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A Global Test Smash would be awesome!

Quillion

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Sep 17, 2014
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Nintendo may have a long way to go in making a fully standard online system, but I do appreciate how they have put out all these "Global Test" demos for their tentpole online games, such as the Splatoon series, ARMS, and even Mario Tennis Aces.

It's really smart for both consumers and the company. Players get to try out a small slice of the game, and Nintendo gets to stress-test their servers before they're up and running for release. So why not extend that courtesy to Smash Ultimate? It's going to be yet another tentpole online title, yet due to the kinetic nature of matches in Smash, it's rather difficult for Nintendo to create the well-running online system it deserves; this shows in how awful Brawl was online, and even Smash 4 had major wrinkles that need to be worked out for Ultimate.

But while testing the online system might not outright perfect Smash's online, it will certainly help them gauge what needs to be done and improve the systems at launch and in the future. As for the demo itself, I think just providing the Original 8 or even Original 12 would suffice for a Global Test Smash, along with a selection of 5 stages with Battlefield and Omega modes. All they would need to provide for the demo are an offline VS mode and an online mode with For Fun and For Glory modes.

Since Smash Ultimate will be released near the Christmas season, I could see them releasing a Global Test Smash in November. This would help drum up hype while letting the players test the servers.
 

Skitrel

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It would be datamined to pieces and there would undoubtedly be a tonne of spoilers discovered from doing so. I highly doubt that Nintendo would want to do that and think they're far more content patching issues post-release.

Online is p2p. It's 100% reliant on the connections of the players themselves. The only thing that can be done to improve p2p is to improve the matching of players. The data they'd get for matching players based on connection and distance isn't going to be very different to Smash 4.

This would help drum up hype while letting the players test the servers.
You need to think of it from the risk-perspective too. It's not all sunshine and roses, plenty of test releases of games have done a lot to drum up negativity, create large amounts of criticism for a buggy build, and generally make players concerned. Then when it's still not all perfect on release players throw temper tantrums.

They're Nintendo, they don't like taking PR risks much.

I expect no tests and 2 to 3 months of online subscription to be given away for free with the game to mitigate any negativity people might have for paying for online if their are some bugs that need patching. It's easier for them to control their image and generate nothing but hype and positivity and anticipation without the "unknown" factor of how the community might receive the game and how discussion on reddit might turn nasty/negative because players decide they hate X, Y or Z.

I think people should expect it NOT to happen so that they're less disappointed when they have to wait, it probably won't happen.
 

Teeb147

Smash Legend
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10,624
Pretty sure there's going to be a demo at least, like last time. Dunno how far they're going to take it, or when we could have it.
Everyone's gonna play it to bits either way. :)
 

Quillion

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You need to think of it from the risk-perspective too. It's not all sunshine and roses, plenty of test releases of games have done a lot to drum up negativity, create large amounts of criticism for a buggy build, and generally make players concerned. Then when it's still not all perfect on release players throw temper tantrums.

They're Nintendo, they don't like taking PR risks much.
But from Nintendo's history of Global Test demos, they've done a pretty good job of making their demos presentable. They don't release demos all too often, allowing them to put more work into the ones they need.

Even if Mario Tennis Aces has a lot of negativity surrounding it post-release, its Global Test demo was well-received.
 

IsmaR

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I'm still predicting we're a ways off from getting even another offline playable demo (that will be available during a tour/Switch event type thing at multiple locations across the world rather than just being at singular/major events).

The soonest I think we'd hear about an online demo would probably be after the Nintendo Switch online fully launches in September (Smash would easily sell online for those who would otherwise be hesitant until December, at the very least selling a few more units for those that were planning on waiting for the holiday sales).
 

Quillion

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I'm still predicting we're a ways off from getting even another offline playable demo (that will be available during a tour/Switch event type thing at multiple locations across the world rather than just being at singular/major events).

The soonest I think we'd hear about an online demo would probably be after the Nintendo Switch online fully launches in September (Smash would easily sell online for those who would otherwise be hesitant until December, at the very least selling a few more units for those that were planning on waiting for the holiday sales).
The previous Global Test demos were all made public about a month prior to release.

If Nintendo Switch launches in September (hopefully no delays), that would be enough time to prepare a Global Test Smash for the month prior to the early December release.
 

IsmaR

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All of them save for Mario Tennis had multiple test periods, so the hope would be one earlier (using the current demo build most likely) and one later closer to launch (with potentially most of the cast, or at least more stages/content).
 

