[antipode]

I think for games with random strangers, theres closed chat.. some prebuilt in phrases u can use.. like "Good Game" and shiat.. But for friends theres a full fledged chat w/ keyboard I think.

Can someone confirm this? Because someone said in the other thread there is absolutely no chat whatsoever.

[Beer Monkey]

that still boggles me why people are comparing a handheld online service to a consoles..

There's no reason that today's handhelds can't have just as many online features as a console has.

FYI, I have a DS and will be playing both Mario Kart and AC online, and I'm looking forward to it.

[TurtleSnatcher]

Can I chat online? Not all games will contain a chat feature. Each individual game developer determines if chat will be in the game and how it will operate. Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection games that contain a chat feature will work as follows: "Open" chat is allowed between friends who have exchanged Friend Codes. "Closed" chat is available during "Stranger” or "Rival” play. "Closed" chat means you can select from a set of phrases to send to an opponent but you may not type whatever you want. One of the great features of the Nintendo DS is Pictochat, which allows players to chat using the local wireless mode of the system. At this time, Pictochat is not a feature of the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection. Keep checking Nintendowifi.com for news of any future uses of the Pictochat feature.

And i dont know if mario kart counts.. but taken from the site.

EDIT: Some handhelds are limited in hardware obviously.. its not like a ds has a harddrive built to store friends lists + 10000 etc like an xbox :(

[John Harker]

Well, at least you can choose who you skate against in Tony Hawk..

Good find.

I was worried this was for all Wi Fi games.

I can live with it then, as long as ALL games werent liek Mario Kart.

At least you can have that option to choose friends on other games.

Is anyone playing Tony Hawk?
No ones talking about it.

I loved Tony Hawk 2 on GBA. Crap, it was the only game I bought for it! haha.
I may look into this.

[Beer Monkey]

EDIT: Some handhelds are limited in hardware obviously.. its not like a ds has a harddrive built to store friends lists + 10000 etc like an xbox :(

Xbox currently limits theirs to 100 entries. This could be downloaded on the fly, as only a few Kbytes of data. No hard drive needed.

[antipode]

And i dont know if mario kart counts.. but taken from the site.

If you look at impressions on threads like this though:
http://www.ga-forum.com/showthread.p...hlight=No+chat
it seems like MKDS falls under the "not all games support chat" category, even if you are playing against friends. I will be really happy if that's wrong though.

[Drensch]

It'd be great if someone who has the game would buy the :Buffalo WLI-U2-KG54-AI 54Mbps Wireless-G USB 2.0 Keychain Adapter, and see if it works. Wink wink.

[+Aliken+]

just to go back on this 10 firend thing.
Lets say I have 50 friends online with Mario Kart.

What are the chances that they are all doing the friend search at the same time you want to meet a specific friend.

very low. ;)


Mostly people will be searching worldwide and wont be searching but racing ;)

[Beer Monkey]

What are the chances that they are all doing the friend search at the same time you want to meet a specific friend.

Enough to be annoying. I'll be talking to my 'core' gaming friends via Xbox Live voice chat while playing Mario Kart, and if any of them misses an occasional game due to dumb luck, they'll be pissed, and rightfully so.

Here's another scenario.

My friends list will have my core friends plus GAF members.

Another friend of mine will have his core friends plus Console Gold members.

Does the system allow 'friends of a friend' to join? What happens if we both say 'join' at the same time? Multiply this times four players, trying to coordinate a specific game within the fourfold friends list of each. Any single open game out there anywhere, and there's a good chance that only three of the four of you will end up playing together.

Seems potentially hairy.

[Ironclad]

Damn, I am so excited for this. Only one week left. Already got mine fully paid off.

[John Harker]

Can you have mutliple friend lists?

I feel like the I already know the answer to this (re: no), but if you had mutliple Friend Lists, like a Home Friends or a GAF Friends list, that wouldn't be so bad.

dammit, I just realy wanna do GAF tournys.

