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Smart steering in Mario Kart 8 Deluxe is pretty crazy
- Thread starter Busaiku
- Start date
Didn't Mario Kart 8 on Wii U have a Mercedes in it? Surely this is preparation for a Tesla with Autopilot. 
I agree this is a good feature for young kids, like stabilisers for video games! But from my own personal experience I don't remember having any lack of control when I was a 5. I could pick up an Atari joystick or Intellivision pad and use it with no issues.
I agree this is a good feature for young kids, like stabilisers for video games! But from my own personal experience I don't remember having any lack of control when I was a 5. I could pick up an Atari joystick or Intellivision pad and use it with no issues.
You can't turn it on unless the race itself has it turned on (IE for everyone) online, is my understanding. And...it's really not going to be a benefit to anyone that cares about this. Seriously, it's just a 'hey don't fall off the track and don't go the wrong way' function.
30yearsofhurt
Member
You can't get tier 3 drift boosts while using smart steering.
I'm worried how this will affect online play.
Even if it did the person would be always last.
I get a lil competitive with Mario Kart so I thought this was gonna piss me off, but that seems fine. It seems like just enough to help people that may not know how to fully engage, but not enough to beat people that know what they're doing without a lot of luck (which hey, may happen in Mario Kart).
I'm cool with this.
I'm cool with this.
Alex
Member
Isn't that the new level of boost? I recall reading it was fairly uncommon to do, anyway.
Yeah. I didn't see any reviewers soft drifting so I wouldn't take what they say about the frequency of it too seriously.
andthebeatgoeson
Junior Member
Haha.
My daughter will love it and not even know. Although, she stuck with it and can get in 2nd place on the 50cc.
Its not an autopilot, it puts invisible rails so you cant hit a wall or fall off the course. Thats why it looks like the kart is hugging the walls.
If its like Wipeout then everyone is gonna have it turned on.
Acerac
Banned
Pretty sure it is disabled online, and even if it weren't the loss of the top tier boost would be enough to ensure this wasn't viable.
No one is going to use this to play competitively. Have you all looked at the videos showing the tier 3 boost being 3 times the speed/duration as the tier 1 boosts?
You lose access to the max boost just by enabling this. So the idea of trying to turn it on, then 'race normally' to pick up a bonus of not being able to fall off won't work; losing access to the boost is going to slow your overall max speed/effectiveness so much that you will be taking yourself out of the competition from the jump.
You lose access to the max boost just by enabling this. So the idea of trying to turn it on, then 'race normally' to pick up a bonus of not being able to fall off won't work; losing access to the boost is going to slow your overall max speed/effectiveness so much that you will be taking yourself out of the competition from the jump.
aygomyownroad
Member
Yeah will help my daughter get in to it more as well.
This feature is a blessing for kids too young to be good, but old enough to want to play.
If you had ever spent a minute waiting for your kid finishing his course to move on to the next one, you'd understand the purpose of this new feature.
Mario Kart was an accessible game, it's now basically universal. Smart Steering = smart move.
It's a great feature. My mates like Mario Kart but don't own a console - they've not played since N64 when they were kids. However they like playing stuff like that before we go out over a few beers. This is a superb feature for them. It's no fun playing games with one person who is wildly better crapping all over everyone else. This way we can all have fun and all feel like we're able to compete.
Try telling a load of mates "you guys fucking suck I'm gonna wreck you all because I've spent x number of hours playing this game on my own hahahaha". See how many friends you have afterwards.
Try telling a load of mates "you guys fucking suck I'm gonna wreck you all because I've spent x number of hours playing this game on my own hahahaha". See how many friends you have afterwards.
Even if the functionality is available online I don't see it as a big enough handicap to actually matter. It's not doing any of the boosts for you and it seems to be making turns when it becomes clear you're heading off the track. On the flip side I also imagine the user still has some priority input over the game and it only assists active players in getting them back on the track. In a hypothetical scenario where there is a competent player using it as a clutch on 150cc-200cc then they might have an advantage in that they'll be rescued when they screw up or it's possible that the system will end up making adjustments that the player doesn't want. Compare that to the home versions of some fighting games that allow you to not only set handicaps but allow players to map combo's to button presses. They certainly are advantages but they're only going to be able to help you so much.
