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[aza]

I'd love to set up X as gas on the pro controller, that's more comfortable than A or Y.

For me, I'd like to have B as gas and Y as rearview...that'd be perfect.

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Sigh

Add to the list:

- off tv is completely broken for me after latest system update. Image/sound will freeze for seconds at a time, making the game unplayable.

 

[Hitokage]

A lot of people just suck and need something to blame.

Idk I think it's the blend of skill and chance that makes Mario Kart so compelling. Kind of like poker.

MKWii: 3 starred every cup and held a 9999 online rating using Daisy/Sneakster/Auto, beaten all fast staff ghosts.
MK8: 3 starred every cup outside Mirror because I have yet to bother, beaten all staff ghosts with my Grand Prix loadout(Rosa/Sport/Slick/MKTV).

The poker analogy held very well with MKWii, but in MK8 it's a bit lacking. Granted, it's entirely true that I can improve on my MK8 game, but the fact remains you get punked harder in MK8.

Wow. Imo it's easily the worst console Mario Kart.

And you mention the overpowered inside drift wheelie bullshit as a chief reason? Damn.

They nerfed the shit out of the inside drift bikes this time, and that's a good thing. And improved balance in almost every area.

Bikes were much more fun than carts in that game, to the point that it got me playing as much as it did after most other MK games have left me cold with their vehicle control. Carts in MK8 are better now, but I still prefer playing with bikes.

 

[Rarity]

- No stat tracking page, even though it's been present in every game since Mario Kart DS
- No options menu of any kind (can't even adjust volume settings or change the controls)
- Removal of basic features such as the on-screen minimap and race timer

These are my problems with the game. And the more I play, the more disappointed I am at not being able to see my progress.

 

[Hello.]

The core gameplay and forumla is as great as ever, but I feel everything else this game offers is awful. Offline play has to be the worst Mario Kart has ever offered yet, especially for single player.

- What's the incentive to ever play 50cc or 100cc?
- Why can't I go to certain cups or CCs to unlock specific characters; why is it randomized?
- Why are coins still needed to unlock parts?
- Why is there even less diversity for stats and parts than even MK7, which has HALF the amount of available parts?
- Why would I ever bother to get 3 stars if you get nothing for it, especially in this game where they actually re-implemented true rubberbanding for 150cc (MK7 really did not have rubberbanding, folks, those CPUs were dead easy)?
- Why is there still no options menu or way to adjust custom controls; why have so many controller options when it can be simplified with these additions?
- Why did they make the item distribution distance-based and so focused on 1st place? You will be comboed even more than MKWii with items in middle positions, sometimes you can never catch up. Awarding 1st place is fine, but single green shells in 12th is unacceptable.
- Why is online even more laggy than MK7, a handheld game? Why are my items not actually hitting those people on their screens?
- Why is the VR gain even slower than MK7 for 1st place even in rooms where everyone in the room could have 5000 VR and you 2000 VR?
- What is with the lack of customization for tournaments, specifically items?
- Why are save files tied to the respective NNID rather than have multiple licenses like MKWii?

After it comes down to it, Mario Kart 8 is fun in its own right, but even games like Mario Kart Wii that I despise offers more than this game with some of its features. And honestly, this game is not even that good visually. Sure, it's HD, but it's a jagged mess with horrid texturing. The drifting mechanics are more restricted and playing defensively rewards you making races have less action.

My main personal complaint is the drifting. They're fine for the most part but I sometimes can't feel the control of my kart. Even with high traction or handling, it's still ridiculous. Traction is actually an abritary stat to be added in this game, off-road was just fine. And speaking of which... why is touching off-road for less than a second so penalizing? It's ridiculous. MK7 had the best drifting mechanics, in my opinion, since I could actually control my kart most of the time.