[borghe]

according to Nintendo you have one friend list per save. This is direct. So I don't know if you have multiple saves, though in theory if you do you could have multiple friends lists.

[GDJustin]

Once you're in with a group of people you can keep playing with that group until you opt yourself to exit. Whether they're random gamers or people from your friends list. Every time I've played online I've hooked up with a group and just stuck with them for several sets until I was ready to get offline.

[Merlin]

It is weird you can't choose who you play with. With this and no online battle mode, I get the impression Nintendo's holding back, so they can say they've got it in the inevitable Revolution Mario Kart.

[Littleberu]

Once you're in with a group of people you can keep playing with that group until you opt yourself to exit. Whether they're random gamers or people from your friends list. Every time I've played online I've hooked up with a group and just stuck with them for several sets until I was ready to get offline.

Exactly. Be sociable guys. If you want to play with IRL friends, just, I don't know, go at their house.

[Beer Monkey]

If you want to play with IRL friends, just, I don't know, go at their house.

Huh? Just because I have existing friends doesn't mean they are nearby.

Hell, fuck it, all online gaming should be with random strangers, right? :lol

And how sociable is gaming without text or voice chat?

[DavidDayton]

Just a side thought...

I wonder if the website will allow you to set up tournaments and limit matches to an individual? That should be possible, shouldn't it? The DS sends a list of data to the matchmaking server... so a web interface to tell the server "change the following settings" should be possible.

[theREBELins]

Are stats kept and stored from online play?

[GDJustin]

Are stats kept and stored from online play?

Your wifi win/loss record is stored on the DS, and your record against each individual friend. That is all.

[GaimeGuy]

It sounds like, unlike what Nintendo said a few months back when they talked about how using Gamespy will allow them to always have the online portions of games available, the services for each game can and will eventually be cancelled. :( http://nintendowifi.com/consumerserv...ral_Connection

[dkeane]

http://media.gba.gamespy.com/article...0&RSSid=664980

WiFi Commercial

[Trident]

Fat people eating sandwiches = always hilarious

[xir]

Got to play four 5-player wi-fi races.

Like Mario 64 so much it hurts, in a good way.

Bullet Bill power up is the new cheese, and I'm lactose intolerant.

[Littleberu]

Huh? Just because I have existing friends doesn't mean they are nearby. Hell, fuck it, all online gaming should be with random strangers, right? :lol And how sociable is gaming without text or voice chat?

Strangers? You've got a friends list. Now stop being a selective prick by choosing which one you want to play with ; if they are online, chances are that they WILL play the game anyway.

And by sociable I don't mean go out and have a drink with a Japanese, but just to create friends on your friends lists other than on some messages boards.

[Teddman]

Got to play four 5-player wi-fi races. Like Mario 64 so much it hurts, in a good way. Bullet Bill power up is the new cheese, and I'm lactose intolerant.

Can you switch off any of the items, or are games not customizable?

What the dealy with Bullet Bill?

[Beer Monkey]

Strangers? You've got a friends list. Now stop being a selective prick by choosing which one you want to play with

Do you have friends? Do you ever do anything with some of your friends where not all of your friends are invited? Even for a friendly competition?

Fine, I'm a selective prick. God forbid that anybody could feel that Nintendo has an inferior interface compared to some other online systems. If you don't do it Nintendo's way, 100 percent of the time, you are just a selective prick!

[fallout]

Strangers? You've got a friends list. Now stop being a selective prick by choosing which one you want to play with ; if they are online, chances are that they WILL play the game anyway. And by sociable I don't mean go out and have a drink with a Japanese, but just to create friends on your friends lists other than on some messages boards.

I think the major problem is not that people don't want to hop into random games, but that people like choice and flexibility.

