Dante Posted October 23, 2006 Posted October 23, 2006 Wii Remote: Your questions answered After our in-depth look at the Wii Remote and its many intricacies, the CVG audience took to the comments section and threw down some interesting questions. Being your contact on the inside, CVG wants to make sure you know everything you could possibly want to know about the controller. So here's a collection of your best questions, with the facts laid bare. Technophobes beware - it gets pretty technical... AlbertStoots: How is the controller powered? Does it take batteries? Is it rechargeable like the Xbox 360 controllers. CVG: The controller takes two standard AA-size batteries, which you need to replace when dead. The two batteries will power the controller for roughly 60 hours if just using the accelerometers (Excite Truck, Wii Baseball), but this time is reduced to around 30 hours if the pointer sensor (Mario Galaxy, Trauma Center, Red Steel) is in use. Unlike the Xbox 360, there will not be a rechargeable pack that can be powered up by plugging the remote into the console. This may sound like bad news but think about it - if you were to connect your controller to the console and play at the same time, with the whole motion thing going on, you are likely pull your console over and send it crashing to the floor. That would be a serious design flaw on Nintendo's part. Al3x wrote: Nitpick: You say the "pointer" function doesn't actually make the cursor go where the front of the Wii Remote is aiming like it would with a lightgun. Doesn't that basically mean that those menus they tried it on were NOT using the pointer function and instead just the motion sensors to replicate a mouse's feel? I mean, the pointer sensor thing is right at the front of the Remote so you would imagine that when it was used it would function as a proper pointer. CVG: This is a tricky one to explain. The pointer-menus definitely use the pointer sensor. The sensor is on the top of the controller because it needs to 'see' the sensor bar (like a camera). But like you, we figured it's strange that the controller doesn't have direct aim. The first time we noticed this was when I played the Wii Shooting tech demo (the one that looks like Duck Hunt) a few months back, in two-player mode. The aim is to shoot more targets than your opponent. We thought we were in for an easy win, being House of the Dead NINJAS. So we, naturally, lifted the Remote to eye-level like a handgun, but immediately noticed that not only was my cursor not positioned where we were pointing, but it would also move in far bigger motions than we were aiming. That's when we realised that it's more like a virtual mouse than a lightgun. This could possibly be a software specific mechanic, and maybe future software will allow you to set up the Remote more like a lightgun (similarly to the Super NES Super Scope, for those who remember it) but all of the games and menus we've seen so far seem to use the pointer in the 'virtual mouse' way we speak of. That includes Red Steel and Call of Duty 3. Popesc: How did you calibrate the remote? I'd imagine that at some point it asks you to point at the corners of the tv and hit the trigger, but I haven't seen this mentioned anywhere. CVG: We have not actually configured a controller yet because Nintendo has always made sure everything was set up before we arrived. But having quizzed Nintendo about calibration, we have come to learn that the Wii doesn't actually need to know how big your TV is, just the location of its central point in relation to the position of the sensor bar. So at some point, the console will ask you to point the remote at the centre of the screen and clicking a button. And that will be all. Of course, you will first have to sync your Remote with the console, which works just like the Xbox 360 Wireless Controller. You press two sync buttons, one on the Remote under the battery cover, and the other under a small flap on the front of the console. Within second they're synced and ready to go. Pseudo: Whoa, hang on! Can we just have some clarification on Wii Tennis, here? Your report seems to suggest that the type of swing your character makes isn't actually related at all to the type of swing you make with the remote. The way I read it, you make a vague swing-like movement and the character makes an arbitrary predefined swing -- which sounds lame. I can do that (more easily) by pressing a button. What's the point in swinging your arm if it's not offering you any greater level of control? CVG: Visually, your tennis player doesn't accurately replicate your arm movements - he swings with pre-defined animations. That's VISUALLY. However, variations in your swinging of the Remote does indeed have an effect on the way the ball is played. You can hit the ball left and right by timing your swing so that the bat meets the ball at the desired angle - that's very tricky. If you swing the Remote from low to high in a lobbing motion, the ball will be struck high. Similarly, turning your hand forward as you swing will put top-spin on the ball, which dips it just over the net. You can even put spin on the ball by pull the remote in more intricate directions as you swing. The idea of this control system, apart from the enhanced visceral feel of it, is to get you concentrating more on your swing. So while it takes away control of the characters movements around the court, it pressures you to think more about whether you need to physically swing a backhand or forehand (which is handled automatically in all other tennis games), your swing timing, spin, and altitude. Fabzroma: Perhaps you could enlighten us with a brief description of the sensor bar. I've heard very little regarding this and I'm keen to know what it will look like on my plasma telly. Is its length adjustable? Does it have to be visible or can it sit behind the telly? CVG: The sensor bar is small, roughly six-or-so inches long, and no, this length is not adjustable. At most events we've been to, the bar has been placed at the bottom centre of the TV, but it works just as well on the top. But it cannot go behind your TV because the sensor on the top of the Remote needs to be able to 'see' it. We've not tried it yet, but we would imagine it would be fine sitting on a unit or shelf below or above your TV, too. Although we haven't had the opportunity to play around with the hardware like this yet (we will soon, watch this space) we're sure the sensor bar doesn't have to be immediately next to your TV. We played Wii on a Projector screen and the sensor bar was simply placed in a table in front of the player. That worked fine - just as long as the remote can see the sensor bar when it is pointed in the direction of the display. CVG
Cube Posted October 23, 2006 Posted October 23, 2006 quick summary - 2 AA Batteries - 60hours for just using the Accelerometers - 30hours for using pointer sensor - No rechargeable pack (luckily) - Pointer-assisted controls need the sensor bar in view of the Remote - No direct aim - works similar to a PC Mouse - So, it is not a virtual lightgun - Simulated direct aim is possible - No calibration required - just sensitivity options - Connect Remote to Wii Via Sync buttons - Wii Tennis: Visually uses predetermined animations - However, ball movement is directly affected by absolute position of the Remote - Sensor bar can go above or below your TV/Projector screen
Emasher Posted October 23, 2006 Posted October 23, 2006 ok so nothing new (im sure this was already posted a long time ago)
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