And, of course, let's not forget to mention the most obligatory flaw this game has: the character roster. This is just inexcusable. You cannot have seven filler Koopalings, five babies and two reskins and call that a roster of variety. As it stands, Mario Kart Wii still has the best roster in the series thus far. There is no way the development team didn't see they "forgot" series staples like Bowser Jr. Just imagine how cool it'd be if they added all the characters from Double Dash, Wii and 7 into this game! Though personally the roster doesn't bother me that much, it's still blows my mind either way.

Anyway, excuse my rant. In the end, I'll still play this game and enjoy it, but it could've been much more.

 

[clav]

Maybe the final build shipped with the game was the only stable one.

Perhaps Nintendo had a better build down the line but couldn't fix all the bugs (+ perhaps balance issues) before release?

I'm winning my races now since I've found a character + bike combo that I like. However, the whole experience feels poor even when compared to Mario Kart 7, which was rushed.

Does anyone have a tip to beat 150cc rainbow road as in to finish in first place?

 

[Tadpole]

Item distribution is totally F'd. I don't need a banana in 3rd place or mushrooms in 10th.

 

[Gonzo The Great]

- Why is there even less diversity for stats and parts than even MK7, which has HALF the amount of available parts?

Holy shit... you're right. How embarrassing. Stat diversity is far more important than visual variety.

Unique bodies:

MK8 - 8
MK7 - 17

Unique tires:

MK8 - 7
MK7 - 10

Unique gliders:

MK8 - 2
MK7 - 3

 

[Hitokage]

Non-obvious fact: Acceleration is a tiered stat in MK8, so only whole units matter. 2.75 is still 2 Accel.

You can test this by having two different loadouts with the same top speed but differing acceleration in the same tier then starting both by hitting A on both controllers. The speed curves will match until they hit the wall.

Another one that many missed: Picking Auto in MKWii gives you a top speed buff.

 

[Rabid Wolverine]

Maybe the final build shipped with the game was the only stable one.

Perhaps Nintendo had a better build down the line but couldn't fix all the bugs (+ perhaps balance issues) before release?

I'm winning my races now since I've found a character + bike combo that I like. However, the whole experience feels poor even when compared to Mario Kart 7, which was rushed.

Does anyone have a tip to beat 150cc rainbow road as in to finish in first place?

If you have a mushroom turbo save it for the last long turn. CPU always seems to have one up its sleeve.

 

[Prototype]

Non-obvious fact: Acceleration is a tiered stat in MK8, so only whole units matter. 2.75 is still 2 Accel.

You can test this by having two different loadouts with the same top speed but differing acceleration in the same tier then starting both by hitting A on both controllers. The speed curves will match until they hit the wall.

Another one that many missed: Picking Auto in MKWii gives you a top speed buff.

is this really true? Has any one else heard/tested this?

edit:

I agree with gonzo on the lack of actual variety in parts. I was even holding out for a while that we would at least be able to unlock more skins,or at least use other paint jobs across the same vehicles that share them. As a Rosalina player, I get tired of always having to ride a yellow bike, it'd be cool if I could use Mario's colors--- it's the exact same bike with a different skin. Oh well. Yellow Sports Bike forever it is.

I wish there was a way to use the girls moto suits when driving karts.

 

[Pegasus Actual]

Wow. Imo it's easily the worst console Mario Kart.

And you mention the overpowered inside drift wheelie bullshit as a chief reason? Damn.

They nerfed the shit out of the inside drift bikes this time, and that's a good thing. And improved balance in almost every area.

My first impression of the bikes this time is that they're pretty much useless. I'm not sure that's any better. There's nothing inherently important about the viability of multiple vehicles and what not in my opinion anyway. If the gameplay is good when everyone is using the 'OP' character/vehicle, then it's still fun. In MKWii, I felt like my skill mattered more.

Like I said, I don't have as many reps on MK8 as I'd like just yet, but in the races I've won, I don't feel like I outraced anyone, in the races I lost, I don't feel like I was outraced. The racing mechanics aren't satisfying and they don't feel particularly deep. The anti-grav stuff does nothing for me. The gliding stuff is useless. And the lack of a timer really is killing me. Just a simple timer did so much to help me feel out what's working and what isn't.

