Been practicing really hard trying to figure out whats the best way to approach this game. Whenever I get into a unfamiliar engine I need a little help, but who doesn't when they are starting out?
Pretty good guy and great player Air from Canada is helping me a great deal. Him being a ryu player and having loads of experience over in Japan playing with the best of the best is perfect for helping me out.
We played a lot today and with a Sim player named Mar who has a really good Sim. Learning both the Ryu and Sim match ups in greater detail than ever before.
The Do's and Don'ts that I have learned so far are:
1. When zoning its better to neutral jump over fireballs then shoot a fireball instead of neutral jump then air fireball because people can just walk up and punish me.
2. After neutral jumping over a fireball the opponent has 3 options, Jump-in, walk forward then do a normal or throw, throw another fireball. The 3 counters to that are Anti Air > Jump-in, Stick out your own normal > walk forward, Throw a fireball > them throwing another fireball. Of course Jump-in > Fireball. Okay I guess that is 4 options but you see what I am saying.
3. Proper use of your normals. Frame traps used to bait a whiff, apply a strike throw mix up, and also set up a counter hit. Baiting a whiff loses to doing a move that has enough range it won't whiff, Strike/throw mix up loses to late tech or reversal depending on the timing, counter hit set ups lose to block and reversal which is also another version of strike throw mix up and it also loses to whiff baiting.
My bad habits I had to break to even be able to compete with him was to stop using sweep as my primary normal choice. Its a bad habit I think cause on stick I dunno I just hit it for whatever reason lol. On pad medium kick is right there and convenient for me to press that's why I use it more, but I am pretty sure I have just broke the habit on stick.
Also my Anti Air in my opinion (and his opinion) wasn't as good because I guess I wasn't sure of the situation where the opponent would jump at me which is basically in the max range where fireball is punishable by a jump in. Once I realized that anti airing became so much easier for me.
I am also starting to realize how sparingly you should throw fireballs in certain ranges because they will get punished. Also for whatever reason I seem to either have a 6th sense for knowing a fireball is coming or I can see their start up frames pretty well on reaction now, but then again I would just be in that range and be looking for a fireball so its more so and educated reaction than a raw reaction.
That's it for right now. I can't wait to get back to it tomorrow. One more day until Evolution Online. I want that all expense paid trip to Evolution 2011 because going to Vegas is expensive and I rather just have money for food, chill and money matches this time around.
Friday, December 17, 2010
Monday, October 18, 2010
Seasons Beatings
Its been about two months since I last updated my blog. I will try not to wait this long again.
Well learned a lot of interesting stuff. First off I did terribad (I know I made up a word....U MAD?!) this time. Lost to Bison and Rose.
Bison is really good vs shoto and Rose is as well. I hate her U2 it stops me from being able to pressure her on wake up giving players easy get out of jail free cards.
Alright so when super was released everyone told me I was dumb for thinking Akuma loses to Viper/Dictator/Boxer in this game. Well I talked to Momochi and omg guess what? He agrees with 100% of the matchups I said Akuma loses in (not just viper/bison/boxer) either. He told me whenever he uses Gouki in this game he always loses to Viper and same for Dictator he just can't beat them, so if that man can't do it and Tokido can't either. Neither can I. He likes Ken vs viper though lol, but not dictator.
I also asked him who he thinks the top 5 best characters are at this present time. Immediately he answers Shotos with hella confidence. Also added Chun Li and Boxer for the simple fact all of them while they may have hard match ups somewhere. Across the board they win a vast majority of their matchups. Honda and Dahlsim are really good but they also have really bad matchups. This is what he said.
I asked Daigo something similar (moreso who he believes the #1 character is now since EVO) he said Gouki then when I looked at him with a funny face he said Honda then said Gouki again lol. Honda has bad matchups (like sagat, chun, sim etc) but he can win them still. Especially when he benefits from single attacks that just pretty much make you say "wtf happened to my bar?".
Alright let me talk about seasons beatings. The event was super good. Seriously there is no reason to go to EVO for me anymore. Columbus, Ohio is a 2 hour drive away from me. Momo2 KTV's venue is the best venue to hold a tournament with all the food and the surrounding area as well. I haven't been to a tournament more hype/fun/exciting than Seasons Beatings in a very long time or maybe ever. At evo you have to deal with 1mil people in a pool and the people who run them take too long and don't want to DQ people. Theres really nothing to do during down time of matches either besides sit around and wait. EVO still has its prestige but with Seasons Beatings being after it I think its more important now to make.
Really good stuff to Godlike Productions for delivering on everything and more. Good shit to Team Spooky for providing a great stream for everyone.
Well learned a lot of interesting stuff. First off I did terribad (I know I made up a word....U MAD?!) this time. Lost to Bison and Rose.
Bison is really good vs shoto and Rose is as well. I hate her U2 it stops me from being able to pressure her on wake up giving players easy get out of jail free cards.
Alright so when super was released everyone told me I was dumb for thinking Akuma loses to Viper/Dictator/Boxer in this game. Well I talked to Momochi and omg guess what? He agrees with 100% of the matchups I said Akuma loses in (not just viper/bison/boxer) either. He told me whenever he uses Gouki in this game he always loses to Viper and same for Dictator he just can't beat them, so if that man can't do it and Tokido can't either. Neither can I. He likes Ken vs viper though lol, but not dictator.
I also asked him who he thinks the top 5 best characters are at this present time. Immediately he answers Shotos with hella confidence. Also added Chun Li and Boxer for the simple fact all of them while they may have hard match ups somewhere. Across the board they win a vast majority of their matchups. Honda and Dahlsim are really good but they also have really bad matchups. This is what he said.
I asked Daigo something similar (moreso who he believes the #1 character is now since EVO) he said Gouki then when I looked at him with a funny face he said Honda then said Gouki again lol. Honda has bad matchups (like sagat, chun, sim etc) but he can win them still. Especially when he benefits from single attacks that just pretty much make you say "wtf happened to my bar?".
