Rummy

Well after a few days of it I apparently zen'd the fuck out yesterday and did 1 purple coin challenge and the 3 remaining black coin challenges I had for the first 4 levels/free side of the game. With nothing but Toad Rally to sustain me I am tempted - but I'm sometimes still getting connection issues when trying to start it up, which is annoying, and puts me off paying much money for something that could, at any time, decide not to be working. I think it's been fun, and it'll be fun to have on my phone too, but I'm gonna continue holding off for now. Might do a bit of daily toad rally - if I find myself still thinking about the game in a week or so I might just go for the purchase. Can't believe I have less trouble spending money on OW loot boxes than I do on this -.- I do wonder as well if they could have gone for the incremental freemium mode - aim to make the same £10 per app but make each world cost like...maybe £1.50 to unlock? With 7 world that's gonna clock in at £10.50 - but I think the model may have leant itself to getting more out of more people.

IN b4 just revealing Wii U again.

@dazzybee - you're in the wrong here. Don't get upset when people interpret your English language the way it is supposed to be used; nobody should be expected to make assumptions on your meaning - if you wish to make your meaning clear then make your language clear or risk being misinterpreted. If you don't mean something absolutely do NOT make the statement absolutely. If you do not understand what an 'absolute' is then it's up to you to go and learn - but I'm definitely on the interpretation side of the language here that 'everyone realised' is far more absolute than 'controls tend to'. The absolute on the latter would have been 'controls always' and the relative on the former could have been anything from 'a few people realised' to 'many people realised. Mod Post: The first bolded part - is incredibly dismissive, imo. Ashley has already made points about going forward and NOT being dismissive of people's posts. I'm tired of arguing - though you're free to do so via PM or on my wall; but I am banning you from this thread for 3 days.

Maybe it's time for me to head back somewhere else for a bit then - wouldn't mind finding another Stables(and Hetsu) although I've already boarded 3 horses at the first one you find before Kakariko. Completely agree on the inventory - yes I can see the inklings of original motivation or thinking for it but it feels pretty arbitrary in practice. Maybe it's just me but I'm ending up absolutely hoarding my weapons but yet somehow not really struggling to fight stuff I come across any more than I do with my strongest(even if I don't use it) - but maybe it's because I tend to try and fight mobs one on one rather than as groups etc. I get through them just as good - just maybe a bit slower but I don't mind that too much so far. Did come across a Hinox whilst exploring yesterday though - seemed interesting and wish I had enough patience to keep bombing the crap out of him but it was really slow work and I eventually fell down the massive hole to get chased off by him anyway. Think last thing I did was jump off a cliff elsewhere and hope for the best. Also totally wanted to get some Ancient somethings to get my bombs upgrade - apparently one of the few things you can't track with the Sheikah Sensor(and yeah, I can understand why, but it's weird I can find a mushroom nearby in a forest but I can't find a piece of something else in a dead guardian thingy etc).

Downloaded and tried this a bit on Friday. I was initially hit with some connection and linking issues repeatedly(despite being on good home wifi) which initially put me off a bit at first; but they seem to have cleared up now. Done all the basic coin challenges on the free levels, and some of the purple coin challenges. I can see the potential depth to the game but I do think it's still priced a bit too high - £5-£8 would have been a better PRICE POINT for it imo, and brought in better revenues. At the moment I'm debating making the full purchase as it's only a couple of pints really, but on principle I'm not feeling too keen. I think about paying £10 for this; or paying £12 for Stardew Valley - and I feel like the latter is going to offer me far more value that I wouldn't get this for £10. Having said that - the draw of Mario and a novel new control scheme for him(for me) is tempting, and it does have that edge of Nintendo quality feel to it. Gameplay wise I've been enjoying the small bits I've played - I enjoy the multiple coin challenges for each of the levels and the potential of varying characters. I've enjoyed Toad Rally more probably - and that's also what's tempting me to unlock the full game so I can move on to the other extras of characters and toads and stuffs etcetc. I've think I've decided I'm going to try and stick it out on the free mode until I do at least all of the purple coin challenges and maybe 2 of the black coin challenges; if I've managed to let it keep my interest to that point then I reckon I'd be good enough to drop the dime on it.

I spend relatively little these days tbh. I've just bought some old WiiU games but that's more for padding the collection so I won't count them. Last few big purchases I can think of outside of that - Overwatch, BotW and...PS+. Maybe I'll get a downloadble or two in the sales here and there. My monthly on games is definitely less than Flink's, but I'm quite similar in my approach in that I'd wait for deals or buy impulsively. When/where I can I probably still lend/borrow games(or at least planning to for my ps4). I want lots of stuff but I've come to realise I never get round to playing it all - and sometimes end up just sticking with firm favourites like Overwatch instead. I think I'd be much more on the gaming game if I had a Switch or other portable device. I just don't feel inclined for sitting in front of a console sometimes - whilst not the case I feel like I'm committing for hours and that bugs me these days(even if I'm not) yet I can jump onto Overwatch 'for just a quick game' at 8pm and sometimes still find myself there at 3am too.

