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WiiU games with Off TV Play

D

doniewhalberg

Member
It really is a brilliant feature. I was saying to my girlfriend, if that was literally all the game pad did, give you the ability to move the game down onto the pad and let you play while people used the tv, I would have been sold. However, while I'll almost certainly grab a Wii U in the next few months, it's the resolution that worries me the most. To give you a HD console, HD games, the ability to play them on your pad, and no HD screen is just...I don't know. I can't condemn as I haven't played myself but we have one of those Kindle Fire HDs kicking around the house (which doesn't have the best screen in the world) and to not even have that quality worries me I'll be disappointed when I got a shot of the game pad play.
 
U

UncleSporky

Member
sinseers said:
Wait....I was playing Nintendoland with OTVP at my buddies house last night....no joke.
Click to expand...

In what? Donkey Kong has a zoomed in view that's harder to work with and Balloon Fight is a super zoomed in view that I imagine would be impossible to play with. F-Zero might work but I think you need TV audio for prompts and it's good to see what's going on in tunnels. I can't think of any other NintendoLand games that are strictly single player off-TV play affairs. In multiplayer you need both TV and pad.
 
M

Mardak

Member
sinseers said:
Wait....I was playing Nintendoland with OTVP at my buddies house last night....no joke.
Click to expand...
It works great for some games. My wife was watching Netflix on the Wii while I was playing Pikmin (Olimar). I would assume Zelda (archer) and Metroid (ship) would work fine too.
 
S

Saint Gregory

Member
I've only had my system since Saturday and the off pad play has been a much bigger deal for me than I thought it would be. Generally during this time of year I'd get no console time in because of college and pro football but over the last couple days I was able to play through chunks of both NSMBU and NG:RE entirely off the pad while watching the games.

Ninja Gaiden isn't as well suited to off screen play as NSMB but it's still amazing to be playing through a console game directly of the pad. More games need to put the option on the main screen when you start them up though, I don't like digging through NG's options to turn it on and off.
 
cyberheater

cyberheater

PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 PS4 Xbone PS4 PS4
DeaconKnowledge said:
That's pretty silly. It doesn't feature it because the gamepad is a crucial part of the gameplay. Not because Ubi was being lazy.
Click to expand...

I know but one of the main reasons I'm getting a WiiU is so that I can play OTVP. Games that don't support it, even good games, won't get on my list.
 
D

doniewhalberg

Member
DeaconKnowledge said:
That's pretty silly. It doesn't feature it because the gamepad is a crucial part of the gameplay. Not because Ubi was being lazy.
Click to expand...

That's a valid reason for no off pad play, but it's a valid reason to skip buying the game too. I know that when I buy one I'm probably going to chuck it in the bedroom and use it like an overpowered handheld at bedtime while missus does her kindle netflix or w.e she does. The Wii U has a year before its visuals are outmatched by new consoles so that's what will be going in my living room. So in that sense and for anyone else buying a Wii U on a similar basis, I think it's fine ZombiU doesn't support it because they've done something creative there that requires both, but I think it's a fine reason to skip it depending how you'll use this console. This isn't going to be everyone's main or general console of use.
 
P

Parallacs

Member
K444WSR said:
Just a quick question to the guys that already have it, how good is the range vertically? My bedroom is directly above my living room, so will off-tv play work like that or is it something I'll have to wait till Friday and try for myself?
Click to expand...

I have this issue. The WiiU and all of my other systems are downstairs. It is getting too cold to be down there in late November and turning on the heater only warms the upstairs...

I took it up the other day with Nintendo land and I got a few lost connection errors within 5 minutes. My staircase is a standard 14 stairs and the stair case is within 5 feet of the rooms. Otherwise it is directly below. I will try it tonight with NSMBU.

cyberheater said:
Which is the reason I'm not going to get it. It does look good by no off screen tv play. No buyie.
Click to expand...

