Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect Official Thread - Page 57

Originally Posted by onlysublime

alright, for those that are curious about this title , I finally got around to recording some gameplay vids.

First thing, I totally lost track of time while recording so sorry for the very long video! some video notes. Apologies for the Youtube compression, on top of the compression I made to keep the video size manageable. But it's still good enough to see how great this game looks.

I downmixed the 5.1 audio to stereo. I also blurred out the pictures that the Kinect takes of you as you're playing. No reason for you guys to see my ugly mug. Since I added the blurring, it means I had to process the video which further degraded it but I need to hide my ugly mug!

sorry about the random running around. I didn't know where I wanted to go. So like a kid in the candy store, I ended up running in all different directions. I wanted to go record Belle and Ariel but forgot where they were staying in the park. I don't know if locations of the characters are randomized. You can tell this game must be a labor of love considering the amazing detail in the game that I barely scratched in the recordings.

In the Jungle ride, I didn't know until too late that I was supposed to spray the hippos. By the time I realized, I had missed too many to make the 8/8 goal.

As for the Peter Pan game, that was my first time so pardon me for my n00b behavior. For the part when they throw fireballs at you, I figured out by the end of the video. After they shoot into the air, you're supposed to fly toward it and swat it back at them. I thought they would automatically try to shoot at me but I guess not. I should've also killed the first pirates before flying to the other side to get the remaining pirates. You do have say on which side of the ship you are fighting by flying around it. Also, for the flying, I didn't see the onscreen instructions (actually read them when playing back the recording) that you can fly up and down depending on whether you crouch or not. I didn't record the entire Peter Pan sequence because I had already recorded plenty of video and had to think about uploading them.

Sorry for forgetting to hug the characters! Normally I hug everyone! But for some reason I forgot and had to go back and hug Aladdin and Baloo. Still forgot about Tiana though.

if you're wondering why my character is looking to the right in the first vid, it's because of how my temporary recording setup is. normally (when I'm not recording), my kinect is downstairs on top of my TV and oriented in the same direction as the TV. but my HD-PVR was hooked up to my office PC and the office room doesn't have quite the room for Kinect. So the TV is facing the middle of the room but my kinect is aimed toward the left of the room (so that I had enough space). So I have to look to the right to see what I'm doing on the screen. later when I realized my character kept looking right, I tried to look straight at the kinect and peer my eyes to the right.

Originally Posted by Mopar_Mudder

Just a thought but move your sensor to the side instead of by the TV. Bit of a hassle for one game but it would give you the feel you are looking for.

Originally Posted by OnlookerDelay

That would work, but I wonder how much of a hassle it would be to get your senses used to navigating and aiming 90 degrees out of phase with the screen? I'm not sure I'd ever get used to, but who knows? If I bought a Kinect, this would very likely be the only game I'd use it for so a permanent side location wouldn't be much of problem.

Originally Posted by JuiceRocket

I know you posted this late last year, but I finally picked this game up and it's really fun - Kinect done very well! I'll sometimes play it with my 1 year old, she finds it hilarious to watch me "walk" in the game, jump around, and the like. She barely pays attention to the game itself - it's more my movements she finds fun to try to mimic.

The only game I've had a challenge with is the skiing. Any tips on that? I feel like the settings are so sensitive that it's a challenge to even stay in a straight line.

-JR

Originally Posted by onlysublime

haha. the skiing. is that the one where you ski with Goofy and also throw snowballs at the Yeti? I'll have to revisit that one again to remember the mechanics of that event.

Originally Posted by onlysublime

If this side position is going to be your permanent position for the Kinect, that's not a problem.

But if you're going to be moving the Kinect around (i.e., packing away the Kinect when not using it and setting it up only for Kinect gaming), you're supposed to rerun all the calibrations and tweaking every single time you move it around, including the basic setup, the smiley face card calibration, the noise cancellation/voice recognition calibration, and the Kinect ID facial recognition software. The Kinect is meant to have a permanent setup so that all the calibration and database is set once and then only have minor tweaking for specific games thereafter.

Here's one more thing I noticed in a couple of Kinect games I have, and now I wonder if the behavior is in others.

I have The Biggest Loser Ultimate Workout game. It uses Kinect ID like most if not all Kinect games. When I'm in view and it recognizes me as onlysublime, the recognition of my arms, legs, etc. are pretty good (as I score pretty well for the various exercises). But if I step out of view of the Kinect and then step back in (and in The Biggest Loser, stepping out of view does not pause the game like the major titles), it'll then sign me into the game as guest and then the body recognition is very poor even though I'm doing the exercise correctly. I didn't even realize I wasn't signed as guest until the score results page came up.

The same thing happens with Zumba. When the Kinect loses you and replaces your normal gamertag profile with Guest, the body recognition gets all funky. But at least in Zumba, you know right away that you are signed as guest.

