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NiGHTS into Dreams HD |OT| Dreaming of snow, sparkles, and nightmares [Control patch]

Gartooth

Member
Wanted to play this game for the longest time, but it was a pain because SEGA never did re-releases of Saturn games such as this. Safe to say that I'm overjoyed I will finally get a chance to try NiGHTS this weekend, hope it is as fun as people say.
 
The big issues to deal with are graphical. As much as I hate to say it, the game sacrificed image quality for 3D transparencies and it suffers from slowdown, chaotic geometry, and jaggies. I don't know how much of that can be fixed and whether SEGA will want to fix the stuff.
Pretty much all of which stems from the system it was on. If the game were on a newer console, 3D transparencies would be no sweat, slowdown would probably be a non-issue, and jaggies could easily be knocked out with some anti-aliasing (on PC if nothing else). Not sure what you mean about "chaotic geometry", but if it stems from the assets used and level design, I can't imagine that would change any...
 

meppi

Member
Wanted to play this game for the longest time, but it was a pain because SEGA never did re-releases of Saturn games such as this. Safe to say that I'm overjoyed I will finally get a chance to try NiGHTS this weekend, hope it is as fun as people say.

Just go in with an open mind. Don't play the game with the intention to complete it.
The only reason you want to get through all the levels is to unlock them so you can play them for score challenges.
Give it a bit of time and let it grow on you. Learn the levels inside out, find the secrets and hidden links to get your score up.
Get all 20 spheres into the Ideya Palace as quickly as you can and then use as much of the remaining time to do the biggest links possible and rack up your score over many extra laps before returning to starting point.

Then try out the A-Life and create some nightopians. Cross breed them with nightmarrens by flinging them into eggs on the ground and create mepians or meppi's. ;)

I actually thought this would be out today, so I was rather disappointed when I came home from work and didn't find it on XBLA.
Might play the original one tonight to compensate for it. :)

http://www.theverge.com/gaming/2012/10/2/3446338/nights-into-dreams-hd-review-troubled-sleep

looks like this might get a similar review reception to jet set radio hd.

Nights is an interesting piece of history from Sega’s most polarizing period as a first party, of the attempt to find a new mascot in the long-term absence of Sonic. It’s just not a very good game.
Fuck that site. Seriously.

And they can't even write the name of the game correctly either. Bah
 
Pretty much all of which stems from the system it was on. If the game were on a newer console, 3D transparencies would be no sweat, slowdown would probably be a non-issue, and jaggies could easily be knocked out with some anti-aliasing (on PC if nothing else). Not sure what you mean about "chaotic geometry", but if it stems from the assets used and level design, I can't imagine that would change any...
I just doubt that SEGA will go back and change the source code that much. The NiGHTs port came in the latter-half of their SEGA AGES project when they were putting more effort into their releases, and a full re-doctoring of BR would be very impressive for the company. But if they seriously need a lot of sales for the NiGHTs port to approve this new port, then I'm not going to have much fate in what they'll do.

By chaotic geometry: a lot of jittery polygons and environments that looked unstable most of the time.
 
I just doubt that SEGA will go back and change the source code that much. The NiGHTs port came in the latter-half of their SEGA AGES project when they were putting more effort into their releases, and a full re-doctoring of BR would be very impressive for the company. But if they seriously need a lot of sales for the NiGHTs port to approve this new port, then I'm not going to have much fate in what they'll do.
If they even approve the HD port to begin with, they wouldn't really have much choice. They can't exactly just run the raw Saturn code on modern systems; different architecture.

By chaotic geometry: a lot of jittery polygons and environments that looked unstable most of the time.
Right, that'd also be taken care of. Saturn had to use quads to do 3D, instead of polygons, and the end result, while actually more stable than the PS1 when done well (actual perspective correction, for instance), wasn't exactly pretty. The 360, PS3, Wii U and any PC GPU worth its salt are a lot better about polygons than that; you wouldn't have those wobbly polygon seam issues.

Really, it sounds like you're under the impression that they'd emulate it, because that's the only way you'd wind up with all of the Saturn's 3D quirks like lack of transparencies (beyond some technical wizardry), quad-based graphics, low framerates, etc. That's the hardware's fault, not the software's.

(And no, I don't expect a Burning Rangers port either; I'm just speaking hypothetically here.)
 
Well: I'm not trying to think hypothetically, though I agree with your points. The question is whether they'll do a port of it at all. It would be a bigger undertaking than previous ports, and I wonder if Okunari's able to pull enough strings to get it approved. Perhaps M2 could always take a whack at it.

And it's possible that, because of the way transparencies are coded into the software from the source code, that certain hardware effects were engendered by the software code. I'm not sure what would happen if they did a straight upgrade without changing the code beyond compatibility requirements, though.
 