I didn't mind the motion controls in the original, but then I wasn't looking at the screen built into the control device. I can't imagine quite what it'd be like trying to do motion controls on the Switch whilst in handheld mode? Also still perplexed about how it can feel the same when you're a whole screen down with no separate map screen! So have you played and seen that the option isn't there like before without leaving the lobby? Or is the test-fire too bare to know that as yet? The loadout thing really bugged me between matches. Also although I wouldn't have considered it I can see the argument for mid-match changes but I'm not 100% sure if I'd quite want that. Maybe semi-changeable out of a preselection of loadouts would sit ok with me over full flexibility.

Any Wii U owners seen the sale? Celebration sale or something like that - noticed that Terraria is going for £9 and it's a great sort of 2D-minecraft(the comparison always drawn) and is up there in one of my most played games everywhere - maybe one for anyone who never picked it up or is Wii U only. Also some other great titles in there like Steamworld, Runbow(great title for the price imo with some great local co-op) and probs some others I missed.

Every time I play this I do somewhat enjoy myself but I feel like I'm constantly doing a lot of nothing. The route from Kakariko to Hateno found me almost fuck all in the way of shrines, and I've tried to stick within the Hateno region finding some but without much joy. I've finally headed to one far in the distance(always amazed the visual distance on my scope compared to the actual map distance - so often tons farther than I expect) and it's some sort of test of strength which I don't think I'm ready for. I feel like I'm not ready because I haven't found enough shrines to get orbs etcetc. I might just fuck this whole thing off and go after the waypoints and hope for more there. I might go down the H-o-T route of just mapping out the whole place and then go from there - I didn't want to go chasing the main waypoints too quickly or obviously but I'm really getting bored of the amount of climbing and looking off mountains I'm doing for essentially nothing in return! Btw how soon again am I likely to find Hetsu? I've not seen him since the initial meeting in Kakariko but I've got a few more seeds since then - I was sure he told me he was on his way to Hateno but I've yet to find him again. Feels somewhat silly putting what is almost an essential feature in just one non-stationary place across such a vast map -.-

That's a silly target/forecast and really no one in their right mind will surely do it at Nintendo, especially after repeated mis-shots with the Wii U predictions? Personally I think Nintendo have done this launch rather well, in their own longer business interests, compared to others. Admittedly it's jarring for customers who can't get stock right now - but it's also better than having a ton of over-manufactured stock sitting somewhere and taking up time space and money. They've been thwarted a bit with initial niggles/issues such as the Joycon and other bits but really I think given that they don't have tons of content for the system right now it's almost a kinda good way to get a measure of the system without just the software selling it. Obviously there's always interplay but so far so good with the Switch for me from an armchair position with an interest in Nintendo's future - totally agree it sucks for anyone who actually wants the thing but we did also have pretty good warning with pre-orders etc.

@Cube @Kav(and anyone else ofc) - you guys managed to have much of a go yet or planning to this weekend? Interested to hear from the folks who played a good bit of Splatoon 1 how they feel this is as a successor. @Pestneb did you plunge on a Switch or not in the end? I keep losing track in my head of who has and who hasn't! Very interested to hear from anyone who gave a good chunk to Splatoon 1 how this feels from the testfire.

Do you not unlug and press/hold power for a bit(tbh can do it plugged in if turned off tho) to discharge any capacitors? I'd recommend to anyone opening up anything electrical just in case there's still some charge hiding in there! Unexpected shocks can be quite shocking!

Does it need something on the other end to contact in order to test said connection speed tho? And without a browser I'd imagine it's limited to checking pre-determined servers... Which is kinda why i ask ofc :P i know that my ps4(wired in less than a foot away) can get absolutely terrible speeds compared to my actual connection sometimes - I've been informed it is likely to be something to do with either Sony's servers or possibly ISP traffic management. Having said that I've never actually tried a speed test via the browser so should probably give that a go at some point and see!

Is it definitely the Switch's own problem or could it be Nintendo's servers on the other end? How are you guys able to tell the difference?

Apparently someone has tried to drive into a crowd in Belgium - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/antwerp-attempt-man-car-drive-belgian-shopping-district-police-rifle-found-bladed-weapons-arrested-a7646091.html And I've seen news of a shooting of a former MP/witness in Russia? Its kinda mad cos incidents like yesterday suddenly make you a bit.more hypervigilant - and i start to wonder how much is linked to terrorism and also how much was occuring beforehand which we might have otherwise glossed over.