PotionBleue
Member
I think you guys are a bit too enthusiastic about the usefulness of the purple / ultra / level 3 mini-turbo. There's like barely one turn per track where you can realistically charge it without drifting widely.
What makes Smart Steering not competitively viable is rather the fact that it slows you down by a lot every time it activates.
sems4arsenal
Member
Dont games like GT and Forza have this years ago?
It is
My son plays Mario tennis and pokken on wiiu but isn't yet ready to steer in mk so we play togethr: I steer and he accelerates
Yesterday I tried mk8 deluxe on switch and he was SO happy of Boeing able to play solo
He accelerates, launch items and partially steers with gyro, auto assisted
Great
fabricated backlash
Member
Anyone who has a serious problem with this feature should take a long hard look at themselves and re evaluate their life.
This is a godsend feature for MP. My wife has gotten significantly better at MK, but some of her friends have no experience with iz. Now they can at least play with her.
This is a godsend feature for MP. My wife has gotten significantly better at MK, but some of her friends have no experience with iz. Now they can at least play with her.
jts
...hate me...
I understand this reference.
Can't wait to see Reggie trying to play the game on the d-pad once again.
Milly Osworth
Member
The game looks soooo good now that its 1080p.
FunkyDealer
Banned
Will it stop you from driving the wrong way?
Probably not. It looks like it only kicks in as you near a wall or ledge.
It's interesting and shows how the game AI is working there, basically letting the player win but I guess it's only 50cc though judging by the slow pace, I don't think that auto-feature will do well in the faster cups or even against human opponents.
Honestly, I think Mario Kart's controls have become too complex over the years. Every time I'd play MK8 with "casuals" they end up driving against walls or leaving the tracks, because MK8 is seriously hard to play if you don't know how to drift correctly. Past games were way more forgiving in that regard, I think.
slick7rick
Member
This will be incredibly useful for children.
i wouldn't deduct too much from this one video. We don't know how many attempts it took to actually win instead of just finishing 4th or 5th.
Mario Kart has a high degree of randomness - each racer's position is incredibly volatile based on the items the players behind them receive at any given time. being hit with 2 red shells in a row can easily send you from 2nd to 8th place. if that first red shell misses you because it got blocked by a random other player you don't lose a single position.
So i'd dare claiming that - not just does the auto-steering not do well in faster cups, it won't really consistently do well in the 50cc cup either, and this is just one of these lucky times where the 'auto-steerer' managed to win.
The comparison to those bowling lane bumpers is pretty spot on. Those don't mean that every kid will land strikes (while that can certainly happen) - those only mean that your kind won't end up frustrated because they hit 0 pins every single frame (the equivalent of constantly falling off the track)
the Luigi video is the equivalen to this:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QBWvNfpgHm8
TheMoon
Member
If you don't drift, you might as well just not play in MK8. I think you could get by without it in earlier games more. This might also be colored by my online experience which I never really delved into much before 8.
Are you seriously butthurt by this?
ZombiePlatypus
Member
Making the kart's antenna light up like a remote controlled car when correcting is a really cool touch.
I just hope this isn't an automatically enabled option.
I just hope this isn't an automatically enabled option.
Bucket-o-roadkill
Member
Modern day equivalent of the good old days when you'd give a kid a controller which was unplugged and just play the game yourself letting them think they're in control lol
I dont get this comments , as i child i played Crash Team Racing just fine without anyone playing game for me. Like i was 5 at that time.
Chronospherics
Member
It's pretty neat but do you not feel that some value is lost by taking away all of the players potential to make mistakes?
Yes, we don't want a player falling off all of the time, unable to finish the track. But do we want a player immune to falling off? Is it not better that they experience some of the highs and lows? that they receive some feedback to encourage them towards better driving?
