Miiverse: Stage Research

[ParanoidDrone]

We've known about this stage for ages, and frankly I thought it was quietly scrapped after not hearing a peep about it when Mewtwo arrived. But the Miiverse has finally arrived. Don't bother betting on how long it'll take before ***** appear in the background, it's already happened to me personally.

Previously Covered
Suzaku Castle
Dream Land (64)
Final Destination & Ω Forms
PAC-LAND
75M
Skyworld
Flat Zone X
The Great Cave Offensive
Onett
Palutena's Temple
Yoshi's Island
Wily Castle
Gaur Plain
Pyrosphere
Temple
Mario Circuit (Brawl)
Boxing Ring
Port Town Aero Dive
Bridge of Eldin
Pilotwings
Jungle Hijinxs
Wrecking Crew
Halberd
Pokemon Stadium 2
Big Battlefield
Battlefield
Smashville
Lylat Cruise
Castle Siege
Town & City
Duck Hunt
Delfino Plaza
Kalos Pokemon League
Mario Galaxy
Coliseum
Gamer
Wii Fit Studio
Kongo Jungle 64
Windy Hill Zone
Luigi's Mansion
Norfair
Orbital Gate Assault
Woolly World
Skyloft
Garden of Hope
Mushroom Kingdom U
Wuhu Island
Mario Circuit

Layout
Miiverse is almost an exact clone of Battlefield. It's the same size, the platforms are arranged the same way, and even the distance to the blast zone is almost exactly the same in all directions, with variances of only 1% if that. The shape of the stage underneath the ledge is different and the platforms are slightly more compressed horizontally, but that's it.

Players 1 and 2 start on the two lower platforms. Players 3 and 4 start on the top platform and the middle of the base. The Omega form floats over a void.

Miiverse has no stage hazards, although explaining the messages in the background is probably a good idea.

I wasn't kidding earlier. I really did see a drawing of a **** when testing this stage.

Social Media
As players battle on Miiverse, messages appear in the background to cheer on the fighters involved. The messages are pulled from the "Support _____!" Miiverse communities, which you can find here. Each message has a colored border to help indicate which fighter it's supporting. Player 1's messages have a red border, Player 2's are blue, and so forth.

When one of the players scores a KO, they get a burst of applause and another supporting message. Rarely, however, the supporting message will encourage the player they KO'd instead.

As entertaining as the Miiverse messages can be, they have no direct impact on gameplay. That said, their psychological impact on the players has yet to be determined.

After a match concludes on Miiverse, the game will ask the player(s) if they wish to create a message to support the winning character. This prompt appears after all players are finished on the results screen. ("Ready for the next battle.") While it does not impact gameplay, it is an extra few button presses before getting back to the character select screen. This feature can be disabled in the Options menu.

Miiverse being what it is, the various stage features require an internet connection. If the Wii U is not connected to the internet, the stage will remain static and blank.

Lastly, if a 3DS is connected to the Wii U as a controller, Miiverse will be completely unavailable for use.

Summary

• Identical to Battlefield in almost all respects.
• Miiverse messages support players. Contribute to the community of your choice here.
• New meta: Trash talk your opponent's main character?
• Game asks if you want to create a message for the winner after the results screen. This can be disabled in options.
• Cannot pick this stage if a 3DS is being used as a controller.
• Internet connection required for Miiverse functionality.

 

[M]

Easily my fave non-omega at this point.

Is it worth noting the slightly more cramped layout of the platforms? The little gaps between the side and middle platforms in Battlefield are non existent on this one. Kinda changes how moving around platforms may work for some.

 

[Sandfall]

Here's a perfect example of why Miiverse should be banned:

http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/39x9hf/spoilers_everywhere_on_the_miiverse_map/

I don't want to have to strike battlefield (or waste an extra ban on miiverse if they're separate) simply so I can avoid seeing spoilers for my favorite shows and games. I also don't want to have to turn off a stream just in case the stage comes up in a tournament set. This is a no brainer, really.

