thedicemaster

@JohnnyMind the patents are allowed because they do not functionally change anything from the parent patent.
it's not like they get to describe a whole new way to make the same thing work, they added things like a summary, and a list of games with similar mechanics and explanations on why those game's mechanics are different.

you can take all those additions away, and what you're left with still describes the exact same mechanic.

saying these child patents shouldn't work retroactively is like saying a rule or law cannot be applied because someone just corrected a 10 year old spelling error.

@gsilver you mentioning dragon breed perfectly shows the problem with all this misdirected outrage.
1 look at a blurry screenshot already tells me it couldn't possibly be related in any way to the patent from this case.
dragon breed is a 2D game!

patents are very specific about what they protect, in the case of these patents they go into detail about things like game environment(2D/3D, open/closed areas, action/turn based, etc.), menu layouts, button presses, game genre, automated elements, how the involved items/creatures are aqcuired, and more.
patents aren't about how it looks, or what the end results are, but about exactly how it works.

nearly every creature collection game people reference either is 2D, turn based, or uses very different mechanics to achieve similar results.

and the concessions pocketpair are making are the cheap way out.
they dumb down their game to now comply, even though they could instead could come up with better or more interesting methods that still look similar but work very differently under the hood.
i don't know wether that's them being lazy, rushing a fix, or trying to garner sympathy with a message of "look how the evil big company makes us make our game worse" even though they could just make something better. (imagine being able to freely jump between different pals that are out at the same time!, that would solve the patent issue too)

@Scollurio <Sasaki admitted that it was partially due to some "very fussy developers" preferring digital shoulder buttons, while Kawamoto said that his team decided that the instant input of digital triggers was a better fit for the Switch 2 over the brief lag that comes with analog ones.>
from an interview with the people responsible for the switch 2.

so devs and tech guys, not some ceo's wife.

@OwenOtter octopath traveler is a turn based game.
the patents nintendo is suing for are specifically for direct action game mechanics.

nintendo may or may not have patents for turn based versions of those mechanics, but with the age of pokemon red/blue/green any patents they may have had would have expired already.

@Ogbert prior art.
you need to register a patent before making your invention public, or at most a year after.(amended patents get a larger window, because they're backdated to the original patent's filing date)
if pikmin used one of pokemon's mechanics as described in the patents, then nintendo would have had to file the patents during development or shortly after release of pikmin.
it wouldn't have mattered though, as any patent filed for pikmin would have expired by now.

wether this works as a defence depends on how similar the mechanic is in pikmin compared to the patent and palworld's use, and how strict the judge is in judging this similarity.

a lot of people make the mistake of comparing the mechanics very generally(and pocketpair hopes the judge will do the same), but the patents have specific details on how the mechanics are executed in the game beyond just the rough concept.
in patent lawsuits those details matter a lot.

@KazooieTooie missed the part where it has hardware raytracing?
it's not going to eat much performance, because they added dedicated GPU cores that handle it.

@JayJ can't call it price gouging if they increase prices to match increased costs from having to buy at higher than wholesale prices to meet demand.

@SillyG scopely considers $99.99 a good standard price for a microtransaction.
and if you don't buy new content for that price, you have to wait 6 months for a free option that slowly unlocks content over the course of 3-4 months.

scopely will make it worse, not better.

@Toastmaster lenovo does it differently though.

and the original right joycon can already work as a mouse, but i think that only works in labo.

@Jeronan here in europe the steamdeck was available as pre-order through steam in 2022, got mine in september 2022.

and most new games do run on it, though admittedly not all are running at ideal framerates.
black myth wukong is the worst performing game i have on it, and aside from hairs and clouds turning blocky it runs well enough to enjoy and looks good.

the way the analog sticks fit in the button holes is a neat idea, not so sure how well buttons in a hole will work though.

