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Nintendo Switch Online app now available on most Google Play and App Stores

C

CLEEK

Member
Mezoly said:
Do you think if voice chat and text chat was lockable through the parental app/settings would that been good enough?
Click to expand...

It would mean having to password protect each "chat allowed" profile, which is a real pain in the bum. It was bad enough when I had it enable to access the eShop before Nintendo changed it to require a password at checkout.

Having a dedicate app is the better solution for ease of use.
 
P

Patch13

Member
mlclmtckr said:
It's a little weird that you can't like respond to a text during a loading screen without getting kicked out of voice chat.
Click to expand...

There's an alternate universe where the WiiU did well and the Switch got a couple of extra years to finish baking. There's a lot of stuff about it that feels kind of alpha. It'll be interesting to see what stuff gets fixed, and what stuff is just part of the cost of admission.
 
M

MetalliCabombination

Member
BassForever said:
This is the same company where tons of launch day joy cons were suffering from disconnect issues which to my knowledge the ps3/4 never had. I honestly wouldn't be surprised if during testing they found the tech was interfering. It's why I've asked if anyone has tried using blue tooth headphones while using split joy cons with motion controls. It's more an honest question if its an easy "no there would be no issues for xyz reasons" then you'd satisfy my one speculation as to why blutooth to the console wasn't an option given. Having suffered from disconnecting joycons in the past the last thing I'd want while playing online in a team game would be to have my controls even more borked.
Click to expand...

My replacement joycon still has the issue, as long as i have my laptop near me, the left one keeps spazzing out.
This forces me to play handheld more often than not.
It was bad enough my laptop was blocked but now they even want my phone for themselves.
 
L

Leafhopper

Banned
For people having trouble logging into the thing apparently it's not actually going live until Friday, the day of Splatoon 2's release.

That's the word on the street anyway.
 
RoadHazard

RoadHazard

Gold Member
Arjayes said:
You’re not. It’s basically people complaining about the hole in their donut. Sure you could have more donut if there were no hole but... just eat the damn donut.
Click to expand...

No, don't put this on us for wanting a decent implementation now that Nintendo refuses to do this the sane way (which would be to have these features on the system itself). This is a subpar implementation of a bad idea.
 
D

Deleted member 465307

Unconfirmed Member
I have this on my phone now and I'm excited to mess with it. That said, this is very strange and should probably be a first priority among changes when they release a revision and/or "power dock."

_Ryo_ said:
My post was strictly about voice and chating. Also every thing you mentioned you /should/ be allowed to do on the console itself. This just seems like a weird solution. I dunno. Hopefully it works out for everyone
Click to expand...

Ah, I agree: if strictly looking at the app from a communication perspective, I don't really see a compelling reason why one wouldn't just use another app to do that. Also, I agree that this kind of functionality would be much more convenient and probably just better if it were properly integrated into the OS. ALSO being able to do it on the phone? Cool. ONLY being able to do it on the phone? Much less cool...

But we'll see it goes. I'll be testing it out. Hopefully it isn't too bad.
 
P

Patch13

Member
Steve Youngblood said:
I think Nintendo's solution is an elegant option in addition to some other default option. The fact that it's the only option available is asinine.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. The difference in our views probably stems from the phone being the option that I'd pick, given a choice. I can see how it would look different to someone who doesn't want to use their phone (or who doesn't have a smartphone in the first place).
 
Q

Quonny

Member
Being put on hold when you minimize the app is the most bizarre, awful, backwards, stupid ass thing I've read since this whole thing was revealed to be the only option.

Holy shit Nintendo. Like holy shit.
 
D

duckroll

Member
Just realized that the odds are they won't be putting this app up on the local Play Store at all because technically Singapore isn't even covered under their regional services. Tunnelbeared into my US account to download it. Meh. Nintendo is so fucking incompetent at being an international company. :p

The only gaming company where I have to pretend to be Canadian to give them money for digital goods. Jesus Christ.
 
V

Vanillalite

Ask me about the GAF Notebook
Got it downloaded, and I'll probably pay for online due to the ability play online and extra game perks.

That being said not totally sold on this, and for my GAF friends and I we're not sure why we need this since we already have Discord.
 
O

OmegaFax

Member
duckroll said:
Just realized that the odds are they won't be putting this app up on the local Play Store at all because technically Singapore isn't even covered under their regional services. Tunnelbeared into my US account to download it. Meh. Nintendo is so fucking incompetent at being an international company. :p

The only gaming company where I have to pretend to be Canadian to give them money for digital goods. Jesus Christ.
Click to expand...

http://www.apkmirror.com/apk/ninten...ndo-switch-online-1-0-4-android-apk-download/
 
A

Arjayes

Banned
RoadHazard said:
No, don't put this on us for wanting a decent implementation now that Nintendo refuses to do this the sane way (which would be to have these features on the system itself). This is a subpar implementation of a bad idea.
Click to expand...
Okay, what is your sane implementation for voice chat in docked mode?
 
C

ChrisD

Member
kinggroin said:
Discord is a better Switch app
Click to expand...
Yup.

I also learned the other night during Splatfest that you can actually use Safari and Voice Chat remains on! Wanted to check Twitter for something I shared earlier in the day and told my friends to, "hold on, I'll be right back," but when I switched to Safari there was a big red banner that said Discord, and they could still hear me. So it stayed active the whole time.

Not gonna' lie, it kind of blew my mind lol. Thought I had to stay in the app to use it!
 
S

Steve Youngblood

Member
Arjayes said:
Okay, what is your sane implementation for voice chat in docked mode?
Click to expand...

