dartmonkey

Modest Tech: The NX Generation (Nintendo Switch)

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19 hours ago, graddy said:

But the Pro controller is lovely for Celeste

 

Probably, yeah. I’ve stubbornly held off on getting a Pro controller as I feel the default one should work. Also I’m drowning in controllers for various devices here, don’t wanna add more to the pile.

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The pro controller is more than a little nice for various games, if only because you get to use the D-pad. The entire NES library is virtually unplayable without.

 

I've finally gotten my mitts on Civ 6 for Switch! It has a lovely discount for the holidays, so I'm off to construct a science victory rocket, y'all.

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Please let us know how the hardware holds up during the late game. I'm tempted since I skipped it on PC. 

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First impressions: started the tutorial to learn the differences with Civ 5. It looks great, though my tv could be a couple dozen inches bigger for my tastes. Handheld mode looks great.

 

The controls take some getting used to. Not that they're difficult, not at all, but there's a tactile quality to having a mouse that you can use to hover, point, click, drag, etc, that isn't easily replaced by the L and R buttons and two analogue sticks. The lack of immediacy in terms of controls is felt, and I'm not sure yet if I'll be able to surmount it. I'll let you know. In the coming days I'm starting my first actual skirmish, so we'll see.

 

(So far the loading times were very doable!)

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I bought Celeste based on the entire internet's recommendation. I seem to have  a love hate relationship with it. I really dislike the chase sequences with the mirror version super early on in the game. It just seems like a really cheap and boring way to build tension. I do really like a lot of the sections though. Currently stuck on one where you have to bounce between two platforms, and it's pretty frustrating. The previous sections were super fun though.

 

I also bought Oxenfree coz it was on sale. I love that so far. It's super spooky though so I can't play it at night.

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On 12/29/2018 at 6:50 PM, Dosed said:

I bought Celeste based on the entire internet's recommendation. I seem to have  a love hate relationship with it. I really dislike the chase sequences with the mirror version super early on in the game.

 

That's exactly where I fell off the game.

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Yeah the internet is great, but sometimes it steers us wrong. I bought Dead Cells after the entire internet assured me it was great, but guess what, I did NOT care for it. :|

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The internet will often overhype things to counteract people's natural disinterest for the unfamiliar. If you describe Celeste - a tough-as-nails platformer where you climb a mountain, that conjures up a host of assumptions, not all of which are true. It's not mean-spirited like a masocore platformer, it doesn't have difficulty walls that can't be overcome thanks to its Assist Mode, and its story and aesthetic is thoughtful and intentional. But it still is a tough-as-nails platformer where you climb a mountain, and some of the stage gimmicks will frustrate certain players more than intended. (A friend of mine stopped at the temple, seeing the crystal as an escort quest.)

 

It feels like there's too many games for their audience, so we have to be far more dismissive than we ever have been. It doesn't help that games discourse is America-centric, and many Americans don't have the time or energy to give games a chance to grow on you, given that their country is collapsing underneath them.

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On 27-12-2018 at 7:10 PM, graddy said:

Please let us know how the hardware holds up during the late game. I'm tempted since I skipped it on PC. 

 

Civ 6 on Switch: further impressions!

 

I've now played about 4 to 5 hours, knee-deep in my first skirmish, playing as Japanese. (Where are the Dutchies at?) I'll first gush a little about how much of an improvement this (Civ 6 base game) is over the Civ 5 base game, which as you'll remember is my only point of comparison. I love it! Building districts is fun and makes me feel like I have more interesting decisions I need to make in any turn. Gone are the days where I could ridiculously churn out twenty wonders in one city - I'll have to make good use of the spare tiles in my cities. It's too early to tell, but I get a feeling the game is also less about creating a sprawl of 100 cities and more about maximizing fewer metropoli.

 

But you didn't need me to tell you the game is good.

 

There are three areas the Switch version necessarily made compromises in to get it to work. The first is the controls. This took some getting used it and at some point earlier on I was afraid I wouldn't... but it absolutely happened. Granted, the lack of mouse and its pin-point immediacy is noticeable, but after a while you develop quite some skill in zooming around the map with the triggers and sticks. I also played handheld, which brings the fun bits of pinching to zoom, but at an additional risk of accidentally moving a unit when you wanted to scroll for options. I think I prefer playing on a tv for now. Control-wise, it works super fine.

 

I'm currently playing on a normal-sized map with various civs I've met and discovered. There's no real framedrops or screen tearing to speak of. If you whip around real quick, sure, there's some stuttering, but nothing you won't encounter on a pc. It plays smoothly and, importantly, after the long-ish up front loading time, without interruption.

