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Fighting Games Weekly | Sept 22-28 | 2 Fast 2 Fuerte: Tokido Drift

James Chen ‏@jchensor 2h
@EvilMrWizard USFIV, UMvC3, UNIEL, GGXrd, BBCP, MKX, Smash 4, KI Season 2, and a fun Omega SFIV event. ^_^
I 100% approve of this list.

One game I really really want to watch, about three kind ofs. 2014 had one really (Melee), got a second one because KingsofCO and Juice were godlike and streamed KOF13 pools. Slim pickings nowadays ;_;


@Nidhogg, why is everyone clamoring for that game? I mean yes it's hype as shit but the map designs have a bunch of near unwinnable situations last I checked.
 
What's the problem with anime, exactly?

If you aren't okay with body pillows and cosplay how are you going to be okay with playing a game where half the cast is waifus and the other half is pretty boys? Play the token burly grappler in every game?

Unless you're suggesting that people should play anime games purely for the mechanics
LOL

Anyways, uniel seems like it should definitely make it in. Isn't there a pretty good consensus that it's the most mechanically robust "anime game" on the horizon? I feel like it's atleast the game with the most crossover appeal outside of people who play strictly within the genre.
 

OceanBlue

Member
Anyways, uniel seems like it should definitely make it in. Isn't there a pretty good consensus that it's the most mechanically robust "anime game" on the horizon? I feel like it's atleast the game with the most crossover appeal outside of people who play strictly within the genre.

GGXrd is that game lol.
 

TheSeks

Blinded by the luminous glory that is David Bowie's physical manifestation.
I think it's more that very few people are willing to actually spend the hours in training mode to understand and play them in a competent manner. The average traditional fighter requires too much investment to get to the meat of the game.

It's very telling when many fighting game personal streams avoid streaming practice in training mode because it's boring. If it's boring to show, then what does that say about people using the mode in the first place?

This and:

Because when you lose in a MOBA you can pass the blame on to others. Furthermore you can be carried to a win in a MOBA.

In addition, getting good at MOBAs is a matter of experience rather than execution skill. A lot of the execution requirement of MOBAs is doable by most gamers, that's not what holds people back... it's knowing when to do what and doing it across a long period of time. That pretty much means that 0 time is spent in some training mode practicing how to hit your skills... your practice is done through playing actual games.



Let's compare playing something like Zeus in DOTA 2 vs playing Ryu in SF4. With Zeus you just press a button then left click on a target... anyone who has used a computer can do that. And that's his TOUGHEST skill to use. With Ryu his toughest move would be QCF x 2 Three buttons. That's a big difference in basic execution requirement between two games.

This are both true. Until fighting games solve the "learn by doing" problem that fixes the "learn by doing against a lifeless dummy so it doesn't show all situations and you're sitting there for hours thinking 'man, I could actually be playing if I wasn't sitting here trying to nail these combos so I can 'actually play,'" they'll never be big as other genres.

Of course, the question is "how do you do that" when P4U shows that auto-combos bring more issues to the fighting game genre than it solves.

Though a more trollish response is Blazblue: Hello Beginner mode/"Stylish mode" Trolle and Hazama. Noel: BBBBBBBB (loop) BBBBBBBBB (loop) BBBBBB(they block?)A A(HOLD)/B(HOLD) SUPER/Nemesis Stabilizer!->WIN? No? BBBBBBB (loop) BBBBBBBB (loop) BBBBB/A (Nemesis Stabilizer)->win.

Also Arc took Beginner mode out of Blazblue's ranked mode after people found said loops.
So it's mind boggling why they think auto-combos should stay in P4U/2's online play and not have the ability to turn that off.

/That's of course also ignoring the numerous bullshit issues that P4U/2 has. Hello making a character that is trying to be a hybrid of two characters from another series but doesn't have the ability to actually stand toe-to-toe with 90% of the cast that isn't doing that very thing the hybrid is doing.
 

