Your Gripe with Online (Since all of us seem to complain)

[Rhubarbo]

Well, I rememer when there were many people claiming that Wi-Fi was a stupid and un-necessary feature to be added in Brawl...Many people feared that Nintendo would have the same mindset, luckily they did not. (Well an interview after E3 O6 claimed Brawl was originally going to include the same chsracter roster as Melee with some other extras and...ONLINE). Yeah, this was a no-brainer! Online for MPH and AC but not BRAWL!!!??? Wan't going to happen. But, what we got turned out to be...debatable to say the least.

The online was pegged as half-@$$ed by many because it didn't have voice chat, or scolded for having no online rankings, and the Friend Code deal...don't get me started.

Well, I made a thread for all of us to vent our anger at this online mode (if we have any).

My gripes: Well, I'd like to start by saying that the online feature was needed...DEFINITELY! The best feature about it that I just realized is that you could send the clips you record from matches to the Wii Message Board...which can then send them to your PC...

Smash Machinmas will be ALL OVER THE PLACE! This eliminates the need for a Capture Device. The minor shortcoming here is that it can only record two minutes of footage (not that big of an issue). I had a Machinima I wanted to do, but that could NEVER have been done with my junky web cam...

I also like online co-op features (SSE rumored to be one of them). My friend and I were looking forwards to going through the mode together, but sadly he lives a reasonable didstance away from my house. So, whenever were not playing live, we could just hool up over Wi-Fi and go away!

I'll certainly be taking screenshots! There have been so many LOL moments that I've been forced to take by using either a Digital Camer, Cell Phone Cam, or Web Cam. I'll be using this feature less than the others, but it will certainly have it's use for me. I just hope that I can send over these bits of data without Wii Connect 24 on (last time that was on, my Wii burnt and required repairs).

Now, the heart of the online mode is where most of the awwwws and boos stem from. Like many, I have some complaints here. First I'll get out of the way the fact that I care very little for Voice Chat. In Halo, I either get lag, static, or a 9 year old claiming he knocked up my momma. Now, I know communication is integral to Smash, but that's reserved for Live play (which could NEVER be bested. Giving your friend a noogy after being beat by them is not possible via the internet). Besides, I have the phone numbers of my friends if necessary, no need here.

Friend Codes are a drag. But, not that bad. Some times it's easier to enter a code than nOoB_GirrrLzzzes_HaWt-ChiCK. What I'd have liked is seeing someones name and Win/Loss/SDloss record. The name would not pose a threat...All you have to do is block swears (put a filter than can even sense spaces between dirty words!) Besides, if you understand what 81CK means, you're mature enough to not be freaked by it. Heck, I was playing Club Pengui once (I thought it was decent lol) and my name was BOTSECTS! PHATOM HOURGLASS WITH A YOUNGER DEMOGRAPHIC HAS NAMES IN ONLINE!!!

Now, the win/loss/sdloss record could cause people to disconnect right? Right! Now, how do you counter that? Disconnecting results in your loss record going down by...count them... FIVE LOSSES! If there is a power outage, router problem, e.c.t you should just have to deal with it (besides, they might think your worse and you could pull a fat one on them). Have a bad connection? Well, more USB Adapters sold for Nintendo! Look, I'm sure a bad connection wouldn't alienate someone from buying Brawl. (This would make Specator Mode more fair not Norfair...HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHA!)

Oh, and if I'm playing a game, I'd like to enter the option of playing with as many players as desired. Sometimes I'm craving a one-on-one. Other times, I like camping and having others duke it out! A way around this is if it shows two people connecting, they can both hit a start now button and begin.

What I mentioned above is all plausible and would have been a breeze to implement. I guess beggers can't be choosers though . What did you guys want in online that was oassed up on?

 

[Leviscus]

The only thing I really have a gripe about are the friend codes. I mean ok, they were a decent idea when they came out with them, but with a game this big, limiting who we play with online is a tad ridiculous. Friends codes aren't needed but since they are being implemented they should at least let us add more than 64 friends, at least 100 would be decent.