It is a fantastic feature but I think you are going to limit yourself to an unreasonable degree in the future. Sort of like getting a Wii in 2006 and ONLY wanting to play games with motion controls.

I don't want to encourage developers to only develop for the gamepad. It limits creativity.
 
D

doniewhalberg

Member
Foshy said:
Could Off-TV play work at ~7m distance, through one wall?
Click to expand...

I think most people are just finding what works on a case by case basis, unfortunately. I know that doesn't help without having it in your house to try haha. I've saw plenty of reviews say they got it close to all the way across their home, some people say they can't get it out the room. I think it comes down to your house structure, what's in the wall and so on
 
Z

Zee-Row

Banned
Is there a way to turn the TV screen off so you can just play on the pad? Or do the games have to run with both screens?
 
L

Luigison

Member
I assume Amazon Prime videos are including in "etc."

How are the speakers on the gamepad when watching a movie? Can headphones be used with the gamepad for movies? If the speakers are bad and headphones can be used, headphone suggestions?
 
M

Mardak

Member
Zee-Row said:
Is there a way to turn the TV screen off so you can just play on the pad? Or do the games have to run with both screens?
Click to expand...
You don't even need to plug in the video cable from the Wii U. You only need the power cable, and you're good to go. It's convenient that the Wii U Gamepad also has a TV button to turn off the TV if you only want to use the Gamepad's screen.
 
E

EloquentM

aka Mannny
UncleSporky said:
In what? Donkey Kong has a zoomed in view that's harder to work with and Balloon Fight is a super zoomed in view that I imagine would be impossible to play with. F-Zero might work but I think you need TV audio for prompts and it's good to see what's going on in tunnels. I can't think of any other NintendoLand games that are strictly single player off-TV play affairs. In multiplayer you need both TV and pad.
Click to expand...

did you forget that zelda and pikmin require the pad. those two titles specifically need to be used just on the pad.
 
F

FlashbladeGAF

Member
Zee-Row said:
Is there a way to turn the TV screen off so you can just play on the pad? Or do the games have to run with both screens?
Click to expand...

not sure if it this was mentioned, but in the case of Mass Effect you have to wait for the title screen to appear (after all the logos) and then you have to hold the - button down for 3 seconds to switch to gamepad.

NSMBWU automatically displays on the gamepad, but Mass effect didnt so I was flying blind without the Tv on.

Hopefully other games with "off tv" play will be "off tv" friendly if you are starting up the game without the tv


P.S. Cyber Monday sucked for Wii u game deals
 
M

Macho Madness

Member
FlashbladeGAF said:
not sure if it this was mentioned, but in the case of Mass Effect you have to wait for the title screen to appear (after all the logos) and then you have to hold the - button down for 3 seconds to switch to gamepad.

NSMBWU automatically displays on the gamepad, but Mass effect didnt so I was flying blind without the Tv on.

Hopefully other games with "off tv" play will be "off tv" friendly if you are starting up the game without the tv


P.S. Cyber Monday sucked for Wii u game deals
Click to expand...
With Tekken, it's an option hidden in the menus that you don't even see unless you're already playing the game. In AC3, Batman and Ninja Gaiden it's another option in the menu. Having to guess how you switch sucks.
 
U

UncleSporky

Member
EloquentM said:
did you forget that zelda and pikmin require the pad. those two titles specifically need to be used just on the pad.
Click to expand...

I didn't think about it, knowing that they're designed as multiplayer experiences, but I still think it's fair to say that NintendoLand as a whole does not support off-TV play. Some specific games in the package do, but it doesn't work in the same respect as other games on the list where you expressly choose to play without using the TV and it disables TV output and moves TV audio to the pad and everything.

Also seems a little wrong to say "NintendoLand supports off-TV play*! * in two specific minigames, seemingly unintentionally."
 
