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Davey Cakes · Jan 18, 2009

I don't understand the argument for having a standard controller with a pointer or a standard controller that "splits."

What is so bad about the Wiimote+nunchuk? Even without both the motion controls and pointer taken into consideration, it's one of the most comfortable control setups you could ever come across. When you talk about having a controller that "splits" you're merely talking about a controller that can become like Wiimote+nunchuk non-permanently. But, that sounds flat-out dumb to be when the Wiimote+nunchuk as a permanent control style is perfectly fine. Yes, it takes an adjustment, but that's what Nintendo wants. Small adjustment and a great payoff.

People need to stop acting like they can't adjust to new things. I'll admit that the Wiimote doesn't have as many buttons as some would like, but to suggest that it would be as effective having a standard controller with a pointer on the end, especially when Nintendo themselves already tried it and found out that it "didn't work," is just ridiculous. That's really reaching.

EatChildren · Jan 20, 2009

Having watched the video a few times now, like a nerd with nothing to do, Ive decided the visual presentation still isnt up to scratch.

Some areas look so much better than others. The street level, as shown in the video, looks like it has come together. Great lighting, shadows, shaders, and plenty going on.

The environment on the bridge battle against the big green alien, on the other hand, is really very ugly. I can see the shadows, I can see the shaders, but the environment still looks terribly flat lit, brown, and boring. I wonder, though, if this is early footage. In the same scene take a look at the building in the background on the right. The back of it is choppy and odd looking, as if it either hasnt been modelled or the render distance is really low.

Textures are also quite concerning. Some look good, others ugly. Pause around 2:43, where he is cocking the pistol. The texture on the pistol is extremely boring looking. I would have hoped something so close to the screen would have gotten a better job.

Its probably wrong to judge something like textures until the game is on my television, but from the videos it is still disappointing. A game like Prime 3 has incredible looking textures, sadly only truly possible to appreciate when youre right up close, and yet The Conduit looks to have a muddy crappy texture on a gun that is going to be constantly on the screen.

Its going to be interesting to see how the final release looks.

Oh, one last thing; I still hate the projected lighting from the ASE. It looks awful. Rather than project a flashlight brightening effect it appears to just add a white texture to objects, and the eye pattern it projects still doesnt dynamically interact with the proportions of the environment.

Tab0203 · Jan 20, 2009

Maybe I should open a new thread or bump this one: Aiming: wiimote vs mouse vs analogue stick - verdict?

or someone else could open a new thread incl. player/gun/camera movement, response time/update rate and hand movement.

It's not really offtopic anyway.

Here's another control method comparison:

Dual analog:

Mouse & keyboard:

Wii remote & nunchuk:

http://i42.tinypic.com/24m98hv.gif
http://i44.tinypic.com/2628o75.gif

Here's the youtube version (normal speed).
Call of Duty: WaW - Wii Controls
Music: Operation Flashpoint

DS:
http://i44.tinypic.com/mmu1vn.gif

Bully (Wii) - Atmosphere

markatisu · Jan 30, 2009

Kotaku goes hands-on

http://k o t a k u.com/5142661/the-conduit-channels-hardcore-gaming-to-the-wii-hands+on

I found myself treading a crowded urban street as the mysterious Mr. Ford, who works for the equally shadowy Trust, effortlessly shooting insect-like enemy "Drudge" and blowing up vehicles, all while taking in the pretty visual presentation.

Most impressive, especially for the Wii, were the explosions, which filled the screen in fiery detail on more than one occasion. But even tiny touches, like the realistic glare off the front of a newspaper vending machine, stand-out on the Wii. Also, the cool reload animationsan important part of any shooterhad me restocking my arsenal just to check it out again and again.

Just as impressive as the art direction, were the solid controls; I havent felt this comfortable pointing the remote like a gun since strapping on Samus arm canon in Metroid Prime 3: Corruption. Character movement with the nunchuck also felt fluid, aiming was spot-on, and even the camera managed to keep up with the quick-paced action.

