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SSX |OT| Modern Boardfare

JambiBum

Member
I wasn't a big fan of the O2 tank either, to be honest. It was one of my least favourite DDs. Want to know why? Because the gear button is right above the boost button. I felt that you're constantly hammering the boost button in that track and the gear button. It just felt awkward. Cool idea, but I think if the controls were laid out differently it would've been more enjoyable. Maybe it would feel better playing with Classic controls?

The backcountry tracks aren't all Survive It challenges, no. They're definitely some of the more challenging tracks in the game though. Remember the Giant Bomb QL where Connor did the gnarly ridge run? That was one of them.

The O2 tank is by far my least favorite DD. I enjoy all of the others except avalanche. I don't like avalanche but I don't hate it like I do the O2 tank.
 

soultron

Banned

Somebody help us please!!!

I'll try to replay it again sometime soon.

Here's some insta-tips I can try to offer, however.

Try a board with a hella tricks stat. Don't worry about speed or boost because you don't need either of those. With trick runs you should only be using boost if it's to get yourself massive air off a kicker. Otherwise, it's not a race, so don't boost. You want to spend a longer time on the track so you can get more tricks in! If you see your multiplier start to drop, it means you're going too slow, however. This is the game's internal "Flow" system that's meant to stop people from spamming certain terrain pieces or going back up the hill.

Buy a trick mod and equip it! The Tricks stat ties into your rotation speed and how easy it is to achieve Super TRICKY state. Having a higher Tricks stat means you're going to be rotating faster and getting into (and staying in) Super TRICKY easier! Note: mods are one-time-use consumables. You can buy and equip them before every run to suit your needs. There are also mods for boost, speed, rewinds, and even gear mods!

Never lose your combo! If the little >>>chevrons<<< that surround TRICKY on the bottom of the screen are allowed to fill in, this means your combo is about to cash in. Do a board press (X or B, Standard controls) to keep your combo going. A more advanced and higher scoring tactic is to do tricks on flat land, which means jumping and pulling off a quick grab. Bigger and better tricks will keep your combo from expiring faster, so whenever possible, do a multi-input trick because it will make the combo expiration last longer. You get a bonus based on how many tricks are in your combo that grows higher the more tricks are in it, so you want to preserve your combo for as long as possible. High-level SSX players will have 100+ trick combos. You'll get there too, without even knowing it, as long as you stick to the game and focus on never losing your combo!

Multi-input tricks! Remember how the trick system works? Read StrikerObi's trick system break down, which is in post #2 of the OP, at the bottom of Essentials section! Single-input tricks are not worth as much. Don't bother with them unless you have no time to do a better trick.

Spinning flips >>>> flips >>>>>> spins! And pre-loading + pre-winding to get better spins A rotational flip (a 360 backflip, for instance) is what you always want to aim for. Pre-loading gets you a higher jump, but you don't have to hold it for a really long time to get your jumps super high. You can basically tap the jump button at the top of a kicker to get a good pre-load in if you're pressed for time or just came around a sharp turn and didn't know the kicker was going to be there, for instance. Pre-winding is the act of combining a directional button into your pre-load; your steering is dampened during a pre-load so that you can focus on your pre-wind. You'll see your character spin their torso when pre-winding. A good pre-wind can get you more flips/spins/spinning flips, so remember to do it while you pre-load!

Never duplicate tricks! As long as you put a trick A before doing trick B again, you can go in a pattern of, say, trick A, trick B, trick A, trick B, repeating ad infinitum and never once get a duplicate trick. "Dupes" aren't worth as many points or boost, so don't do them!

When in Super TRICKY, use your signature Uber as much as possible! It's the biggest and baddest trick you have! It's also worth the most points. So, using the above knowledge about avoiding dupes, spam it as much as possible. One high-level tactic is to "reload for sig Ubers," which means if you know you're going to be going off a big kicker in the distance and just did your sig Uber, do a flatland trick so that you can go off that big kicker and do your sig Uber without doing a dupe! And, was recommended before, do spinning flips (pre-loaded and pre-winded for maximum effect!) to get the most points out of your sig Uber!