I think i can see the extension of your point here - but do please be mindful that it can still be quite a sensitive subject for many. Posting to make said points with a bit more elaboration to possibly further the discussion may be more beneficial.

The authorities have so far been fairly decent in not attributing too much to the motive/reasoning/motivation. Sadly the media have not quite been that reserved - and whilst we don't actually officially know that it's related to Islamist extremism too much of the media have either intentionally or unintentionally put out that message - I'd dare say if you asked a general population they'll link it to Islam and that's one point really annoying me about this whole thing. Before we even had details yesterday i had a friend bring religion up - I do worry going forward for anyone who is or even 'looks' Muslim.

I know the article already highlights it - but it's worth saying again how great I've always found Nintendo's customer service and warranty repairs in the past. Paid labels in no time and a pretty quick turnaround too - just a shame they ruined at the end by using Yodel who just left my 3ds on my doorstep! Bit gutted to hear it's a hardware issue so everyone's gonna need it fixed like that, but at least they've hopefully discovered and solved the problem going forwards.

@Pestneb it's literally like the next 'objective' after kakariko. The objective itself seems to be some lost memories - but you end up in the Hateno area and may pass the village - so I stopped off there. As I said I'm very behind! Didn't play any last night, but may go to work a little late today... As above I still haven't really done all that much but this end-point summary really resonates with my feeling so far. I do very much enjoy the game when I finally sink myself into it - but I do think about whether I can be arsed to start that or not(even tho I want to). Also very much agree with your point on the weapons - it, like many other things, seems almost like a half-realised idea/system rather than feeling properly considered - as you say you eventually end up just using anything and everything with not a lot of it feeling like it mattered too much. Hoping that'll change with my progression though.

Still haven't put a lot in to this but hoping to get some more in tonight. Last check I was only *just* turning up to Hateno Village though I found a horse on my way so rode allll the way back to the stables to register him. Actually not that long at all - definitely want to utilise horses more for transport if/when I know where I'm going. Also came across my first motion control shrine - was just a ball in a tilt maze but actually incredibly annoying. Spent ages on it and eventually ended up jump the ball over half the maze for each attempt cos I couldn't be arsed rolling it all the way round with the gaps for it to just bloody fall off. Also went back to that really early shrine with the Wind that I mentioned to I think @Hero\-of\-Time - turned out I just wasn't timing my jump and sail properly to catch the winds. Whilst annoying - it's also kinda cool realising I've realised what I was doing wrong first time. Need to find some more shrines soon though(didn't feel I came across many on my way from Kakariko to Hateno) - I've so far done I think only 8 and spent both my upgrades on stamina as I would rather get around faster than survive one heart more - also feel as if food is generally quite abundant too anyway. I feel a bit of a dick cos I cooked lots of shit early on that simply heals far too much more than the measly 3 hearts I have - but again I guess it's been a learning point for me! Gonna stick to more simple things(got a relative abundance of fish) going forward and maybe start thinking about making non-healing elixirs for boosts too.

You'll get more out of it on Switch - are you really that desperate to have it sooner rather than later to sacrifice that portability?

