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Wii first impressions and questions

Kabob

Kabob

Lifer
First off, I picked up a Wii from a 2nd hand buyer last night. Grabbed Zelda on the way home and set it up. The first thing I noticed, the controls (for me at least) take some getting used to. It took forever to download the 1st console update and for some reason I couldn't connect to get the second update. I had to use some random connection just to download the first, which brings me to my first question:

-We have Bell South FastAccess DSL and I could not connect to it last night. I typed in the WEP 3 or 4 times but it wouldn't accept it. It didn't even test the connection, it just rejected it and made me start over. What am I doing wrong? I have WEP selected as the security type, but it won't accept it. Any ideas?

I played Wii sports but I noticed that it wasn't following my motions very well. I realized that I had it set to widescreen but the TV was set to 4:3. I changed that quickly but it didn't seem to help. Second question:

-Our TV has probably a 5" bezel (is that the right word?) between the bottom of the screen and the top of the TV stand (flush with the screen so I couldn't tape the sensor upside down on it or anything). The sensor is resting on top of the TV stand, so there's a bit of distance between it and the bottom of the screen. How much is this going to set my motions off? I would put the sensor on top but the top of the TV is sloped forward, which the manual said was an igsnay. I tried setting the sensitivity (it said set it until there's only 2 blinking dots...4 of the 5 sensitivity setting have 2 blinking dots!!) but it doesn't seem to help.

Anyways, after making a Mii I threw in Zelda and came upon the greatest find yet...Zelda does NOT look good on a 56" HDTV using composite cables! On 480i it was...painful. I'll say that I'm sure it will look better with component cables and it'd probably look better on a smaller set as well (oh if I'd only scored a 32" Westinghouse LCD this weekend!), but ATM it's rough.

Once again I found that my motions were a bit...off. I calibrated the aimer as well as I could in the Zelda game, but even still to hit the bottom of the screen I have to aim below the stand a bit. It seems like everything is hitting pretty high (which would make sense since the sensor is below, lots of "sense" sounds in a row there 😛 ).

-Is there any way to correct this misalignment? There really aren't a whole lot of...calibration controls for the remote and sensor. I have the sensor set to "below the TV."

I've got component cables on pre-order (supposed to be shipping today, but we'll see about that) so hopefully that'll sharpen everything up a little bit. Honestly I wish the TV was a bit smaller, it's great for most things but it seems to be almost too big for Wii.

If I could resolve a few of these issues it'd be more enjoyable. Mayhaps I can get the wireless issues resolved and I'll try to think of a way to rig the sensor so it's closer to the bottom of the screen, only thing about that is that I think it'd cover up the TV remote sensor.

Overall though I will say it is fun. Just needs a little personal fine tuning.
 
dont you have to go through a calibration proceedure before you can properly use the wii-mote? and i thought the sensor bar went on top of the TV?

and yeah it'll look gash on a HDTV. the Wii can only muster 480p, if you your tv is 720p then without any upscalers or anything your tv will basically interpolate to stretch out the 480p across the 720p space.

its like having a small 640x480 image then just stretching it out to 1280x960, yeah its bigger, but since you havent added any extra detail in the process it will come out looking blocky

 
The sensor bar can go below or above, it's a setting you set in the Wii's system properties.

Your WEP issue sounds odd... does it give you an error of any kind? I had no issues using WPA on my Linksys router, but I did forget to enter the MAC into my allowed addresses at first 😀.

Also, I think the TV my brother has his Wii on has quite a large bezel as well, but it seems to work fine for him.

Heh, that HDTV thing reminds me of when my brother tried to play Guitar Hero 2 on my Samsung DLP without Game Mode turned on... hehe he sat there complaining about the upscailing lag 😛.
 
