Can I do it? Is it possible to unlearn all those reflexes, all those combos I’ve already built up?!
Any additional advice besides “practice” and “whatever you’re comfortable with” would be gladly appreciated It’s my second day on stick and doing up back/up forward + qcf, qcb or dp is quite a pain.
And if you don’t mind me asking, if you’re a fellow pad-to-stick person, how long did it take you to play on stick effortlessly? I read an article in which the author said it took him a month to be even decent, and claims that it would take 1-3 months on average to make that transition from pad to stick.
Whenever you are doing anything that involves building muscle memory, when it all boils down to it, these sort of tasks simply require practice. A lot of people would like to hear an easier answer, but the fact is you just have to work at it.
As for how to work at it, I posted a ton of advice in the execution thread.
It’s really difficult to say. Some people take weeks, some people take months. How fast it really takes depends on a bunch of variables that people don’t often actually post. Most people will tell you how long it took them to get used to it in relation of when they bought their stick, not in terms of how often they actually practiced, or how they practiced.
Why do I have to change? To be honest, playing on a pad hinders me from executing higher level combos, especially in MvC 3 with all those triangle dashes, air dash cancels like Magneto’s ROM combo and whatnot. That and on pad I have this unavoidable tendency to forget blocking cause it feels like my thumb is holding back but sometimes it really isn’t and I’m unable to tell the difference.
I got my stick in from Amazon last Monday afternoon, and I’m kinda-sorta decent on it up to this point(as in as I write this message). The only real problems I have are shoryuken motions both on ground and in the air(especially after another directional motion like up back, up forward and what not). The same goes with QCF motions right after up back and up forward.
I’m also having difficulties with the “feel” of the Octagon gate. I’ve noticed that whenever I try to push the stick to an up-back or up-forward motion, I’m actually just pressing up, but it feels like I’m doing the former. I actually have to actively think about moving the stick to those directions as opposed to just letting my hands do it which throws me off in some combos.
As far as grip goes, I’ve found that the “Daigo grip” gives me the most stability in both SSF4 and MvC 3. I saw that video of him with the FADC into ultra tutorial and he was definitely right about the way you should hold a stick. I compared it with other grips and there wasn’t any added movements with the Daigo grip at all.
I guess for the most part I haven’t been frustrated enough to think about going back to pad yet, let’s just say I’m too excited to be as good on the stick as I was on the pad which is why I made this thread
I have some marvel 2 matches on pad on YT, and MVC2 takes about 29786 times more execution to play well than MVC2. Point being, it’s possible if you’re stubborn. I’ve also been on pad since SF2 WW on SNES.
I can’t really give pointers on stick, though. I have a super modded TE, and I still can’t use it anywhere near pad. It’s a very pretty ornament for me.
Dude, I’m gonna steal this advice and use Street Fighter to teach handwriting while simultaneously making sure the next generation can wreck people wth sticks.
Hmm…that would explain why Daigo and the other top Japanese players are such beasts and when you think about it, it does make a lot of sense.
This is probably one of the best examples of doing wild things to avoid practice I’ve ever seen. Learning to write a language with your non dominant hand does not teach you how to use a stick; it teaches you how to write a language with your non dominant hand.
You might want to know, Desk is not Japanese. A lot of people besides those two have “mastered” stick.
Also, in the future, instead of making three posts back to back, just use the edit button.
I’ve always used an arcade stick on fighting games whenever I could. The advantage on NES was essential for me to play and just could NOT stand that dang pad! Same with SNES. Couldn’t do it. All the older systems before pretty much had sticks on them. I’ve been spending more time in the Tech area these days reading up. It’s probably pointless for me to offer any advice because I didn’t really have to convert but I do have a notion! Since you already know how to play well with a pad, then you pretty much have learning all the moves already out of the way. That’s probably going to be a big help in it’s self! I would think that if you could try to examine an arcade stick as it relates to the motions of a pad, it shouldn’t be impossible. The learning curve for this, I’ve heard, can vary greatly. My advice would be to use the knowledge you already know and apply it to the movements of the arcade stick. DON’T give up. Keep progressing even if you have to take steps. Maybe learn basic movement and buttons first to get used to the timing. Then move up to advanced buttons since I think that might be easier. Then move to special moves. Like I said. Baby steps. That seems like a logical way to do it. Then again. I’ve never had to convert. But good luck!