 

[Oh Gibdo]

My gripe is that it's an online game on a Nintendo system. Nintendo is way too "safe" when it comes to online.

For example, If Nintendo's online was more like 360's online, there would be voice chat and no friend codes and you'd at least be able to see the other person's name when playing with anyone.

 

[OrlanduEX]

I think the friend codes are necessary for playing with people you actually know.
Without a code to identify the Wii of the person you want to play with, I don't think it could work. I do agree though that there shouldn't be a limit on the total number of friends.
At least they have "with everyone" mode, so you can just jump into a match with whoever, but I can't think of a reasonable alternative to friend codes.

 

[Otori Warrior]

This thread has been covered in pretty much any game that uses the Wi-Fi. The issues are:

1. No mic
2. Friend Codes
3. No rankings

You will probably get similar responses from everyone. I understand why Nintendo has made the decisions that they have in regards to online service. However, I do not agree with them at all. If people are concerned about their children playing with potty mouths, just allow the microphone to be disabled via a parental control.

I honestly could care less about there being no rankings. I play the game for enjoyment and competition. Too often people get obsessed with rankings and forget that it is just a game.

 

[BubbleShield]

They should've at least add a rival feature like mph. Online is going to get old real fast if your friends aren't on all the time.

 

[Zek]

My gripe with Brawl's online is the anonymity of With Anyone play. What's the point of not knowing their names, or when they've been replaced by a CPU? Even Nintendo's other games don't go that far. I'm glad there's no ranking though, that sort of thing brings out the worst in people. I'd like to keep my online play casual.

My gripes with Nintendo's online service in general are friend codes and lack of voice chat. Worse yet is the fact that even friend codes are game-specific. They're still stuck in the past over fear of lawsuits. None of it is actually due to limitations of the Wii, Nintendo just chooses to keep implementing it that way in their own games. I really hope they'll get over it in the future, but it's not really a deal-breaker.

 

[Otori Warrior]

My gripe with Brawl's online is the anonymity of With Anyone play. What's the point of not knowing their names, or when they've been replaced by a CPU? Even Nintendo's other games don't go that far. I'm glad there's no ranking though, that sort of thing brings out the worst in people. I'd like to keep my online play casual.

My gripes with Nintendo's online service in general are friend codes and lack of voice chat. Worse yet is the fact that even friend codes are game-specific. They're still stuck in the past over fear of lawsuits. None of it is actually due to limitations of the Wii, Nintendo just chooses to keep implementing it that way in their own games. I really hope they'll get over it in the future, but it's not really a deal-breaker.

Nintendo, despite their willingness to take a huge chance on an innovation, seems to make a lot of bad decisions due to fear. This is especially evident in their online services. I had forgotten that the players in the play with anyone option would be anonymous. This is extremely frustration because if you find someone you like playing with you will not know who they are. How does Nintendo expect one to make friends to put in the friends list anyway? Seems pretty silly to me.

 

[_Phloat_]

What I don't get is how making people not see your name or record is going to make Disconnects less common. What we have now is a system where you can quit and litterally no one will know it was you, and there are no penalties.

 

[Zek]

What I don't get is how making people not see your name or record is going to make Disconnects less common. What we have now is a system where you can quit and litterally no one will know it was you, and there are no penalties.

There's no benefit either. That has nothing to do with names though.

 

[Otori Warrior]

There's no benefit either. That has nothing to do with names though.

Exactly. There is no incentive to disconnect. The only games that I have had trouble with people disconnecting are games that have some sort of online ranking system.

 

[bob-e]

I find your lack of stock matches disturbing, Sakurai.

 

[Stratocaster]

What I really dislike is how in random play theres no way to know who your facing, if they've dropped out, and theres no ranking and no way to be put in a "rank" so that you face similarly talented people. I rather face people who can do simple things at least like... shffl...

 

[Xanderous]

I just want rankings.