You can map pretty much whatever action you want wherever you like; not just the obvious stuff like moving and firing, either, but even things like what motion you prefer to use when tossing grenades can be tuned.

This feature also extends to the HUD elements, which can be placed anywhere on the screen, and options such as look sensitivity and turning speed. Best of all, you neednt kick out to the main menu to tweakit can all be done in-game.

Jaded Alyx · Jan 30, 2009

kotaku said:
Just as impressive as the art direction...

But..

nightside · Jan 30, 2009

but even things like what motion you prefer to use when tossing grenades can be tuned.

wow. that's a brilliant idea.

Perdew · Jan 30, 2009

nightside said:
wow. that's a brilliant idea.

.

The best controls are customizable.

JaMarco · Jan 30, 2009

Perdew said:
.

The best controls are customizable.

tru

ivysaur12 · Jan 30, 2009

So they're backing it up with a good game, huh? I'll definitely stay excited.

joetachi · Jan 30, 2009

Perdew said:
.

The best controls are customizable.

Yeah this game is getting that right thats what i like the most of this game is that its soo customizable.

Davey Cakes · Jan 30, 2009

That's exactly what The Conduit is all about. The small-minded will just say that it's merely an attempt at making a hardcore shooter that would probably be forgotten if it were on other systems. But really, I think the amount of customization that High Voltage is putting in the game completely debunks that.

The Conduit is meant to be a showcase Wii title that raises the bar for FPS on the system. While people enjoyed the controls and options that were in games like Metroid Prime 3 and Medal of Honor: Heroes 2, these games don't even scratch the surface of what High Voltage is putting into their game. The guys at HV are quite passionate about showing just how effectively engaging shooters can be on Wii, it seems like they're doing a hell of a job.

Mejilan · Jan 30, 2009

Do you work for HV?

M74 · Jan 30, 2009

The more hands-on we get, the more and more excited I get for this game.

Don't fail me now, HVS!

ZealousD · Jan 30, 2009

Rash said:
That's exactly what The Conduit is all about. The small-minded will just say that it's merely an attempt at making a hardcore shooter that would probably be forgotten if it were on other systems. But really, I think the amount of customization that High Voltage is putting in the game completely debunks that.

The amount of customization available doesn't say a thing about things like level design, AI, pacing, challenge, etc.

I don't think I'm small minded for saying that those kinds of things could easily fall short. I don't think a game should be judged merely on the merits of its control scheme.

Whenever people talk about how hyped they are for The Conduit, they always mention its platform. Always. People want this game to do well because they like the fact that somebody is trying a hardcore shooter on the Wii, and people want more of them.

I don't disagree. I want more hardcore shooters on the Wii myself. More ground-up built for Wii hardcore shooters. But The Conduit doesn't look like it will deliver for me. Apart from the controls, I see no appeal.

J-Rock · Jan 30, 2009

Not long now til the online multiplayer impressions start rolling in. Can't wait. I'll end up spending most of my time online(if it's good).

John Harker · Jan 30, 2009

J-Rock said:
Not long now til the online multiplayer impressions start rolling in. Can't wait. I'll end up spending most of my time online(if it's good).

It saddens me that this is getting all the attention and more people aren't being vocal about the lack of any local multiplayer

titiklabingapat · Jan 30, 2009

Wow.

Customizeable everything.

I know it's Kotaku but I can't help being hyped :lol

[Nintex] · Jan 30, 2009

John Harker said:
It saddens me that this is getting all the attention and more people aren't being vocal about the lack of any local multiplayer

It could've been the Wii's Goldeneye if it had a fun local multiplayer mode. In fact the Wii doesn't have any local mutliplayer shooters that are worth playing. The GameCube got Timesplitters 2 just a year after launch and James Bond NightFire was fun as well.

pakkit · Jan 30, 2009

John Harker said:
It saddens me that this is getting all the attention and more people aren't being vocal about the lack of any local multiplayer

It has LAN support, so...

I don't know, I'm really not into the idea of halving the bounding box.

