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[AGoodODST]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

That's pretty useful, nice work.

 

[majik13]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

cool, thanks for this. However I dont think this will work unless the thumbsticks and buttons underneath are offset from each other. They wont really work if they are vertically aligned. Your thumbs dont move that way. Also the detachable controllers may just be too small in general. Wont be able to get enough grip.

I think that 900p report came from the GFK survey which was pretty much admitted to be guesses/estimations. There were a bunch of other pages from that survey which listed things that don't exist, like a PS4 that can't render above 720p (not sure if that's an exact example, but it was things like that).

It's essentially a marketing survey where they pull a bunch of numbers out of their asses, put them together on a sheet and see how people react. It was never meant to be taken as a leak or rumor, and it got way more exposure than it should have.

ah yes, it was that survey. I didnt know much about its origins or what its purpose was. Anyways I still think its possible as somethign to speculate at as a solution between a 720p screen and a 1080p screen. Unless people have already explained why 900p wouldnt work.

 

[James Scott]

Back to the rumor in the OP:

If the NX screen is 720p, then is it ridiculous to expect that some games can be rendered natively at 1080p for display on the TV but downsampled to the screen at 720p? Would that be seen as a waste of resources when playing on the portable? Or is that the type of compromise we might expect when creating games for a hybrid?

For the purposes of this thought let's assume the dock does nothing, and the SoC runs at the same speed regardless of being on a power supply. In that scenario, do you think we'd see a Smash Bros port being rendered at 720p with enhanced effects and AA and such, or would it be rendered at 1080p for the benefit of TV play?

Thoughts?

I said this a few pages ago. Would be fairly un-Nintendo, but I think it could be smart. I believe it's called super sampling or downscaling creating a higher quality picture kind of like watching pre-rendered videos on 3DS which are much smoother than any games on the platform. It would improve image quality on the NX portable and it wouldnt' be wasting resources like having it run at 1080p on the TV but limiting the game to 720p on the go

 

[BY2K]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

Designing it like a phone would be a TERRIBLE idea.

 

[Clessidor]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

The detachable control parts look very slim. Probably too slim for my taste. I mean, a 6.2" has a height of, I don't know something like 8 to 9cm. And now I imagine controllerls to feel like thin sticks in my hand.

 

[cacildo]

Designing it like a phone would be a TERRIBLE idea.

Unless...
The nx IS a phone!

 

[11redder]

This is incredibly reductive. Also, 3D world was way, way more innovative and enjoyable than Sunshine.

And no duh Sunshine beat Mario 3D world in total sales, as bad as the gamecube did, it still did much better than Wii U. For a fair comparison, lets compare attach rates (copies sold/Units of hardware sold)

Super Mario Sunshine
6.31 million copies sold/21.74 million gamecubes sold=0.290 or 29% attach rate

Now lets look at Super Mario 3D world
5.01 million copies sold/13.02 million wii u sales=0.385 or a 38.5% attach rate. This is significantly better than sunshine's attach rate

Plus 3D Land has sold just shy of 11 million.

 

[Orniletter]

guys there was a spieler eins version of this gif made in regards to his "opinion" on 3d world

you can safely ignore his posts

Fixed for accuracy

Edit: September 20 would be a great reveal date. I have....a rather big exam 3 days before. Makes the time move faster lol

 

[Knobiwan]

Galaxy 1 didn't really have that much exploration though. And the levels in 3D world were incredibly varied, so I'[m not sure what you mean by "the same, short, time based levels". Hell, aside from the specifically timer based ones, the timer was pretty much always so generous that I never even got close to it going to zero. So unless you're saying you literally played the exact same level a bunch of times (In which case, 3D world absolutely succeeded), your case is really shallow

I posted another reply on how it definitely was the most linear up to that point, but due to it retaining the same "level" feature of Mario 64 and Sunshine, you had a lot of secrets and areas to explore, like the big planets and hidden areas.