[borghe]

exactly.. I applaud them for giving a quick and easy way to get into a game without ANY hassle. bravo. but to take away common and intuitive modes to do it? I mean hell... put a freaking option in the options menu to turn on access to rooms or something. or add a code that is like 15 inputs long.. whatever. but to completely remove it as any option whatsoever seems very odd.. to say the least.

[yoopoo]

http://ds.ign.com/articles/665/665128p1.html

Wi-Fi USB Adapter Hands-on

[Akia]

Posted from IGNDS mailbag:

've been playing around on Mario Kart DS since this weekend with very few problems. I noticed on the message boards that you snoopy-snoops have been peeking around Nintendo's Wi-Fi website, and yes, my name (CraigIGN) appears showing that I'm blasting through the races against the world. Or at least, the world that's currently connected and having a copy of Mario Kart DS. The problem with Mario Kart is that the online portion is extremely limited. The only way you'll be able to connect with me on a regular basis, outside of randomly connecting to me via "Worldwide Mode" is if you have my 12 digit Friend Code, and I have yours. If you have mine, you still won't be able to connect to me as a friend since I don't have yours. Knowing someone's online name isn't enough. Nintendo's system also forces the group of up to four players -- people can't choose who to play, or even enable a simple two or three player challenge. And even in random Worldwide match-ups, if I enjoyed racing against someone, I have no way of adding that person to my list of friends. There's no way of chatting with that person or finding out his email address to get that information after the fact, either. Get Mario Kart DS because it's the best freakin' kart racer ever, with an incredible focus on single player and local multiplayer. Don't get it solely for its online component because you'll end up wanting way more than what's offered here. -- Craig

[SpiffyG]

Posted from IGNDS mailbag: I've been playing around on Mario Kart DS since this weekend with very few problems. I noticed on the message boards that you snoopy-snoops have been peeking around Nintendo's Wi-Fi website, and yes, my name (CraigIGN) appears showing that I'm blasting through the races against the world. Or at least, the world that's currently connected and having a copy of Mario Kart DS. The problem with Mario Kart is that the online portion is extremely limited. The only way you'll be able to connect with me on a regular basis, outside of randomly connecting to me via "Worldwide Mode" is if you have my 12 digit Friend Code, and I have yours. If you have mine, you still won't be able to connect to me as a friend since I don't have yours. Knowing someone's online name isn't enough. Nintendo's system also forces the group of up to four players -- people can't choose who to play, or even enable a simple two or three player challenge. And even in random Worldwide match-ups, if I enjoyed racing against someone, I have no way of adding that person to my list of friends. There's no way of chatting with that person or finding out his email address to get that information after the fact, either. Get Mario Kart DS because it's the best freakin' kart racer ever, with an incredible focus on single player and local multiplayer. Don't get it solely for its online component because you'll end up wanting way more than what's offered here. -- Craig

Go go Mario Kart Revolution! I really hope these limitations don't become the staples of Nintendo online game. T_T

I guess they are just dabbling in it right now. Maybe we'll see some feature-heavy DS online games in 2006? *hopes*

[Bboy AJ]

That's terrible to hear, but I'll still be picking this up regardless.

[Memles]

Clearly, the online setup is meant to be purely a casual experience. I think it's kind of cheap, but I also think it might be a nice introduction to online gaming for the audience the DS caters to.

I'll know someone with the game, so I'll have plenty of local multiplayer, but this somewhat shaky online support doesn't make or break anything, really, especially if what is there remains fun if perhaps a little bare bones.

[Chibbi Brady]

Is there any chance of adding in things that didn't quite make release later on down the line? I mean is it pissoble we'll see chat in MK, friends invite or possibly some extra courses playable online in the future?

[SpiffyG]

I just hope there is voice chat in Animal Crossing. But it is Nintendo we are talking about. -_-

[yoopoo]

I just hope there is voice chat in Animal Crossing. But it is Nintendo we are talking about. -_-

There isn't. But there is text chat, check the presentation video.

