Hi guys,
I’m very very new to the FGC. I bought SF4 a few months ago and bought my first fightstick a one month ago. I would say I’m not a bad player but also I’m not an expert. After a lot of time I know how everything works but I need a LOT of practice to do some combos. I have a 5500 BP Sim and 2000 PP by playing pretty much only him (with some Ken and Gouken). I can’t pull a lot of Sim’s main combos being doomed this way to limit my damage to half of what I could do given the openings I find in some fights but thank god Sim is not such a heavily combo-based player (my impression is). But in any case as my score tells, I can do well in fights with people with 1-3K PP.
In any case a tournament is coming and I was excited to participate. I don’t care about winning of course (lol here). I just want the experience of playing with other SF players. I was wondering about the level of players that participate in tournaments. Could you find some of the 2000PPs players there or is it only real pros? I know that the FGC is quite obnoxious (sic sorry) as well and even if I don’t really care about what other people might say I wan’t to avoid a case in which I’ll be just a clown in a crowd of people.
You’d be surprised how chill the community is when they are not on the internet…most communities are welcoming. They want to have new players who are genuinely interested in getting better.
Also…try not to gauge players skill with that point system. I’ve known players that pad their player points…but are trash when they are in an offline environment.
Thanks guys. That’s pretty much the answer I was hoping to get. I know that PP ranking is unreliable and heavily biased but until now it’s my best proxy for evaluating where I stand.
Essenthy by offline mode timing you mean the lack of lag?
The main goal is to get as many casual matches (preferably with as many different people) as possible. Everything else (including placing) comes second.
People are pretty nice face-to-face. You might make some friends…
It’s refreshing to speak to like-minded people.
Skill levels run the gamut. It depends on the size of the tournament you attend (and some other factors).
You should know that a lot of knowledge is not handed down through online tutorials or articles, but in person. You will be surprised who steps up to personally improve your skill when you just show up.
yes the lack of lag, if you only play online ( like i do ) you’ll end up pressing buttons and inputting too early because of the online lag habits, try to get someone to play offline even if its a noob, just get used to combo timing
99% of all players aren’t pro players by any means. They’re just regular guys like you and I who just want to get to meet the community and test your might. Besides the tourney itself, there are so many reasons why you should offline tournaments. You’ll actually get to meet the REAL community, you can meet other fellow players who enjoy your hobby, you can vastly improve by getting together and playing games and asking questions, and you might just make a few new friends along the way.
The FGC is not as obnoxious as it may seem when you watch streams or read reddit. The core scene consists of pretty normal dudes who are pretty nice to you, given that you are also nice to them, and possess some standard of personal hygiene.
Yeah, online and offline are so different. Started playing online again only very recently, and my dps would never come out bc i would do them way too late for online timing. Very frustrating to get used to. You have to commit much earlier.
Yes a million times yes, im a sf player really but about six months ago I heard about a local mahvel tourny I had to go! The level of play was waaaayy above me, I won my first game then got 5 0 and I was out lol lucky for me I still played lots of casual matches and got some great tips of some guy who played the same team as me but a million times better ( still use that reset to this day lol) I wouldnt hesitate to go again everyone was chill except one or two stuck ups but I met some great people had a great time overall and that was with mahvel dudes who if you believe the stream chats are the worst of the worst. Honestly dont let some basement dwelin nerd who never leaves his house tarnish a whole group there not that bad lol
You’ll get better playing in person. In my personal experience, I always level up a ton after an event.
You’ll meet a ton of just great people.
You’ll see that these top players are Human beings who make mistakes and can be beaten.
You’ll be doing something you enjoy in an environment filled with people who like it probably as much as you do. That’s always a fun experience in my book.
There are casuals at tournaments. People like to warm up, and people want to play after finishing, especially if they came a long way to get there.
People like to eat some time in the day. You can go along with them, meet their friends, talk, and then possibly set up casual sessions for another time at their house.
The point isn’t to win, the point is to meet people. Then you can run said sets with them later.
You can focus on winning when you’ve been going for a couple of years and you know everybody already.
get there early for casuals. depending on the amount of set-ups and people you could be waiting 20-40minutes between matches. ask questions about your opponent’s set-ups and frames. people generally know their character in and out and will drop some info to someone wanting to learn
your age is absolutely a non factor so I don’t know why you bring it up. and unless you never get nervous, chances are no matter how much you prepare you’ll be shaking and sweating like a recovering alcoholic the first time you enter a tournament so you might as well acclimate yourself asap.
You’ve been in the stream chat waaaay to long. Nobody in real life cares that much what you look like or how good you are. They will just be happy to have more money in the pot, and another hype voice in the crowd. Frankly, if you have access to WNF, it’s pretty insulting to the majority of players not to go. Online play has it’s place, but it’s a last resort.
sorry) as well and even if I don’t really care about what other people might say I wan’t to avoid a case in which I’ll be just a clown in a crowd of people.