Alright let me talk about seasons beatings. The event was super good. Seriously there is no reason to go to EVO for me anymore. Columbus, Ohio is a 2 hour drive away from me. Momo2 KTV's venue is the best venue to hold a tournament with all the food and the surrounding area as well. I haven't been to a tournament more hype/fun/exciting than Seasons Beatings in a very long time or maybe ever. At evo you have to deal with 1mil people in a pool and the people who run them take too long and don't want to DQ people. Theres really nothing to do during down time of matches either besides sit around and wait. EVO still has its prestige but with Seasons Beatings being after it I think its more important now to make.
Really good stuff to Godlike Productions for delivering on everything and more. Good shit to Team Spooky for providing a great stream for everyone.
Friday, August 27, 2010
Gripe with Tournaments, Streams etc
The way tournaments have been ran in the past have been to compensate the players who are actually at the event.
I will just dive into what I am going to say instead of giving sarcastic statements and what not. This is more of a rant blog than it is an informative blog, but maybe it will give some on the outside a look on the inside of how tournaments are at least how they are in this day and age.
Alright so pretty much at every event there is SF4 then a bunch of side games. Now SF4 is obviously the main attraction due to the turnout of players. Well in this day and age we stream nearly every semi big to big event. Which is cool for the viewers at home and what not but honestly this doesn't do anything but cause the tournament to lag behind and make what could be a quick well ran event to a slow draining event. Honestly its becoming rather tedious.
Its ridiculous when you have what say 5 different games. When SSF4 gets to top 8 you decide to hold up the entire tournament for the rest of the games that the streamers could care less about just to wait to show them SSF4 at the end. While the players who are there probably aren't at their best state right now as far as physical fatigue and mental toughness and also rather go home because its usually about 1 AM. Now I am not saying cater to the streamers either however if you are specifically running a stream so people view then you might as well only show the game the vast majority is tuning in to watch. I mean if you go to the bar to watch a basketball game you don't sit through a baseball game first right? You show up only to see basketball.
I am pretty sure when a streams pops up for a tournament (minus evo) people aren't like OMG I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH GENERIC FIGHTER 5 =\.
Anyway I feel like these events could be ran a lot smoother and faster without streaming or at least where we don't hold up the entire tournament to wait for other games to get played first and then back to SSF4.
I think which ever game gets to its top 8 first they should just go ahead and finish up their game seriously. Let everything just go at a steady pace instead of stopping everything.
Also top 8 isn't even a big deal anymore simply because only top 3 gets paid. You don't get diddly squat for being in top 8. The top 3 spots (the ones getting paid) should be the only matches streamed. A full top 8 being streamed is like 30 minutes to a hour of game play. I guess thats fine if you know we were all getting paid aka streamers paying to watch or what not but that is definitely not the case. Its cool to build up a fan base and all but not at the price of the players suffering.
Lol I have to laugh cause this doesn't help that not only do I not enjoy playing SSF4 but I don't enjoy the tournaments either. They take far too long. I would definitely have the same complaints if it were a game I enjoyed playing but it amplifies it even more of it being a chore.
By the way I am not going to go on a tangent of what I dislike about SSF4 but I will just highlight everything here.
- Game is too based around matchups instead of who is the better player as far as working the mechanics the best in the game.
- I was never a fan of reversals that are safe and lead to good damage. I think there should be risk for your reward. (bison ex psycho, honda's ex headbutt, any reversals to fadc to become safe)
- Too many invincibility frames on attacks. I really think they need to revert back to 3s as far as that goes.
In DOA shit even in Tekken if you do something that is like a reversal (well in 3D games a reversal is a crush attack) if you did a crush. If that shit gets blocked you get punished, or if that shit whiffs you die.
Also its a lot more complicated to apply a crush than it is to just hit a reversal in 2D cause in 2D reversals beat everything. in 3D no sir you better do a high or low crush depending on the attack. And mids stop all that shit anyway.
Can't make it safe in 3D. Only thing you can make safe are attacks with a lot of range and active frames and they have to be spaced properly.
Anyway like I said in the Fighters Fury interview. I am tired of playing 2D games. MvC3 and MK9 might be good but we'll see. MK9 might rip off SF4 and cause me to gouge my eyes out. (ok not really but I will probably go outside and throw the disc at a tree like a ninja star)
Its nice to see Harada opting for some Soul Calibur 5. Hopefully they get rid of that Hilde shit. Whats funny is I don't like Soul Calibur all like that because its not combo heavy.
Oh well might end up even jumping into a different genre or just taking a break altogether cause I am getting bored fighters well 2D fighters.
I will just dive into what I am going to say instead of giving sarcastic statements and what not. This is more of a rant blog than it is an informative blog, but maybe it will give some on the outside a look on the inside of how tournaments are at least how they are in this day and age.
Alright so pretty much at every event there is SF4 then a bunch of side games. Now SF4 is obviously the main attraction due to the turnout of players. Well in this day and age we stream nearly every semi big to big event. Which is cool for the viewers at home and what not but honestly this doesn't do anything but cause the tournament to lag behind and make what could be a quick well ran event to a slow draining event. Honestly its becoming rather tedious.
Its ridiculous when you have what say 5 different games. When SSF4 gets to top 8 you decide to hold up the entire tournament for the rest of the games that the streamers could care less about just to wait to show them SSF4 at the end. While the players who are there probably aren't at their best state right now as far as physical fatigue and mental toughness and also rather go home because its usually about 1 AM. Now I am not saying cater to the streamers either however if you are specifically running a stream so people view then you might as well only show the game the vast majority is tuning in to watch. I mean if you go to the bar to watch a basketball game you don't sit through a baseball game first right? You show up only to see basketball.
I am pretty sure when a streams pops up for a tournament (minus evo) people aren't like OMG I CAN'T WAIT TO WATCH GENERIC FIGHTER 5 =\.
Anyway I feel like these events could be ran a lot smoother and faster without streaming or at least where we don't hold up the entire tournament to wait for other games to get played first and then back to SSF4.
I think which ever game gets to its top 8 first they should just go ahead and finish up their game seriously. Let everything just go at a steady pace instead of stopping everything.
Also top 8 isn't even a big deal anymore simply because only top 3 gets paid. You don't get diddly squat for being in top 8. The top 3 spots (the ones getting paid) should be the only matches streamed. A full top 8 being streamed is like 30 minutes to a hour of game play. I guess thats fine if you know we were all getting paid aka streamers paying to watch or what not but that is definitely not the case. Its cool to build up a fan base and all but not at the price of the players suffering.