[Trident]

Unfortunate that their flagship online title is so crippled in online features

[GaimeGuy]

Is there any chance of adding in things that didn't quite make release later on down the line? I mean is it pissoble we'll see chat in MK, friends invite or possibly some extra courses playable online in the future?

A simple patch should be able to activate all that.

[Kai]

Question.... Anyone know the difference between the Linksys routers there?

I have a WRK54G.... but the only one that is listed that looks the same is the WRT54G. Does this mean my router will not be compatibale or is it just the latest models listed?

[Emotions]

Haven't tried it yet but since i don't have a wireless router i probably go with the dongle , can't wait for this game to come out im so hyped for it.

[Deku]

A simple patch should be able to activate all that.

Where are they going to save the patch to?


Nintendo needs to use the GBA slot with a proprietary DS memory card that has a high capaicty flash rom that can store these kind of data. It would also open doors for MMO play. Unforutnatelly, the company isn't interest in it at the moment.

[GaimeGuy]

Where are they going to save the patch to? Nintendo needs to use the GBA slot with a proprietary DS memory card that has a high capaicty flash rom that can store these kind of data. It would also open doors for MMO play. Unforutnatelly, the company isn't interest in it at the moment.

Who knows how much flashable rom the mario kart cards have? For all we know they shipped the games with unused memory set aside for a patch exactly like the one I described.

[Mrbob]

Looks like Nintendo still has much to learn in the online arena.

Oh well, game still looks fun. Too bad about the shobby online component.

[vitaflo]

That IGN comment made it sound like online games are 4 player only. Is it possible to play a 2 player online game, with just myself and a friend? I hightly doubt the limited number of friends I'll have in the game will all be online at the same time.

[Error]

I can't believe a third party game (THPS AW) has better online mode than a first party game... what happen here? O_o

Don't get me wrong I'm still getting MKDS but there are not excuses this time, I hope they don't do a half assed online mode in the AC too.

[TurtleSnatcher]

Currently the wireless adapter will only be available for purchase from the Nintendo.com website, but when Metroid Prime Hunters is ready to go Nintendo will reportedly back that launch up by releasing the USB adapter to retail.

Thats with the hands on the wifi adapter from IGN..

So its going retail in a few months at least.. spiffy.

[the androgyne]

you guys ... the games not even out yet and you sound like you're all sick of it!

i just have a question.. wondering if the sharp 'THWACK' noise from super mario kart (when u get hit by a shell) made it in? it has to be a seriously disorientating THWACK for it to count btw!

oh and how are the green shells in battle mode? they haven't quite got this right in the previous sequels... but in SMK, u'd come round a bend in battle mode, fling the green shell and continue on your path, it would fully do a curvy WHIPPPP around a corner before smacking someone..... is that in there? nothing beat timing one of those to perfection for the last balloon win!

[Teddman]

Don't you feel that Nintendo's mantra of "Simple is Better" sometimes masks a lazy approach to game design?

I'm glad that they've made it easy (and free) to get online with Mario Kart DS, but they took the easy way out in more ways than one. A few more options would have made the experience much more enjoyable...

This is already reminding me too much of the woefully crippled LAN mode of Mario Kart: Double Dash, which offered next to no options and a forced random element to the game setup.

[GaimeGuy]

I can't believe a third party game (THPS AW) has better online mode than a first party game... what happen here? O_o Don't get me wrong I'm still getting MKDS but there are not excuses this time, I hope they don't do a half assed online mode in the AC too.

Well, keep in mind that this is Nintendo's first mainstream attempt at an online game.

[Teddman]

This quote of Kobun's from his impressions has an extra dimension now... The only reason he could easily play Toastyfrog in one-on-one matches is because they were the only people online, period! :lol

It's quite funny when we can both go on WFC, click "worldwide," and only find each other. We're the only two people IN THE MOTHERFUCKING WORLD on Nintendo WFC right now. Then I beat his ass.

That very well never be possible again now that more people are online.