Never "chain tricks" in air, but do chain grinds if your multiplier is not at 20x! Chaining tricks is not worth it. Do a grab and stick to it. So don't try and mash buttons. Grinds, however, are great to mash if you're low on your multiplier. Get on a long rail, and using a 1-Mississippi cadence, switch up your grinds every second, while spinning. Remember that to do the most valuable grind tricks you must double-tap one of your trick buttons button. (That's right, there are 6 regular grinds, then 6 TRICKY grinds, and 6 Super TRICKY grinds, if I've got things right.) Once you've got your multiplier to 20x, however, don't bother chaining your grinds together anymore; just stick to one. Also, red rail grinds aren't worth that many points so do not rely on them to get you points -- use them as a means to get your multiplier up and nothing else. Terrain grinds are worth much more because they take more skill to pull off. Remember that if you want to get off of a red rail, press the grind button and a direction on the left stick. To get off of terrain grinds, simply let go of the grind button and push the left stick in the direction you wish to dismount.

Rewind if you bail, cash your combo, do a dupe, or forget to do your sig Uber off a huge jump! If you're doing all of the above correctly, your combo bonuses and sig Uber value will outweigh the rewind penalty, so use rewind to squeeze out the best possible score!

Tweak EVERYTHING! You should be holding RT (tweak) when you lift off the ground -- each and every time -- because tweaking earns you more points than regular tricks!

Hope all of this helps!
 
I think I've spent enough time with this game to give an informed opinon.

The core gameplay of the SSX franchise is fantastic. It's kind of hard to screw that up. As long as you don't deviate too far from the original formula, it's going to be fun to play. With that said, almost every single new element they added to this game feels like it's working against the brilliantly fun design of the original games. The only additions that I feel are worthwhile are the wing suit, ghost uploading, and Ridernet leaderboards. The development team doesn't even get credit for Ridernet though, as Criterion created it with Hot Pursuit in 2010.

The addition of armor, headlamps, oxygen tanks, solar suits, etc, etc, etc. All of it is bullshit that brings down the fun factor from that brilliant SSX gameplay. I think most people who are playing this game and thinking "I'm having fun", would agree that if those things were suddenly removed, the game would be no less fun. It would in fact be more fun.

The track designs continue this theme. The core gameplay is still fun, but many of these track designs work against that fun. Their was a reason those two demo tracks were chosen. They were both of the more traditional style of track. No stupid bottomless pits to piss off potential customers, and no stupid oxygen tanks to babysit. This tells me the development team knows some of this new stuff sucks. If it were so great they would have thrown it right at us in the demo.

I do not regret buying this game. Why? Because that core gameplay is still fun. Like I said at the beginning, it's hard to completely mess that original formula up. They almost did with this game, but there is just enough of that original idea here that still shines through. I also hope, and expect that there will be another SSX game, and I hope the development team listens to people. Realize how nearly perfect those original games were, and stick with only what works very well, and throw away the rest. Some egos most certainly let us to this game we have here. What sounds good on a design doc doesn't always mean it should end up in the final product.
 

JackEtc

Member
Preordered my copy too late Monday to get release date shipping, but it should be here tomorrow or Friday....can't wait! Every SSX-Gaffer on my friends list will have already set amazing scores though, lol.
 

soultron

Banned
Just for the sake of discussion, BruiserBear, do you feel that the DD-style tracks could work well in another kind of game other than SSX? I ask this because you mention you feel they subtract from the core mechanics of SSX that you find fun.

I feel they add a different brand of challenge that's very polarizing. I really like them (some of the runs more than others) and wouldn't want them to disappear. I'd be fine if this was the only SSX game they were in. That's one of the interesting things about the franchise; each game usually has one radical difference from the last, but the underlying mechanics are always there.

Did you dislike Death Zone?
 
SUPER helpful (Also thanks, StrikerObi!!)

BUT

Buy a trick mod and equip it! The Tricks stat ties into your rotation speed and how easy it is to achieve Super TRICKY state. Having a higher Tricks stat means you're going to be rotating faster and getting into (and staying in) Super TRICKY easier!

When do I unlock Mods? I don't think I have those yet.
 

AndyD

aka andydumi
We really need a patch for the force feedback. It needs to give us feedback based on the surface too, sliding on ice, deep snow, impacts (especially when they cause the ground to ripple!!)

Just too weak overall.
 

