The Wii is so overrated it's not even funny

[Asher]

Wow...

The SO got a Wii while he was up here and we had it for a few days.

How come no one complained that the Wiimote doesn't actually point at the screen with the "pointer"? It's actually quite a bit off on my 42" LCD TV.

The control schemes themselves feel clunky in the three games I tried: Zelda, Trauma Centre, and Wii Sports. Tennis, Baseball, and Golf were just awful with the controls. The games simply loaded pre-determined animations from about 2-3 choices depending how you swung the remote...the exact same thing can be accomplished with a button push with more accuracy, even.

Just lame.

[Felch]

I hate Macintosh and everything Steve Jobs does sux.

Oh wait, wrong Asher thread.

[DinoDoc]

Utterly shocking review from Asher. Show of hands on who's supprised that he hates the Wii?

[Nubclear]

I thought that Asher liked Wiis
[/stupid]

[Kuciwalker]

How come no one complained that the Wiimote doesn't actually point at the screen with the "pointer"? It's actually quite a bit off on my 42" LCD TV.

1) you can pretty easily calibrate it to do so

2) it's like a mouse; you aim it by watching the cursor, not by watching your hand. I refuse to believe you didn't quickly get used to using it that way.

[Asher]

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
1) you can pretty easily calibrate it to do so

Explain. Given that there is no calibration settings aside from "sensitivity" and "sensor bar location [top/bottom]", that is difficult to do.

2) it's like a mouse; you aim it by watching the cursor, not by watching your hand. I refuse to believe you didn't quickly get used to using it that way.

When I point a device, why does it not act like a laser pointer? Even the light guns from the NES could do that.

[snoopy369]

Because it's a gyroscope and not a laser pointer? And perhaps, because there's no sensor on the other end to allow the Wii to receive information about where you're pointing it to?

Edit: I just found out the wiimote itself is in fact sensing things, which I was not aware of Still it's not exactly a laser pointer...

[snoopy369]

[q="wiki"]The use of an infrared sensor to detect position can cause some detection problems when other infrared sources are around, such as incandescent light bulbs or candles. This can be easily alleviated by using fluorescent lights around the Wii, which emit little to no infrared light. [7]. Innovative users have used other sources of IR light as sensor bar substitutes such as a pair of flashlights and a pair of candles.[27] Such substitutes for the sensor bar illustrate the fact that a pair of non-moving lights provide continuous calibration of the direction that the Wii Remote is pointing and its physical location relative to the light sources.[original research?] There is no way to calibrate the position of the cursor relative to where the user is pointing the controller without the two stable reference sources of light provided by the sensor bar or substitutes.[/q]

Perhaps this is your problem?

[Asher]

If it cannot act with pinpoint accuracy I'm completely unconvinced it is an improvement over similar control schemes that work via relative motion (eg, analog stick). I was under the impression that one of the advantages of the Wiimote is you can use it as a very accurate pointer if needed for things such as web browsing, gun aiming, etc...

Half-assed implementation.

[snoopy369]

Repetitive whiners

[Asher]

Repetitive? The word you're looking for is consistent.

Hey, I gave it a shot.

Now I have a PS3 so I'll probably be whining about it next. So far I gotta say the cellphone-like text input system is ridiculously stupid.

[DinoDoc]

This thread is spam and should be locked.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Asher
Explain. Given that there is no calibration settings aside from "sensitivity" and "sensor bar location [top/bottom]", that is difficult to do.

I don't have a Wii so I can't check through the menu to find it, but I recall doing so easily when playing Zelda at home.

When I point a device, why does it not act like a laser pointer? Even the light guns from the NES could do that.

Do you understand how it works at all, or are you really this clueless? I refuse to believe you don't understand this technology, you're too technicaly proficient.

[ZargonX]

Asher, the Wii-mote can be used in "pointer" mode or in "lightgun" mode. I think all of the games so far work in pointer mode, but from what I understand, the potential to use it as a laser-accurate device, like you say, exists. It's up the game devs as to how they want to use it.

But, seriously, even in pointer mode it's incredibly accurate, just like a mouse.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by Asher
If it cannot act with pinpoint accuracy I'm completely unconvinced it is an improvement over similar control schemes that work via relative motion (eg, analog stick). I was under the impression that one of the advantages of the Wiimote is you can use it as a very accurate pointer if needed for things such as web browsing, gun aiming, etc...

Half-assed implementation.

It is very accurate. It's not just a gyroscope (that's just used to calculate the angle, and can do so quite accurately); it combines the angle data with data from the IR camera on the front of the remote. When you locate the big bright spots (the sensor bar) and combine that with the angle you can pretty precisely tell where it's pointing and how far away it is, though the cursor will be offset by some calibration factor. Since you don't generally sight down the remote when playing (or even look at it), it doesn't matter that the cursor isn't exactly where you're pointing the remote.