 

[DarkSpidey13]

no leaderboards, and not knowing who you fight when you play random people. that's all that really bugs me. but imagine that SWF will be an easy fix for both of those.

 

[silver777]

What I really dislike is how in random play theres no way to know who your facing, if they've dropped out, and theres no ranking and no way to be put in a "rank" so that you face similarly talented people. I rather face people who can do simple things at least like... shffl...

that's what Forums there for.

 

[_Phloat_]

The lack of voice chat will be bridged by my taunting 50 times after each kill >_>

 

[soviet prince]

my major gripe is that I can't get online becuse I cant get dsl or cable

 

[Coselm]

To be honest I'm just happy that it is online.

Edit: And no monthly fees. I have no gripes.

 

[CaptainCrunch]

My gripe is really the whole "no ranking" system. I personally get somewhat bored when I fight a noob, I mean it's better than nothing but you want to play people near your level. You could probably fix this by adding friends that you KNOW are good, but it limits the possibilities. As an Fl player I only know good FL players and the nationally known players. Unless i decide to go thorugh lists of state player rankings there is no way to know who's goosd and who's not. Even that actually, has its problems. Certain states no matter how you look at it just aren't as good as others. This I think is due to population but this state skill gap should be closed through online play. All in all you can fix certain problems on the boards but Its just a band-aid fix and not really the IDEAL online experience.

 

[Svatos]

If there was ranking, I don't understand the idea that if your system got disconnected you lose five games, what if you move your system to a different TV?

 

[zurf23]

Okay seriously.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=Rg3WWdVi59w
They're having fun. Why can't you?

 

[Jamal]

They should seriously add like "Ranked" "Unranked" just like Gears of War I mean so it would accomdate for both serious players and casual.

 

[White_Lightning]

I really can't see any reason to complain about Brawl's online. If you want to play online only with friends, you can do that. Or you can play with random people. You just pick up the controller and play online, what else is needed? Communication isn't really necessary. I won't doubt that voice chat is a useful feature in MMO's and FPS games where large numbers of people are playing at the same time. Brawl on the other hand is 2-4 players fighting game, communication, even between teammates isn't that vital. Rankings are sometimes a nice feature, but people are often discouraged to play if they find their opponent has a high win/loss record. This in turn encourages quitting and disconnecting during matches. Maybe it's just me, but Brawl's online turned out exactly the way I wanted it.

 

[Stalky]

The best feature about it that I just realized is that you could send the clips you record from matches to the Wii Message Board...which can then send them to your PC...

Smash Machinmas will be ALL OVER THE PLACE! This eliminates the need for a Capture Device. The minor shortcoming here is that it can only record two minutes of footage (not that big of an issue). I had a Machinima I wanted to do, but that could NEVER have been done with my junky web cam...

I'm sorry to burst your bubble, but this won't be possible. The recorded matches will be saved to your Wii merely as a data file that record the actions of each player during every second of the match. This will then be processed by the Smash engine, and reproduced in real time to produce your recorded matches. This will save space on the Wii as there won't be any audio and video to be saved; whereas saving video files would take up a colossal amount of space.

This means if you transfer the recording to your PC, it'll just be a huge unreadable text file. People will still need to use video capture to record machinima.

 

[NoNessNoProblem]

Believe me i played with Rankings in Madden and it ain't too pretty....Glitches/Lags you'll see some bad **** on there pardon my french

 

[ro0kie42]

Where's my gamertag? What's up with "friend codes"? If i meet someone randomly and enjoy playing with them, I want to add them to my friends list! This how real life works! You meet people and then get their contact stuff and meet up again. WTF NINTENDO! WHY ARE YOU SO BLIND TO XBOX LIVE'S SUCCESS? Don't try and be a parent and protect the little kids from being harassed online! This is not your job! You are here to give us the best video game experience possible, and online play is part of that. I'm sorry Nintendo, but you need to grow up. Stop worrying protecting kids online (you can look at porn on the wii browser ffs), and give me a decent online set up. Your Achilles' heel is your appeal-to-everyone nature, and while that's good and all, sometimes you forget about us older kids. Competitive gaming is a large part of playing video games, and a large part of playing competitively is being able to play people online. Without this, Nintendo's hardcore gamers will eventually turn their backs on you, and you'll be left with nothing but a bunch of 7-8 year olds and old people. Your appeal-to-everyone nature is becoming appeal to everyone except those between 18 and 35 (which is the majority age range of gamers iirc). Please, please, please...for the sake of your loyal fans, improve the online experience in the future.