Lol I have to laugh cause this doesn't help that not only do I not enjoy playing SSF4 but I don't enjoy the tournaments either. They take far too long. I would definitely have the same complaints if it were a game I enjoyed playing but it amplifies it even more of it being a chore.
By the way I am not going to go on a tangent of what I dislike about SSF4 but I will just highlight everything here.
- Game is too based around matchups instead of who is the better player as far as working the mechanics the best in the game.
- I was never a fan of reversals that are safe and lead to good damage. I think there should be risk for your reward. (bison ex psycho, honda's ex headbutt, any reversals to fadc to become safe)
- Too many invincibility frames on attacks. I really think they need to revert back to 3s as far as that goes.
In DOA shit even in Tekken if you do something that is like a reversal (well in 3D games a reversal is a crush attack) if you did a crush. If that shit gets blocked you get punished, or if that shit whiffs you die.
Also its a lot more complicated to apply a crush than it is to just hit a reversal in 2D cause in 2D reversals beat everything. in 3D no sir you better do a high or low crush depending on the attack. And mids stop all that shit anyway.
Can't make it safe in 3D. Only thing you can make safe are attacks with a lot of range and active frames and they have to be spaced properly.
Anyway like I said in the Fighters Fury interview. I am tired of playing 2D games. MvC3 and MK9 might be good but we'll see. MK9 might rip off SF4 and cause me to gouge my eyes out. (ok not really but I will probably go outside and throw the disc at a tree like a ninja star)
Its nice to see Harada opting for some Soul Calibur 5. Hopefully they get rid of that Hilde shit. Whats funny is I don't like Soul Calibur all like that because its not combo heavy.
Oh well might end up even jumping into a different genre or just taking a break altogether cause I am getting bored fighters well 2D fighters.
Thursday, August 19, 2010
No longer holding back
I think I am just going to speak my mind on this one.
I have come to a realization that I just really don't like playing SF4 at all. I guess kudos to it for "reviving" the fighting game scene, but I very much rather be playing something else. The only other thing is Tekken and BB but Tekken 6 is honestly really old so getting into it now is harder than ever especially with no competition and a shitty online mode (thank you Namco =\ ) and 3D games take way more time than 2D games to learn because of the amount of variety in the game. BB I might give it a show but who knows.
My biggest gripes with SF4 is how mash friendly it is. Mash out reversals. The so called "hard" combos can be simplified with shortcuts. Multiple characters who have a very straight forward not too much thinking involved game plan. Rufus, Bison, Abel etc then you have chars like Viper who doesn't really have to block with all of her escape options. Oh and I forgot to mention how safe all of these get out of jail free cards are.
I really really hate using an arcade stick. I hate carrying it around. Its nice to look at though but to me honestly that is about it. Its the biggest waste of money I have wasted in a while. Definitely will be selling all 3 of my sticks soon including the one that is dual modded.
Tired of tournaments running forever because the TO's want to make you wait once you get to winners finals for the losers bracket to finish just to play out winners, losers and grand finals in order instead of just having the winner finals play it out then finish up the losers bracket like whatever man. Tired of TO's being lazy and running tournaments on poor latency tv/monitors. Seriously do you not look up how and what you should run a tournament on? At least fucking change the resolution to 720p. This shit irks the hell out of me.
Also hella annoyed with switching systems every tournament. Either PS3 or X360 dude choose one seriously and Ps3 is crap so use Xbox360 k thnx.
I hate to say this but there is absolutely no reason for there to be "teams" in a fighting game genre this shit isn't a team effort. Fighting game = 1v1 not 2v2 or 3v3 or 4v4. Its really pointless only thing there should be is a coach or manager.
Moving on. People keep asking me am I looking forward to the new fighting games next year and I keep giving (I could careless answers or it will be the same as any other fighter and no I am not hyped) I will give a straight up answer:
The only game that I am looking forward to that is supposed to be releasing next year is Mortal Kombat.
Yes this means I could careless about MVC3 even if Magneto is in it, I could give a shit about Tekken vs SF and vice versa. The only games I am looking forward to right now are MK or a new DOA game which hasn't even been show yet. Other than that I am looking forward to Devil's Third the game being produced by Itagaki's new company.
Anyway I am thinking about taking a break from competing for a while I can't really find any real motivation. Like there isn't a player I just hate seeing win. I don't feel like there is anything to prove, I also don't like the game(s) so that is a big factor as well.
I have come to a realization that I just really don't like playing SF4 at all. I guess kudos to it for "reviving" the fighting game scene, but I very much rather be playing something else. The only other thing is Tekken and BB but Tekken 6 is honestly really old so getting into it now is harder than ever especially with no competition and a shitty online mode (thank you Namco =\ ) and 3D games take way more time than 2D games to learn because of the amount of variety in the game. BB I might give it a show but who knows.
My biggest gripes with SF4 is how mash friendly it is. Mash out reversals. The so called "hard" combos can be simplified with shortcuts. Multiple characters who have a very straight forward not too much thinking involved game plan. Rufus, Bison, Abel etc then you have chars like Viper who doesn't really have to block with all of her escape options. Oh and I forgot to mention how safe all of these get out of jail free cards are.
I really really hate using an arcade stick. I hate carrying it around. Its nice to look at though but to me honestly that is about it. Its the biggest waste of money I have wasted in a while. Definitely will be selling all 3 of my sticks soon including the one that is dual modded.
Tired of tournaments running forever because the TO's want to make you wait once you get to winners finals for the losers bracket to finish just to play out winners, losers and grand finals in order instead of just having the winner finals play it out then finish up the losers bracket like whatever man. Tired of TO's being lazy and running tournaments on poor latency tv/monitors. Seriously do you not look up how and what you should run a tournament on? At least fucking change the resolution to 720p. This shit irks the hell out of me.
Also hella annoyed with switching systems every tournament. Either PS3 or X360 dude choose one seriously and Ps3 is crap so use Xbox360 k thnx.
I hate to say this but there is absolutely no reason for there to be "teams" in a fighting game genre this shit isn't a team effort. Fighting game = 1v1 not 2v2 or 3v3 or 4v4. Its really pointless only thing there should be is a coach or manager.