M74 · Jan 30, 2009

pakkit said:
I'm really not into the idea of halving the bounding box.

Exactly. It's not really feasible on Wii. We'll just have to live with LAN/Online.

Fantastical · Jan 31, 2009

Wait... so it does have LAN support? I thought that was just a rumor. I mean, they had it running, but they weren't sure they could actually do it...

mentalfloss · Jan 31, 2009

I think the most important thing we can derive from this thread is:

Miyamoto said:
When I realised this, I told everyone "we shall start from the rod!"

holy shit you can customize grenade throws!?!?

maxmars · Jan 31, 2009

pakkit said:
It has LAN support, so...

I don't know, I'm really not into the idea of halving the bounding box.

Is LAN support confirmed? What about a preset zapper config?
That's all I need to know. If it's got that two features I'll get two copies and turn my home into a permanent LAN party location.

bdouble · Jan 31, 2009

nightside said:
wow. that's a brilliant idea.

Should have been done a long time ago. Everyone moves differently and wants to do different motion. There should be a lot of games these days with simple calibration modes to change the motions you do and make it easier to track what you want to happen.

joetachi · Jan 31, 2009

maxmars said:
Is LAN support confirmed? What about a preset zapper config?
That's all I need to know. If it's got that two features I'll get two copies and turn my home into a permanent LAN party location.

i think that the LAN support has been confirmed for some time now, i dont know about the preset zapper thing.

mentalfloss · Jan 31, 2009

maxmars said:
Is LAN support confirmed? What about a preset zapper config?
That's all I need to know. If it's got that two features I'll get two copies and turn my home into a permanent LAN party location.

I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they will make it compatible with the zapper/perfect shot gun by using certain motions to replace buttons. Also, the zapper/perfect shot gun will be compatible with Wii Motion Plus.

Fantastical · Jan 31, 2009

Completely customizable controls = too awesome.

Jaded Alyx · Jan 31, 2009

So I take it those of you who are surprised by the extent of the customizable HUD/controls didn't watch the vid in the OP of this very thread? :lol

maxmars · Jan 31, 2009

mentalfloss said:
I'm pretty sure I read somewhere that they will make it compatible with the zapper/perfect shot gun by using certain motions to replace buttons. Also, the zapper/perfect shot gun will be compatible with Wii Motion Plus.

I sense a triumphant return of Goldeneye like gaming sessions then.
Cool about motion plus, ta; re: buttons: they're all available on the zapper as well, but the more choices the better.

AceBandage · Jan 31, 2009

IGN has a "Making of" up.

"First, I'd like to thank all the fans and previewers who have shown so much support for The Conduit! When you work on a project so closely for such a long time, it's easy to forget all the great things going into the game, and only see the bugs that creep in and the grand plans that get cut for one reason or another. We on the team are always keeping an eye out for new posts and articles about our game. When someone spots a new post, email links go around the team, and people check them out, and talk about them and get excited about them. It really helps keep the energy high on the team, and helps keep us driven to make the game better each day.

Many of the games we work on at our studio are work-for-hire, which means the publisher gets to make any final decisions, and does all the publicity. We are usually not allowed to publicly talk about what we're working on, sometimes even after the game ships. This makes it hard to know how the fans will like a game. Since The Conduit is self-funded, we've been able to talk about the game, and even better, to get it into the hands of the fans at events like PAX and E3, and the upcoming Comic Con in New York. When we hear back that the people who have actually spent hands-on time with the game like it, or even have criticisms we can work with, that is really cool. It really helps us to know what we're doing right, and even more importantly, what we still need to work on.

The "All-Seeing Eye" is the perfect example of focus testing done right.

A great example of this was that we were not going to do online multiplayer at first. The team really wanted to do it, but we just didn't have the resources to make it work. We made plan after plan, and schedule after schedule to try to make it fit, but it just could not be done in the time we had with the people we had. After PAX though, so many fans talked about how much an online mode would mean to them, our management saw that, and brought in the resources we needed to do it. It really would not have been possible without that level of excitement from the fans!

