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[Gsnap]

There's no reality where this takes place. I don't understand what's difficult to understand here. I don't blind buy video games for my son. He doesn't blind buy games for himself. He always tests them first (demo's, friends copies, whatever) to figure out if he likes it or not before buying. The chances that he'll be able to hit a narrow test window to get a chance at trying Splatoon is so slim it's not worth considering and as I said, without a demo he won't be buying Splatoon. This game has friggin single player right? They probably could have tacked level one onto this download for exactly this reason.

The entire thing is so goofy to me that I don't even know what to think. It would have been a ten minute thing! Download demo-play demo-decide to love or hate game. Done.

Doesn't seem like this is a demo as much as it is a server test. I mean, they do call it a testfire.

So obviously they want people to download it early. So if you're going to come on here to complain to us about it, then you could take that time to understand it and then explain to your kid. Maybe he'll understand and actually have some patience.

As it is all you're doing is complaining to us about how Nintendo upset your child without actually caring enough to explain to your kid why it works the way it works. If you did then maybe the kid wouldn't be upset and would play when he has the chance? Maybe none of this would be the big deal you've made it out to be?

So the question is, do you actually care enough? Or do you just want to complain?

 

[Hatchtag]

I think what people aren't realizing about the limited maps available in Free Mode is that Nintendo wants to make sure that there are enough people ready to play. This is a game that requires 8 players and there seems to be no bots. With the low install base the Wii U has, it stands to reason that Nintendo wants to be able to guarantee that anytime you play, there will be a team waiting to get ready. That's why ranked battles are currently locked at start-up.

I do think that 4 hours is a bit too long though. 2 hours should have been the case.

What does limiting maps have to do with keeping up the player count? If there's, say, 800 players playing, then there's 100 matches, regardless of if its across 2 different maps or 5 different maps. If anything, limiting the maps gives reason for people to play less often and lowers the player count.

 

[NotLiquid]

Dunno if it has been posted yet. But if you start the demo and press the home button, you get access to the manual of the game.
I'm scrolling though it atm

Oh yeah they do.

Huh, they have an option called "Color Lock" in the game that's there to assist people who might have color blindness. That's a nice thing to put in.

 

[Sola Scriptura]

Taking bets on the exact date certain pieces of gear become purchasable through microtransactions.

I'll go with February 12, 2016.

 

[Dr. Buni]

I wonder if Nintendo will put any IP-themed gear (like shirts) into the game. That'd be kinda fun!

As long as the gears aren't amiibo exclusive, I am down for it.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

As long as the gears aren't amiibo exclusive, I am down for it.

You know they would be.

 

[Vena]

What does limiting maps have to do with keeping up the player count? If there's, say, 800 players playing, then there's 100 matches, regardless of if its across 2 different maps or 5 different maps. If anything, limiting the maps gives reason for people to play less often and lowers the player count.

Does the player have a say in the map selection? If so then five maps are most certainly different from two maps.

 

[Kurt]

So you cant play the demo offline to test the gameplay?

 

[Vanillalite]

Pics

 

[Baron von Loathsome]

All this talk of OT names, and you all forget my suggestion?

For shame.

Gonna watch the Direct now.

 

[-Horizon-]

So you cant play the demo offline to test the gameplay?

no.

 

[Razmos]

So you cant play the demo offline to test the gameplay?

Nope. Unfortunately.

All this talk of OT names, and you all forget my suggestion?

For shame.

Omg yes.

 

[KingSnake]

I'm curious. Why do you always say "at list" instead of "at least"? I've seen it in so many of your posts, I have to know.

Because I'm not a native speaker (or should I say writer?) and I'm dumb enough to not notice this mistake until now. Thanks for pointing it out, I will pay attention in the future.

 

[jariw]

Why not just do like any other game where you join lobbies with a random map voting system. There's no reason for their dumb map implementation system.

Yes, there's a reason for this. It was explained pretty well in the Direct.