Fantastical

Death Prophet
I'm loving this game, but it's completely unacceptable that tips don't show up with classic controls buttons if you are losing classic controls. For instance, it says press R1 to rewind when it's circle on the classic controls.
 

r.gun

Neo Member
Okay, maybe someone can help me out here.

How do I beat the final run of the World Tour? It says flashlight and wingsuit required yet I am only given a flashilght and armor! I can't get over the huge gap after the caves.
 
How do you do a board press using the classic controls? Also, is there a way to pre-wind your jumps using classic controls? Not having a tutorial for classic controls really left me in the dark.
 

Fixed1979

Member
I'm loving this game, but it's completely unacceptable that tips don't show up with classic controls buttons if you are losing classic controls. For instance, it says press R1 to rewind when it's circle on the classic controls.

It was like that in the demo and completely fucked me up...not sure how it was overlooked.


How do you do a board press using the classic controls? Also, is there a way to pre-wind your jumps using classic controls? Not having a tutorial for classic controls really left me in the dark.

Right stick, which causes issues because boost is square. This is the biggest reason I decided to make an effort to switch to "normal" controls. Pre-wind should be the same, hold the jump button (x) and then the direction of your spin...
 
Pre-wind should be the same, hold the jump button (x) and then the direction of your spin...
So do you hold the x button while holding the spin direction, then let go of x to jump and keep holding the spin direction? Is holding x the equivalent of holding down on the right stick for "normal" controls?
 

soultron

Banned
So do you hold the x button while holding the spin direction, then let go of x to jump and keep holding the spin direction? Is holding x the equivalent of holding down on the right stick for "normal" controls?

Pre-winding with the Classic controls is accomplished by using the D-pad. This was how pre-winding worked in several of the old SSX games before the option to move pre-winding to the analogue stick was added.

The complaint ("Why not the analogue stick too?!") has been voiced to the developer so I'm guessing they're going to patch it in the next update! c:
 

Fixed1979

Member
So do you hold the x button while holding the spin direction, then let go of x to jump and keep holding the spin direction? Is holding x the equivalent of holding down on the right stick for "normal" controls?

The jump button (which should be X for classic controls) "locks" your steering when it's pressed. So once you get yourself lined up with where you're going to jump you can hold down the jump button and then press which ever direction you want to spin. When you're actually ready to jump it's just a matter of releasing the jump button while continuing to hold the direction of your spin until just before landing.

Hopefully that makes sense? Sorry I just re-read my first response and realized that it's probably not clear as it's kinda mixing together answers to both questions.
 

soultron

Banned
I'm loving this game, but it's completely unacceptable that tips don't show up with classic controls buttons if you are losing classic controls. For instance, it says press R1 to rewind when it's circle on the classic controls.

Yeah, it is a bit puzzling. I think I understand why it happened, but it doesn't make it any less disappointing for Classic control users.

I'm not saying switch away from them, but I don't know why so many people felt the need to use Classic controls, even as series vets. I think the Standard controls (I use the buttons) work great. I can't imagine having to hold Y down while doing a terrain grind!
 

RoadHazard

Gold Member
You hold X to jump for both control schemes.

With the standard control scheme, X is one of two options. The other is to hold down on the right stick to pre-load the jump, and then flick it up to jump. Obviously you'd only do this if you're also using the stick to perform tricks. I personally think using the buttons feels much better.
 

Fixed1979

Member
Yeah, it is a bit puzzling.

I'm not saying switch away from them, but I don't know why so many people felt the need to use Classic controls, even as series vets. I think the Standard controls (I use the buttons) work great. I can't imagine having to hold Y down while doing a terrain grind!

I wanted to use them just because they were more familiar, there's a lot of years spent holding down those shoulder buttons and didn't see why I should need to change when they worked so well to start with. After getting more and more used to "standard controls" with the face buttons for tricks it's really not that bad, just a bit of brain remapping to make sure I don't end up hitting rewind or some other shoulder button by accident.
 

JambiBum

Member
Soultron maybe you can answer this for me because Toku and I have no clue. When rewinding in a trick event it deducts 5k points from your current combo score. Now my question is, why does sometimes it make my score completely negative and other times it only deducts from my score the amount I rewound. Even if my current combo score is say 100k, it will still make it -5k. Other times it will only make it 95k. I'm confused on why that happens. I usually just restart a run if I bail because of it.
 
