Mario Kart DS - Snake or No Snake !

brianon

So who using the snaking strategy ?

Seems to be cauing a stir on some MKDS boards.
Snaking is using Mini Turbos the whole way around a track to clock some really quick times.

Almost impossible to beat someone who MTs their way around.

Pretty much ruins the game in my opinion if you are up against someone who is mini turboing down a straight !

super_furry

If it's part of the game which everyone can access and doesn't require hacking or codes to use, then it's not a cheat. Some of the fatest Nintendo staff ghost laps which were available for download in Japan use snaking, so if the makers of the game think it's OK, then I'm sure it is.

amazingemmet

I'm after only figuring how to do it last night and its a built in game feature so why can't you use it?

brianon

Sure its a built in game feature.
I do remember reading a article that stated the creators had not intended for it to be used as it is now. ie. all the way around a lap.

Guess I'll just have to practice it more. Not sure my left thumb can move fast enough !

Aaron M

This is an interesting topic. When my friend first made me aware of snaking being used online, I was a little concerned about balance issues. However, after playing hours of games between the two of us, we have both pretty much mastered the art of snaking on most of the tracks, and it definetely makes the game very competitive (but in a good way in my opinion).

So overall, I would say it's just something you have to learn to get used to, because once you do, you'll never want to go back ! Trust me

brianon

Aaron M wrote:

So overall, I would say it's just something you have to learn to get used to, because once you do, you'll never want to go back ! Trust me

Guess maybe I am just old school
Still remember my SNES Mario Kart days

RichyX

I've always hated snaking.
It's a more advanced skill which is used unfairly against inexperienced karters.
Ruins alot of the fun of the game I reckon, it's part of the reason I've stopped playing online.

brianon

RichyX wrote:

I've always hated snaking.
It's a more advanced skill which is used unfairly against inexperienced karters.
Ruins alot of the fun of the game I reckon, it's part of the reason I've stopped playing online.

Yeah. I reckon it takes much of the skill required out of the game.
MTs are a skill in themselves but one I think that require much less accuracy then older kart games that required the skill of drifting around corners taking THE most inside line that was possible without leaving the track.

Again, afaik, the designers hadn't intended this feature to be used as it is.

Laguna

Is snaking the the thing when you grind around corners, tap left and right realy fast and sparks come from your tires giving you a slight boost?, if it is, I hate this addition to the Mario Kart series, granted, it's not cheating per se as anyone can do it, however it's very fiddly do pull off on the DS control pad and remain on the track so unless you put in serious, serious hours of practice, the person who plays Mario Kart for a bit of a laugh doesn't have a chance against these power players.. :mad:

1huge1

Laguna wrote:

Is snaking the the thing when you grind around corners, tap left and right realy fast and sparks come from your tires giving you a slight boost?,

ya thats it

Irish Halo

laguna wrote:

Is snaking the the thing when you grind around corners, tap left and right realy fast and sparks come from your tires giving you a slight boost?, if it is, I hate this addition to the Mario Kart series, granted, it's not cheating per se as anyone can do it, however it's very fiddly do pull off on the DS control pad and remain on the track so unless you put in serious, serious hours of practice, the person who plays Mario Kart for a bit of a laugh doesn't have a chance against these power players..

Yeah but doing it constantly not just around corners, down straights, where ever they can pull it off, I don't like it all, I'm an OK player but against someone snaking I'm ****ed!

Laguna

Irish Halo wrote:

Yeah but doing it constantly not just around corners, down straights, where ever they can pull it off, I don't like it all, I'm an OK player but against someone snaking I'm ****ed!

Well what we could do to still be able to play over the net is set up a mini group of us Boards types to play against, the only rule being no snaking is allowed!. Everyone's a winner!. I was king of Mario Kart on the SNES and GBA but with this new concept of snaking, I don't stand a chance on Double Dash/MK DS.

brianon

Laguna wrote:

"I was king of Mario Kart on the SNES "

You sir are a liar ! I was king of Mario Kart on the SNES

rainbow kirby

I've been able to get the miniturbos thing on the corners down to a fine art... to the stage where quite a few of my friends won't play me anymore. Haven't gotten snaking down though... just can't keep the miniturbos going down the straights!

NirdleBug

I played against this guy once who was going under the track and zooming left, right and all over the f***ing place. I thought that was snaking.

Blub2k4

If you play international and play the guys with the kanji names nearly all of them do it, they have so much speed advantage on you cant compete unless you can do it yourself. For the casual player it takes the fun out, but the same discussion was had before about bunnyhopping.Just like snaking it is hard to maintain over a period of time and really suggests a different level of commitment.This is lost on the casual player and leaves a two tiered experience, but that's the nature of a skill exploit. I remember playing UT and watching guys showcasing skills like shunting the teleporter across levels accurately and it's a similar thing, some people are just better at games hehe.

Blub2k4

NirdleBug wrote:

I played against this guy once who was going under the track and zooming left, right and all over the f***ing place. I thought that was snaking.

It sounds like you were watching him from behind, chances are he was snaking

Aaron M

RichyX wrote:

It's a more advanced skill which is used unfairly against inexperienced karters.

