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Posted
Looks like I'll be going to London next week to have a go on the press demo - anything anyone wants me to look out for in particular?

 

Ask if the game will support voice chat when playing online games! Please!

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Posted
Looks like I'll be going to London next week to have a go on the press demo - anything anyone wants me to look out for in particular?

 

Other new items. Like the 8/speaker items. Also - if Mii's return.

Posted

Try and find out as much as possible on mario kart tv I guess. Namely can we edit our videos (not just give parameters) and can we upload to facebook and twitter!

Posted
Also, can you set up private online matches and invite friends?

 

Does this really need to be asked. It's been in the last two mario kart and I'm sure they've said communities are composing back.

Posted
Does this really need to be asked. It's been in the last two mario kart and I'm sure they've said communities are composing back.

 

Yes, it does need to be asked. Mario Kart 7 had no private match function, just the silly community thing - it could be used for private matches, but was a pain to set up. I remember a fair few league matches where a random person who wasn't supposed to be there was in a race.

Posted

Okay, I'll see what I can do - although I know that there are still some NDAs about certain features / inclusions in the game, so I might not be able to spill the beans on everything!

Posted
Okay, I'll see what I can do - although I know that there are still some NDAs about certain features / inclusions in the game, so I might not be able to spill the beans on everything!

 

That's okay. Just PM instead :D

Posted
Okay, I'll see what I can do - although I know that there are still some NDAs about certain features / inclusions in the game, so I might not be able to spill the beans on everything!

 

Need anyone to carry your notebook? Or perhaps the second player controller? :D

Posted
Need anyone to carry your notebook? Or perhaps the second player controller? :D

 

I'm already the glorified notebook carrier myself - it's my wife that's been invited to try the game, not me!

Posted

So, this might just be me being semi-retarded/lazy, but I just can't seem to find any information about how many players the local multiplayer supports. Is it 4 player split-screen and one more on the gamepad (as I hope it is), or is it reduced to only two? I heard there's 2-player online support, which is great, but I just cant find the info on the local multiplayer.

 

Anyone :D?

Posted
So, this might just be me being semi-retarded/lazy, but I just can't seem to find any information about how many players the local multiplayer supports. Is it 4 player split-screen and one more on the gamepad (as I hope it is), or is it reduced to only two? I heard there's 2-player online support, which is great, but I just cant find the info on the local multiplayer.

 

Anyone :D?

 

All the previews I read said this wasnt possible.

Posted
4 player local, 2 player online...

 

Gutting it hasn't matched the two year old sonic racings 5 player local and 5 player online....

Bit sad, sure, but to keep fixed performance, it's fully understandable.

 

2 player: Fixed 60fps (including online)

3-4 player: Fixed 30fps (which is why it can't be online. Gives other players an advantage)

Posted
Gives other players an advantage

 

But having two or more people using the same console also gives them an advantage.

Posted
But having two or more people using the same console also gives them an advantage.

Not really. If anything, it's a hindrance due to smaller field of view

Posted

The GP in Mario Kart is easier in multiplayer as you can combine your efforts. The same would apply to the online, if you wanted to.

Posted
Bit sad, sure, but to keep fixed performance, it's fully understandable.

 

2 player: Fixed 60fps (including online)

3-4 player: Fixed 30fps (which is why it can't be online. Gives other players an advantage)

 

What?

 

So can PC users play online games together? What with almost every PC on Earth having different levels of performance.

Posted
What?

 

So can PC users play online games together? What with almost every PC on Earth having different levels of performance.

This isn't the PC. This is a console with a developer who wants a fixed, solid framerate.

Posted
This isn't the PC. This is a console with a developer who wants a fixed, solid framerate.

 

Yes, cos that is going to take away so much from Nintendo's poor online infrastructure. They are almost legendary for showing no expertise on executing a solid online experience of any complexity whatsoever.

 

People talk about a Pokémon MMO and I've joined you in the past in saying that it will never happen for various reasons. One of them is that Nintendo doesn't have the skills in-house to build an MMO infrastructure.