I thought about what doing exercises with a left hand could do and I actually tried writing with my left hand. Did I notice a difference? Well… It’s hard to say. I know my left hand was soar from writing 2 pages. And I did manage to copy the hiragana and katakana samples in the link. I agree practice is really important but it doesn’t mean other exercises can’t help. For example… I have Duchenne’s Muscular Dystrophy. Confined to a motorized wheelchair. Can barely move my arms. My hands are “eh” but I am good at playing on an arcade stick. Arcade sticks are also easier for me because I can’t use my thumb in a fighting game. Now, I practice baoding balls on a regular basis. I do this to keep the strength in my hands and wrists. Sure, baoding balls have nothing to do with using an arcade stick but they make it so that I can continue playing on them. Same with learning to write with the left hand: No; it doesn’t have anything to do with an arcade stick but it probably wouldn’t hurt to use it as an aid. Whenever you are doing anything that involves building muscle memory, when it all boils down to it, these sort of tasks can help make it easier. Why do people do push ups to box better? Why does lifting weights make it easier for construction workers to use a sledge hammer? Why do memory games help FPS gamers learn maps? Anyway… I’ll keep at it and see if I notice a change. I’m always up to using something to gain an edge. I’ve used a stick since I used my Magnavox 2 as a child.
Third day practicing, about 20 hours or so of practice combined and I just managed to do some of Marn’s combos for Zero. I feel like I’m getting used to it real quick, with only a few problems here and there.
I’ve “recently” made the transition completely with MvC3. I can ONLY play MvC2 on a pad, I can’t triangle jump or anything like that with a joystick…but with MvC3 I’ve finished hte transition I ‘started’ with Hyper on 360.
I agree and dsiagree wit hthe general moniker of ‘practice’ - that is NOT what has made the difference - yet it is what makes thedifference. The real key is to be forceful about USING the stick. Your going to get frustrated with your execution at times, and the ONLY thing you should do is KEEP playing and to KEEP playing with the stick. That mental ‘forcefulnss’ makes the differences and ultimately it does equate to practice - but without making yourself STICK to the stick.it will be an even more painful transition.
Your current issue is one that I still have issues with, but I know two ways around it. The easiest way is to get a different gate for your stick. My issue is the opposite of yours, its not u/b, its trying to execute fireballs in comboes, I often ‘stop’ at d/b because the stick gets ‘stuck’ there - and a DP motion comes out depending on what I was doing before hand - this is EXTREMELY evident playing Dante mission mode - as the wrong moves came out consistently. Which leads to the second option.
Go do Mission mode with the ‘whole cast’…thin kof it as practice. And whenever you miss a special move, stop looking at the screen and try to replay what just happend with your hands while looking at them…often your muscle memory will go right back ot where you messed up, and you’ll see yourself not finishing the move correctly. Then you have to reinforce yourself to ‘finish that f#cking motion’.
I truely hope that helps. It’s been a VERY long transition for me, and I’m still not sold on the idea that joysticks are even on par with pads, but the button layout on a joystick makes it easier for me to FADC in SF4. shrug
One to three months is pretty acurate IMO.
I used pads, specifically the nubytech SF pads, for years; from about age 12 to 27.
If youve been using a pad for that long then you def know the limitations.
I think that you will notice an instant improvement with your button skills, but the joystick will take that 1-3 months.
its true though, all you can do is practice.
100 hadokens one direction 100 the other
100 dps one direction 100 the other.
And since your developing muscle memory you will see a degradation of skill as your training sessions get too long, this is the time to take a break and allow your body and mind to recover.
its like any physically training, even though it doesnt seem like your using ‘Muscles’, you are; and they need to be trained properly, and rest is a big part of muscle memory development.
Sorry if I reposted anything someone else said, I didnt read anythign but the OP
I was messing around with Zero in training mode today and wanted to try out some combos with certain assists. The problem was was that I’m still not playing Stick at that “2nd nature” level so I went back to pad just to see if this combo would work.
I felt REALLY REALLY weird when I held the pad again (I use claw-hand for the attack buttons), it took me 5 minutes to get used to it again and at some parts of the combos I mess up on the pad more than I do with the stick. I think this is a good sign, heh.
Also, another unusual thing. I’ve noticed that every time I wake up from sleeping(not a nap, but what you do at night to get ready for the next day) and then get on my console to play I become better on the stick by a significant amount compared to the previous day. Yesterday I couldn’t DP in the air for shit but this morning all of a sudden I was able to do it.
Did you read the post I have above, thats just what Im saying. Your body requires a recovery period before new muscle memory can be applied. Thats why your skills will temporarilly degrade toward the end of a long training sessions, of learning new things.
Its the same as anything, and its a technique I learned while training as a Velodrome Sprint Racer.
As soon as you get deminshing return, you shut it down and rest.
It’s my second day on stick and doing up back/up forward + qcf, qcb or dp is quite a pain.
