Comments on: Wii Controller Accuracy Coming Into Question?

By: Tony

Tony — Wed, 20 Sep 2006 13:40:41 +0000

Personally, I’ve wondered if some of the sudden issues described in some hands-on previews have to do with the fact that there were many systems and controllers in a single semi-confined area.

Is there any chance some of that (such as the controller resetting itself, etc) is due to that?

By: Wii

Wii — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 14:50:59 +0000

The same thing was discovered at E3 here: http://www.xgaming.com/newsletter/Wii%20Dupe.shtml

By: Caleb

Caleb — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 13:48:55 +0000

Aggies11, you make a good point about using “pointer” functionality.

Since the wiimote is not limited to pointer functionality, I think there more effective ways of controlling the focus on the screen than just using it as a pointer. One quick idea would be to use the absolute direction of the wiimote to aim in a FPS. For example, rotating the wiimote 30 degrees to the left and 10 degrees up would move the gun sight 30 degrees to the left and 10 degrees up. This would be similar to how a mouse is used in FPS games. Of course with a mouse, you can (and do) lift it off the mouse pad to keep your new orientation without twisting your wrists off and to do the same thing with the wiimote, you’d have to press a button to disengage the tracking while you reset your hand. That might be cumbersome.

Anyway, I generally agree that the hype coming out around the system is setting the impossible expectation that a new and unique control system will work perfectly out of the box. I still want to buy the Wii but I expect that problems will exist with game control and that there will be significant improvements between the first and second generation of games for the patform. Trial and error is inevitable for something so new.

By: slipknotrobb

slipknotrobb — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:42:38 +0000

qwerty is stupid

By: aggies11

aggies11 — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 02:12:44 +0000

This isn’t an issue so much with the Wii, as it is with a “pointer” control in general. (Ignoring the “losing the cursor” phenomenon, which is a pure tech glitch.

It’s not accuracy thats the problem. It’s precision. A lack of precision, manifests as “shakyness”. You can generally get the remote where you want it to go (accuracy), but it’s hard to keep it there (precision), and each time it’s a little bit different (too high, too low, lil to the left/right, etc).

Ever try using a laser pointer? It’s the same thing. Good for pointing at things, but difficult for high precision. I wouldn’t want to control a video game with a laser pointer.

The “pointer”/lightgun functionality is just one of the features of the Wiimote, and by far the least innovative. It’s the 3d-position sensing technology where the true potential lies. Not aiming the Wiimote at the screen, but moving it, in 3d space, to interact with the games.

Unfortunate we aren’t seeing alot of that, and I’m hoping it’s only a sign of people getting adjusted to the new way of developing, and not an underlying flaw with the technology.

The perfect example of this, is the Table-Hockey game. It’s controller via pointers. Thats not intuitive. You should move the Wiimote up and down, just like you would the paddle. This seems obvious. Why aren’t they doing that? The possible answers scare me

Aggies

By: Suck like a fox

Suck like a fox — Tue, 19 Sep 2006 00:18:16 +0000

The distance has changed, Nintendo stated that they were fixing the issues with having to stand a fair distance back from the sensor bar. I remember somewhere stating that it was about 2.x feet or something.

By: Lectoid

Lectoid — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:26:38 +0000

I remember hearing various Nintendo reps stating the remote might act funny because of all the lights and camera flashes, as well as other Wii’s in the area. Unless you have 100′s of people in your TV room taking pictures, you should be ok.

By: Mikkaworks.com

Mikkaworks.com — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 23:15:01 +0000

If its true what a lot of people are saying that you have to be fairly far away from the screen to get the best effect. its a shame it doesn’t support HD.

By: Gregor

Gregor — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:59:45 +0000

I hope to GOD this is an isolated issue

By: cDreem

cDreem — Mon, 18 Sep 2006 22:51:28 +0000

I played the Wii at E3, and there was no problem at all with the accuracy or “slipping out of the sensor bar range.”

The only stipulation that you must adhere to when you use the wiimote is that you must be at least 6ish feet from the sensor bar, if youre too close, it will feel a bit jerky.

I played Red Steel, the new Metroid game, as well as Zelda – Twilight Princess, all of which have aiming as part of their gameplay, and did not have trouble at all with the wiimote accuracy