And our opinions on 3D world must be different, because I never felt that other than a visual paint job that 3D world had that much variety and even the the sheer linearity of it all just bored me to death and I like a lot of linear games(I love 3D land but it is on a handheld and works as a quick burst sort of ting). I like movement mechanics of old marios as well and I think the repetitive-ness of the 3D world mechanics was a big factor in why I feel it was so boring. All you did was run and jump and use the power of your powerup, the same mechanics from mario for the NES. I can be solely entertained by running and jumping around the levels in Sunshine because of how fluid(pun intended) the movement system is, it controls like a dream. Mario 64 too had meaningful movement with slides, kicks, punches, triple jumps, dives, that to me is a huge reason why those games are more exciting than the later entries.

 

[udivision]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

Nice! Although the sleek trendiness falls apart when you notice the Gamecube buttons.

 

[wrowa]

But there are already Wii U games which render natively at 1080p. If the NX gets a Smash 4 port then it would be very odd if it doesn't render at 1080p even though it's much more powerful than the Wii U. That's the point of my question.

I get all that and I do agree that it's likely and would solve that problem, but for the purposes of my question I'd like to ignore those possibilities since we have heard nothing about multiple power levels or anything about the dock hardware at all (besides 2 USB ports).

The NX is rumored to be getting a port of Smash 4. Smash 4 renders at 1080p on Wii U. The NX has a 720p screen and is a great deal stronger than the Wii U. Will the NX port render at 1080p natively, even on portable mode and then downsampled to 720p? Or would that be seen as a waste of resources, since it can only display 720p?

Even if the dock does nothing and there won't be any freed up processing power in "console mode", I'd assume that the NX still supports different resolutions and you'll get something quite similar to the situation on Wii U. Most games will be rendered in 720p with the odd game (e.g. games like Smash or Indie titles that don't need a lot of horsepower) supporting higher resolutions when playing in console mode.

Supporting resolutions higher than 720p when playing on TV is actually absolutely important, otherwise NX will be completely useless for apps like Netflix.

 

[diaspora]

Designing it like a phone would be a TERRIBLE idea.

So long as it's ergonomic, mirroring the more premium look and feel of mobile devices isn't a bad thing. Though the concept doesn't look particularly comfortable.

 

[Pittree]

cool, thanks for this. However I dont think this will work unless the thumbsticks and buttons underneath are offset from each other. They wont really work if they are vertically aligned. Your thumbs dont move that way. Also the detachable controllers may just be too small in general. Wont be able to get enough grip.

I feel you. But since the device is using a 6 inches screen, size becomes a priority much like the in the design of Nintendo Portables (wich I used for references). There the d-pad it is directly below the slide pad and I if it had a second one it would be placed the same way for space constraints

That's pretty useful, nice work.

Thank you!!

Designing it like a phone would be a TERRIBLE idea.

I gave that a tought also...on one side you have to be careful with marketing since people could confuse the device with a Nintendo phone much like they confused the gamepad. However the aesthetics of a phone and to be honest a tablet (wich apart form size look pretty much the same) are something that mainstream consumers are familiarized with and would be more attracted to. Giving a device like this the look of a gamey thing like the Shield portable would pretty much instantly kill the appeal for a big, big, biiig market.

 

[Deleted member 465307]

Do we have an updated summary on nicowav's leak?

Who is nicowav and what did they "leak"?

 

[Spieler Eins]

Remember when we had a game first announced and shown before we assumed anything about it?

I merely commented on an idea that would be inherently bad and WiiU-like.

 

[The Hermit]

*walk around ball collecting bits*
*find launch star*
*rinse*
*repeat*
*YOU GOT A STAR*

Galaxy was linear as fuck. People misremember it, and I don't understand why.

Actually one of my favorite aspects of Galaxy was its linearity.

And I recall bringing that up as a quality of the game.

 

[James Scott]

3D World was made just 2 years after 3D Land so likely they just built off of 3D Land's base and added multiplayer as a way to get it ready in time. It was limited by time and design choices (fixed camera due to mulitplayer) which hopefully won't hold back the new game which will have 3-4 years of development by the time it's out. I'll admit it lacks ambition and it's unimpressive for the given hardware, but it's still an excellently crafted and polished experience so hopefully the next game is even better.
In terms of sales it won't need to compete with another similar 3D Mario released a few years before just like NSMB2 vs NSMBU. It's another benefit to developing for one "platform"

 

[wrowa]

Actually one of my favorite aspects of Galaxy was its linearity.

