Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate (March 22nd)

[Jamba]

The screen is 60% random information and there's a second screen full of information on some random table. So out of all the available screen space, only 20% of it shows the actual game.

 

Will be interesting to see what developers generally leave up on the screen. I would say ammo and health are the 2 most important. Everything else can either be represented in the graphics of the game (like weapon choice) or chucked on to the tablet.

 

Can't wait for a metroid map on that thing!

[Mokong]

The screen is 60% random information and there's a second screen full of information on some random table. So out of all the available screen space, only 20% of it shows the actual game.

 

 

Well the big box in the bottom left corner looks like teh text chat system, which (assuming like MH3 on Wii) can be turned off... though the one on Wii I don't remember being/getting that big

 

Bottom right corner seems to be button layouts...that would likely have a disappear switch too.

 

Not sure what the box top right corner is though?

But I'd assume it should be able to turn off too.

 

Don't see why they did just shove everything to the Upad screen, only thing I can make out on that is the map, not sure what everything else is?

 

The Health/Stamina bar, Weapon shaprness indicator and team mate status stuff I don't mind if that stays on teh TV HUD

[Ville]

The screen is 60% random information and there's a second screen full of information on some random table. So out of all the available screen space, only 20% of it shows the actual game.

 

MH3U

 

MHT

 

-the chat window has clearly been extended to full, it's normally much smaller

-all the stuff on the right side is the due to the quickshout menu being open, not something you normally have active...

-the WiiU tablet is showing the map and probably items too...

[Kav]

Personally, I'd like the following...

Health & Stamina bars, weapon sharpness meter and your team plus their health meters on the TV and that's about it.

On the Gamepad I'd have the map and a few selection buttons which when pressed, change the Gamepad screen to the following:

 

Item Pouch showing all the items within your pouch. A simple tap on the item and you will use that item.

 

Chat page and keyboard for sending quick messages during battle for those that don't have a headset (they best have voicechat in this game!).

 

Item combining screen where you can quickly combine items in your pouch to make bombs/traps etc.

 

 

I can't really think of much else at the moment but that'd do me.

[RedShell]

The HUD is probably/hopefully going to be fully customisable.

I reckon it'd be pretty fun to play MH without any on-screen info at all!

 

One of the coolest things about MH Tri for me, was not having any information about the amount of life that a monster had left. Having to rely on visual clues, like them limping/sleeping was really interesting.

It'd be even more exciting if you didn't know exactly how much health you had left.

[Deathjam]

The HUD is probably/hopefully going to be fully customisable.

I reckon it'd be pretty fun to play MH without any on-screen info at all!

 

One of the coolest things about MH Tri for me, was not having any information about the amount of life that a monster had left. Having to rely on visual clues, like them limping/sleeping was really interesting.

It'd be even more exciting if you didn't know exactly how much health you had left.

 

NO WAY MAN! Last time I played Tri, I couldn't get a single mission done because there were so many people carting and failing the mission for the rest of us. Being afraid for a member of the team is very stressful lol.

[Ville]

NO WAY MAN! Last time I played Tri, I couldn't get a single mission done because there were so many people carting and failing the mission for the rest of us. Being afraid for a member of the team is very stressful lol.

 

Ha, that's high rank for you ; D People not upgrading their armours → getting killed in 5 seconds.

[Hero-of-Time]

Here's some pics of the armour in the game.

 

http://mh3g.wetpaint.com/page/G-Rank+Armor+Gallery

 

http://mh3g.wetpaint.com/page/Armor+Gallery

 

Tasty.

[Dcubed]

The HUD is probably/hopefully going to be fully customisable.

I reckon it'd be pretty fun to play MH without any on-screen info at all!

 

One of the coolest things about MH Tri for me, was not having any information about the amount of life that a monster had left. Having to rely on visual clues, like them limping/sleeping was really interesting.

It'd be even more exciting if you didn't know exactly how much health you had left.

 

Ooh, I like the way you think! Like in Silent Hill or RE: Revelations - which sort of did this (though it still gave you a hint through the screen colour being drained away as your health decreased) - and it made those games much more interesting!

 

Maybe as a G/+ Rank requirement in MH4...

Edited September 15, 2012 by Dcubed

[Dcubed]

Some more details have emerged regarding the western release of Tri U...

