I Just got my arcade stick the other day(HRAP V3 SA) and I’m trying to establish good habits from the start. I’m starting with Ken to learn the basic shoto movement but I’m having a problem. When I throw a fireball most of the time I get :qcf::f::p: instead of just :qcf::p:. Is this a timing issue? I’ve been watching VesperArcade’s tutorials on YT and saw this input on some of his too so I’m not sure if it’s an execution flaw or sometimes the game shows it this way. I’m getting the same thing on dragon punches, :dp::df::p:, and I think they are only coming out because of the :df::df::p:. Is this a bad habit? I want to start by learning the traditional DP before I use the shortcut. Sorry if this has been asked/answered before, it’s a lot of info to sift through.
I’m not 100% sure but it sounds like you are just pushing the button too late, and the game (What game is this? SF4, since you mention the DF,DF DP shortcut?) is just showing the second directional press since you are holding the stick in that direction. Otherwise, I can’t imagine how you could possibly be doing D,DF,F,Neutral,Forward+Punch by mistake, it just seems like too strange a motion.
So try pushing the button a little earlier and see if the ‘extra’ inputs disappear.
I watch Vesper’s Tutorials often, and I would say it’s a form of leniency in the game. Just a brainstorm.
However, (further brainstorming) you might be able to use that extra input to your advantage. Ken’s Kara throw has the most range of all kara throws in the game. Without knowledge of frames, it might be possible to throw fireball close range and kara throw. Or use the extra :f: to do a FA, FADC or just dash in and then kara throw.
These are just ideas, I’m not an expert, and learning frame data for each characters’ moves is something I definitely have on my list of things to learn.
If they help, great. If not, 
Anyone know the correct way to cancel a low normal move like low strong or low forward into a dragon punch type special (forward > down > down forward). Should the normal be buffered into the special or done separate from the special. This has probably been asked before but I can’t find the post/thread so I hope someone can offer some advice. This question is specific to third strike by the way. Thanks.
It’s rarely a bad idea to buffer a low normal into a special in 3rd Strike, outside of when you are poking with low normals. You want the low normal to hit while your stick/pad is in the down position. This is especially useful when you want to cancel a low normal into a Super Art.
I apologize if this question has been answered elsewhere in the thread (and it probably is a common one, too), but I’ve been transitioning from UMVC3 to SSFIV and SFXT, which means having to learn links.
A lot of important links are 1 or 2 frame links, so I would have to learn plinking or double tapping and pianoing and things like that, but I play on pad, so those things don’t really sound possible on a pad… are they?
Is there anyway to plink or double tap on a pad? (Or some other way to help pad players reliably land these tight links?)
Thanks a lot for this guide, Trouble Brewing (/Starcade)! You’ve saved me a lot of time and I appreciate it.
Some of the links are broken and I tried to find their proper location. Here’s one: http://wiki.shoryuken.com/Super_Street_Fighter_IV/Ryu
You have to straight go to that one the way it’s written (copy and paste it) and not click on it in the article because that gives you a faulty hyperlink that leads to a page not found error.
Same with the Domination 101 and Regional Matchmaking links:
http://shoryuken.com/forum/categories/character-discussion.11/
http://shoryuken.com/forum/categories/regional-matchmaking.110/
And these two links:
Are now at:
(SSF4:AE) http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?categories/character-discussion.11/
(MVC3) http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?categories/character-discussion.54/
(Street Fighter X Tekken) http://shoryuken.com/forum/index.php?categories/character-discussion.424/
These things are easy enough to find… I just thought why make other people look this up if I already did the work, so, there you go with the links.
As far as I know, there is no way to plink on a pad. The buttons are smaller and it’s physically impossible to plink, even with a SEGA Genesis style pad (the 6 buttons are all on the face of the controller).
An arcade stick will give you much more control, accuracy and options than a pad ever could. I seriously recommend a stick.
They are possible on pad, just more difficult to execute. You could assign multiple buttons to the same function, such as a trigger and front button to something like MP, so that you can quickly press both in order to double tap or plink.
Of course, this is FAR easier to do on an arcade stick, but the same thing can be done with like a Madcatz pad or some sort of pad with all 6 buttons on the face of the controller. In this way, you can hover your right hand over the buttons much like you would an arcade stick, and you would press the buttons the same way as you would on an arcade stick. It’s more difficult due to the smaller size of the buttons, lesser stability of pressing down on a pad in this way, and firmer resistance on the buttons.
This is not true at all. A stick has no serious advantage over a pad and vice versa. It is primarily a point of preference. Although it is generally considered that left-hand directional inputs are quicker on a pad due to the shorter throw and faster movements of the thumb, whereas a stick provides consistent right-hand button inputs due to the ability to use multiple fingers to press multiple buttons quickly and accurately without use of macros.
