Hey Porter, sorry to go a little off-topic but as a fellow PC player would you mind pointing me in the direction as to where I can get Balrogs Alt 3 (Super) costume skin for SF4 PC?
Also, You/I joined eachothers ArcReq at some point - Shame the connection wasn’t stable, I tend to leave anything 1-3 bars without giving them a chance.
Skin is right here. http://shoryuken.com/f241/sf4-pc-custom-skin-mega-thread-199446/index260.html#post9610112
Replaces the default skin/tank top n shorts… Senseibeat has backported a lot of the new Alt’s from Super. I have a lot of them downloaded.
And Ye, I did try to connect to you but there were only 3 bars. Shame.
Big thanks - I tried google search AND looked through that thread but there were so many posts I couldn’t find it, this’ll keep me entertained for a short while 
The things you pointed out aren’t as important.
There are a few fundamental problems with your gameplay.
Maximize your damage. On numerous occasions, you punish whiffed hurricane kicks with jabs. You have many different options for punishing these. Standing Roundhouse works after they cross over, as well as a ton of other options that are better than jabs. There was also a situation when srk whiffed his SRK. You punished with standing jab jab standing short… Next time, do something much simpler. cr.mp xx headbutt would be done a lot more dmg.
Learn your BnBs. it doesnt matter which ones you use. The easiest would be cr.lp cr.lp cr.lk xx rush punch/headbutt. If you can do the combo in training mode, this is not enough. You need to be able to do this for almost every jab that you connect.
Learn your anti-airs. Cr.HP or lp headbutt or even neutral jump rh or fp. remember you can follow up lp headbutt with ultra on both hit and trade.
Learn your punishes. Ryu’s cr.rh is punisheable by balrog’s ultra1, lp rush punch, cr.rh, lp rush punch xx super, super.
Just concentrate on these 4 points right now and it will be more than enough to beat that ryu.
I hear ya on #2. Training and offline versus I can do my BnBs, but online idk. It’s not lag or anything, it just feels different.
I didn’t feel I was at proper range for cr. HP at times.
Was unaware st. RH could punish that.
There are a lot of videos I only watched the ones against the bison daeyrat.
Your balrog is solid and and you outplayed that bison pretty well. unfortunately a few key mistakes cost you a lot of rounds.
You do not control the pace of the match. You let the bison walk all over you. instances of you walking forward to apply pressure were very rare. remember that you have a lot of normal moves that stuff bison’s scissors kick at the right timing and distance. also keep in mind that if he’s throwing a lot of lk scissors, you can ex rush upper into cr. jab cr.mp headbutt ultra.
You overdo your ex rush upper loop. Balrog needs his ex-meter in this matchup. At least keep your ex meter for when you want to that bison’s bad stomps. cr.mp ex rush upper jab jab cr.rh. due to damage scaling, any ex loop that uses more than 2 meter is pretty much a waste unless thats how much dmg you need to finish them off.
anti airs. Bison’s jump in angle is not typical. You need a specific timing to be able to cr.fp it. The alternative is to lp heabutt (or ex headbutt at the right angle). You can so neutral jump rh for 130 dmg, but you have to react quickly.
be careful with those low rushes. bison has a lot of ways to stuff it from close range.
punishes. blocked ex psycho crusher can be punished by both super and ultra (ultra needs to be done with PPP for full grounded dmg KKK comes out 1 frame faster, so bison stays in the air and does less dmg). blocked bison’s ultra 1 is punisheable by jump in fp or rh into your favorite combo.
Capitalize on your opponent’s weaknesses. You should have realized early on that the bison player is bad at anti airing and is also bad at teching. You jumped in a lot because of it and that was good. You should have also done a lot more tick throws, because he wouldnt be able to defend against it properly.
im repeating 1. once again. You need to control the spacing between you and the bison. you let in walk around all he wants and let him do all the stomps that he wants. dont be afraid to lose your charge. most of balrogs combos can be dragged on long enough for your to be able to build meter anyway.
practice the st.rh punish in training mode. You actually have to wait a bit before getting up, otherwise you’ll get kicked in the face.
from what I saw, the bnbs didnt look like an online problem. it’s more in the habit of not finishing the combo after you start jabs. in training mode, you know you’re about to do a combo, so you can just get into it. In a match, you’re not sure if your jab will connect, so you cant get yourself into -do a combo- mode right away.
for your anti airs: ryu jumpins are easier to anti air than most of the cast because of the angle. just do it. bad case scenario, you do it a tad bit late and you trade. worst case, you do it waaaay too late and you get hit by a combo. fortunately, you’re playing casuals, so might as well learn by doing. keep in mind, if you successfully cr.fp you can follow up with a forward dash for a mixup opportunity.
