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[loosus]

Why, a Wii demo would need 100MB max.

That's a shit ton.

Let's assume you had 512 MB. Even if it were completely free, a 100 MB file would eat up 20% of the free space. That by itself is terrible.

But then you've got channels and save data that eat up space (some examples):

-Internet Channel: 29 MB
-Donkey Kong Country 2: 12 MB
-Everybody Votes Channel: 6.5 MB
-Super Mario 64: 11 MB
-Wii Play Save Data: 128 KB
-Wii Sports Save Data: 256 KB
-Far Cry Save Data: 5 MB

That shit adds up.

 

[Jaded Alyx]

That's a shit ton.

Let's assume you had 512 MB. Even if it were completely free, a 100 MB file would eat up 20% of the free space. That by itself is terrible.

But then you've got channels and save data that eat up space (some examples):

-Internet Channel: 29 MB
-Donkey Kong Country 2: 12 MB
-Everybody Votes Channel: 6.5 MB
-Super Mario 64: 11 MB
-Wii Play Save Data: 128 KB
-Wii Sports Save Data: 256 KB
-Far Cry Save Data: 5 MB

That shit adds up.

I know it's an example but...why would you do that!?

 

[Branskins]

Can someone answer this once and for all: Can a SD card be used to store channels? Could the Wii theoretically access channels on both of its internal memory and the SD card? Because I thought I read somewhere that SD memory is slow and would not be able to work as well as everyone things on the Wii.

But I hope I am wrong!

Also, now that you can receive messages while playing games, what is stopping them from allowing you to access the message boards in-game by hitting the Home button?

EDIT:

Thanks Jaded for the information! Do you know where I can get it?

 

[NSider]

I noticed how the update greatly improved the way the Wii deals with multiple Wii remotes. I don't think these were mentioned:

- You can turn on the Wii from any remote. (No more looking for the designated "Player 1" remote to turn your Wii on anymore)
- You can add extra remotes with press of a button. (If you want to add another remote as player 2, 3 or 4, you don't need to tell the Wii to "search" for it and press 1+2. Just press any button and it will connect to the Wii if it's turned on)

 

[Jaded Alyx]

Can someone answer this once and for all: Can a SD card be used to store channels? Could the Wii theoretically access channels on both of its internal memory and the SD card? Because I thought I read somewhere that SD memory is slow and would not be able to work as well as everyone things on the Wii.

But I hope I am wrong!

Also, now that you can receive messages while playing games, what is stopping them from allowing you to access the message boards in-game by hitting the Home button?

EDIT:

Thanks Jaded for the information! Do you know where I can get it?

Yes you can store channels on SD cards, but you can't, as of now, access/use them from SD cards. It shouldn't be a problem if Nintendo ever did decide to go down that route.

No, SD memory is certainly not slow. Transferring stuff from the Wii memory to SD cards goes slowly most likely because of the encryption being added.

I still don't think you can actually receive messages while in game as I don't think WiiConnect24 is active during that time.

 

[later]

Yes you can store channels on SD cards, but you can't, as of now, access/use them from SD cards. It shouldn't be a problem if Nintendo ever did decide to go down that route.

No, SD memory is certainly not slow. Transferring stuff from the Wii memory to SD cards goes slowly most likely because of the encryption being added.

I still don't think you can actually receive messages while in game as I don't think WiiConnect24 is active during that time.

Well, then reading will also be slow since the channels will have to be decrypted.

 

[EktorPR]

I noticed how the update greatly improved the way the Wii deals with multiple Wii remotes. I don't think these were mentioned:

- You can turn on the Wii from any remote. (No more looking for the designated "Player 1" remote to turn your Wii on anymore)
- You can add extra remotes with press of a button. (If you want to add another remote as player 2, 3 or 4, you don't need to tell the Wii to "search" for it and press 1+2. Just press any button and it will connect to the Wii if it's turned on)

OMG MEGATON if true.

 

[NSider]

Yes, I can imagine the headlines: "Wii Remote Does What 360 Controllers Did Since Launch, World Explodes".

 

[DrGAKMAN]

Yes you can store channels on SD cards, but you can't, as of now, access/use them from SD cards. It shouldn't be a problem if Nintendo ever did decide to go down that route.

