Mario Kart 8

[Serebii]

Well I haven't had any issues, many people I know have had no issues. I've not seen that many people around the net complain that there are issues with the online. So, the logical conclusion is that it's a problem on your end, not theirs. As such, of course there is no word for a stability patch.

 

Also, if there hypothetically were any issues, it'd be server side, not client side, so they wouldn't need to inform us of a patch on it, because they'd fix it on their end and it wouldn't require a patch.

 

I still disagree with you on the item thing. Aside from the existence of coins and the fact they are one of the common items when you're in first, it's exactly the same as it has always been.

[Hero-of-Time]

While I don't share Zechs hatred, I do think the game has serious balancing issues. I mentioned these last week after a couple of days of playing the game. The coin issue and the inability to break away from the pack ( leaving the person in front to coast to victory ) are two things that really need fixing to make the game more fun. It's not fun being stuck in the 9th-4th region, driving perfectly, yet still unable to get any further up the ladder.

 

@Serebii As for issues with online connections, they are many having problems. There was a topic on Gaf, Gamefaqs and comments within the various Mario a Kart threads with people getting DCed left and right. Just because you haven't experienced it doesn't mean it's not happening. No offense mate but that's quite an arrogant/ignorant way of thinking.

 

I also don't think its on our end either, especially as we have all played COD together and Monster Hunter with no issues.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Hero-of-Time

[Zechs Merquise]

Well I haven't had any issues, many people I know have had no issues. I've not seen that many people around the net complain that there are issues with the online. So, the logical conclusion is that it's a problem on your end, not theirs. As such, of course there is no word for a stability patch.

 

Also, if there hypothetically were any issues, it'd be server side, not client side, so they wouldn't need to inform us of a patch on it, because they'd fix it on their end and it wouldn't require a patch.

 

I still disagree with you on the item thing. Aside from the existence of coins and the fact they are one of the common items when you're in first, it's exactly the same as it has always been.

 

What are you talking about? You can't join your friends, you can't buddy up with them and go into a race together, you can only see if they're online if they're in a race. Loads of people are getting disconnected in lobbies.

 

These are bread and butter things. You could join your friends and search for a race in the Wii version, now you can't?

 

What the fuck are they thinking? Was this the process:

 

DEVELOPER 1: "In the Wii version you could join your friends then search for a race."

DEVELOPER 2: "That sound like a common sense approach which makes things simple for everyone."

DEVELOPER 3: "Let's drop it then. Rebuild that section and make it so you can only join friends who are already in races."

DEVELOPER 1: "But why would you do that? If the group is full then they won't be able to join and will just be sat spectating."

DEVELOPER 2: "Yeah, it's not a great idea. I mean if you both come online together you don't want to have one player start racing and the other just having to watch until you can play together."

DEVELOPER 3: "Yeah, but we're Nintendo, we never learn from our successes or our mistakes."

DEVELOPERS 1, 2 AND 3 "Ahhhh, yes, let's drop that awesome feature."

IWATA: "Please understand, we don't want you playing with your friends."

[Serebii]

That is weird as myself and many of my friends have spent hours online and had no issues. Could just be due to load. Regardless, my statement regarding a patch stands. If true, it definitely sounds server side and so a patch would not be logical.

 

What are you talking about? You can't join your friends, you can't buddy up with them and go into a race together, you can only see if they're online if they're in a race. Loads of people are getting disconnected in lobbies.

 

These are bread and butter things. You could join your friends and search for a race in the Wii version, now you can't?

 

What the fuck are they thinking? Was this the process:

 

DEVELOPER 1: "In the Wii version you could join your friends then search for a race."

DEVELOPER 2: "That sound like a common sense approach which makes things simple for everyone."

DEVELOPER 3: "Let's drop it then. Rebuild that section and make it so you can only join friends who are already in races."

DEVELOPER 1: "But why would you do that? If the group is full then they won't be able to join and will just be sat spectating."

DEVELOPER 2: "Yeah, it's not a great idea. I mean if you both come online together you don't want to have one player start racing and the other just having to watch until you can play together."