 

Framerate differences can be compensated for with good server programming (the variety in connection speeds alone requires this) but let's not dance around the fact that this is being imposed because it's something that Nintendo can't make happen, not that it couldn't be done.

Posted
Bit sad, sure, but to keep fixed performance, it's fully understandable.

 

2 player: Fixed 60fps (including online)

3-4 player: Fixed 30fps (which is why it can't be online. Gives other players an advantage)

 

Mario Kart Wii played on 50Hz tellies ran at 30 frames per second even in single player mode. Still worked fine online... it's not that big of a deal. 60 frames per second just looks nicer and feels faster but at the end of the day you can still make turns and evade weapons just the same regardless of the frame rate. It's a shame Nintendo couldn't figure out a way to get 5 player local multiplayer working, it would be a great way to make the Gamepad useful and show off the Wii U's power.

Posted

So, I went to play the Mario Kart 8 demo yesterday, and although I had a great time, didn't really come back any wiser about it - the PR guys there didn't seem to know anything more than the press were allowed to talk about - so news about the new items or online, other than a vague "It'll probably be much the same as it was on Wii". Got a chance to play on the first two cups and the first two retro cups, some of it in two player (60 FPS) and four player (30 FPS). I picked Waluigi and some of the Koopa Kids to play as, and had a go with a variety of kart, wheel and glider combinations. The character select screen was the same as the leaked one, although the PR guy said that it's likely that some of those characters may be locked at the start, which made me think that those three question marks (one of which the press know the identity of but aren't allowed to talk about) could be all there is.

 

I also had a go with the replay functionality, which is available after every race (annoyingly, it's the first option highlighted, so you have to go down one to move onto the next race). It's quite fun to play around with, especially the on-the-fly fast forward / rewind / slo-mo functions, but probably not something you'll use much after the initial novelty wears off. As the other previews have said, you can choose things like who the camera focuses on, whether it shows mostly attacks, overtakes etc, whether it plays the music and so on. However, the PR guys didn't know whether you'll be able to save the slow-mo etc when you upload the video online, or whether it'll just be the plain clips. Even just using it to find nice screenshots for Miiverse should be good, though (I.e. Use slo-mo to get to just the rightly point, then press the home button). There's also a Mario Kart TV menu option on the main menu, but we weren't allowed to go into it. I'm guessing that's where you'll be able to see your own and others' saved replays.

 

As for the other menus, they seemed fairly sparse, much like the other Mario Karts (oh how I wish Sakurai would make one!). There weren't any options for toggling off items or other options, but I suppose it's possible this may be added in the final code. Otherwise, presentation is clean and modern, with some nice remixes of older MK menu music.

 

I mostly played with the pro controller (only because I'd never used one before!) but also tried the Gamepad, where it was quick and easy to switch between the horn, map and TV duplicate. To be honest, I rarely even wanted to take my eyes off the TV, so having more Gamepad functionality would have been a bit pointless and confusing.

 

The tracks themselves were all great, with the first one, the Shy Guy Falls and the Twisted Mansion being particular highlights. The anti gravity sections didn't make a huge difference to the gameplay (although I'm sure that, with time, players will learn to take advantage of the bump-to-boost mechanic). You mostly only notice that you're not the right way up when you go up a ramp and drive on the walls, as the camera doesn't go right behind you. You actually get a much better idea of the twisting surroundings when you're watching someone else play, as you don't have to be focused so much on the driver and track in front of you. Glider and water sections work pretty much the same as they did in MK7, although I thought there were more sections where there just appeared to be 'rooms of water', by which I mean you just turn a corner and you're underwater for no apparent reason.

 

All in all, it was great fun, and if you love the other Mario Karts, there's no reason you won't love this. It's certainly 'more of the same' than a revolution for the series, though, and I certainly wouldn't be against another Nintendo team taking the reins for the next one. Still, looking forward to being able to play the full game next month!


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