 

[SurooshX]

Something like Strikers would be cool.

 

[Hero_of_Shadows]

I have no gripe with it since I probably won't be playing online.

 

[RiptheReaper]

It will be nice if there were a tournament mode online,but i dont see that happening.

 

[Hitzel]

1. No mic
2. Friend Codes
3. No rankings

I have a phone/ my 360 can private chat, there are online communities to exchange friend codes at, and ranks never help out a game. I don't see things like that as limitations. As long as there is online play at all, people will find a way. That's no problem at all.

My only gripe is that the CPU will replace people when they quit. I can tell right now that it's going to be an extremely annoying feature (especially in a 1v1) that we won't be able to remove. It'll probably be the reason that I'll be driven away from pubs. If I want to play people, let me play with people. If I wanted to play the CPU, I would've just played offline.

Thinking that people won't be able to tell the difference between a bot and a human player is a pretty ridiculous thought. It's going to be an outright joke after the game's been out for a few months when everyone's using advanced techniques.

In the end, we're probably going to all be playing private matches anyway. We're only going to be able to handle 2-minute item matches on Norfair for so long...

 

[Darkurai]

You can't even see your opponent's name. They could easily have a list of banned names. Phantom Hourglass (and probably other games) does.
We can't even be sure we're fighting a real person!

 

[Volrec]

derpderpderp

 

[MKDSPoKE]

Weren't the leaderboards confirmed? Or was that just a leaderboard between your friends? I remember reading something about "Top Brawlers."

 

[Kinlap]

Honestly, I don't really have anything to complain with the online features that they showed us. As long, I can set the options for a 1v1 or 2v2 teams with my friends, I'm fine. I don't think I'll be playing random people over the Internet unless it doesn't become very "Battle.net"ish.

 

[FireJumpPunch]

Weren't the leaderboards confirmed? Or was that just a leaderboard between your friends? I remember reading something about "Top Brawlers."

If I'm not mistaken, that was something a 'prophet' predicted. So it's not confirmed.

 

[Hallowed Storm]

I'm looking forward to online play, however I'm mad that I won't be able to play people around my level without knowing them and adding them to my friends list first. I would love a voice chat, but having a ranking system and way to tell if a person has disconnected from an online match would have to be first in my book.

 

[Rx-]

Friends codes aren't needed but since they are being implemented they should at least let us add more than 64 friends, at least 100 would be decent.

I don't really understand why everyone needs so many friends. I really think that nobody is going to have a problem managing 64 spots once Brawl is released.

 

[FireJumpPunch]

I don't really understand why everyone needs so many friends. I really think that nobody is going to have a problem managing 64 spots once Brawl is released.

But remember, if you were to get on this forum and post your Brawl Friend code, you'd run out of space pretty quickly. I guess that's why people are so upset about there only being 64 slots while they need a lot more.

 

[Greenpoe]

Ranking systems are not good for this type of game. If you played Metroid Prime, then in the early days, 3 stars was amazing, 2 stars was good, and 1 star was weak or new to the game. Later on, 4 stars was good, 3 stars was decent, 2 or 1 star was weak, and 5 stars usually meant that you disconnect a lot. Then many people starting resetting their game data so they'd do really well as 1 or 2 stars and freak people out. The ranking system discouraged new tactics (or for Smash, using different characters online) since if what you were doing worked, you wouldn't want to risk losing your rank because you were trying out a new tactic.