Horseress

Member
Hella late to the party, but very touching performance by pepeday this Saturday, and that's coming from someone who hates fuerte. I hope this /kappa fundraiser to get him to TFC is successful

And this week's thread title is side by side with "Funding Nemo" as the best one ever
 

pixelish

Member
wow the 'send pepeday to tfc' crowdfund campaign just reached its goal in 3 hours!
looking at the supporters list, it seems that the japanese fgc contributed a significant amount to the funding. japanese fgc confirmed not poverty status?
 

smurfx

get some go again
wow the 'send pepeday to tfc' crowdfund campaign just reached its goal in 3 hours!
looking at the supporters list, it seems that the japanese fgc contributed a significant amount to the funding. japanese fgc confirmed not poverty status?
i can only hope pepe defeats everybody in eg so we can get some great salty tweets out of it.
 
MOBA's are simply more accessible than any fighting game. There is no execution barrier. Anybody can point and click a mouse. And all you need is a computer with an internet connection (which every modern household has) to play them.

Fighters have too many barriers to entry:

-Ridiculous circular motions for everything leaving pad users with sore thumbs and competitive disadvantage. Why are fighting games still designed around arcade style input devices in this day and age?
-Combos. People don't like constantly getting stuck in long combos.
-Anime. In a game where the first thing you do is choose a character with an appealing design, stuff like Blazblue and Skullgirls will always leave a poor first impression.

It's no coincidence that the only truly mainstream fighter right now (Smash Bros) is not held back by any of the above.
 

alstein

Member
I think it's more that very few people are willing to actually spend the hours in training mode to understand and play them in a competent manner. The average traditional fighter requires too much investment to get to the meat of the game.

It's very telling when many fighting game personal streams avoid streaming practice in training mode because it's boring. If it's boring to show, then what does that say about people using the mode in the first place?

This held me back the most over the years- I just can't grind out training mode in any game because I can't focus on it more than 10 minutes because it's so boring.

It's funny because my big fear of LoL was that I would have to do the same thing (and locked characters behind a paywall)
 

Lemstar

Member
-Ridiculous circular motions for everything leaving pad users with sore thumbs and competitive disadvantage. Why are fighting games still designed around arcade style input devices in this day and age?
arcade games are designed around arcade input devices

shit guys
 
Because when you lose in a MOBA you can pass the blame on to others. Furthermore you can be carried to a win in a MOBA.

In addition, getting good at MOBAs is a matter of experience rather than execution skill. A lot of the execution requirement of MOBAs is doable by most gamers, that's not what holds people back... it's knowing when to do what and doing it across a long period of time. That pretty much means that 0 time is spent in some training mode practicing how to hit your skills... your practice is done through playing actual games.

This needs to be underlined more. MOBAs are brilliantly constructed for ego protection. You got ganked in LOL, you can just blame the support player for not warding toplane (the accusation is of course utterly ludicrous, but it helps you think you didn't do wrong).

Furthermore, and this is a big thing I don't think is touched upon enough: You end up blaming your teammates, not the game. You feel your teammates are stupid, not the game. The game is fine, so you just continue playing.

What if you lose in a fighting game? You either blame the game for being bad, blame the opponent and fall into scrubdom (which really just delays the inevitable because you end up blaming the game for allowing such dishonourable tactics), or your ego gets crushed. The end result in all cases is that you quit sooner or later.

In addition to this there's all the small things like fighting creep waves giving everyone something they can do and feel like they're accomplishing something (even if they're falling behind horribly or creeping isn't what they should be doing at the time)
 

Kimosabae

Banned
Really don't mean to offend anyone, but I can't imagine someone finding training mode "boring". You're boring. And lacking in discipline.

I've always seen training modes as a blank canvas to exercise my imagination within the limits of a game's engine. That's productive for myriad reasons, within and beyond the precincts of the game itself. Exercise of imagination and discipline work in concert to make you a better human being. This is part of the value I see in playing games competitively. I don't mean to moral grandstand, here: I believe this.

Training mode is for that kid that stays at the local basketball court, well beyond the designated park hours, working on his shot and his first step, while everyone else is getting ready for school/work the next day. In the dark, when the lights are out.

