Ya holding back is way more natural and like stated above a dedicated button to block in my opinion is a bit much. This is somewhat off topic but something like guard break being brought back would be nice
A block button is not as bad as most people think but it only becomes an asset depending on the mechanics of a game. For example, if we have a fighting game where blocking and moving forward at the same time is allowed, then you definitely benefit from a block button. Another example is if a certain attack will whiff if you move a little bit backwards. If holding back is the blocking method, your character will stop and block instead of letting the attack whiff. What happens here is that your opponent is controlling your character by making you block when you actually want to dodge. Then again, I think this can be fixed if the developers program your character block if and only if there is nothing you can do to dodge an incoming attack. However, it’s still not perfect because what if you didn’t want to move back but you wanted to block? With a block button, you have more control. A block button also prevents errors like blocking high when you want to block low because you have to hold down+back instead of just down. With a block button you can hold down or down+back or down+forward.
The only problem I see with a block button is with cross-ups. If your character turns automatically while blocking during a cross-up, then cross-ups will cease to exist. On the other hand, if your character does not turn around automatically while blocking, then you have to press the block button right after your opponent switches to the other side, which is a pain. Anyway, I still think that a block button is practical only when the game allows you to move while blocking. Otherwise, the joystick motion will suffice.
Will MK9 still have the thing where if you hold back, you can’t be thrown? I liked that+block button in UMK3, it worked well with cross-up throws and all.
The only time you need a button to block is if you’re a [media=youtube]uKAtUeWCfrE&feature=player_embedded"[/media].
I want that song to be in the MK9 soundtrack :rock: :rock: :rock:
freezing vibrations
if you read a few posts up, I said the same thing basically and you bring up some very good points. Crossups would really cease to exist but perhaps it could be combined a bit. Combine a block button with the bck\dwnbck+method. If you hit block, nothing happens until you hit a direction. That would prevent the crossups from being negated.
using a block button with bck\dwnbck seems kinda weird but we both agree that holding back while being stuck in twitch guard restricts movement. You could still move backwards and you would still have to block crossups properly if you used block+bck\dwnbck.
I mentioned above that currently in fighters, we can do dwnbck+attack in SF and that is a 2n1. Either block or attack. To do the samething, with this new method, we have to use dwnbck+block+attack and I think thats where the block button starts to fuck up 2d games. On defense, one finger is locked into place and now you have to spider finger everything else, it just seems very troublesome to play like that on a stick.
but the idea of FREE movement with out proximity guard or full screen twitch guard would be great for 2d games. It would free up the movement sooooo much.
for a block button 2d fighter on our current 6 button layout, I don’t think you could make it past 4 buttons. If you make c.lk block, lp\mp\fp are extremely accessible with your other fingers. However if block is lk and mk\rh are used as buttons, you have to do this really unnatural technique to now hit K’s while holding onto block.
a 3 button fighter could work but man, thats not very much buttons to use for a game.
If you made a pad fighting game and make blocking like l2, you can use the 4 face buttons and r1\r2 much more effectively and thats 6 to use + block but would that sell well?
Im pretty sure in VF if you hold the guard button you can mask your stick motions, that way you can do a command throw from guarding without taking a hit to extend the guard animation.
If that makes any sense at all haha, anyway it works well in that otherwise you would be stumbling all over the place before your throw.
I could be wrong, my memory is kinda hazy haha.
EDIT: also you can WALK backwards while someone is attacking, which is good aswell.
I’m kinda with the people who said that this is something that works for certain games but not really for others
the problem with the block being a button is it’s “halting of the thought process” - Ki Shima.
if there were some type of depth behind the (Mortal Kombat) block button it would improve the game play; when we block in street fighter it activates a confirmation beat that we bounce off of which allows the flow of the game to be consistent.
I havn’t found block button to be very troublesome in UMK3 and Soul Calibur series.
Also, it’s not like it’s completely pointless:
I stated “Mortal Kombat block button”
the soul series having a block button has no strain on the fight continuity because naturally you would halt or express a pulling movement when you guard a blow; also the frames after blocking in the soul series suit the economics in the fighting system. parrying was/is a successful system because the behaviour of fencing benefits/includes it. SC4 failed because the fluid fencing nature was sacrificed in aim for more depth; although sword fighting is very complex the philosophy behind it (when crammed into a two dimensional viewpoint) is basic
UMK3 has a nature that suits the block button; it thrives on the halting nature of the game. the mortal kombats that havent thrived are 4 and onwards. reason- the 3d mk’s were lost in the graphical capabilities so they had to/ended up sacrificing trade mark calculations, mk vs dc thrived- albeit only for a while because they limited the capabilities of deception and implemented more calculations found in UMK3/MK2.
MK9 controls:
Rear Punch, Front Punch, Block
Rear Kick, Front Kick, Run
?
This is why I’ve always preferred button blocking.
Run’s confirmed not in MK9…but it will likely be used for another command.
It’s an aesthetic thing for me. I once watched a stream from an SC tournament and I will never forget the first time I saw two characters, point blank range from each other, both holding block and doing this strange “stand->crouch->stand” dance to avoid/threaten mid and low attacks. I just thought that was the most ridiculous thing I’d ever seen. It’s like watching two charge characters holding down+back, only even more ridiculous.
How is that more ridiculous looking than two characters walking and forth trying to bait a poke for footsie’s?
Because in the footsie game both characters are actively trying to attack the opponent. It looks natural and feels logical for that to happen in a “fight”. But even if it did look ridiculous, why would that matter? The question to ask is not “Is it OK to have ridiculous-looking stuff in fighting games”. The correct question is “Does it make sense to adopt a system that looks ridiculous when an alternative system that does not look ridiculous exists”.
False dichotomy there. Back-blocking games have silly moments pertaining to overly cautious play just like button-block games.
Both system’s work for the games they’re in. Cross-ups in MK as they’re done in Street Fighter would look strange and distinctly un-MK. And button-blocking would ensue Armageddon if it was in Street Fighter. People are letting their preference for certain games dilute their viewpoint (particularly in the SF side).
VF has had a block button since day 1 and people seem to be cool with it.
Examples? I’ve never seen simultaneous blocking on both sides for that system. Maybe you can point out something else that I can adopt as a new pet peeve.
My favorite fighting game is Blazblue, and barrier blocking looks ridiculous to me.