Have the Saturn version and Wii sequel. I may pick this one on sale for 7$ or less. Don't really want to pay too much more than that. I am a fan, but I still have my Saturn version with a Saturn, so hopefully PSN+ does a sale!
 

gryz

Banned
even when it was new and I was playing a lot of Saturn, I remember Burning Rangers looking like a mess so I never tried it.


also its funny how i was able to play nights for 3 hours last night until forcing myself to stop even though "Its not a good game"
 
Kinda wish the Saturn version could be set to widescreen.
It feels smoother, plays better, etc.

Gonna finish up Twin Seeds and then check the PS2 version.
 

PowderedToast

Junior Member
it does. go to options and select 'full screen'.

also it looks like you have to unlock christmas NiGHTS, for anyone wondering.

only played 5 minutes but the port so far seems excellent.

edit: ran through the first stage

I'M IN HEAVEN GAF
 

meppi

Member
it does. go to options and select 'full screen'.

also it looks like you have to unlock christmas NiGHTS, for anyone wondering.

only played 5 minutes but the port so far seems excellent.

edit: ran through the first stage

I'M IN HEAVEN GAF

Nice! :D

Still the game that always comes to mind first whenever someone asks "what's your favourite game ever?". :)
 

Ogni-XR21

Member
Well, looks like I cannot give up my Saturn after all.

The controls are horrible. Movement seems to be 8-way no matter if you use analog control or not. This really kills the game for me. It does not control this way on Saturn.

Am I the only one having problems with this? I guess the PS2 version plays the same... too bad even the included Saturn version has this problem, even if it seems less obvious there. I guess this is the lag in movement control someone was mentioning earlier. But to me it definitely feels like the controls being toned down to 8-way.

This makes me sad.
 

Empty

Member
THIS GAME MAKES NO SENSE

haha just played the first level for about fifteen minutes and that was my reaction. pretty but confusing.

loaded up a video of someone playing level 1 and i think i understand it now though. you do laps of each individual MARE to collect the twenty blue things to fully destroy the weird alien looking thing, then go back to to the temple to move onto the next part of the level (aka MARE 2). but you can also boost your score by not going straight to the temple and instead doing more laps and comboing flying through rings and collecting stuff before the time runs out. someone experienced correct me if i have this wrong.
 
haha just played the first level for about fifteen minutes and that was my reaction. pretty but confusing.

loaded up a video of someone playing level 1 and i think i understand it now though. you do laps of each individual MARE to collect the twenty blue things to fully destroy the weird alien looking thing, then go back to to the temple to move onto the next part of the level (aka MARE 2). but you can also boost your score by not going straight to the temple and instead doing more laps and comboing flying through rings and collecting stuff before the time runs out. someone experienced correct me if i have this wrong.
No, that's pretty much spot-on.
 
haha just played the first level for about fifteen minutes and that was my reaction. pretty but confusing.

loaded up a video of someone playing level 1 and i think i understand it now though. you do laps of each individual MARE to collect the twenty blue things to fully destroy the weird alien looking thing, then go back to to the temple to move onto the next part of the level (aka MARE 2). but you can also boost your score by not going straight to the temple and instead doing more laps and comboing flying through rings and collecting stuff before the time runs out. someone experienced correct me if i have this wrong.

No, that's pretty much spot-on.

Oh, OK. I pretty much winged it straight back to the temple, so I guess I'll use my time better next time.
 
Well, looks like I cannot give up my Saturn after all.

The controls are horrible. Movement seems to be 8-way no matter if you use analog control or not. This really kills the game for me. It does not control this way on Saturn.

Am I the only one having problems with this? I guess the PS2 version plays the same... too bad even the included Saturn version has this problem, even if it seems less obvious there. I guess this is the lag in movement control someone was mentioning earlier. But to me it definitely feels like the controls being toned down to 8-way.

This makes me sad.

It's been so long since I've played the Saturn version I don't have a frame of reference.

I don't doubt you though. Even though I've A-ranked every stage on the 1st or 2nd attempt I'm still having headaches.

Watching that Frozen Bell run Skyline linked...damn it really looks like the Saturn version has a smoother frame-rate.
Gonna have to shop around ebay and see if I can't snag the import. (I only have a JPN Saturn)
 
Well, looks like I cannot give up my Saturn after all.

The controls are horrible. Movement seems to be 8-way no matter if you use analog control or not. This really kills the game for me. It does not control this way on Saturn.

Am I the only one having problems with this? I guess the PS2 version plays the same... too bad even the included Saturn version has this problem, even if it seems less obvious there. I guess this is the lag in movement control someone was mentioning earlier. But to me it definitely feels like the controls being toned down to 8-way.

