Why does it feel like Nintendo and only a few other publishers think that short load times should be standard. Dozens and dozens of games have experiences that are destroyed by frequent and long load times. Could you imagine if SMG made you even wait 10 seconds to start a level. The whole feel of the game would be broken if you ask me. Something even as minor as that can lower reviewers ratings quite a few points. And yet, publishers ignore it.
I play Nintendo systems so much because it just feels like they completely undertand and know how to fix the problem. Maybe I'm on a rant because Sonic the Hedgehog 2006 sucks but in all honesty I just think short, single or no load times should be recoginized as a standard.
(Also, how do i change the "AMN Forum Member" subtitle? I've asked for years and no one replies)
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Originally Posted by Z.E.I.D.A.N
The gaming industry is like a bundle of bananas. You can peel them all you want but you're never gonna find an apple inside.
The second box should have an input labeled Custom User Title.
As for the no/little loading, it is something I really appreciate from a lot of Nintendo games. However, they are not the only ones that do it, and not all of their games have streamlined loading (though most do).
Well, for games like Oblivion, it's hard to get around load times.
But with a game like Superman Returns on the 360, there was only one loading screen, and that was when you load up a save file, because it loads EVERYTHING then.
Loading Times aren't really an issue for me unless it's really frequent, but the way I see it is.. if the game itself is really great, I don't mind waiting.
You got a good point and in this day you shouldn't have to sit there and watch a loading screen in many circumstances. Times that you do I could see as part of a buffering issue to load a massive map, but even there you could creatively find ways around it. Nintendo will load under screens and pre-buffer during cycles they can get away with it in their games and those of their second parties typically so that you don't have to wait. A perfect example of even them doing it right and screwing it up in the same series would be Metroid Prime... 1 on GC you loaded mass areas walking through each door...in MP3 random doors stick for up to 10sec getting you pissed off waiting (or getting you pounded if you're trying just to bypass an area.)
Well like I said, a single long load time is fine. A game like Oblvion or GTA its completely acceptable. I just don't see why in linear games, or even some really open they can't just figure out a way to buffer around load times too. This is may sound dumb but why can't all games be as well made as RE4? Where loading doesn't bother you in the least bit
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Originally Posted by Z.E.I.D.A.N
The gaming industry is like a bundle of bananas. You can peel them all you want but you're never gonna find an apple inside.
I don't see what's wrong with heinous load times that take forever.
Take Mass Effect, for instance. It operates on a realism so far into the future that a single-level elevator in a state-of-the-art space ship travels slower compared to actually walking down a flight of stairs in comparison. You should be grateful that they graced us with such epic knowledge of space-faring customs several hundred years from now!
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Originally Posted by MR EPIC
I do not know why it says Rogue's post was edited by me but I did not touch his in the slightest.
I really liked how they solved in in Uncharted. Load at first, then forget loading times for the rest of your playtime. It took away 80% of the frustration when died, atleast when it's coupled with very frequent auto checkpoints.
I don't mind loading now-I kinda see it as a standard sort of thing. When you sit down and play a console game, a few seconds here or there doesn't bother me too much. I do appreciate that Nintendo always strives to limit them, though.
Consoles really should just have enough ram so they can store like 2 levels worth of data, that way you you load the next 'level' as you are playing the first thus getting rid of any loading.
Playing through HL2 on 360 my only 2 gripes were load times (they were not very short, just it really broke up the flow of the game), and of course the graphics being from 2004 but I could live with that.
The PS3 is either awful at load times due to the slow BD drive or awesome because you can load the game on to your HDD. The 360 is just decent, and the Wii, well damn I don't see any, maybe a couple hidden ones ala MP (damn doors, *fires 20 rockets*, oh finally!).
^You got it pretty straight there. MS is hit or miss on the load times, but they're not horrid. PS3 has that slow as dirt BR drive that gives horrid times unless you want to pretend your PS3 is a computer and install the game to the drive. And finally you have Wii with hidden load times under other stuff which has been mostly successful except for that lame (10 rockets...damnit finally) MP3 door opening mess.
I always played Nintendo so load times have never been a problem. I'm pretty Nintendo focuses on this because of their fond attachment to cartridges.
In some ways I wonder if with all the "advancements in technology" Nintendo could develope some kind of "super cartridge". I mean the DS cartridge turned N64 games into SD cards.
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Currently playing ~ No More Heroes (Wii), Super Metroid (VC), Disgaea: Afternoon of Darkness (PSP), Burnout Paradise (PS3)
^You got it pretty straight there. MS is hit or miss on the load times, but they're not horrid. PS3 has that slow as dirt BR drive that gives horrid times unless you want to pretend your PS3 is a computer and install the game to the drive. And finally you have Wii with hidden load times under other stuff which has been mostly successful except for that lame (10 rockets...damnit finally) MP3 door opening mess.
Uncharted has zero loading after the first intial loading, that isn't all that long either. I'm not sure if the Blu Ray causes that much problems, as all ps3 consoles have harddrives, so I guess they use caches to remove loading in some games? Same thing with Singstar, I can't remember I installed the game, but there is no loading to bother me in that game either. Ratchet & Clank : Tools of destruction has loading when traveling from planet to planet, other than that it hides loading in cutscenes. (Same with Heavenly sword, if the demo is like the final game.)
The wii? I seems like most games have short loading times too. Some longer than other, but nothing to annoy me. On my 360 it's kinda hit and miss. I remember waiting a long time on Oblivion, while games like Mass effect hides a lot of the loadtimes during elevators taking you up or down a floor.
Well like I said, the PS3 has the whole wanna-be-a-computer install to the hard drive options which sucks on different parallel levels of annoyance that can of worms can open up. Wii has minimal loads, and those with any of true notable value are stupid ports which figures well enough.
I found heavenly sword to have above average load times when playing it at a friends, fighting the snake lady and kept dying until we figured it out. It was only acceptable because their was 3 of us there talking and goofing off, but if I would have been by myself I would have probably gone insane.
As to Matt, I would not be surprised if the Wii 2 or whatever ran off flash media. I can get a 1GB SD card for $9, 4GB for $24 and a 16GB for $75 and prices are just going to keep dropping, not to mention it would be way cheaper when you bought them in 10s of thousands.
Though optical media will still be cheaper per GB for quite some time, and if these magical holographic discs ever see the light of day a VERY long time, though flash could become competitive as they are smaller and durable and maybe even faster in some cases.
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