I liked the way Galaxy lead Mario back to its platforming roots, especially after Sunshine arguably went too far in the exploration/adventure direction.

 

[Malus]

I can agree it was the most linear to that point, but there were still elements of exploration, mainly from the big planet levels, the fact that there were secret stars, and that there were no time limits. Also the HUB planets that existed since Mario 64's paintings, where each level yielded 6-7 stars and you returned to explore a new part of the level.

There were some elements of nonlinearity in Galaxy, but you could probably say that about a lot of linear games. Honestly the Galaxy games are practically the definition of linear, and are examples of how great that kind of game can be.

It's divided up into levels, each time you enter a level you get 1 primary objective, with a mostly straightforward way of achieving that objective. Even though the stages have multiple stars, once you pick one you're stuck on it. If I remember correctly, the game will even alter the level to make sure you can't go too far off the beaten path of the star you've selected. If you choose to do one of the few secret stars in a level, once you complete it the level ends and you have to start over in order to complete the original objective.

Even powerups are handled in a restrictive way, sometimes adding time limits on them so you can only use them in the specific part of the levels you get them in.

The most nonlinear areas in the Galaxy games are the "collect 5 star shards or silver stars" and purple coins, but they're hardly the high point of the games imo.

In some ways I'd consider 3D World actually less linear than the Galaxy games. The levels may be smaller, but you're presented with more options. You can approach every level with a different power up (normal, cat, fire flower, or boomerang), a different character with their own movement style, single player or 2-4 players, and it had 4 collectables per level which is a slight step up over Galaxy. And despite the levels being small, they still have multiple routes and hidden secrets, including a couple alternate exits that allow you to skip ahead in the game.

Actually one of my favorite aspects of Galaxy was its linearity.

And I recall bringing that up as a quality of the game.

Yeah, Mario 64 put me to sleep honestly (though I played it long after release and maybe it just didn't age well). The Galaxy games kept me much more engaged.

---

Back to NX, I really don't care at all about 720p vs 1080p, maybe because of the tiny monitor I use to play games on. I'd honestly be happier to have more 720p games if that means the horsepower is used on other things like framerate and effects.

 

[Plinko]

Old ports and a rehash. What could go wrong? *looks at WiiU* Oh...
Mario and at least a handful of other IPs need a reimagining on par with Zelda, otherwise they don't even need to bother trying to regain relevance in the console market.

Please tell me you see the irony in you speaking so much about rehashes and your posting history in Nintendo threads.

As for Mario, I just played through 3D World again. It is easily the worst 3D Mario since Sunshine. It's good. It's just forgettable. The focus on multiplayer ruins the game for me, to be honest. Mario 3D Land is far superior because the levels are tighter and it feels more like a classic Mario game.

 

[majik13]

I feel you. But since the device is using a 6 inches screen, size becomes a priority much like the in the design of Nintendo Portables (wich I used for references). There the d-pad it is directly below the slide pad and I if it had a second one it would be placed the same way for space constraints

Thats true, 3ds is like that. But iirc most games dont use both in tandem very much(I haven't played a majority of 3ds games, and its been a good while, so correct me if I am wrong) Also 3ds is more designed around shorter gameplay sessions. So vertically aligned on the dpad/thumbstick side might be ok for short gameplay burst. But I could see many people hating that setup on the face button side if you are playing some dual analogue games. Would get hand cramps very quickly imo.

 

[Pittree]

Nice! Although the sleek trendiness falls apart when you notice the Gamecube buttons.

It turns out Gamecube style controllers are more efficient to use when you have the space constraints I had to work with. However I must admit I am partial to that controller since is my favorite controller (it is worth noting that I play smash with a gamepad however). But later I'll try to come up with some more trendy options nex time.

The detachable control parts look very slim. Probably too slim for my taste. I mean, a 6.2" has a height of, I don't know something like 8 to 9cm. And now I imagine controllerls to feel like thin sticks in my hand.

