@TriforceBun

Not sure there's much else to talk about in this thread aside from online chat. I like what we've got here.

Stache took first quite a few times last night. Impressive!

@TriforceBun

Yeah; I was just soaking myself slowly though. Wanted to learn the tracks at 50cc. The first time I went 100cc was with you guys (where I got destroyed). Today I did the 100cc cups (all of 'em), and noticed -- yes -- that it 3 star'd the 50cc ones that I missed. Nice!

I'll get going on 150cc sometime. Hopefully my STUPID INTERNET IS WORKING when I get home.

@Hinph

How are you doing OFFLINE? Hopping right in is surely a bad idea.

@Secret_Tunnel

That was AFTER the drop down from 12, haha!! 12 NWers has me worried HUGE TIME for our Tournaments. I can manage a good bit better Worldwide, but yeah. Tough customers here!

--


OH, and if nobody knows is, you CAN do tricks in this game, its simply the same button you use for sliding/drifting/jumping/whatever. I went the entire 50cc deal without knowing that, frantically pushing all directions on the D-Pad and hoping for something.. Oh no!

@Mr_Mustache

My original NNID was Octorockin, but I deleted it and made a new account. I'll be using that one from now on.

@VofEscaflowne

That's amazing.

@Octorockin

ACK! Alright; can you send me your replacement ID sometime soon, please? I'll address it the very next time I'm on.

I keep getting ERROR 118 0506 when trying to join friends today.

It happened with Scrawnton earlier, and just now with Hinph. WHYYYYYYYY???

What do you guys think of the tracks so far? Any favorites? I'm gonna post my initial thoughts on each one so I can look at this list in several months and laugh about how much my opinion will have differed.

Mario Kart Stadium: Okay. Probably one of the best starter courses, actually.
Water Park: Good atmosphere, but I don't really like water in MK games.
Sweet Sweet Canyon: Nice visuals (it's like I'm in Wreck-It Ralph!) but not a lot going on here.
Thwomp Ruins: Pretty good. Probably the best Mushroom Cup stage; I like riding the walls.

Mario Circuit: Like all Mario Circuits, it's okay. A decent enough "normal" course.
Toad Harbor: A much better "normal" course--one of my favorites for sure!
Twisted Mansion: Pretty good, I sort of wish I liked it more somehow. I dunno.
Shy Guy Falls: Good spiritual successor to Rock Rock Mountain (one of my favorite 3DS tracks), great theming, great course.

Sunshine Airport: THE BEST. Awesome concept, plenty of variety, just great.
Dolphin Shoals: Eh, too much water. I do love the sax music though.
Electrodrome: Kind of easy but really great atmosphere and visuals.
Mount Wario: Intense and impressive, one of the best new courses.

Cloudtop Cruise: Another one of the best courses. I like these varied tracks that have a good feeling of progression.
Bone-Dry Ruins: Kind of dull, honestly. Desert tracks are losing their luster for me.
Bowser's Castle: Enjoyably difficult, although the motif is getting kind of old.
Rainbow Road: A cool new approach to an old chestnut. Not quite as spectacular as I'd like, but still good.

As for the retro ones, Rainbow Road 64 wins my award for "MOST IMPROVED." They made what's arguably the worst Mario Kart course of all time into one that's pretty dang good. And it only required cutting 2/3rds of the length (and 2/3rds of the railings)! Piranha Plant Slide, Tick Tock Clock, Royal Raceway, Donut Plains 3 and Wario Stadium all make good showings as well.

@ploot

Haven't seen it. Room full? My internet was down all morning, very upsetting. Are you guys going to be on late-late again?

EDIT for T-Bun:

Mario Kart Stadium: Feels like the 1st track on all the games. --How did Luigi get the TOTAL shaft this game?
Water Park: I like the branching path where you can pick which way you want to go. Do you think people will have a preferred side they like to go to, or will they mix it up, or will they simply go where there are more OR less people each run? I like the way they did it, many times through the game.
Sweet Sweet Canyon: Land, sea, and air here. Nikki was OODLES better at gliding than I was, so much so that I was convinced Peach had an advantage. I was just doing it wrong, haha!
Thwomp Ruins: I like riding the walls, too. I ran against the Nintendo Ghost today; she's got a nasty 2nd lap!

Mario Circuit: I erased your stuff and I can't remember this course. Is that saying something?
Toad Harbor: Got a Delfino Square vibe from this thing. Its all I can think of.
Twisted Mansion: The first course where you can ride on the ceiling and see people above you. Neat! Overplayed Online already though. I think we ran it 3 times in 5 races last night. Blech.
Shy Guy Falls: I didn't realize we were going UP the waterfall, and then back down. I wanna go FAST!