 

[March of the Crabs]

Ugh... I really wanted this game and was really looking forwad to it but $70+ tax for only a few maps is a really tough sell. Might have to wait on this :/

 

[Chaos17]

Why not just do like any other game where you join lobbies with a random map voting system. There's no reason for their dumb map implementation system.

Watch the direct before sprouting nonesenses ?

 

[Cow Mengde]

I missed the Sploogetoon direct. Is there a link to the video?

 

[Hatchtag]

Does the player have a say in the map selection? If so then five maps are most certainly different from two maps.

In pretty much every online shooter I've played, map selection is done after matchmaking, so I don't see how having less maps available would increase player count regardless of if the players select the maps or not.

 

[KooopaKid]

Wow everything they announced is a great idea. That's how you keep interest in an online game. And all this for free. I like the fact this game is a mixture of several key areas of other Nintendo's franchises, Mario Galaxy's single player, Nintendoland's plazza, Animal Crossing's customization and Mario Kart 8's online. Nintendo's savoir-faire at best.

 

[C.Olimar788]

I missed the Sploogetoon direct. Is there a link to the video?

Spliiish.

The Direct has be hyped as heck, even if I'm not sold on all of their online decisions. Only Turf War for unranked? Maps limited to two every four hours? Ehhhh. Still, game looks fun as hell and I'm looking forward to participating in the demo/server test tomorrow.

 

[Hibiki Kurosawa]

Because I'm not a native speaker (or should I say writer?) and I'm dumb enough to not notice this mistake until now. Thanks for pointing it out, I will pay attention in the future.

Oh okay. It's no poblem. I was wondering if there was something else I was missing. Everything else you type has me thinking you are a native speaker/typer, so no need to call yourself dumb over it.

 

[PreyingShark]

I can understand the point of the stage selection system, to allow you to tailor your gear selection for the two available stages, but I think the amount of time for rotation is way too long. Nnnngh. Then again I've been unsure if I'll get this game from the get-go, going to wait for people's impressions from the test for sure.

lol

And would you suggest Mario Kart let you race on 3 courses only till it refreshes to play on another 3 courses to ease people into playing?

Mario Kart 8 only has three courses: Baby Park, Excitebike, and Big Blue. So I fail to see what the "another 3 courses" would be.

 

[105.Will]

All this talk of OT names, and you all forget my suggestion?

For shame.

Gonna watch the Direct now.

That's actually perfect.

 

[KingSnake]

Oh okay. It's no poblem. I was wondering if there was something else I was missing. Everything else you type has me thinking you are a native speaker/typer, so no need to call yourself dumb over it.

The mistake is so obvious now while I haven't noticed it before, so that's why I feel (I was) dumb.

Watching now the Direct on eshop and the quality of the video is so much better even over twitch, it's ink-redible!

 

[Valkerionseven]

Just watched it, and as a prospective Wii U owner within the month... I liked what I saw. Game looks genuinely fun imo. Small amount of maps aside, with the promise of more as free dlc, the moment to moment stuff looked fun. My question is how long before people become disinterested, but I think that is up in the air with any game now a days. Definitely considering the upcoming splatoon bundle now. Love the color and tone of the game, it feels Jet Set Radio inspired but also different.

Also the characters are freaking adorable. If I can get a green squid girl, I'd consider buying an amibo

 

[Gbpackers31]

Yes, there's a reason for this. It was explained pretty well in the Direct.

Watch the direct before sprouting nonesenses ?

I did. It doesn't change that it still doesn't make sense, and there's no point to it. Change your weapons in-between matches to accommodate the next map just like every other game.

 

[fernoca]

Just preloaded the game, around 2GB. Quite small, at launch will download the rest which could be like 1GB more. Still really nice that is so small!

Won't download the "stress test" and the 3 amiibo should be here by mid-June.

Question (re: Smash costumes) you get a code if you buy it at Gamestop, to get the costumes during summer 2015. Any word if the costumes will be available for purchase around that time?

 

[Like the hat?]