@RubyCarbuncle that is unlikely.
if nintendo wanted to weaponize patents, they could've wrecked the mobile game market with their virtual joystick patent.
but they didn't, instead they only used that patent to strike down a company that itself wanted to attack the entire mobile game market with an identical virtual joystick patent.

nintendo is making a big exception by going after palworld with patents.

@sanderev game boxes aren't lawbooks.
going against instructions on a box is at most a TOS violation, which is not illegal.

but the DMCA circumvention of protection measures section could indeed still apply.

@RygelXVIII i don't appreciate you manipulating my words.
what i said is not opinion on what is and isn't right, but on the way patent law works.
and you're half-quoting me, ripping it out of context.
you can add however many challenge factors and bits of realism to the process of throwing a capture ball you want, but that doesn't take away the mechanic of aiming and throwing a ball at a creature to catch it.
as long as you're just sticking features onto someone else's invention, you're still using someone else's invention and their protection applies.

and you're forgetting patents have a limited lifespan.
20 years after the original filing(and since the child patents are back dated to their parent's filing date, that should be 2021 for them too) they expire.

@Wexter patent is IP.
patents, copyright, and trademarks are all forms of protected intellectual property.

@RygelXVIII by trying to describe how different palworld's capture mechanic is from pokemon's, you've described exactly the patented capture method.
all the difference is in additions palworld's devs made to pokemon's mechanics.
adding something to someone else's existing invention doesn't make it your invention, if the original is patented you need permission to use/sell your enhanced version.

adding better physics to the ball doesn't change that you aim, throw, and need to hit the target.
that the capture rate is shown and calculated with more criteria, doesn't change that a capture rate calculation happens.

@RygelXVIII in both scarlet/violet and legends arceus the battles aren't exclusively turn based either.
in both you can send out your pokemon to fight against wild pokemon autonomously.
pokemon legends arceus also specifically has player vs creature combat mechanics, where the player character needs to avoid attacks and attack directly(using thrown projectiles)

AI creations can be split into 2 categories.

AI generated images, these are made with a few key words entered into an AI to automatically generate an image.
this is not art, AI did all the actual work.

AI-enhanced art, this is made by mixing traditional or digital art with AI.
the AI fills in some details, but a lot of the work still involves actual artistic skill provided by a human.
for example:
an artist makes a sketch, uses commands to have the AI color it in and add details, and then the artist uses elements from different results from the AI to make a composite closest to their view.

AI generated images aren't art, and don't belong in any contest other than one held between different AI programmers.

AI-enhanced art can have a place in contests, but only if the contest rules allow this.
it still requires an actual artist, and is comparable to smart image editor features like smart select/magic wand, or built-in effects.

@MSaturn most of us won't be able to understand the nuance the japanese word may carry.

i can think of an english synonym for plain that sounds a lot cooler: spartan.
(obviously that wouldn't work for Nintendo as well as it would for Microsoft)

@Dm9982 with how inconveniently it works, it's unlikely to run unsigned homebrew.
most likely the flashcard does nothing to bypass security, instead it loads a rom from the sdcard that has all security data intact and presents that as the entire cartridge's content.
any change would invalidate the game's signature, triggering switch security checks.
signed homebrew could work, but i doubt anyone has cracked or leaked the keys used for signing switch games yet.

flashcards for older systems would hijack the firmware, disable security, and load a custom menu.

pokemon pinball advanced is the 3rd pokemon pinball game.
the 2nd one is easily overlooked: pokemon pinball mini on the pokemon mini.

steam version still can't scale to fit on anything other than 16:9...
you could have a perfectly fitting screen, and it will force black borders on you just so it can put in the colorful borders to make it fit in 16:9.

