CoG Mario Kart 7 Thread

[quidmonkey]

I recommend the Red Monster wheels for tackling 150cc. Don't be fooled by the low handling, you can turn on a dime with them. If you got either, go Egg1 or Koopa Clown as your Kart - it's a great combo of speed/acceleration - and with the turning ability of Red Monster, you'll be set. I'd also say mid-weight Racer for the equal parts speed & acceleration.

This chart is a great reference.

I'd haven't played for a week, but I want some more multi! Anyone game for a few matches tonight? I'm also game for getting into time trials if there's interest.

[Ravenlock]

That chart was obviously a huge amount of work, but I don't understand his numbers. He's got stuff on there that the game never gives you numbers for (like "Land" "Sea" and "Sky" values for speed), which I assume means he was just guessing based on his experience? And he breaks down the character differences at the top, but doesn't record how they impact the different kart configurations. I guess you're just meant to infer that.

Thanks for linking it, but it just makes me want to make my own.

[quidmonkey]

He may be grabbing them from the Prima Guide. I believe Prima's got a good rep for getting stats directly from devs.

Going by the totals, the best build would be Featherweight, Cloud-9, Wooden and Super/Beast/Gold Glider. I'll have to try that when I get home.

[quidmonkey]

Welp. I tried Toad, Cloud 9, Wooden & Flower Glider, and barely 3-starred the Mushroom Cup with it. It's heavy on the acceleration, but low on speed. It's also amazing underwater, but I think I'll only break it out occasionally.

[Joshkdmw]

I run Shy guy, B dasher, red monster, and paraglider. I live roflstomping those ghosts I get in spotpass.

[KamaItachi]

I used to run Rosalina, Cloud 9, normal/wooden wheels and the regular Paraglider. while I could grip the road like an Asian hooker, I never got the speed to really pass the AI by any decent margin. On Bowser's Castle and Rainbow road, I was unstoppable, but with anything that had a decent stretch, I just couldn't last.

I think I'm going to have to go back and work on my setup.

[Ravenlock]

Just triple starred 150CC Special Cup. I am a goddamned champion.

Yoshi, Birthday Girl, Mushroom Wheels, Swooper Glider.

[Tayaya]

What are the requirements for getting 3-stars? I have yet to finish in anything but 1st against the AI. I rarely ever go off the track, and still I'm only able to get 2 stars on 50cc Special Cup and anything above that.

Also - I cannot for the life of me find the timing for this game's rocket start. Kind of annoying, but not game breaking against the AI.

[Ravenlock]

No idea. I just triple-starred 150CC Mushroom, but then double-starred 150CC Flower, winning all races in both, and I thought I raced better in Flower.

[KamaItachi]

Originally Posted by Tayaya

What are the requirements for getting 3-stars? I have yet to finish in anything but 1st against the AI. I rarely ever go off the track, and still I'm only able to get 2 stars on 50cc Special Cup and anything above that.

Also - I cannot for the life of me find the timing for this game's rocket start. Kind of annoying, but not game breaking against the AI.

I find I can get it about 99% of the time waiting a heartbeat after the 2 appears.

As for triple staring.. I don't know, but I can get a feeling by the second race if I'm going to get it for that cup. I'm pretty sure you not only have to win, but get decent times for the races. I did much better in the 100/150cc races when I swapped out handling for speed.

[Joshkdmw]

I find that hitting the gas precisely as the second tone ends gets me rocket start every time.

[quidmonkey]

It's time-based for sure, but general consensus is that it's also performance-based:

• Don't Fall Off the Track
• Avoid Shells & Bananas
• Drift & Boost as Much as Possible

[Ravenlock]

<Sigh> I wish Nintendo would redesign the way single player Mario Kart works. I really do.

I have fun with it, but it's so fucking frustrating to get through three races in a cup and then have something completely random that you couldn't avoid ruin your progress in the fourth race and make you do it all over again.

In a multiplayer game, those shenanigans are fun and make Mario Kart what it is, because one of your friends pulling a ridiculous upset at the last second to win the race is still fun, even if it costs you the win, and you know it might be you next time. When it's the AI doing it, though, it just feels like you've been dicked over for no reason, and essentially there's a randomizer determining whether you will or won't win the race. You can race the same track equally well 6 times and win 2 and lose 4 through no fault of your own.

I don't know if taking things like the blue shell and lightning out of single player would fix it, but it might help. Those items almost never benefit the player (because if you're a competent racer you're not far enough back in the pack to need them) and cause 90% of the "this is bullshit" rage, since if you're in first you're basically guaranteed to be hit with both of them and can't defend against them at all.

TL;DR - I know, I know. Kart gonna Kart.

[Tayaya]

Originally Posted by Joshkdmw

I find that hitting the gas precisely as the second tone ends gets me rocket start every time.