 

[Jaxas]

Here's a perfect example of why Miiverse should be banned:

http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/39x9hf/spoilers_everywhere_on_the_miiverse_map/

I don't want to have to strike battlefield (or waste an extra ban on miiverse if they're separate) simply so I can avoid seeing spoilers for my favorite shows and games. I also don't want to have to turn off a stream just in case the stage comes up in a tournament set. This is a no brainer, really.

Posts don't show up if the console isn't actively connected to the internet, so if it's that big of a deal then just disconnect from the internet before the tournament

 

[ParanoidDrone]

Here's a perfect example of why Miiverse should be banned:

http://www.reddit.com/r/smashbros/comments/39x9hf/spoilers_everywhere_on_the_miiverse_map/

I don't want to have to strike battlefield (or waste an extra ban on miiverse if they're separate) simply so I can avoid seeing spoilers for my favorite shows and games. I also don't want to have to turn off a stream just in case the stage comes up in a tournament set. This is a no brainer, really.

I expect Miiverse will end up lumped together with Battlefield as the two are so similar as to be virtually indistinguishable.

Given the unpredictable nature of the messages that can appear (I've seen no fewer than 5 penises since yesterday), I can see people generally coming to a gentleman's agreement not to select Miiverse without first consulting the other player, or at the very least that one would have the presence of mind to politely request that they not select Miiverse for fear of spoilers/genitalia/whatever, but I do hope you realize how absurd it is to suggest a stage be banned for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with Smash itself, even tangentially.

Also, the stage apparently stays free of messages if you're not connected to the internet at the time, although I haven't tested this personally yet. (Jaxas is the third or fourth time I've seen that claim, so I'm inclined to believe it at this point, but popular opinions are not necessarily correct so I want to do a bit of digging first.)

In other news, I discovered a little quirk about Miiverse that affects the results screen of all things. After all players are done (with the "ready for the next battle" messages), the game will throw up a prompt and ask if you want to create a message to support the winning character. Unless people really want to hold up a tournament to draw stuff for Miiverse, it amounts to a few extra button presses before returning to the CSS, but it's something I didn't expect. Not sure if it happens in online battles, or if it still happens when the Wii U is disconnected from the internet.

 

[Sandfall]

Posts don't show up if the console isn't actively connected to the internet, so if it's that big of a deal then just disconnect from the internet before the tournament

Good. I don't know about you guys, but spoilers are kind of a huge deal to some people. Just that little bit of knowledge can ruin a book/movie/show for someone. A miiverse stage where people could post stuff like that would really be a deal breaker in terms of tournament legality.

I do hope you realize how absurd it is to suggest a stage be banned for reasons that have nothing whatsoever to do with Smash itself, even tangentially.

You're joking right? The stage can have a negative impact on your life outside of smash. It's beyond absurd to think that's even okay. Regardless, if what the above poster said is true, this point is moot anyway.

 

[ParanoidDrone]

Good. I don't know about you guys, but spoilers are kind of a huge deal to some people. Just that little bit of knowledge can ruin a book/movie/show for someone. A miiverse stage where people could post stuff like that would really be a deal breaker in terms of tournament legality.


You're joking right? The stage can have a negative impact on your life outside of smash. It's beyond absurd to think that's even okay. Regardless, if what the above poster said is true, this point is moot anyway.

Not joking in the slightest. It's probably because I give negative ****s about spoilers in general. And truth be told I barely notice the messages anyway except after a KO when I can afford to pay attention to them.

 

[Jaxas]

Can confirm that no messages show up of you're offline; I brought my Wii U to our Melee/P:M tournament yesterday and kept it off the internet - no messages anywhere.

 

[Hb2]

In other news, I discovered a little quirk about Miiverse that affects the results screen of all things. After all players are done (with the "ready for the next battle" messages), the game will throw up a prompt and ask if you want to create a message to support the winning character. Unless people really want to hold up a tournament to draw stuff for Miiverse, it amounts to a few extra button presses before returning to the CSS, but it's something I didn't expect. Not sure if it happens in online battles, or if it still happens when the Wii U is disconnected from the internet.