I feel the same. They are 8cm height and the proportions are almost the same as a wii remote (just a little bit wider) Making those controllers feel good while are attached and also good when you hold them like wii remotes is a challenge since if you make them wide you end up with a giant portable, if you make them thin you end with toothpicks when you hold them separate. I''ll explore further that matter.

 

[wrowa]

3D World was great, but I can understand why Spieler Eins expected something *more*. Mario, 3D Mario especially, is a franchise known to push boundaries. Mario 64 was revolutionary, Galaxy took a completely surprising, unexpected, awesome direction. 3D World on the other hand "just" built up on the way 3D Land re-interpreted what Mario in 3D is. That's not bad per se, but I can understand why you'd expect more from Mario out of all franchises.

Personally, I'm extremely annoyed by the way current Mario games re-use ideas/settings/themes from Mario Bros 3/Mario World without adding much new on their own. The fixation on the Koopalings is a good example of that.

 

[James Scott]

I'm not entirely sure if this is how it works, but 1080p is a little over double the resolution of 720p and 60fps is double the frame rate of 30. I believe 1080p30fps is the same amount of pixels per second than 720p60fps. How likely is it that we'll see some game give us the choice to play at a higher resolution but slower frame rate on NX when plugged in? It seems very un-Nintendo to give options like that and i imagine not all devs will focus on that, but at least with Wii U ports of something like Zelda or Splatoon.
If NX is at least 2x more powerful than Wii U, it should be able to manage in most cases to have a 720p30fps game at one of the previously two mentioned settings but on the portable it would be limited by the resolution so unless they super sample they'd be wasting resources. Console games rarely give this option, but Nintendo did state they're developing an OS that should allow for games to run on different form factors so maybe it would make sense/be easier to do? Not sure
Would make more sense for a hybrid system to allow for configurations for multiple set ups otherwise it would just be a handheld with HDMI Out. That's not even to say if the dock does something like perhaps improve the clock speeds a bit to make performance at higher resolutions smoother

 

[Malus]

Please tell me you see the irony in you speaking so much about rehashes and your posting history in Nintendo threads.

As for Mario, I just played through 3D World again. It is easily the worst 3D Mario since Sunshine. It's good. It's just forgettable. The focus on multiplayer ruins the game for me, to be honest. Mario 3D Land is far superior because the levels are tighter and it feels more like a classic Mario game.

I really do enjoy how tightly designed 3D Land's levels are. It also had a better camera angle. Something about 3D World's camera makes depth hard to perceive. Not to mention 3D Land's final boss is the best in the series by a good margin.

I don't know if I consider if far superior though. 3D World's postgame content is a lot better imo, the multiple playable characters adds replayability (Toad in particular is fun as hell with his speed and short jumps), and it introduced a lot of new, interesting ideas. Plus the soundtrack is a good deal better. Sprixie Kingdom made for a much nicer world map, there's nothing in 3D Land like when you make it up to World Bowser for the first time.

3D World was great, but I can understand why Spieler Eins expected something *more*. Mario, 3D Mario especially, is a franchise known to push boundaries. Mario 64 was revolutionary, Galaxy took a completely surprising, unexpected, awesome direction. 3D World on the other hand "just" built up on the way 3D Land re-interpreted what Mario in 3D is. That's not bad per se, but I can understand why you'd expect more from Mario out of all franchises.

You could say the same thing about Galaxy 2. I think the problem is that Galaxy 2 was the 2nd Mario on the Wii, whereas 3D World was the first Mario on Wii U, and the first HD Mario ever! I was definitely hoping for a brave new approach rather than a sequel to a handheld game for Nintendo's first HD Mario.

 

[Skittzo0413]

Back to NX, I really don't care at all about 720p vs 1080p, maybe because of the tiny monitor I use to play games on. I'd honestly be happier to have more 720p games if that means the horsepower is used on other things like framerate and effects.

I actually completely agree with you, but I'm wondering about all of this basically because we know so little about how the hybrid concept works. If it's possible or beneficial to render games at 1080p and then super sample to a 720p screen then that might indicate that no dock boost/upclock will be needed to produce much greater visuals on the TV than the Wii U can.

