Dev: Wii online = 1 Mii Friend Code across all games

Lunker · May 2007

aka Wii Online IV: The Last Hope

http://www.platformers.net/index/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=261&Itemid=33

BTP mentioned this in the Strikers thread, but this readily deserves its own topic. In an interview with Gamers.fr, one of the developers from Mario Strikers Charged Football had this to say about Wii and Mii Friend Codes:

Gamers.fr: And for Mii codes, how is it going?
NLG / Justin Dowdeswell, Producer: Every Mii created generates a Mii code that will never change after its creation. Therefore this code will be used for all other online games in the future.

So if this is to be believed, Miis will become singular identites and won't have different Friend Codes for each game. This seems ... believable, but I'm still cautiously pessimistic until I actually see it in practice.

Lave II · May 2007

If this is true, then my Mii having effectively a phone number is a great solution - for a free service.

But then I'm not a big on-line fan and would rather have nintendo minimize their costs (both in time and staff) on the system. But for a free system I can't complain at that at all.

Sure it's no Live - but it isn't £40 a year. And it isn't Home - but then Nintendo don't have a huge media empire to push to you in advertising in their second-life-a-like. Let alone all the product placement sony want to add to it.

A very simple, free and add free, devoid of micro-payments, system supported by the one off cost of games? I can totally get behind that. Even if it's more awkward to use.

Agem · May 2007

Unless I'm missing something, all this means is that you can put a Mii into any game that uses them, which makes sense, because the code probably just contains the information about the Mii as per your settings when you designed it. More than one person can have the same Mii so I don't think this is surprising.

I don't think it has anything to do with whether or not there will be Friend Codes.

But then, maybe I missed something about Miis recently and they work differently than I thought they did.

Chris FOM · May 2007

I think you're reading it wrong Agem. Mario Strikers from what I understand has independent friend codes for each Mii, meaning that multiple players on one console can have identities for games that link to your Mii, and you Mii IS your online identity. What this interview is saying that the friend code for each Mii is valid across multiple games, so that your Mii's friend code will be the same in every game that uses that online identity.

Really it sounds like (excepting Pokemon Battle Revolution which has its own system that piggybacks on the DS Pokemon games) there are two ways to do online profiles with the Wii: either system-wide, a la Big Brain Academy, or Mii-specific, like Mario Strikers. So it sounds like you'll have to deal with at most two friend codes: one for your Wii and one for your Mii. Still a pain in the ass, but if Nintendo is smart enough to implement system-wide friends lists (Big Brain Academy apparently uses your Wii's address book to generate its friends list) it will be a lot better than what you have on the DS.

Daedalus · May 2007

Plus, you can load your Mii onto your remote and bring it to other peoples' houses or something.

Dodge Aspen · May 2007

I don't mind this very much at all.

Accualt · May 2007

Nice.

Wait, will I still have to enter the friend code for EACH game? Not so nice.
I guess I'll have a notebook with friend codes so each new game I get I can type in all those numbers once more. Man, tell me it isn't so.

Speed Racer · May 2007

I'm pretty sure you can transfer your friendlist from one game to the next.

That's how it sounds at least.

Pata · May 2007

I knew this would be the case the moment I saw how Strikers Online worked.

Edit: My guess is that titles without direct online play, like Elbits and Big Brain Acadamy, will use the Wii codes, while titles with Direct online play, like Mario Strikers, will use Mii Codes.

Agem · May 2007

Chris FOM wrote: »

Mario Strikers from what I understand has independent friend codes for each Mii, meaning that multiple players on one console can have identities for games that link to your Mii, and you Mii IS your online identity.

Oooooh.

Didn't know that. Okay, then. Awesome.

Mr_Grinch · May 2007

Still no voice chat though really does detract a bit. But other than that, thus far online play with Strikers has been great and relatively lag free!

Improvolone · May 2007

The Warlock wrote: »

Plus, you can load your Mii onto your remote and bring it to other peoples' houses or something.

So... I can play my profile online at a friends house?
This is something I hadn't ever realised. I do beleive this is an intresting idea.

Not that I do this at all mind you.

apotheos · May 2007

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

Caswynben · May 2007

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

apotheos · May 2007

Caswynben wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

All it says is that this code will be used in online features.

To which I say "duh". It's exactly how you can transfer Miis on Wiimotes. You're Mii is just a number that gets rendered into a Mii.

agoaj · May 2007

apotheos wrote: »

Caswynben wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

All it says is that this code will be used in online features.

To which I say "duh". It's exactly how you can transfer Miis on Wiimotes. You're Mii is just a number that gets rendered into a Mii.

But they said the number never changes after creation. If it was just the mii features that would change whenever I edit the Mii.

Daedalus · May 2007

agoaj wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Caswynben wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

All it says is that this code will be used in online features.

To which I say "duh". It's exactly how you can transfer Miis on Wiimotes. You're Mii is just a number that gets rendered into a Mii.

But they said the number never changes after creation. If it was just the mii features that would change whenever I edit the Mii.