Sunshine Airport: A lot going on, great visuals with the planes. I like the "last call" lady background v/o, too!
Dolphin Shoals: Eh, too much water. I do love the sax music though.
Electrodrome: Probably my favorite stage of the new courses. SHUT UP. You know whats funny? It would actually make more sense if it was called the TECHNODROME..because of the techno music....but they can't...
Mount Wario: Probably my 2nd favorite. I love laps (being a NASCAR guy), but getting the straight shot on this one was unique to the format of the game, and differentiates itself. Added intensity that if you miss something, you don't get another shot at it. Eek!

Cloudtop Cruise: I like this one. Sky is scary. Mario Galaxy music was neat here.
Bone-Dry Ruins: All the Desert stages look the same to me.
Bowser's Castle: Rippin' tunes. It did feel a good amount like the Wii track, yes.
Rainbow Road: I think I liked it. I wasn't annoyed by it.

Retros: My goodness, I'm getting to the point where I don't think we'll see even one SNES course next game. I take those as my "home track," so to speak, so now I'm relegated to having Donut Plains 3 as my favorite, a course I couldn't STAND on the SNES initially. Same things happened with Ghost House 2 and Mario Circuit 3. What I really want it Ghost House 1. RAD.

I like the Piranha Plant Slide one, or whatever its called. Not nuts about the Music one, though I remember HEARING about it. What do YOU guys like so much about it? The Clock deal is ok. Royal Raceway is awesome, of course. N64, represent! Toad's Turnpike feels..too open? I remember much more cramped space on the N64. Did they make it wider? They must've. Interesting, because the 3DS DK stage is TOTALLY TIGHT.

You know what we don't have this game? A real short, real fast one.

@Mr_Mustache

Planning on it!

@Mr_Mustache

Yeah, I suppose I do need to do more singleplayer. Some tracks I barely know. Haha.

@Hinph

I refused to go online until I saw everything I could offline (minus the unlockables). How can you compete if you haven't even seen 'em, brother? I know you're excited, haha, but you gotta establish your own baseline of success.

@Secret_Tunnel

Awesome. If I get on with you guys (I have some other stuff I gotta do, guaranteed), the Stachemobile will be out in all its glory. The Mii helmet and firesuit looks so awesome. I feel like I'm driving for Hooters. Alan Kulwicki and Brett Bodine, yeahhhh.

@Mr_Mustache

Yeah, good plan.

I'm not upset at my suckitude though. I really love this game! It seems like they have really found a good balance this time... items have been nerfed for the better and even the blue shell appears to be making the rare appearance that I always thought it should.

@Hinph

I still get the blue shell (dropped on me) multiple times an offline race. Isn't that just a kick in the pants? Best run of your life, and the guy in last place F's it up. ONLY IN AMERICA (or any other country).

It should be noted that in a Friends Room, it appears that the Roommaster has some say in which Items are used / aren't used. I don't know what the options are, but a "no Blue Shell" thing might be kinda neat. I actually think that Lightning is even more damning.

@Mr_Mustache Lightning is so brutal in this game. I played some people last night and today, the game is crazy bananas.

@Marsh

I wish there was a Lightning suit that wasn't just a Star.

OH! I forgot to ask, and I haven't seen it anywhere; what do you guys think of that new 8 item thing?! WOW! The first time we saw it in our house, Nikki got it and was PROMPTLY destroyed by Lightning before she even did anything. Trash! Now, I got it online later in the night, and I wasn't electrocuted instantly, so I got to mess around with it a little bit. Looks like you can use everything on there, and not just CHOOSE what you want to use, but that you're entitled to everything..UNLESS SOMEONE STEALS IT FROM YOU. I had a Star that I was kinda saving for the end, but someone drove close to me and snagged it. Oh no!

That could be a game changer!

On the subject of tracks, I think Cloudtop Cruise might be my favorite track in any Mario Kart. I love the setting and the Mario Galaxy music just makes it feel even more awesome.

I like Music Park a lot. I like the music, and the sounds of the piano and xylophone. Nice, satisfying turns. I like the big music note that makes the ripples in the land so you can get boosts off of them.

Maybe this sounds weird but I feel like there just aren't enough straightaways in this game. I'd like a fee more moments where there aren't any turns, in anticipation for the next turn.

Also, lame that you can't visit Peach's Castle in Royal Raceway.

I still feel like the item distribution is way, way off. What is going on here? I just got a red shell while in first today.

One of the games, I think MKDS had an item meter when selecting a kart. Does that happen here behind the scenes?

@PogueSquadron

I got a gold mushroom while in second place earlier Then again the first place was waaaaay ahead.

I actually feel like the item distribution is more balanced, making the game more about how you race and less about BULLET BILLS AND STARS WILL SAVE ME!

Speaking of being saved, I finally had the pleasure of destroying a 1st -place-killing Blue Shell with the horn item. It felt SO GOOD crossing the finish line right after decimating the hated beast.

I'll be back a bit later to chime in on the tracks.

This game

Anyone here go by VictorVonPlugman?