On the other hand, if it really makes no sense to have the device render at 1080p for a 720p screen, it might be prudent to allow the device to downclock and render at 720p to save battery power when acting as a portable and return it to normal clocks to be able to render at 1080p when plugged into a power supply.

That's the reason I'm curious about all this- it might indicate what the eventual plan is for the speculated "handheld mode" and "console mode" part of the hybrid.

Edit:

I'm not entirely sure if this is how it works, but 1080p is a little over double the resolution of 720p and 60fps is double the frame rate of 30. I believe 1080p30fps is the same amount of pixels per second than 720p60fps. How likely is it that we'll see some game give us the choice to play at a higher resolution but slower frame rate on NX when plugged in? It seems very un-Nintendo to give options like that and i imagine not all devs will focus on that, but at least with Wii U ports of something like Zelda or Splatoon.
If NX is at least 2x more powerful than Wii U, it should be able to manage in most cases to have a 720p30fps game at one of the previously two mentioned settings but on the portable it would be limited by the resolution so unless they super sample they'd be wasting resources. Console games rarely give this option, but Nintendo did state they're developing an OS that should allow for games to run on different form factors so maybe it would make sense/be easier to do? Not sure

I don't think graphics processing actually works that way. You get performance gains when lowering the resolution and the framerate slows when upping the resolution, but I don't think either of those things act linearly. GPU requirements also don't scale linearly with resolution, so it's not really a matter of doubling the power or whatnot. It's very much a game by game consideration.

But like you said, I don't see Nintendo giving users the option to prioritize resolution or framerate- it's a bit more complicated of a setup than Nintendo typically provides. It's a very interesting question though, about where developers' priorities will go and what options they will have. It'll be fascinating to look at some developers' opinions and comments once this thing is released.

 

[Peltz]

They're not showing NX this year, are they? The timing for this year is just getting more and more problematic between Neo reveal, Pokemon release, and hopes for holiday sales...

Only thing I can think is an October reveal to appease investors before their quarterly meeting, while keeping this supposed Pokemon NX project under wraps until next year.

They can't turn back on revealing it in 2016 now that they told investors that the reveal is coming.

 

[Kissenkopf]

I merely commented on an idea that would be inherently bad and WiiU-like.

I asked why a third mario galaxy would be bad and you assumed it would be a rehash and nothing that would brake any boundries. Just because you are embittered and blind. Talking with you is like talking with a child which always trys to get out of the situation and wants to be a tad more clever then its opposite but fails in that regard.

But to get on topic again: I like the mock up but the controllers seem so small. Thats also my fear after hearing that rumor. But Nintendo wouldn't make such small pieces you could easily lose...wouldn't they?

 

[Ogodei]

3D World was great, but I can understand why Spieler Eins expected something *more*. Mario, 3D Mario especially, is a franchise known to push boundaries. Mario 64 was revolutionary, Galaxy took a completely surprising, unexpected, awesome direction. 3D World on the other hand "just" built up on the way 3D Land re-interpreted what Mario in 3D is. That's not bad per se, but I can understand why you'd expect more from Mario out of all franchises.

Personally, I'm extremely annoyed by the way current Mario games re-use ideas/settings/themes from Mario Bros 3/Mario World without adding much new on their own. The fixation on the Koopalings is a good example of that.

This is ironic because all i can remember before NSMBWii was people complaining about how Nintendo had un-personed the Koopalings. It's the Zelda cycle all over again

(not picking on you, i've seen this opinion elsewhere too).

 

[Pittree]

Thats true, 3ds is like that. But iirc most games dont use both in tandem very much(I haven't played a majority of 3ds games, and its been a good while, so correct me if I am wrong) Also 3ds is more designed around shorter gameplay sessions. So vertically aligned on the dpad/thumbstick side might be ok for short gameplay burst. But I could see many people hating that setup on the face button side if you are playing some dual analogue games. Would get hand cramps very quickly imo.

