Thursday, May 7, 2015

Splatoon Direct - 5/7/15

Nintendo has more information about the upcoming game, Splatoon. Here's what they had to say.

There's some new information on the Inklings. They move much faster in Squid form, but the Squid forms and Humanoid forms jump at equal height. The Squids can jump much farther if they build up some momentum. If there is a trail of their ink going up a wall, the Squids can swim up the wall to reach the top, unless there's a barrier at the top. The Humanoid form is the only form that can shoot ink. Use the GamePad's gyroscope to change camera angles.

In turf wars, the Inklings compete in teams of 4 to cover the arena with their ink. A cat named Judd will determine the winner of each bout. Inklings will slow down drastically in the ink of the enemy. If they stay in it too long, they'll explode and respawn at a respawn point. They can then select a teammate's location and Super Jump over to their teammate. Points will be awarded during each match, which can be used as currency. Points also determine how quickly one level's up.

Inkopolis is the main hub of Splatoon. Inklings can shop here for fashionable gear and weapons. Jelly Fresh sells clothing, mostly shirts. Shrimp Kicks sells shoes. Cooler Heads sells headgear, glasses and other accessories. All of the gear affect an Inkling's stats. Ammo Knights sells weapons. Level up to improve each store's selection. Check out the other Inklings in the plaza to check out their gear and learn what their general strategies are. If you like something, you can special order it. Check out the icons on each piece of gear. They provide abilities such as saving ink, charging up special weapons, faster respawns, faster ink recovery, improved bomb range, and quicker Super Jumps. They can also improve attack and defense powers, and speed, as well as alert you to bombs. Each piece of gear has a star rating that determines the number of slots of abilities each gear can hold, up to four. The main slot will contain an ability of your choice, but the other slots will fill up randomly. Use the same piece of gear repeatedly to level it up and improve its abilities. A guy named Spike can increase the number of gear slots or change the random abilities to a new set of random abilities. This can allow you to fully optimize your gear. It will cost you a Super Sea Snail, which is difficult to find. You can also pick up your special orders from Spike.

There are three main types of weapons. The main weapons are Shooters, Chargers, and Rollers. Shooters are short-range weapons that allow for rapid fire to cover territory and enemies in ink. Chargers require charging up, but will unleash tons of ink in a single shot. These are long range weapons. Some of them have scopes, which makes sniping easier. Rollers allow you to plow forward while marking territory and steamrolling enemies. Shake them to splatter ink. Sub Weapons are weapons that use up a larger amount of ink than main weapons. The Suction Bomb will stick to a surface and detonate shortly afterward. Burst Bombs use less ink and explode on contact, but are less powerful. The Point Sensor is a support tool that locates hidden enemies, marks them, and shares the information with teammates. The Ink Mine is a tool that's invisible to enemies, but explodes after a short time or when an enemy makes contact. The Squid Beacon allows fallen teammates to Super Jump to the beacon's location, not just the locations of teammates. The Disruptor slows down enemies and lowers their abilities. Special Weapons can only be used after filling a gauge by covering the with ink. The Inkstrike is a rocket that will launch to a location of your choice (select using the GamePad) and unleash an ink tornado. The Echolocator temporarily locates and marks all of the enemies on the field for all of your team to see. The Bubbler creates a protective bubble that deflects enemy attacks. Approach teammates to give them a bubble shield as well. The Kraken will temporarily turn you into an invincible giant squid.

In the plaza is a manhole cover. You may see an old man named Cap'n Cuttlefish. Follow him to a new world to go on solo missions against the Octarian. You'll done a Hero Suit and enter the hideouts of the Octarians through tea kettle-like structures. The Octarians have tons of gadgets to try and defeat you. Use your ink and Squid form to navigate the hideout, defeat the Octarians, and complete challenges. You can find items on the battlefield, such as improved armor, weapons, and keys. Power Eggs can be found on the battlefield to improve weapons. There are items called Sunken Scrolls in each stage. They reveal information about the area's secret past.

The Battle Dojo allows you to train and battle against friends casually, as well as compete in local multiplayer matches. The goal is to pop the most balloons, with double points awarded in the last minute. Taking damage will reduce your point total. One player uses the GamePad while the other uses the TV and another controller, such as the Wii U Pro Controller. To compete in online multiplayer matches, go to Inkopolis Tower. Regular Battles are Turf Wars. After each match, the teams are shuffled. You can join matches with friends easily, but you may be playing against them. The battles will consist of two stages, but the stage combinations are swapped every 4 hours. This allows you to select the ideal weapons for each stage. Ranked Battles include a couple of modes. Splat Zone is like a Turf War, but on a smaller designated section of the map, making battles intense. Players are based on skill alone, so wins improve your rank and losses make your rank worse. The scale ranges from C- to A+. Players of similar ranks will face off against each other. You can unlock Ranked Battles when you reach level 10 in Regular Battles. Once enough players have reached level 10 globally, it will be unlocked for all.

After launch, free update events will take place, such as the addition of new stages, weapons, and gear. One of the updates is a new mode for Ranked Battles called Tower Control. Stand on the tower as it moves on a rail towards the goal. Whoever is on the tower is a constant target. In August 2015, there will be an update that enhances matchmaking. You can fight on a team with three other friends against another team of four, or gather eight friends and fight with each other.

In the plaza is an arcade machine. It lets you play 8-bit squid games while you wait for a match. Splatoon is amiibo-compatible. Each of the three amiibo contain 20 missions. The girl Inkling has Charger-only missions, the boy Inkling has Roller-only missions, and the Squid has Kraken and limited ink missions. Your rewards include more gear and a bonus arcade game for clearing all challenges.

Splatfest will include special nation-wide matches. Pick a side, such as Cats or Dogs, and duke it out. Splatfest battles have their own ranking system separate from Ranked Battles. If you do well, you can get Super Sea Snails to trade to Spike for improving your gear's ability slots. The first Splatfest starts June 20 at 6 am Pacific Time and ends on June 21 6 am Pacific Time. The winning team will get Super Sea Snails.

The Splatoon Global Testfire is a free demo you can download now. You can play globally on May 8 from 8 pm to 9 pm Pacific Time and on May 9 from 4 am to 5 am, then noon to 1 pm, Pacific Time. The Nintendo Treehouse will be competing in matches, as well as other development staff, who will be wearing white lab coats. If you preorder or purchase the game from Gamestop, you'll get download codes for Splatoon costumes for your Super Smash Bros. Mii characters.