Thanks for the tips HvE 
That actually sounds about right as far as the BnB thing goes.
Since I’ve made a few comments, I’d like to post my own video now. It’s a little different than most of the videos, because I’ll be posting a video of a 50$ MM I did recently with much more on the line than just money. In montreal, we fuel our game with a lot of drama and egos clash all the time, making us hungrier to get better. You can even witness me talking a lot of shit before the MM begins.
MM Jimmy Bones Vs HVE, MM Jimmy Bones Vs HVE1st to 7 crankypunk on USTREAM. Gaming Entertainment
The whole time, my face and ears were completely red. I was nervous as hell and definitely did not want to lose, because of all the pride I put into the buildup of the match. It was a FT7 50$.
I rewatched the video a few times. I’ve made a lot of mistakes in the match and so did my opponent. Ultimately, one of the main reasons I lost was because I let a lot of the comments get to my head. Spectators were talking a lot of shit while the match was happening. The stuff that really got to my head were stupid comments like “Why didnt you punish that with rush punch” (I was walking forward before blocking, thus no charge), “Why didn’t you ultra?” (sometimes with anti-air headbutts, the opponent crosses over you, making you lose your charge, thus no ultra possible).
A bad habit I got was that I prefer using headbutt as an anti air over the cr.fp. Against E. Honda, you need to walk forward and lose your charge. So instead of cr.fp every time, sometimes I would focus dash back. This was bad, because I’m missing a guaranteed dmg + mixup opportunity. There were a few other mistakes I made, like missing my super at 31:38 which caused me the most psychological stress, with spectators’ shit talk making it even worse.
All in all, if you have any good tips to point out about the e. honda matchup or about my gameplay, feel free to comment. Otherwise, you can treat this video as good examples of what to do and what NOT to do against honda.
In case you’re wondering. Yes, I will rematch this guy sometime in the near future to get my money back. I will also work on not letting spectators get to my head.
Just popping back to say a big thanks to Porter for pointing me in the right direction regarding PC skins - In line with the thread I’ll chuck up a vid, going through the motions and making silly mistakes against a character where you really shouldn’t.
[media=youtube]NlldXVgFyVY]YouTube - SSF4 Costume In SF4 - Balrog v Bison [Rishek[/media]
I’m already aware of a lot of silly things I do but when you get so used to 100% Online play and all the inexperienced players/mashers, then face someone who knows generally what they’re doing, it really shows your faults. Won this one but he proceeded to bash me up and only tied it up again when he started messing with alts.
@HvE I can’t really give much critique as you probably know more than I do and definately have offline experience, something I don’t.
I too usually focus absorb Honda jumpins because at certain ranges this guarantee’s no drawback as Honda doesn’t have anything that can catch you at far range on your backdash and mistimed/miss-spaced DFierces can lead to sick damage from Honda so I always tend to rely on safety over mixup potential in this matchup considering it’s, afterall, a turtlefest. Naturally with downcharge, light headbutt ftw esp. if you have Ultra stocked and need to claw back some life but yes, you are 99% likely to have given up charge.
As for spectators, you have to find a way to keep all that out (Easier said than done I’m sure) - It is an apparant and sometimes unavoidable factor in matches, you just have to NOT let it get to you and block it out any way you can. I still often wonder how someone like Daigo (as a typical example) can remain perfectly cool and calm in a room full of raving people screaming all manner of things the guy probably doesn’t even understand
Some new videos for you guys to critique if you have the chance.
[media=youtube]0I4aerXa5so[/media]
[media=youtube]KjbGuXccSBY[/media]
[media=youtube]eKJ_0ut4daM[/media]
[media=youtube]GNmWVDX5x4I[/media]
[media=youtube]SgxZU0tG0KE[/media]
[media=youtube]Y0KcDyc0wK0[/media]
[media=youtube]4fKA6ko_W1k[/media]
[media=youtube]Qy0FPxDOtYs[/media]
[media=youtube]brd64RTm4Uw[/media]
[media=youtube]MINSLJEGBrI[/media]
[media=youtube]x3O25TwuinM[/media]
Thanks
-Both times you used your ultra, it was after a 5-hit combo, and did almost no damage. Against U2 Abel you should probably save Super/Ultra for beating Breathless, because if he activates at just about any range that isn't point blank, it's gonna hit.
-TAP is a pretty good move, but you're throwing it out there a lot. As a footsies tool, save it for when you need the range. Most of the time a normal or dash punch will do the job better.
-Don't let Abel disrespect your space with rolls like that. Look for them and punish with a throw. Once Abel is scared to roll, you can make him pay for it in footsies, big time.