There is an in-game option that lets you skip this prompt. It's under Games & More -> Options -> Internet Options -> Show Support.

 

[Ulevo]

Good. I don't know about you guys, but spoilers are kind of a huge deal to some people. Just that little bit of knowledge can ruin a book/movie/show for someone. A miiverse stage where people could post stuff like that would really be a deal breaker in terms of tournament legality.


You're joking right? The stage can have a negative impact on your life outside of smash. It's beyond absurd to think that's even okay. Regardless, if what the above poster said is true, this point is moot anyway.

I found your posts genuinely hilarious. I found it even more so after I realized you were serious.

Thank you for making my life a happier experience.

This aside, it is a real downer that this stage will inevitably be relegated to an Omega Battlefield. It is such a nice stage, and the Miiverse posts in the background are quite pleasing.

@ ParanoidDrone It is worth noting that the orientation of the platforms is slightly different. You can see this by using Captain Falcon's up tilt as a unit measurement and testing the distances between them. Also, while it not entirely important, the side blast zone is slightly smaller than Battlefield. Mario dies to a Mario forward smash at the ledge at 72% on Battlefield with no DI, and 71% on Miiverse. It is not a large difference, but it is there. The vertical blast zones are identical.

 

[Sandfall]

I found your posts genuinely hilarious. I found it even more so after I realized you were serious.

Thank you for making my life a happier experience.

I actually find it somewhat sad that you guys are ridiculing me for this. I don't know about you, but some people have lives that don't revolve around Smash. Spoilers can be a huge bummer for them. If you have any doubts about this, just look at the thread I linked.

Anyway, regarding the layout, Miiverse sits in kind of an awkward place. Unlike Dreamland, it's not different enough from battlefield to warrant its own place on the stage list. The slightly different platform arrangement in addition to the different base might make it slightly too different from battlefield to qualify as an alt version of the stage (like the omega stages do). My guess is that some tournaments will ban it because of that reason, while the more lax tournaments keep it legal.

 

[Ulevo]

I actually find it somewhat sad that you guys are ridiculing me for this. I don't know about you, but some people have lives that don't revolve around Smash. Spoilers can be a huge bummer for them. If you have any doubts about this, just look at the thread I linked.

Anyway, regarding the layout, Miiverse sits in kind of an awkward place. Unlike Dreamland, it's not different enough from battlefield to warrant its own place on the stage list. The slightly different platform arrangement in addition to the different base might make it slightly too different from battlefield to qualify as an alt version of the stage (like the omega stages do). My guess is that some tournaments will ban it because of that reason, while the more lax tournaments keep it legal.

There are things in life that you should not take seriously even though you probably could. And while you are welcome to legitimize reasons for why you personally do not like the stage, I just found your urgency to ban the stage for reasons outside of game mechanics rather amusing. If this stage say, created epileptic seizures, I would be much more inclined to sympathize with 'real life' concerns, but the sky is not going to fall in your world if you find out who dies next in your favourite television show.

I am not trying to trivialize you, I just was not expecting such a reason to be brought up or seriously argued.

 

[Sandfall]

There are things in life that you should not take seriously even though you probably could. And while you are welcome to legitimize reasons for why you personally do not like the stage, I just found your urgency to ban the stage for reasons outside of game mechanics rather amusing. If this stage say, created epileptic seizures, I would be much more inclined to sympathize with 'real life' concerns, but the sky is not going to fall in your world if you find out who dies next in your favourite television show.

I am not trying to trivialize you, I just was not expecting such a reason to be brought up or seriously argued.