Also interesting:

Here's another area we'd like fan feedback on... In every game I've worked on, there's always a debate over whether single-player cheat codes should be in the game. Stuff like infinite ammo, invincibility, that kind of thing. Every game has them during development to help during debugging, and sometimes they are left in, and sometimes they are pulled out at the last minute. When they are pulled out, it's usually because the team is worried that it will take too much time to test them to make sure that everything in the game still plays the way it was intended. When they are left in, it's often because the team thought that fans won't mind if cheats allow you to do something you should not be able to, they are just a way to get some more fun out of the game you paid for. What do you readers think? We'll be watching the comments and it really will help influence whether we leave cheats in or not."

Fantastical · Jan 31, 2009

A great example of this was that we were not going to do online multiplayer at first. The team really wanted to do it, but we just didn't have the resources to make it work. We made plan after plan, and schedule after schedule to try to make it fit, but it just could not be done in the time we had with the people we had. After PAX though, so many fans talked about how much an online mode would mean to them, our management saw that, and brought in the resources we needed to do it. It really would not have been possible without that level of excitement from the fans!

Wow, that's really cool for them to do that. I can't imagine this not having online though.

I guess that means that 'deathmatch confirmed' at the end of the first trailer didn't mean online play if they are being truthful.

pakkit · Jan 31, 2009

HV should leave cheats in. It follows their libertarian philosophy.

ProfessorLobo · Jan 31, 2009

John Harker said:
It saddens me that this is getting all the attention and more people aren't being vocal about the lack of any local multiplayer

Did not know this. Ouch.

donny2112 · Jan 31, 2009

We'll be watching the comments and it really will help influence whether we leave cheats in or not."

Leave cheats in! It may be too late to make them earnable via speed runs in levels ala Goldeneye/Perfect Dark, but having the option to just mess around in a level as much as we want with infinite health/ammo is a wonderful feature.

Just don't allow cheats until after the level has been beaten.

bdouble · Jan 31, 2009

Oh The Conduit how far you have come.

Will buy just for sheer effort. I I'll get a decent game out of it as well. Been way too long since I've played MP3. I need another IR fps experience.

beef3483 · Jan 31, 2009

This game sounds like it is really coming together. It's probably my most wanted game at this point.

donny2112 · Jan 31, 2009

beef3483 said:
It's probably my most wanted game at this point.

There is not a Wii game that I know about that I want more. If a new Mario and Zelda were announced for release on the same day, I would pick this up first (and Mario/Zelda sometime later

). Here's to hoping it's a huge freaking success on the Wii and that a sequel with local multiplayer and highly customizable bots *cough* rip off Perfect Dark 64 *cough* isn't too far off on the horizon.

Penguin · Jan 31, 2009

Was this game delayed to June?
Or was that always the plan? For some reason thought it was out in March.

donny2112 · Jan 31, 2009

I was expecting it in Q1, but it got delayed. Nintendo's recent third-party release schedule lists it as a June release.

EatChildren · Jan 31, 2009

Hearing that they didnt begin multiplayer development until after PAX, and the fact we havent seen anything, makes me wonder as to what kind of quality were going to see, and Im getting a Red Steel vibe (minimal maps, modes, and poor design).

I hope Im wrong. Im bummed they couldnt/didnt do split screen, but if LAN play is definitely in I can at least play with the upstairs neighbour.

AceBandage · Jan 31, 2009

EatChildren said:
Hearing that they didnt begin multiplayer development until after PAX, and the fact we havent seen anything, makes me wonder as to what kind of quality were going to see, and Im getting a Red Steel vibe (minimal maps, modes, and poor design).

I hope Im wrong. Im bummed they couldnt/didnt do split screen, but if LAN play is definitely in I can at least play with the upstairs neighbour.

I wouldn't worry about it too much.
It's obvious that HVS isn't rushing development of this game for anything.