Originally posted by: kabob983
First off, I picked up a Wii from a 2nd hand buyer last night. Grabbed Zelda on the way home and set it up. The first thing I noticed, the controls (for me at least) take some getting used to. It took forever to download the 1st console update and for some reason I couldn't connect to get the second update. I had to use some random connection just to download the first, which brings me to my first question:

-We have Bell South FastAccess DSL and I could not connect to it last night. I typed in the WEP 3 or 4 times but it wouldn't accept it. It didn't even test the connection, it just rejected it and made me start over. What am I doing wrong? I have WEP selected as the security type, but it won't accept it. Any ideas?

When I had issues connecting to my WAP, I figured out that I was forcing 802.11g only on my router, instead of both G & B. Apparently the Wii only supports B. I would double check your settings.

I played Wii sports but I noticed that it wasn't following my motions very well. I realized that I had it set to widescreen but the TV was set to 4:3. I changed that quickly but it didn't seem to help. Second question:

-Our TV has probably a 5" bezel (is that the right word?) between the bottom of the screen and the top of the TV stand (flush with the screen so I couldn't tape the sensor upside down on it or anything). The sensor is resting on top of the TV stand, so there's a bit of distance between it and the bottom of the screen. How much is this going to set my motions off? I would put the sensor on top but the top of the TV is sloped forward, which the manual said was an igsnay. I tried setting the sensitivity (it said set it until there's only 2 blinking dots...4 of the 5 sensitivity setting have 2 blinking dots!!) but it doesn't seem to help.

Within the configuration settings for the remote, you can tell the Wii whether or not the sensor bar is below of above the TV -is that set correctly? Also (and this is a stretch but I thought I would mention it), are you only trying this during the day? If so, are you getting any sunlight on the sensor bar? That has been known to cause some issues with it, if you are.

Anyways, after making a Mii I threw in Zelda and came upon the greatest find yet...Zelda does NOT look good on a 56" HDTV using composite cables! On 480i it was...painful. I'll say that I'm sure it will look better with component cables and it'd probably look better on a smaller set as well (oh if I'd only scored a 32" Westinghouse LCD this weekend!), but ATM it's rough.

Yea, it looks a lot better on component. I'm at work, but there are some sites with image comparisons -namely Gamespot. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&...ive&q=zelda+wii+component+vs+composite

Once again I found that my motions were a bit...off. I calibrated the aimer as well as I could in the Zelda game, but even still to hit the bottom of the screen I have to aim below the stand a bit. It seems like everything is hitting pretty high (which would make sense since the sensor is below, lots of "sense" sounds in a row there 😛 ).

-Is there any way to correct this misalignment? There really aren't a whole lot of...calibration controls for the remote and sensor. I have the sensor set to "below the TV."

I've got component cables on pre-order (supposed to be shipping today, but we'll see about that) so hopefully that'll sharpen everything up a little bit. Honestly I wish the TV was a bit smaller, it's great for most things but it seems to be almost too big for Wii.

If I could resolve a few of these issues it'd be more enjoyable. Mayhaps I can get the wireless issues resolved and I'll try to think of a way to rig the sensor so it's closer to the bottom of the screen, only thing about that is that I think it'd cover up the TV remote sensor.

Overall though I will say it is fun. Just needs a little personal fine tuning.
Click to expand...

 
Sensor can go below and I calibrated (as much as it can be calibrated). The two blinking dots thing doesn't do much...all but 1 of the settings shows the two dots (although none of them really blink).

Where can I find the MAC? I completely forgot about adding it in (and heck, I'm not even sure I know how). Wireless stuff is certainly one of my least knowledgeable fields.

I was hoping to score the 32" Westinghouse LCD on BF but when I got to BB at midnight the line already had about 120 people in it and I didn't want to wait 5 hours and come up empty handed, so I skipped out. I think it'd have been a better gaming TV though.
 
Originally posted by: mugs
Were you using the ASCII or HEX WEP key? Use HEX.
Click to expand...

I have no clue. We wrote the key down on a piece of paper a few months ago as simply "WEP." It is probably...30-35 characters long.
 