Again, a sizable amount of people pace importance on things such as spoilers. Simply because you do not particularly care about spoilers does not mean that it is not a valid concern for many people. It just means that your point of view is different. I, for one, feel smash shouldn't bleed out and affect other parts of my life. Saying "oh we should only ban it for outside concerns if it causes physical harm" is kinda taking it to an extreme, don't you think? These games are supposed to be fun. Having one game randomly ruin your enjoyment of a book (or game, or movie) kinda defeats the purpose of having "fun" doesn't it? Why should I have to choose between enjoying competitive smash and enjoying a book? Shouldn't I be able to enjoy both without one impacting the other? A redundant battlefield clone isn't really worth that to me.

 

[Ulevo]

Again, a sizable amount of people pace importance on things such as spoilers. Simply because you do not particularly care about spoilers does not mean that it is not a valid concern for many people. It just means that your point of view is different. I, for one, feel smash shouldn't bleed out and affect other parts of my life. Saying "oh we should only ban it for outside concerns if it causes physical harm" is kinda taking it to an extreme, don't you think? These games are supposed to be fun. Having one game randomly ruin your enjoyment of a book (or game, or movie) kinda defeats the purpose of having "fun" doesn't it? Why should I have to choose between enjoying competitive smash and enjoying a book? Shouldn't I be able to enjoy both without one impacting the other? A redundant battlefield clone isn't really worth that to me.

The issue with this disposition is that you can subjectively argue almost any facet of the game, with varying degrees of rational success, that something negatively affects you or your personal life. Where is the line drawn? You are the centre of your universe, and what you define as fun or enjoyable should not necessarily set the precedent or standard for other people. There are a myriad of other pitfalls with your approach to this but I am not really invested in it enough to derail this thread further.

I just thought it was funny, that is really the beginning and end to it.

 

[Sandfall]

The issue with this disposition is that you can subjectively argue almost any facet of the game, with varying degrees of rational success, that something negatively affects you or your personal life. Where is the line drawn? You are the centre of your universe, and what you define as fun or enjoyable should not necessarily set the precedent or standard for other people. There are a myriad of other pitfalls with your approach to this but I am not really invested in it enough to derail this thread further.

I just thought it was funny, that is really the beginning and end to it.

As entertaining as the Miiverse messages can be, they have no direct impact on gameplay. That said, their psychological impact on the players has yet to be determined.

You're acting as if people caring about/disliking spoilers is a rare thing. Why do you think spoiler tags exist? Why do you think so many different forums have rules against spoilers? It's not arbitrary and there is precedence for it, so there really is no issue as to "where to draw the line". It's not something that affects only a select group of people, but instead, a sizable majority. Yes, I know "you are the center of your universe," but that doesn't mean you should stop caring about the people around you.

Anyway, thankfully, this doesn't seem to be an issue at least for online battles/tournaments since it looks like Miiverse isn't selectable online.

 

[Thinkaman]

The question isn't how people care about spoilers. (I despise spoilers myself.)

The notion at hand is that we aren't going to let an obscure and avoidable chance of spoilers to Game of Thrones dictate tournament stage policy for Smash Bros.

 

[ParanoidDrone]

I now want to make a custom stage that loudly proclaims "Snape kills Trinity with Rosebud!", just to see how people will react.

Also if we're talking about spoilers in Smash, Zelda/Sheik's down special spoiled the biggest twist in OOT (more relevant now than you'd think due to OOT 3D being a recent-ish thing), Lucas's Brawl trophy spoiled a good chunk of the plot in his game, and 4 Wii U has a trophy of a Xenoblade party member so spoileriffic that even their name is a spoiler, so the community calls the person "Seven" instead. (Granted trophies are not something that get thrown in your face, but the point is that Smash is not the best example in general of a "spoiler-free zone.")

 

[Sandfall]

Also if we're talking about spoilers in Smash, Zelda/Sheik's down special spoiled the biggest twist in OOT (more relevant now than you'd think due to OOT 3D being a recent-ish thing), Lucas's Brawl trophy spoiled a good chunk of the plot in his game, and 4 Wii U has a trophy of a Xenoblade party member so spoileriffic that even their name is a spoiler, so the community calls the person "Seven" instead. (Granted trophies are not something that get thrown in your face, but the point is that Smash is not the best example in general of a "spoiler-free zone.")