This is a common and incorrect misconception about snaking. It is NOT used unfairly - it is a legitimate part of the game. The term snaking is also a little misleading - really it's more the art of speed boosting, because it's not just confined to straight sections of track. If you're a player who speed-boosts around corners, then you have absolutely no right to complain about people doing the same around straights. It's as simple as that.

Most complaints about snaking are typically ill-formed. To put it another way, if an inexperienced player called you a cheater for sliding around a corner using the shoulder buttons just because they didn't have the skill or knowledge to do the same, would you agree with them !?? Of course you wouldn't.

brianon

Aaron M wrote:

This is a common and incorrect misconception about snaking. It is NOT used unfairly - it is a legitimate part of the game. The term snaking is also a little misleading - really it's more the art of speed boosting, because it's not just confined to straight sections of track. If you're a player who speed-boosts around corners, then you have absolutely no right to complain about people doing the same around straights. It's as simple as that.

Most complaints about snaking are typically ill-formed. To put it another way, if an inexperienced player called you a cheater for sliding around a corner using the shoulder buttons just because they didn't have the skill or knowledge to do the same, would you agree with them !?? Of course you wouldn't.

Pretty sure no one said it was cheating.
I think the issue is that its maybe a 'feature'...badly implemented.
Personally i think detracts from an otherwise great game. It kinda ruins the online game for me and many 'casual' gamers.

Tis my opinion anyway.

Aaron M

brianon wrote:

Pretty sure no one said it was cheating.
I think the issue is that its maybe a 'feature'...badly implemented.
Personally i think detracts from an otherwise great game. It kinda ruins the online game for me and many 'casual' gamers.

Tis my opinion anyway.

I didn't mean to sound harsh or anything in my previous post, I apologize if it came across that way. I respect your opinion and I understand where you're coming from.

It just annoys me when people say it's being used unfairly by players when that is just not the case. It's there for everyone to use, it's just another skill that needs to be learned. It's not even that difficult, it's just about rhythm.

You could argue that it's a badly implemented feature, but let's not forget speed-boosting dates back to the N64 version, not to mention the fact that some of the ghost time trials put in by the developers feature snaking to improve time performance.

Also, for those who are having serious trouble snaking, you should be aware that there are only a few carts in the game that enable you to do it properly - namely, Yoshi and Princess. You need a lightweight cart with exceptional handling to do it successfully.

RichyX

Blub2k4 wrote:

some people are just better at games hehe.

Sounds more like people who have too much free time on their hands to me

evad_lhorg

sounds like F-zero gx all over again.

i knew there was a reason i stopped playiin mario kart online and it was because i know im good at it but i was gettin whooped off the track and losing by miles. now i see why.

brianon

I've seen this done elsewhere ... how about a thread (sticky?) with MKDS friend codes of non-snakers ?

mise

I dont play online anymore because its so annoying when ppl snake all round the track. I dont see the fun or skill in it. The whole race is spent tapping left and right constantly and I can't see how people can enjoy that. I can't do it, and don't wanna learn how to. But if you don't snak you're almost guaranteed not to win online, no matter how well you race

So yes a sticky for people who dont snake would be great

Aaron M

mise wrote:

I dont see the fun or skill in it.

Snaking is an art form, pure and simple I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that point

I do agree about the fun factor though, so I can understand completely why some people don't like to play snakers. It's more fun playing people of similar skill levels, no matter what your experience is. You like a close race.

I feel I should also point out though that the majority of snakers are in fact fantastic drivers anyway, and would probably beat you even without the snaking. It seems like some people like to use it as an excuse as to why they lose (not saying everyone of course, but just pointing out that I've seen it myself).

Trust me, if you're good enough to snake like these guys are, you already know all you need to know about the game to win races.

Please bear in mind here, I agree about the issue of fun (for people who can't snake). What I'm attempting to point out to people is that snaking does actually involve skill, whether you like it or not.

brianon

And would you consider teh screen scrathing technique in Meteos an art form ?

rainbow kirby

My DS lower screen looks mangled from Meteos... however just scratching the screen without using any skill sucks.

Retr0gamer

Scribbling in Meteos is useless against skilled players or at highish difficulty levels.

As for snaking I used to do it myself in MK: DD but have since lost the skills (I'm crap at MK DS tbh). It doesn't actually take that much skill to pull off like snaking in F-zero GX. It's not like a cheat or anything since it requires some skill to pull off but I can see why people get annoyed playing online since there is no chance of winning if you can't snake.

flogen

I've only tried snaking in single player when I was trying to beat one of the staff ghost times, and I couldn't do it for any length of time.

The corner boost is a great feature once you get the hang of it, and while snaking on straights isn't cheating it can be annoying... It does make it harder to enjoy online games and it ends up that you can only rely on people you know to play... I've no problem with someone beating me because they can take turns better, used their pickups better and avoided attacks better but while there's a skill to snaking it takes the skill out of racing.

im...LOST

I use snaking, and I see it as a technique that the developers want you to use. In the 150cc
it is almost impossible to get above 1 star without using snaking, is it not?

When playing online I usually use snaking to get ahead of the opposition only, generally I don’t continue to use it all the way through a race. (Against weaker players anyway)

rainbow kirby

I've gotten 2 stars on all the 150cc cups without snaking...