DS Online Discussion

[Doctor Oak]

This is a topic to encapsulate the entire front of taking the DS online wirelessly. This first post will house the Friend Numbers of everyone who posts so that we can play against eachother and the rest of the topic can be dedicated to talk of the online games.

For now, the topic is for talk in anticipation of Mario Kart DS' launch on November 14th in America and the launch of the Wireless connection in the West. (The entire thing kicking off in Japan on the 11th with Animal Crossing and hitting Europe on the 25th).

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Mario Kart DS Friend Numbers:

Quagsire Qing: 472505 828923
Doctor Oak: 489686 293825
Linkachu: 098844 591185
Salamence-trainer221: 519750 569832
TheBlueAvenger: 262053 587729
Plusle33: 257759 010515
Trainer_Yoshimitsu: 541229 084779
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Animal Crossing DS Friend Numbers:

Doctor Oak: 0301-2584-6858
Character Name: Alex
Town Name: Charmsly

TheBlueAvenger: 1761-5542-5940
Name: Jeff
Town: Onett

Linkachu: 3565-4489-6986
Character Name: Katie
Town: Treno
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Confirmed Online Games:

Mario Kart DS - Out Everywhere!
Animal Crossing: Wild World Out Everywhere
Metroid Prime Hunters Out Everywhere
Tony Hawk's American Sk8land Out Everywhere!
Bleach (Sega & Treasure)
Lost Magic (Taito) (Out Everywhere... I think)
Contact (Marvelous Interactive)
Tetris DS (Out Everywhere)
Tales of the Tempest (Bandai Namco)

 

[Doctor Oak]

Sadly no-one's yet stepped up with an MMORPG - unless you can somehow count Animal Crossing in that.

I suspect that once one of those rolls out for the DS (and I very much imagine it shall) we'll see the entire thing steamroller. Especially if the Koreans pick up on it.

 

[Linkachu]

the topic is for talk in anticipation of Mario Kart DS' launch on March 14th in America

I assume you didn't mean to type March there

I can't wait to get my DS online! Hopefully there will be some sort of discount for the USB wireless device when you buy Mario Kart DS because, bar some unforeseen difficulty, I'll be getting both the day they're released. I'm not even that revved up for Mario Kart itself really - it's the online function I'm anticipating ^^

 

[Doctor Oak]

Oops, sounds like the European DS Release Date snuck in there instead.

Or was it the 11th?

It's perplexing that by the time we're playing Mario Kart online the DS will have been on the market a year. Mostly perplexing at the fact that only in the last couple of weeks have the REAL games been coming out.

It really doesn't feel like a year, so I hope the DS charges on for more than the 5 year life-span of most systems. I feel that by taking it online there's so much to get out of it that the only possible improvement would be 128 bit power as opposed to 64 bit.

But really, thanks to the lower resolution, 64 bit is really quite enough. 128 bit on a handheld (As you see in the PSP, just about) might as well be 'Next-Gen' so long as there arn't stupid graphical errors.

I do wonder if 64bit power will be enough to give the DS a full MMORPG without severe lagging. One would assume that unless Ninty themselves were to front it, we'd be paying for it also (Servers are nasty buggers, but luckily not necessary for most online DS ventures - except MMORPGs that is).

I hold out incredible faith that the DS can give us not only unique games but also simply great portable online gaming. I don't really care if it makes use of both screens or is uber-touch-screeny so long as the game is good at any rate.

I think some companies need to take that on board when developing for the DS. They certainly shouldn't ignore what they have but it's blindingly obvious when Touch Screen uses are crammed in as gimmicks. Not to mention it makes a mockery of the games that use it to full effect.

 

[Linkachu]

IGN recently put up an article detailing all the things MKDS can and can't do online. You can check it out HERE

I'll break it down for anyone too lazy to read the article :wink:

Mario Kart DS...
*Enables two, three, or four player races in 20 of the available 32 race tracks (Not every track is available, and there is no Battle Mode. This isn't an online Grand Prix where you race against the CPU)
*Has the ability to keep a log of people you consider friends (Either by directly connecting to their DS offline or imputing their 12 digit Friend number*).
*Automatically links players together in the match-up**
*Keeps track of the win-loss record against members in your Friend's List
*Mario Kart DS will alert you when a Friend is logged on and waiting to play a match (But it won't tell you which Friend)
*Certain elements have been taken out of the game to reduce lag over the server (ie. some power-ups, the ability to hold a banana/shell behind your kart for protection, etc.)
*Mario Kart DS does not allow for specific match-ups (If you have multiple friends active under the "Friends" search setting it won't allow you to pick one or two particular friends to race. It also won't let you start a two/three Friend race manually. You'd first have to wait until the server gives up trying to find four Friend racers)
*It doesn't allow players to "Friend" online racers (Meaning you can't add random people you race over the server to your list, and you don't have anyway to contact them to ask for their Friend ID. There's a chance that you'll be able to search for names over the NintendoWiFi.com website but the details on it are still sketchy)
*Mario Kart DS does not penalize players who disconnect in the middle of the match (Meaning you can drop out when you're losing and it won't affect your score. Cheap! )
*You can view your Friend's win-loss scores against you, but not their global scores.