Originally posted by: warcrowWhen I had issues connecting to my WAP, I figured out that I was forcing 802.11g only on my router, instead of both G & B. Apparently the Wii only supports B. I would double check your settings.
Click to expand...

Hrm, once again I'm not sure what the difference is. Can this be configured within the "configure wireless" settings under the router's IP?
 
It's probably 32 hex characters long (128-bit WEP). Although, I have no idea why people use WEP... you can hack it in an hour (generous) with enough packets ~_~.

Also, the MAC address is in the Wii's setting menu. I can't remember exactly where, but that's where I found it. Another thing, if you don't recall enabling MAC Filtering, it probably isn't turned on.

Eh, personally, I like my 46" DLP for gaming... it's so big and sexy 😀. It made me actually enjoy playing XBOX 360 especially when I was stuck on a 19" LCD before that (as XBOX doesn't look good on a TV :/)

EDIT: Addendum:

You can configure the wireless protocol acceptance of a router usually under the router's general wireless settings. There's typically 3 options "b only", "g only", b/g" or something like that.
 
Thanks for the info.

So, when I head home I'll check the MAC address and check the general wireless settings to make sure it accepts MAC addresses (MAC filtering). Make sure that it's set to accept "b" connections only and then try to find the ASCII WEP key. Type that into the Wii and hope it works.

That about cover it?

Hopefully I'll learn a thing or two about wireless connections by the time I'm done!

Still gotta figure out what to do with the poorly calibrated Wiimote...

*edit* guy on Hardforum suggested setting the router channel to 1 or 11, anyone know if this helps?
 
Originally posted by: kabob983
Thanks for the info.

So, when I head home I'll check the MAC address and check the general wireless settings to make sure it accepts MAC addresses (MAC filtering). Make sure that it's set to accept "b" connections only and then try to find the ASCII WEP key. Type that into the Wii and hope it works.

That about cover it?

Hopefully I'll learn a thing or two about wireless connections by the time I'm done!

Still gotta figure out what to do with the poorly calibrated Wiimote...
Click to expand...

I wouldn't limit your router to 802.11b only. Just make sure it at least accepts 'b' and I doubt you'd want to restrict yourself to 802.11b as that's only 12MB compared to 802.11g's 54MB connection.

Also, I doubt you need to type the key in via ASCII... that'd just be inhumane of Nintendo to make anyone type in 128 characters... it'd be hell if you lost your place >_<! It's most likely just the 32-bit hex characters as I've never seen a device (software) that accepted anything but the hex codes.

This is why you should switch to WPA 🙂. WPA uses passcodes (just like you'd use to log into Windows or onto this forum) and is so much easier to deal with.

EDIT: Addendum:

Changing the channel would really only matter if there are other devices that could be broadcasting on the same channel. Are you in an apartment complex or anything like that where neighbors could be using Wireless Access Points/Routers?
 
Yup, I live in an apartment complex and there are quite a few different connections in the area (I logged on to a non-passworded connection to download the first update). I believe there were 6 or 7 access points last night when I was searching for 'em.

I meant HEX for the WEP code. I would switch to a WPA but I'm not sure how the process is done and I'd hate to screw something up for not just myself, but the roommates as well.
 
This is the thing to remember: don't use the wiimote like a laser pointer or a light gun. Sure, the closer the bar is to your TV the more "accurate" it is, but it's much easier (imo) to lean back on the sofa and not have to try to aim it like a gun. It's really more like a mouse, if you think about it.

The controls were a bit weird at first in Zelda, but now we're well beyond the first dungeon and have completely become used to it.
 
Originally posted by: LanceM
This is the thing to remember: don't use the wiimote like a laser pointer or a light gun. Sure, the closer the bar is to your TV the more "accurate" it is, but it's much easier (imo) to lean back on the sofa and not have to try to aim it like a gun. It's really more like a mouse, if you think about it.

The controls were a bit weird at first in Zelda, but now we're well beyond the first dungeon and have completely become used to it.
Click to expand...