No, SD memory is certainly not slow. Transferring stuff from the Wii memory to SD cards goes slowly most likely because of the encryption being added.

I still don't think you can actually receive messages while in game as I don't think WiiConnect24 is active during that time.

I tested this thoroughly when the Wii first came out, but not since the new main channels menu tone/actually letting you know there's a new message before clicking the message board/correct # of messages update was added.

 

[Dimmuxx]

I noticed how the update greatly improved the way the Wii deals with multiple Wii remotes. I don't think these were mentioned:

- You can turn on the Wii from any remote. (No more looking for the designated "Player 1" remote to turn your Wii on anymore)
- You can add extra remotes with press of a button. (If you want to add another remote as player 2, 3 or 4, you don't need to tell the Wii to "search" for it and press 1+2. Just press any button and it will connect to the Wii if it's turned on)

It have always been like that..

 

[mclem]

Yes, I can imagine the headlines: "Wii Remote Does What 360 Controllers Did Since Launch, World Explodes".

It does it *identically* to the 360 controllers, too. Right down to the 'since launch' bit.

 

[NSider]

It have always been like that..

Not with me. I couldn't turn on the Wii without testing every remote to check if it's player 1, and adding other remotes could only be done from the Home menu or the in-game menu.

I think Peer-IGN blogged about this before..

Edit:
http://blogs.ign.com/Peer-IGN/2007/05/07/54142/

Hmm, he's talking about a different problem. But it's fixed: if you turn on the Wii, the remote you used will be player 1. So there you have it.

 

[wind_steaker]

yeah my wii has always worked like that... region differences maybe? (I'm PAL)

 

[Deku]

That metroid preview channel format could be so much more. They should have made a channel just like that for VC preview videos and upcoming releases. The video quality is pretty decent and most of the 70 blocks appear to be for the proprietary video codec they are using (MPEG LA?)

 

[Meta-Knight]

yeah my wii has always worked like that... region differences maybe? (I'm PAL)

No, I'm NTSC and it's always been like that o.0

 

[ksamedi]

That's a shit ton.

Let's assume you had 512 MB. Even if it were completely free, a 100 MB file would eat up 20% of the free space. That by itself is terrible.

But then you've got channels and save data that eat up space (some examples):

-Internet Channel: 29 MB
-Donkey Kong Country 2: 12 MB
-Everybody Votes Channel: 6.5 MB
-Super Mario 64: 11 MB
-Wii Play Save Data: 128 KB
-Wii Sports Save Data: 256 KB
-Far Cry Save Data: 5 MB

That shit adds up.

Well they could use the DS method, just download directly into RAM and play the demo, when you decide to stop the demo is gone. In fact they could give you the option to either download it to your flash memory (you could use an SD card to clear space) or directly play it from RAM.

 

[Amir0x]

Well they could use the DS method, just download directly into RAM and play the demo, when you decide to stop the demo is gone. In fact they could give you the option to either download it to your flash memory (you could use an SD card to clear space) or directly play it from RAM.

or they could offer a HDD, since what you mentioned here is a horribly inefficient way to set things up when you're building up huge amounts of files and channels that you want to be saved.

 

[ksamedi]

or they could offer a HDD, since what you mentioned here is a horribly inefficient way to set things up when you're building up huge amounts of files and channels that you want to be saved.

This is Nintendo were talking about, thats there method of doing things (unfortunatly so). Untill they let you stream data from a HDD or SD card these are the possible methods to play demos thats all im saying.

 

[radioheadrule83]

I tested this thoroughly when the Wii first came out, but not since the new main channels menu tone/actually letting you know there's a new message before clicking the message board/correct # of messages update was added.

I tested it recently and posted about it in this thread, you still don't get messages until your machine goes off or you return to the Wii Menu. Shame really.

 

[Haunted]

or they could offer a HDD, since what you mentioned here is a horribly inefficient way to set things up when you're building up huge amounts of files and channels that you want to be saved.

yes. A small HDD in the white Wii-design would be a much better solution than those SD cards. Although it would have to be pretty small to fit with their 'unobtrusive' design philosophy.

How big are external HDDs these days anyway? 2 DS Lites stacked? bigger? smaller?