 

[Hitokage]

is this really true? Has any one else heard/tested this?

First saw it mentioned on Gamefaqs.

 

[Mr. Virus]

First saw it mentioned on Gamefaqs.

One of the guides on GameFAQs also mentions there being several hidden attributes, such as boost about and land/water/air//gravity handling and speed which adds a bit more tweaking to the mix if it's true.

 

[Dr_Biscuit]

The items selection à la Smash Bros would be much appreciated.

 

[polyh3dron]

Settings & Options.

There are none. Want to change controls? Too bad. Don't like the fact that R AND L DOES NOT USE GAS OR BRAKE? Well fuck you too. Musics too loud? dmcfuckyoufuckyou.gif

The online is also incredibly barebones. I've lost hope that they can ever get this right though so the fact that we have mostly lagless matches is a miracle enough.

Mostly lagless matches you say?

Not at all. You're just not noticing the lag because the game does a pretty good job of hiding it. Wait until you have just picked up an item box and you're still waiting to actually get the item as the indicator cycles like it does and a red shell is coming at you. You get a banana peel and deploy it behind you just in the nick of time only for the shell to hit you anyways. Or the best one is where a red shell goes ahead of you and then comes back to you even though you're holding an item behind you to block it. You'll notice more and more peculiar things happening in the game like this that are most likely lag related.

 

[BGBW]

I don't mind bodies sharing the same stats. Rather use the appearance to make a choice rather than stats. Lack of coin counter is really odd though. At least modes outside of GP count towards that total.

 

[Hello.]

is this really true? Has any one else heard/tested this

Yes, it's true. It was also in MK7. Abdallahnation on YouTube made a video showcasing this, I believe.

 

[Prototype]

Yes, it's true. It was also in MK7. Abdallahnation on YouTube made a video showcasing this, I believe.

damn, this makes one of my set ups worthless then lol. gonna have to choose 2 or 3 acceleration...

 

[PotionBleue]

Another one that many missed: Picking Auto in MKWii gives you a top speed buff.

Same vehicle/character
Auto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArE3QisKIrk 85km/h (regular)
Manual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4NEYDBeIU0 85km/h

I'm not seeing your speed boost. Unless what you meant is that you don't lose speed when turning, which is true for Auto in MKWii.

 

[Hitokage]

Same vehicle/character
Auto: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArE3QisKIrk 85km/h (regular)
Manual: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4NEYDBeIU0 85km/h

I'm not seeing your speed boost. Unless what you meant is that you don't lose speed when turning, which is true for Auto in MKWii.

I've tested it with Time Trial ghosts. Same character, same vehicle. The manual one always loses ground on straight paths. It might be extremely slight and maybe only noticable on the highest speed vehicles, but it was repeatable.

Maybe it was a compounding effect of retaining speed as you say.

 

[Deleted member 325805]

I've been playing it for a few days and this is my list of niggles;

You can't change racer or kart between maps, you have to totally drop out

The bug that kicks everyone from the lobby if someone leaves without picking a course

You can't retry on the first map of a cup forcing you to drop out and remake if you mess up the first course

You can't invite friends and party up and join online together, one person has to join and you have to follow them and hope there's space in the lobby

Battle Mode was ruined

No on-screen map

Overall the game is a solid 9/10 and I don't regret buying a Wii U for it.

 

[Clockwork5]

While I agree with some of the criticisms of this entry in the franchise, the new tracks are so good and the fundamentals of the game are so in tact that I am not as concerned with some of the meta game stuff such as "no congratulations screen". The game is outstanding, and the online is fun beyond measure.

That said it is a bit light on features. Personally I wouldnt spend time with that stuff anyway.

 

[Zen]

I didnt want to post this in the official thread because I dont want to derail it, but... I am not enjoying Mario Kart 8.