Training mode begets a physical and mental fitness that is engendered by regimen. Just like anything else that rewards discipline. People don't get into shape they want to be in, despite having gym memberships, because they can't conjure the discipline to exercise the mechanics of their body. Same shit.

*edit*

Not calling out anyone in particular, it's just a sentiment I've expressed plenty of times in this thread, which I find bizarre to see here, of all places.
 
Really don't mean to offend anyone, but I can't imagine someone finding training mode "boring". You're boring. And lacking in discipline.

I've always seen training modes as a blank canvas to exercise my imagination within the limits of a game's engine. That's productive for myriad reasons, within and beyond the precincts of the game itself. Exercise of imagination and discipline work in concert to make you a better human being. This is part of the value I see in playing games competitively. I don't mean to moral grandstand, here: I believe this.

Training mode is for that kid that stays at the local basketball court, well beyond the designated park hours working on his shot and his first step, while everyone else is getting ready for school/work the next day. In the dark, when the lights are out.

Training mode begets a physical and mental fitness that is engendered by regimen. Just like anything else that rewards discipline. People don't get into shape despite having gym memberships because they can't conjure the discipline to exercise the mechanics of their body. Same shit.

*edit*

Not calling out anyone in particular, it's just a sentiment I've expressed plenty of times in this thread, which I find bizarre to see here, of all places.

You probably can't imagine it because most people don't think like you. They pick up a game because they want to do cool stuff and socialize, little else. They see cool stuff, see they need to work at it, and give up. That's just how a large portion of the populace works.
 
I think it's more that very few people are willing to actually spend the hours in training mode to understand and play them in a competent manner. The average traditional fighter requires too much investment to get to the meat of the game.

It's very telling when many fighting game personal streams avoid streaming practice in training mode because it's boring. If it's boring to show, then what does that say about people using the mode in the first place?

It's funny because I streamed training mode on Twitch for KI. Heck, when I get back I'm gonna spend the few hours I have available to mess around with TJ Combo. I really only play fighting games for the making fun combos rather than learning set-ups and such. Learning that stuff comes naturally from watching other people and being smart. But really, I just wanna do combos.
That being said, I'm the outlier amongst many people. I know how to play fighting games and can talk about them confidently, but I'm someone who plays for different reasons.

Really don't mean to offend anyone, but I can't imagine someone finding training mode "boring". You're boring. And lacking in discipline.

I've always seen training modes as a blank canvas to exercise my imagination within the limits of a game's engine. That's productive for myriad reasons, within and beyond the precincts of the game itself. Exercise of imagination and discipline work in concert to make you a better human being. This is part of the value I see in playing games competitively. I don't mean to moral grandstand, here: I believe this.

Training mode is for that kid that stays at the local basketball court, well beyond the designated park hours working on his shot and his first step, while everyone else is getting ready for school/work the next day. In the dark, when the lights are out.

Training mode begets a physical and mental fitness that is engendered by regimen. Just like anything else that rewards discipline. People don't get into shape despite having gym memberships because they can't conjure the discipline to exercise the mechanics of their body. Same shit.

*edit*

Not calling out anyone in particular, it's just a sentiment I've expressed plenty of times in this thread, which I find bizarre to see here, of all places.

Kinda agreed with. When it came to actually practicing how to play I would play against the CPU. Just before AE came out, the 3DS was released. This gave me time to practice against the CPU to see what does and doesn't work. Training against a dummy standing still (personally) doesn't seem to get me anywhere yet playing against a constantly moving opponent gets me into the right mentality. Everyone is different on this subject and there are multiple methods of learning. To me, people that find training mode boring just have a different learning style and is (to them) a valid criticism of beating on Dan for hours.
 
All fighting game developers need to do to have people play their game non-stop and defend it tirelessly on forums is to have training mode drop random loot.

People will convince themselves that it's a fun mode.
 

A Pretty Panda

fuckin' called it, man
Really don't mean to offend anyone, but I can't imagine someone finding training mode "boring". You're boring. And lacking in discipline.

