Not that new to fighting games, but New to the scene

Newbie Saikyo Dojo
1

I’ve played fighting games for most of my life. From Soul Calibur and Tekken, to Street Fighter and Guilty Gear.
But my problem is actually getting into the meat of the games. I was really interested after watching EVO 2013, watching all of the Tournament from MK, KoF 13, SFVIae, Injustice, and I just sat there thinking “Man I want to get into this !!” So I got up and bought a Qanba q1 PS3/PC with some Sanwa JLF parts and got to practicing.

I’m also transferring from Dota 2. My friends who are already at a either a intermediate or a Expert level in Fighters always kept tell me " you can stomp in Dota 2 with all that complication, but you can’t get a win in fighter ?" I never understood that comparison being that there 2 different whole games, also baring in mind I’ve been play for 9 - 10 years now.

But that going off topic, I got alot of fighters (KoF 13, BlazblueCS, GGXXAC+, SFVIAE, SF3rd). And was wondering where I should start off? I hear alot about Starting off on SFVI cause I already had a character in mind but that the same with KoF and Blazblue.

Is it bad for me to practice multiple fighters?

Where are all the Fight scene in California? -Southern-

In general how do I get used to a stick after playing on a Pad for so long?

It feels strange to me cause I don’t feel like a total beginner, but I’m not at a level where I can bust off combos with easy or know when to use them.

2

First step, I’d recommend you browse through the stickied posts in the Newbie Section, as well as the game of your choice, for a lot of good information and answers to your basic questions. They’re good primers for getting you started in the scene.

It’s not bad practicing multiple fighters, as they’ll give you exposure to different game mechanics and systems that will cater to different skill sets. However, for each game you want to play seriously, you’ll have to spend even more time playing. If your goal is to be good at one game in the shortest amount of time, I’d focus on just one. If you just want to play for fun, play as many as you want.

This article is pretty handy when switching from Pad to Stick. Although I don’t like EH, they have some good content at times:

http://www.eventhubs.com/guides/2009/jul/08/tips-switching-pad-joystick/

Basically, it’s a combination of finding a good grip that’s comfortable and lets you hit all 8 directions of the stick, and practice x infinity.

As far as local fight scenes go, you’re in luck. SoCal has one of the strongest areas for competition across the US in a variety of games, so you’ll have your pick of the litter. Check out this section to see of any local events happening near you:

http://forums.shoryuken.com/categories/pacific-south

Personally, I support the events going down at Super Arcade in Walnut, CA. It’s a far drive for a lot of people, but without doubt, a lot of high-level players attend their tournaments every Wednesday and Thursday night. Occasionally there are sessions on Fridays and Saturdays. Follow them on facebook and twitter for up-to-date info on when tournaments are happening:

https://twitter.com/SuperDojo

A lot of the players there are pretty supportive and will help you out, provided you ask nicely, shower and wear deodorant, and don’t act like a jerk. Those are pretty important.

3

QFT. Shower, wear deo. Very important :lol: although, depending on the tournament… People might not notice :lol:

4

Starting a new game fresh with a stick works fairly well since it helps to mitigate the frustration of starting over from square one. And yes, you are starting over from square one when moving to stick because you have relearn all that muscle memory you had on the pad. It takes some time and different folks seem to take to it at different speeds. I made the jump in about a week, but that’s because I was starting with a new game and didn’t have any previous stuff to relearn.

The only thing that’s going to help you get used to the new input device is spending time with it. It’ll be rough at first, but just walk away when you get too frustrated and come back the next day to marvel at how much better you became overnight. Or at least that was my experience when I was first making the jump.

5

Both are PvP games and footsies apply to both games.
Also the “wall” of getting into both games and going from being utter garbage to plainly sucking is about the same height.
Also both games require on point execution and smart resource management and strategical adjustments.

In that way they’re very similar but also pretty fucking different in game speed/length and through the simple fact that one has team dynamics which a whole lot of people use to shift the blame for their own failures which you simply can’t in a 1v1 game.

Like in anything that’s fun and you want to be good at, you can only do so through working for it.

I switched from playing Dota 2 and from playing on a pad to a stick as well.

Getting used to a stick depends on how much you play and it won’t magically make you a better player.
I use the stick for a month now and I’d say I’m at a point where I’m at 80 percent of my pad skill maybe.

