Week of March 9th to the 15th, 2015.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well. If you are looking to see what events are coming up past this week, check out the FGC Event Calendar that our own Malice215 put together.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well. If you are looking to see what events are coming up past this week, check out the FGC Event Calendar that our own Malice215 put together.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Last year, GAFer Shouta helped organize donations from various FGC-GAF members to send fellow member QisTopTier to EVO. Q suffers from Facioscapulohumeral Muscular Dystrophy, but has always wanted to go to EVO and we're looking to double up this year and send him to EVO again!
If you want to help out, you can check out the details and pledge on this spreadsheet.
SXSW Gaming Fighters Invitational [ Thread ] [ Schedule ] [ Friday ] [ 12PM CST | 1PM EDT | 10AM PDT ]
- SXSW partners with Twitch, LG and GoodGame to put together a $20k prize pool for 16 of the world's finest USFIV players.
- This event continues through Sunday.
- More information is available here.
- Out of Fukuoka, Japan we get a USFIV event featuring singles and 5v5 tournaments.
- Capcom Pro Tour Ranking Event
- More information is available here.
Every week, FGW will spotlight one GAFer to get a better picture of their history with fighting games, their preferences, and much more. For this week's FGW Player Spotlight, we will be taking a closer look at the biggest proponent of Britain re-annexing India, Huw_Dawson!
What fighting games do you currently play, what is your all time favourite and why?
I mostly play USF4 these days. I have a weird love-hate situation with the game. The current meta is very heavily based around matchups and counter picks, which I think makes the game less interesting than it really should be. On the other hand, there's so much depth anyway that you can usually get around bad matchups, so it's really only top tier play which revolves (or devolves) into an escalating spin of counterpicking. :\
Maybe we're just in flux right now thanks to six years of the same game and most people becoming entrenched with "their character". Because most people only play one character it's easier to pick around them because you won't get counter-picked back?
My favourite FG of all time is Skullgirls. It's hands-down the best Versus game ever made and I think it is a model of how continuous redesign really helps a game out.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?Maybe we're just in flux right now thanks to six years of the same game and most people becoming entrenched with "their character". Because most people only play one character it's easier to pick around them because you won't get counter-picked back?
My favourite FG of all time is Skullgirls. It's hands-down the best Versus game ever made and I think it is a model of how continuous redesign really helps a game out.
I love the Mortal Kombat/Injustice meter mechanic the most. It's just so... balanced. If Injustice didn't have cinematics each time you combo break, it'd be flawless. One bar for EX, two for combo break, three for your really easy to do super. I hope MKX's meter mechanic feels as nice as the last two games!
Worst mechanic is a tie between UMvC3's X-Factor and TAC stuff, with an honourable mention to Pandora in SFxT. Yesterday I straight up sat down for a little Marvel, played two rounds, paused, got up and walked off. That game sucks so bad now.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?Worst mechanic is a tie between UMvC3's X-Factor and TAC stuff, with an honourable mention to Pandora in SFxT. Yesterday I straight up sat down for a little Marvel, played two rounds, paused, got up and walked off. That game sucks so bad now.
I got into fighting games by pirating SF4 for PC. I liked the game so much that I bought it two weeks later on Steam - which was really rare for me to do at the time, although nowadays I buy all my games. 
I liked the fact that there wasn't a clear answer on "how to win". There's no build orders or canned gameplay. And I thought Rufus looked funny.
I got into serious FGC stuff thanks to being made aware of the now long-dead meetups at Gamerbase Manchester. Shoutouts to the Manchester FGC!
Other than fighters, I'm a PC strategy gamer. I play stuff like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?I liked the fact that there wasn't a clear answer on "how to win". There's no build orders or canned gameplay. And I thought Rufus looked funny.
I got into serious FGC stuff thanks to being made aware of the now long-dead meetups at Gamerbase Manchester. Shoutouts to the Manchester FGC!
Other than fighters, I'm a PC strategy gamer. I play stuff like Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis.
I am the only person in the world who will ever say Rufus, I think!
He's big, dumb and doesn't shut up, but unlike most of the rest of the SF4 aggro crowd he doesn't have canned rushdown or something else stupid - he has to play his matchups, he has to respect his opponent and he has an execution requirement. I prefer playing characters that are slightly harder to win with, so he's ideal for me - although I'm more naturallly a defensive player.