The jump button (which should be X for classic controls) "locks" your steering when it's pressed. So once you get yourself lined up with where you're going to jump you can hold down the jump button and then press which ever direction you want to spin. When you're actually ready to jump it's just a matter of releasing the jump button while continuing to hold the direction of your spin until just before landing.

Hopefully that makes sense? Sorry I just re-read my first response and realized that it's probably not clear as it's kinda mixing together answers to both questions.
Ok that clears it up, thanks for your help!
 

soultron

Banned
Soultron maybe you can answer this for me because Toku and I have no clue. When rewinding in a trick event it deducts 5k points from your current combo score. Now my question is, why does sometimes it make my score completely negative and other times it only deducts from my score the amount I rewound. Even if my current combo score is say 100k, it will still make it -5k. Other times it will only make it 95k. I'm confused on why that happens. I usually just restart a run if I bail because of it.

I've never noticed that. (Probably because I'm more of a race player!) I'll have to take a look at things when I play tonight.

It might have something to do with whatever "bracket" your combo is in. MerqCity people broke down the trick system and discovered that depending on how many tricks you have in your combo, you're also awarded a combo bonus.

I have a funny feeling it's something to do with that, but again, I'll try and take a look at it or ask the developers. If you look on MerquryCity in the meantime, you might find the answer to your question.

How do I activate mods?

Buy them and then equip them. They're completely passive and you don't need to do anything in game to activate them once they're equipped. Hope this helps!
 

Socreges

Banned
Tempted to go pick this up immediately after I move into my new apartment and get everything set up. Got such a backlog, though....

Just for the sake of discussion, BruiserBear, do you feel that the DD-style tracks could work well in another kind of game other than SSX? I ask this because you mention you feel they subtract from the core mechanics of SSX that you find fun.

I feel they add a different brand of challenge that's very polarizing. I really like them (some of the runs more than others) and wouldn't want them to disappear. I'd be fine if this was the only SSX game they were in. That's one of the interesting things about the franchise; each game usually has one radical difference from the last, but the underlying mechanics are always there.

Did you dislike Death Zone?
Honest question: Do you work for EA Canada in some capacity? I don't get it.
 
Just for the sake of discussion, BruiserBear, do you feel that the DD-style tracks could work well in another kind of game other than SSX? I ask this because you mention you feel they subtract from the core mechanics of SSX that you find fun.

I feel they add a different brand of challenge that's very polarizing. I really like them (some of the runs more than others) and wouldn't want them to disappear. I'd be fine if this was the only SSX game they were in. That's one of the interesting things about the franchise; each game usually has one radical difference from the last, but the underlying mechanics are always there.

Did you dislike Death Zone?

I don't believe I've seen Death Zone. I've completed 7/9 deadly descents.

I guess these ideas could work in another game. It's likely I just wouldn't be that interested in that game. ;)

The prevous games did add new things to the mix, but I alway felt they were great additions. They simply added more fun to the fun that was already there. Think about each game and what was new. Most people loved the new additions with each game.

These "additions" fundamentally change the way the game plays, at least during certain events. That is the problem.
 

soultron

Banned
I don't believe I've seen Death Zone. I've completed 7/9 deadly descents.

I guess these ideas could work in another game. It's likely I just wouldn't be that interested in that game. ;)

The prevous games did add new things to the mix, but I alway felt they were great additions. They simply added more fun to the fun that was already there. Think about each game and what was new. Most people loved the new additions with each game.

These "additions" fundamentally change the way the game plays, at least during certain events. That is the problem.

To the bolded:

original.gif


It's the very last thing you'll do in World Tour.

I get where you're coming from as far as it changing the way the game plays. I guess I just don't think it's a bad thing. /shrugs

But, yeah, once more, I understand that some people just don't like it and it's not their thing.
 

distrbnce

Banned
If you're lookin' for people to add, add me on PSN: Madriiax

(I'm in the doc too)

My friends are slackin' and still haven't picked it up. I need competition!
 

JambiBum

Member
Alright so I figured out the rewind situation Soultron. Basically if you are rewinding because you bailed and broke your combo your score will be negative but if you are rewinding because you flew off of the course or whatever and still have your combo then it will only deduct it from the current score.
 