I was referring to stuff unrelated to smash. That's why my argument was that the stage "can have a negative impact on your life outside of Smash".

The question isn't how people care about spoilers. (I despise spoilers myself.)

The notion at hand is that we aren't going to let an obscure and avoidable chance of spoilers to Game of Thrones dictate tournament stage policy for Smash Bros.

If we were talking about a stage with a unique layout, then yeah, I'd agree with you. The risk would have been worth the reward. However, a stage that brings so little to the table just wouldn't be worth it. Miiverse has almost exactly the same layout as battlefield, however, the base, platforms, and blast zones are all slightly different. It's too similar to Battlefield to stand on its own, but too different to be a legal alt like the Omegas.

 

[ParanoidDrone]

I was referring to stuff unrelated to smash. That's why my argument was that the stage "can have a negative impact on your life outside of Smash".

And my opinion is that a competitive Smash ruleset has no business considering stuff outside of Smash.

EDIT: To be clear, I have no issue with you, personally, disliking Miiverse for whatever reason. I simply draw the line at a formal rule that says "Miiverse is banned because spoilers."

 

[Dr. Tuen]

I see a different angle, with respect to miiverse posts.

More and more livestreams are cleaning up their act and presenting themselves to wider audiences. This often means no cursing, racial/gender jokes, sticking to professional commentary, etc. So... if miiverse posts show obscene things, phallic imagery, sexual imagery, other crude forms of humor, etc... then what? People have been asked to leave the commentary booth for less.

And since we're chipping into the spoilers discussion... I dislike spoilers quite a bit (got news of a GoT death for one of my favorite characters from Google News of all things), but I don't believe that is a strong argument regarding the competitive legality of a stage. The stage itself fails to break the game we're playing, so in that regard it's fine. Spoilers also do not hamper the professional stage that some streams and tournaments strive to achieve (not game related, but can effect the well being of the community). Knowing that a character dies in a book, movie, or show does not diminish the professional quality of a live stream nor does it damage the use of the stage itself.

One more note, I also do not tend to see the messages as I'm playing. If you have time to look away, you are giving your opponent a chance (or you are winning... or just died). Either way, willingly pulling your attention from your foe is your choice. A risky one, at that.

Anyways! This all seems to be solved by keeping the Wii U offline. So for streams that take care to clean their content, that is a viable choice.

As for its similarity to Battlefield... Aside from platform spacing, I don't know if this warrants a second stage. Right now, two stage strikes cannot prevent a low ceiling counterpick in most rulesets (Town and City, Halberd, Delfino Plaza). If we add this and Dreamland, you'll have the same sort of trinity with triple platform stages (MiiVerse, Battlefield, Dreamland). Which may... just warrant a re-investigation of the stage ban rules altogether. If we, as players, cannot prevent a counterpick to a stage that dramatically changes the advantages granted to each player... what is the point? It just wastes time that will yield an ideal counterpick for that person anyways.

Anyways. My 5 cents.

 

[Sandfall]

And my opinion is that a competitive Smash ruleset has no business considering stuff outside of Smash.

EDIT: To be clear, I have no issue with you, personally, disliking Miiverse for whatever reason. I simply draw the line at a formal rule that says "Miiverse is banned because spoilers."

Well, my opinion is that smash should stay contained within smash. Anyway, it's not like we're ever going to see eye to eye on this, so we're just gonna have to agree to disagree on it. Spoilers are just one of the reasons that I think it should be banned anyway. Redundancy is still an issue.

 

[Nintenpro]

• Identical to Battlefield in almost all respects except the shape of the stage underneath the ledge.

You should add that, unlike Battlefield, there is no gap between the middle platform and the side plateforms.