Ydahs · Jan 31, 2009

EatChildren said:
Hearing that they didnt begin multiplayer development until after PAX, and the fact we havent seen anything, makes me wonder as to what kind of quality were going to see, and Im getting a Red Steel vibe (minimal maps, modes, and poor design).

I hope Im wrong. Im bummed they couldnt/didnt do split screen, but if LAN play is definitely in I can at least play with the upstairs neighbour.

All will be revealed in the next Nintendo Power! Personally, I'm not expecting something big when it comes to online, I just want it to be stable and enjoyable.

Chumly · Jan 31, 2009

donny2112 said:
I was expecting it in Q1, but it got delayed. Nintendo's recent third-party release schedule lists it as a June release.

I think this is because it uses Wii Motion + and I dont think Nintendo is gonna release Wii Sports Resort until April/May/June obviously so its almost waiting for that to come out.

Tab0203 · Jan 31, 2009

One of the major challenges that we discovered when moving forward with the project was that most publishers we spoke to had no (zero, less than zero, terribly less than zero) interest in seeing what we could do with higher-end graphics, tight gameplay, and integrated mechanics. "The Wii is not a hardcore market," and variations on that theme were common refrains.

PC/Wii/DS for the win... sigh.

blu · Feb 1, 2009

Tab0203 said:
PC/Wii/DS for the win... sigh.

add to the above a ps2 and you might be onto something : )

Gully State · Feb 1, 2009

I really love what high voltage is doing with the conduit. It's the next wii game I'm keen on buying. Everything from the controls to all the tech in the engine. I'm really pulling for the conduit to sell well. But not only that, but I'm hoping that future developers are looking to license the engine for other projects. My only gripe with conduit is the art style. I forget which podcast I was listening to, I think it was ign wii podcast but they stated that "the tech was more impressive than the art direction" when referring to the conduit. It's a statement that I totally agree with. While a lot of the stuff looks cool, the whole art style just isn't appealing enough. Especially on an underpowered machine like the wii, there should be a huge emphasis on art direction as the game will look subpar with the ultra realistic look b/c people will inevitably compare to PC/360/PS3.

Agent X · Feb 1, 2009

donny2112 said:
There is not a Wii game that I know about that I want more. If a new Mario and Zelda were announced for release on the same day, I would pick this up first (and Mario/Zelda sometime later ). Here's to hoping it's a huge freaking success on the Wii and that a sequel with local multiplayer and highly customizable bots *cough* rip off Perfect Dark 64 *cough* isn't too far off on the horizon.

Yeah, there aren't too many Wii games that I'm really anticipating right now, but this one is right up at the top of my list.

After reading IGN's "Making The Conduit" article, it's evident that a lot of love went into the creation of the game. I'd like to see the game become a big-time success, one that will hopefully pave the way for more high-quality original games on Wii, from small and large developers alike.

vareon · Feb 1, 2009

I never liked FPS and I don't know if I'm going to like this game if I buy it, but I just love seeing its development since its revelation on IGN. I hope the best for HVS, and might pick the game if I have some extra cash when it's out.

Shaheed79 · Feb 1, 2009

Wow, I have to buy this game now. They tried to address 2 of the 3 issues I wrote them about several months ago and they mentioned those improvements in the update one using almost the exact same words I used in making shooting enemies more visceral and satisfying. It's not exactly where I want it to be but they tried and their getting better all the time. They have my purchase now no matter what score the game gets.

CrushDance · Feb 1, 2009

Jaded Alyx said:
Not surprised, just wondering if it's ok for me to wade in with some

GIFs..

What the hell does that have to do with anything? You derail the thread further by yourself and then post:

Jaded Alyx said:
Sooooooo....how about The Conduit?

And good ol Nintex still has nothing better to say:

[Nintex] said:
Thankfully the SDF isn't that desperate... yet

You guys are seriously fucked.
-------------------------------------------

Anyway game looks better and better every day, enemies designs are much sharper now to than before. I find it weird that there's no split screen though since most Wii games usually have that feature. Oh and before I forget, does the Wii have a headset? I haven't used mine for anything other than Brawl since last year >_>

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