Hrm, just having that mentality might help alot. I keep trying to point and aim along it but it didn't work terribly well that way.

Although I will say my first try fishing (without the reel) seemed awkward like the remote didn't know what to do.
 
*update*

So, I had a bit of fun last night. I wrote down the Wii's MAC address and then headed to my computer to change the wireless configuration.

I changed the channel to 11 and saw that the router already accepted both "b" and "g" connections (well, it said mixed, which I assumed was both) then I enabled MAC filtering. Next I went to the acceptable MAC's or whatever button and entered my Wii's MAC address in. Clicked the "filter" button and boom, suddenly my computer can't reconnect to the wireless network. Boy do I feel smart (I would say I shoulda seen that coming but honestly...I didn't, as stated I just don't know much about wireless connections and MAC filters and such).

Anyhoo...after work today I get to run home and try to fix my connection. Any tips? I was told to use my roommate's computer which is actually connected to the router to reset it.

Also, even after all that I still can't connect the Wii. The WEP code that I have is 26 characters long (and it says 128 bit), not 32, not 128 or whatever for an ASCII. Still a no-go on connecting it to the network.
 
I had the same exact problem where I was forcing G wireless only. Felt like an idiot after 10 minutes of screwing up my wireless settings.

First of all, what router do you have? ihaven't seen you post that yet. (I haven't read all of the replies)

Ok, so you have set up MAC filtering with the Wii's and your PC's MAC addresses in the list.

You also have WEP set up for 128 bit. You have also chosen a key(mine has 4, I have to choose one), and you have input that same key into your Wii when prompted?

Is your router set to DHCP? Are you typing in the right SSID for your network in the Wii settings?

I'm just trying to think of every detail that I can since you say you don't know much about wireless connections..

 
The router we have is the Westell Versalink **** (not sure of the model number, I think it's 321W or something like that). I'll look when at home...but it won't do me much good since I can't get online to tell you all 😛

I think the problem was that I didn't put my PC's MAC address in the list, so my PC can't connect to the wireless since I turned filtering on (which makes me feel oh so bright BTW).

I have 4 WEP keys as well, all are 26 characters long. I input the first one into the Wii (which is the same key I typed in to connect my PC to the wireless network).

Dunno if the router is set to DHCP (and once again, not sure what that even is, care to elaborate?), and I've not typed in any SSID in the Wii settings (it finds our access point automatically, dunno if that matters).
 
Yes, you lost connection because you forgot to put your PC's wireless NIC MAC into the list of accepted connections as well.

Ways to fix this:
1) Use your roommate's computer and either:
a) add your computer to the list.
b) turn off wireless filtering, use your pc and add the mac address to the list and re-enable.

2) Reset the router.

DHCP is Dynamic Host Control Protocol, it allows a device to hand out IP addresses dynamically (sometimes, some routers let you specify static IP's for a specific MAC) to a device that sends a DHCP request. I'd presume you have DHCP on unless you know you have what's called a "Manual IP Configuration" setup for your wireless-based PC.
 
Ok, then you must have SSID broadcast turned ON. You shouldn't have to type in an SSID if it automatically detects it.

DHCP just automatically assigns IP addresses to whatever devices connect to the router. I suspect that you have it turned on if you don't know what it is.

You would have had to type in an IP address into your PC manually to connect to the internet.

I'm still trying to figure out what could be wrong if you've followed all these steps..

 
Well, one thing to think about is a piece-wise fashion of figuring out problems. For example, if you think WEP is an issue, turn WEP off. If you still keep getting the same problems, you know that WEP wasn't the problem and you can turn it back on. You may want to save your key just in case so you can use the same one.

You'd also probably want to do this from your roommate's computer to avoid having to change your connection settings to remove the WEP key and then put it back in there.
 
I'll try that. Once I get back I'll set it so I can get my computer online first though ^^

If the WEP doesn't work I might try a WPA instead...
 
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