MrMephistoX

MrMephistoX

Member
it's great feature but I hope some enterprising third party comes up with a range booster of some kind if not Nintendo themselves. Off TV play is a mixed bag in my two story townhouse house unless I'm in the same room or have a direct line to the console like out in the hall way.


thewesker said:
With Tekken, it's an option hidden in the menus that you don't even see unless you're already playing the game. In AC3, Batman and Ninja Gaiden it's another option in the menu. Having to guess how you switch sucks.
Click to expand...

For NG I only had to do it the first time then the system remembered my preference.
 
P

Pineconn

Member
Sirius said:
...so ?

How smooth is Off-TVP? Any input lag or FPS issues?
Click to expand...

Not in the slightest bit. In fact, you typically receive information on the GamePad more quickly than through the television, so it's more natural to play on the GamePad. Dat HDTV lag.
 
S

sketchsanchez

Member
i didnt see nba2k13 on there, maybe im the only wiiu player on gaf? lol

off tv has been awesome for it. with last years game i had to constantly make the choice berween my dvr and a quick game of 2k. No longer!
 
S

Sirius

Member
Pineconn said:
Not in the slightest bit. In fact, you typically receive information on the GamePad more quickly than through the television, so it's more natural to play on the GamePad. Dat HDTV lag.
Click to expand...

If so, that's amazing.

It boggles me as to how they accomplished to get around this particular bottleneck, technically. Thing is using standard 802.11 b/g/n.
 
S

Samus4145

Member
Should mention Tekken blocks access to the Home screen during matches. Same with Black Ops 2 even in the menus, the button wouldn't work. Had to shut the system off and on to get back to it. The notification light goes off, but no way to check it.
 
O

OctoWara289

Neo Member
I played Sonic All Stars Racing Transformed on the pad only while I was in bed. Amazing. One thing I've noticed that catches me off guard at times is switching back and forth from TV and GamePad, the resolution change trips me out because the GamePad looks fuzzy after a while, but once you're back on it solely, you don't notice it.
 
K

kurtrussell

Banned
Will it work completely out of the box without any kind of connectivity / updates?

Thinking about getting my Wii U delivered to work for Friday launch so I can plug it in under my desk and play off-TV in my lunch break.
 
P

Plinko

Wildcard berths that can't beat teams without a winning record should have homefield advantage
denshuu said:
Negative, it doesn't. It's just an overhead map. The only way to play off the Game Pad is to play a 5-player multiplayer mode.
Click to expand...

This is completely FALSE.

Press your finger down on the game pad for a second and an icon will pop up, then swipe down.

It plays perfectly on the game pad screen.
 
B

Baconsammy

Banned
Berek Halfhand said:
Please update that list because a few have been listed that are not compatible.

SONIC RACING for one.

Nintendo has to half ass everything.
Click to expand...

2 things:

Sonic Racing isn't a Nintendo title. In fact it's better than a Nintendo title (Kart racing at least)

and

It has Gamepad play. Just swipe down on the gamepad screen to move the game to the pad, and swipe up to move it back to the TV.

Plinko said:
This is completely FALSE.

Press your finger down on the game pad for a second and an icon will pop up, then swipe down.

It plays perfectly on the game pad screen.
Click to expand...

All true, but you dont need to press your finger on the screen. Just swipe and it moves.
 
O

OctoWara289

Neo Member
kurtrussell said:
Will it work completely out of the box without any kind of connectivity / updates?

Thinking about getting my Wii U delivered to work for Friday launch so I can plug it in under my desk and play off-TV in my lunch break.
Click to expand...

Yes, you're not required to use the internet. In fact, if you plan on picking up Sonic Transformed don't go online with it. The download will produce some in-game glitches in certain modes of the game. Until they patch it, there is no fix. So avoid online with that game unless you want to play online and can wait for the patch.
 
O

OctoWara289

Neo Member
Baconsammy said:
2 things:

Sonic Racing isn't a Nintendo title. In fact it's better than a Nintendo title (Kart racing at least)

and

It has Gamepad play. Just swipe down on the gamepad screen to move the game to the pad, and swipe up to move it back to the TV.



All true, but you dont need to press your finger on the screen. Just swipe and it moves.
Click to expand...

