I’m an experienced player on pad but I figured I should get an Arcade Stick because all pro (except a handful) players play on stick and if I wanted to take my game to the next level I should get one. So thats what I did. My question is, I understand that the traditional button layout is lp, mp, hp, 3p and on bottom lk, mk, hk, 3k but I have never played SF in arcades nor do I even have arcades around me so should I stick with this layout just for arcades sake or in your opinion should I have my own button layout thats comfortable to me? (Because “traditional” is not)
Like I said earlier I have been playing SF since SF2 and have never played in an arcade, only consoles, this is my first fight stick and I feel like like a beginner again using it. I’m gonna dedicate a few months to learning it and dont wanna learn a certain button layout then magically one day end up in an arcade and be all screwed up (although its highly unlikely), But also I dont know the tournament scene yet and I’m not sure if they play in arcades or they have tournaments using consoles and fighters just bring their sticks or there’s sticks there and you’re able to change buttons accordingly.
So basically I’m asking 2 questions: What does the tournament scene mandate? and should I sacrifice beginner comfortability for the sake of possibly ending up in an arcade one day? Top row in order and bottom row in order just doesnt feel good to me but I’ll learn it if I have to. I dont wanna go down one path of button layout and using macro’s for lets say throw and FA if I definitely should just learn the traditional layout.
you can use 3P/3K in a tourney, but you can’t macro FA/Throw. It’s personal preference. I don’t use the last two buttons(I even have 6 button plexi). You can use 3P/3K, but if you ever go to an arcade or a tourney is using an actual arcade cab there won’t be 3P/3K.
Button layout is all about preference so do what’s most comfortable for you because at the end of the day, you’re the one playing on that layout. I would recommend the traditional 6 button layout
lp-mp-hp
lk-mk-hk
I play on stick as well so I leave the 3k and 3p buttons to no function as I don’t want to either accidently slip and press either of them and because I don’t want to get used to a playstyle that is not arcade friendly. What I mean by arcade friendly is simply that 3p or 3k will not be there so why train using them when I can execute the ultra without it.
In the end, it’s preference so do whatever you feel comfortable with
Wow…so I guess I should jut learn the traditional layout then huh? I got the stick a few weeks ago and set it traditional but after about an hour came to the conclusion that it just wasnt comfortable to me at all. So I started moving buttons doing things like placing lp and lk right next to eachother vs right under eachother because it was easier for me to combo. But like you said if I ever end up at a tourney that using arcade cabs or end up in an arcade I will be screwed.
I was watching some vids of this years Evo and it appeared that they were using actual PS3 or 360 consoles and just had sticks hooked up so that led me to believe that maybe I COULD macro buttons or use a different layout. But I dont know if I should go off of those high level of play vids…I just wasn’t so sure if not all tourneys are that particular way or if some were held in arcades or like you said, used arcade cabs. Big help though, thanks bro
Totally understand…and thats what I was afraid of also. I didnt wanna start macro-ing those two extra buttons or switching buttons altogether (I find that placing lp and lk right next to eachother is much easier for me to combo) and somehow end up in a tourney where they use arcade cabs or have the tourney in an arcade itself and be messed up. I dont have any arcades in my area so all of my play is online. Have you been any tournaments in your area? If so whats the scene like as far as them either being in an arcade, them using an arcade cabs or do they just use PS3’s and/or 360 and you bring your stick?
Well, I’m from Vegas and there are 2 areas I personally go to for any tournament action. Game_Over_ and Gameworld. Both of them use consoles to play on (Most major tournaments play on console) but there is no arcade ver of SFIV out here (to my knowledge). SSFIV is coming out in December and there are arcade venues here but they only had MvC2, 3rd strike, and Super Turbo, so we might see SSFIV on arcades but nothing is concrete.
Traditional layouts will have you prepared for any situation because most fighting games use the 6 button layout with the exception of all kof titles and aksys game titles (ala blazblue & guilty gear).
You should never macro any buttons for focus attack, taunt, or throwing as those are banned in most tournaments. If you don’t intend on ever playing on a arcade cabinet, then layout won’t be a concern to you.
