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[woo and indeed hoo]

Man...I have mixed feelings on Monster Hunter 3, fantastic art-design, tiny areas...you load into another shoe box every 10 feet.

Hm, given what we think we know about the Wii U specs, what do you lovely tech nerds ♥ think of the possibility of large play areas without excessive loading? We know that Nintendo despises loading times so would the supposed 'metric tonne' of eDRAM facilitate larger play areas with minimal/no loading?

I wonder what new industry and console manufacturer issues will come out of next-gen.

The same as every gen. Frame rate sacrificed to the altar of dev willy waving spfx [/cynic].

 

[Log4Girlz]

Hm, given what we think we know about the Wii U specs, what do you lovely tech nerds ♥ think of the possibility of large play areas without excessive loading? We know that Nintendo despises loading times so would the supposed 'metric tonne' of eDRAM facilitate larger play areas with minimal/no loading?



The same as every gen. Frame rate sacrificed to the altar of dev willy waving spfx [/cynic].

Gamecube had very good load times, I think Nintendo will hide the loading in their games very well. Its going to be up to developer skill really.

 

[Wolfie5]

Even though Maro Galaxy looks great as it does now, I wonder what the next 3d Mario game would look and play like on Wii U?
Besides HD, I guess there would be bigger worlds, more effects and most likely use the new controller in some clever ways. Other than that, it's kind of hard to imagine how it will end up.
Nintendo will surprise as usual.

It's easier to imagine the benefits a new Metroid and a new Zelda(I want that demo) would get from the extra horsepower that the Wii U will have.

 

[woo and indeed hoo]

Gamecube had very good load times, I think Nintendo will hide the loading in their games very well. Its going to be up to developer skill really.

Indeed, almost as quick as N64 games I seem to recall, although much of that was due to the mini-discs and prioritisation of fast loading in the system design. Hence my question above; I just don't understand this tech gubbins enough to know how feasible my question is.

 

[Yagharek]

I can imagine GAF making those stupid "jump ship" threads all over again. Hivemind really can be a headache.

It's not just gaf that does this - its the entire internet/gaming media/game fans etc that pull this kind of shit.

 

[m.i.s.]

Indeed, almost as quick as N64 games I seem to recall, although much of that was due to the mini-discs and prioritisation of fast loading in the system design.

This is what I admire about Nintendo game development. They actually care about how the game will play when it's in the system of the end consumer. Nintendo just gets what console gaming is all about.

Considering the Wii U has no standard Hard Drive I'd say the chances are good that Nintendo developed games will have minimal or "disguised" loading so the game world appears seamless (and hopefully others will follow Nintendo's lead).

 

[Mistle]

Just popping in to say that I hope the controller has a stronger rumble than the Wiimote. The Gamecube controller's rumble is godly. More GC rumble and less Wiimote "rumble".

Though with the screen and all, I'm predicting it'll be about on par with the Wiimote, maybe even less :/

 

[fabricated backlash]

Just popping in to say that I hope the controller has a stronger rumble than the Wiimote. The Gamecube controller's rumble is godly. More GC rumble and less Wiimote "rumble".

Though with the screen and all, I'm predicting it'll be about on par with the Wiimote, maybe even less :/

Honestly I expect no rumble at all.

Rumble is so last gen^^

 

[klier]

Ya know, its really true honestly. I remember making some posts back during e3 about what franchises would benefit most from the new hardware. This is why I keep mentioning F-Zero, seems like a game where you can really show off some texturing.

Pikimin 3 even better.

 

[lherre]

I like how the people like to downplay the work of the rest of developers/designs

 

[magash]

I like how the people like to downplay the work of the rest of developers/designs

What are you talking about

 

[GrotesqueBeauty]

Criterion could pull that off. *HINT HINT NINTENDO* If Team Ninja can make a Metroid game, then Criterion can make a F-Zero game, damn it!

That's a pretty big if.

 

[CoffeeJanitor]

I like how the people like to downplay the work of the rest of developers/designs

At the very least I think that most would agree that Nintendo has some top tier dev teams.

 

[Thunder Monkey]

What are you talking about

Coming from a Nintendo fan the idol worship over the things they do gets a little irritating. They aren't the only developer to put a focus on quick loading, or hidden loading. I still don't know why ME1 got flack for the elevators when it's a staple of Metroids. Sure they took too long, but at least there was few loading screens throughout the game.

Hell one of the biggest achievements in loading was from Crystal Dynamics Soul Reaver games. How they achieved that game streaming in content constantly from those really limited PSX CD's will always amaze me.

Nintendo almost has it as a mandatory thing, but it's not like they are the only devs to make it a priority.

At the very least I think that most would agree that Nintendo has some top tier dev teams.

