Yeah, more than likely. It’s rare for me to miss Fridays, nowadays.
Come on over guys. This might be the last ones in the Big House. I just visited the house I was moving into today to check it out and that house is tiny. The garage is tiny. It’s gonna be a puzzle on how to fit everything in. I’m trying to milk these gatherings in the big house as much as possible.
But I’ve been reflecting and I realize in today’s FGC I’m an endangered species. Probably extinct in many eyes. The taste of fighting games have definitely changed. It’s all Marvel 3 and AE 2012. When I walk into an arcade today like Super and Alex’s, although they are great places and I’m grateful they exist, it’s not the same. All these UMVC3 and AE heads don’t do it for me. They seem “nerdier” too for lack of a better term lol. And egotistical and unapproachable. I think it’s all the streaming and the Internet and the so called “Geek Cred” from that. I miss the FFA, Regency, and Camelot days when everyone was just there to play and more about playing the game and not that other noise. And it seemed like in an unconscious way everyone was more connected because we were all sharing the machine and waiting our turn. Now it’s just bring your own setup and just keep isolated in your own group. It’s not like before where you introduced yourself by putting up a quarter. Now everyone just wants to isolate themselves and play against certain people. Back then there was a appreciation for the other player because he was investing with a quarter. And of course the games were better with no bs.
I never thought about it like that but I agree. A DP is risky and like walking a tight rope.
I think another problem with AE is that the air jumps are still floaty. You could see the guy jump on you from a mile away unlike ST. That’s why AE needed to be speeded up as well. Some frames also needed to be taken out. Oh well.
Naked Snake explained it well. A comeback mechanic the Ultras are not. Like I said, it is another way of managing meter. There have been multiple times where a Yun player may be close to death in Third Strike yet wiffing a few moves results in a Genei Jin combo that takes off 40% of your opponents health. It does not take long at all to build up meter in that game where as in SF4 it takes ages.
The design of the Ultras are based on easing new players into the game, but I can’t fault Capcom for wanting that. Fighting games were a dying breed and in order to bring new blood in, it had to cater to a slightly more open masses. However, who do we still see winning tournaments? Players that have been around for years. Daigo is still making a name for himself, you have Alex Valle always placing high during Wednesday Night Fights and even some of the older cats I play with manage to play SF4 and ENJOY it. All this nitpicking about SF4 this and SF4 that is just silly. You either play the game or don’t; it’s that simple. Did you see all the crying and bitching people did on the internet for SF x Tekken? How the battle system is not good, how it caters to casuals, etc. These were the same exact complaints that were stated when SF4 was out and now people are claiming that SF4 is some highly technical game that is the best that the world has to offer. You can make this comparison to movies too where film critics complain how black and white movies are superior just because it was shot on a certain film reel and it was during a time of “great storytelling” (Complete with racisms of the 40!) Third Strike has its naysayers as well; complainers of the parry system and the top tier characters like Chun, Yun and Ken make the game seem like MvC2.
This is the transitional period where old timers do not want to change the game and new players are constantly bitching about the lack of options given to them. I am torn by this as well. Just by the environment that I am in when playing these games. Everyone my age or younger sucks ass or is just unpleasant to be around with and the old timers always reminisce about the “good ol’ days” and complaining on how Sesame Street kids are these days when it comes to having people as a part of the FGC.
The way I see it: just fuck everyone else and play the game that YOU want to play. Why should anyone care about new or old games? There is a reason why there are so many damn tournaments for so many different games.
The nature of the scene has changed. It’s not about getting to know other guys and playing games. It’s about getting good enough to style on stream, getting e-famous in the community, possibly getting a sponsorship, and trying to make money off playing fighting games. Some people just lost the soul of why we play fighting games in the first place.
Yeah, I like for all moves to have a specific purpose. That’s just the ST head in me talking. You’re given a set of tools, some of which can be limited, and you utilize your few options to become a beast at the game. Sure, you might run into a lot of bad matchups or situations in the game due to the limitations of your character, but the onus is on you to become a better player to play the match to your advantage, and back off when you’re at a disadvantage. There are just some situations in ST that don’t always have an easy solution to get out of, so you have train hard and focus in order to fine tune your strategy or execution to avoid it.
I just don’t like how vertical the jumps are. I remember watching beta builds of SF4 where their jump arcs were exactly like ST’s, which would make the zoning game much more effective. Zoning in SF4 just feels odd and unnatural. I don’t even think the jumps are floaty, because they’re only slightly slower than ST’s jump speeds, but the entire game itself feels slow and ponderous. Like whenever you press a button, it feels like it takes your character awhile to process that information, and then attack.
A comeback mechanic is something rewards you for losing. Ultras=Comeback mechanic.
To me, now that we have about four years to look back on it, SF4 was the worst thing to happen to the FGC lol. I’m sorry. I liked it better when it was just underground and everything was arcade based and people had to drive an hour somewhere and spend money to play games. Because you know everyone who did all that just to play a fighting game had no excuses. And we didn’t do it for fame, money, or notoriety, we did it for playing the game at a high level. I’m saying it was better closed off, with no exposure, and hard to find. If you couldn’t drive, if you had no money, if you couldn’t find the place then tough for you. You weren’t welcomed anyway. Now it’s all “Geek Video Game Hollywood” with streams and cameras.
I love video games and I played a lot growing up but to be honest with you these days I’m not really a video game guy. By that I mean it’s only been old ass Street Fighter and really nothing else. I don’t get excited anymore when new stuff is released. Haven’t been for a while. The only way I really played video games was Street Fighter in the arcade scene. Well for the last decade that really’s the only way I played video games. For me it didn’t feel real if it wasn’t in a arcade setting. So that’s why it’s a little personal for me. The rest of the world will go on.