@tadams587 it wouldn't be, black is what "burns in" the worst.

as you play the pixels being used will slowly burn up, while disabled(black) pixels will remain pristine as they are not being used.
if you then start another game after playing a game with a black border a lot you will have a border that is brighter than the rest of the screen.

best is probably the grey background with all the bosses, as it uses colors more evenly than the other backgrounds.

some of the "glitches" seem by design.
like people and pokemon walking through the battle, that's just what happens when you battle in the overworld.
you either have battles in a dedicated "arena", or you have overworld things in the battlefield.

i find the one where pokemon slip into the water strange, whenever i was close enough for my pokemon to slip into the water it got placed on an inflatable platform.

@CharlieGirl they offered "star" level pay, well in excess of "par" for videogame voice acting.
videogame voice acting is of less value than TV/cinema voice acting.

@Otoemetry theoretically shouldn't be more than 1/8th of a second delay.
1/16th for the splat to reach the host and 1/16th for it to be sent to everyone else.
for the host it should never be more than 1/16th.

@RasandeRose someone on gamefaqs suggested the wording is very deliberate.
they noticed shiver has the eyes of a male octoling.
female octolings have always been shown with a little extra black line sticking out under their eye, while male octolings have always been shown without that black line.

it could be someone forgot this detail with shiver, or it could be deliberate.

i can't imagine it being just "more of the same"
with the exception of pokemon they're very adverse to releasing "more of the same" on the same platform.

with F-Zero they even state it as the specific reason we haven't seen a new one for several generations.

while it does indeed look very similar, almost the entire interface could be considered unprotectable under copyright law as "scene a faire".

if you Google "subway map" almost every result is going to look like the screenshots from both games, as that's just how subway maps are designed.

"scene a faire" refers to parts in a fictional setting that are so iconic to that setting that it cannot be protected under copyright.
if you're making a subway planning game it's almost unavoidable to make it look like a subway map.

@Dezzy70 every console has DRM.
since the DRM is baked into a closed OS it's nowhere near as invasive as PC DRM though.
and most DRM checks are only on first use, unless you're using a secondary system.

@KayFiOS when i played they weren't that hard to find, but you have to focus on "boring" pokemon to get them.
ones like zubat, pidgey, and rattata, which we're conditioned to ignore.

@HammerGalladeBro it can, and has been resolved with a patch.
the issue here is that that requires internet access, and the big deal is that the bug prevents you from playing without first connecting it to the internet, while the whole point of the cart is that you're supposed to be able to play without ever needing internet.

@SteamEngenius @HammerGalladeBro the game on the cart was defective.
after destroying the cart he was sent a new copy that wasn't defective.
people who encounter the bug and refuse to return or destroy their copy of the game do not get a bugfixed copy.

@FishyS it's eastasiasoft.
the point of many of their games isn't the game, the game is just a way to sell you naughty images.

@TryToBeHopeful i can go back and replay old missions that I've already beaten, but anything beyond episode 7 level 3 is permanently locked.
every remaining level/episode requires that i beat the level before it.

i have reported it, and so have many others.
there's no indication that they're actually working on a fix.

@AndyC_MK111 it's definitely broken and unfinished for me.
it outright ends halfway through episode 7.
it tells me to speak to maz in her castle, but the story trigger is gone.

the reason it's gone?
i saved and exited the game on the maz's castle map.
the map got reloaded when i started the game again, but the story trigger got skipped because i came in from the load game screen instead of the previous story segment.
there is now no way to "go back" or skip ahead, until they fix this i cannot continue beyond this point without deleting my savedata.

@Ironcore until you find the analog stick item, and it suddenly lets you use the full range of your analog stick.

@KirbysAdventure they made a bit of a comeback with transformers recently.
however unless you're in the UK i recommend against shopping there.
their various European online storefronts are all a facade, despite what they may say they ship from the UK and do not make any arrangements for local taxes.
that means any order, even from a local zavvi webshop, is going to end up with additional taxes, processing fees, and possibly import fees that have to be paid separately.

