I’m not new to fighting games, but I’m new to SF. I played A3 for a while sometime back but I’ve forgotten everything I learned. I heard I should start with Sakura to get used to the game first, but I’ve totally dropped that now. C. Viper is my main and I’m determined as hell to get good at IV.
I’m having trouble with canceling and combos though. I can do Viper’s BnB combo but I’m having trouble canceling out the Jumping HK into the CR MP if that makes sense… D;
Jumping HK, CR MP QCF P/K.
When you jump in with HK, just hold down and press mp when the HK hits. Then do the qcb motion to cancel the c.mp into her thunder knuckle.
hm, in my opinion viper is a bit of a hard character to start on. plus she has low stamina, so you might get less playing/practice time overall.
as for her combo, you won’t be canceling the jumping kick. technically, that’s actually a link – the hit stun from the HK lasts long enough so that you can combo another attack right after you land.
if your opponent is blocking the c.mp after the jumping hk hits, that probably means that you’re hitting hk too early. the key to comboing after a jumping attack is to do the jumping attack late. the later you hit HK, the more time you’ll have to attack them once you land.
experiment with the timing and see what’s the earliest/latest you can do the HK for you to combo afterward.
GL
Okay I’ll try that. I have another question. In some Viper videos I see on YouTube, I see people canceling out Seismic Hammer or one of her other moves. I hear the sound for Seismic Hammer and you see the flash on her hand, but she cancels out and runs forward or something but I haven’t read anything about that in Kunai’s guides lol.
Yeah I’ve also heard she’s a hard character to learn, but I’m pretty determined. None of the other characters really appeal to me. I love Viper’s attitude and character overall so that’s definitely a plus. I’ll have a harder time learning but I think it’ll be worth it later on. 
Thanks for replying so fast you two. 
Those are the “fake” specials. Basically you press 2 punches instead of 1 and she does the starting animation for the specials but stops. It’s used to fake out people. Most people use it to keep people blocking and walk up to throw them.
but you would use focus attack to absorb a fireball and then dash to cancel it…so for all intents and purposes youre using FADC? arent you likely to get punished if you use a plain focus attack instead?
Thanks again.
maybe im really retarded but trial mode is driving me crazy. I can’t get the most basic of commands to work. I feel like I am missing out on a great deal of this game since I can’t manually move to the next move/trial until I complete the stupid basic ones that won’t ever work. For example with Sagat on the first trial it says standing HK, HK. I’m not sure the exact conditions I have to meet but I have tried forever on basic crap like that and can’t get past it. I really just want to learn some combos and get some ideas for stuff to do and it seems i’ll never get to since i cant do a basic standing kick. Am I just a retard or missing something essential? I really want to get good at this game but I find it very frustrating and spend more time reading about it than I actually do playing it.
I was playing SF IV at this gaming cafe by my house and there was this uy there that works at gamestop. While I was playing he showed me something and changed the button layout on the 360 controller so that I could combos and supers easier. Does anyone know how that layout goes?
there is no way we can help people here with gamefaq-esque complaints like these. all i can suggest is:
i don’t think there is a standard pad layout that you’re looking for, but my guess is that the medium attacks might be mapped to the shoulders…?
that’s a shot in the dark though… i’m not a pad user haha.
lol i wish I had a stick but money is pretty tight now and the ALL the stick prices have gone up. I’m just not willing to pay that much for a fuckin controller. maybe I’ll buy the genisis style pad and see how that goes (if there are anymore).
I wasn’t so much saying “help me with specific moves/combos” more so than making a general statement. I’m having a ton of trouble on a lot of basic crap and a few specific things like canceling a focus attack by dashing. I really want to like this game and play competitively but the learning curve for beginners is so hard to me for whatever reason. I’m definately gonna keep at it, but at some point it stops being fun and just seems like work.
Long time lurker here, recently started getting back into Street Fighter again with STHD and now SF4. I guess you could say I’m the target market for SF4, an older player getting back into the series after a long absence.
Anyway, I am having a ton of trouble adjusting to the timing versus STHD. I think it isn’t helping matters that I haven’t found a primary character or even 2-3 characters to focus on as of yet (I’ve just been jumping around trying to figure out who I find fun to play while I get used to the game). I realize that “fun” is a subjective thing, but I’m hoping people here can give me some suggestions. Yes, I have browsed the various character-specific forums and I still can’t make up my mind.
-I’d like to avoid the characters that everyone seems to play currently
-I enjoy playing an offensive style, but I had more success in STHD being a turtle
I know that isn’t much to go on, but I would appreciate any recommendations for a returning scrub and why that character might be a good fit for me. Also, if you need more information from me, please feel free to ask.
ya me and my friend who managed our gamestop tourny we were laughing at the gamestop move list book that had him at f tier. he was saying dan doesnt suck that badly as well.
I suppose you’re right. I just usually see FADC specifically referring to the special move cancelling purpose.
fadc?
I’ve got another couple of questions.
I’ve seen a lot of people saying that this game doesn’t have a lot of “block strings” or “footsies”, and I’m wondering what general definitions of these terms are. I’m pretty sure that footsies is kind of like baiting your opponent with your normals, but I’m not too sure.
All thanks in advance.
Thats posted on the first page eric25, there is a link to terminology.
On a seperate note, I just found out tonight that the release of a button counts as an input for specials and supers. Didn’t read that anywhere and was pleasantly surprised. Some things just got a little bit easier =).
i believe block strings were covered very early in this thread. they are basically a string of moves that, when blocked, are relatively safe from counter attack, either between the moves or after.
an example of a relatively safe block string for ryu in sf4 is something like c.lk, c.lp, c.lp, c.mp xx fireball
this set of moves prevents your opponent from attacking you or grabbing you between each move, or after the string is done.
block strings are used in a variety of ways, including, but not limited to:
a good block string should have as little gaps as you can manage between each hit. a good litmus test is whether or not your opponent can mash SRK through it, or gief can SPD through it.
HOWEVER, sf4 is unique in that block stun is VERY short compared to other street fighter games. so there are actually a lot less TRUE block strings (i.e. absolutely no gaps) in sf4. that’s why mashing SRK while blocking can be pretty effective…
footsies is kind of an obtuse term, but when put in a nutshell means controlling space through the use of (mainly, but not always only) normal moves, and ultimately trying to score a knockdown or at least get yourself in a favorable position.
watching a chun mirror match in 3s will show you to a gross extreme what it looks like…
see the article “Controlling Space” in the dojo to read an essay about it.
nice find. that’s actually called “negative edge” and is talked about in the 3s video tutorial available at combovideos.com or on youtube.
although it mainly talks about 3s mechanics, there are also many things in that vid that can apply to other fighters as well.
Thanks. I’ll go read the article.