To the bolded:

It's the very last thing you'll do in World Tour.

I get where you're coming from as far as it changing the way the game plays. I guess I just don't think it's a bad thing. /shrugs

But, yeah, once more, I understand that some people just don't like it and it's not their thing.
So one track is going to completely change how I feel about these additions? I doubt that's possible.

I've got one question for you Soultron. As I said in my earlier post. If all that Deadly Descent stuff was removed from the game, do you think it would be worse for it? Also, what if they had just taken the best ideas from SSX Tricky and SSX 3, and made a new game from that, would you be happier?
 
I know there's a lot of distaste for the bottomless pits and I agree some are bad, but I'm really digging quite a few. Some of the most fun I've had was mastering my race line on Monster in the Himalaya back country.

A few things this game desperately needs IMO
  • If you get a personal record during Global Events it should automatically update your time in Explore
  • There needs to be a way to browse through the leaderboards spot by spot in both Explore and Global Events
  • You should be able to manually select your own rivals
  • Voice chat
 

soultron

Banned
So one track is going to completely change how I feel about these additions? I rather doubt that.

I've got one question for you Soultron. As I said in my earlier post. If all that Deadly Descent stuff was removed from the game, do you think it would be worse for it? Also, what if they had just taken the best ideas from SSX Tricky and SSX 3, and made a new game from that, would you be happier?

No, I mean that as a way of saying, "Well, if you don't like that, you're going to loooooove this." Haha. It's brutal. But that's why I liked it. You probably won't.

I don't feel it would be a worse off game, but I'd miss the Survive It events. I really do think that some of them are awesome additions. Some of them I wouldn't really miss, you're right.

I said I'd be alright with an SSX game from day 1, when this game was announced. I've always been more of a positive person who's open to new ideas. (For any franchise really. I've said this before, but if you check some of my posts in other threads, you'll know this about me.) I don't mean to say this in that anyone who's sceptical or negative (I'd like to think these people are just as passionate, but show it in a different way) are "wrong." Please don't think I'm saying this.

Even as a diehard SSX fan, I've never been overly attached to the festival atmosphere or wacky characters like some people are. For that reason, I don't really care to ever see a game like Tricky again. If it happened, it'd be rad, but that's not what I enjoyed about that game. The track design was awesome and I'd love to see that aspect again, but moving to my next point, I'd rather see something like SSX3 again. SSX3's track design was more to my personal tastes, so that, in my mind, trumps my desire for a game like Tricky to happen again. If this game had the same open world mountain concept and DJ Atomika dropping news bulletins, I'd be in absolute 100% freaky love. I feel it's very close to SSX3 in a lot of ways already, however, so I'm very content. I think it adds a bit more danger to the track design, and like I mentioned before, I'm really enjoying that so far.

To answer your question shortly, however, I'm not pining for the days of Tricky or SSX3 again, not really, no. I think that day and age is in the past for this franchise, for now, but if it came back, I'd be there Day 1 as well. I'm just not holding my breath, if that helps you understand my stance. I still own SSX3 and I'm sure I'll pop it in if I need my personal dose of nostalgia.

I know that my opinions are different from a lot of SSX fans, don't worry.

Does this answer your question?
 
I think most people who are playing this game and thinking "I'm having fun", would agree that if those things were suddenly removed, the game would be no less fun. It would in fact be more fun.
First off how can removing something that you can already choose to completely ignore make it more fun?

Secondly, the key phrase here is "most people." I was just talking to my friends who was exuberant because he took first place on the white out survival in a global event. Ended up going down the mountain 18 or so times before he fell off, describing that he went into a peaceful zen state that was really refreshing. Clearly not everyone is going to like everything in the game, but for some people it's going to be their absolute favorite aspect and that alone is enough reason to warrant putting the time to develop it.
 

JambiBum

Member
Does tricking off the helicopter do anything besides interrupt my damn front flips?

From what I can tell it will insta-fill your Tricky meter no matter how full/not-full it is to begin with. I *think* it's also worth a crapload of points.

It also doesn't actually interrupt your trick. It slows it down and switches the name of the trick to the heli name, but if you pay attention to it after the heli you will see that your trick goes back to what it was previously.
 

Chamber

love on your sleeve
From what I can tell it will insta-fill your Tricky meter no matter how full/not-full it is to begin with. I *think* it's also worth a crapload of points.