So I got the chance the spend and evening playing the game, and we only lasted a few cups before I just stopped playing, which was kind of surprising as I was looking forward to it.

Warning: I never played 7 for the Wii so I do not know how much of this is carry over of design.

For starters, vehicle handling, turning, boosting, all suck or rather: You are very ~heavy~ in the game no matter the kart you choose which results in you over/under steering a lot, and the drift mechanic has been pared back tons. Essentially when you are coming out of a drift boost, you can not really have much control coming out of it or drifting in the other direction, you will end up overshooting a turn if you try, generally. THis makes the base racing a lot more technical than post entries or forces you to have some familiarity with the tracks you will be racing on.

That is not so bad, it seems like they tried to stick a bit of Motorstorm like core memorization into Mario Kart to give it some hardcore depth, and they are allowed to do that, but where things get really annoying is your overall sluggish controls and quasi track memorization gets paired up with how the items work in this game.

There are a fuck ton of homing projectiles and fuck you items, more so than any mario kart I can remember, I wouldn't be surprised if it doubles previous counts. Again, this would be ok if you had more defensive options to compensate, but you don't.

As much a LBP Karting had its issues (I really wish the game had this level of polish and track design competency, by god), one thing it got right was that any weapon you currently had (provided it was not out/in use) could be consumed as a shield if it was used within close enough proximity to homing projectiles. This helped create a good layer of emergent strategy for making trade offs when it came to using a pickup versus holding onto it.

Mario kart 8 has a metric fuckton of homing items with only 4 items that can function as a shield. Single shell (red/green) and multi shell (Red/Green) though I suppose star counts as well. Those, by the way, only work against some fuck you items, namely other projectiles.

Ok, so the driving model is a little unforgiving, and there are a ton of fuck you items (including the lightning bolt being darn near once every two laps if not more that deletes any item you have) but that is not terrible, right? As long as the track design is good and item box placement is lenient?

It keeps getting worse.

Compounding both of these issues:

1) AI is very aggressive and race is usually very clumped
Getting hit by a shell will often result in you going from the front of the back to the bottom 2 thirds because everyone gets so closely packed together. Because the Ai is very good/aggressive and the sheer amount of fuck you items prevents people from forming big leads

2) Item boxes respawn instantly and are very frequent
Remember the old days where you would be adjusting your path when someone in front of you grabbed an item box, and you had to be mindful of them back shooting you? Haha, well now item boxes respawn after 1 second, and they don't even have to be fully respawned for you to collect the item. And since the pack is so close together in 8, look forward to everyone getting a plethora of fuck you items around the same time. Projectiles are also faster than ever, meaning the idea of being able to hit a last minute item box and get a guard, or something, is pretty much gone.

3) Recovery from getting screwed is very weak
Get hit 4 times in a row with some combination of bullshit and drop from 4th to 11th? As much as there are a ton of fuck you items in the game, your recovery/lead extending items (bullet bill, star) are very weak in comparison to previous games. So that means that your recovery/catch up potential is kind of weak as well.

So lets review:

Poor handling, surprisingly technical racing,finicky track design that forces error and memorization, tons of weapons, poor defensive options, clumped racing, instantly respawning item boxes, weak recovery items.

All make this game an annoying, inconsistent, rage inducing clusterfuck that is more about raw luck than any semblance of fun. Sure Kart games are always about fun luck, but this is just get fucked over by things taht are completely outside your control. It is like the entire game is the blue shell.

Which is back, obviously.

 

[riotous]

Is there ANY way to just have the mini-map be on the screen in this game?

Honestly my biggest gripe. Really dislike the Wii-U gamepad in general, but man.. when they move HUD elements to it it drives me nuts.

edit: And yeah, I also agree the amount of "fuck you" items is aggravating. It has made 150CC not really fun to me. You can race PERFECTLY and lose; which has always been the case with MK but seems far more frequent now.