Are you kidding? This really isn't a difficult problem to solve. I'll quote myself from earlier:

Steve Youngblood said:
Possible solutions to this specific problem.

1.) (most obvious) BlueTooth support.
2.) Each JoyCon has a headphone jack.
3.) Grip has headphone jack.
4.) Optional separate grip has a headphone jack.
5.) Pro Controller has a headphone jack.
Click to expand...

Do you need more ideas?
 
O

Oresama

Member
Any word on whether voice & game audio are streamed simultaneously via the app?

If they are independant of each other than in my opinion this app is a complete fail...
 
D

duckroll

Member
Oresama said:
Any word on whether voice & game audio are streamed simultaneously via the app?

If they are independant of each other than in my opinion this app is a complete fail...
Click to expand...

How can it stream any game audio when it is not in any way connected to a Switch?
 
M

MHWilliams

Member
Neff said:
As suspected, this isn't compatible with my device.

Your move, Nintendo.
Click to expand...

duckroll said:
Just realized that the odds are they won't be putting this app up on the local Play Store at all because technically Singapore isn't even covered under their regional services. Tunnelbeared into my US account to download it. Meh. Nintendo is so fucking incompetent at being an international company. :p

The only gaming company where I have to pretend to be Canadian to give them money for digital goods. Jesus Christ.
Click to expand...

But it's an elegant solution!
 
N

nynt9

Member
Oresama said:
Any word on whether voice & game audio are streamed simultaneously via the app?

If they are independant of each other than in my opinion this app is a complete fail...
Click to expand...

Game audio is not streamed by the app. You have to buy a separate headphone joiner as such:

switchvoicechat.png
 
T

Teppic

Member
Is there any benefit with the app? Can you get the game audio through the phone?

Edit: answered above. Awful solution.
 
S

spiritfox

Member
duckroll said:
Just realized that the odds are they won't be putting this app up on the local Play Store at all because technically Singapore isn't even covered under their regional services. Tunnelbeared into my US account to download it. Meh. Nintendo is so fucking incompetent at being an international company. :p

The only gaming company where I have to pretend to be Canadian to give them money for digital goods. Jesus Christ.
Click to expand...

The Switch parental controls app is available so I don't see why they won't put it in the local store.
 
C

Crackbone

Member
Patch13 said:
I do feel bad for assuming that people wouldn't think much of my post and stepping afk for a while. :)

As far as the post: design problems are interesting to me, especially ones where people are going to be miffed no matter what you do. I think that Nintendo's solution is actually kind of elegant. But I am a bit weird (this thread reminds me a little of a recent argument I had about a software architecture thing at work ...)
Click to expand...

Not elegant. The word you're looking for is "jank."

It's completely janky and really defines the opposite of elegance in every possible way.

1. Not on the system
2. Game specific
3 Unable to use voice chat while using other apps
4. Only option.

It's possibly the most inefficient and ridiculous tack on that exists for no reason feature I've ever been witnessed to.
 
F

fernoca

Member
If anything, I'm just glad I barely play online. No need to use a headset to play offline. :p

As an option, the app/phone combo is nice. As the only option, it just sucks.
 
A

Arjayes

Banned
jwk94 said:
Bluetooth, the headphone jack, or a USB dongle headset like the PlayStation headsets.
Click to expand...
Using the built-in Bluetooth or an adapter? I wouldn’t trust the built-in Bluetooth considering the joy con problem from the Switch’s launch.
The headphone jack is inaccessible.
A third-party (or even Nintendo) could make that later. I think this is a “this is what you get now” solution. Same thing with Wii U’s battery.
Steve Youngblood said:
Are you kidding? This really isn't a difficult problem to solve. I'll quote myself from earlier:



Do you need more ideas?
Click to expand...
Firstly, calm down. Secondly, I wasn’t talking to you so I don’t know why you’re so flustered. Lastly I’m not rooting for Nintendo. I know your years of gaming forum debates have you conditioned to be defensive but I’m earnestly asking for a better solution.

1) I don’t know much about Bluetooth so I can’t give you a very accurate response, sadly, but doesn’t distance between the two connected devices matter?
2) Where in the joycon could you put the headphone jack that would allow for the other features to work well AND allow you to comfortably hold one in each hand AS WELL AS one in both hands? Seems pretty difficult honestly.
3) The grip is the absolute cheapest product in the whole Switch package. It’s just plastic... doesn’t even have lights on it. Wouldn’t adding a headphone jack require you to add other tech that would allow it to communicate with the console?
4) Are you talking about a different kind of grip?
5) This is the only weird thing to me but I assume it’s because they didn’t want people to feel forced to buy a pro controller. Kind of a “hey you want to voice chat but it’s your fault for not having a smartphone” instead of “you want to voice chat then buy our controller”.

duckroll said:
Support for the basic standards for voice chat on any normal system? USB, headphone jack on controllers, and bluetooth.
Click to expand...
Even though it’s marketed as a home console let’s all be honest. So with that out of the way, your options are the same as the above guy’s options. The only viable thing I’ve heard is a USB dongle which sounds like a good idea but would require you to buy something just to chat. I think Nintendo is just trying to offer a free way to chat... without offering a paid way to chat for people that want it. :/
 
D

duckroll

Member
spiritfox said:
The Switch parental controls app is available so I don't see why they won't put it in the local store.
Click to expand...

The Switch Parental Controls App is something you only use with your Switch device. It is not tied to a paid service that is being rolled out per region. I thought about this too, but my conclusion is that since the Nintendo Account service and the Voice Chat subscription service are not listed as officially supporting Singapore as a region, they do not plan on releasing the app here.
 
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