The Miiverse stage is in an awkward place ... I don't know if we should use it as an unique stage or as an alternative Battlefield.

 

[Talpr1]

It's not just spoilers. I've seen a fair amount of possibly offensive stuff such as 9/11 jokes, penises, insults to characters, racist/sexist jokes/pictures and probably I've not even seen all of it. Personally I'm not offended by this stuff, but a lot of people do, and this not only matters a lot in streams, but also for players themselves, as a particularly offensive post for them might make them lose focus. I'm not sure how someone particularly sensitive about, say, the death of his dad in 9/11, would react to a post popping in the background saying "Hadoken can't melt steel beams" or "Duck Hunt Dog did 9/11"(examples of actual posts) while he's playing.

 

[Ulevo]

And a member from the crowd can easily yell out an insensitive 9/11 joke. Do we ban crowds too?

You need to realize that sometimes in life you need to put up with **** and be mature about it because the rest of the world cannot move the constellations to fit your personal feelings.

If tournament organizers want to ban this stage due to personal considerations, that is of course their prerogative. I still feel that banning a stage due to censorship reasons is ridiculous.

Anyway, there is no reason to keep Miiverse legal as anything other than an Omega Battlefield. The differences are there, but they are minute, and Dreamland is much more deserving of a unique spot on the stage list given its relevant differences.

 

[ParanoidDrone]

And a member from the crowd can easily yell out an insensitive 9/11 joke. Do we ban crowds too?

You need to realize that sometimes in life you need to put up with **** and be mature about it because the rest of the world cannot move the constellations to fit your personal feelings.

If tournament organizers want to ban this stage due to personal considerations, that is of course their prerogative. I still feel that banning a stage due to sensorship reasons is ridiculous.

Anyway, there is no reason to keep Miiverse legal as anything other than an Omega Battlefield. The differences are there, but they are minute, and Dreamland is much more deserving of a unique spot on the stage list given its relevant differences.

Agreed on all counts. (Also, it's "censorship".)

 

[Pippin (Peregrin Took)]

Another factor to throw out there; I've seen it mentioned around other boards but might be worth putting in the analysis here:

I'm one of the few people at Xanadu who uses my 2ds as a controller - crazy I know but it works for me. Most tournaments like apex and evo put the 3ds in the same realm as the gamepad but Xanadu allows them, presumably because the venue is smaller than a major tourney. But apparently because of the way the 3ds connects the Miiverse stage isn't even playable if you use a 3ds as a controller. To me that's pretty good evidence to have it only as an alt skin for battlefield because if it's its own stage you risk losing a controller option depending on your ruleset.

 

[smashbro29]

So you guys think it'll be a BF skin in stage lists?

 

[Tito Maas]

The whole point of picking this stage over Battlefield is the messages in the back. Banning it because of the messages is childish.

 

[Shirma Akayaku]

The whole point of picking this stage over Battlefield is the messages in the back. Banning it because of the messages is childish.

Don't forget the music! There are people who would pick this stage over Battlefield because they either like the music Miiverse has, or they are just tired of the reused Smash theme music in Battlefield.

 

[Tito Maas]

Don't forget the music! There are people who would pick this stage over Battlefield because they either like the music Miiverse has, or they are just tired of the reused Smash theme music in Battlefield.

Yeah, Miiverse truly has awesome music

 

[mobilisq]

Agreed, miiverse should be legal entirely on the auspices of that amazing Mario paint medley

 

[JamietheAuraUser]

The differing ledges on this stage compared to Battlefield can make a difference in quite a few cases, I've seen. Quite a few attacks can hit straight through the super-thin Battlefield ledges. These include Falcon's Up Smash and many characters Ledge Attacks. Also, Sheik's Down Throw can spike at the ledge because physics. Battlefield for counterpick, Miiverse for starter?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IrJUcNTGivM

(Not sure if vid is a joke or srs, but it still provides good examples.)

 

[Krysco]

I have created an analysis video on Miiverse for those who prefer watching and listening over reading: