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Wii FPS: An in-depth on the controls |
Listed in: Wii Tags: Matrix, Metroid, Ubisoft, Wiimote
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We've already seen the Metroid Prime 3: Corruption and Red Steel trailers (and heard the interviews), and it's showcased just how much FPS-style games like these are going to rock with the Wiimote/Nunchuck attachment. Or does it?
N-sider just came up with an in-depth on the fire control style they're planning to use on the Wiimote/Nunchuck combo for games like the two we've mentioned above, giving a detailed description of how the game physics work, the problems they've seen, and what Nintendo could do to fix the said problems.
For the basics: In most FPS games for for the Wii, the Nunchuck controls your character's body movement and overall direction, while the Wiimote aims your gun. Now, to add a more "natural" feel to the gameplay, Wii titles like Red Steel and Metroid have added a "bounding box" system. Within the said box, you can aim freely without having to make any body adjustments in-game, much like the shooting-gallery style stages we see in arcade shooters.
But once you aim outside this box, the character automatically aims in that general direction - like how real shooters (Ex: cops, soldiers, SWAT) will change their body movement when a target's too off-angle for minor arm or wrist adjustments. The beauty in this system is that it tries to marry the free-style mobility of traditional FPS' with the Wiimote's light gun feel for more immersive play.
Note that we said "try"; while the idea's sound, there's still some problems. In the author's opinion, the bounding box is too large. How so? Because of the bounding box's size, there was a lot of aiming and shooting among players, but no real maneuvering or dodging - they just stood there and took the hits, moving only if the targets were off-boundary.
Then there's the problem of the "wonky arm" syndrome, where players were jutting our their gun arms out in weird angles as compared to their character's posture in-game. While it's not really gonna kill your performance, the big gripe here is that the game loses immersiveness as the player isn't emoting the firing stances he' supposed to be doing; your character's doing a Matrix, while you're doing a funky chicken.
The author's proposed solutions for the "bullet magnet" and "wonky arm" syndromes? Make the bounding box smaller. By doing so, the character turns faster, and you'd still be able to freely within a smaller boundary - this gives a more realistic feel to gunfighting. As an added bonus, it also eliminates the "wonky arm" syndrome. Then there's the complete removal of the bounding box: The gameplay would very much be in line with what we've seen in most dual analog controls.
The last suggestion, is our favorite: create a narrow bounding box shaped like a tall vertical column. By doing so, it allows the player to rotate quickly side-to-side, much like a real shooter does in a gun fight, while still maintaining their perspective when they only need to aim up or down.
This'll work because the games' battles take place on a mostly horizontal plane, while battles requiring the player to look up or down are minimal. That, and it once again mimics real gunnery physics - SWAT teams don't really change their body orientation when aiming up or down, but do a lot of torso twisting for lateral aiming.
Another proposed idea is that, by a quick jerk of the Nunchuck to, the character glances 45 degrees left or right without messing up his current aim, much how real gunners look off-point when searching. There's speculation that Red Steel has options that allows you to adjust this bounding box, while Metroid only allows you to tweak the rotation speed. No solid news on this yet.
We thought this'd be an informative heads-up for those of you planning to getting these games all the more as they're the top talks for the Wii's releases.
Via n-sider
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Comments
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Nintendo should just stick to making sequels to party games, or better yet, just die already. No serious gamer would ever touch a Nintendo product in this day and age.
Regardless, if I want to play an FPS, I want it to look good, not like some ***** game that can't even do HD.
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surely, u have the right to say nintendo sucks and all, but don't go out and say for others that they won't stick to the nintendo products and their franchises.
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For the last six months, people have been complaining about the controls for Red Steel and Metroid Prime 3.
It has been confirmed that the sensor bar can be affected by sunlight and flourescent lights.
All this adds up to a gimmick controller that is only reliable if you live in a dark cave and only play light gun style games. Wii sucks. Gamers and the industry as a whole should not have to pay for Nintendo's last ditch experiment.
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At another time, the Dual Analogue Setup was considered unproven and not very good. Look at how that turned out.
Don't count your chickens before they hatch. The Wii could become the new PC and Mouse.
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I remember when people said no one could use a mouse to control a game - *****, I remember the big change from the Atari Joystic, to the Nintendo gamepad (you know, the FIRST time Nintendo REVOLUTIONIZED gaming controls) and people complained they liked joystics better. You probably would have been one of those complainers as well, if you would have been alive back then.
Now I know that Nintendo wasn't the first to found the game pad back in teh 80's, but they perfected it and I think if anyone has the right to re-invent game controlling, it's them, since they created it it to begin with.
But that's ok, in 5 or 10 years, after free motion is consider the best way, and Sony and Microsoft finally start following in Nintendos footsteps, you'll accept it. You're a follower, i can tell. Good for you.
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While walking around normally, there is almost no bounding box to limit your mobility (meaning that movement is like having the whole screen filled with the outer bounding box except for a small space in the center of the screen) making 360 degree turns even faster(dependin g on the sensitivity settings of course).
When people start firing at you, you can aim in their general direction and hold down the Z button to create the larger bounding box (like the one shown in the picture). Crouching will of course ONLY be used in this mode. While Z is being held down, press and hold the C button (isn't it the C button?) to crouch.
Now Strafing is done without using the Z button. Instead you just hold down the C button alone and you can strafe (this also puts on a limiting bounding box, but not as stiff as the Z button one)
Jumping is done by quickly lifting the nunchaku. Opening doors is done the same way (but only when you are prompted with the motion sign to do so, like when you're in front of something).
The grenades should've just been another weapon you could've chosen and used with the Wiimote (when you hold down the A button on the Wiimote, it locks the vertical axis and you can use the motion to toss the grenade that way).
If you like this idea, remember that you heard it here first XD!!!
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>(I'm not a Ninteno FanBoy I'ma Nintendo fan, boy)
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look at his hand, he has it on the second button (which i referred to as the "C" button)...
The "B" button is the one used to shoot buddy, it's the trigger button on the Wiimote. The "A" button is on the top of the Wiimote. The "Z" and "C" buttons are on the Nunchaku (and notice that i was solely referring to the nunchaku throughout the WHOLE post).
I forgot to add that i think that shooting should be done with the "A" button on top, not the trigger button.
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This article was good, I think that it'd be better if they put in like a good sized bounding box, and then when u put the wii mote up and down out of the box, the character jumps and crouches respectively....that'd be great
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