Moving on. People keep asking me am I looking forward to the new fighting games next year and I keep giving (I could careless answers or it will be the same as any other fighter and no I am not hyped) I will give a straight up answer:
The only game that I am looking forward to that is supposed to be releasing next year is Mortal Kombat.
Yes this means I could careless about MVC3 even if Magneto is in it, I could give a shit about Tekken vs SF and vice versa. The only games I am looking forward to right now are MK or a new DOA game which hasn't even been show yet. Other than that I am looking forward to Devil's Third the game being produced by Itagaki's new company.
Anyway I am thinking about taking a break from competing for a while I can't really find any real motivation. Like there isn't a player I just hate seeing win. I don't feel like there is anything to prove, I also don't like the game(s) so that is a big factor as well.
Wednesday, July 7, 2010
Pre Evolution 2010 blog
Thought I would give an update before I get on my flight later tonight.
First want to say good luck to everyone and hope we put on a good show for G4. The main goal should be for sponsors and other big name companies to take notice. Because we the fighting game community is something worth investing into for now and the future.
I feel like I am a bit of a underdog going into this which I am pretty excited about because its been a while. I feel really confident going into this, coming up short isn't an option but if it happens well then it happens. Not promising anything just going to do my best. This will also be the first tournament I will not switch off of the character I will be using in tournament so that means in SF and Tekken it will be all Akuma/Devil Jin. I know I have been known to change throughout a variety of characters, but I am going to stick to what I know the best and what I feel I am the best with. Especially since in SF4 4-6 match isn't all that bad and is very winnable just have to play it properly.
Everyone in my pool is panicking because of Nin being in our pool for Tekken, but I am just like whatever since I was able to play with him a lot in Columbus so I feel very familiar with how to fight Steve. Hopefully I can get some casuals in for Tekken because I lack any worthwhile competition here to play with for me to keep playing with people. Also not much a variety of characters either.
Anyway so I arrive into Las Vegas at 7:35 AM. Unfortunately the people I am rooming with won't be in town until about 3 pm so I will be waiting about 9 hours till they get in, so in the mean time going to be looking for people to play with and get some good practice in.
It will also be really great seeing all the friends I have made over the years in the gaming community. Its been a while since I have been to an Evolution tournament. My goal this year will be to get a golden arcade stick. My goal the last time I went was to be on the Evolution trailer hitting someone with a cool ass combo and that happened :). Hopefully I can pull it off again this year.
First want to say good luck to everyone and hope we put on a good show for G4. The main goal should be for sponsors and other big name companies to take notice. Because we the fighting game community is something worth investing into for now and the future.
I feel like I am a bit of a underdog going into this which I am pretty excited about because its been a while. I feel really confident going into this, coming up short isn't an option but if it happens well then it happens. Not promising anything just going to do my best. This will also be the first tournament I will not switch off of the character I will be using in tournament so that means in SF and Tekken it will be all Akuma/Devil Jin. I know I have been known to change throughout a variety of characters, but I am going to stick to what I know the best and what I feel I am the best with. Especially since in SF4 4-6 match isn't all that bad and is very winnable just have to play it properly.
Everyone in my pool is panicking because of Nin being in our pool for Tekken, but I am just like whatever since I was able to play with him a lot in Columbus so I feel very familiar with how to fight Steve. Hopefully I can get some casuals in for Tekken because I lack any worthwhile competition here to play with for me to keep playing with people. Also not much a variety of characters either.
Anyway so I arrive into Las Vegas at 7:35 AM. Unfortunately the people I am rooming with won't be in town until about 3 pm so I will be waiting about 9 hours till they get in, so in the mean time going to be looking for people to play with and get some good practice in.
It will also be really great seeing all the friends I have made over the years in the gaming community. Its been a while since I have been to an Evolution tournament. My goal this year will be to get a golden arcade stick. My goal the last time I went was to be on the Evolution trailer hitting someone with a cool ass combo and that happened :). Hopefully I can pull it off again this year.
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
E3 Sony vs Microsoft vs Nintendo
Alright I feel like Sony and Nintendo performed extremely well. Microsoft is disappointing with Project Natal aka Kinect.
Kinect has a full second of lag and most of their games and demonstrations were over the top corny. The only game that stood out to me was the Star wars demo. That game looks tight! Kinect + Jedi = too good.
Nintendo should be called operation bring it back: Metroid, Kid Icarus, Kirby etc..
All these games bringing back the old style and being innovative at the same time. Too good. A true gaming console.
Sony seems to be going more the route of Nintendo with their quality of games, but they are biting off Nintendo's Wii a little too hard with Playstation move even though it is really good for how well it follows the motions of the player instead of pre made motions like the Wii. Xbox Kinect has a full second of lag behind it =\ which is very lame. Do Not Want.
Nintendo is coming in with the smart stuff. Nintendo 3DS? Too good. I was happy when I saw Dead or Alive 3D :). Actually both Nintendo and Sony are implementing 3D capabilities to their games. I know MS will be biting off them at the next E3 and just probably one up them as well.
Really looking forward to what Nintendo and Sony has to offer, but as far as the games go.
Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat, Metroid, Killzone 3, Twisted Metal, Kid Icarus, Gears of War 3, Goldeneye 007, Gran Turismo 5, NBA2k11, Tron Evolution, Dead Space 2, Madden NFL 11, Fifa Soccer 11, NBA JAM, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II , Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dance Central, Halo: Reach, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, LittleBigPlanet 2, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, Final Fantasy XIV Online, Devil's Third, Red Faction: Armageddon, and many more to come.
I am still waiting for my Dead or Alive 5 and Tekken 7 announcements though >_<.
Kinect has a full second of lag and most of their games and demonstrations were over the top corny. The only game that stood out to me was the Star wars demo. That game looks tight! Kinect + Jedi = too good.
Nintendo should be called operation bring it back: Metroid, Kid Icarus, Kirby etc..
All these games bringing back the old style and being innovative at the same time. Too good. A true gaming console.
Sony seems to be going more the route of Nintendo with their quality of games, but they are biting off Nintendo's Wii a little too hard with Playstation move even though it is really good for how well it follows the motions of the player instead of pre made motions like the Wii. Xbox Kinect has a full second of lag behind it =\ which is very lame. Do Not Want.
