Smiles and Cries
Member
we can bitch about it but if everyone can learn to do it... meh
-
Hey, guest user. Hope you're enjoying NeoGAF! Have you considered registering for an account? Come join us and add your take to the daily discourse.
Is there ANY way of avoiding the blue shells in Mario Kart DS?
- Thread starter Merlin
- Start date
Smiles and Cries
Member
oh so people can do this better? so its a skill then?
SantaC
Member
Aurora said:Sorry but that is horrible snaking. I can get a faster time without drifting at all, just sticking close on the bends. That guy was swerving way too much for it to be beneficial.
PS: SantaCruZer teach me
sure, though it's really hard to keep the control even if you know it. It's all about practice.
The goal of snaking is to use it on straight strechtes since everybody slides in curves.
1) tap R
2) move the d-pad very quickly to the left, release finger
3) move the d-pad very quickly to the right, relelease finger
4) repeat this twice to get red sparks
5) release R
6) Now you cart will take off dephending which way you boosted. quickly repeat the above step tapping the R to the other way and go criss cross. The problem is keeping the balance to get the rythm.
basicly you can only do this trick on tracks with wide stretches.
slidewinder
Banned
I haven't played DS yet. Has the mechanic changed from Double Dash? The really fast guys in DD would "snake"/miniturbo basically all of the time on every track.SantaCruZer said:
snaking only works well with certain karts, and certain tracks.
basically if everyone you're racing keeps picking dry bones and figure 8/baby park, they're probably planning on snaking.
similar concepts with mini boosting were in mk64 and mk:dd, but you could do them with every kart, and every track. so thats why i guess it seems more pronounced in mkds, because it's limited by kart/track
basically if everyone you're racing keeps picking dry bones and figure 8/baby park, they're probably planning on snaking.
similar concepts with mini boosting were in mk64 and mk:dd, but you could do them with every kart, and every track. so thats why i guess it seems more pronounced in mkds, because it's limited by kart/track
if the blue shell is launched when you're in first place it doesn't matter if you drop to second place during the time the shell catches up to where you are, it'll still only go for you.A_Lee_N said:
yeah, and they'd only need to narrow the tracks to prevent it too.callous said:
Rummy Bunnz
Member
People were saying the snaking in F-Zero GX was a gltich, too. And I'm pretty sure the devs came out and said it was intentional. If it wasn't intended they would've eliminated it, since it's been in what, every MK since 64?
There's nothing as nasty a blue shell, but the game does hand out powerful items like candy, and stuff like mushrooms are even more potent in SNES cuz the tracks are so small. It's still unbalanced and far from a pure racing game, and that's what makes it great. Mario Kart's fun because everyone gets screwed.bobbyconover said:
Rummy Bunnz said:
The tight tracks of the SNES one did put a lot more emphasis on your racing skills though. With the N64 one onwards the tracks became wider, longer and less challenging. And the weapon selection became wider and more unbalanced.
The combination of those 2 things did make the game far more of a random weapons-fest than the SNES one, which I thought had a pretty nice balance.
elostyle said:
I do it all the time with Yoshi. I don't consider it a cheap, I just figured it was part of the gameplay. Just makes sense.
If anything sucks about powersliding it's that you can't wipeout if you hold it too long, ala MK64.
As for blue shells, there are plenty of times I just hit the breaks and let someone pass me, making them get hit, and I'd zoom past.
Udde
Member
Yeah, Super Mario Kart is still the Best Mario Kart ever. It's a shame, because if you eliminate the drift turbo and the blue shell from MKDS, it could have been the king.
When something is so close to perfection as SMK was, it's really easy to ruin it with small changes. Nintendo, please think about it
When something is so close to perfection as SMK was, it's really easy to ruin it with small changes. Nintendo, please think about it
That snaking technique is way too unpredictable and it really won't be beneficial on many of the tracks. I've got a pretty good record on MKDS WFC and I haven't yet seen anyone trying that, becuase frankly, I think they'd lose to me.
Heck, the blue shell you guys are on about would counteract the snaker pretty quick. Same goes for the lightning bolt, standard red shells, etc.
