Wiz's Weakness


Ahua_Keren

Still Fresh
Joined
Dec 30, 2006
Messages
31
Okay, just got it today, but I'm already disappointed by this baby. :wiz:

Where is the weakness? IMHO, this is it..

-Diagonal issue... it's everywhere.. so annoying. :angry:
-Power switch is to small, I must use my nail to turn it on, I'm sure the paint will be worn out quickly with this method.
-The ABXY button was too close, try running + jumping at Super Mario Bros 3, you'll know what I mean..
-About the D-pad, I think DSLite is more convenience than Wiz, It feels like I can press the center button like GP2X.
-The start button separated from the select button, that's okay, but Why don't they place The start at right, then select at left? I'm Always pressing the wrong button (select) If I want to pause a game, yeah, this is my gaming habit from Nintendo era.
also why placing the vol +- to the bottom? I think GP2X's control layout is most perfect for me, even for vertical gaming.
-The SD Card build position is not quite good, cannot be flatten with the console, got annoying bump out like flashcard in DS.

Oh well, at least it can run at 800 Mhz (oc), far superior than 280 Mhz GP2X :D
 
The SD card seems to protrude less than 2mm, you would have a very tough time popping it out if it were in even deeper.

I like the idea of Menu being isolated from the action buttons, it makes sense for a something that is ideally used for a single purpose (call the game's menu, implicitly pausing it), and will hopefully encourage better control designs for applications.

Let's hope the diagonal will be fixed soon!
 
Ahua_Keren posted on May 19 2009 at 01:42 PM said:
also why placing the vol +- to the bottom? I think GP2X's control layout is most perfect for me, even for vertical gaming.
I get where he's coming from. On my GP2X, when playing vertical shooters in mame. I set it up so the D-Stick was oriented to the bottom left and the Volume up/down buttons were at the bottom right (Hold the 2X normally then rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise). I could then configure Up/Down (now Left/Right) and Left/Right (Now Down/Up) for directionals, and the two volume buttons as action buttons, and play 1943 on a nice tall screen comfortably.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Finally, someone else who agrees that the buttons are too small. Although you do get more used to them. "Menu" shouldn't be out of the way because many of emulators need it for start/select. Them being swapped is just a matter of configuration in emulators, or if it doesn't allow it then their source should be changed. Default controls should always follow the closest fit between the handheld and the controller of what you're emulating.

My problem with the menu/select/whatever they're called is that they're too high (and the dpad and action buttons are too high too). I accidentally hit the start button many times when meaning to hit the too small action buttons.
 
-Diagonal issue... it's everywhere.. so annoying. :angry: |
The Diagonal issue isn't that bad, and isn't noticeable in a lot of games, and may be fixed in future Wiz Apps

-Power switch is to small, I must use my nail to turn it on, I'm sure the paint will be worn out quickly with this method.
The power switch is a tad annoying, but it's nothing major.

-The ABXY button was too close, try running + jumping at Super Mario Bros 3, you'll know what I mean..
They are quite close, but I've already adjusted and it's not that bad.

-About the D-pad, I think DSLite is more convenience than Wiz, It feels like I can press the center button like GP2X.
The D-Pad is great, and unless you're trying to press the whole thing down, it works perfectly fine, even diagonals.

-The start button separated from the select button, that's okay, but Why don't they place The start at right, then select at left? I'm Always pressing the wrong button (select) If I want to pause a game, yeah, this is my gaming habit from Nintendo era.
Because HPH wanted it to be symmetrical, for whatever reason. For the most part, it's a non-issue. =P

also why placing the vol +- to the bottom? I think GP2X's control layout is most perfect for me, even for vertical gaming.
The volume buttons are in an odd place, but you usually won't be playing and changing volumes at the same time. =P

-The SD Card build position is not quite good, cannot be flatten with the console, got annoying bump out like flashcard in DS.
Trust me. I have a Creative Zen MP3 player where the SD card is flat with the device, and it's almost impossible to get the card out without long nails. =P

Oh well, at least it can run at 800 Mhz (oc), far superior than 280 Mhz GP2X :D
The 800Mghz is nice, but in reality the Memory speed/size is what makes running more complex games on the Wiz difficult.

Honestly, it's definitely not worth the 180 dollars, at least not yet. But it's only been a few days since release, so it's entirely possible that the Devs will make this device do great things. While those are it's downfalls, most of those things aren't that bad, or are fixable. I'm fairly happy with the device so far.

Also! Anyone out there in dev land that sees this message - Please develop a basic touchscreen paint application for the wiz!
 
b1ueskycomp1ex posted on May 19 2009 at 08:16 PM said:
-Diagonal issue... it's everywhere.. so annoying. :angry: |
The Diagonal issue isn't that bad, and isn't noticeable in a lot of games, and may be fixed in future Wiz Apps
I think he's entitled to his opinion on the matter >_>
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Exophase posted on May 19 2009 at 09:21 PM said:
b1ueskycomp1ex posted on May 19 2009 at 08:16 PM said:
-Diagonal issue... it's everywhere.. so annoying. :angry: |
The Diagonal issue isn't that bad, and isn't noticeable in a lot of games, and may be fixed in future Wiz Apps
I think he's entitled to his opinion on the matter >_>
And that's my opinion ^-^
 
Last edited by a moderator:
b1ueskycomp1ex posted on May 20 2009 at 01:41 AM said:
And that's my opinion ^-^
Sure, I'm just saying, if someone's bothered by it not a lot will change that. Except it getting fixed of course.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
My first impressions:

The touchscreen seems nice. I drew a few lines with my finger nail before realizing that the bulge underneath the unit holds a stylus.
So I pulled it out and was immediately disappointed. Why is this oval? (I suppose to fit into a limited space slot)
However it has to be the worst stylus I've used and I've used a few PDAs and touchscreen gaming devices over the years.

