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Magazine claims to have secret of Revolution's controller.

Posted: 2005-08-23 08:33pm
by Praxis
Computer Games Magazine says:
It's revolutionary in the same two senses that controller rumble is/was revolutionary: first, it's kind of actually not a huge deal, but controllers will eventually all have it because it is pretty neat; and second, it involves revolving. Simply, the Revolution controller will provide resistance to being tilted. No doubt this is done by some application of a tilt sensor such as the one in WarioWare: Twisted combined with rumble technology.

After all, rumble is just done by some off-balance widgets inside the controller spinning really fast. If they were balanced, they could provide enough rotational inertia— the same thing that makes bikes and motorcycles harder to tilt the faster they're going— to perform this trick.

The "could" is why Nintendo hasn't come out with it yet. Yeah, they say they don't want it to be copied, which is valid because I'm sure it will be, just not anytime soon. What's really happening is Nintendo is trying to make this work with wireless controllers, finding the optimal trade-off between spinning the widgets fast enough to produce a good, strong effect and keeping the controller from eating batteries too quickly. Oh, and it has to be cheap and reliable, too.

Why this isn't just another Revolution rumour: I'm hurt, I really am. You think I would do that to you? Well, even if you don't believe me this time, I'm betting you will in the future. So there.

Sounds awesome. Can you imagine the potential? A tilt sensing gyroscope + directional feedback. Imagine a racing game where you tilt the controller as a steering wheel to steer, and if you scraping a wall the controller resists tilting in that direction like a real wheel. If someone smacks into you in Mario Kart you really feel it.

Hope this is true :)

Posted: 2005-08-23 08:59pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
Fuck, if that's true, there goes any chance of me being able to do anything compotently on the Revolution...

Posted: 2005-08-23 09:08pm
by Praxis
Seems to me gyroscopes would vastly improve FPS control, and this would solve the "Why isn't it working???" problem many noobs have when problems arrive in some games.

Re: Magazine claims to have secret of Revolution's controlle

Posted: 2005-08-23 09:41pm
by Uraniun235
Praxis wrote:Sounds awesome. Can you imagine the potential? A tilt sensing gyroscope + directional feedback. Imagine a racing game where you tilt the controller as a steering wheel to steer, and if you scraping a wall the controller resists tilting in that direction like a real wheel. If someone smacks into you in Mario Kart you really feel it.

Hope this is true :)
The idea that I'd have to keep the controller level at all times (when I'm not turning) lest I accidentally drive into a wall is somewhat worrying.

Re: Magazine claims to have secret of Revolution's controlle

Posted: 2005-08-23 10:11pm
by Praxis
Uraniun235 wrote:
Praxis wrote:Sounds awesome. Can you imagine the potential? A tilt sensing gyroscope + directional feedback. Imagine a racing game where you tilt the controller as a steering wheel to steer, and if you scraping a wall the controller resists tilting in that direction like a real wheel. If someone smacks into you in Mario Kart you really feel it.

Hope this is true :)
The idea that I'd have to keep the controller level at all times (when I'm not turning) lest I accidentally drive into a wall is somewhat worrying.
Why, you do that when you drive, right? At least I hope so :P

Re: Magazine claims to have secret of Revolution's controlle

Posted: 2005-08-23 10:15pm
by Spanky The Dolphin
Praxis wrote:
Uraniun235 wrote:The idea that I'd have to keep the controller level at all times (when I'm not turning) lest I accidentally drive into a wall is somewhat worrying.
Why, you do that when you drive, right? At least I hope so :P
But a lot of people don't do that when they play a game with a controller (nevermind that your analogy isn't comparable in the least). To me it just sounds like a total pain in the ass.

Posted: 2005-08-23 10:16pm
by The Kernel
They've been using gyroscopes for non-surface mice for years, and I'm not all that impressed with the technology. Sure, it's neat, but the control isn't as fine as some would think. It all depends on implementation and how good of a unit Nintendo is able to build. It could be fantastic under the right circumstances, but it also could turn out to be as craptastic for game control as the infamous Power Glove.