I've always seen training modes as a blank canvas to exercise my imagination within the limits of a game's engine. That's productive for myriad reasons, within and beyond the precincts of the game itself. Exercise of imagination and discipline work in concert to make you a better human being. This is part of the value I see in playing games competitively. I don't mean to moral grandstand, here: I believe this.

Training mode is for that kid that stays at the local basketball court, well beyond the designated park hours working on his shot and his first step, while everyone else is getting ready for school/work the next day. In the dark, when the lights are out.

Training mode begets a physical and mental fitness that is engendered by regimen. Just like anything else that rewards discipline. People don't get into shape despite having gym memberships because they can't conjure the discipline to exercise the mechanics of their body. Same shit.

*edit*

Not calling out anyone in particular, it's just a sentiment I've expressed plenty of times in this thread, which I find bizarre to see here, of all places.
Basically. Creativity to think of something and the discipline to see it realized is satisfying.
 

mbpm1

Member
All fighting game developers need to do to have people play their game non-stop and defend it tirelessly on forums is to have training mode drop random loot.

People will convince themselves that it's a fun mode.

They should just tie the training mode to getting aesthetic costumes.

make it so you can grind for both executional mastery and your bling.
 

Mr. X

Member
I share Kimo's thoughts on training mode but I still think fighting games' have a really high "training mode tax" nowadays.

MvC2 gave in game cuurency to buy characters and more colors and got by doing any mode. Unlocking goodies to incentivize tutorials (vf4evo) and training would be neat.
 

alstein

Member
I share Kimo's thoughts on training mode but I still think fighting games' have a really high "training mode tax" nowadays.

It has gotten higher over the years, but I think it's down from its peak which was the mid to late 2000's.
 

Mr. X

Member
It has gotten higher over the years, but I think it's down from its peak which was the mid to late 2000's.
SF4 is my peak. Focus attack mechanics and non special cancelable chains.

Not to mention the horrible inputs that returned after 3s made every super but 4 qcfx2 button.

I have no idea how people bought into SF4 being accessible. At an entry level, 3s is easier imo.
 

mbpm1

Member
I have no idea how people bought into SF4 being accessible. At an entry level, 3s is easier imo.

It really did feel that way. Only played 3s for like a few hours, but the way damage is higher and the pace is faster means the footsie/fundamental game paid off more imo

Also wow, Pepedey is already funded! Mostly the East FGC doing their shit, good stuff
 
MOBA's are simply more accessible than any fighting game. There is no execution barrier. Anybody can point and click a mouse. And all you need is a computer with an internet connection (which every modern household has) to play them.

Fighters have too many barriers to entry:

No, those are problems with people not with the games.

Tired of this "barrier to entry" shit. Most people just don't like actually learning fighting games, period.

You probably can't imagine it because most people don't think like you. They pick up a game because they want to do cool stuff and socialize, little else. They see cool stuff, see they need to work at it, and give up. That's just how a large portion of the populace works.

People who pick them up to make friends first and because they have an interest in the game second are way too common, you can spot them easily when you see them and indeed more often than not they don't last.
 

Laconic

Banned
Until fighting games solve the "learn by doing" problem that fixes the "learn by doing against a lifeless dummy so it doesn't show all situations and you're sitting there for hours thin 'man, I could actually be playing...

So... WW and its updates + said updates' contemporaries?

I agree.

MOBA's are simply more accessible than any fighting game. There is no execution barrier. Anybody can point and click a mouse. And all you need is a computer with an internet connection (which every modern household has) to play them.

Fighters have too many barriers to entry:

-Ridiculous circular motions for everything leaving pad users with sore thumbs and competitive disadvantage. Why are fighting games still designed around arcade style input devices in this day and age?
-Combos. People don't like constantly getting stuck in long combos.
-Anime. In a game where the first thing you do is choose a character with an appealing design, stuff like Blazblue and Skullgirls will always leave a poor first impression.

It's no coincidence that the only truly mainstream fighter right now (Smash Bros) is not held back by any of the above.

Baseball: Why is the ball so small? Why is it so hard people need to use gloves, too? Running the bases is too cardio intensive.