Some games ask you to use the d-pad a lot. If you are using a traditional 3DS in monster hunter, dpad is assigned to camera control...and yeah it hurts. I prefer using the touchscreen for that since it is offset.

In my concept I added a trackpad (the circle with a grey dot below the screen). Mainly it is there for allowing the use of a directional input and two buttons (-+) while the controllers are deattached, this configuration could be used for NES games, and some simpler games, however if you turn the device and attach the controllers like in the bayonetta configuration it could also be used as an alternate "stick" if I have the opportunity to update the mockup, I could offset that trackpad. It wouldn't be ideal, but giving the very particular needs of the device, it is hard to get the best of both worlds.

 

[Plum]

They can't turn back on revealing it in 2016 now that they told investors that the reveal is coming.

What would happen if they were to announce that they were delaying the announcement to 2017? Legitimate question, I would love for them to at the very least announce the reveal date this year.

 

[tarheel91]

I'm not entirely sure if this is how it works, but 1080p is a little over double the resolution of 720p and 60fps is double the frame rate of 30. I believe 1080p30fps is the same amount of pixels per second than 720p60fps. How likely is it that we'll see some game give us the choice to play at a higher resolution but slower frame rate on NX when plugged in? It seems very un-Nintendo to give options like that and i imagine not all devs will focus on that, but at least with Wii U ports of something like Zelda or Splatoon.
If NX is at least 2x more powerful than Wii U, it should be able to manage in most cases to have a 720p30fps game at one of the previously two mentioned settings but on the portable it would be limited by the resolution so unless they super sample they'd be wasting resources. Console games rarely give this option, but Nintendo did state they're developing an OS that should allow for games to run on different form factors so maybe it would make sense/be easier to do? Not sure
Would make more sense for a hybrid system to allow for configurations for multiple set ups otherwise it would just be a handheld with HDMI Out. That's not even to say if the dock does something like perhaps improve the clock speeds a bit to make performance at higher resolutions smoother

2 times the frame rate means 2 times the CPU load, as well. You're telling it to do the same work in half the time. I doubt you'll see the option to go between the two unless the game is VERY GPU limited.

 

[Plinko]

I really do enjoy how tightly designed 3D Land's levels are. It also had a better camera angle. Something about 3D World's camera makes depth hard to perceive. Not to mention 3D Land's final boss is the best in the series by a good margin.

I don't know if I consider if far superior though. 3D World's postgame content is a lot better imo, the multiple playable characters adds replayability (Toad in particular is fun as hell with his speed and short jumps), and it introduced a lot of new, interesting ideas. Plus the soundtrack is a good deal better. Sprixie Kingdom made for a much nicer world map, there's nothing in 3D Land like when you make it up to World Bowser for the first time.

The bolded statement was my number one complaint with the game. The depth perception was bizarre. 3D Land was so much easier because of the 3D presumably, but I never had a problem landing jumps in Mario 64/Sunshine/Galaxy like I did in 3D World.

 

[Aldric]

*walk around ball collecting bits*
*find launch star*
*rinse*
*repeat*
*YOU GOT A STAR*

Galaxy was linear as fuck. People misremember it, and I don't understand why.

That's a ridiculous oversimplification of Galaxy. lt had significant nonlinear elements, including stars you could grab out of order (making it less linear objective wise than Sunshine) as well as a bunch of Galaxies that didn't differ that much level design wise from Mario 64 courses.

It was more linear than 64 but far less than 3D Land/World.

 

[Fourth Storm]

They can't turn back on revealing it in 2016 now that they told investors that the reveal is coming.

As I said, I'm thinking October, but wouldn't rule out a change of plans. Iwata promised Miitomo for like a year or more before finally showing it.

 

[LegendofLex]

For the purposes of this thought let's assume the dock does nothing, and the SoC runs at the same speed regardless of being on a power supply. In that scenario, do you think we'd see a Smash Bros port being rendered at 720p with enhanced effects and AA and such, or would it be rendered at 1080p for the benefit of TV play?

Thoughts?

Nintendo specifically called out operating constraints on a battery vs. power supply when talking about the kinds of things they're trying to consider for their unified development going forward, so I think it's silly to use the assumption that operating on a power supply and while connected to a TV will ever be an inconsequential factor.