Posted: 2005-08-23 10:17pm
by Dalton
I suspect that that's something which you may be able to disable.

This might be a boon for those people who actually try to physically move the controller to get the game to do something.

Posted: 2005-08-24 01:49am
by Stark
Tilt-sensors strike me as absurd: no more playing DW69:UXL with one hand while I pat the dog. Remember the RR5 controller the let you 'twist' it? Ugh.

Posted: 2005-08-24 02:11am
by Dillon
Stark wrote:Tilt-sensors strike me as absurd: no more playing DW69:UXL with one hand while I pat the dog. Remember the RR5 controller the let you 'twist' it? Ugh.
Agreed. It sounds like a complete pain in the ass, especially since I usually play lying on my side which means the controller is always tilted.

Re: Magazine claims to have secret of Revolution's controlle

Posted: 2005-08-24 02:18am
by Uraniun235
Praxis wrote:Why, you do that when you drive, right? At least I hope so :P
Yeah, but it doesn't take much if any effort to keep it level. Plus I don't have to hold it suspended in the air. Plus I can tilt it forwards and backwards to suit my comfort. So your analogy really isn't applicable.

Posted: 2005-08-24 02:56am
by Praxis
Well, I'd expect developers would work with it in a way that's not a chore, of course.

I dunno, I personally like the idea.

Posted: 2005-08-24 02:57am
by Spanky The Dolphin
That's because you're a tech-whore geek. :P

You only care about concept, not actual use. ;)

Posted: 2005-08-24 03:18am
by HemlockGrey
Hah, I dunno how good this will work out but in X-Wing and TIE Fighter I would always instinctively lean down while trying to fly underneath a spaceship and avoid a collision. This kind of tech would have saved me many a crash.

Posted: 2005-08-26 10:45am
by Loner
According to SPOnG, we can expect announcement of the controller in three weeks.
SPOnG News

Exclusive: Nintendo Revolution Controller Announcement Dated at Last! Mario and more…

Finally – the waiting for the waiting is almost over

26th Aug 2005

SPOnG can finally confirm the date by which the world will be relieved of the constant burden of wondering about what Nintendo’s Revolution controller actually is.

You’ll be pleased to know that a full explanation of Revolution will be made by Nintendo president Satoru Iwata during his Tokyo Game Show keynote address. This news represents completely finalised Nintendo plans – Iwata will fully outline The Secret on 16th September 2005.

Nintendo is assembling key media to attend this year’s show, due to take place between 16th – 18th September 2005. Iwata will make his presentation of current activities at Nintendo. He will outline current projects and will then - unveil the Revolution in all its glory.

The Revolution presentation will include an explicit outline of the hardware and its controller and input mechanic, as well as illustrate exactly how it will work. It will go on to show games running on the system and how they make use of the technology.

Mario 128, or ‘New Mario’ as it is dubbed internally at Nintendo, is expected to be the star of the show.

SPOnG has a record of perfectly outlining what Iwata’s keynote addresses will entail. And we can tell you with 100% certainty that in the next three and a bit weeks, we’ll all be looking at Nintendo Revolution controller hardware and accompanying games. Exciting times indeed.

We’ll bring you updates as they break, as well as Tokyo Game Show coverage direct from the show floor. Let us know what you think, and drop any questions for SPOnG’s editorial staff in the forum below.

Posted: 2005-08-26 11:05am
by Praxis
Just remember that Spong is the most unreliable 'news site' in the world.

They new for a fact that Nintendo would announce the "GameBoy Evolution" that could play GameCube games and crush the PSP and play movies off SD cards at GDC 2005.

Posted: 2005-08-26 11:32am
by Max
As soon as I see the word Spong, I close the thread.

Posted: 2005-08-26 05:04pm
by Hamel
WEDNESDAYTON!
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THURSDAYTON!