To be honest though it doesn’t matter if you play on pad or on stick, what matters is if you’re willing to commit to mastering either.

6

Just remember that it is important to play the game you like the most, with the character you like the best. That is what will keep you motivated to learn the most (and motivation is very important in learning a fighter as it is a very daunting task). If you do choose SFIV, the only game that I can offer some advice on, there are a few steps that can be really helpful in easing you into the competition.

Practice every special move your character has until you can do it 25/25 times on either side. Learn one simple combo that you can do at the same consistency. Also learn one anti-air move (preferably a normal move at first, ie a crouching heavy punch instead of a shoryuken). From here find an opponent who is willing to play you multiple times and begin to adapt to what they do.

I can’t say much about dota2, but fighting games have a barrier of entry that can be very frustrating, but once climbed incredibly rewarding. Welcome!

7

@eltrouble & Unessential - Who the fuck doesn’t bath and protect they pits? lol Thats just nasty.
@ArtVandelay - I’m glad to know that I am not the only one that made that transition. I wanted to play on a Pad but My thumbs are big and I press two buttons at the same time, and it messed me up alot, so I feel the switch to a stick would be nice.
@Tortoiseface - I main Yun on SFVI since I played him alot on 3rd. I am fairly consistent when it comes to preforming Special Moves and doing his 1-2-3’s. I feel my only problem is finding someone to practice with.

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You’d be amazed at how rancid, disgusting, no-hygiene having motherfuckers show up at the scene. I mean, they’re not prevalent. But when you go to a major tournament where a 1000+ people are, undoubtedly one of them decided to show up without showering, or brushing their teeth, or wearing deodorant, and it’s pretty gross.

Basically, act like a decent human being, and people will like you and be more willing to help out. It’s a good life tip for…anything, really.

9

Ill bring a stick of Deo and those crest Wisp brushes for people. lol

But saying that, I wouldn’t say that is much of a problem.

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Do you play KOFXIII on Steam? If so and you decide to stick with that game as your main game, let me know and we can play. I’m new to it and not very good, so I’m not going to be able to teach you, but if you want to play someone who isn’t godly, I’m here(in Co).

I play a lot of fighters too, but I really only like a few enough to want to devote serious time to them. GG and KOF are the only ones I really want to play, but GG is basically ruled out due to the lousy netcode and lack of players/scene. BlazBlue and SF4 never did it for me, and SF3 is pretty cool, but not nearly as cool as KOF, imo. Plus I only have a 360 and PC, so I tend to avoid paying for Xbox Live if I can play on PC instead.

Also, I was a pad player until recently. I learned how to use the keyboard on Skullgirls for PC, and now I use a hitbox. It’s a viable option for sure, but still has it’s shortcomings. For me, the keyboard/hitbox have felt natural from the first time I tried them, but some people think they are awkward and intuitive. Just thought I’d throw those lesser known options out there for consideration.

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@Evolution169 Yeah I play on steam, PM me your steam and Ill add ya!! also I like GG but as a main, MAYBE when GGXrd comes out, Blazblue because its a version of GG in a sense. I only play the SF series because I am bored. Also I have a PS3 and I like it alot more for the fact of free internet no sub. You should think of that cause it feels great to have both IMO( Even though PS4 is coming out lol).

12

I think sticking to two games as a beginner is about right. You definitely don’t want to spread yourself too thin, because once you get really good at one game, everything else becomes easier by transferring those skills. Being okay at a bunch of games doesn’t help you much in the long run.

The reason I say two games instead of one is because I think it’s nice to get a different perspective sometimes. There are multiple studies on learning which suggest that it’s more beneficial to spend ~60% of your time on your primary task, and 40% on associated tasks, as opposed to 100/0. So, picking up a second game will probably improve your skill in your main game, especially if it’s different enough.

And if you live in SoCal, you’re lucky, you should be able to find a scene for whatever. Try a bunch of games and start getting serious with whatever you like best.

13

I’ll send you a PM right now.

I am considering getting a PS3, but only if there’s a significant price drop after the PS4 comes out. I’m expecting that there will be, or at least, there will be on the used console market.

14

I agree with learning two games. Mainly because it’s helping me keep from losing my mind trying to learn SFIV. When i get frustrated during training or from losing a lot online i play a different game. Keeps me from giving up totally on SFIV.