 

[jblank83]

*walk around ball collecting bits*
*find launch star*
*rinse*
*repeat*
*YOU GOT A STAR*

Galaxy was linear as fuck. People misremember it, and I don't understand why.

People are probably remembering the parts that are factually "open exploration" and not linear, such as Honeyhive Galaxy:

https://youtu.be/4-_Ar2GoJnc?t=446

There were several more such as well.

Part of the reason I like Galaxy more than Galaxy 2 is that it had a mix of open and linear levels, whereas Galaxy 2 leans more towards linear.

 

[Servbot24]

They already have a home run hitter at launch with Zelda. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Having a remaster to fill out the launch lineup is a good idea because it adds more incentive to purchase, and it also doesn't risk sucking the oxygen away from Zelda.

Having two good things at launch would not be too much of a good thing. Nintendo has just conditioned its fans to think that. Everyone else gets tons of good games on a frequent basis.

 

[James Scott]

2 times the frame rate means 2 times the CPU load, as well. You're telling it to do the same work in half the time. I doubt you'll see the option to go between the two unless the game is VERY GPU limited.

So framerate is more graphics intensive than resolution even if you're pushing the same amount of pixels per second?
In either case I'll be interested to see how they handle Smash 4 NX and BoTW the most out of any potential game. From the reports we know the NX is at least as powerful as Wii U (very very safe estimate) but the screen is 720p, what will they do there when porting a game from Wii U to it? Will Breath of the Wild be able to have a resolution and frame rate boost? Or will they just focus on having a locked 30fps and using the (presumably) extra ram and modern feature set API to make what's in the game look nicer.
Will Smash be limited to 720p always despite the weaker system being able to run it at 1080p 60fps locked? There's already 8 player multiplayer options and I'm not sure they can make the game look much better without redoing all of the assets. Maybe a turbo mode like in DmC to appeal to some Melee fans?
Some interesting questions Nintendo will hopefully answer in the reveal event.
Might change people's minds about the hybrid device (for better or worse)

 

[Skittzo0413]

Nintendo specifically called out battery vs. power supply when talking about the kinds of things they're trying to consider for their unified development going forward, so I think it's silly to use the assumption that operating on a power supply and while connected to a TV will ever be an inconsequential factor.

I'm not making that assumption overall, in fact I think there will end up being significantly higher clock rates when docked. I'm just making that assumption for the purposes of trying to reconcile having a 720p screen for a device which might have the same processing power when outputting to a TV screen as it does when outputting to the 720p screen.

I think the fact that a Smash bros port is rumored to be coming to NX, when that was a 1080p Wii U game, does in fact indicate that the NX will have to render at 1080p to a TV screen. The question is, does being hooked into a power supply essentially flip a switch telling it to render at 1080p, or does it make more sense to render at 1080p on battery too and then downsample/super sample to the 720p screen for a crisper image? The former would indicate that the dock is indeed capable of changing the performance of the SoC, which is what the main dock hypothesis at this point is.

The other option would be 720p native across the board, but that makes no sense when the NX is considerably more powerful than the Wii U.

 

[MuchoMalo]

Having two good things at launch would not be too much of a good thing. Nintendo has just conditioned its fans to think that. Everyone else gets tons of good games on a frequent basis.

While true, how many good things can a single company put out? It's a double-edged sword. They can either have a better launch or worse post-launch. That's probably one of the biggest disadvantages Nintendo faces due to their lack of third-party support.

 

[Gleethor]

You use the word rehash quite liberally, it seems.

I legit haven't seen that word used in relation to games since I left GameFAQS like 7 years ago.

 

[majik13]

Some games ask you to use the d-pad a lot. If you are using a traditional 3DS in monster hunter, dpad is assigned to camera control...and yeah it hurts. I prefer using the touchscreen for that since it is offset.