@MikeDubbz my €25 controller is fine for me.
because it can resize it fits all my phone cases, and works in both portrait and landscape.

i prefer my galaxy z fold 3 and dedicated phone gamepad(pro controller style, but slides open to wrap around my phone) for emulation.
bigger screens, and pretty much perfect aspect ratio for nintendo DS, 3DS, and any pre-widescreen console.
costs a bit more though.

and pokemon and touch-only games don't need the controller, for touch-only i even have a good stylus(s-pen)

i'm not going to doubt her expertise in whatever bow technique she uses, but she's doing it wrong.
she's holding her bow vertical(as most archers would), but link holds his bow diagonal.
i don't know how much that would impact the path of the arrow because i'm not an archery expert, but she didn't take it into consideration at all.

and it has happened in the past(even recently) that a "forgotten" archery technique was re-discovered, experts all called it a flawed technique, but it was proven to be not just practical but even relatively common in medieval times as long as that's how you were trained(switching techniques initially ruins your aim, but after a few weeks of training you adapt and regain accuracy)

@Zag_Man joy-cons are easy to fix.
replacement sticks can be obtained for $5-$10.
many replacement sticks come with a tri-wing screwdriver(which while not universally standard, is the standard for nearly all nintendo products and is a cheap one time purchase)
beyond that it's just carefully removing screws, unplugging the joystick module, plugging a new one, and screwing everything back together.

and in many cases actually replacing the stick isn't even necessary, just sticking some tape or a piece of paper under the joystick module is enough to fix the issue.

2 and 4 are essentially the same, 4 just has more crazy fan-fiction back-story.

@Chronodude333 touch sensitivity is really good.
if you use the switch input option to increase touch sensitivity it actually becomes too sensitive.
we also recommend using a screen protector, as the soft switch screen was not designed for using a stylus.

@Freddyfred that's outdated information from the 3DS version, the switch version supports 10 layers(more layers and layer options coming in a future update) and has a selection brush that lets you lasso-select, move, and resize.

@JasmineDragon @reporterdavid there will be updates to add more tools and options, you can also suggest new ones in the colors!live discord if you think something is missing.
a fill tool is planned, but it takes some work and needed a bit of feedback on how it should behave.

@Qwertyninty i think the pen will arrive in a week or 2 if you order just the pen or a bundle with the pen on colorslive.com
the eshop version does not include the pen.

most retailers can do same or next day delivery if you buy the physical version with stylus.

@NikHogan no way you got a smart stylus 6-pack for $10.

the sonarpen is a smart stylus with extra button and pressure sensitivity.

a sonarpen is $25-$35, a wacom smart stylus is $45.

@HedgehogEngine they did include Apt-X LL support.
but unless you're using Apt-X LL headphones you won't notice a difference.

i tested it with my Avantree HS136 and i get so little latency i'm physically unable to even estimate the latency.
and for gaming that's exactly what you need, media can account for the delay but games cannot.

@TimeGuy as a moderator on the colors!live discord i can say that it is indeed very much needed.
colors!live is an art app/game for the switch that can use a stylus connected using a headphone jack to get pressure sensitivity when drawing.
many older switches are having trouble detecting the stylus because there's too much dirt or corrosion on the contacts in the headphone port.
a simple plug likely would've protected the contacts.

on a normal headset dirty or corroded contacts would present as intermittent audio or lowered volume, sometimes only when the plug is rotated to specific positions.

@McGruber use the Nintendo website, it still accepts credit card payments.
and Nintendo isn't exactly doing this voluntarily.
they had 2 alternatives.
1: do nothing, and watch as customers complain about payments failing because the credit card security checks fail at some random point in the near future.
2: pull devs out of their switch OS dev team, dig up old source code, and overhaul the checkout process in the eShop on 2 systems that have been EoL for years now.

Google should add this to android too.
so annoying I need 4GB free space on my phone to update some games, when the updates don't add more than a few MB at the most to the actual size.

the price and size are exactly what makes it interesting as a first capture device for beginning streamers.
I've been using it for just over a month to stream switch games to twitch, and for that it works just fine.