Also... the boost is often not as quick as jump turning around corners. Every time you tap left or right, hit the R-trigger at the same time. You never scrub any speed that those boosting guys are scrubbing with the slide.
Heck, the blue shell you guys are on about would counteract the snaker pretty quick. Same goes for the lightning bolt, standard red shells, etc.
Also... the boost is often not as quick as jump turning around corners. Every time you tap left or right, hit the R-trigger at the same time. You never scrub any speed that those boosting guys are scrubbing with the slide.
I can take corners more or less perfectly using power slides but on straight paths I really can't snake at all. On MK : DD it was much easier to maintain a straight path while power sliding but in MK : DS I swerve too much and it is faster to just hold A and go straight :/
Oh well, I'm going to try and master snaking this week since I won't be able to go online.
SCruZer, how do you hold your DS when you snake: do you hold it normally i.e hands wrapped around both sides or do you place the DS on your lap so you can tap D-pad faster?
Oh well, I'm going to try and master snaking this week since I won't be able to go online.
SCruZer, how do you hold your DS when you snake: do you hold it normally i.e hands wrapped around both sides or do you place the DS on your lap so you can tap D-pad faster?
golduck342
Member
I thought the blue shells were much cheaper in DD. As soon as I'd hit first, I'd get hit every time. Now, I can at least maintain first for a good while, and even blue shells don't slow me down by that much... it sometimes takes a red then a blue for someone to pass me. Yesterday I thought I was fucked because of a blue shell on the last lap, but I planted my bob-omb and got my friend with it because he was too busy trying to get his blue shell off to notice it. I know there was a lot of luck involved, but sometimes you have to learn where to set traps.
Biggest problem with the game is the drop outs.
Sometimes in a 1 on 1 game where I feel that I am going to dominate the person over the 4 races, I'll actually drop a race to try and keep them in the contest so they dont drop out.
Every second drop out by a person should add one loss to their tally.
Sometimes in a 1 on 1 game where I feel that I am going to dominate the person over the 4 races, I'll actually drop a race to try and keep them in the contest so they dont drop out.
Every second drop out by a person should add one loss to their tally.
My overall opinion is this.
The game is flawed beyond belief, but for every blue shell that fucks you over, you'll fuck someone else over in a similar way.
If you are a Mario kart veteran, you will still win more than you lose.
I've played every Mario Kart to death and love them all (the GBA one maybe excluded), despite its flaws, Mario Kart DS is online fucking Mario Kart and that makes it the gaming experience of the year to me.
This game can, and does repeatedly fuck you up the sphinctar, but 5 minutes later, you are bending over and asking for more.
The game is flawed beyond belief, but for every blue shell that fucks you over, you'll fuck someone else over in a similar way.
If you are a Mario kart veteran, you will still win more than you lose.
I've played every Mario Kart to death and love them all (the GBA one maybe excluded), despite its flaws, Mario Kart DS is online fucking Mario Kart and that makes it the gaming experience of the year to me.
This game can, and does repeatedly fuck you up the sphinctar, but 5 minutes later, you are bending over and asking for more.
radioheadrule83
Banned
I've played about 40+ Nintendo WFC matches (with 4 races per match) and theres only been one race where a blue shell was detrimental to my standing...
I was right before the finish line in a 3 player race, 1 player dropped out and second place hit me with a blue shell and then passed me to take first. I didn't know whether to laugh or smash something.. so I just half-smiled mouth agape.
I was right before the finish line in a 3 player race, 1 player dropped out and second place hit me with a blue shell and then passed me to take first. I didn't know whether to laugh or smash something.. so I just half-smiled mouth agape.
Great King Bowser
Property of Kaz Harai
I haven't actually encountered any snakers so far online.
"Originally Posted by Rummy Bunnz:
There's nothing as nasty a blue shell, but the game does hand out powerful items like candy, and stuff like mushrooms are even more potent in SNES cuz the tracks are so small. It's still unbalanced and far from a pure racing game, and that's what makes it great. Mario Kart's fun because everyone gets screwed. "
I have to disagree with you there, I'v ebeen playing SNES MK more than the DS version lately, and powerful items are very hard to get; lightning is almost impossible unless you're in last place, the same thing with stars but they appear more frequently if you're ranked 5-8....mushrooms are more powerful, yes, but keep in mind that you can only get 1 item per lap and these don't respawn like in later iterations of the franchise.