DEVELOPER 3: "Yeah, but we're Nintendo, we never learn from our successes or our mistakes."

DEVELOPERS 1, 2 AND 3 "Ahhhh, yes, let's drop that awesome feature."

IWATA: "Please understand, we don't want you playing with your friends."

 

What the frak are you on about? You can join your friends. I have numerous times.

 

Yes, I agree having the friends and then going onto Global would have been nice, but come on. You're being ridiculous and hyperbolising.

[Guy]

This escalated quickly...

[Hero-of-Time]

This escalated quickly...

 

It's about right for this place.

[Londragon]

I'm having serious issues connecting to this online. Tried my first session today and can't get online at all in a global race. I get a connection error message while specatating, whilst at the start line-up, ahhhhh!!!

 

No other WiiU game gives me any problems with online. What the hell's wrong, is it my router, but why this one specific game? Then again, I can't connect online with MK7 on the 3DS as well. Why these 2 games?

[Goron_3]

Because that's the way races work in real life.

 

This isn't F1 brah. And actually the winner is many series starts from the back in the next race in what's called a reverse grid. The winner only starts from the front he 'wins' the qualifying session.

[Cube]

Seriously? I have played a lot of online and I have only had one disconnection and that's with my router which seems to hate Nintendo devices.

 

You must be extremely lucky. If you're in a full room and one person quits before choosing a course, the game can't seem to cope and kicks everyone out of the room.

 

Edit: Also, does anyone else think that lightning should be changed so it doesn't affect items?

[Zechs Merquise]

That is weird as myself and many of my friends have spent hours online and had no issues. Could just be due to load. Regardless, my statement regarding a patch stands. If true, it definitely sounds server side and so a patch would not be logical.

 

What the frak are you on about? You can join your friends. I have numerous times.

 

Yes, I agree having the friends and then going onto Global would have been nice, but come on. You're being ridiculous and hyperbolising.

 

What am I on about? I'm on about Nintendo releasing games where the bread and butter parts aren't right.

 

Where you can't join a friend and go into a race. Where you have to go through a convoluted method just to play with a friend. And it barely works. I've tried to join people and people have tried to join me only to get disconnected or end up spectating for several races as it's a full pack. It's retarded.

 

But what is worse, much worse - is that this crap is actually a new low. It's a STEP BACK from what we had last generation. How does that happen?

 

How does every other company move forward with their connectivity options, their online structure, their ways of letting players connect with friends - but Nintendo doesn't.

 

How can Nintendo justify this?

 

I am not being ridiculous, I am hitting the nail on the head. How is there no one in the whole of Nintendo HQ who actually played this game and thought - 'you know what, you can't join a race as a group of friends, that option was even in the Wii version'? Who in that company is actually in touch with the world around them. It's like Nintendo HQ exists in a bubble

 

This is the point; it's no wonder they're floundering like idiots when they're so insulated from the rest of the industry that the bread and butter things in their biggest franchise aren't right.

 

Mario Kart is the big one, it's the game that was meant to save the Wii U. But you can't even buddy up with a friend and search for a race? It's so bare bones it's laughable.

[f00had]

The thing with rooms disconnecting is definitely a problem and Nintendo really need to sort it out. I think it's caused by people leaving lobbies before voting for a track... It's stupid how that could even cause a connection error. Not sure what @Zechs Merquise is on about though since you can join friends in this game just like you could in MK7 or Wii. As for red shells hitting you from the front that definitely sounds like lag to me. You should stick to regional races if you find it happens to you often.

[Goron_3]

Also, I've been disconnected a lot but it's only been in lobbies. Once it gets going it's fine. Me and @Zell played some online last weekend and it took him half an hour get a race going with me because we get kept getting disconnected.

 

As for item balance, I don't think the issue is that you might only get coins or green shells when at the front; the issue is that some of the catch up items do nothing. I mean, the star is useless and lasts for such little time, which is an issue when the tracks are so damn big. Of course, a mushroom was hugely effective in a game like SMK because the tracks were smaller but the effect of the mushroom hasn't been scaled up for the bigger circuits. I've genuinely found myself using three mushrooms and barely catching up to guys up ahead.