Pilot assist in wipeout offered similar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Y4s5Fduog
but the player was more free to make mistakes due to the games shifts in elevation. Going off course was still occasionally possible. Additionally, going into the wall actually slowed you down a little, the player still received feedback encouraging them to do better.
Yes, we don't want a player falling off all of the time, unable to finish the track. But do we want a player immune to falling off? Is it not better that they experience some of the highs and lows? that they receive some feedback to encourage them towards better driving?
Pilot assist in wipeout offered similar
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-Y4s5Fduog
but the player was more free to make mistakes due to the games shifts in elevation. Going off course was still occasionally possible. Additionally, going into the wall actually slowed you down a little, the player still received feedback encouraging them to do better.
Yeah, you are great. You're an incredibly skilled person. We're all proud of you.
Meanwhile, why don't you go ahead and not ignore the several post by actual parents describing how their actual kids are very much into the idea of Mario Kart but not yet able to fully enjoy the game because steering is still a bit too hard for them.
Drifting has been a Mario Kart thing since... well... forever.
It's not about "the controls becoming too complex" it has more to do with the way tracks are designed. As technology advances, they have more freedom to add turns and twists and jumps and shit every few seconds. You're doing something all the time. Past games didn't have the design complexity the current games do so that's why you feel they were more "forgiving". They were pretty barren with simpler designs and not much going on.
The controls have remained pretty much the same since SMK.
Heavy's Sandvich
Member
Love this feature, hopefully it means that I can win online.
On a serious note, will be great to have this as a feature for my nephew to play along with me, once he gets better at the game.
On a serious note, will be great to have this as a feature for my nephew to play along with me, once he gets better at the game.
Well done, your Super Hardcore Gamer medal is in the post, oh great protagonist of Life.
Orniletter
Banned
Exactly, those pampered children should be raised on Dark Souls instead and casuals who aren't into games shouldn't be allowed to have fun either.
we bow down to your videogame greatness
git gud or go back to your room without dinner
rochellepaws
Member
Kind of mixed on this. I played Super Mario Kart when I was just 5 and had to learn how to compete with my Dad and older siblings, and I did through practice and became the best at the game in my family. I wonder if a kid would experience the same with these sort of supports, the item boxes already benefit those who are behind so I think an auto accelerate and auto steering as well may be excessive and damaging to improvement. But I'm sure some will find a use for it.
Most people just want to have fun without having to make a fucking job of it.
Charles Brandon
Member
A lot of people on GAF don't realise that, for most people, gaming isn't a hobby in much the same way that watching TV isn't a hobby. It's a momentary distraction, a mere form of entertainment, and not something they desire to spend excessive amounts of time and mental energy to practice enough to compete with those who dedicate their spare time to it.
GoldenCrow
Member
Older person grumbles at clouds time:
I understand making things fun for people but I really dislike how so much of society is trying to negate learning without actually implementing anything that will help. Learning how to play games was fun and once you understand the basics it opens up every kind of game possible. Mario Kart on the SNES was one of the first racing games I played alongside Super Hang On, they taught me the basics and yes I was awful at them but I could play every type of racing game from then on no problem. What is wrong with being bad at something? its a good life lesson, especially that if you practice you get better. I always thought the forced tutorial areas were bad enough as I like trial and error but they teach the fundamentals. This doesn't teach anything and anybody sharp enough will quickly realise they aren't actually doing anything and may as well be watching somebody else play instead.
I understand making things fun for people but I really dislike how so much of society is trying to negate learning without actually implementing anything that will help. Learning how to play games was fun and once you understand the basics it opens up every kind of game possible. Mario Kart on the SNES was one of the first racing games I played alongside Super Hang On, they taught me the basics and yes I was awful at them but I could play every type of racing game from then on no problem. What is wrong with being bad at something? its a good life lesson, especially that if you practice you get better. I always thought the forced tutorial areas were bad enough as I like trial and error but they teach the fundamentals. This doesn't teach anything and anybody sharp enough will quickly realise they aren't actually doing anything and may as well be watching somebody else play instead.