Kroko

Kroko

is Heropon! Very brave! PAW! PAW!

Comments 293

Re: Talking Point: Let's Explore What Could Be Done with HD Rumble on the Nintendo Switch

Kroko

I've seen some people hinting at VR, although the two are not necessarily related. I will say this: currently available VR headsets are sh1t. Really they are. All of them.

The one I spent the most time with is the Vive. It's uncomfortable (poor mass distribution, heat+moisture, the head strap pulls your hair, difficult to use with glasses...), it looks bad (low pixel density, poor field of view, reflection on lesses if you are not in the dark...), it's annoying to set-up, the controllers have poor battery life (<2h? I can't remember, I gave the Vive back), etc...

However, there are a few things that actually felt nice. And one of them is the rumble. As simple as it sounds, the rumble on the Vive controllers offers a wide array of "feelings", probably through the use of different vibration engines of various size. At least, that's my guess.

The archery game in "The lab" is doing a great job at giving you tactile feedback from your non-existent bow and arrows. To the point where you can feel how much tension you are putting into the string. The game is boring as hell. 1 level, 1 mode, no multi, no options of any kind. But it sure does its job well as a free demo of the hardware.

That's the kind of things we should be expecting from future controllers.

Re: Video: UK TV Advert for Breath of the Wild Plays Up the Switch 'Lifestyle'

Kroko

@mjharper No no, they are way smaller. Unless the scale in the last image is wrong, they are about the size of the screen of the Switch/Wii U gamepad. Similar to the Vita games' boxes (yeah, haven't seen many lately).

This seems like it will be very practical, as the boxes are just a bit smaller than the console itself, easy to stack!

Re: Talking Point: NVIDIA is the Latest to Pitch Cloud Gaming - Could It Be Key to Nintendo's Future Hardware?

Kroko

The sad truth about cloud gaming, and cloud computing in general, is that by the time it becomes interesting, it will be useless.

If the average internet access could have allowed cloud gaming 15 years ago, it would have been a revolution. Systems like the PS2 and the GC were very limited. Cloud gaming would have allowed a gigantic step ahead.

But by the time streaming games become actually viable, we will have systems like the Scorpio and others. What is the point of streaming games when the average home console is already a beast?

Re: Talking Point: NVIDIA is the Latest to Pitch Cloud Gaming - Could It Be Key to Nintendo's Future Hardware?

Kroko

If cloud gaming was an important part of the new system, it would not have cartridges at all.

That's like, making games for 3 different platforms at this point. Or at least 3 different configurations:

>the Switch undocked
>the Switch docked
>the Switch on streaming

And if some games are actually meant for streaming, then what is the purpose of the console when you're not at home? Displaying the main menu and a message saying "No Internet lol"?

Re: Video: Super Retro Boy Hands-On Reveals Neat Form Factor, Lack Of Rear Shoulder Buttons

Kroko

@Shikinouta You and me. We could make great buddies...

Well to sum it up:
GBA: no light, non-rechargeable batteries by default
GBA SP: front-lit (on/off)
GBA SP 101: back-lit (2 brightness settings), but harder to find
GB Micro: back-lit (5? brightness settings), smaller screen/higher pixel density, ONLY supports GBA games
DS/DS lite: back-lit (4 brightness settings for the lite), 4:3 ratio (making the picture slightly smaller, I believe)

Re: Hackers Apparently Add Additional Games to NES Mini

Kroko

Yeah, thanks for getting a rare Mini NES for yourself and then destroying it. Should have left it on the shelf for someone who actually cares about it.

You would have obtained the same result with a Raspberry. Without altering a rare piece of official hardware.

Re: ​Pachter Says Switch is the Easiest of the Big Three to Develop For

Kroko

@BinaryFragger /facepalm

If you hate Nintendo's systems so much, feel free to move away from them, we have enough brainless haters already.

1/ They "stuck to cartridges" yes. I'm tired of hearing this BS over and over again. Let's explain that again.
Cartridges are superior to optical disks in every possible way except for their price. Here you have it.
If you really have such an obsession for spinning of objects, purchase yourself a Frisbee and go play outside for a bit. It will do you a lot of good.

2/ "Proprietary" discs are not an issue in itself. Especially since they were an actual standard. It is called MiniDVD. They were just as proprietary as the PS2 discs were. The focus was put on speed instead of size, that's a choice.

3/ Online gaming? Nintendo and Sega were the first to push online functionnalities. The public answer was basically: "meow online! I want a Playstation. Because it has seadeas! Hurr durr"

4/ Don't bring that HD/SD stuff up again. PS360 ran mostly SD games. The Wii focusing on price instead of performance was another choice. You can agree or disagree with it. But whining won't change the past.

