Hi Grammar – in all, sticks are much better for technical execution. The multiple mapping thing you’re referring to has for the most part been banned at tourneys and I’m not sure if they allow it nowadays. To do the turn punch, you just have to spread your palm over the buttons (Keith, whom you didn’t meet yet, has a technique can show you).
You have to look at historically, you aren’t really of that generation, but Street Fighter has always been an arcade game and 4 is still largely popular because of Japanese and American arcades. We never used pads, because the game was designed for stick and we grew up playing it on stick, so it actually feels awkward to use a pad. You have to understand also that we attempt to play at a pretty high level (this doesn’t always happen lol), so the pad just isn’t agile enough for us to pull off advanced mechanics.
Once you get to higher level play, you’ll want to master stick for the many tricks that are necessary such as double tapping, negative edge, piano inputs, kara canceling, etc. I’m not sure how easy it is to pull of focus cancel intro ultra with a pad either.
That being said, if you want to use pad, just use pad, we’ll just have to figure out an easy way to switch out for other players, but if you want to get into it seriously and really learn not only SF4, but the specifics of 2D fighters, then you’ll want to really master using a stick.
We’re not trying to sound elitist or force using a stick on you at all… but if you want to really learn the game, the stick will let you do more advanced moves much easier. The problem with the Japanese stick is that it is very sensitive, so you have to do very small movements and really hit your inputs. The bigger American style allows for more “aggressive” playing and is preferred by some of us…
Either way, we’re just trying to keep the small SF community going in State College, so if you are more comfortable using pad, we will find a way to accommodate – don’t consider not coming just because of that. Hope to see you next week.
Chris, we can now play 360 umk with ps2 pads since I have 360 converters, although I also got trilogy to try on ps2; we’ll see how loading is.