That's never been open for debate.

 

[lherre]

At the very least I think that most would agree that Nintendo has some top tier dev teams.

No doubt about it.

 

[AceBandage]

Just popping in to say that I hope the controller has a stronger rumble than the Wiimote. The Gamecube controller's rumble is godly. More GC rumble and less Wiimote "rumble".

Though with the screen and all, I'm predicting it'll be about on par with the Wiimote, maybe even less :/

They just need to switch to dual rumble for the first time ever.
Why they've always used a single motor is beyond me.

 

[DCKing]

Indeed, almost as quick as N64 games I seem to recall, although much of that was due to the mini-discs and prioritisation of fast loading in the system design.

The Cube and the Wii (and probably Wii U) use a different way of spinning the game disc in the drive that makes it faster to access data that is on the outside of the disc than it is on the inside area, as opposed to regular drives that have the same seek time everywhere on the disk. The latter works better for music and movies, but the first allows you to priotorize data. Combine that with smart design, and you're pretty good to go.

Criterion could pull that off. *HINT HINT NINTENDO* If Team Ninja can make a Metroid game, then Criterion can make a F-Zero game, damn it!

I was thinking if Sega isn't doing it, then Nintendo could have Monster Games do it. The guys behind ExciteTruck and Pilotwings 3DS. They're specialized in racers and seem to be climbing up the ladder to handle bigger Nintendo franchises.

The news about the Radeon line coming out has got be interested in their new shader architecture. Although the GCN shader architecture isn't particularly more suited for games, I can't but help to wonder whether usage of the new architecture is the reason why Nintendo is still using an RV770LE in the devkits. Seems to me the final GPU is having troubles, and that could be due to the revamp of the architecture is bringing problems. The last time Nintendo picked a new GPU that one laid down the foundations with the next big ATI architecture that came out, and the Xbox 360 GPU also used technology that was foundation of what we saw in later Radeon cards.

Spoiler

Also AMD calling their new architecture after the GameCube cannot be coincedence.

 

[Log4Girlz]

I understand the realities of gaming development. Still, I don't give a shit, bring a next-gen Monster Hunter to Wii U! I don't care if it sells far better and is far cheaper to make on handhelds! Bethesda, incorporate all the high-res texture mods out there for Skyrim and release that shit as GOTY edition on the Wii U on launch day...just do it! LOL

 

[Lupin the Third]

They just need to switch to dual rumble for the first time ever.
Why they've always used a single motor is beyond me.

They never got sued by Immersion over dual rumble.

 

[mclem]

Oh fuck yes. Can you imagine playing runner, and Video falls down one of the pits, and he ends up inside the Upad, where you continue playing the level?

Can't wait.

I'm reminded of the canned Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble 2.

...which, thinking about it, could easily live again on the Wii U. DO IT, NINTENDO!

 

[mclem]

The Cube and the Wii (and probably Wii U) use a different way of spinning the game disc in the drive that makes it faster to access data that is on the outside of the disc than it is on the inside area, as opposed to regular drives that have the same seek time everywhere on the disk. The latter works better for music and movies, but the first allows you to priotorize data. Combine that with smart design, and you're pretty good to go.

I'm pretty sure all disk drives naturally read faster from the outside edge (higher angular velocity). The original Xbox definitely did; Microsoft supplied a tool to enable you to organise files on the disk specifically to benefit from this.

 

[DCKing]

I'm pretty sure all disk drives naturally read faster from the outside edge (higher angular velocity). The original Xbox definitely did; Microsoft supplied a tool to enable you to organise files on the disk specifically to benefit from this.

Didn't know that, but it would make sense. It's not anything special, but it's just a setting on the disk drive.

 

[Starwolf_UK]

Wasn't SEGAs "tool" for getting important files to the outer edge just naming them in a weird way :lol.

I'm reminded of the canned Kirby's Tilt 'n' Tumble 2.

Off-topc: Didn't this start life as Roll o' Rama, a non-Kirby game. So like Dream Course (someone owns a prototype of this before it was a Kirby game) and of course, Epic Yarn.

 

[TunaLover]

I understand the realities of gaming development. Still, I don't give a shit, bring a next-gen Monster Hunter to Wii U! I don't care if it sells far better and is far cheaper to make on handhelds!

I've have dreaming with a MH game for WiiU from the day we know that WiiU will use touchscreen, playing online without the hassle of using a keyboard is godsend!

 

[BY2K]

That's a pretty big if.

Well it happened anyway, so I can't see why F-Zero made by Criterion can't.

 

[Kenka]

Would any business model allow a company to launch a next-gen console next year with a 120 GB SSD at an affordable price and no disc-based media ? Let's say it plays games on SD cards like the DS.