Startup speed is okay.
Screen is nice - haven't tried it in daylight yet. Contrast looks excellent.
The controller is passable, much better than the original GP2X but with the DaveC mod, the GP2X feels nicer to me.
The buttons are not my cup of tea - the shape and the little chrome bits are both ugly and not practical.

I love having a clock in it - hooray! Finally date-stamps for files!

Non-standard connector for the USB cable isn't great. Why? Yet another cable I need to have lying around.
I now have 2x GP32 (BLU and FLU), standard mini-USB (PSP and GP2X), digital camera and now this.
As least it charges from this so no batteries to worry about (for a while).
The bad thing is that when it runs out, it's out, you can't easily carry a spare (or can you?)

So far, battery life seems good.

Probably the biggest weakness is it's clock speed. Casual users will think that "800Mhz" will be rock and roll whereas this is probably equivalent to something like a 350-400Mhz GP2X. Oh well.
 
mindlord posted on May 19 2009 at 07:40 PM) [quote="Ahua_Keren posted on May 19 2009 at 01:42 PM said:
also why placing the vol +- to the bottom? I think GP2X's control layout is most perfect for me, even for vertical gaming.
I get where he's coming from. On my GP2X, when playing vertical shooters in mame. I set it up so the D-Stick was oriented to the bottom left and the Volume up/down buttons were at the bottom right (Hold the 2X normally then rotate 90 degrees counter-clockwise). I could then configure Up/Down (now Left/Right) and Left/Right (Now Down/Up"] for directionals, and the two volume buttons as action buttons, and play 1943 on a nice tall screen comfortably.[/quote]Supposedly Franxis said that the MENU button can become an action button in vertical mode on the Wiz. You CAN assign this button in the MAME in game configuration menu (press menu + select in a game). Unfortunatly there is a bug so that when you do this the action button won't register if you are moving the d-pad at the same time. I hope this is fixed as it would make playing vertical games much easier.

. I accidentally hit the start button many times when meaning to hit the too small action buttons.
While I don't dissagree with you , the system is small so the buttons have to be small to fit :)

I think the reason everything is up higher is just a matter of space. Remember there are speakers just below the buttons and they are larger than what the grille shows. Judging by what they were in the GP2X they probably take up the whole area there and are offset behind the grille. They could have mounted the speakers on their edge and had the sound come out the front but that wouldn't be as loud while playing.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
DaveC posted on May 20 2009 at 03:10 AM) Supposedly Franxis said that the MENU button can become an action button in vertical mode on the Wiz. You CAN assign this button in the MAME in game configuration menu (press menu + select in a game said:
. Unfortunatly there is a bug so that when you do this the action button won't register if you are moving the d-pad at the same time. I hope this is fixed as it would make playing vertical games much easier.
I haven't heard about a flaw like this. All the buttons are tied to GPIOs so I don't know how this occured. Guess I'll have to try sometime..
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Exophase posted on May 20 2009 at 04:13 AM) [quote="DaveC posted on May 20 2009 at 03:10 AM said:
Supposedly Franxis said that the MENU button can become an action button in vertical mode on the Wiz. You CAN assign this button in the MAME in game configuration menu (press menu + select in a game"]. Unfortunatly there is a bug so that when you do this the action button won't register if you are moving the d-pad at the same time. I hope this is fixed as it would make playing vertical games much easier.
I haven't heard about a flaw like this. All the buttons are tied to GPIOs so I don't know how this occured. Guess I'll have to try sometime..[/quote]I don't think it is a hardware or firmware bug, I just think it is an oversight in the MAME code. Try T-mode in the settings menu, both register fine at the same time there.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
you forgot to said something about L & R buttons.

they are too small and placed at 1.5 cm of edge/border contrary of L&R trigger/sear on ds or psp.

ps : sorry for my bad english
 
Yeah, you're right, the L R buttons are too far to reach, If you're playing board games, there is no problem, but if you're playing action/arcade or something that need the tapping speed, you're already game over :D
 
DaveC posted on May 20 2009 at 05:10 AM) Supposedly Franxis said that the MENU button can become an action button in vertical mode on the Wiz. You CAN assign this button in the MAME in game configuration menu (press menu + select in a game said:
. Unfortunatly there is a bug so that when you do this the action button won't register if you are moving the d-pad at the same time. I hope this is fixed as it would make playing vertical games much easier.
No, i did such modification at one time, but i think i lost it after some testing and reverting from the SVN repository. I will add again for the next version ;) .
 
Last edited by a moderator:
most xvid from today don't play right (Movie halts often or complete while sound keeps playing.)
(tried family guy and simpson tv rips (xvid, not 720)

I did expect a better flash support for downloaded flash games :/
Power button could be better
some sort of reset button would be nice, (like dsi now has, press button to return to gui)
Sholder buttons, it would be better with ds like shoulderbuttons, that include the corner
Mic would be better in the front instead on the top near the sd slot
 
Back
Top