Skill was more important in the SNES game due to the tracks being narrower, but also to the constant pitfalls that surrounded you (lakes, lava, those goddamn multicolored walls that you could barely see).... And the AI was cheap as heck; in a close race for first against luigi, he used star power every time you got close to him (didn't give him extra speed, but he tried to ram ya); the same was true for every computer controlled racer, they would use their particular power against you over and over during a lap
There's nothing as nasty a blue shell, but the game does hand out powerful items like candy, and stuff like mushrooms are even more potent in SNES cuz the tracks are so small. It's still unbalanced and far from a pure racing game, and that's what makes it great. Mario Kart's fun because everyone gets screwed. "
I have to disagree with you there, I'v ebeen playing SNES MK more than the DS version lately, and powerful items are very hard to get; lightning is almost impossible unless you're in last place, the same thing with stars but they appear more frequently if you're ranked 5-8....mushrooms are more powerful, yes, but keep in mind that you can only get 1 item per lap and these don't respawn like in later iterations of the franchise.
Skill was more important in the SNES game due to the tracks being narrower, but also to the constant pitfalls that surrounded you (lakes, lava, those goddamn multicolored walls that you could barely see).... And the AI was cheap as heck; in a close race for first against luigi, he used star power every time you got close to him (didn't give him extra speed, but he tried to ram ya); the same was true for every computer controlled racer, they would use their particular power against you over and over during a lap
If you drop, I think you get one loss for everyone else in the race.Grug said:
Drops are a big problem. If I'm playing one-on-one against someone who's not very good, and I've won the first three, I'll usually let them win the last race just for sticking with it.
I've seen people snake online, and they're almost impossible to catch, especially when you're in second place and have the guys behind you launching red shells all the time.
Last week, I was in a race and pulled a good distance ahead. The guy in second got a blue shell, but held onto it for a while. I figured he was going to shoot it at the last moment so he would have a chance of getting by me at the finish line, so I did the only thing I could. I slowed down and let him catch up to me so that he was too close to me to shoot it. If he passed me he wouldn't be able to use any items. If he shot the shell at me he would have been caught up in the blast and nullified the advantage. I slipped back to second and picked up a star. I passed him back, waited for him to shoot the shell and hit the star. Win.
There are two things that equalize the fact that you are a good player. Other good players and items. There are going to be times when the items just don't fall your way and you get creamed once or twice. That's just how the game goes. However, there are plenty of times when your skill can overcome what items they get and you'll still win. Being good isn't just about getting around the track as fast as possible. Being good is about staying there with all the crap that's being shot at you.
On snaking, there's nothing wrong with it because it's an advanced skill. There would be no way that slower characters could keep up with faster characters without it, so it was obviously designed that way. I'm trying to figure out how to do it in time trials, personally.
There are two things that equalize the fact that you are a good player. Other good players and items. There are going to be times when the items just don't fall your way and you get creamed once or twice. That's just how the game goes. However, there are plenty of times when your skill can overcome what items they get and you'll still win. Being good isn't just about getting around the track as fast as possible. Being good is about staying there with all the crap that's being shot at you.
On snaking, there's nothing wrong with it because it's an advanced skill. There would be no way that slower characters could keep up with faster characters without it, so it was obviously designed that way. I'm trying to figure out how to do it in time trials, personally.
bumpkin said:
I have a good video but I lost the link. :\
Snaking is basically abusing the power slide. People master it to the point where they can constantly power slide throughout a track. And since they can execute them so fast they can even power slide on straight parts of a course. It's the equivalent of having infinite mushrooms.
PhoenixDark
Banned
The only Mario Kart game in which I could avoid them was Double Dash. If one is coming for you in the halls on Bowser's Castle, it's pretty easy to dodge it, with mushrooms of course.
The blue shell just forces the guy in first to play smarter, either get a HUGE lead on everyone so one shell hit doesn't affect you much or keep the guy in second place near you so that it'll hit both of ya. Keeps the races more intense knowning that at any time before the final 5 seconds of lap 3 your victory is at risk. Makes the game more interesting.