 

http://nintendoeverything.com/99323/capcom-no-online-for-mh3-ultimate-3ds-wii-u-version-uses-nintendo-servers-tri-server-shutdown-lots-more/

 

Capcom has been answering a ton of questions about Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on its online forum. Christian Svensson, Corporate Officer/Senior Vice-President and Yuri L. Araujo, Associate Online/Community Specialist provided some insight into the Wii U and 3DS versions.

 

We’ve rounded up a bunch of their comments below. The two confirmed no online for the 3DS game, discussed an eventual server shutdown for Tri on Wii, the long wait for Monster Hunter localization, the possibility of a software bundle on the Capcom Store, and lots more.

 

Araujo confirming no online for the 3DS version…

 

“Anyways, no plans for online mode on the 3DS version. Sorry =(”

 

Svensson also confirming no online for the 3DS version…

 

“I’d have loved to have seen online as well for 3DS but it twas not to be. Sorry.”

 

Svensson on shutting down the Tri servers for Wii…

 

“At some point in time (I’m not saying when… we’ll give everyone a heads up well in advance when we make that decision) we will sunset the Tri servers which are hosted by KDDI in Japan. I was adamant that we not do so until we had a proper alternative title to allow people to migrate to if they wish. It would have been bad just cut people off with no other place for them to hunt, in spite of the significant costs of operation.”

 

Svensson on the possibility of moving Tri saves over to Ultimate…

 

“I do not believe save transfers from Wii to Wii U or 3DS will be possible that I’m aware of. You get to experience some portion of the original title again. Remember, it’s about the journey, not the destination.”

 

Svensson on regional servers…

 

“This element I still need some clarity on. Obviously, cross territory network performance even if matching is possible, could have issues. For Wii U we’re using Nintendo’s servers (which I’m very happy about) and I’m not sure how they’re set up. Candidly, we’re still waiting for Wii U builds in our office to play with and there’s still many moving parts that no one except for the team members has first hand experience with at this point. We have six months until release (roughly). We’ll have a lot more detail on these and other questions (most of which we DO know the answers to) as we move through the communications/marketing campaign and run-up to launch.”

 

Svensson on the possibility of transferring Japanese 3DS data to the US version…

 

“Not that I’m aware of. Remember, the Western version is slightly different from the Japan version and the 3DS tends to be region locked. I’d think a bigger obstacle for most people would be the need to have a Japanese 3DS and a US 3DS, each with copies of the game rather than putting in a couple hundred hours catching up your save. That said, no one in our office has done any tests on that front. Without final code that would be impossible for us to test and we’re still a couple months away from that.”

 

Svensson on the possibility of adding Wi-Fi functionality to the 3DS version…

 

“Unfortunately, it is highly unlikely at this point. Trust me, we’ve had internal debates a-plenty about it over the years.”

 

Svensson on any differences in Ultimate between the 3DS and Wii U versions…

 

“Given that there is cross play, there shouldn’t be any differences in content between the two (at least, that’s what the team has told us to this point).

 

“Any other details beyond that, I’m going to have to plead the 5th on until later in the campaign. Today was all about the announcement and other details we’re holding until later.”

 

Araujo on the long time it takes to localize Monster Hunter game…

 

“No, we don’t enjoy seeing you suffer… Localization is just one of those things that takes time and a lot of strategy. For one, it’s not just translation. Plus, we wanted to deliver a title that had full online multiplayer integration (Wii U), and that took a lot more development. But now we can offer you MH3U on the Wii U, with HD graphics, online, save-sharing with the 3DS version… that’s all awesome stuff – but it all takes time.”

 

Svensson on additional Wii U support…

 

“For now, that’s what we’ve announced. Yes. And there are many thousands of people who are thrilled with the announcement of what is our our currently largest brand coming to Nintendo’s existing portable and new console platform.

 

“The significance of that should not be underestimated.”

 

Svensson on any bonus content not seen in the original Japanese Tri G release and the possibility of some sort of bundle for the Wii U/3DS games…

 

“There are some subtle differences in feature set of Ultimate (like the ability to transfer saves from 3DS to Wii U) from the original Japan release of 3G, but game content should be identical.

 

“There won’t be a hard bundle of the games, but I’ve been speaking with Darin about providing some sort of soft bundle purchase option within the Capcom Store. Don’t hold me to it yet as we’re still pushing the pencil around but we’ll see what we can do.”