Nerf, plz.

Football: Physical contact is icky and offensive. And people could get hurt.

Nerf + Flag, k thnx.

Basketball: Why are those nets so high? Isn't that discrimination?

Nerf posts and add up ramps, 'kay?


Also:

Smash isn't a mainstream fighter. Parse that as you will.
 

Kimosabae

Banned
You probably can't imagine it because most people don't think like you. They pick up a game because they want to do cool stuff and socialize, little else. They see cool stuff, see they need to work at it, and give up. That's just how a large portion of the populace works.

I'm more referring to the people that identify with the competitive culture. The enthusiast crowd.

It's kinda like that guy that claims to identify with fitness culture but benches and curls himself into a coma and binges on the weekends watching football without a single thing to show for it.

Basically. Creativity to think of something and the discipline to see it realized is satisfying.

Well put. Succinct.
 

Jazz-ism

Banned
Basically. Creativity to think of something and the discipline to see it realized is satisfying.

kimo and panda nailed it. newer players are lazy in general. training mode owns. you know a game is fantastic and allows for great player expression when you can just sit in training mode doing random stuff and feel good about it. marvel, gg, there are plenty of games that give this sensation.


No, those are problems with people not with the games.

Tired of this "barrier to entry" shit. Most people just don't like actually learning fighting games, period.



People who pick them up to make friends first and because they have an interest in the game second are way too common, you can spot them easily when you see them and indeed more often than not they don't last.

also well put
 
No, those are problems with people not with the games.

Tired of this "barrier to entry" shit. Most people just don't like actually learning fighting games, period.



People who pick them up to make friends first and because they have an interest in the game second are way too common, you can spot them easily when you see them and indeed more often than not they don't last.
The equivalent of the New Years Resolution crowd that show up in the gym for a month, do some curls in the FUCKIN squat rack, and never show up again
 
No, those are problems with people not with the games.

Tired of this "barrier to entry" shit. Most people just don't like actually learning fighting games, period.
No, people just can't accept the brutal nature of losing in fighting games. It's a lot easier to blame your squad or your gear in CoD, Halo or Destiny. You can even think it in your head without saying it just to cool off.

Fighting games don't give your ego an escape unless we're talking MvC3 and KOF XIII netcode tier and most people can't handle that.
The equivalent of the New Years Resolution crowd that show up in the gym for a month, do some curls in the FUCKIN squat rack, and never show up again
Except it's all year round.
 

Jazz-ism

Banned
No, people just can't accept the brutal nature of losing in fighting games. It's a lot easier to blame your squad or your gear in CoD, Halo or Destiny. You can even think it in your head without saying it just to cool off.

Fighting games don't give your ego an escape unless we're talking MvC3 and KOF XIII netcode tier and most people can't handle that.

Except it's all year round.

the ego thing and learning thing go hand in hand tho. part of the learning process involves losing and ESPECIALLY when learning a new game you are going to face defeat to people you may feel you are better than. it is inevitable. the thing is a lot of ppl cant even make it that far...
 

NEO0MJ

Member
Small but important change.

Yep. It's a shame fighting games have the highest entry barriers of any competitive video game but dumbing it down won't help at all.

I can't believe what I'm reading

Of all things, a fucking WAIFU will get Beef to not only purchase a ASW game, but play it too?!?!

I think I must have OD'd on pancake syrup this morning or something

Never underestimate the power of waifus ^ω^
 
the ego thing and learning thing go hand in hand tho. part of the learning process involves losing and ESPECIALLY when learning a new game you are going to face defeat to people you may feel you are better than. it is inevitable. the thing is a lot of ppl cant even make it that far...
They probably got thrown one too many times at their local pizza shop arcade. The salt has a long half life.

I still don't know how I and my tiny ego have stuck with this for so long. Must be thanks to Spidey's help against older kids in MvSF. Beating someone older than you as a tween was a rush back then.
 