-Don't respect Abel's wakeup. Safe jump, and then you're free to do whatever you want. Tick throw setups are kind of risky against Abel, but you can end a setup with st.jab to catch him trying to EXTT you out of it.
-Oh yeah, anti-air. Learn the AA spacings for as many matchups as you can, so you can just react to a jump instead of wasting time judging which button to press.In addition to reruns’ tips (which if followed would have probably won that match against the abel) I’ll give a few additional pointers.
It’s fine to use your ultra if you are trying to get abel into the corner. Just remember afterwards to anticipate attemps to escape, like his ex roll. If you stand at a decent distance, you should have more than enough time to throw him back into the corner.
Abel does not have a good jump in move like you do. If you are both standing and he jumps, your jump back FP or neutral jump RH should beat him every time. The only time abel should jump is when you are knocked down.
If Abel tries to cross you up on a knockdown, you can TAP to get out. (A good abel might ultra you on reaction, so be careful if he has ultra or if you are running away into a corner)
Abel without meter can’t do much against Balrog’s jab pressure. You can meaty cr.jab him on his wakeup, you can pressure with standing jabs as well. Be sure to follow up connected standing jabs with sweep (practice in training mode. set dummy to random block)
Recognize punish opportunities. If Abel whiffs a move, do your max damage combo. Why do cr. jab x3 cr.lk Headbutt into Ultra when you can simply do a cr. mp Headbutt into Ultra? if you have bar, use cr.mp xx ex dash upper xx something loop. refer to 1m30s, 0m38s, 0m30s.
Holding TAP: at 1m30s, Abel messed up his COD combo (because of turbo???). The last hit of COD has 53 frames of recovery. You could have punished that HARD, but you were holding TAP. Keep in mind that even if you are holding TAP, you can still do your super combo. You can either do cr.mp xx dash straight xx SUPER or cr.lk xx dash upper xx SUPER. If this makes your hand too uncomfortable, consider using the KKK or PPP buttons if you have an 8 button stick.
Ultimately, you lost because you let Abel completely control the pace of the match. He doesn’t have strong mixups and doesn’t even combo properly. For Abel vs Balrog, only Balrog should be able to Jump and even then, only at max range. Any time you see Abel jump and you are not knocked down, then you can punish it. If you see that the Abel is jumping a lot, then use standing jabs more than your Roundhouses, because you can’t do anything about abel’s jump in if you’re recovering from your sweep. recovering from a jab, however, is a different story. If Abel jumps from far, jump forward FP, if from medium range, neutral jump RH, if from really close, jump back FP. Applying this without any of the other tips would have shut that player down completely.
Thx Reruns and HvE for the pointers. Any tips on the other videos?
You played correctly for most of the other matches. You should post some videos of matches against more challenging opponents so we can give pointers on getting around certain strategies. You have an overall pretty solid balrog and would just need to play against better opponents at this point in time and learn character specific strategies.
Thx HvE. Ryu is the MU I’m most confortable with but it’s hard to play footsies online. At least for me. I usually punish Ryu sweeps with lp DS as you said but online I often don’t react to it. Super and Ultra to punish sweeps, I know you can and I’ve done it sometimes offline but I usually forget.
I’m gonna try and record some offline matches against a friend who plays Ryu so you can give some more pointers ([media=youtube]58L2haYswTQ[/media]).
I’m playing really bad at the moment, because I’ve started to play online and my execussion is suffering from that and also because online you can get way with stuff like the OH (90% of the ppl don’t know how to/can’t react to it) and I’m making a lot of mistakes offline and loosing my cool way to often. Nevertheless I will record some matches for you guys to critique.
And you’re right about the competition. Most of those videos my opps weren’t that good besides maybe the Honda, 1 of the Bisons and the Sim player. I would count Abel because IMO turbo is cheating and although I lost because he played better I don’t give credit to ppl who cheat.
Ok, there are a lot of things I can say about that video.
From the very beginning, you let your opponent walk into his ideal range. Do not willingly let your opponent get into his cr.mk range. You can bait those out as well by getting close and walking back at the last second. Also at 0m10s, you should have had no problem sweeping that whiffed cr.mk with your good reactions.
Your first untechable knockdown scored off your sweep at 0m12s: I’m not sure what you tried to do. If you went for a throw, you should have beaten his cr.mp. If you went for a meaty jab, you also would have beaten his cr.mp. Practicing the timing for these is critical.
Getting in: You seem to only use jump to get in. Almost all of those jumps were unsafe and you paid for that by getting SRK FADC Ultra’ed on more than one occasion. Your opponent was not throwing fireballs for most of the game. This means you should have an easy time getting in from the ground.