@Shorty I didn't address the other points because I thought you wanted to keep it on topic and Zelda? I'm happy to take it off-topic to counter all of those points as you wish - but then we'll be discussing more about Monolith Soft than we will Zelda and you'll more than likely see the topic move more into realms of being off-topic. I merely wanted to correct what I saw as erroneous statements being made almost as facts in the thread - I don't think it's fair to let them go unaddressed? I don't think it's fair to dismiss them or be dismissive of them, or their involvement, with this game - especially when it's getting a lot of reactions from all sorts of sides; a lot of which are incredibly positive. Is it fair or unfair to acknowledge that Nintendo took some involvement from Monolith Soft on what is one of their biggest franchises, regardless of the level of it? Also to be clear - I'm not sure why anyone's trying to suggest that mentioning Monolith Soft's involvement or making a point of its acknowledgement as contributing is trying to take away from this game and "Nintendo's" side of it either - it's really not. I'm not addressing that because it simply isn't what I was trying to say and I don't actually believe anyone else was trying to say that either. Hence my original post linking an article stayed at just that link without elaboration - to point out Monolith's involvement. I didn't say it took anything away from non-Monolith Nintendo. I'm still not even saying that. For the record also - nobody said *this* was a Monolith Soft game - so that's that point addressed. I am merely saying Monolith staff were involved and that Monolith staff also have previous open-world experience in the realms of XC and XCX. There is the extension of point that being owned by Nintendo and being first-party developers that Monolith developers essentially ARE Nintendo developers anyway - but I can see that's getting even further off the topic of Zelda. Ronnie didn't claim it was the first open world game by *this* team - he claimed it was the first open world game by Nintendo - so again you're taking it off point there and if I address that we get further off-topic. Do you agree that this is 'Nintendo's first shot' at an open-world game? I agree that Ronnie may have made a mistake and misspoke - but he did continue to argue against the points being raised and showed no acknowledgement of this; and you can't blame people for taking people at their words/language. You yourself state 'but on Zelda provided an undisclosed quantity of support' so I see no point getting into the nitty gritty of levels of support provided given it's something we don't fully know - we'll just argue back and forth to no conclusion because we don't have the information. I feel a lot of your subsequent points/statements/conclusions/assumptions are particularly the latter - assumptions following a statement that we just don't know enough about. I'm not about to say with certainty what Nintendo will or will not have said yes or no to - because I'm aware I don't know. I can speculate - but even then I'd present it as that. What I'm saying is that Monolith were involved in this - that's just a fact that if we take the article and statement by Miyamoto as truth was seemingly being denied. I don't see the problem in trying to ensure that isn't the perception going forwards, given I think it's good that Nintendo are expanding their horizons and collaborating with their Monolith staff on a huge(as in brand-wise not BotW world-wise) title like Zelda.

Personally I imagine I'd be playing/would have played more of it if I had it on Switch. Do I regret not getting a Switch+this? Not so much, as it's still over the mark for the experience imo. I'll slowly get through it on WiiU even if it's at a cost of taking longer - but I can't say I've found the WiiU version itself all that hard to get on with @Pestneb(certainly not outside of similar things heard of the Switch version).

Now now Shorty - asking you somewhat tongue in cheek if you were a fan of fake news was hardly me making you akin to being a hard right Donald trump supporter - the concept of fake news can exist outside of that and I'm not sure why you felt that was my point. Nor did I legitimately believe you to be a fan of Fake News - I'm just saying is it fair to leave erroneous statements being made as fact unchallenged? Nor is my point one on the level of involvement from the team - merely that they WERE involved and they DID work on a previous game that could be classed as open-world. Here's what I see; Monolith Soft have been stated to not be First-Party - I'm under the impression that they most certainly are as they're essentially owned by Nintendo now. Is this a fact? Yes, I do believe it is. Monolith Soft's staff, including developers, being owned by Nintendo are Nintendo developers now. Is this a fact? Yes, I do believe it is. Monolith Soft worked on XC and XCX - are these open world games? I'd say yes. Does that then make BotW Nintendo's first foray into open world games? No, it does not. Could you call this a fact? I'd say yes. Did Nintendo ever do open world games outside of or before Monolith Soft? I'd certainly dare say yes - but even so I'll take it back to Cube's own point of the original Zelda. Does this make BotW still their 'first shot at it' in terms of Open world games? I'd say certainly not given the above 3 games mentioned. Monolith staff were involved in BotW. Is this a fact? Well, I'm trusting that article quoting Miyamoto but it would seem like a Yes. Posts and statements were being made as if these were not the case - and I object to that and won't let it go unchallenged if I an under a different impression. I see nothing wrong with that and tbh I think if anything it's of even more worth to ensure we ARE crediting studios involved - such as Monolith in this very example! Many are heralding this as the best game ever made, as well as the best Zelda ever - is it unfair to ensure that in a discussion thread about the game we can acknowledge involvement from a team that worked on it? Not to mention they worked on what I also consider to possibly be one of the best games I've ever played; especially when in this discussion it's being made out as if they're nothing to do with it or Nintendo, but rather just a publishing/business relationship on that front? I'd hardly say it's fair to those at Monolith, especially as I think Monolith have been a great acquisition for Nintendo and I think it's a great thing that they've had them involved in such an iconic property such as Zelda. Why dismiss Monolith over what I'd say is probably a pretty rare occurence otherwise?

But my point is that it's completely inaccurate to suggest and continue to insist it's "this team's" first shot because it's not - the Monolith team were involved with BotW just as they were XC and XCX! Should we just be able and allowed to state falsehoods unchallenged? Are you a fan of the ol' FAKE NEWS?! Considering it was used to almost shoot down another member's points - I do think it's fair to be called on the facts of the matter. I didn't fully realise that until this discussion came up so it's been interesting to learn as I absolutely loved XC - but I can see the similarities within Xenoblade and this, albeit it small given the generally different setups and the still limited amount I've played. I keep intending to play in the evening before beds - but I just keep ending up falling asleep instead!