 

[mclem]

Not with me. I couldn't turn on the Wii without testing every remote to check if it's player 1, and adding other remotes could only be done from the Home menu or the in-game menu.

It sounds like you've never tied the remotes to the Wii in permanent mode, so you're reconnecting them in temporary mode every time. Maybe they've changed it so a temporary-mode remote can boot the Wii?

 

[Amir0x]

who cares about their 'unobtrusive' design philosophy... that'd be the silliest reason on Earth to restrict a reasonable HDD add-on. You'd really have to lose sight of gaming if size of system and system related peripherals is your biggest concern.

Anyway, you can have big or small external HDDs... depending on how much space, and how much you're willing to pay. You can have some extremely tiny ones, if you're going for like 20GB.

 

[Threi]

who cares about their 'unobtrusive' design philosophy... that'd be the silliest reason on Earth to restrict a reasonable HDD add-on. You'd really have to lose sight of gaming if size of system and system related peripherals is your biggest concern.

Anyway, you can have big or small external HDDs... depending on how much space, and how much you're willing to pay. You can have some extremely tiny ones, if you're going for like 20GB.

Wii + 3.5'' HDD won't take up a lot of space anyways.

 

[Branskins]

I tested it recently and posted about it in this thread, you still don't get messages until your machine goes off or you return to the Wii Menu. Shame really.

Well what I said would be essentially the same thing. When you press the Home button, there would be a Message Board button, which, once clicked, would send you to the Message Board screen. The only difference being that it would still be possible to return to the game.

Is this possible at all? Even if what you said is true, I don't see why it cannot be changed in a new firmware update to accommodate my suggestion

 

[jonezer4]

I noticed how the update greatly improved the way the Wii deals with multiple Wii remotes. I don't think these were mentioned:

- You can turn on the Wii from any remote. (No more looking for the designated "Player 1" remote to turn your Wii on anymore)
- You can add extra remotes with press of a button. (If you want to add another remote as player 2, 3 or 4, you don't need to tell the Wii to "search" for it and press 1+2. Just press any button and it will connect to the Wii if it's turned on)

Yeah, are you talking about using Wii remotes from another Wii, 'cause if that's the case, cool, but if you're just talking about using remotes that are already synched to your Wii, it's always been like that. I pity any fool that has looked around for a "designated Player 1 remote" to turn their Wii on for the past 9 months.

 

[Deku]

who cares about their 'unobtrusive' design philosophy... that'd be the silliest reason on Earth to restrict a reasonable HDD add-on. You'd really have to lose sight of gaming if size of system and system related peripherals is your biggest concern.

Anyway, you can have big or small external HDDs... depending on how much space, and how much you're willing to pay. You can have some extremely tiny ones, if you're going for like 20GB.

I'm sure they can design a proprietary HDD that won't dangle on a USB cable but lock on to the back of the Wii and sell it for a premium.
Or they can just make VC games read off the SD card. Either way they need to fix it soon.

 

[NSider]

It sounds like you've never tied the remotes to the Wii in permanent mode, so you're reconnecting them in temporary mode every time. Maybe they've changed it so a temporary-mode remote can boot the Wii?

You're probably right, because I didn't even know there were "temporary" and "permanent" modes. :lol

So I guess I only have one remote in permanent mode, and the rest in temporary. And that's why I couldn't turn on the Wii using any of the other remotes. But still, something has changed after the update.

So how can I tie the remotes in permanent mode? Using the sync buttons?

 

[Branskins]

So how can I tie the remotes in permanent mode? Using the sync buttons?

I believe so. If that doesn't work check the Wii manual

 

[Christine]

Well what I said would be essentially the same thing. When you press the Home button, there would be a Message Board button, which, once clicked, would send you to the Message Board screen. The only difference being that it would still be possible to return to the game.

Is this possible at all? Even if what you said is true, I don't see why it cannot be changed in a new firmware update to accommodate my suggestion

The Wii doesn't work that way. Its shiny interface has tricked you into believing that it behaves like a modern computer or competing home consoles.

Every time you activate a channel program or the disc channel, you're effectively changing the Wii's boot media and doing a soft reset. Returning to the Wii menu? Similarly a soft reset. The Message Board is not running while you are plaing a game so going to its screen is not a function that the system can provide.

