splatoon (Wii U) - 140 Gold Points
New Super Luigi U (Wii U) – 170 Gold Points

So, many of the discounts are for less, but priced higher in points (ALBW is 5% less and double the points). SM3DL is an odd ball, that while it's 25% less, it's not based on gold points, but platinum, the currency that doesn't require buying anything to get. Here is a list of those I'm offered and not offered by comparison to the list in this article...

Not offered

20% off Mario Kart 7 (3DS) – 700 Platinum Points
20% off Pullblox World (Wii U) - 150 Platinum Points

40% off The Wonderful 101 (Wii U) - 120 Gold Points
50% off Metroid: Other M (Wii U) - 60 Gold Points
40% off Tomodachi Life (3DS) - 100 Gold Points
50% off Mario & Donkey Kong: Minis on the Move - 30 Gold Points

Offered

15% off TLoZ: The Wind Waker HD (Wii U) - 750 Platinum Points
15% off Animal Crossing: New Leaf (3DS) - 450 Platinum Points

30% off Captain Toad Treasure Trackers (Wii U) - 100 Gold Points
30% off TLoZ: Majora's Mask 3D (3DS) - 100 Gold Points
30% off Ultimate NES Remix (Wii U) - 70 Gold Points
30% off Punch-Out!!! (Wii U) - 50 Gold Points
Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii U) - 230 Gold Points

Re: Nintendo Issues Statement On Side Quest Changes In Bravely Second

Discostew

As an American, I believe that Americans simply want what the Japanese have, but disregard what the Japanese actually think. From this feedback, my understand would be that if given the choice, the Japanese would accept the changes in the first place. So, why can't the Americans? Because they believe it's censorship, and censorship is always bad? Perish the thought!

Re: Star Fox Zero Will Include An Invincible Mode For Inexperienced Players

Discostew

@XCWarrior Exactly. Let's all look at the quote again.

"We have additional ones for people who like the game but find it too hard to get past certain levels. So for instance there'll be a way for them to get an invincible Arwing, so that they can fly through and see the levels."

The invincible Arwing is an example, stated just after exclaiming additional "ones" (plural), much like how it was stated multiple modes (plural) for challenges.

Re: Talking Point: Sony's PlayStation VR Launch Adds Pressure to Nintendo's Holiday - and Perhaps NX - Plans

Discostew

@Kirk If the games are designed well?.......Pretty sure that's a major problem lately, and when you throw in a VR unit that is delayed by at least 1 frame and inherently does things to the perspective outside of your control , that in itself can lead to motion sickness. Changes that happen on a TV screen are limited to a TV screen because nothing else in your vicinity isn't changing in such a way as to throw you off. VR headsets take that away, making you that much more susceptible.

Re: Talking Point: Sony's PlayStation VR Launch Adds Pressure to Nintendo's Holiday - and Perhaps NX - Plans

Discostew

Was just thinking. Not only would those with just one good eye not be able to fully experience VR, but what about those that are far-sighted (in that they can see far but everything near is blurry)? The units strap onto your head, preventing the use of glasses I believe. Sure, there are contact lenses, but I'm sure there are a lot of people who have sensitive eyes who can't use them.

Re: Talking Point: Sony's PlayStation VR Launch Adds Pressure to Nintendo's Holiday - and Perhaps NX - Plans

Discostew

To be quite honest, while a lot of people may be interested, only those with the disposable income (and don't have other obligations like family) would actually jump onto it. Also, this is wearable tech that is strapped down by cables. I'm pretty sure there are going to be incidents regarding that.

@BensonUii

We already see enough complaints/problems for people who play with the 3DS with 3D on regarding their eyes. That's just going to increase with all VR. Heck, I wouldn't be surprised if neck problems can also occur with this type of VR due to having the set strapped onto your head, as well as looking around more often than normal. Possible injuries from jerking of the neck because you want to see something to the side immediately is something I'm already predicting, after seeing one video of a person playing a racing game, and showed them doing such a thing.