My curse

Newbie Saikyo Dojo
1

Hello

So here’s my problem, I’ve played fighters since tekken 3 casually but I really started to play with the goal of getting good at the release of super sf4. Until then I had played only with gamepads, I bought a stick not long ago because I had trouble doing combos, so I could never apply pressure or punish my opponent.

My main issue with combos on a gamepad is the timing to link attacks, I can never get it right, even with high recovery moves, I find it hard. I have almost no trouble with execution, it’s all about the timing, sometimes I’m too slow, sometimes to fast, depends of what I’m trying to do, and in the end, I end up mashing on my opponent, hoping that the timing will miraculously come out right.

On the other hand (litteraly), **on my fightstick, it’s the opposite, I find that I have “mastered” the concepts on plinking and doubletapping (don’t know if it’s the right term) quite fast, and i feel a lot more comfortable about the attack buttons, it kind of feels like typing on a keyboard, but my issue is the fking stick ! I can not input one good motion, the worst being qcr and srk input right, they never ever come out unless I just pull on my stick like if I was a pilot trying to save his plane from imminent facefront crash, then smoothly do aaaaaaaaaaaaaaall the quarter around and finish pulling on the right/left. And for srk input I just end up randomly moving my stick in a z like motion, hoping it comes out.

To sum up, it seems that my left thumb is really agile when it comes to execution on a directional cross, and my left hand is affected with tardness, while my right thumb is unable to time my button presses right, but my right hand overall is quite agile.

I have approx. 30h play on a stick, so you will tell me it’s not a lot, but it’s actually 30 effective hours of stick directional input training, so it’s actually quite a lot…

Have anyone face the same problem ? If yes, did you overcome it ? how ?

Thank you.

2

Maybe stick isn’t for you. There are pad players that ended up being godlike in SF4. Its so obvious who I could name now.

I’ll tell you this. If you spend 3-4 hours in training mode practicing links on pad, then you will be able to do it. Wolfkrone’s links are mad crispy. Has not dropped a combo on me or anybody in Michigan.

3

I know it is possible to become good with a pad but right now I feel that I have reached this point where I will not get any better unless I change my way of playing. It seems that I have this problem disociating my right and left thumb on a controller. I don’t have this problem on a stick, I can really feel my left and right hand differently, and timings seem to flow like a charm, but my left ankle/elbow (both are part of the motion) can’t find a way to make directional inputs good. I play with the fightstick on my lap, is it the best way ? Maybe I should try using it on a desktop, but then I need to make a installation because my desktop is too high :s

4

Try a 6 button pad like a MadCatz FightPad or a Hori Fighting Commander.

5

How are you holding the stick? Wineglass is the bomb in my opinion, I hold it in between the pinky and ring finger. How you hold the stick makes a BIG difference.

Go into training, turn on inputs, and practice shoryukens. Work on precise inputs. Do 30 SRKs in both directions.

What kind of stick are you using? If you’re using a cheap stick, the problem might actually be the stick itself.

6

No I bought a madcatz TE. As for training, I do what you say. If I really concentrate, I can do 30 SRK in a row, but when it comes to live matches or even against AI, I can’t get it right, also sometimes it seems that I lose the “axis” of my stick, meaning that for example after doing some movements, I lose the orientation of my stick, and if I want to do a hadoken, I think I do it right, down, downforward, forward but actually I do it from a different starting point, generally downbackward, so instead of the right motion I do downbackward, down, downforward… Other thing I have trouble with is sometimes just when I press forward to go forward, I accidentally press up forward… really not suited in live match…

I think I hold it the same way as you do, I have my thumb on the back of the ball, and my two fingers on the front, kind of like a wine class

7

Wineglass image

Spoiler

http://desmond.imageshack.us/Himg571/scaled.php?server=571&filename=imag0065a.png&res=medium

The thumb doesn’t really go on the back, it goes on top. The stick goes in between your fingers. The thumb doesn’t move the stick, it’s there for stability. Your wrist and elbow are what move the stick.

Do you have a square gate? Also the stick should be allowed to return to neutral. I don’t understand how you can lose where you are on a square gate.

Don’t start from back. Start from neutral.

If you’re cancelling into an SRK from a crouching move you can do the :df: :d: :df: shortcut for ease. Just make sure that your motion is precise, efficient, and consistent. If you use a shortcut motion it might mess you up later on if you try to play ST or something.

Don’t rely on the corners. The corners are ‘flagposts,’ not ‘resting points.’ The stick rests at neutral. You don’t even need to grind the stick along the edge of the stick’s gate, a TE is sensitive enough to notice you gliding along the inside. This is key to performing motions fast and on reaction. It’s also very hard but just keep it in mind, you don’t need to do it right now. Just don’t use excessive force with the stick, it’s counter-productive to exaggerate the motion.

I was waiting for you to say this. If you’re playing on a square gate, it’s really just practice. I promise that this problem disappears.

Regardless of how much time you’ve put in on the stick, I think you just need more time with it. It took me a month or so to learn to use stick but it was totally worth it. The speed and precision of your motions has a lot to do with muscle memory, and building it up takes time. Make sure you’re practicing efficiently, but otherwise just stay patient.

8

By gate you mean that little plastic piece on the bottom of the stick, mine is a circle, does it change something ?

9

There are octagonal gates which are easy to ride the gate on but give you, supposedly, less precise inputs. Square gates are a bit harder to acclimate to but in the end give more precise directional input.

Oh and the gate isn’t the piece of plastic, its the actual range of motion thats restricted on your stick.

10

There are also circular gates. If you mean your gate is literally a circle, not Octagonal, that might be your problem right there.
I seriously recommend a square gate. At the very least an Octagonal one.

11

It just occurred to me; if you’re talking about the black piece of plastic that you can see around the shaft, that’s the dustwasher. The restrictor gate is inside the casing, attached to the bottom of the joystick mechanism.
If you have bought the stick new, and have never opened up the case, your stick has a square gate.
Also, it took me about 3-5 months to become totally comfortable with my stick, having played fighters exclusively on pads since I got my SNES and SFII in '92 at the age of 15. I only got my first stick in 2009.
Give it time, dude. It can take a while. Some people get it quick, other people take longer.

12

Ok thank you everyone, I will check tonight what my gate is, right now I don’t really understand what it’s meant for but I hope when I see it by myself I ll understand.

13

If you have a TE then you have a square gate. If it was second hand maaaaybe the previous owner swapped it for an octagonal one.

you don’t have to see it, you can just feel how many corners there are when you move the stick around.

14

It’s a square one I checked, so I understand it’s easier with a square one ? When I do qcRight, very often I miss the downforward motion, it shows on the motion display that I did down, forward…
Well I’ll just keep practicing i guess… but sometimes I feel desperate to ever be able to play correctly with my stick :frowning:
Thanks anyways for the tips.

Also, totally irrelevant here but a little bit of practical knowledge :
Kikuichimonji

you don’t hold a wine glass like this (the pic of how you hold your stick), it will change the temperature and alter the aroma and taste of the wine. you hold it by the foot, the fine part of the glass. (and I personnaly hold it with my thumb on the back and my to first fingers on the front, that’s I told you i hold my stick like a glass of wine).

15

Dont feel bad i cant do shit on a pad,i grew up with bat tops and round and octogates in the arcades in america and stiff happ sticks…Its all a matter of what you have accustomed to…i can play with a square gate and a ball top , but cant stand it… test out diffrent setups and what works for you