In my concept I added a trackpad (the circle with a grey dot below the screen). Mainly it is there for allowing the use of a directional input and two buttons (-+) while the controllers are deattached, this configuration could be used for NES games, and some simpler games, however if you turn the device and attach the controllers like in the bayonetta configuration it could also be used as an alternate "stick" if I have the opportunity to update the mockup, I could offset that trackpad. It wouldn't be ideal, but giving the very particular needs of the device, it is hard to get the best of both worlds.

Ah interesting, didn't know that was to be a track pad. Those can be hit or miss depending on the game. But, brings up an interesting point if nintendo will have dedicated buttons on the screen portion itself, and not just keep everything on the detachable controllers.

 

[James Scott]

Having two good things at launch would not be too much of a good thing. Nintendo has just conditioned its fans to think that. Everyone else gets tons of good games on a frequent basis.

He's only talking about launch titles and having two big titles from Nintendo will probably end up in the best launch in over a decade regardless of the quality of anything else.
Also, Wii U had more games than PS4 and Xbox One had at launch but they were ports and smaller titles so I think it relies more on quality rather than quantity and it would probably better to have a couple of great games at launch and sprinkled throughout the year instead of just front and end loading big releases with a large drought in between. With all of their focus on one platform they need to consider releasing some titles in months they usually wouldn't consider as they need to space out releases in order to not compete with their own titles too frequently and pleasing the consumer base with new software regularly and fewer droughts.

 

[Servbot24]

While true, how many good things can a single company put out? It's a double-edged sword. They can either have a better launch or worse post-launch. That's probably one of the biggest disadvantages Nintendo faces due to their lack of third-party support.

If they're incapable of having a good launch and then supporting the console after launch I'm not sure why they're in this business.

 

[Malus]

People are probably remembering the parts that are factually "open exploration" and not linear, such as Honeyhive Galaxy:

https://youtu.be/4-_Ar2GoJnc?t=446

There were several more such as well.

Part of the reason I like Galaxy more than Galaxy 2 is that it had a mix of open and linear levels, whereas Galaxy 2 leans more towards linear.

Even those open areas only had 1 objective, and would cut off certain parts of the level to push you in a direction. For instance I'm pretty certain you can't get to the queen bee from the star you linked to. In the star immediately following the one you linked, the queen bee appears in a different spot, forcing you down an entirely different path. See also that in the 2nd star, the path leading to the high part of the level is gone. This level is a lot more linear than it appears at first glance.

Exploration levels in Galaxy often become a simple matter of process of elimination with little chance of getting lost, as you learn that each path represents a different star, and there's no reward other than maybe some star bits for choosing the wrong path and finding a dead end.

 

[daakusedo]

Do we have an updated summary on nicowav's leak?

With nextlevel games working also on two projects and nx being android port friendly, I think that's pretty much it.

 

[Dreamwriter]

While true, how many good things can a single company put out? It's a double-edged sword. They can either have a better launch or worse post-launch. That's probably one of the biggest disadvantages Nintendo faces due to their lack of third-party support.

The third party support just naturally comes from a good launch. And if Nintendo launches with their AAA franchises, they can easily fill the gap with lesser titles and people will still be buying the console for the big games that are still available. People never really stop buying those games, even at Gamestop Nintendo first-party titles tend to keep their values pretty well.

Note that regardless of their big titles, Nintendo is capable of releasing roughly one game per month on a normal platform once they've ramped up, and now they should be able to go even faster if need-be, because they no longer segregate handheld teams from console teams.

 

[wrowa]

They already have a home run hitter at launch with Zelda. There is such a thing as too much of a good thing. Having a remaster to fill out the launch lineup is a good idea because it adds more incentive to purchase, and it also doesn't risk sucking the oxygen away from Zelda.

But Zelda is a cross-gen game as well. When Nintendo's launch line up consists of one new casual game, Zelda and one or two Wii U remasters, then people have to wonder why they can play 3/4 of the notable NX line up on the old console.

 

[Astorgh]

Here is a new quick mockup I made since some were asking for one. It needs a lot more work and I need to add the dock. However at the very least it could give you an idea at how the screen size compares to the one in the iphone 6s+

Feel free to send suggestions to add. Thank you.

I would imagine it a little more bulkier. Less smartphone-like.

Great mockup though