 

[Log4Girlz]

My big thing is just super high-res textures. Has anyone seen that weapon re-texturing project for Skyrim? The new textures are fucking a whole generation apart from what was released.

Would any business model allow a company to launch a next-gen console next year with a 120 GB SSD at an affordable price and no disc-based media ? Let's say it plays games on SD cards like the DS.

Ahh, no. For a console a large SSD is impossible.

 

[The_Monk]

The first page is amazing info wise, you did a great work so I need to thank you first for this!

Wii U is almost confirmed to be released next year, in the holidays right?

My last nintendo product was my Game Boy Pocket Silver. Money is the reason why I can't afford all/more systems.

Wii u will support Wii games, right? Guess it's good for those like me, who haven't got a Wii (I know...)

3DS Games line up for 2012 seems so good but even with the great price or Vita incoming I may not get either (why oh wallet, why).

I would love to fell in love with Nintendo again, even get a Wii U on day 1. But then, Sony and MS sure are not going to sit and let the early sales get Nintendo a huge advantage. So it's back to my wallet problem again.

With all those deals and black fridays bundles it feels bad. I still want a Wii but I can't afford. Reading you posts made me feel poor, those GAffers posting some Wii games on pick up thread made me feel that I miss a great part of gaming, I want Nintendo back. Sorry for the off topic GAF, life is hard, sometimes all I want is a chance.

 

[Kenka]

My big thing is just super high-res textures. Has anyone seen that weapon re-texturing project for Skyrim? The new textures are fucking a whole generation apart from what was released.

Ahh, no. For a console a large SSD is impossible.

Skyrim's textures were rather low-rez for sure. But increasing resolution always means adding complexity to forms, which in turn means more work. Focusing on scenery has been very rewarding to the ES team and I don't think they see graphical advances as a compulsory route.

Regarding the SSD remark, could you please argue why ? Is the price prohibitive or the power consumption ? Many SSDs don't glump more than 1 Watt under load...

 

[DCKing]

Would any business model allow a company to launch a next-gen console next year with a 120 GB SSD at an affordable price and no disc-based media ? Let's say it plays games on SD cards like the DS.

That seems to be what MS is going for with their 'set-top' box. Doesn't seem to be a full-fledged console in the traditional sense though.

SSDs to load games from would be awesome, but cheap hard drives are already vastly superior to disk drives. It would make no sense at all to make such an investment ($100 per console) just to cut down on loading times. If Nintendo does something similar as tablet manufacturers and differentiates Wii U units based on capacity (16, 32 and 64GB versions), we could see 128GB 'SSD' Wii U units later in its life. Console manufacturers are pretty tied to disks for game distribution because they are much cheaper, because MS and Sony want to build in movie playback and all three want backwards compatibility built into their consoles.

DLC-only consoles probably won't happen until next-next-gen, though I'm glad MS is going to explore that strategy.

 

[Log4Girlz]

Skyrim's textures were rather low-rez for sure. But increasing resolution always means adding complexity to forms, which in turn means more work. Focusing on scenery has been very rewarding to the ES team and I don't think they see graphical advances as a compulsory route.

Regarding the SSD remark, could you please argue why ? Is the price prohibitive or the power consumption ? Many SSDs don't glump more than 1 Watt under load...

Even in bulk SSD's are massively expensive, and SD cards are much more expensive than discs, which adds up to a very high cost very quickly.

 

[Shanadeus]

.

 

[bgassassin]

Looking forward to the Wind Waker sequel with no textures whatsoever.

A lot of Nintendo's first party games don't really need heavy texturing. Although Mario galaxy had some really nice fur effects

I get the feeling they won't pull that "bait and switch" again even though WW sounds like it was a very good game. And I agree that not all will need lots of textures as I should have mentioned tessellation as well.

I like how the people like to downplay the work of the rest of developers/designs

I don't think anyone is downplaying the others so much as focusing on Nintendo games as we've yet to see what they can do with modern hardware.

Now how about that ALU count? You can give it to us in a hint like say:

Your grandfather was born 12/6/40, or your dad was born on 2/7/68, or maybe your child or niece/nephew was born on 5/8/00.

 

[MDX]

so according to their twitter, gaijin games appears to have a devkit...

I wonder if its a new version.
Its a good sign anyway that indie studios are getting their hands on them.

 

[mclem]

Your grandfather was born 12/6/40, or your dad was born on 2/7/68, or maybe your child or niece/nephew was born on 5/8/00.

Now that's just opening a can of worms. What if you were to get something like:

"My Carribean aunt was very religious - and my uncle was into voodoo, too."