Nintendo is coming in with the smart stuff. Nintendo 3DS? Too good. I was happy when I saw Dead or Alive 3D :). Actually both Nintendo and Sony are implementing 3D capabilities to their games. I know MS will be biting off them at the next E3 and just probably one up them as well.
Really looking forward to what Nintendo and Sony has to offer, but as far as the games go.
Marvel vs Capcom 3, Mortal Kombat, Metroid, Killzone 3, Twisted Metal, Kid Icarus, Gears of War 3, Goldeneye 007, Gran Turismo 5, NBA2k11, Tron Evolution, Dead Space 2, Madden NFL 11, Fifa Soccer 11, NBA JAM, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II , Star Wars: The Old Republic, Dance Central, Halo: Reach, Naruto: Ultimate Ninja Storm 2, Sonic the Hedgehog 4: Episode I, God of War: Ghost of Sparta, LittleBigPlanet 2, SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy SEALs, Final Fantasy XIV Online, Devil's Third, Red Faction: Armageddon, and many more to come.
I am still waiting for my Dead or Alive 5 and Tekken 7 announcements though >_<.
The core ways to learn a fighting game.
This is a very good article for players who are trying to get into DOA or fighters in general and for the beginners who are looking to improve their game.
Hopefully what I talk about really helps you become a stronger player. Please comment :)
In fighting games its all about controlling the pace. Whether you are controlling it on the offense or on the defense is key to winning the match.
In a game like DOA the way you would control the pace offensively is by keeping the opponent in critical state and making proper use of the environment to keep momentum. Also have to play the hit level game High beats Mid beats Low beats High. For defense its all about either crushing or holding the hit level or waiting for an unsafe attack so you can punish it on guard or if the opponent has delays in their attacks you can offensive hold them. The offense is trying to get them to hold so you can hi counter throw them or getting them to try to respond with an attack so you can defensive hold them. (Yea I know defensive hold but it can be used offensively as well especially if you know the opponent will attack). Also if the opponent starts using attacks that crouch you can perform a crouching offensive hold to grab them out of their crouching attack.
So in DOA your offense is:
Attacks, Throws, Offensive Holds (OH)
Attack to get them to try to Defensive hold (DH) you or use an attack with evasive frames usually a high or mid crush.
If they start using DH you throw them. If they start using Crush attacks then you can either OH their crush attack or you can DH as long as you know the correct hit level they will do. DH does more damage than a OH but is more difficult to use than a OH which is understandable cause the payout is higher. If the opponent is guarding a lot then you can throw them or OH them since OH acts like a throw, or you can hit them with a quick low that is hard to react to. Be careful cause regular throws loses to attacks and that includes crush attacks.
Anyway moving on. On the defensive side:
Guard, Throws (because they beat Offensive Holds), DH and Crush attack.
When opponent starts attacking you can guard because if they do something unsafe you can punish them. If you block something safe you just gained the advantage because your next attack will beat out theirs but it isn't guaranteed. You can also DH which will force them to start throwing more and you can hi counter blow their throw attempts for a lot of damage. When you use Crush attacks it will force them to want to go on the defensive and block or try to hold you (DH or OH) so once that happens you can grab them. And this is how the offense/defense game works in DOA.
As you can see from the above Offense and Defense is a big mental game and knowing your opponent and how they respond is key, but its all about knowing what option you and your opponent have to so you actually know whats going on.
Hopefully what I talk about really helps you become a stronger player. Please comment :)
In fighting games its all about controlling the pace. Whether you are controlling it on the offense or on the defense is key to winning the match.
In a game like DOA the way you would control the pace offensively is by keeping the opponent in critical state and making proper use of the environment to keep momentum. Also have to play the hit level game High beats Mid beats Low beats High. For defense its all about either crushing or holding the hit level or waiting for an unsafe attack so you can punish it on guard or if the opponent has delays in their attacks you can offensive hold them. The offense is trying to get them to hold so you can hi counter throw them or getting them to try to respond with an attack so you can defensive hold them. (Yea I know defensive hold but it can be used offensively as well especially if you know the opponent will attack). Also if the opponent starts using attacks that crouch you can perform a crouching offensive hold to grab them out of their crouching attack.
So in DOA your offense is:
Attacks, Throws, Offensive Holds (OH)
Attack to get them to try to Defensive hold (DH) you or use an attack with evasive frames usually a high or mid crush.
If they start using DH you throw them. If they start using Crush attacks then you can either OH their crush attack or you can DH as long as you know the correct hit level they will do. DH does more damage than a OH but is more difficult to use than a OH which is understandable cause the payout is higher. If the opponent is guarding a lot then you can throw them or OH them since OH acts like a throw, or you can hit them with a quick low that is hard to react to. Be careful cause regular throws loses to attacks and that includes crush attacks.
Anyway moving on. On the defensive side:
Guard, Throws (because they beat Offensive Holds), DH and Crush attack.
When opponent starts attacking you can guard because if they do something unsafe you can punish them. If you block something safe you just gained the advantage because your next attack will beat out theirs but it isn't guaranteed. You can also DH which will force them to start throwing more and you can hi counter blow their throw attempts for a lot of damage. When you use Crush attacks it will force them to want to go on the defensive and block or try to hold you (DH or OH) so once that happens you can grab them. And this is how the offense/defense game works in DOA.
As you can see from the above Offense and Defense is a big mental game and knowing your opponent and how they respond is key, but its all about knowing what option you and your opponent have to so you actually know whats going on.
Saturday, June 12, 2010
Present Day SF grass roots tournaments - Attack of the Clones, and Tekken Zaibatsu website down all day?
It feels as though 90% of the EC has no personality. Most of them talk and behave the exact same as another player. I blame most of the East Coast for biting off each other and then rubbing off on most of the players in the community, but it is really annoying hearing everyone saying shout outs every 10 seconds and all the same phrases that involve monster, salty, mortons, on blast etc.
Seriously can the EC all get their own personality? Everyone is a clone of one another just a different voice tone. Also most people could care less about stories on players who aren't really known and it takes away from your events. Unless they are a good up and coming player that has been showing progress then I don't see the point.