Plus, the serial number (or rather, the last four digits of the MAC address) of the original console are part of that number.

You know, just like DS friend codes, which (afaik) are just hashes of the MAC address.

Zek · May 2007

apotheos wrote: »

Caswynben wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

All it says is that this code will be used in online features.

To which I say "duh". It's exactly how you can transfer Miis on Wiimotes. You're Mii is just a number that gets rendered into a Mii.

Uh, I don't think so. For starters, that obviously wouldn't work for matchmaking. And there's no way that all your Mii's info is represented in a 12 digit number. The quote says that each Mii has its own code that is used for friends functionality like in Strikers. My guess is that it generates a code and assigns it to a Mii when you first use it online, sort of like how DS games go online to generate a friend code. 12 digits is probably enough to cover every Mii that's ever brought online, but worst case scenario they can delete unused ones.

Daedalus · May 2007

Zek wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

Caswynben wrote: »

apotheos wrote: »

All this is saying is that every Mii possible has a unique code. That code is universal. If we each make the same precise Mii independantly, they have the same Mii-code.

It has nothing to do with online features.

What. Read the quote. It has everything to do with online features.

All it says is that this code will be used in online features.

To which I say "duh". It's exactly how you can transfer Miis on Wiimotes. You're Mii is just a number that gets rendered into a Mii.

Uh, I don't think so. For starters, that obviously wouldn't work for matchmaking. And there's no way that all your Mii's info is represented in a 12 digit number. The quote says that each Mii has its own code that is used for friends functionality like in Strikers. My guess is that it generates a code and assigns it to a Mii when you first use it online, sort of like how DS games go online to generate a friend code. 12 digits is probably enough to cover every Mii that's ever brought online, but worst case scenario they can delete unused ones.

It's probably just a hash of the MAC Address and/or serial number, and Mii name or whatever.

Lave II · May 2007

The way I understand it.

A Mii is a small file with numbers representing what it looks like - and it's name, bday etc.
That avatar, is then attached to the Wii Sports saves of progress and so on. If you delete the Mii, Wii sports will delete the saves too.
In Mario Footy the Mii data * MAC address, Wii number whatever creates a unique code to represent it.
This can then be used to identify your profile, score and so on.
The Wii remote has a 2K memory.
You can put a Mii on it and take it to a different Wii - but it won't bring any Saves or Footy profiles with it.

Basically instead of giving you Live account user names - you just use your Mii. And in principle they way of generating the identifyiing number of your Wii + Mii can be the same for each game. Hence a unified code to represent you. A shitty gamertag if you will.

Now whether you have to type them all in by hand every time, or whether it can pull if from the memory? Clearly that could be done. But who knows...

Nin10dude · May 2007

As long as I don't need tens of hundreds of codes, I'm fine. I can live with one or two... As long as it's universal, a code's not much worse than a user name.

Mr_Grinch · May 2007

What other games are planned to have online anyway? And when are they due?

Speed Racer · May 2007

Pokemon- June 19th

Battalion Wars- Sept. some time.

Probably Smash Bros.- TBA

That's all I know of. And Pokemon's doing its own thing.

Zek · May 2007

Does Pokemon use the Mii codes? It's been out in Japan for a long time now.

Speed Racer · May 2007

Zek wrote: »

Does Pokemon use the Mii codes? It's been out in Japan for a long time now.

I'm pretty sure it's a no. I think that since it came out before Strikers, they hadn't thought up the Mii thing yet.

oldtype · May 2007

What kind of steroids is Porygon Z on.

EDIT: woops... wrong thread.

Ummm.. Mii codes are cool

DigDug2000 · May 2007

Lave II wrote: »

The way I understand it.
A Mii is a small file with numbers representing what it looks like - and it's name, bday etc.

That avatar, is then attached to the Wii Sports saves of progress and so on. If you delete the Mii, Wii sports will delete the saves too.

In Mario Footy the Mii data * MAC address, Wii number whatever creates a unique code to represent it.

This can then be used to identify your profile, score and so on.

The Wii remote has a 2K memory.

You can put a Mii on it and take it to a different Wii - but it won't bring any Saves or Footy profiles with it.

Basically instead of giving you Live account user names - you just use your Mii. And in principle they way of generating the identifyiing number of your Wii + Mii can be the same for each game. Hence a unified code to represent you. A shitty gamertag if you will.

Now whether you have to type them all in by hand every time, or whether it can pull if from the memory? Clearly that could be done. But who knows...

I don't think this is right. Its pretty obvious that he says that the Mii code is independent of the game, so I'm betting that data has is stored with the Mii. Mii Hackers have even found that each Mii has a unique ID and System ID attached to it, so I'm guessing you're right its generated from them, but it is attached to the Mii.

So if you put your Mii on your Wiimote and take it to a friends house, the Mii Code goes too, and hence when you went online it would have anything that's saved online with you. Your game rankings and high scores and whatnot. Maybe even your friends list if its saved on the server. Probably not your unlockables though.

Penny Arcade

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