I'm not too sure about this, there were a few times where it didn't pick up my swipes well, I had to swipe about four times to get it done correctly. It might need a brief pause and then a swipe.
 
K

kurtrussell

Banned
OctoWara289 said:
Yes, you're not required to use the internet. In fact, if you plan on picking up Sonic Transformed don't go online with it. The download will produce some in-game glitches in certain modes of the game. Until they patch it, there is no fix. So avoid online with that game unless you want to play online and can wait for the patch.
Click to expand...

Cool! So I can literally unbox it, plug it in and go? All the first time setup screens etc will work off-tv without internet?
 
F

FlashbladeGAF

Member
kurtrussell said:
Will it work completely out of the box without any kind of connectivity / updates?

Thinking about getting my Wii U delivered to work for Friday launch so I can plug it in under my desk and play off-TV in my lunch break.
Click to expand...

it depends on the game.


I was able to start up a game without ever turning on the tv screen, but then Mass Effect doesnt display on the gamepad unless you already know how to transfer the game from the tv to the gamepad
 
L

lunchwithyuzo

Banned
This has really proven to be the best feature on Wii U, and definitely how I've logged the most hours on the system so far in NSMBU, NG3RE, Sonic Racing 2, Trine 2, Nano Assault Neo, etc. The sooner Wii U VC gets up and running, the better.

It KILLS me that MH3U won't offer it, I honestly think it's going to negatively impact my playtime of that game. 3DS isn't a good substitute either since they won't be adding online to that version, total oversight on Capcom's part imo. Hopefully they patch in off-tv play at a later point or something.
 
Lucent

Lucent

Member
doniewhalberg said:
It really is a brilliant feature. I was saying to my girlfriend, if that was literally all the game pad did, give you the ability to move the game down onto the pad and let you play while people used the tv, I would have been sold. However, while I'll almost certainly grab a Wii U in the next few months, it's the resolution that worries me the most. To give you a HD console, HD games, the ability to play them on your pad, and no HD screen is just...I don't know. I can't condemn as I haven't played myself but we have one of those Kindle Fire HDs kicking around the house (which doesn't have the best screen in the world) and to not even have that quality worries me I'll be disappointed when I got a shot of the game pad play.
Click to expand...

I really don't think it's that bad. Of course it's not going to be able to compete with an actual TV, but I honestly thought Nintendoland looked about the same on both the TV and the gamepad screen. It can look very clean.
 
O

oatmeal

Banned
OTV Play is definitely it's killer feature.

I love it. Though it makes watching a movie with my wife a lot harder when I see the pad just sitting there...and NSMBU has so many goddamn challenges to do.
 
M

Mr.LightMan

Member
FlashbladeGAF said:
it depends on the game.


I was able to start up a game without ever turning on the tv screen, but then Mass Effect doesnt display on the gamepad unless you already know how to transfer the game from the tv to the gamepad
Click to expand...
From memory, Darksiders 2, Assassin's Creed 3, Scribblenauts, Trine 2, and Black Ops2 can all be set up without a t.v for offscreen play. That's just the games I have though.
 
T

totowhoa

Banned
OctoWara289 said:
I'm not too sure about this, there were a few times where it didn't pick up my swipes well, I had to swipe about four times to get it done correctly. It might need a brief pause and then a swipe.
Click to expand...

Yeah the few times I've tried playing off screen it took me a couple of swipes to get it right. I think it just has to be performed in an unnecessarily particular way or something. Either way, racing games are something I like to play on the big screen, so aside form testing it out I've only used the Gamepad for local MP so far.
 
G

Gummb

Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about Rayman Legends Wii U.
jozero said:
Agreed. Not having a proper sleep mode is a huge mistake. Every non-console device basically has it now.
Click to expand...

Honestly, I just turned off the auto-off feature and pretend it's in sleep mode. XD

Is this bad? I figured it consumes such little power and I have it in a nice cool place...
 
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