On that same note though, double dash went overboard, too many damn items in that game that hit everyone , the game felt more like twisted metal with laps then a normal mario kart.
On that same note though, double dash went overboard, too many damn items in that game that hit everyone , the game felt more like twisted metal with laps then a normal mario kart.
There are two courses you can avoid the blue shells on: Waluigi Pinball and... I forget the name, but the airship one. Airship Fortress? In either case, if the blue shell is coming for you and is going to hit right before or while you're getting launched through the cannon/pinball machine, it's not going to connect.
Like two courses are any compensation...
Personally, I wouldn't have such a problem with the blue shell if only they'd lower its frequency to a fifth of its current frequency--at absolute highest. Because, really, seeing it in every single race is just a royal pain.
Like two courses are any compensation...
Personally, I wouldn't have such a problem with the blue shell if only they'd lower its frequency to a fifth of its current frequency--at absolute highest. Because, really, seeing it in every single race is just a royal pain.
Bartman3010
Banned
A lot of my races usually have players getting mushrooms more than shells.
Which I dont quite understand, why mushrooms? Oh well.
I remember this one time on a 1 on 1 race, we both had a Spiny Shell. So it was a race to be the slowest player of them all. We were close to the finish line, let him have it and passed the line before he could hit me.
Another race was that I held onto a spiny shell near the end of the race, passed the guy up and fired at myself when I passed the finish line
=B
But man, snaking really does ruin the online component if people are going to be cheap about it. Its not fair to the heavyweight characters who are supposed to be the fastest of the bunch. It'd be nice if Nintendo could release a patch for Mario Kart DS, but I doubt they designed the game to be patchable or updatable.
Oh well, theres always Mario Kart DS 2....
Which I dont quite understand, why mushrooms? Oh well.
I remember this one time on a 1 on 1 race, we both had a Spiny Shell. So it was a race to be the slowest player of them all. We were close to the finish line, let him have it and passed the line before he could hit me.
Another race was that I held onto a spiny shell near the end of the race, passed the guy up and fired at myself when I passed the finish line
=B
But man, snaking really does ruin the online component if people are going to be cheap about it. Its not fair to the heavyweight characters who are supposed to be the fastest of the bunch. It'd be nice if Nintendo could release a patch for Mario Kart DS, but I doubt they designed the game to be patchable or updatable.
Oh well, theres always Mario Kart DS 2....
TheTurtleTitan
Member
Myself, I see absolutely no point in the winged blue shells. I mean, the only way to get it is if you are way behind, and it only helps the person in 2nd. And the person in 1st is screwed, as there is no way no avoid except for a star or ghost, but that can't happen because all you get is shitty bananas in first.
Also, I think the Bullet Bill is too powerful as well. I remember in a race when someone in 8th used it, and the damned thing blasted him all the way to 3rd! The items are somewhat unbalanced in this game. Super Mario Kart is still the best IMO because unlike the future Mario Karts, it actually relies on driving skill rather than use of items.
Also, I think the Bullet Bill is too powerful as well. I remember in a race when someone in 8th used it, and the damned thing blasted him all the way to 3rd! The items are somewhat unbalanced in this game. Super Mario Kart is still the best IMO because unlike the future Mario Karts, it actually relies on driving skill rather than use of items.
Sorry, but item balance is way way better in Mario Kart DS than in super mario kart. The items are supposed to be unbalanced, that's the whole point to keep the races interesting. Otherwise you would be racing alone on the track 90% of the time. It's like the rocket launcher in quake 1 which is way overpowered but it doesn't hurt the game at all.TheTurtleTitan said:
I actually like the balance of item use to traditional racing skill in the DS version. If you're doing well enough, the blue shell isn't enough to erase your lead, but enough to keep you on your toes. At least this is true when you're racing in single player. It does sound like there's too many of them in multiplayer, as they're nowhere near as common in single player.
The item battle > racing part is what turns me off from Mario Kart. Items have too much influence over the outcome, even though you can use "tricks" to overcome this (like slowing down on purpose?)...but by using them seem to turn the game more into a straight-out battle than actual racing. I guess that's why I've never really been hooked on Mario Kart in general, but I can see other people liking the approach.