In other games I really like Faust, Butz, Terry Bogard and Baek Doo San.
Describe your style of play, and how do you play (local, online, etc.).He's big, dumb and doesn't shut up, but unlike most of the rest of the SF4 aggro crowd he doesn't have canned rushdown or something else stupid - he has to play his matchups, he has to respect his opponent and he has an execution requirement. I prefer playing characters that are slightly harder to win with, so he's ideal for me - although I'm more naturallly a defensive player.
In other games I really like Faust, Butz, Terry Bogard and Baek Doo San.
My style of play is usually "bad and unconfident" but I'm getting a little better.
Most of the time these days I'm less of an aggressive player and more of a reactionary, opponent watching player. I think it's a better approach to take when winning isn't as important as it allows you to grow as a player rather than relying on divekicking to victory. Sometimes I'll go dumb because I spot the opponent's weaknesses, though.
I usually play online, which is a mixed bag. I think the vast majority of online SF4 players are really bad. There's not really strong footsies or intelligent gameplay - it's more like somone's trying to make the game as cheap as possible. An example would be a Bison player going for his mixups over playing a footsie game.
I also play offline quite a bit too. I helped set up regular sessions in Liverpool, so I always try and show up to make sure people are happy.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?Most of the time these days I'm less of an aggressive player and more of a reactionary, opponent watching player. I think it's a better approach to take when winning isn't as important as it allows you to grow as a player rather than relying on divekicking to victory. Sometimes I'll go dumb because I spot the opponent's weaknesses, though.
I usually play online, which is a mixed bag. I think the vast majority of online SF4 players are really bad. There's not really strong footsies or intelligent gameplay - it's more like somone's trying to make the game as cheap as possible. An example would be a Bison player going for his mixups over playing a footsie game.
I also play offline quite a bit too. I helped set up regular sessions in Liverpool, so I always try and show up to make sure people are happy.
I think I have quite a bit of tenacity. I don't give up that easy unless I'm in a major funk and I'll happily lose game after game to learn a matchup. Even though I usually play people much better than me, I find being aware and trying out new things to be way better than finding some auto-pilot character to carry me through a tournament.
My biggest weakness is my capacity to get mindfucked and thrown off my game. You've all seen that happen before.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?My biggest weakness is my capacity to get mindfucked and thrown off my game. You've all seen that happen before.
Best moment(s) were flying out to several European majors last year. Thanks do doing that I've met three different Evo world champions. The top of the list was playing aginst Infiltration at Dreamhack Summer.
Worst moment should be obvious.
What do you want from future fighting games? The top of the list was playing aginst Infiltration at Dreamhack Summer.Worst moment should be obvious.
Good netcode and a reliance on footsies and strong fundamental play over vortexes or anime. Depth. Quite a lot of sensible rebalancing.
A F2P PC fighter which is actually worthwhile would be good, too.
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?A F2P PC fighter which is actually worthwhile would be good, too.
No clue. I don't know who's already done it. D:
Since Dahbomb strongly encourages pre-orders, what games do you plan to buy that have been officially announced?
MKX. I'm gonna play Kung Lao or Reptile and batter fools.
Really sorry I was late with this! x_x Have a great week everyone!
Really sorry I was late with this! x_x Have a great week everyone!
Code:
04/15 Mortal Kombat X
SUMMER BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma Extend
2015 Rivals of Aether
2015 Skullgirls Encore
TBD Beast's Fury
TBD JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: Eyes of Heaven
TBD Next The King Of Fighters Title (tentative)
TBD Rise of Incarnates
TBD Street Fighter V
TBD Tekken 7
TBD Tekken X Street Fighter
TBD Yatagarasu: Attack on Cataclysm
TBD Yatagarasu: Legend of Raven
Super Desperation Radio [ 9:30PM EDT | 6:30 PDT ]
- Hellpockets and various other members of the KoF community discuss KoF and happenings in the FGC.
- Out of the ashes of The BOX Arena, comes the San Diego FGC's newest organized weekly for UMvC3.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
Kachitagari TV (JP) [ 9PM JST | 8AM EDT | 5AM PDT ]
- Bon-chan, Kazunoko and Fuudo's new show, focusing primarily on SSFIV AE ranked matches but is branching off into other games as well.