 

The biggest grief, suprisingly, is the interface. To make it work on a handheld, they blew up all the menus and fonts used - basically everything about the UI is as big as it can be while still keeping the game playable. And I see why they had to do it, you're already squinting a bit at the screen as it is. To be fair, they succeeded handsomely; even the tooltips are easily readable. But it does come at the cost of overview. The UI is often a little in the way and as a result (and perhaps because they apparently cut out the strategic view, though I don't know exactly what it did) you need to work a little harder to get a feeling for what's going on and how all the civs click together. There are still times when it's nearly impossible to parse: try looking through the religion lens and you'll get a jumble of popup menus cluttering the screen, flipping in and out as you but move the analogue stick.

 

All in all, this is a STELLAR port, looking fabulous, and playing it extremely fun once you get used to the controls and learn to handle the UI.

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Thank you for the detailed impressions. 

 

I'm pulled between the modding ability and cheaper price of the PC version and the realization that at this point in my life I simply prefer sitting on the couch to game. 

 

(I have a steam link, but on the first try playing a game it froze up. Not a great sign :( )

 

 

 

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Yeah, a friend of mine has his PC hooked up next to the TV and reroutes the screen and everything - so he just sits on the sofa with his mouse and keyboard if necessary. That works fine, but if you don't have that setup it'll take more effort. I can't make the decision for you, but I struggled with the same thing: wanting to play Civ 6 but in a more relaxed environment. (It also helps here to know that I have a standing desk, so I can't really play games on the PC sitting down.)

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On 1/3/2019 at 2:52 PM, graddy said:

Thank you for the detailed impressions. 

 

I'm pulled between the modding ability and cheaper price of the PC version and the realization that at this point in my life I simply prefer sitting on the couch to game. 

 

(I have a steam link, but on the first try playing a game it froze up. Not a great sign :( )

 

 

 

 

I've had mostly good experiences getting things to stream to my Steam box, provided you have a wired network it should be ok - wifi just isn't fast enough. 

Through ethernet though, it works well enough to even play tough platformers on without feeling like your fingers are lagging.

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When New Super Mario Bros came out for the DS in 2006 I said "boy, that name is sure to age poorly! It won't be so "New" in 10 years, EH?". Welp, seem Nintendo has gotten around that by re-releasing it every few years, first for the Wii, then Wii U, and today New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe is coming out on the Switch.

 

This game will always be NEW!

 

IT WILL NEVER AGE!!!

 

CIVILIZATIONS WILL CRUMBLE INTO DUST BUT NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WILL NEVER DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Also I haven't played any of the previous versions so I picked it up for the Switch, looking forward to getting into it over the weekend.

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Alright, post up your impressions and where you're coming from on this game. After the letdown (for me) that was Mario 3D World, I am suspicious of all the 'New' type Mario's. Heh, Newtype. I've loved all of the true 3D Mario games since 64, but the more traditional ones have been hit and miss.

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4 hours ago, Roderick said:

After the letdown (for me) that was Mario 3D World

 

What?! :(:( 

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Yeah. I didn't like it. I finished the entire thing (except the final space world, which requires you to get every collectible coin eventually), but thought the whole affair... off, and not immersive like the 3D Marios. I kept not liking the controls and the control I had over my character in those boxy levels, and the levels themselves... ehh. It felt like work. Contrast that to the continuous sense of wonder every pixel and moment of a Mario Galaxy pours over you and yes, I find this disappointing.

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14 hours ago, BonusWavePilot said:

 

I've had mostly good experiences getting things to stream to my Steam box, provided you have a wired network it should be ok - wifi just isn't fast enough. 

Through ethernet though, it works well enough to even play tough platformers on without feeling like your fingers are lagging.

 

Alas, our router is upstairs - way too far away from my TV/steam link.

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On 1/11/2019 at 1:41 AM, Henke said:

When New Super Mario Bros came out for the DS in 2006 I said "boy, that name is sure to age poorly! It won't be so "New" in 10 years, EH?". Welp, seem Nintendo has gotten around that by re-releasing it every few years, first for the Wii, then Wii U, and today New Super Mario Bros U Deluxe is coming out on the Switch.

 

This game will always be NEW!

 

IT WILL NEVER AGE!!!

 

CIVILIZATIONS WILL CRUMBLE INTO DUST BUT NEW SUPER MARIO BROS WILL NEVER DIE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

Also I haven't played any of the previous versions so I picked it up for the Switch, looking forward to getting into it over the weekend.

 

To be fair, these are completely different games, not remasters or rereleases (with the exception of U Deluxe). I have played all of them and, while weaker than other mainline Mario games (I would also put Yoshi's Wooly World and both of the Donkey Kong Country games above them), they are definitely pretty good and worth looking at. NSMB2 on 3DS is the weakest by far, NSMBU is probably the strongest. Especially the Soda Jungle section. I honestly would put this one and 3D World about on par with each other. 3D World is more creative and I like a lot of what it's doing, but the level format didn't really do it for me in 3D Land and still didn't there. I really liked it for a while, then it wore out its welcome and I started to feel like finishing it was an obligation rather than a joy. NSMBU, by contrast, did not wear out its welcome. It was less interesting in some ways, but the traditional 2D level design was rock solid.