It's theoretically possible that a game could access the Message Board data by including its own interface for it. That couldn't be delivered as an across-the-board update, however.

 

[JoshuaJSlone]

Well what I said would be essentially the same thing. When you press the Home button, there would be a Message Board button, which, once clicked, would send you to the Message Board screen. The only difference being that it would still be possible to return to the game.

Is this possible at all? Even if what you said is true, I don't see why it cannot be changed in a new firmware update to accommodate my suggestion

The firmware does not control the Home Menu that comes up in individual games. If they were to make additions to it (like a clock or reading messages), it would only be active on the games after they declared it a standard.

 

[JohnTinker]

If only Nintendo made a new vertical stand that also served as a HDD for the system. Make it plug into the USB port with perhaps a small cord sticking out of the stand and plug it directly into the back. Solves the problem of having "an extra piece of hardware dangling out", and you would only have to throw away the plastic one that came with the system.

Now, if you have your system set on its side then this wouldn't work.

 

[AndoCalrissian]

No, I'm NTSC and it's always been like that o.0

It's never been like that for me.

 

[Haunted]

who cares about their 'unobtrusive' design philosophy... that'd be the silliest reason on Earth to restrict a reasonable HDD add-on. You'd really have to lose sight of gaming if size of system and system related peripherals is your biggest concern.

Anyway, you can have big or small external HDDs... depending on how much space, and how much you're willing to pay. You can have some extremely tiny ones, if you're going for like 20GB.

:lol Well, we are talking about Nintendo, right?

I couldn't care less if they release a brown HDD the size of two 360 power bricks, as long as that fucking thing enables me to download lots of demos on my system. I was thinking of how Nintendo might do it, and they won't release an HDD that conflicts with their design philosophy, that's for sure.


I also like JohnTinker's idea of the vertical stand HDD - elegant.

 

[radioheadrule83]

The firmware does not control the Home Menu that comes up in individual games. If they were to make additions to it (like a clock or reading messages), it would only be active on the games after they declared it a standard.

Really? That's quite bizarre... and disappointing.

I suppose they could write future games to recieve messages in the background, and even update VC titles to do so... but why would they bother? Thats a real shame imo.

Hopefully they're still going to change up the channel menu and/or add USB storage support though.

 

[Linkhero1]

I noticed how the update greatly improved the way the Wii deals with multiple Wii remotes. I don't think these were mentioned:

- You can turn on the Wii from any remote. (No more looking for the designated "Player 1" remote to turn your Wii on anymore)
- You can add extra remotes with press of a button. (If you want to add another remote as player 2, 3 or 4, you don't need to tell the Wii to "search" for it and press 1+2. Just press any button and it will connect to the Wii if it's turned on)

This isn't new.

 

[teiresias]

Does this new firmware make the thing actually available in stores? Serously, Nintendo is going to force me to spend money on a refurbished Gamecube at this rate.

(and i mainly want the damn thing for the N64 games available in the Virtual Arcade).

 

[Branskins]

Really? That's quite bizarre... and disappointing.

I suppose they could write future games to recieve messages in the background, and even update VC titles to do so... but why would they bother? Thats a real shame imo.

Hopefully they're still going to change up the channel menu and/or add USB storage support though.

Ya, now I am a little bit disappointed too. I really thought what I said was completely possible

 

[loosus]

Look, not supporting mass storage USB devices because of aesthetics is multiple types of retardation.

Even if that were a legitimate concern (and believe me, it's not), you could just get a 8 GB (and soon, 16 GB) Flash drive. Those are tiny, and you wouldn't even know it was back there.

Yes, you can do that, and more reasonable people can get a 40 GB external hard drive for like half the price.

 

[mclem]

You're probably right, because I didn't even know there were "temporary" and "permanent" modes. :lol

So I guess I only have one remote in permanent mode, and the rest in temporary. And that's why I couldn't turn on the Wii using any of the other remotes. But still, something has changed after the update.

So how can I tie the remotes in permanent mode? Using the sync buttons?

Yeah, I think that's all that's required - it's been a while since I did mine, so I'm not *quite* sure. Chances are the One Remote that works is the one that came bundled with the system, because that's prepared ready-synced.