Furthermore can we please stop with the commentary from so many people, and dropping the N word definitely doesn't help your case either. If you want sponsors and big name companies to take your game and community seriously please start acting like it, If not then well you can continue on with your circus.
Moving on....
How come every tournament has to run a team tournament at every event. Its pointless to run a team tournament because it takes too long and slows the tournament down. The entire tournament could be done a lot faster if there wasn't a team tournament. I don't know any players who actually train up and take teams serious. The only time a team tournament means anything is SBO or Tekken Crash. And SBO doesn't matter cause its single elim, and Tekken Crash is a full season so actually picking players for your team is far more important and requires a lot more strategizing.
Now the only tournaments that really don't have any of the above problems are tournaments on the west coast and the times when Seb is the one in charge of the production on the east coast, but if Seb is not around....sigh.
I really hope everyone starts to look up to the west coast as an example on how things are done.
In other news:
The Tekken Zaibatsu website has been down for an entire day! What is there a server move going on or is the Tekken community going to be in trouble? It will be very difficult for players to meet up and what not hopefully this is temporary especially for upcoming events needing to be promoted there isn't really any other way for information to move about the Tekken community.
Seriously can the EC all get their own personality? Everyone is a clone of one another just a different voice tone. Also most people could care less about stories on players who aren't really known and it takes away from your events. Unless they are a good up and coming player that has been showing progress then I don't see the point.
Furthermore can we please stop with the commentary from so many people, and dropping the N word definitely doesn't help your case either. If you want sponsors and big name companies to take your game and community seriously please start acting like it, If not then well you can continue on with your circus.
Moving on....
How come every tournament has to run a team tournament at every event. Its pointless to run a team tournament because it takes too long and slows the tournament down. The entire tournament could be done a lot faster if there wasn't a team tournament. I don't know any players who actually train up and take teams serious. The only time a team tournament means anything is SBO or Tekken Crash. And SBO doesn't matter cause its single elim, and Tekken Crash is a full season so actually picking players for your team is far more important and requires a lot more strategizing.
Now the only tournaments that really don't have any of the above problems are tournaments on the west coast and the times when Seb is the one in charge of the production on the east coast, but if Seb is not around....sigh.
I really hope everyone starts to look up to the west coast as an example on how things are done.
In other news:
The Tekken Zaibatsu website has been down for an entire day! What is there a server move going on or is the Tekken community going to be in trouble? It will be very difficult for players to meet up and what not hopefully this is temporary especially for upcoming events needing to be promoted there isn't really any other way for information to move about the Tekken community.
Friday, June 11, 2010
DOA5 at E3 semi confirmation, Galaxy4Gamers, Mortal Kombat reboot!
Well I had to edit what I was writing about DOA5 because apparently it has been taken off the show floor site for E3 in the Tecmo section. Despite that I am really looking forward to DOA5 hopefully a lot of people play it! I wish we could at least get a trailer or something ah well. By the way check out FreeStepDodge.com we are building the DOA scene back up and welcome all players to come to the site and learn and help us all grow.
Also I have been participating in G4G lately. Here are the match vids from me playing Alex Valle and Justin Wong
G4G Beat a Pro Match videos:
Myself vs Alex "Calipower" Valle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quF_ig2nPhQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=9uPJ1TljUew
Myself vs Justin "JWong" Wong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0dkbZRFGec&playnext_from=TL&videos=rVdfuZEaWas
MORTAL KOMBAT!!!! I so cannot wait for this game. I have been saying for years they need to go back to 2D gameplay because 3D while it was ok it didn't work as good as it should with MK. Maybe if they kept the MK4 style gameplay, but the 2D gameplay is classic and makes MK well MK. Unless they used the Shaolin Monks versus mode engine. That was too good honestly way more enjoyable than the regular 3D MKs. Besides that I have noticed that the setting of the game is MK2 or a little after MK2 because I see Sektor is in the game and they also have old Shang Tsung. Maybe they are really just rebooting the series who knows cause I didn't see Liu Kang at all.
I am definitely looking forward to this.
Also I have been participating in G4G lately. Here are the match vids from me playing Alex Valle and Justin Wong
G4G Beat a Pro Match videos:
Myself vs Alex "Calipower" Valle
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=quF_ig2nPhQ&playnext_from=TL&videos=9uPJ1TljUew
Myself vs Justin "JWong" Wong
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0dkbZRFGec&playnext_from=TL&videos=rVdfuZEaWas
MORTAL KOMBAT!!!! I so cannot wait for this game. I have been saying for years they need to go back to 2D gameplay because 3D while it was ok it didn't work as good as it should with MK. Maybe if they kept the MK4 style gameplay, but the 2D gameplay is classic and makes MK well MK. Unless they used the Shaolin Monks versus mode engine. That was too good honestly way more enjoyable than the regular 3D MKs. Besides that I have noticed that the setting of the game is MK2 or a little after MK2 because I see Sektor is in the game and they also have old Shang Tsung. Maybe they are really just rebooting the series who knows cause I didn't see Liu Kang at all.
I am definitely looking forward to this.
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
MLG Columbus, Upcoming Events, EVO Top 8 Payout
I didn't particularly do too well. I made it to the 4th round in winners and then lost to Pat_Thai a Julia player. I lack a lot of Julia experience and it showed :(. The next day for losers bracket I showed up late because I thought start time was to begin at 1 PM but it actually began at 11 AM so I was disqualified :(. It's ok because I still had a blast that weekend because my roommates in the hotel were none other than Nin, Knee and Holeman some of the top players from Korea.
Nin taught me a whole lot about the game that I didn't know and I believe it has made me a stronger player in Tekken overall. I began to improve at a very fast rate and when I played against players in casual matches I was doing drastically better than before, so I am very thankful for their help.
This past Sunday Nin stayed up talking to me about a lot of Tekken history in Korea and just in general and we even discussed current things like character matchups and the tierlist that the characters will end up in the long run.
Top 3 characters will be: Bryan, Nina, Devil Jin and the full S tier would be Bryan, Nina, Devil Jin, Steve, Bruce, Lars, Bob, Julia.
Other than Tekken stuff. Speaking broken english is the shiznit. I can't speak Korean and they could barely speak english but we are all pro in speaking broken english. It was so fun hanging out with those guys for real.