 

My only real complaint about it is that it has the same problem that EVERY Mario game has had since the N64: inertia. In 3D, the games are so differently designed that being able to stop on a dime doesn't really matter, so it's harder to notice. When they started making 2D games with 3D models though, it's been a real sore spot for the NSMB games. It just feels way too loose compared to the classic sprite-based Mario games, which leads to a lot of deaths that just feel completely unfair and like there is no way they would have happened in SMB3 or World. Mario takes too long to stop, turn around, etc. I also feel this way about 64, Sunshine, Galaxy, and Odyssey, but the levels don't punish you nearly as much for it as they do in the "New" series. How much of a deal breaker this is would vary by person. I put up with it, but it's definitely a thing.

 

So yeah. I bought it, and played about halfway through this weekend (I'm at Soda Jungle again! Looking forward to re-experiencing those levels!) and will keep plugging away for the next week or so. A good game, but a stopgap. I'm looking forward to Yoshi's Yarn-tastic Knit-venture (I can't be bothered to look up the real name right now) when it comes out in March, as Wooly World was great and Yoshi physics have ALWAYS felt squishy so it isn't as much of a bother for me in that series. This will hold me over until then.

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Ah, didn't realize they were different games. The last 2D Mario I played was SMB3 circa 2002 and before that the GameBoy Marios in the early 90's.

 

I'm also at the Soda Jungle now and I totally agree with you about the inertia. I replayed Celeste not long before starting up NSMB and the contrast is stark. I feel much more in control when playing Celeste. I'm still enjoying this though.

 

Also this Tim Rogers video is good stuff.

 

 

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On 1/11/2019 at 3:39 PM, Roderick said:

Yeah. I didn't like it. I finished the entire thing (except the final space world, which requires you to get every collectible coin eventually), but thought the whole affair... off, and not immersive like the 3D Marios. I kept not liking the controls and the control I had over my character in those boxy levels, and the levels themselves... ehh. It felt like work. Contrast that to the continuous sense of wonder every pixel and moment of a Mario Galaxy pours over you and yes, I find this disappointing.

 

Ah, that's a bummer. I think 3D World is probably my favorite "3D" Mario game. It perfectly blends the tight level-design of the 2D Marios with the more free-form movement of 3D Mario and it just keeps introducing new and genuinely fun mechanics throughout. To each his own!

 

I hope 3D World isn't the last time Nintendo makes this kind of Mario...

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We all have our preferences! And I am half-interested in at least trying out New Supes Wii U, pity there's no demo.

 

I wonder what kind of Mario Nintendo will make next. Odyssey felt really complete, to the point that it wasn't particularly begging for a follow-up. I mean: I'd be thrilled if it came to it! But wouldn't mind them going in a different direction. Looking at their history, they do seem to settle on a particular style for Mario and then exploit that in a handful of games. Galaxy -> Galaxy 2, New -> New Wii -> New 2 -> New Wii U. We might be looking at a sequel to Odyssey, somewhere down the line, say 2020. But it's fine. There's no dearth of Mario games, especially with all the remasters coming up.

 

REMASTER SUNSHINE, NINTENDO. AND DO A GALAXY DOUBLE PACK IN HD.

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On 1/16/2019 at 9:52 AM, Roderick said:

REMASTER SUNSHINE, NINTENDO. AND DO A GALAXY DOUBLE PACK IN HD.

 

Yes! This! Please!

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I'm pretty sure at least Mario Galaxy 1 in HD is available on the NVidia Shield for Chinese markets, so it is kinda weird that it isn't coming to Switch. They might just be trying to space it out after Odyssey and NSMBU Deluxe comes out, to avoid Mario fatigue on the Switch?

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Sounds pretty reasonable. Sunshine somewhere this summer (perfect game for it), Galaxy 1 + 2 next year to tide us over, maybe Mario Maker in between, then Odyssey 2 near the end of the switch life cycle, possibly overlapping with Switch2U.

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Civ 6 Switch update:

 

Played some more, still digging it. After looking up some youtube playthroughs, I discovered so many little details about playing this game that I never would've known otherwise... it's brought my religious victory a lot closer. I was butting heads with two other civs going for religion (or "missionary style" as I'd like to call it), without going anywhere. My main opponent (Aztec) kept spamming inquisitors to undo any push in their territory. Fortunately, I hadn't yet tried to proselytise England, so just today I was able to catch them off-guard. I surrounded their cities with missionaries and one battle-ready pack of appostles backed by gurus. Within three turns I'd simultaneously converted their entire civ, presumably blocking off their ability to pump out any more apostles or inquisitors of their faith.

 

With that out of the way, I'll turn my attention to the Aztec now, the last remaining non-shinto civ... and a tough foe to beat. Their lands are swarming with zealots. I've tried to get other civs to stamp them out of existence twice, but these wars didn't lead to anything. My best bet will be to do the same as I did with England: swarm them with missionaries until I have <50% of their cities, possibly donating some of my own cities to tip the balance. It'll be tricky, but it's my only shot.

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