This makes me sad.

This is really disappointing. Why wouldn't it support analog control? Maybe they can patch it? (Question remains if they would given what its sales may be like.)
 

SkylineRKR

Member
I don't really remember the ST version being smoother than this port. But its been over 2 years at least.

I do think the controls aren't as swift as they were on Saturn via Analog, though. But I don't really score worse than I did on Saturn, although I was never great to begin with. Did just get Dreamy on accident.. nice :)

Nights JP used to go for a buck or 5 when I bought it ages back. X-mas too.
 

Ogni-XR21

Member
It's been so long since I've played the Saturn version I don't have a frame of reference.

I don't doubt you though. Even though I've A-ranked every stage on the 1st or 2nd attempt I'm still having headaches.

Watching that Frozen Bell run Skyline linked...damn it really looks like the Saturn version has a smoother frame-rate.
Gonna have to shop around ebay and see if I can't snag the import. (I only have a JPN Saturn)

It's still playable but feels less smooth. I can "feel" each direction register when playing (don't know how else to describe this). As for frame rate, this feels the same as the Saturn version to me.

This is really disappointing. Why wouldn't it support analog control? Maybe they can patch it? (Question remains if they would given what its sales may be like.)

Given that I seem to be the only one complaining abut this I don't see them doing something about it.. But it really makes me sad since the analog control was THE innovation back then (Mario64 had just come out).
 
It's still playable but feels less smooth. I can "feel" each direction register when playing (don't know how else to describe this). As for frame rate, this feels the same as the Saturn version to me.



Given that I seem to be the only one complaining abut this I don't see them doing something about it.. But it really makes me sad since the analog control was THE innovation back then (Mario64 had just come out).

I was waiting for the PC release, and play Nights often. Trust me, if you didnt say something, I would have noticed. Though, from what I can tell, you are right about it, I haven't seen anyone else complaining. I have played nights with 8way before and it was terrible.
 

meppi

Member
THIS GAME MAKES NO SENSE

That alone says to me the game hasn't aged a bit.

When I first played it all those years back, after about a half hour or so my exact thoughts were: this game is either created by an insane person or by a genius, but I need more to find out which it actually is.

After spending the rest of the day playing the game and finally getting to grips with how to play it in a way that made sense, the brilliance of it overwhelmed me.
Very few games have had this kind of impression on me.
 

Mike M

Nick N
Is the Christmas NiGHTS stuff they included just the reskinned courses, or does it have the Sonic level and A-Life analyzer and all that other bonus stuff?
 

Reallink

Member
So are the console versions 720p native and the PC releases 1080p+ (Sega's other re-releases included-JSR, SA2, ect...)?
 

Conan-san

Member
it does. go to options and select 'full screen'.

also it looks like you have to unlock christmas NiGHTS, for anyone wondering.

only played 5 minutes but the port so far seems excellent.

edit: ran through the first stage

I'M IN HEAVEN GAF

I might not want to know this, but how, exactly? (if it's A-Ranking the lot. I am really bad with Ranking systems)
 
Don't you need to A-rank all levels to unlock the final level, or am I just greivously misremembering?
The latter. IIRC just getting Cs or higher for all three of a character's prior dreams is sufficient.

All I recall getting for all As is a slightly extended ending, and the adult version of "Dreams Dreams".
 

Dachande

Member
Well, looks like I cannot give up my Saturn after all.

The controls are horrible. Movement seems to be 8-way no matter if you use analog control or not. This really kills the game for me. It does not control this way on Saturn.

Am I the only one having problems with this? I guess the PS2 version plays the same... too bad even the included Saturn version has this problem, even if it seems less obvious there. I guess this is the lag in movement control someone was mentioning earlier. But to me it definitely feels like the controls being toned down to 8-way.

This makes me sad.

Fuck fuck fuck fuck fuck.

I'm genuinely really upset about this. I completely agree, this is potentially game ruining for some people and I can see me not being happy about it.

For fuck's sake Sega, why can't you just get something right...
 
Not sure about the control gripes. The remaster does feel a touch different (guessing it's from using the PS2 version as a template- still perfectly serviceable though), and the Saturn version feels more or less like the original. If I had to guess why it feels off to some people it's probably the difference in the diameter of the analog gate. I personally haven't experienced any problems with it snapping into 8 directions. Rolling movements work as they're supposed to, it's just the physical arc you make with your thumb is wider. I still occasionally play NiGHTS on my Saturn too, so it's not a case of foggy recollection.
 