- Logan Sama, organiser of the old WSO weeklys in London, invites some of London's finest to Capcom UK HQ for first to 5 sets in USF4.
- NYC VF crew presents VF5:FS tournaments casuals out of The Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
- New Jersey's largest weekly featuring UMvC3 and Injustice.
- JamessMK & DarKNaTaS host a raw and uncut weekly talk show discussing events in the FGC with various FGC personalities.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
- iPlaywinner hosts a weekly talk show featuring alpha stream monsters Harrison and Honzo Gonzo.
Game Spot Versus KoF Casuals (JP) [ 7PM JST | 6AM EDT | 3AM PDT ]
- KoF 1998UM, KoF 2002UM and KoF XIII C action from Japan.
- A weekly show featuring Mago, Tokido, and Momochi. They go over the tournaments they will participate and have participated in overseas and in Japan, as well as the general news in SF. For long periods of the year, there is a student-teacher session involving one of the 3 Topanga members taking a player under their wing and teaching them how to play SF. The show features rank matches (sometimes random char. matches) and ends with a 8 man online tournament featuring players around 4.5kpp such as Poongko, Inco, and more.
- NYC's biggest weekly at The Next Level Arcade in Brooklyn featuring SSFIV AE, UMvC3 and TTT2. If the Teamsp00ky link is not working, it is likely on the backup stream on Arturo's channel.
- Often, WonderChef will stream Injustice pools up until Top 4.
- SoCal's biggest weekly at Super Arcade in Walnut, featuring Injustice and SSFIV AE. Season details are available here.
HBTB Live [ 8PM EDT | 5PM PDT ]
- Hold Back To Block hosts a weekly roundtable discussion of various happenings in the FGC.
- A bi-weekly Smash podcast discussing recent events, news and issues in the Smash community, hosted by Scar, Prog, Cactuar and Sheridan.
- Galloping Ghost Arcade presents an Injustice weekly out of Chicago.
- A weekly FGC talk show hosted by iPlaywinner, featuring a varying, ensemble cast of prominent members of the fighting game community.
- Aris' new weekly show, discussing whatever he wants to! The format resembles old ATP podcasts.
- The UMvC3 and KoF XIII branch of Wednesday Night Fights also hosted at Super Arcade in Walnut, California.
The Smash Break Bi-Weekly [ 6PM EDT | 3PM PDT ]
- The Break hosts a new Melee bi-weekly to replace Rokunaya Bi-Weeklies which are ending.
- Arturo streams a BlazBlue and Guilty Gear bi-weekly out of Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
- For those who know how to use Nico Live, also join the GODSGARDEN community page on Nico to know when Ura KaoTV! goes live.
- A bi-weekly Skullgirls event hosted by members of the Skullgirls development team, often featuring preview builds of the game.
Rebel Up [ 7PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
- Super Arcade's anime bi-weekly, featuring GG, BB, P4A, SG, Gundam and older anime games as well.
GGPO VanBats [ 4PM EDT | 1PM PDT ]
- Weekly GGPO Vampire Savior ranbats streamed by GAFer Rotanibor.
- SuperDojo and Team OXY partner up to create a new weekly for the SoCal Melee community, featuring doubles and singles.
On GAF we have various members that stream fighting games from time to time too. If you would like to add your channel to this thread, send me a PM.
Often, some fighting games can seem intimidating to players new and old. Below are a bunch of resources that may be of aid to new players, or handy as references.
- Learn How To Play Fighting Games Free eBook from Shoryuken is a fantastic primer for new players to the genre.
- Footsies Handbook is a guide to the potentially elusive, but integral part of doing well in any fighting game.
- NeoGAF's Arcade Stick Thread is the place to go for questions about anything arcade stick-related.
- Step Up Your Game is an editorial series by Justin Wong that covers a multitude of topics, notably focusing on strengthening your mental game and playing smarter instead of harder.
- Tips for first time competitors will help you straighten out those nerves and expectations when you head out to your first tournament.
- Domination 101 is almost a cult classic article in the FGC, which has Seth Killian telling us how he really feels about the idea of "cheapness" in fighting games.
- Team-building Guide by our very own Karsticles, which helps make it easier to approach team-building in MvC games, and games with similar synergistic elements.
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If you have any suggestions for the OP, please do not hesitate to post in this thread or (preferably) PM me to let me know.