 

Interesting to see that the Wii U game will be hosted on Nintendo's own standard console servers that they offer as standard to all online games, instead of Capcom's own private ones like they did with Tri Wii. I guess that means that the feature set as seen in this game would be standard across all Wii U titles (and would mean that Capcom wouldn't be able to shut the servers down, as is sadly happening with Tri Wii)

 

Here's hoping for cross region online play! (Considering that most games running on Nintendo's servers allow cross region play, barring a few exceptions like Mario Tennis Open and Mario Strikers Charged, I reckon there's a decent chance of it happening! )

Edited September 16, 2012 by Dcubed

[killer kirby]

Being able to play with my US friends would seriously be the icing on the cake. It was fun playing with you guys, but there were so many other people I wanted to play with but couldn't

 

EDIT: With news of the servers closing soon, I think all us should jump back on for one last round for ol times sake, yes we are getting a better version soon, but a lot of memories were made on Tri

Edited September 16, 2012 by killer kirby

[RedShell]

EDIT: With news of the servers closing soon, I think all us should jump back on for one last round for ol times sake, yes we are getting a better version soon, but a lot of memories were made on Tri

I'm definitely up for that.

Especially if the mini-Uragaan event is still about. :wink:

[david.dakota]

I wish I'd have given MH Tri more time but I kept getting distracted by other games and just never gave it the time it deserved

 

Me too. But I got distracted by the abysmal load times. I have my eye on this I was really keen to get stuck in but, for me, the whole experience was ruined by hideous menus and load times - any news if they're being sorted?

 

Although its very doubtful, I hope the WiiU version gives you a download code for the 3DS version - duplicating purchases really not my bag.

 

I guess save data is swapped by SpotPass? It would be incredible not to have some clunky data swap task at every load.

[daftada]

Me too. But I got distracted by the abysmal load times. I have my eye on this I was really keen to get stuck in but, for me, the whole experience was ruined by hideous menus and load times - any news if they're being sorted?

 

Although its very doubtful, I hope the WiiU version gives you a download code for the 3DS version - duplicating purchases really not my bag.

 

I guess save data is swapped by SpotPass? It would be incredible not to have some clunky data swap task at every load.

 

I'd imagine the load times would be taken care of by the Wii U's high memory? Hopefully the menus will be made a little more user-friendly with the gamepad.

[Wii]

Some new info regarding Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate:

 

- Four new weapons - Hunting Horn, Bow, Gunlance, and Dual Blades return from MHFU

- bowguns are prebuilt like the other weapons and come in either Light or Heavy varieties

- Reworked and new armors and armor skills

- entirely new difficulty mode for online quests

- high rank Moga Village quests

- rank up as soon as you complete the prerequisite key quests

- switches back to the HRP system after beating the final G-rank elder dragon

- Over 200 quests

- Start with different beginning default armor set & access to 1 of every 12 weapon types

- 5 more small monsters (Gagua,Bullfango,Furogi, Anteka & Zuwaroposu)

- 11 more boss monsters (includes an exclusive new final boss)

- 22 subspecies + color variation boss monsters (17 of which are based on old boss monsters from MH Tri)

- Subspecies/Color Variation monsters have some new attacks & some are smaller/larger/more aggressive/ slower/different elemental & ailment weaknesses/ different weak spots/different element and/or status ailment/ stronger roars than the original boss monsters they are based on

- Kayanba, a 2nd AI companion is introduced

- You can bring Cha-Cha & Kayanba with you on single player campaign quests

- Cha-Cha and Kayanba get some new masks

- High rank monsters now appear in D. Island Free Hunt mode during the night

- Target Camera Mode (optional experimental camera mode, Capcom is going to refine this feature in MH 4)

- Touch screen can be used for customized access to menu screens, inventory, & HUD elements

- Adds realistic shadows to boss monsters, but round shadows will still be used for when bosses are flying

- MH Tri's Loc Lac online city is replaced with Tanjia Port

- Mountain Stream map (features 9 areas) is added to the game, some other ares are added including Tower 3 arena & exclusive new boss-specific map, Disastrous Sea

- D. Island Free Hunt mode map adds extra monsters ( such as Barroth, Black Diablos, Bracchidios, G. Baggi, & Dosfurogi)

- Moga Farm system now lets you cultivate other items like thunderbugs

- Connect with up to three friends in four player local play via the Nintendo 3DS or online via the Wii U. Wii U players can also link up with Nintendo 3DS players over a local connection

- Share your save data between your Wii U home console and the Nintendo 3DS

- Capcom said it would reveal more potentially exclusive features

 

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=186030

 

A little bit more info.

