On a similar topic, can someone explain exactly how fast refresh/linking works with cancels, and how I can avoid locking myself into a fast refresh/linking cycle so I can cancel into a special?
For example, on Bison, one of the main combos is something like cr.lk, cr.lk, cr.lk, lk.sk.
If I spam the LK button like a motherfucker, I’m inclined to enter into a fast refresh/linking cycle that will mean that I can’t cancel the final LK into a scissors kick, right?
Maybe it’s only light punches, not kicks, and that might be why people do that cr.LP, st.lp, cr.mk, SK of the flavor of your choice combo, but this whole thing isn’t documented nearly as well as one might hope in the frame data, FAQs, etc, with the best explanations I’ve found being like two sentences of description.
The fast linking/mashing that you find you cant cancel from is called chaining. You’ve got to aim for a precise rhythm to link moves rather than chaining moves. I believe you can chain the first two c.lks of bisons BnB and so long as you properly link the third, then you can hit the lk.sk, but links are the best policy: 1 press per hit unless you’re using advanced techniques.
Try messing about with a metronome till you find the beat of the links if you have trouble with it. That helped me through sagats trials and then its almost the same for bison and balrogs BnBs.
Hey, thanks for the suggestion. I picked up a metronome app for my Treo and ran that while working on the trial (and I also realized that hard trial 3 was the combo I was working on, so easier than doing it in training mode when you get instant feedback).
I finally got it, but apparently my biggest problem was not letting the buttons reset fully before trying to hit the next c.lk. Once I focused on “down-up, rest, down-up, rest, down-up” with the metronome with the downs as quarter notes and the ups as sixteenth notes, I got it pretty quickly.
I need to get some buttons with stronger springs than the stock ones on the SFIV SE stick, though.
Cool, if you can think about it in terms that detailed then you’ll do fine! You are tempting me to revisit my failed midi tracks for combos idea. Yeah I’m too much of a hack to think in notation . . .
I am a new player and thank you for those videos:tup: Mainly because I learned what spacing,baiting, and zoning are and mean. Also I learned about hit confirming and a tip to make sure I get this down and not just do a BnB and then get punished for it. Also this vid helped me understand how I should try to mixup my game. I will try some of this stuff in training but definitely will play some online and see what is killing me or what is making me lose. Thanks for the info.
Sorry for asking this question and then finding out what it meant. Heres the real question I want to ask. For the metronome how would you use it to help you with a combo in sf4?
what exactly does “AA” refer to? wouldn’t generally ask this question but typing AA into any search engine (forum or otherwise) won’t give me the results I want
if it matters at all I see it a lot in the abel discussion, though I don’t think it’s an abel exclusive abbreviation
Many characters have combos that require lots of inputs at the same pace. A series of kicks or jabs for instance. You can either use the frame data to calculate the tempo, then set a metronome to that, or, slightly easier, just keep adjusting the metronome till pressing in time with it makes the attacks link.
So your saying for example I have one of akumas hardest combos and it has links,cancels,and plinks that this “metronome” will help me learn when I should press the buttons?
This “metronome” is an item that helps bands and musicians stay on the beat, it’ll just output a series of steady clicks at the exact same intervals for years. So it should be called metronome not “metronome”. And since the link combos require a steady input beat, if you match the metronome to the link speed in the game, it’ll help you hit the buttons at the right timing all the time.
There are several free metronome programs for PC’s you can find in google. Musicians use clicktracks output to all the headsets at once while recording, or hardware metronomes to keep everyone playing the exact same tempo. It is not related directly to SF4 in any way or form, could just be used as a tool to help with the combo timing.
Of course combos rely on cancels aswell as links, so you can’t listen to the metronome all the time.
Sagats hard trial 2 is three c.lks then hard tiger uppercut. The ‘beat’ for the c.lks is roughly 174 BPM. Take sagat into training mode (or hard trials if you have it), set the dummy to auto-block, then use the metronome here http://www.seventhstring.com/metronome/metronome.html at that speed (click the wooden thing to start it). If you press lk at that speed you should get the three c.lks to link perfectly every time.
It’s not useful for many combos but when you are starting out it can help you learn a few of the tricky ones and help your overall sense of timing.
The “danger” of becoming used to a click track is the same in this game as with musicians.
You become so used to the steady click sound that you can’t play in sync when it’s not there (like on a stage).
Thanks Guys!!! One more question how did you find out the BPM of Sagats 3 cr.lk’s? I need to know that so i can get one of bisons trials done.Thanks in advance:tup:
Either use the frame data and maths which is a bit of a headache or just slowly raise the speed of the metronome until the attacks start to link. Put the training dummy on auto-block, hit him with the attack at a tempo slightly below what you think is right, if attacks subsequent to the first are blocked, raise the speed slightly. You want to hit a sweet spot that isn’t LOTS faster because then you’d be ‘chaining’ the attacks and you cant cancel into specials from chained attacks.