Cameraman with a hint to one of Deejay's new specials in Omega Mode

10706752_828521453858858_294903451_n.jpg
 
About the Ego thing in Moba, i think that Street Fighter 4 went to this direction too with he Ultra. The game gives you something for being beaten up instead of letting you on the ground and this thing was in Vanilla like the ultimate mecanic for comeback due to damage, but also a kind of ego regulator.
So you had your ultra, you were losing and these solutions could occur:

  • You don't have time to launch the ultra: "Fuck you shittygame, I did it the game didn't register it !"
  • You had time to launch your ultra but the opponent blocks and punish you. "Oh at least I tried to come back !"
  • You launch you Ultra and the opponent takes it to the face. You lose at the end. "Damn I was close, did you see that Ultra ? He must have shit in his pants".
  • You launch Ultra and kill "YO DID YOU SEE THAT COMEBACK IAMSOGOODOMAGAD".
As for training mode I agree and we already discussed this (I talked about this with Harada in an interview I didn't plublish yet) but I think we have a long time before it goes in the good direction.
Some ideas I have :

  • Make some exercises that implies theory and muscular memory fun. That can be avoiding a chicken like in TTT2, or work timings spacing with minigames/buttons like the karateka in Rythm Tengoku.
  • Give a 2 player mode for one character. I did some plane modelism with my father and to learn how to fly this, the teacher and the student both had the same controller... But the teacher had a switch to take back control. Play with a friend better than you that acts as a coach and that has the switch. He can try to take the game back for you, do the combo for you in some games so you can focus on other things. That's the same as a driver lesson where you focus on the wheel first while the teacher do the rest.
 

alstein

Member
No, those are problems with people not with the games.

Tired of this "barrier to entry" shit. Most people just don't like actually learning fighting games, period.

It can be a problem with the game if it is unnecessarily and arbitrarily difficult. At that point it becomes bad game design.

Hard by itself isn't bad- Skullgirls has plenty of hard combos (as one example), but MIke Z did a pretty good job of taking the arbitrary out of it. SF4 despite having easier combos, has a ton of arbitrary and unnecessary barriers and crutches.

A game can be hard and good and still be fair and honest.
 

B_Raw

Neo Member
The equivalent of the New Years Resolution crowd that show up in the gym for a month, do some curls in the FUCKIN squat rack, and never show up again

If they even venture into the weights. my gym's cardio area gets overrun every January.

My clue to tell if someone wasn't going to last was if their workout outfit looked new, and was perfectly color coordinated.
 

kirblar

Member
SF4 is accessible at a basic casual level (ignoring Ultras/Focuses/Specials) that plays like an updated non-Turbo SF2. The issue comes once you start trying to access the newer mechanics - the FAs the double-motion Ultras, and the FADCs, Learning the game quickly escalates to a point where it requires both time investment and reflexes that may not be available in the player. They're aware of the issues here, and its why SFxT experimented with having chains and explicitly didn't use double-motion Supers.

They implemented RFCs in part for their effect on lower-level play, allowing players to more easily hit their Ultras, since the hit-stop and crumple gives far more time and requires far less execution than the FADC Ultra that even the pros drop semi-regularly (the EG Special.)

The control scheme for FGs is a massive hurdle for people- modern games don't play like them. I have a buddy who played MK back in the arcades years back, and when introduced to MvC3, was flummoxed at the QCF/DP motions because he hadn't seen them before. The control scheme in and of itself is a real barrier to entry all on its own, and even if you're not aware of that, Capcom definitely is. There's a reason MvC3/BB have a beginner mode. Why MvC3 has a magic series. Why P4A has auto-combos. Why SFxT has chains. They're trying to get as much of the fun stuff as accessible as possible to as many people as possible without breaking the game. And it's actively hard to do, and I don't envy their position.

You may not think this is important - but it really is. Casual non-competitive players make up the vast majority of sales, and sales are what provide the funds for future game development. The more the games are accessible to a casual audience, the higher the sales potential, which helps grow the business/scene. Yes, it's basically impossible for the games to hit LoL-tier because of the "run on a toaster" thing. That's perfectly fine. But it doesn't mean that you just "develop for the hardcore" and make the games only for your hardcore, because that's the path to a slow, inbred, death.
 
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