 

[bgassassin]

Now that's just opening a can of worms. What if you were to get something like:

"My Carribean aunt was very religious - and my uncle was into voodoo, too."

That wouldn't help much since it's already known Nintendo uses magic to make their consoles.

 

[Übermatik]

so according to their twitter, gaijin games appears to have a devkit...

Good! They're exactly the kind of developer the system needs. With their art style, some amazing visuals could be produced.

Plus, they're the kind of dev to really experiment with the controller.
What we need is more studios exploiting the Wii U's strengths, instead of treating it as a port machine.

I want as many exclusives/new IP's as possible within the launch window.

With this alongside recent definitive iterations of successful 'last gen' titles and cross-platform AAA games, the Wii U launch could be a great success.

 

[popeutlal]

http://www.howstuffworks.com/podcasts/techstuff.rss
http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/techstuff/id282795787

How stuff works' TechStuff podcast recently did a two part show on Nintendo 'The Story of Nintendo'...from all the way back from 1600s to present...

Seemed like a good thread to post it in considering Nintendo's uncertain future.

 

[guek]

With this alongside recent definitive iterations of successful 'last gen' titles and cross-platform AAA games, the Wii U launch could be a great success.

Battlefield 3: Ultimate Edition
Batman: Arkham City: GOTY Edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro: Last Light
Ninja Gaiden 3
Tekken Universe

All launch day!

I'd probably buy...2 of those

 

[blu]

I'm pretty sure all disk drives naturally read faster from the outside edge (higher angular velocity).

Drives that read faster toward the outside of the disk are constant angular velocity (CAV), which translates to higher linear velocity. If the drive has constant linear velocity (CLV), that'd mean the angular velocity drops with the drive accessing toward the disk periphery.

 

[Übermatik]

Battlefield 3: Ultimate Edition
Batman: Arkham City: GOTY Edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro: Last Light
Ninja Gaiden 3
Tekken Universe

All launch day!

I'd probably buy...2 of those

I'd go forrrr... BF3, Metro... er, maybe Batman.

 

[disap.ed]

Now how about that ALU count? You can give it to us in a hint like say:

Your grandfather was born 12/6/40, or your dad was born on 2/7/68, or maybe your child or niece/nephew was born on 5/8/00.

Why there isn't something like Wikileaks for providing such information is beyond me...

 

[Shiggy]

Off-topc: Didn't this start life as Roll o' Rama, a non-Kirby game. So like Dream Course (someone owns a prototype of this before it was a Kirby game) and of course, Epic Yarn.

It's the other way around this time. It was first shown as Kirby Tilt'n'Tumble and then as Roll-o-Rama.

 

[Cmd. Pishad'aç]

Battlefield 3: Ultimate Edition
Batman: Arkham City: GOTY Edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro: Last Light
Ninja Gaiden 3
Tekken Universe

All launch day!

I'd probably buy...2 of those

If FPS's on Wii U support DS-esque controls (aiming on the touchscreen) then I'll get BF3 and Metro. If not, just tekken.

 

[Sadist]

Battlefield 3: Ultimate Edition
Batman: Arkham City: GOTY Edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro: Last Light
Ninja Gaiden 3
Tekken Universe

All launch day!

I'd probably buy...2 of those

Batman AC and Darksiders II for me.

I'll have to chose one of those if Nintendo puts out an awesome first party game.

 

[bgassassin]

Why there isn't something like Wikileaks for providing such information is beyond me...

Interesting idea. Could be used for games as well.

 

[StevieP]

If FPS's on Wii U support DS-esque controls (aiming on the touchscreen) then I'll get BF3 and Metro. If not, just tekken.

Wii Remote IR support.... please...

 

[Effect]

If FPS's on Wii U support DS-esque controls (aiming on the touchscreen) then I'll get BF3 and Metro. If not, just tekken.

I'll be happy with Wii Remote IR controls. However having mouse like controls would be excellent. Which reminds me that I really should try out some of the DS Call of Duty games. I hear nothing but good things about the controls.

 

[DCKing]

Battlefield 3: Ultimate Edition
Batman: Arkham City: GOTY Edition
Aliens: Colonial Marines
Metro: Last Light
Ninja Gaiden 3
Tekken Universe

All launch day!

I'd probably buy...2 of those

BF3 has been confirmed to be not coming to the Wii U . But you should add Darksiders II to that list, I'm really digging how that looks.

So what do you guys think? Is there a RV770LE in the devkits still for the sole reason that Nintendo is using the new AMD GCN shader architecture, which isn't ready yet?

 

[guek]

BF3 has been confirmed to be not coming to the Wii U

I don't think that necessarily indicates it wont happen, just that it's not currently being worked on. Could still happen, though I'm not holding my breath.