I'm trying way too late then - I've been trying everywhere between the start of the "1" tone and the launch. Never tried between the "2" and the "1." I'll have to give that a go later.

[Mike Kelehan]

Originally Posted by quidmonkey

It's time-based for sure, but general consensus is that it's also performance-based:

• Don't Fall Off the Track
• Avoid Shells & Bananas
• Drift & Boost as Much as Possible

Also, I heard you lose points for going off road while not covered by a mushroom or starman. Total amount of time in first place might have something to do with it, too.

[Mike Kelehan]

Originally Posted by Ravenlock

<Sigh> I wish Nintendo would redesign the way single player Mario Kart works. I really do.

I have fun with it, but it's so fucking frustrating to get through three races in a cup and then have something completely random that you couldn't avoid ruin your progress in the fourth race and make you do it all over again.

In a multiplayer game, those shenanigans are fun and make Mario Kart what it is, because one of your friends pulling a ridiculous upset at the last second to win the race is still fun, even if it costs you the win, and you know it might be you next time. When it's the AI doing it, though, it just feels like you've been dicked over for no reason, and essentially there's a randomizer determining whether you will or won't win the race. You can race the same track equally well 6 times and win 2 and lose 4 through no fault of your own.

I don't know if taking things like the blue shell and lightning out of single player would fix it, but it might help. Those items almost never benefit the player (because if you're a competent racer you're not far enough back in the pack to need them) and cause 90% of the "this is bullshit" rage, since if you're in first you're basically guaranteed to be hit with both of them and can't defend against them at all.

TL;DR - I know, I know. Kart gonna Kart.

This is something I thought about while I was first playing this game, and ultimately decided that taking lightning and blue shells out of the single player wouldn't be the best approach. It depends on how you look at single player. Is it:

A) Practice for multiplayer, or
B) A game in and of itself?

I think that, really, it's A. Now that you can play online, the multiplayer is always available to you, and single player just exists to get you ready for it. Removing anything from it that would take it further away from the multiplayer rules would get in the way of that. There are blue shell related skills that help in multiplayer, and you wouldn't have any of them. Dropping in second when you see someone is holding a blue shell, getting close to someone else to get them in the blast, that sort of thing.

But, what if you want a more skill-based experience? Time trials. Thanks to Spot Pass, your SD card is now filled with ghost data. You can select "Seven Ghosts" and race against ghosts that have times close to your best time for that track, and get all the thrill of the race without any randomness at all. You can also see where your best time falls in a constantly updated bell curve. You'll have nobody to blame but yourself if you don't win. And, when you do, hit Seven Ghosts again, and you'll race ghosts closer to your new time.

[Ravenlock]

Originally Posted by Mike Kelehan

It depends on how you look at single player. Is it:

A) Practice for multiplayer, or
B) A game in and of itself?

I think that, really, it's A. Now that you can play online, the multiplayer is always available to you, and single player just exists to get you ready for it. Removing anything from it that would take it further away from the multiplayer rules would get in the way of that. There are blue shell related skills that help in multiplayer, and you wouldn't have any of them. Dropping in second when you see someone is holding a blue shell, getting close to someone else to get them in the blast, that sort of thing.

Sure, but multiplayer unlocks are stuck behind single player progress. So you're forced to deal with the single player randomization bullshit even if you'd rather just play multi, in order to unlock characters. I agree that letting coins govern kart unlocks mitigates this a bit, since you can earn those in multiplayer.

Originally Posted by Mike Kelehan

But, what if you want a more skill-based experience? Time trials. Thanks to Spot Pass, your SD card is now filled with ghost data. You can select "Seven Ghosts" and race against ghosts that have times close to your best time for that track, and get all the thrill of the race without any randomness at all. You can also see where your best time falls in a constantly updated bell curve. You'll have nobody to blame but yourself if you don't win. And, when you do, hit Seven Ghosts again, and you'll race ghosts closer to your new time.

This is a good point. I haven't played Time Trials yet, and I should.

[KamaItachi]

Spotpass ghost trials are great. I've probably spent as much time on those than the main GP mode. Short enough for the train commute and helps with trying out Kart setups.

[Mike Kelehan]

Originally Posted by Ravenlock

Sure, but multiplayer unlocks are stuck behind single player progress. So you're forced to deal with the single player randomization bullshit even if you'd rather just play multi, in order to unlock characters. I agree that letting coins govern kart unlocks mitigates this a bit, since you can earn those in multiplayer.

It's true, but the characters are really just cosmetic. The kart customization options are the only important thing, and they're nice enough to let you get them with any mode you want.

[quidmonkey]

This is one of the reasons why I love snaking: item bullshit. And Mike, characters are not cosmetic. Speed, acceleration, drafting & weight are all based on your character's weight class.