Seems like limiting maps might help push people to play more often, to see what maps are available to play at the time. I'm betting if the game sells well enough and the amount of players remains high, a future update will remove that "feature"

All I know is I want a splatoon soundtrack.

 

[Meeps]

It only took me 4 hours to realize that Callie and Marie = calamari. Welp.

 

[pvpness]

Doesn't seem like this is a demo as much as it is a server test. I mean, they do call it a testfire.

So obviously they want people to download it early. So if you're going to come on here to complain to us about it, then you could take that time to understand it and then explain to your kid. Maybe he'll understand and actually have some patience.

As it is all you're doing is complaining to us about how Nintendo upset your child without actually caring enough to explain to your kid why it works the way it works. If you did then maybe the kid wouldn't be upset and would play when he has the chance? Maybe none of this would be the big deal you've made it out to be?

So the question is, do you actually care enough? Or do you just want to complain?

Hey, sorry if I gave you the impression this was a big deal, or that it upset my kid. Not the case. I just think Nintendo goofed is all. When the kid first came in I thought he was missing something. I gave it a shot, had no luck then came to gaf. Started reading through and realized it was a stress-test disguised as a demo. Which I found immediately funny and prompted my initial post. I was just having a laugh at Nintendo. Though I think there could be a discussion around the limited availability of the downloaded content and what it might mean for Nintendo's over all marketing objectives, but this probably isn't the thread for it.

That being said... If you can look at the screens (posted above) and tell me with a straight face that you don't see why that might be misleading to some people, and how that might lead to disappoint/disinterest then I don't think we have a lot to discuss. If Nintendo were serious about getting as many people playing Splatoon as possible and making it a staple, the smart play would have been to include some single player content with this demo. As it stands the majority of people who will play this are going to be Splatoons tiny, rabid fanbase. Which is cool, whatever. You might think the opposite, that tons of kids are just sitting patiently in front of their Wii U waiting for the window to open. I would have to disagree because of my anecdotal experience just this morning.

 

[Dr. Buni]

Just preloaded the game, around 2GB. Quite small, at launch will download the rest which could be like 1GB more. Still really nice that is so small!

The full game is around 2GB. Well, by full I mean what is supposed to be released May 29th.

 

[fernoca]

The full game is around 2GB. Well, by full I mean what is supposed to be released May 29th.

Oh! Guess the May 29th download will be even smaller than I thought, like Mario Party 10. Now to stare at the icon for 22 days!

 

[Gsnap]

Hey, sorry if I gave you the impression this was a big deal, or that it upset my kid. Not the case. I just think Nintendo goofed is all. When the kid first came in I thought he was missing something. I gave it a shot, had no luck then came to gaf. Started reading through and realized it was a stress-test disguised as a demo. Which I found immediately funny and prompted my initial post. I was just having a laugh at Nintendo. Though I think there could be a discussion around the limited availability of the downloaded content and what it might mean for Nintendo's over all marketing objectives, but this probably isn't the thread for it.

That being said... If you can look at the screens (posted above) and tell me with a straight face that you don't see why that might be misleading to some people, and how that might lead to disappoint/disinterest then I don't think we have a lot to discuss. If Nintendo were serious about getting as many people playing Splatoon as possible and making it a staple, the smart play would have been to include some single player content with this demo. As it stands the majority of people who will play this are going to be Splatoons tiny, rabid fanbase. Which is cool, whatever. You might think the opposite, that tons of kids are just sitting patiently in front of their Wii U waiting for the window to open. I would have to disagree because of my anecdotal experience just this morning.

It would absolutely be smart for Nintendo to have a regular offline demo of some sort. Like I said in another post, I like how they're handling some of Splatoon, but not all of it.

And I may have overreacted, but you know how this place is. There are a handful of characters that jump into every Nintendo thread just to complain, and they often complain about things that aren't that big of a deal, and you sounded like one of them for a minute. What I got out of your initial posts was "Nintendo slightly upset my kid and now he'll never play Splatoon."

But you've made your point clearer, so I get where you're coming from.