Koshiro

Member
Not sure about the control gripes. The remaster does feel a touch different (guessing it's from using the PS2 version as a template- still perfectly serviceable though), and the Saturn version feels more or less like the original. If I had to guess why it feels off to some people it's probably the difference in the diameter of the analog gate. I personally haven't experienced any problems with it snapping into 8 directions. Rolling movements work as they're supposed to, it's just the physical arc you make with your thumb is wider. I still occasionally play NiGHTS on my Saturn too, so it's not a case of foggy recollection.
I still occasionally play the Saturn ver too, but I can confirm the controls are broken in this version. It really does feel like the digital movement has been mapped to the analogue stick. You just don't have free-flowing control over the directions you can go in. Most irritatingly is that when I'm doing a loop, if it's a medium to big one, NiGHTS will snap out of the loop and start trying to follow a straight line out of it, wrecking the whole point of the game in the first place - the feeling of flight is tarnished.
 

Gagaman

Member
Not getting the control issues either, plays perfectly fine in both modes for me and I play NiGHTS on my Saturn almost every year (if not at least Christmas NiGHTS every December). haven't struggled to do any of the tricks with the PS3 analog. It's not like in the Wii game where it felt completely off with the nunchuck but better (but still not perfect) with the Gamecube controller.

Is it weird that I still prefer the Saturn mode graphics?
 
I certainly noticed something weird about the controls at PAX. I kinda figured that it was the controller or TV lag. This news is really depressing because that shit did not feel right.
 

Yes Boss!

Member
Different system, different controller.

New version seems to play fine.

I'm also enjoying the Saturn version more of the two. Looks great.
 

Mike M

Nick N
Urgh, need the demo to determine if it's really busted or just hyperbole that I won't even notice.

The differences in gate size and throw distance on the analog sticks on different controllers seems like a pretty reasonable explanation for the perceived differences. Didn't the PS2 version have some issue with the duration of boosts or something?
 
The feel of flying is far and away my favourite thing about this game. Shit feels tight. Now that I'm getting As and Bs on Mares, I love the shit out of this game.

Except the bosses. Those are super crappy.
 
I still occasionally play the Saturn ver too, but I can confirm the controls are broken in this version. It really does feel like the digital movement has been mapped to the analogue stick. You just don't have free-flowing control over the directions you can go in. Most irritatingly is that when I'm doing a loop, if it's a medium to big one, NiGHTS will snap out of the loop and start trying to follow a straight line out of it, wrecking the whole point of the game in the first place - the feeling of flight is tarnished.

You lost me right there with the all or nothing hyperbole. Even if we start from the premise that the controls aren't precisely comparable to the Saturn version I can safely say they're in no way shape or form "broken". I'm pretty sure the leader boards will quickly reflect this with high level play, if they don't already. As for breaking a loop, I'm of the opinion that falls precisely into the differences in the size of the analog gate I mentioned. The problem may be your physical range of motion, not how the game is coded. And if you're used to the Saturn controller where it's easier to rotate to the edges that may be a legit problem, but it doesn't mean the controls are digital mapped to analog (again, hyperbole). If you want to know how that would feel, try Journey of Dreams with the nunchuck's restrictive octagonal gate. :p

Not getting the control issues either, plays perfectly fine in both modes for me and I play NiGHTS on my Saturn almost every year (if not at least Christmas NiGHTS every December). haven't struggled to do any of the tricks with the PS3 analog. It's not like in the Wii game where it felt completely off with the nunchuck but better (but still not perfect) with the Gamecube controller.

Is it weird that I still prefer the Saturn mode graphics?
I actually got a Gamecube>PS2 adapter just for JoD, lol. Supposedly there's a Nyko controller with no octagonal gate that works pretty well too, although I never bothered springing for it. Also, I don't think it's weird to prefer the Saturn version. It's already noticeably cleaner than the actual Saturn game, and I prefer the "character" of some of the sprites to their polygon doubles, which somehow seem less robust. It's nice to have options though.

Anyway, I bought this with the idea that it would spare me having to drag out my Saturn, but now instead I'm compelled to lug it out and do a side by side so I can try and figure out why some people are having issues. To anyone on the fence however, rest assured the controls are not broken/digital, although I can't claim they're an exact match to the Saturn version either. Regardless, I think the issue is being overblown.
 

Iceman

Member
I think the controls are fine.. just different than what I remember from the Saturn controllers (both the standard digital pad and the big old 3D analog pad). I'm actually surprised that the acrobatics controls are so tight and responsive. They're dependable which is huge when you're trying to put together a long string of links - you absolutely require some, like the cartwheel and the barrel roll/twist thing to pull some off.

I've not been as happy about a game in a long time. Looks great. Plays great. Dat music.
 
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