Hmmmmm, well in that case I think I’ll take your advice and do whats comfortable to me by moving some buttons around but not macro-ing any. I would love to learn the traditional layout because like you said, it’ll prepare you for any situation but I dont have any arcades around me and if what you said by tourneys being played on console is true then altering the button layout shouldn’t be an issue at all. Thanks or all of the great advice.
So you’re intending on playing arcade then because SSF4AE stands for Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition if you didn’t already know. I’m sure you did but if you didn’t, that’s the breakdown of the acronym.
Evolution series aka EVO uses PS3 as their system of choice (mainly because the ps3 dpad is superior to 360) but other big tournaments and small tournaments use 360 as the system of choice mainly because people play on 360 more than PS3 because of the network/online play for PS3 is very terrible in most players eyes so people play the 360 ver more but PS3 players have surfaced more because EVO does PS3 standard.
I’m not sure what type of stick but I’m assuming a TE. Either way, you should get your stick dual modded so that you can play on both 360 and PS3 with one stick if you intend on taking your game to the next level and don’t want to buy two sticks.
IMHO, I wouldn’t bother player SFIV if you have SSFIV. There are some small differences between the two so I would pick one over the other. If you love fighting games, I would recommend getting HDR, BB:CS, MvC2, and KOF13 (If it ever comes out on console). KOF13 is a huge improvement (imo) over the other KOF titles. It’s not better than SSFIV but it’s very fun and combos and the learning curve aren’t big if you play SSFIV competitively.
Lol…I’m only new to fighting with a stick. AE will come to consoles eventually and thats where I will play it. And yeah I dont play SF4 any more, strictly SSF4. I was just saying that I play the SF titles vs the KOF and BB titles. IMO I’ve found that the online play for SSF4 360 was garbage. My buddy has a 360 and I think that the PS3 online is better (plus its free). But I know I must be wrong because I run through hundreds of threads where people swear by the 360 SSF4 online play so I dont know.
But anywho, yes I have a TE and getting it modded is an excellent idea. Never even thought of that.
I’ve been playing with pads for about 16-17 years now and switching is kinda difficult. I would imagine its just as difficult if I would be switching to pad from stick after such a long time. But I’ve read that it takes about two months or so to really get the feel for it and I’m willing to put in the work. Watching all the Evo videos and things really made me feel like I was missing out on something seeing all those guys play with sticks. Like maybe I would benifit more if I just buckled down took the time and started playing with one. I just didnt want to get going for a month using a custom layout that was comfortable to me and somewhere get down the road to a tournament and end up in an arcade.
But thanks for the help man. You really gave me alot of insight on a few issues. Maybe we can get a set in online sometime. I only have a PS3 though lol
I play with a stick. If you were playing on 360, were you playing using wifi? If so, that’s the problem. It’s not so much PS3 in particular that has a netcode problem but more along the lines is that since PS3 has built in Wi-fi in most 360’s don’t, people are forced to use ethernet connection vs wireless.
I’ve been playing on Pad for 18 years and I started using stick after that but on PS2 only. Since SFIV came out, I was playing on Pad and on occasion, playing on my friends TE. Several weeks ago, I was looking for a new stick for my 360 and I’ve gotten so many replies to get a TE that I did some diagnostic testing myself and found the TE to be superior so I ended saving up and buying one. It took me about a month to fully re-transition from pad to stick but overall, I say it was worth it because I do advance techniques very easily. On Pad, I had to do them the ways they were intended but now, I can PLink like everyone else and it’s improved my game a lot overall.
I still have problems here and there as far as my overall performance goes but I would say I’m working at 93% efficiency. SSFIVAE won’t be a separate disc but downloadable content. While I can’t garuntee that it’s more than likely to be DLC because Ono has stated several times that he will no longer continue SFIV games. It pretty much ends at SSFIV according to him.
My biggest thing using the actual stick. I have no problems cancelling or doing certain BnB combos once I got acquainted with the over all feel for the thing. Its just doing simple fireball motions or things like that that kills me. In training I’ll turn on my inputs and for a simple fireball motion I’ll have two backs, a back down, a forward, a down and a forward lol. I say to myself, “How in the hell did I do all that?”. Or I’ll try and do a back dash and end up magically jumping.