 

The other issue is that in order to make the game accessible they've dumbed down two aspects of the game:

1. The tracks are now MUCH wider, meaning if you following someone they will rarely make a mistake through a corner as it's very simple to take the right lines whilst power sliding and on most circuits there's very little risk in doing so. Compare this to SMK/MK:SC and Double Dash/DS where the tracks were very narrow, meaning you could make up huge time on the guys up ahead by taking more risks during your power slides. It felt like real karting in those games.

 

2. Since MK Wii they've dumbed down the power slide a lot, likely due to snaking in MK:DS. The problem here is that if you're racing someone, there's little you can do better than them because you'll likely end up power sliding in the exact same manner through the same corners. Have a red power slide boost? So does the guy ahead. This is differently to MK: DD for instance; where you could risk snaking on parts of the track which were very narrow (as most of the tracks were) or you could try and get 2 boosts throughout one corner, which was a huge risk which could easily go wrong (i.e. put you off line, put you on the grass).

 

Overall, MK Wii, MK7 and MK8 will never be great racing games, because the physics engine isn't built to produce that; they are designed to be easy to get into, with a low skill level ceiling (at least compared to older games), and the wider tracks supplement that well. The problem is that they've tried to balance the items to stop it being ridiculously unfair but they've done so without fixing the fundamental racing aspect of the game which is suffering more so than ever.

 

Also, the game is missing too many features for me, and I don't just mean battle mode. I miss characters having unique items and being able to power slide away from red shells! I also miss the speed and physics of Double Dash..

 

 

For what it's worth, I like the game and I'll be playing it for a while. That said, I'm glad people are realising how poor the actual engine is this time round because I've been saying the same for sometime. You could ignore the issues it had in MK Wii because items were so overpowered compared to DD where the skill ceiling was high, but they've kind of got stuck in the middle now.

[Sheikah]

Because that's the way races work in real life.

 

Oh I see. Does real life also have golden mushrooms and blue shells?

 

That's a really stupid answer. This kind of game should be designed to be fun and fair, not emulate real life in ways that don't need to be.

[Serebii]

What am I on about? I'm on about Nintendo releasing games where the bread and butter parts aren't right.

 

Where you can't join a friend and go into a race. Where you have to go through a convoluted method just to play with a friend. And it barely works. I've tried to join people and people have tried to join me only to get disconnected or end up spectating for several races as it's a full pack. It's retarded.

 

But what is worse, much worse - is that this crap is actually a new low. It's a STEP BACK from what we had last generation. How does that happen?

 

How does every other company move forward with their connectivity options, their online structure, their ways of letting players connect with friends - but Nintendo doesn't.

 

How can Nintendo justify this?

 

I am not being ridiculous, I am hitting the nail on the head. How is there no one in the whole of Nintendo HQ who actually played this game and thought - 'you know what, you can't join a race as a group of friends, that option was even in the Wii version'? Who in that company is actually in touch with the world around them. It's like Nintendo HQ exists in a bubble

 

This is the point; it's no wonder they're floundering like idiots when they're so insulated from the rest of the industry that the bread and butter things in their biggest franchise aren't right.

 

Mario Kart is the big one, it's the game that was meant to save the Wii U. But you can't even buddy up with a friend and search for a race? It's so bare bones it's laughable.

Convoluted method? You go to the Friend bit, you see they're in a race, you press Join. Job done. How is that convoluted?

[Sheikah]

I still disagree with you on the item thing. Aside from the existence of coins and the fact they are one of the common items when you're in first, it's exactly the same as it has always been.

 

@Zechs Merquise I think your ostrich photo could also be directed to this guy. :p

 

Come on, same as it has always been? You obviously didn't watch the video I posted.

[Serebii]

@Zechs Merquise I think your ostrich photo could also be directed to this guy. :p

 

Come on, same as it has always been? You obviously didn't watch the video I posted.

I did, and it seems no different to how it is now, except with the annoying "specials"

[lostmario]

Not sure where all this negativity is coming from. I'm really enjoying the game.

 

I've had a few lobby disconnections, first couple of days it happened frequently. Last 4-5 days, its happened 2-3 times.