 

[blu]

Finally watched the Direct, and I'm all giddy squiddy. Splatoon will sink time armadas..

It only took me 4 hours to realize that Callie and Marie = calamari. Welp.

Mind blown.

 

[phanphare]

Finally watched the Direct, and I'm all giddy squiddy.

lol, I definitely chuckled when the announcer corrected "humanity" with "squididdity"

 

[slop101]

Nothing against Splatoon, but I'm bitter against it because it's making Nintendo delay Yoshi Yarn, which is ready to go, until the fall, for no other reason than so it won't "compete" with Splatoon. Which is idiotic, as it'll have FAR more competition come Fall.

 

[KingSnake]

It only took me 4 hours to realize that Callie and Marie = calamari. Welp.

Oh.

 

[Chaos17]

Nothing against Splatoon, but I'm bitter against it because it's making Nintendo delay Yoshi Yarn, which is ready to go, until the fall, for no other reason than so it won't "compete" with Splatoon. Which is idiotic, as it'll have FAR more competition come Fall.

Yoshi wolly world isn't delayed to fall in Europe, it will be out in Jun ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

 

[Dr. Buni]

Nothing against Splatoon, but I'm bitter against it because it's making Nintendo delay Yoshi Yarn, which is ready to go, until the fall, for no other reason than so it won't "compete" with Splatoon. Which is idiotic, as it'll have FAR more competition come Fall.

What competition?

 

[mullet2000]

So, is it true that this game is gamepad only? No pro controller support?

 

[Starfish Hero]

So, is it true that this game is gamepad only? No pro controller support?

Pro controller support for local multiplayer, but outside of that it sounds like it's Gamepad only.

 

[mullet2000]

Pro controller support for local multiplayer, but outside of that it sounds like it's Gamepad only.

Ugh. That really sucks. I find the size of the gamepad makes it really awkward for me to use and I try to avoid it whenever possible.

 

[Gaspard]

Oh yeah they do.

Huh, they have an option called "Color Lock" in the game that's there to assist people who might have color blindness. That's a nice thing to put in.

As an individual with partial colorblindness, woot!

 

[Scooter155]

Ugh. That really sucks. I find the size of the gamepad makes it really awkward for me to use and I try to avoid it whenever possible.

Weird, I love the gamepad. Even more comfortable to hold than my 3DS.

Then again, I was the only weirdo in my friend group who held the N64 controller on the outside, instead of using the middle handle like everyone else.

Maybe I have giant hands.

 

[Give War A Chance]

Will buy this game when everything is unlocked, or it goes on sale, whichever is first. Not going to drop $60 on the unfinished product.

 

[Mihael Mello Keehl]

Will buy this game when everything is unlocked, or it goes on sale, whichever is first. Not going to drop $60 on the unfinished product.

You aint never buying this game then.

 

[shadowkat]

It only took me 4 hours to realize that Callie and Marie = calamari. Welp.

Well, I didn't realize this until you said it.

 

[Kiote]

Why not just do like any other game where you join lobbies with a random map voting system. There's no reason for their dumb map implementation system.

The map implementation has nothing to do with the number of maps available, its designed to force players in to using the gear system. From what they described in the Direct, doing a quick weapon swap will not be nearly as effective as a full gear overhaul. Having to do that every match would just be obnoxious. As an added bonus, it significantly decrease the likelyhood that you'll never get to play the map you want, as most online shooters are quickly voted down to the same three maps every match. Why have 15 maps when people only use three of them?

 

[Z3M0G]

I never would have imagined that Splatoon would use MMO/Destiny style features and online events...

Nintendo is really going all-out with the online on this, and it's damn amazing!

 

[JoeM86]

Will buy this game when everything is unlocked, or it goes on sale, whichever is first. Not going to drop $60 on the unfinished product.

They're going to be doing continual updates. The game isn't "unfinished". It's being added to. Things aren't being "unlocked" at a certain point except the Ranked Mode as they don't want it to be filled with higher level players straight away