I just have to keep working on it and I’m sure I’ll get used to it. I was watching Daigo’s little documentary type thing on Youtube and he demonstrated how he does Ryu’s super and DP, FADC Ultra combo. He did the inputs to the super EXACTLY (and it was lightning fast). My hope is to get to that point to where I can input exact commands like that without anything extra some day. I’ve had the stick for about a month now. Played on it for a few days when I first got it and went back to pad because it just was a thousand times easier for me. But recently I’ve been using the stick almost everyday for about a week and I’m starting to feel like I could be better on it once I get through this learning curve.
Also button placement is a real difficult for me too. I usually have my fingers on all 3 punch buttons and getting to kicks in the middle of a combo blindly is a problem. I always end up hitting the edge of the button instead of hitting more toward the center. Sometimes I completely miss the button altogether. But I’m sure all this will come with time.
So AE will be the last installment of SF? Didnt know that. But we have MVC3 and SF x Tekken coming soon. And besides, SF will never die if that in fact is true. There will be SF2, Alpha, 3S and SSF4 tourneys and things 30 years from now because of the games unlimited replay ability. They’re just classic games and thats why I NEED to learn this stick…I’ll be playing SF till the day I die.
Then, I abrubtly changed it to the standard layout. Its all in personal preference, but personally, Id say the standard lp mp hp layout is the most optimal, for plinking etc IMO.
Oh ok. Good to know. Plinking is ridiculously hard on pad so I’ve trained myself to double tap and get my timing down for links and such just strictly through repetition. I can do on a pad what most do on a stick as far as plinking goes at about a 90% success rate.
This stick is a different world for me. With the standard layout and just the stick in general I’ve found that plinking is way easier. Last night I tried using a sort of “opposite” order to where on the top row I had 3p hp mp lp and then on the bottom 3k lk mk hk effectively having the two mediums lined up as middle buttons still being able FA and making my BnB combos way easy. Only problem with that is that I couldn’t plink or hit confirm to save my life (I like using cr.lk, cr.lp, cr.lp to start strings). And after similar results testing out different button layouts found that the traditional layout IS probably the best but its still just not comfortable to me at all. I’ll keep working at it…
Take it from a former hardcore pad player: stick with the default button layout. If at all possible, use a 6-button layout rather than 8, because it really helps to show that the standard layout make more sense (try doing an ultra with your 3 punch or kick buttons not all in a nice, ergonomic row, for instance!), and also because arcades won’t include 8 buttons (typically… stuff like Vewlix 7-button cabs notwithstanding). In a few months, you’re gonna remember when you wanted to shift things around and do crazy stuff with your stick…
…And ask yourself what you were thinking Just keep at it. Drill hit-confirms and simple b 'n b’s until you can do them in your sleep. There’s a reason this layout is the most popular in the world for fighting games.
Also, in regards to getting crazy button inputs when you try to do a hado or another special move: subtle motions and finesse with the stick are going to be your best friends here. The JLF is a very light-tension joystick so it’s incredibly easy to move it in a way you didn’t actually intend to, but the plus side is, once you learn its ins and outs it’s a pretty precise and fluid joystick.
Just to clear up some mis-information in this thread:
Binding buttons to Throw/Focus are indeed allowed, at least by the Evo ruleset. The official rule states
Macros banned are anything not permitted by the in game settings, which throw/focus attack are.
Currently there are no top level competitors that use a non traditional layout, but that’s not to say theres no chance of it happening. 3p/3k used to be highly scoffed upon but even top players use it now. You’ll have to give up a button to get what you want since there is 8 buttons, kind of like Fanatiq who plays MvC2 on pad and gives up an assist for 2xP, but you should be alright if you really want to configure it like that.
You’ll only be hurting yourself in the long run, and limiting when and where you can play, but don’t think that traditional layout is the only valid way
Lol…I’m not trying to invent anything. I just want to go with whats comfortable to me but didnt know about the tourney scene at all as far as macro-ing and certain layout go. If they even allowed macro-ing (which Pimp Willy cleared up for me above). In what way is that creating more work for myself if I find a layout thats not conventional but works (for me)?