* & ** are two blocks of info that I'll quote directly:

Each player's game has a unique 12 digit "Friend's Code." You can give that code to your friends, who can enter it into their own game with a temporary name. When logging onto the Wi-Fi Connection with the DS, when the DS sees that person online, it will automatically pull the appropriate user name and his icon. The temporary user name that you entered will be overwritten in favor of the data that the other user has already registered. And Friends can be removed from your list easily.

And...

By choosing "Friends", Nintendo's server will go out and pull players on your Friends List also sitting on the Connect screen waiting for a match-up. "Rivals," in theory, pairs up players with like-skills, most likely comparing the wins/loss record ratio. Regional matches up people in the same territory, and Worldwide connects anyone on the planet together. Worldwide runs the most risk of lag, since you could theoretically be playing people from Japan, US, Europe all at the same time.

And there ya have it. MK DS' online! ... When Lugiasian originally described the faults to me she made them sound worse then they actually were

 

[Doctor Oak]

Now would be a good time to start sending in Friend Codes.

I'll update the main post with everyone's codes for easy access.

 

[QuagsireQing]

I'll make mine the first Friend Code: 472505 828923. See y'all soon.

 

[Linkachu]

You'll be seeing me on it as soon as I crash someones wi-fi connection and EBGames finally gets the game in

If you've already tried out MKSDS over the network, what's it like? How's the lag n' stuff?

 

[QuagsireQing]

Lag? What lag? There are two other problems, though. The first is that it always takes a few minutes to find enough players for a race (this should be solved once more people start playing) and the other is that about 60% of the time I can't connect to it (for the sake of everyone else, I hope this is a "me" problem).

 

[Linkachu]

I tried searching for a wi-fi connection in my res building and of course found none. Knew I was being too hopeful XP

Good news is my PC and network passed Ninty's compatibility test with flying colors, so once I get my USB Connector in the mail everything should work just fine. I'll just have to cross my fingers and hope the silly network doesn't start acting up (like it does for more everything else I try to do online...)

EDIT: It's reasons like this that I love my sister. Just ordered my USB Connector with her credit card. In give or take 10 buisness days I'll be online and ready for challenges ^^

 

[QuagsireQing]

Ten days? That's WAY too long! I've already got 52 online races under my belt! I'll be pro compared to you. :wink:

 

[NonAnalogue]

I have MKDS now, but... the firewall on our computer is being weird, so it might be a little bit before I'm actually online. :/

 

[Doctor Oak]

Got it and finally got it online (The signal's weak up here - probably thanks to all the electronical guff I have going).

Here's my friend code, feel free to add me:

489686 293825

Now, if you don't mind, i'm off to actually play the game. :-p

*Adds QQ's number*

 

[Linkachu]

Heading to bed, but before I go...

Friend code for MKDS: 098844 591185 ^_^

 

[QuagsireQing]

We need to meet online sometime. The fact that we have a seven-hour time difference between myself and Oak (with Katie stuck in the middle) isn't particularly condusive, though.

 

[Linkachu]

4pm-10/11pm my time is generally an open area for me to get online, barring that I'm not out with friends or busy with Uni work. Chances are if you wanted to meet anytime between 10am and 11pm I'd be able to swing it though, especially now since I'm done all my classes for the semester.

So, suggest a time that'd work for you and I'll try to be there

Btw - I know a few people have been wondering if we keep the same Friend IDs for each game and from what I can tell the answer is no. On another forum a visit a member has both MKDS and Tony Hawk and his IDs for each are different. That doesn't shock me too much really since the definition of the Friend ID is a unique code between each game and DS unit.

Oh well. Unless one of us actually get Tony Hawk we won't have to worry about this until AC is out.

 

[Salamence-trainer221]

Here's mine: 519750 569832

 

[Linkachu]

Strange... I have Sal's Friend ID registered exactly how he posted it but I'm still getting the response as if we've never raced before or his ID is entered wrongly o.O

Any idea how to fix this?

 

[NonAnalogue]

Yay! My wireless works now!

Here's my Friend code for MKDS:

262053
587729

 

[Doctor Oak]

*Has to reorganise first post now*

Stupid 1 code per-game system.

My ACS Code:

0301-2584-6858

 

[plusle33]

I would also like to be on your friends lists if you don't mind.
257759010515

 

[Doctor Oak]

Welcome back .

*Adds you to list*

That's for Mario Kart I assume?

