The Wiimote As Yoda Intended - A Lightsaber 268
An anonymous reader writes "So what if the Wii can't handle the awesome 'next-generation' physics engine the other consoles will enjoy when Star Wars: The Force Unleashed is released? LucasArts announced today that Krome Studios is developing a version of the game for the Nintendo console, and players will finally get to use the Wiimote for its intended purpose — as a lightsaber. 'The sword-swinging action will be exclusive to the Wii version, and even then, it will only be available in an exclusive "duel mode." The description in the release says that this duel mode will be a multiplayer affair.'"
Tacked on (Score:4, Informative)
Re:force feedback (Score:3, Informative)
You want to feel when your sword hits the other, when your opponent pushes against you, when you have to block because you were blocked and can feel your opponent moving his sword to counter. With a wiimote the light saber will go through anyway and you have to just watch the screen to know. In any case getting a hit on the body will probably count as a point right away, instead of having to actually slice through the body.
In Wii boxing you have a bit of this, as you don't feel the difference between a block and a miss. Granted it's not as important there, but it would be necessary in a fencing simulator. Also Wii boxing is much slower than a prequel-style light saber battle, so it's ok to wait until people hear the swoosh of the miss.
Then again, the wiimote's motion sensor only has 3 degrees of freedom so they aren't up to the task of a real fencing simulator anyway. You can only calculate roll/inclination when the wiimote is stable, and don't have a great read on the direction you start moving afterwards.
Chances are this will play like a one-handed wii boxing (very few preset moves) crossed with a twilight princess combat engine (can move around and swing your light saber in one of the preset moves), plus a wii-baseball-like pointing of the light saber while you hold it up. The wiimote will probably help immersion but it's not like you'll have to spend a month mastering your fencing reflexes.
Re:But how do you handle it? (Score:3, Informative)
Comment removed (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Idea for the Wii controller (Score:2, Informative)
Re:force feedback (Score:4, Informative)
The problem is that you really can't strike a balance (even the sword you describe, and assuming we're talking about period materials) because any blade that can withstand repeated lateral blows will be too heavy to achieve the speed necessary for an effective thrusting attack.
Not just multiplayer (Score:2, Informative)