7 or 7

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A demo before release is probably a good idea and likely considering Nintendo's current track record, the real question is whether that demo will be a small offline one or a limited global test smash.
 

Quillion

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All of them save for Mario Tennis had multiple test periods, so the hope would be one earlier (using the current demo build most likely) and one later closer to launch (with potentially most of the cast, or at least more stages/content).
I looked at Splatoon 2, and that one had a Global Testfire three months before launch.

If we have a Global Test Smash, I think a three-day session three months before launch, another session a month before launch, and one final session three months after launch would be ideal.
 

Jamisinon

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An online only demo could still test out the net code the game uses for online. Other games in the past have had poor peer-to-peer connectivity that wasn't necessarily the fault of the hardware or the players' connections. I'd honestly love to see them them do a beta a couple months before release. They could not only gather info on connectivity but they could also gather win/loss data on characters. They could leave out characters not yet announced. Heck, I'm not worried about most of the roster being broken and needing a nerf but if we could not have characters like Sheik/Diddy/Bayo be broken day 1 and thus consequentially get nerfed hard I'd love that. I understand that doing a 3 or 4 day beta isn't enough time for a real meta to evolve or super test out characters to their full extent. But when Bayo DLC released it took me two games vs a buddy to be like 'this character is broken.' So considering how awfully balanced several characters were either at launch or their DLC release I'd love for them to have some sort of public testing, if for nothing else for the sake of helping them balance.
 

DaDavid

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I would love for them to do, and it's never been more likely given the other test fires/punches/whateverthetennisone was, but... If there's one game I can imagine them not doing with it's Smash.

Smash attracts leaks no matter what, and giving us an even mostly complete version of the game as a demo is a pretty surefire way to make sure information about the game comes out before they want it out. Carving out vertical slices of a game to present as demos isn't as easy as people think either. There's a reason stuff like Yakuza's demo basically being the full game happens.
 

Quillion

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I would love for them to do, and it's never been more likely given the other test fires/punches/whateverthetennisone was, but... If there's one game I can imagine them not doing with it's Smash.

Smash attracts leaks no matter what, and giving us an even mostly complete version of the game as a demo is a pretty surefire way to make sure information about the game comes out before they want it out. Carving out vertical slices of a game to present as demos isn't as easy as people think either. There's a reason stuff like Yakuza's demo basically being the full game happens.
I'd say leaks are worth it if they absolutely need to test the netcode beforehand.

Smash's online history has been severely flawed at best, and if they're committed to making online actually work this time (now with a paid service to properly fund it), they'll probably need a Global Test Smash.
 

lordvaati

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A global test run would be good for spotting bugs early too, so we don't have anything like the Princess Peach Crisis from 3DS happening again.
 
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...what does that have to do with anything?
it sounds like some people believe that having a smash ultimate demo may not be possible. Prior to smash 4’s release they had public event testing for the 3DS version, a demo for the system, and had public events at some stores like Best Buy. It wasn’t handled perfectly, but with Nintendo’s new marketing and the switches popularity they’re going to have to propose something. A lot of people have played the game already considering it was announced last month.
 

Quillion

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it sounds like some people believe that having a smash ultimate demo may not be possible. Prior to smash 4’s release they had public event testing for the 3DS version, a demo for the system, and had public events at some stores like Best Buy. It wasn’t handled perfectly, but with Nintendo’s new marketing and the switches popularity they’re going to have to propose something. A lot of people have played the game already considering it was announced last month.
Especially considering Nintendo has an uphill battle to convince consumers that their paid online is good when their history shows otherwise, the benefits of a vertical-slice demo build would outweigh the potential risk of draining hype from the game.
 

Quillion

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Okay, now that the final pre-release Direct has revealed all of the base characters and everything else about the game, I'm disappointed once again.

Really, there's nothing left to lose with having the game datamined at this point. Only post-release updates could possibly reveal the characters.
 

S_B

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Okay, now that the final pre-release Direct has revealed all of the base characters and everything else about the game, I'm disappointed once again.

Really, there's nothing left to lose with having the game datamined at this point. Only post-release updates could possibly reveal the characters.
Yeah, lack of a demo makes me a sad crocodile.

Watch SSBU's servers totally **** the bed on launch day because they were never stress tested....
 

Quillion

Smash Hero
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Sep 17, 2014
Messages
5,512
Watch SSBU's netcode* totally **** the bed on launch day because they were never stress tested....
Yeah, seriously. They should know that Smash's netcode has never been good at this point. A TEST WOULDN'T HURT, NINTENDO!
 
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