 

 

- roughly 50% more content

- most new content in the highest ranks of the game

- a few extra monsters to hunt in them

- same maps, same weapons

- Urcusis is one of the three monsters in the Tokyo Game Show demo.

- Urcusis is quite fast

- Brachydios is a rock-hard creature that slams its arms into the ground and leaves a sticky green residue that explodes if you touch it

- his biggest attacks wipe out a good quarter of your health bar.

- use the touch screen instead to control the camera

- L button centers the camera

- use the same save file for Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on both 3DS and Wii U

 

http://www.gonintendo.com/?mode=viewstory&id=186020

Edited September 20, 2012 by Wii

[Jamba]

New news on the online front. Already posted by HOT by thought people might like to read it here as well. From Eurogamer (http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-09-25-how-monster-hunter-3-ultimate-wii-u-and-3ds-work-together)

 

At the Tokyo Game Show last week Capcom showed for the first time Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on Wii U and revealed how it will work in tandem with the Nintendo 3DS version, already out in Japan but scheduled to launch on these shores alongside the Wii U version in March 2013.

At the show Eurogamer chatted with Monster Hunter chief Ryozo Tsujimoto who explained the games' interesting cross-platform features.

 

You'll be able to save data across both versions. To do this, you'll have to download a free app from the 3DS eShop, which you'll use to transfer data from the Wii U to the 3DS and vice versa over wi-fi. With this function, you'll be able to continue your Monster Hunter game on the move.

A Wii U console and up to three Nintendo 3DS consoles can communicate for four-player local co-op play over wi-fi. Using this, in combination with the data transfer between consoles, means you'll be able to invite your friends over for what Capcom hopes will be Monster Hunter parties, them bringing their data files on their 3DS to communicate with a Wii U, and all four players playing in the same game.

 

This feature is to make up for the lack of online play on the 3DS version, Tsujimoto said.

 

"We wanted people to play together," he told us. "We know there are some people who want to play online. Unfortunately with the 3DS version you can't do that. But we have made this feature so you can play together. You can have your friends bring their save data to your house and have a Monster Hunter party. One person will play on the big screen and three other people will play with their 3DS versions. People can continue their save data from what they had before and go back home and update their data on their Wii U."

 

Why did Capcom fail to implement online play for the 3DS version?

 

"To put it frankly, when we were developing the game we were looking into it but there were some places we were unsure about," Tsujimoto said. "We didn't have the correct techniques to get it to work. We decided we probably shouldn't release something that didn't work well. We didn't want to lower the quality of the game." The just announced 3DS exclusive Monster Hunter 4, still without a western release window, does have online play.

 

And the Wii U version of Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate has online play, too. Nintendo's kept online gaming on its HD console shrouded in mystery, but Tsujimoto did offer some detail on how it will work with his game.

 

"With internet play you can play with other hunters online," he said. "In terms of new features, we have text chat in the game. Right now we're looking into voice chat and seeing how we can get that to work, but it hasn't been 100 per cent confirmed.

 

"In the game we have a friends list. So if you have your friends you know personally, you can add them to that list. That makes it very easy to jump to wherever they're playing.

 

"If you want to find other players there is a search function you can use. Once you get four hunters connected together you'll automatically go off on a quest. We're trying to make an online experience that's extremely stress-free and easy to use for the players."

 

With Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate Capcom hopes to grow significantly the popularity of the series in the west. It will launch both versions simultaneously, and with regards the 3DS version, the localisation effort is Monster Hunter's shortest yet.

 

But Tsujimoto insisted Capcom will not make drastic changes to the action series to appeal to western gamers. Instead it hopes to grow the fan base with small but important tweaks, such as the addition of a Target Camera for use on larger monsters.

 

"We know there are a lot of people overseas who have made their own Monster Hunter communities," he said. "We know there are a lot of people who are huge fans of the series overseas. We want to make products to continue to build that fan base. We know it's a fantastic game and an interesting game for overseas users. So we think if we continue working on the game, it'll eventually start to break out.

 

"We don't want to segregate the two groups, like Japan and overseas. We view them as one group. The most important thing for us is we keep the essence of Monster at its core. We want to make sure everyone knows this is what Monster Hunter is all about" - Monster Hunter chief Ryozo Tsujimoto

"We don't want to segregate the two groups, like Japan and overseas. We view them as one group. The most important thing for us is we keep the essence of Monster at its core. We want to make sure everyone knows this is what Monster Hunter is all about.