 

[Doctor Oak]

*pokes people to start posting AC codes*

 

[NonAnalogue]

I have AC now.

My friend code: 1761-5542-5940.
Name: Jeff
Town: Onett

If I find anything in my town messed up, I will make someone pay. :evil:

 

[Linkachu]

You won't have to worry about that from me. I'm just as protective about my own town ^^

I think people around here need to be less paranoid about sharing their Friend IDs (*pokes QQ*). If one of us actually did screw around in someone's town they could easily be black listed, not to mention severely bitched at :twisted: Just don't log the IDs of people you don't know/trust if you don't want to risk anything.

I'll have my info up as soon as I get it and you guys better be around for me to visit your places

 

[Doctor Oak]

*Hasn't touched ACS in weeks* ^^

I was right, Rush and Emerald Pwnz0red it.

 

[Linkachu]

*Hasn't touched Rush in days*

Surprise, surprise. Aside from Wild Arms Alter Code: F, AC: WW is all I've been playing ^^

 

[NonAnalogue]

I've been alternating between AC:WW and M&L2. I just beat the latter this morning. The final battle and the final final battle are both soooo much fun...

 

[Linkachu]

I just beat the latter this morning. The final battle and the final final battle are both soooo much fun...

Was that a sarcastic remark or were they truly fun?

I've barely started that game... I HOPE this time 'round I'll actually stick with it to the end. All my RPG time is currently being swallowed up by Wild Arms, though, and then afterwards there's so much else to play @__@

 

[NonAnalogue]

Actually, I was not being sarcastic. Aside from possibly Giygas, they're the most fun I've had with final bosses.

Mild Spoilers: The last boss doesn't let you attack... at all. :twisted:

 

[Linkachu]

Final-freakin'-ly!

For AC WW...
Friend ID: 3565-4489-6986
Character Name: Katie
Town: Treno

Props to anyone who knows the origin of my town's name. El would definitely know it

TBA, we gotta set up a time to meet! I wanna visit your town ^^

 

[NonAnalogue]

I'm online right now. My gates are also open 'till about 10:15 EST, maybe, so stop in if you see this.

Actually, scratch that, I have other things I need to do at he moment. Some other time.

 

[Linkachu]

Alright, it's the weekend now. If anyone will allow me to visit their AC town over the next few days give me a time when your gates will be open. Anyone feel free to visit mine, too. Just give me a time you'll be around and I'll try to have the game on.

That is all.

 

[NonAnalogue]

My gates will be open in the next five minutes, but I likely won't be playing until about a half-hour from now.
EDIT: Scratch that, WF connection acting up. Will edit upon fixing.

EDIT2: Fixed. Come on in.

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Final-freakin'-ly!

For AC WW...
Friend ID: 3565-4489-6986
Character Name: Katie
Town: Treno

Props to anyone who knows the origin of my town's name. El would definitely know it

TBA, we gotta set up a time to meet! I wanna visit your town ^^

You got that right, Katie. Why not Alexandria? :wink:

 

[Linkachu]

Final-freakin'-ly!

For AC WW...
Friend ID: 3565-4489-6986
Character Name: Katie
Town: Treno

Props to anyone who knows the origin of my town's name. El would definitely know it

TBA, we gotta set up a time to meet! I wanna visit your town ^^

You got that right, Katie. Why not Alexandria? :wink:

Off-hand, Alexandria was probably too long, but I mostly picked Treno because it was always a fave of mine and I was on a T-theme from my last AC town (Timber). Yeah, Timber's a more generic name, but I assure you it was after the FFVIII town

 

[Yoshimitsu]

Finally got wireless, so I'm hijacking the connection.

MKDS Friend Code - 541229 084779

 

[Linkachu]

Heh... I just got a good laugh while playing AC:WW. I caught Blanca walking sideways, meaning I couldn't really see her face. She told me her face design was called "Pokeblue" and had been drawn by someone named Joel (no idea who that is). The design name intrigued me enough to check out what the picture actually was, and its a badly drawn PokeBall. Yeah, I shouldn't be at all suprised by this, but still. It's awesome to run into Pokemon stuff like that ^^

*Fixed up Joel's PokeBall to make it look more decent*

EDIT:

Ruby: "I hope you go to JAIL! And that your stupid house is TORN DOWN, narf!!" ... and now she's steaming.

I feel like a meanie ;__;

 

[Doctor Oak]

I'm changing this topic to a general online DS Discussion Topic, as you'll see you can now add your Mario Kart and AC:WW details in your profile instead.

However, I will probably only extend this further for D/P or any other Pokemon Games. Only games that make a HUGE mark on the online system will be available globally around the board to view. However, as the online games come out I will continue to add the options to put them in your profiles so even if they don't show up when you post, you can see them when you go to your profile.

 

[NonAnalogue]

Can you add your AC:WW name to your profile? Because it doesn't seem so at the moment.