I think this even happened with Disneyland Adventures. I don't remember exactly what I was doing at the time (either I was bringing up the Xbox guide to reply to a text message or I was going to the bathroom), but there was a disconnect with the game such that it replaced my in-game avatar with some random character and body recognition thereafter was inconsistent.

So it appears that the switching of profiles or the inability to sign into a profile can mess up the body recognition which is strange. The solution I found is that once it loses the recognition, I bring up the Kinect tuner and make sure that's okay and then I make sure the correct gamertag profile is loaded within the game.

Support for up to four Kinect sensors plugged into the same computer
Significantly improved skeletal tracking, including the ability for developers to control which user is being tracked by the sensor
Near Mode for the new Kinect for Windows hardware, which enables the depth camera to see objects as close as 40 centimeters in front of the device
Many API updates and enhancements in the managed and unmanaged runtimes
The latest Microsoft Speech components (V11) are now included as part of the SDK and runtime installer
Improved “far-talk” acoustic model that increases speech recognition accuracy
New and updated samples, such as Kinect Explorer, which enables developers to explore the full capabilities of the sensor and SDK, including audio beam and sound source angles, color modes, depth modes, skeletal tracking, and motor controls
A commercial-ready installer which can be included in an application’s set-up program, making it easy to install the Kinect for Windows runtime and driver components for end-user deployments.
Robustness improvements including driver stability, runtime fixes, and audio fixes

Originally Posted by onlysublime



LOLOLOLOLOLOL. this is probably IGN's best review ever!

Originally Posted by JuiceRocket

Yep, skiing with Goofy! The snowballs part works very well, it simply the skiing that is really odd. I can't figure out if it's tracking my shoulders, or if I'm supposed to step to the side or what. Regardless, it seems so sensitive that I can't really control my character.

-JR

Originally Posted by markmathers

Hey guys sorry this is a bit off topic but is there a quick explanation, for those of you that have both Xbox and PS3, as to why the Xbox audio is so much louder than the PS3? I mainly notice it during gameplay but even the main menu seems louder on Xbox. Or is it just me? Any feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Originally Posted by mboojigga


Based on what equipment your using and settings you have for your setup, how can anyone say why the 360 is louder than the PS3?

Originally Posted by markmathers

Aight. Didn't realize it was such an offensive question. Just thought it was more a fact but I didn't know why and was hoping to get a quick answer. You were really helpful

Originally Posted by rewdpost


I think the point was that we need more information to help answer the question.
If you tell us that you have them both hooked up to you XXXX brand receiver and the 360 is running in via optical while the PS3 is HDMI or they're both connected the same way and just are connected to HDMI 1 and 2 it'll give a starting point for guessing why there's a difference.
I'm not aware of any base sound reference levels though for either system. Mine are in different rooms on completely different setups so I can't compare A to B.

Originally Posted by markmathers

No you're right. I should have elaborated more. I just thought maybe there was a quick, simple answer. I have both running into the pioneer vsx-50 via hdmi. When the PS3 is running the receiver says its audio is PCM. I believe the Xbox says Dolby digital. I was under the impression that PCM was every bit as high quality as Dolby digital but it's so much quieter (I realize louder doesn't always mean better). Thanks for your reply though. Any other info you may have is appreciated. And I'm sorry to have hijacked this thread a bit

Originally Posted by Morkeleb

On my Denon receiver you can change the sound level for each input. Check your input level for the HDMI input that your PS3 is on to see if it is adjustable on your Pioneer. Maybe it's set higher for some reason?

Originally Posted by markmathers

Aight. Didn't realize it was such an offensive question. Just thought it was more a fact but I didn't know why and was hoping to get a quick answer. You were really helpful

Originally Posted by mboojigga


I apologize if it came off that way. Wasn't an offensive question at all. Just needed more info

Originally Posted by onlysublime

Okay, I went back to the Matterhorn to do the skiing again. It's pretty much the same mechanics as Kinect Sports Season 2 skiing.

Plant the poles to ski faster by stroking down with the poles.
Duck to duck under trees and stuff.
Jump to jump over things. You can do jump tricks if you do a jumping jack style jump.
Ski in the tucked position (squatting position) for faster skiing.
Lean left and right to steer. If you want more subtle turns, I find it easier to do it halfway between the tucked position and the standing position. I think for more substantial turns, I lean when tucked (I try to stay semi-tucked for good speed but still having good control).

Originally Posted by onlysublime

Almost 350 companies are working with Microsoft on custom Kinect applications, says Craig Eisler, the general manager of Kinect for Windows. The device is being used in a variety of work settings, from Boeing (BA) sales offices, where it enables virtual tours for 737 customers, to a hospital in Canada, where surgeons use its gesture-recognition ability to swipe through CT scans without the risk of touching germs on a keyboard or mouse.

Like Nissan, some of the earliest experimenters are big brands. In mid-March, Bloomingdale's will install a pod-like dressing room in its Century City store in Los Angeles, California. Built by Bodymetrics, the pod houses eight Kinect devices arranged in a circle, which will scan a customer's physique, take measurements, and recommend a pair of jeans.