
Mario Kart director philosophical about need for the blue shell - Tomte
https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2017/07/mario-kart-director-philosophical-about-need-for-the-blue-shell/
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simonsarris
In Mario Kari Wii (which I played way too competitively back in 2010) the blue
shell is not at all an issue if you play to win. If the other players fail to
catch on, its existence can only help.

First, learn all the shortcuts in the game. Some of them are quite good and
they're all online. Then:

For all but the last lap your job is to stop anyone from getting far ahead and
to lay back in about 8th place. Cycle through boxes (just use them) until you
get a star, ideally. Hold on to that as you enter the final lap.

Half-ish way through the final lap, while still in a far back position (5th to
8th), use the star _right before_ you pick up your next box. Since you picked
it up while in a poor position, it will be something good like another star or
a golden mushroom.

Thanks to the rubber-banding (such as the blue shell!), first place won't be
very far ahead, and the star should advance you to near first, if not first.

When a blue shell comes at you, you will have the ability to dodge it with the
mushroom or invalidate it with the star in your inventory. Or just use your
5-8th place powerup in 1st or 2nd if no blue shell is coming and it will last
you to the end anyway.

Proceed to victory.

Point being: If a gameplay mechanics are not fair, don't worry about them,
just think about how they can be worked to your advantage. 99% of players
think of the blue shell, but its a canard. Very few think of the powerup
hoisting, but that's whats going to win you the game.

The final act is your friends complaining that you always seem to win and are
unaffected by the blue shell. Here again it works for you as a punching bag of
plausible deniability. Yes, the unfair and random blue shell is why you always
seem to win...

~~~
ufo
Does this ever devolve into something similar to bicycle with everyone going
slow to avoid being first at the start and then doing a mad dash right at the
end?

~~~
dsacco
I'm not a bicyclist; what is this strategy and why is it used? You can't
aggressively impact another player's performance in bicycling as you can in
Mario Kart, right? So what is the benefit?

Is it as simple as conserving effort to just match pace until you see who
around you needs to be outpaced, or is there something more complex here?

~~~
chch
Also not a cyclist, but [1] is a good (and slightly comical) view of this
technique. In Sprint cycling, which is just three laps, it was found to be a
good technique to stay behind the lead rider, because you have the advantage
of surprise, and can draft[2] in the last lap, passing them at the last
second.

This strategy evolved, and then you end up with two bicyclists jockeying for
last place, with bicycles nearly standing still.

[1]
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkkTSVVrPYk](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BkkTSVVrPYk)

[2]
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drafting_(aerodynamics)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drafting_\(aerodynamics\))

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rcxdude
The blue shell is maximally frustrating because it _doesn 't help the user_.
Because of the item skewing, it's basically never a person in the front half
of the race who gets it, and so they can't hope to gain places by using it.
It's not a catch-up item, it's a 'penalize the person in first' item. This
just causes kingmaker situations, which is generally poor game design, even in
a casual setting.

~~~
mehlmao
This is part of why I think Sonic and Sega All Stars Racing Transformed is
much better than any of the Mario Kart games. Transformed's blue shell
equivalent is the Swarm, which causes a large number of bees (more or less the
same as MK's banana peels) to spawn directly in front of the player currently
in first place.

A skilled player can avoid all the bees in the swarm, either through the use
of items or by steering around, often at the cost of breaking a drift chain
(players should be drifting at almost all times in Transformed).

Since the bees spawn in front of first place, they have the least time to
react and thus they are most likely to get hit. Every player needs to drive
through the bees, but as players collide with the bees there will be less left
for those near last place. The swarm brings all players closer together,
instead of just hindering the 1st/2nd place driver.

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csydas
I think it was Double Dash where it was most apparent that well timed
powerslides and boosts would let you avoid the Blue Shell and I think more
effort should be put into this balance of being able to avoid it sometimes. I
know that when I was younger and we'd meet on the weekends to play, it was
always a riot when someone dodged the shell. To me this seems like the right
engagement -- you hear the shell and instead of just bracing for the
inevitable you try to position to dodge it. It also makes the use of the shell
require a bit more thinking, since you want to avoid putting 1st place in a
situation where it's easy to dodge.

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dcip6s
Please just make it optional in multiplayer matches, that’s all we ask.

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ourmandave
I played way to much Kart on wii. When you're trying to beat your best time
the blue shell is really annoying.

At least now in Kart 8 you can avoid it with skill so that's something.

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headmelted
I like the blue shell.

You have (as of Mario Kart 8) three different ways to nullify an incoming blue
shell, the easiest being to get hold of a mushroom.

If you can't get a mushroom because you're hanging a green shell or a banana
out the back of your kart, you kind of have it coming, too. You know what you
did wasn't big or clever, don't cry about it now.

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teddyh
_Extra Credits_ did a short video about why the blue shell exists, gameplay-
wise:
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFfga8-3SZI](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LFfga8-3SZI)

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becga
In the Wii U version (MK8), using the super horn immediately before the blue
shell hits you will neutralize it.

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jghn
When viewing things from the lens of MK as a party game, I can think of no
better aspect of MK than the blue shell. Everyone's racing and having a good
time and then you hear the blue shell sound. All of a sudden everyone is
laughing, swearing and having a _great_ time.

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madshiva
It's quite easy to do two mode of game with or without or without box at all,
this powerup item are not well distributed and shall be removed. You need to
be a kid to accept this none fair system, I just don't accept it anymore.

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KozmoNau7
The blue shell is only annoying for try-hard ultra-competitive weenies, who
really should be playing serious racing or even simulation games instead.

Mario Kart is a fun party game, not some ultimate test of skill.

~~~
toxik
Wow, so much condemnation. All's I figure, some people like it, some people
don't.

~~~
KozmoNau7
The "No items, Fox only, Final Destination" mentality kills all fun.

~~~
dragontamer
> Fox only

Fox may be considered the best character, but I've seen Capt. Falcon, Marth,
Shiek, Peach at Evo this year.

> Final Destination

Kirby's Dreamland, Battlefield, Fountain of Dreams, and Pokemon Stadium are
all valid tournament stages, among others.

The only "truth" to the meme with regards to the strictest of Evo matches is
"no items". Because becoming INVINCIBLE for a set period of time, or
automatically gaining back 100% of your life completely breaks the game. And
no one seems to be able to differentiate between "fair" and "unfair" items.

\--------

> "No items, Fox only, Final Destination"

This mentality simply doesn't exist anywhere. The most competitive of Smash
Melee players have a set of rules that are far more intricate.

~~~
KozmoNau7
I swear, it's just like in the old days of Counterstrike, where every weenie
would go "no AWP! And no camping!", and storm off in a huff if you played the
game as it was made.

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someonewhocar3s
It's a balancer item. It exclusively affects the leading player.

What's wrong with it is it's arbitrary (you can't really help it), it punishes
good behavior (winning) but especially: it's too powerful!

Its balancing effect could be spread over a couple of other items. Certain
items could receive a penalty if you're leading. The odds of picking just the
right item up could be affected.

What's great about OP items like this is the amount of spectacular saves it
creates. An expert player is already married to the game anyway, why care?
It's only him that suffers. The rest has a very memorable stolen victory.

~~~
Karunamon
I think they already do in a way. The guy in first place never gets things
like bullet bills or stars, but a ton of bananas and green shells. It wouldn't
surprise me to learn there's a gradient.