Punishes: I know you already know this. A whiffed FP srk is a free 491+ dmg Ultra. Look at 2m46s. Training yourself to punish these kinds of mistakes 100% of the time will win you a lot more games.
Cheezing it for the win: At 3m40s. As soon as you hit that cr.FP, you should have been looking for the opportunity to cheeze out a chip damage win. You have no idea how many matches I win with chip damage. All it takes is a dash straight from up close XX super. It comes out fast enough that nobody can react to the dash straight.
Sooooo many overheads: Personally, I would never use the overhead so early in a round. I would only pull it out during a high pressure situation where your opponent is scared and is more prone to block. Against Ryu, I would do it sometimes to go through fireballs (Most people by reflex block if they see their moves being countered), as a mixup after a cr.fp anti air, if the opponent is overusing his focus attack, after his cr.mk that I block. But even in these situations, I try not to overuse it.
Blocking???: I don’t understand why you took so much damage in some situations where you were blocking and then you would just get hit by his next move. Just keep blocking. If he goes for tick throws, then practice your crouch tech. You took way too many knockdowns off his jab/short/mp/mk pressure situations. Just block or backdash (preferably block).
Sweep Sweep Sweep: Ryu’s cr.mk, cr.rh. Those are the two moves you should be looking to punish when whiffed. If you see him throwing those out and it doesnt touch you, just sweep. You can do it. You just need to get the mindset. You just need to be on the lookout for it and later on, it will be automatic. A Balrog who can’t punish Ryu’s whiffed normals cannot win against a strong Ryu player. Balrog’s sweep is sooooooo good. You get 90 dmg, 120 stun AND an untechable knockdown. Free damage, free mixup afterwards.
Respect his bars: Just a precaution. Keep on the lookout for Ryu when he has 2 bars. Balrog vs Ryu w/ 2 bar + ultra and Balrog vs Ryu w/o 2 bars + ultra are two distinct matchups. Just keep that in mind.
You’re right. I should be looking for it and not let him get away with it
I think I went for a not so meaty c.mk
Yeah I tend to do this and I know he refrains from throwing FB because he knows I will react with super/ultra/HB/jump.
Once again you’re right. I should pay more attention to my opp health bar. A simple ultra or even a cmp HB ultra would have killed him there. Instead I went for a flashy combo, missed it, wasted 1 ex bar and risked the round
I was afraid of getting OS srk fadc ultra. He does that a lot. But I see what you mean and I’ve never should have jumped.
I was bullying the whole week with the OH and I sent him to loosers that day with some nifty OH so on that match when I panicked I resorted to the OH. But I know I shouldn’t and should at least FADC back when I have meter for it.
I’m really bad at teching throws and he knows that so he throws me a lot. And when I try to tech I usually get CHed or srk fadc ultra. It’s something I really need to improve and I was very good at it at one point, I just need to get good at it again but it’s been hard.
Ok. I’m gonna try and improve my footsies and look to counter poke more and jump less. It’s kind like AA. When I first started to play Boxer I had to be expecting it in order to AA but now I just AA without even thinking about it. Sure sometimes I don’t AA but I think it’s better not to AA than AA too late and get hit.
I will. It sure is. I can’t pressure, I get pressured more and thrown more…
Thx again HvE. It’s really nice to have someone analyzing with such detail.
Cheers
critique my playstyle please note there was some lag i couldnt link my c.lp, c.lk, into HB then ultra if you pay attention.
I made to many mistakes/risks.
I play a (aggresive) rush down Boxer.
[media=youtube]fvJeVs1IB68[/media]
Very nice boxer. Few things that you should do:
Jump back jab?? Please use jump back Fierce punch instead.
Similar to some of the other boxer videos, you seem to use jump as your main mode of transportation. You need to walk. Balrog has one of the best sweeps and the best walking speeds in the game. Take advantage. Walk in and out. Bait those normals and punish. Just because your opponent can’t anti-air, doesn’t mean you should jump in every time (Although you should jump more than usual). And some of those jump ins were from terrible ranges.
If you don’t have time to jump back fierce, then use cr.fierce as your anti air. I think it even beats ken’s cross-up tatsus if you weren’t knocked down when he does it. If you have charge, try using lp headbutt.
Those overheads. Like I mentioned in my other posts. I only use overhead when the opponent is highly under pressure. I especially don’t use it as a reset against a ken that has 2 or more bar + ultra. Be careful with those. Just because it works against bad players, doesn’t mean you should be using it the same way against everyone else.
Use your backdash to get out of Ken’s mix-up range. you were getting pressure a lot from that range where ken does his little jabs and tick throws and whatnot. get out of there.