As you guys might know I like reading a lot of Hollywood history and I know about trends and how they come and go. This was particularly true when Hollywood went from silent films to talkies. Almost overnight the stars of the silents were obscure and forgotten once the talkies hit. So I understand once SF4 hit it was the beginning of the end of an arcade culture that fought hard and stayed alive ever since SF2 (Well in So Cal anyway).
To me the FGC really is just Marvel 3 and its monsters. The rest are just paying rent in Marvel’s house. And what a boring, shallow, obnoxious house it is. It’s because all the new games that arrive come and go while Marvel 3 is here to stay. Don’t get me wrong Marvel is a gorgeous game but the fact that we now live in a Marvel world doesn’t appeal to me because its not Street Fighter. Marvel will be king for a very long time eclipsing the other games.
Suga: I have to agree with Sanchez. Stating that a Genei Jin is similar to an Ultra is a gross misinterpretation lol. First of all you earned the Ultra by doing nothing and then you do ONE command move to pull it off. For a Genei Jin to be successful, you must do a whole lot more. Much much more. Not just for the meter to build, not just to connect with the first hit, but connecting it with all the hits just to make it successful and take high damage. No not the same thing.
At the end of the day, Suga is right, and just play what the hell you want to play. We’ve all been around this up and down ride with games and what’s good and what’s bad, but let’s face it. People play what they want to play. SF4, people said it was horrible and over the last few years it became amazing supposedly. SFxT and Skull Girls were said to be amazing games and where are they? Well, I suppose that’s not fair to one or the other, but my point still stands: Play what you want, who cares, move on, etc. etc.
Also, if this is the last gathering you’re having at the big house, I’ll swing by again to pick up my SF Alpha bible.
I don’t know if this is the last gathering in the big house. It might be. But I’m getting some pressure to move out. I’ll try to milk it.
I sold your SF Alpha 3 Bible on ebay last week for $50. You can have the $50.
Jk. Come pick it up.
Tonight we shall have a gathering from 7pm-4am. Anyone and everyone is invited. The more the merrier. I’ll be going around to collect the E fee so please have it ready when I ask. Anyone new who wishes to join us please text me at 310 344 9367.
Hope to see everyone tonight.
This isn’t about people playing what they want. It’s about recognizing a fucking comeback mechanic when you see one.
I shifted gears with my last post, since Don went in SF4 and the FGC, if that’s what this is about. I can see a come back mechanic in more things, but SF4 and Ultras does take the cake and it is by definition a come back mechanic, I’ll never argue against that.
Don, if you sold that book, I’d want a lot more than 50 bucks. A LOT more. >:(
I didn’t sell it. I don’t want to get between you and your heart.
Did a chick give you that book?
Nevermind you don’t have to answer. I’m not mocking you when I say this. I understand sentimentality. I know when a thing has sentimental value. It’s here for you to claim. Unsold with your name on it (Symbolically not literally).
Well fine, when you put it that way then you are absolutely right. Getting hit is a reward for the Ultra.
The problem that I have is that Don makes it sound that Ultras is this giant comeback mechanic that will make you win the game once you have it; which I HIGHLY disagree with. The Ultra is given to you, fine. I can accept that, but what you do with the Ultra is what dictates whether or not you are actually good at the game. The game boils down to meter manage. Ryu for example. A Ryu player may be losing so he gets the Ultra as a reward. But what if he has no meter to effectively use it? Anyone that is half way decent at the game will recognize the Ultra and just play the game safe. Ultras are punishable so you can’t just throw one out and expect to hit something. If you do a random Ultra, you best be sure you will be punished for that shit. Unless your opponent is careless.
In addition, you can play the riskier game and actually earn it via FADC. Like getting one free parry but with the benefit of getting a decent chunk of Ultra meter. To play theory fighter for a bit, you can technically build up Ultras without actually losing any health.
Now this is something that people will disagree with me, but I think the FADC system of SF4 is what defines the game as catering to casuals. Having two stocks of meter makes your moves SAFE. Like it was said by eltrouble, past games you had to commit to a move. In this game, you can just throw out a Shoryuken and if your opponent is blocking then you can just cancel it and be safe again. I like to think: “You got to risk to get the biscuit”, but there is no risk in SF4. If there is some type of risk involved, then everyone just plays the game sloooooooowly. Or you can just pick a stupid vortex type character and go for knock down setups all the time.
I think the game would be a lot more interesting if there was a Guard Crush meter.
CvS2 is DA BES.
Have you ever played Lee’s T. Hawk? Well with Ryu I’m beating him and I fill his meter and then he catches me with the double 360 Ultra and then I die. And then he giggles because he knows he just did much less work than I did to win the round.
If that’s not a giant comback then you need your head examined.
You know I love you Suga:p
I have played against a T Hawk player at your spot, but I don’t remember his name.
Anyway, it was your fault for getting caught by the Ultra 
T Hawk is widely considered one of the worse characters in the game, you should be able to zone him out. That is a match up always in Ryus favor, no matter what.
What you should do is borrow from Sanford Kelly’s model: Pick a top tier :D.
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Lol
Forget it.
Come at me bro.
You still need your head examined.
Oh you 
I just call it how it is man. When it comes to any game, I acknowledge when things are my fault and when I get outplayed. Whether it is Street Fighter, Tekken or anything else.
Keep in mind, I still think that SF4 is boring and it has tremendous fault; but it is for other reasons.