Re: ​Pachter Says Switch is the Easiest of the Big Three to Develop For

Kroko

@MitchVogel "I really hope that Nintendo has dropped the "special snowflake" mentality"

Wow that sounded so smug in my ears.

Nintendo never had a special snowflake mentality. They did the job with the best tech available at the time, creating systems that were designed for video games first, with affordability, reliability and comfort of use as major targets. Something many companies nowadays should consider again.

Some of their systems proved to have design flaws. Yeah it's like they were created by human beings... not by infallible deities. It's easy to blame people with insight.

Now we are facing something totally different. I haven't seen anyone pointing this out yet, but with the retirement of the 3DS, we will witness the disappearance of the last entirely custom, video game-focused system. The PS4 and XB1 are little more than proprietary PCs and the Switch is close to a "smart device" type of architecture. The days where consoles were unique systems and indispensable for playing VG are long over. Now they are kind of awkwardly sitting there between the iDroid monster-sized market and the old fashioned PC.

You can't blame anyone for trying to provide alternatives. Now you have what you wanted. Nintendo has made an ARM tablet, just like everyone else. Let's hope it works out well.

Re: ​Nintendo Shares Original Design Documents from The Legend of Zelda

Kroko

I don't know why people sound so surprised by the idea of designing a video game on paper. Using a pre-made grid on paper is an easy way of dealing with tile maps.

Even nowadays, doodling on paper is still an easy way of prototyping software. Unless you are working with people who aren't in the same location as you, in that case, online tools become a necessity.

Re: The Nintendo 3DS Has Now Sold More Units In Japan Than The PlayStation 2

Kroko

It's funny, just earlier this afternoon, I was playing on my New 3DS and I thought "Damn I love this console...".

I've been playing it nearly daily for the last 5 years and I'm still amazed by this system. Even though the latest two versions clearly are the best.

It feels nice in your hands (it might just be because I spent so much time with it), it looks nice, it doesn't heat up and the battery life is convenient without being incredible. The volume and 3D sliders add to the comfort of use, at a time when most system don't even have a volume slider at all.

But of course the most important is the games. And this system sure delivered! I have no idea how many games I have in total and how many I still have to complete, but wow those 5 last years were packed with some of the best gaming experiences of my life. No mater what other system I have at hand, the 3DS is the one I always go back to.

Re: Feature: Xenoblade Chronicles X - One Year Later

Kroko

TRASH TALK!
Time has passed, but I still can't understand the love for this game. It has some terrible flaws.
1/ the music is an awkward choice and the overall composition doesn't make much sense to me. Ok, it's a mater of taste. But still, the music is way too loud! So loud it covers the VA! Why does this game have like 35 options for camera, but none for audio?

2/ performance was bad, even with the data packs. It happened often to me to run into an object before it was even visible.

3/ Cross is uninteresting, and Lin and Elma (def the best character) are pretty much mandatory for progress. Which leaves only 1 slot for another character, all the other will lag behind in experience. And you have to remember where they are and go there yourself to switch them in and out of the group. Great design choices!

4/ combat was just the same as in XC, without the chain attack and with more eye candy onscreen. And mechs. That's it.

5/ COHESION! Mankind is at the age of extinction, but it's cool. We still have a mall and a fast food downtown and nice cars to drive around. And swimming pools. I could never take NLA seriously.

6/ I might not have a very good memory of this, but aren't nearly all of the alien races (with the exception of Furballs) just humanoids with green/grey/brown skin? I can't remember any of their names. I just could not bother.

7/ Lin, her annoying voice and her comments. The skinny 14 yo is the tank, the chief engineer and the cook, of course. I bet she also cleanse the bathroom and waters the crops. And her endless running gag about eating Tatsu! I still make nightmares about that "Did you pick tonight's menu, Lin?" battle quote that keeps coming back.

Yes, I'm done. Sorry about that.

Re: Nintendo Switch Will "Expand The Possibilities Of Fun" Says Ubisoft's Alain Corre

Kroko

@OorWullie There was room for a Rayman game in the launch window. I wanted it, but I did not purchase it later on, because there were other games I wanted to play by then. They missed their chance.

And the real reason why people were mad, I believe, is that we knew Ubisoft had put a lot of pressure on the dev team to rush the game. It was finished and ready for launch, but they decided to not release it with no real reason.

Talking about Rayman, and since they are my avatar, the Runaway Guys have just started a Rayman LP, if anyone's interested...