Yeah but when the meter is already full, I'd rather just complete my 10 back flips. I could be wrong but tt doesn't appear to be worth many points at all.
 
First off how can removing something that you can already choose to completely ignore make it more fun?

Secondly, the key phrase here is "most people." I was just talking to my friends who was exuberant because he took first place on the white out survival in a global event. Ended up going down the mountain 18 or so times before he fell off, describing that he went into a peaceful zen state that was really refreshing. Clearly not everyone is going to like everything in the game, but for some people it's going to be their absolute favorite aspect and that alone is enough reason to warrant putting the time to develop it.

So I can just ignore half of the product I just bought? Really? That's your argument?

The complaints are not just about the Deadly Descents, and that should be rather obvious. Anytime I'm asked to use armor, oxygen mask, headlamp, ice pick, etc, I'm not happy, and that seems to be a good percentage of the tracks in this game.

Regarding your friend enjoying the game. If they had added guns to this game, as some people jokingly suggested upon its initial reveal, I'm certain a percentage of people would like the game. That doesn't really mean guns should be in an SSX game.

Based on the reviews, as well as many of the people who've put a substantial amount of time into the game, it seems rather clear the majority don't like the equipment this game introduces, and especially the Deadly Decents. I'm very confident when people talk about this game 6 months from now, when the launch buzz is long gone, it's going to be looked at as a very flawed product for the very reasons I'm talking about right now.

Like I said, I hope the development team gets to make another game, because I'd be willing to bet they remove half the crap they introduced with this game. As I said earlier, there was a reason they didn't show any of this new stuff in the demo.
 

JambiBum

Member
So I can just ignore half of the product I just bought? Really? That's your argument?

The complaints are not just about the Deadly Descents, and that should be rather obvious. Anytime I'm asked to use armor, oxygen mask, headlamp, ice pick, etc, I'm not happy, and that seems to be a good percentage of the tracks in this game.

Regarding your friend enjoying the game. If they had added guns to this game, as some people jokingly suggested upon its initial reveal, I'm certain a percentage of people would like the game. That doesn't really mean guns should be in an SSX game.

Based on the reviews, as well as many of the people who've put a substantial amount of time into the game, it seems rather clear the majority don't like the equipment this game introduces, and especially the Deadly Decents. I'm very confident when people talk about this game 6 months from now, when the launch buzz is long gone, it's going to be looked at as a very flawed product for the very reasons I'm talking about right now.

Like I said, I hope the development team gets to make another game, because I'd be willing to bet they remove half the crap they introduced with this game. As I said earlier, there was a reason they didn't show any of this new stuff in the demo.

It's no where near half of the game. Not even close. Also, you don't need to use any of the gear most of the time. I completed each DD without the required gear, besides the O2 tank because it is required, and didn't have any issues. I hate the O2 tank because it is the only one that forces you to use it. Just because it recommends that you use gear that doesn't mean you have to.
 
Have to say I was almost regretting my purchase last night due to the DD aspects. I then went to the explore and HELLO to the fun I had in the demo. Screw the DD additions. I would have taken the crazy courses like Tokyo Megaplex and Mercury City in their place. I would love some courses like that as DLC eventhough I feel they should already be in game now.

Since I haven't gotten far into the game I have to ask.. And I worry about the answer.. Are there any halfpipes like Perpendiculous in this game?
 
The deadly descent stuff is really lame. I can't believe they hyped this up so much in the beginning. The descents are short, easy, there isn't really any sense of danger in most of them and they rely on simple gimmicks (tap r1 to glide! tap r1 to breath! stay out of the shade!)

Were they scaled down when they decided to rebrand the game as just SSX? So far the only ones that were kind of cool/challenging was the first one ("trees") and Syberia. The avalanche one was absolutely terrible they should have kept the viewpoint behind you and just have the noise of the avalanche and various rocks and large amounts of snow flying all around you uncharted style. Maybe even have the snow underneath you collapse and have you plunge down at certain points. Instead we get an HD version of SKI FREE except without the scary yeti monster. I seriously had no idea what was going on in the avalanche level I just mashed buttons and about 5 minutes later it said "Congratulations you just won our most dangerous descent yet!" I was like "uhhh ok"
 
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