 

This is a huge improvement over MK7 and in regard to MKWii, it wasn't perfect, that game favoured good players on bikes, screw the players who wanted to use karts. This is much more balanced.

[Sheikah]

I did, and it seems no different to how it is now, except with the annoying "specials"

 

So the guy goes from 11th to 1st at colossal speed and you think that is exactly the same as how the gold mushroom is now?

[Retro_Link]

This isn't F1 brah. And actually the winner is many series starts from the back in the next race in what's called a reverse grid. The winner only starts from the front he 'wins' the qualifying session.

And actually it's not true of F1 either which goes through Qualifying which I don't believe Mario Kart has unless you want to look at the 1st and 3rd race of each cup as Qualifying

[Hero-of-Time]

Just joined Blade, spectated match, returned to lobby, everyone disconnects. Awesome!

[Kav]

I don't rate the tracks all that much, I prefer all the prior Mario Karts to this one I think. Yet to take it online as it sounds tripe.

[Zechs Merquise]

Convoluted method? You go to the Friend bit, you see they're in a race, you press Join. Job done. How is that convoluted?

 

Yes, it is convoluted, as in practice it doesn't work like that. This is what happens in real life:

 

Your friend has to actually be in a race. They can't just be online waiting for you. So if your friend is online, they don't show up - great start.

 

You then have to wait for your friend to finish the race - and then you can join him the next race. This can take minutes - or even several races if the group is full. @Blade waited three races before giving up.

 

Then, if someone does disconnect when your friend joins you, you run the risk off all being disconnected.

 

That is a piss poor way of managing it.

 

The old way (on the Wii) - you could see who was online, invite them to your lobby, search a race as a group. The end. At the worst, you ended up spectating one race.

 

Please explain, how the 'new way' is better than the 'old way'?

 

This is a huge improvement over MK7 and in regard to MKWii, it wasn't perfect, that game favoured good players on bikes, screw the players who wanted to use karts. This is much more balanced.

 

Yes, they've improved the balance between bikes and karts. That is a good thing. However they've thrown out item balance and good online options. I'd rather just race with the Bowser Bike again and be able to join my friends, not get disconnected and not sit in 9th place as my golden mushroom does sweet FA.

Edited June 7, 2014 by Zechs Merquise

[Goron_3]

And actually it's not true of F1 either which goes through Qualifying which I don't believe Mario Kart has unless you want to look at the 1st and 3rd race of each cup as Qualifying

 

Maybe we should add in Q1, Q2 and Q3 sessions

 

Reckon you'll still get the game mate?

[Retro_Link]

Is anyone actually putting this stuff up on Miiverse so Nintendo has more chance of seeing it?

 

 

Maybe we should add in Q1, Q2 and Q3 sessions

 

Reckon you'll still get the game mate?

Yeah I'll definitely still get the game. I'm keeping an eye out for cheap Wii U Bundles atm. Preferably on Amazon so I can use my trade-in balance.

 

That Double Dash video you posted was pretty cool.

Seeing as Nintendo have only ever done 1 Mario Kart per console so far, maybe an HD port of Double Dash in 2 years would be a nice idea! It's different enough to MK8.

[lostmario]

Yes, they've improved the balance between bikes and karts. That is a good thing. However they've thrown out item balance and good online options. I'd rather just race with the Bowser Bike again and be able to join my friends, not get disconnected and not sit in 9th place as my golden mushroom does sweet FA.

 

Well in regards to the online , its clear I haven't had the issues you've had with disconnections, bad luck and poor items.

 

Spent two hours online last night and had some great races, worked my way from the back of the grid into the top 3 on numerous occasions.

 

Online options are mixed for me - perfect for the league nights but poor for playing competitively with friends.

 

I've always preferred to play on my own though, when friends join me, they tend to target me more than the randoms. @Hero\-of\-Time & @welsh_gamer especially.

 

Just joined Blade, spectated match, returned to lobby, everyone disconnects. Awesome!

 

That's not the game, that's @Blade. He is a Jinx.

Edited June 7, 2014 by lostmario
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