Alright let me talk about the next upcoming events the ones I am more than likely to make and the ones I probably won't be able to.
First thing I wish I could go to devestation but too much money and too little time to make it :(. I believe I can do very well in SF4 and Tekken. If I put some time into SC4 before hand I am more than sure I can do well in that as well even if I run into a Hilde player. I'll just pick Algol like seriously. Bubbles pin hilde down and she can't really launch algol without trading with a bubble and messing up the timing for her combos.
In two weeks there will be a tournament in Cleveland with $500 payout for 1st place in SSFIV. I feel very confident that I can pull it out especially since I have tightened up my match up trouble that I initially had with Gouki. Also they will be having 2v2 which me and WolfKrone will definitely be teaming up for.
Evolution I really really want to go this year. I keep having dreams that I win it and have yet another Evolution championship title under my belt. Hopefully I will be able to make it and even if I can't win I know I can make top 8 at the very least.
Thats all for now. I will probably post more later. Also have been getting back into DOA because apparently we might be getting a DOA5 showing at E3. Keep your fingers crossed >_<
Nin taught me a whole lot about the game that I didn't know and I believe it has made me a stronger player in Tekken overall. I began to improve at a very fast rate and when I played against players in casual matches I was doing drastically better than before, so I am very thankful for their help.
This past Sunday Nin stayed up talking to me about a lot of Tekken history in Korea and just in general and we even discussed current things like character matchups and the tierlist that the characters will end up in the long run.
Top 3 characters will be: Bryan, Nina, Devil Jin and the full S tier would be Bryan, Nina, Devil Jin, Steve, Bruce, Lars, Bob, Julia.
Other than Tekken stuff. Speaking broken english is the shiznit. I can't speak Korean and they could barely speak english but we are all pro in speaking broken english. It was so fun hanging out with those guys for real.
Alright let me talk about the next upcoming events the ones I am more than likely to make and the ones I probably won't be able to.
First thing I wish I could go to devestation but too much money and too little time to make it :(. I believe I can do very well in SF4 and Tekken. If I put some time into SC4 before hand I am more than sure I can do well in that as well even if I run into a Hilde player. I'll just pick Algol like seriously. Bubbles pin hilde down and she can't really launch algol without trading with a bubble and messing up the timing for her combos.
In two weeks there will be a tournament in Cleveland with $500 payout for 1st place in SSFIV. I feel very confident that I can pull it out especially since I have tightened up my match up trouble that I initially had with Gouki. Also they will be having 2v2 which me and WolfKrone will definitely be teaming up for.
Evolution I really really want to go this year. I keep having dreams that I win it and have yet another Evolution championship title under my belt. Hopefully I will be able to make it and even if I can't win I know I can make top 8 at the very least.
Thats all for now. I will probably post more later. Also have been getting back into DOA because apparently we might be getting a DOA5 showing at E3. Keep your fingers crossed >_<
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
SSF4 Training Continued
Tackling Seth:
- U1 trap is gone.
- Teleport recovery is worst
- Neutral Jump Fierce has 6 less active frames
- Dive kick executes slower so it hangs in the air more.
This means he lost a lot of his offense even though he still has a lot offense but just no more ambiguous sonic boom mixups which is fine.
Also lost being able to make people jump with sonic booms then u1 them. Teleport makes it so its harder to follow up after legs now if opponent quick stands cause the added recovery on teleport. Absolutely must throw a sonic boom first.
Other than that he can still use EX legs to go through limbs/projectiles etc. Thats really good especially if opponents back is to the wall because ex legs to u2 is 408 pts of damage. So once Seth has an opponents back to the wall its scary even without u2 he can stomp for 255 and then go for a mixup. Opponent will probably get stunned really fast.
His zoning is still intact. He can still super trap people with sonic booms.
Normals are good or might be better. st mk, rh, fp really good. close st fp is good for anti air and far st mp is good for anti air aswell.
When you anti air someone either boom them for chip damage, or tandem engine for mixups. If opponent is antsy and tries to jump at you again use EX Tandem engine since it grabs them out of the air and pulls them towards you, but you need ex bars for that.
EX SPD is still invincible to attacks on start up so you can use that as well.
To me it looks like what capcom really did to nerf the top characters is make it so they have to use their EX meter more to stay really good but thats not bad cause the rest of the cast has to do it aswell. Look at rufus with EX messiah/snake strike etc.
I think seth is still good.
SSF4 Characters Nerfs, Buffs and Placings.
Tackling Sagat:
Sagat's tiger knee damage has been nerfed and so has its safety. If you block it standing you get a free combo so its a bit risky to toss out when you are zoning now.
Angry scar is useless so far to me. Angry scar fp tu is 180 pts. EX TU is 200 pts
Angry scar however does it make it possible for you to juggle into TU after a TK but only in the corner. Also allows you to hit a TU after a TU FADC but its useless meter.
EX TK is good still its -1 on block and does 180 pts so its good to use in fireball zoning. It seems a bit pointless to really go for a kara tu unless to anti air. On the ground its not as rewarding unless the combo will kill the opponent. Also during zoning low step kick has to be used more aswell.
st lk no longer being cancellable into stuff from a distance is a pain but just have to get used to his other normals.
Anyway as far as combos. Its best to go for EX TU (meaning you are only using 1 meter for your go to combo instead of 2) But the timing for u1 is a little strict. The trick is that as soon as you land do the command. Buffering it makes it miss sometimes.
Pretty much Sagat like akuma for extra damage has to use his EX meter.
Sagat has to use EX TK, EX TU moreso now than ever for damage.
Regular TK was nerfed but EX TK is really good. TU was nerfed but EX TU is still good. And Angry scar just enhances his EX TU but only by 40 pts so use if you feel like whatever you do will kill.
Ex TK is good for zoning cause its the only safe tiger knee now lol at -1. So if they are ducking you should be at a huge advantage.
Only thing now EX TU to U1 will be difficult for people but its not as hard as people think.
Also for akuma ex dp is the best option after a lk tatsu since it does more stun and does the same dmg as lp dp fadc hp shaku.
I still feel Sagat and Akuma are top tier as well with all these findings.
Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Akuma Character Specifics U2 combos
Before I go into the combos I want to let everyone know a universal way on making it a little easier when fighting bison.