^Always love to be corrected, as this is a great way to gain knowledge and evolve!!! Thanks Senor Trouble!!! 
So when I’m trying to improve my god awful ability to link, should I just pick a few a day and hammer them out and practice? Does anyone have some tips on what helped them when learning to improve their ability to land links? I realize that it’s all muscle memory, but I’m sure there are better ways to improve it other than just repeatedly hitting the same link.
I’m playing SSF4:AE as Adon btw.
That’s exactly what you do. You practice one link, or a few links, until you can land them as consistently as you can. This is how you develop muscle memory. You do it by repetitive motion until your fingers know exactly when to start moving.
It’s important to take a break every now and then. Links shouldn’t be the SOLE purpose of training, rather, you should do it in-between your other forms of training. You can first warm-up by practicing your bnb combos and punishes, then you can move on to playing online or against the hardest CPU opponents, then take some time to figure out why you’re losing and come up with a plan to alter your current training regime or strategy to counter that, then do some link training, back to basic combos, and then back to playing matches.
Just an idea.
Thanks for the help. I just need to get a better hold on my links so I can actually do most of Adon’s BnB combos haha.
It’s especially important for Adon, since none of his combos are really that big on damage. It’s important to learn his basic hit confirm combos and frame trap setups. Be sure to know how to perform his ambiguous cross-ups, since that’s one of his best tools to land damage.
Also be sure to look into things like double tapping and plinking. Although it feels weird to perform these execution techniques in the beginning, they actually help to inject some consistency into your execution.
So since I refuse to open a new topic and earn myself more wrath from the admins, I’d like to post my queries here.
I’ve used several sticks - many of which are claimed to be custom made. I’ve identified a key problem in a good many of my inputs: that being that when doing a QCF, I somehow manage to hit the up/upforward/upbackward buttons on accident (in the case of the first two, usually they end up together; the second and third are always isolated incidents by themselves). I also notice that when trying to hit two Punch buttons together (or even three, for Ultras) I have problems getting even two buttons to land at the same time - for example, I’ll want to hit MP+HP or LP+MP or w/e; I tap the buttons, but the game reads the rhythm all wrong (in the case of LP+MP, the game reads the weakest button first).
Usually when this happens, I panic to make sure I’m seeing the inputs right. And then I run into another problem - the minimum timing requirement for any motion to be registered as valid for a special move. I have terrible abilities in tracking time in my head (due to it being clusterfucked with a bunch of other crap at the time - I’m not able to multitask), and my math is so pitiful, I shouldn’t have even graduated high school (despite the fact that I did). So I keep either doing it too slow or too fast (the latter most of the time) and it messes up the special (most often in the case of Ultras/DMs), resulting in just the normal coming out.
The problem is, I can’t really “feel” the timing in my head, so I have no idea how fast is fast enough to be slow enough to make sure I have the inputs correct (as this thread’s advised, do it fluidly before going all hyperspeed on it). Not to mention, I’ve not used a proper arcade stick in nearly, what, a decade or so? So I’d imagine not being able to “feel the gate” has something to do with it too.
I’m starting to think I’m a heavy masher, but I’m not really 100% sure on this. I mean, I’ve just started with both FGs and sticks, so I have virtually ZERO idea of what’s right and what’s wrong - and what’s what. It’s rather irritating, and the fact that I can still win some matches despite this abhorrently low/non-existent execution is also irritating because I didn’t win those on skill - it was sheer beginner’s luck. Granted, I can pull it off if it’s just by itself (and usually I fail after about 5 or 6 reps, maybe 7).
I have no idea what to do. I’m hoping Theo delivers on his promise to sell one of his sticks to me for a bargain price, but right now the only stick practice I’ve got is at the SRK League Bar, and I can’t be there 24/7. Any ideas for how I could gain execution practice outside of using a stick on these issues?
You do realize that you basically just asked “Is there any way I can get practice without practicing?” right?
… Derp. Me and my mouth. Thanks for the big reminder, Airk.
I’m running into a consitent problem with canceling my light attacks into specials. For instance, I use Ken I can link my 3 cr.lp together perfectly, but I cannot seem to get the follow up SRK or Tatsu to come out. Should I be buffering the attack while linking the 3 punches? Thoughts?
It’s possible that you’re chaining your 3 cr.lps. Getting 3 LPs to connect is pretty easy. You can mash the living shit out of it, and you’ll connect all of them without any effort. This is because you’re chaining those moves together, and in SF4, you cannot connect specials off of chained attacks. What you have to do is either slow down your link timing between each cr.lp, or slightly delay the timing of your final cr.lp, which no longer makes it a chain attack, so that you can connect with an SRK or tatsu.
That may be the case. I am only pressing the punch button 3 times, as being sure not to mash, but I still could be chaining it. Unfortunately, being able to distinguish between a link and a chain in terms of light attacks is tough.