 

"We do get opinions and feedback from people from all over the world, not only in Japan, but also America and Europe and other countries. We take that all into account when we're developing our games. That's one of the reasons why we have this new feature called the Target Camera. We got a lot of feedback from fans, and they said one of the most difficult things about playing Monster Hunter is controlling the camera. So we added the Target Cam to the game so with the press of a button you can focus on one of the monsters you're fighting against. You don't have to spend all this time pressing the d-pad just to focus on a monster. You can just do a simple button press and you're done.

"Those are the kinds of changes we want to make. They might be little changes, but they can turn out to be very significant as well."

 

Some fans have questioned the decision to launch Monster Hunter 4 exclusively on Nintendo 3DS, particularly given the series' phenomenal success on PlayStation Portable. Most believe the exclusivity is the result of Nintendo's effort to secure the franchise on its handheld console - and therefore away from the PS Vita. But Tsujimoto insisted it was a design decision fuelled by the experience the team had making Ultimate 3 for 3DS.

 

"When we were developing Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on the 3DS, it was an experiment," he said. "It was new hardware for us. We didn't know the capabilities of the hardware. But as a portable system it was very unique to work with. It has two screens and 3D capabilities. To us as developers, we want to challenge ourselves to make something that is very good on that system.

 

"So after we made Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate on 3DS, we were able to analyse what we did on that game. We realised it was quite easy to develop for. That was the reason why we continued with Monster Hunter 4 on 3DS."

[Mokong]

A target camera...as in a lock-on?

 

WTF? HELL NO....that is just something to stop the n00bs from bitching that they can't get their timings right.

 

Bloody hell, that better be optional

[Dcubed]

A target camera...as in a lock-on?

 

WTF? HELL NO....that is just something to stop the n00bs from bitching that they can't get their timings right.

 

Bloody hell, that better be optional

 

It's not a lock-on. All it does is make it so that the camera swings to face the monster when you press L (instead of swinging to behind your character like it normally does) and yes, it is entirely optional (when using it, double tapping L makes it swing to face behind your character as normal too!)

 

There's a good video explaining it (and the rest of the touchscreen stuff) here: Skip to about 3:15 for the Target Camera stuff

 

 

Relax, it's not a Zelda style lock-on; not even close.

Edited September 25, 2012 by Dcubed

[Deathjam]

Seems like there is going to be in-game friends lists just like the wii, rather than a friend list incorporated from the wii u OS ala ps360. This does not please me so I hope I am wrong...

[Ville]

Did I just see 4 Barroths in that quest at once? If so...fucking awesome : D

 

Edit: Somehow I doubt this, prob just the video editing / view screwing things up. I mean even if the quests have you kill several monsters, I don't think there will be more than 2 monsters on the field at the same time...

Edited September 25, 2012 by Ville

[Dcubed]

Native 1080p screenshots are out for the Wii U version now!

 

 

You can see the work that's gone into re-doing some of the textures here (lovingly stolen from GAF!)

 

 

 

Looks amazing! They've really gone above and beyond with this port!

[Hero-of-Time]

YUM YUM YUM!

[Debug Mode]

Oh lordy, some of those textures still look hideous though, not that I'd expect anything grand from a port to be honest. Props on the large monster textures though, they look pretty damn good although a bit lacking in the shading department

 

I'd personally prefer it if they went with 720p rendering if it would allow them to implement some AA, better textures and a little more advanced shading. I'm not a big fan of developers playing the number game, it's a shallow world that capped most of this current generations games potential in a performance sense.

[Dcubed]

I'd personally prefer it if they went with 720p rendering if it would allow them to implement some AA, better textures and a little more advanced shading. I'm not a big fan of developers playing the number game, it's a shallow world that capped most of this current generations games potential in a performance sense.

 

It's a 3DS/Wii port. They're not gonna mess around with the visuals too much (hell they've already shown more effort being put into this than any of those crappy "Classics HD" releases on PS3!)

 

I really doubt that running the game at 1080p is gonna make the Wii U sweat at all (especially considering that the 3DS was able to run this game at a variable 60FPS while also running in S3D...)

[Debug Mode]

It's a 3DS/Wii port. They're not gonna mess around with the visuals too much (hell they've already shown more effort being put into this than any of those crappy "Classics HD" releases on PS3!)

 

I really doubt that running the game at 1080p is gonna make the Wii U sweat at all (especially considering that the 3DS was able to run this game at a variable 60FPS while also running in S3D...)

 

Like I said in the paragraph before the one you quoted, I don't actually expect anything grand from a port.