1. Focus his single limbs like st hk/mk because he can't cancel them into anything.
2. Neutral jump scissor kicks then land on them and punch similar to balrog's dash punches.
3. After blocking scissors kick you are 0 on guard however since bison's cr lk is really good and has a lot of priority it will more than likely beat out your normal attack may have to do a reversal so its best to back dash away. This will force bison to have to do a unsafe scissors kick to hit you, slide or psycho crusher to chase you which are all of course unsafe.
Oh one more thing before I list the combos. The New Replay channel in SSF4 is really good especially when viewing videos from Asia specifically Japanese videos. Daigo, Mago, Tokido, Sako are all on there and with a lot of unknown japanese players (dunno their tags yet) and they are really showing how to properly play the game. Its perfect especially when you may not have someone who plays a character and you want to see how they work so you check out the vids and pick up a few things.
Alright Akuma u2 char specific combos. There are two ways to hit them either crouching fp or standing close fp.
Close fp combo works on: Dudley, Gouken, Zangief, THawk and Hakan even if they are ducking.
Crouch fp to u2 works on: Sagat, Cammy, Seth, Makoto, Abel, Rufus, Balrog, Cody, Adon, Dahlsim, Ken, Bison, Vega, Deejay, Chun Li
Thats it for now I haven't tested all the characters yet but a few I tested didn't work.
SSF4 training
Everyone knows I main Akuma so I found some good Akuma combo's to make up for losing his ability to stand up opponents and perform more damaging combos.
I believe these combos worked in Vanilla aswell but no one even thought to use them. I found out cause I read in frame data that hk/mk tatsu stands the opponent up. So if you do like cr lp x2 then hk tatsu they will stand up. Cancelling hk tatsu allows you to do more combos.
Requires half meter:
Jump in hk > c.fp xx hk tatsu fadc > cr.mp link s.fp xx lk tatsu > fp dp
461 dmg / 755 stun
Requires full meter:
Jump in hk > c.fp xx hk tatsu fadc > cr.mp link s.fp xx fireball fadc > c. fp xx lk tatsu > fp dp
487 dmg / 845 stun
Here is a good BNB for his ultra 2.
Jump in hk > c.fp xx hk tatsu fadc > cr.mp link s.fp xx teleport xx u2
526 Dmg / 670 Stun
These combos work if the opponent is crouching. If they aren't crouching its best to do a poke to fireball fadc combo since if they are already standing its harder to cancel from a hk/mk tatsu into a follow up for combo because of the stun the opponent does when they get hit is different from when they are crouching.
So far akuma is still good right now his toughest match I feel will be ibuki because she can option select his teleport with a knock down and its realllly easy to do. You actually don't even need to option select the teleport you can just see him teleport and do her neck breaker.
The heck I just found out something odd. Akuma's u2 only hits characters who are standing but vs dudley I did close fp to u2 and it all connected and he was still crouching. Yea....lol
Also vs characters where you don't get a jump in you can do two c.lp's into hk tatsu and get them to stand up and go for a combo.
On to hakan:
Been messing with Hakan cause I really to believe he is bottom tier.
He has two command grabs one that works like a regular SPD where it will hit you if you are doing anything but jumping or a reversal which is performed by pressing punch. Another command throw performed by kicks which grabs standing, back dash, jumps but you can crouch it and reversal it.
So his wake up game is either tick to kick throw or punch throw. Kick throw the best one is lk so if they immediately jump anticipating a punch throw they will get grabbed. If you use any other kick you will more than likely whiff. If you think they will duck you have to do the punch throw of course.
When Hakan is oiled up he can fp slide full screen and its safe if the opponent is on the other side of the screen and they block it so in other words he can play full screen footsies with a slide.
hp, cr mk, f+hk, cr hk are all my favorite pokes right now and I think f+mp. When oiled up he can cancel his focus dashes and immediately go into attacks which is really great for when people are trying to poke you and you focus throw it and hit them or grab them when they are out of range.
While he is oiled up he can also combo his low shorts which if you think about it in regular ways its not a big deal cause he can't combo into anything from his low shorts but its a great way to mix up the timing on when you will do one of his grabs, block, hit one of his normal buttons or focus attack. I think its great for that even his ultra 1 grab. I think his ultra 1 grab will be great for opponents he can rush down while the ultra 2 anti air is great for opponents that try to rush him down and jump in all day.
Let me not to forget to say hakan's jump game is nice too. Jump f+strong combos to u2 and iirc gives enough time to oil up. Any time Hakan gets a knock down its time to oil up. Always use lk oil up its really useful even when spacing especially when your opponent doesn't want to get knocked down or lose a chunk of life from hp.
Thats it for now I will post more when I find out some more useful stuff.
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Tekken Fundamentals
In my travels I learned the fundamentals of Tekken from legendary Tekken players in Dallas. JOP, EP, Jinkid etc and I have decided to post the very basics of what I learned.
I have broken this up into 4 layers of yomi making it very easy to understand:
1. The object of Tekken and a lot of other fighting games is forcing your opponent to whiff so you can hit them with your most powerful attack or in Tekken's case: Launchers. That is the very first layer of Tekken's mind game.
2. Here is when it evolves from that. When the opponent is looking for you to whiff so that they can launch you this is when you move in for a quick low poke or an attack to put you in frame advantage or a throw to break their defense. After you have established this you then back away and Layer 1 restarts to form a new situation.
3. Now when the opponent knows you know that they are looking for a whiff, and they also know you are going to want to come in and hit them with a poke into 50/50 or a throw. They will use a move to keep you out once you get into that zone of space. Moves that can keep you out are say generic df+2 or magic 4 aka the counter hit 4 at the most basic level and then of course you have the all powerful EWGF.
4. However the opponent now knows you know they are looking for and whiff and they also know you are going to come in and try to hit them with something and they are going to try and keep you out with a keepout attack, but now this is when you move in and back away to force them to whiff (going back to layer 1) and you are able to launch them.
These are the very basics of Tekken. Of course when choosing a character you can go by the properties of their attacks by how much range/safety/usable launchers and lows that they have, oh yes and the damage.
Definitely big ups to the crew in Dallas for helping out.
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