SKULLGIRLS GENERAL FAQ
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Ok guys, thanks to being sick as a dog this week (among other things getting in the way) I haven’t been able to get to work on this as much as I’d like so I’m just going to post what I have thus far. This is just a collection of general information. Character specific stuff stays within their respective threads. Also please note that the information provided here may change prior to or post release.
I ask that you guys please help me out in expanding on this further, especially in going through the previous thread and newest one for more information.
Again, sorry it’s not entirely up to snuff.
[What’s the release date?]
Currently, it is unknown but end of March is the current estimate.
With disc based games, the publisher is responsible for the distribution and the printing of actual disks. As such, they are free to set any release date they think their developers can reasonably meet. That’s why release dates can be announced so many months in advance. For downloadable games like Skullgirls, Sony and Microsoft are responsible for putting the game up on their servers. THEY decide the release date and only after a game has been submitted to them by the developers and passed a two week (give or take) certification process. Furthermore, developers are forbidden from announcing a release date without the consent and permission of Microsoft and Sony. To do so would be a breach of contract and may impede if not preclude the release of the game on XBLA or PSN. The moment Reverge Labs is able to announce a release date they will, further inquires will be fruitless. Good things come to those who wait and the wait shouldn’t be much longer now.
[What noteworthy but potentially overlooked features does this game have?]
This game uses GGPO netocde. You can change the delay setting for every online fight right on the pre-match screen and a suggested value is offered according to the opponent’s ping each time (half-ping-time converted to frames). Oh and yes, ping is visible as opposed to just those annoying and vauge bars.The hope, in place of using standard settings all the time but always making them available, is that people are given the opportunity to learn and experiment.The game also has ROBUST tutorials with teaching features not yet seen in other fighting games, hold-start-to-pause, Versus training toggle, press-to-set button config, button shortcuts for colors, button config on character select, etc. There’s probably a bunch of other things I’ve forgotten. The game is full of pleasant surprises.
[Is there anything this game can’t do?]
The development team consists of about 15 human beings, with only ONE network guy, and the budget is small relative to the “big boys”. So unfortunately not everything one would like can make it at launch. Lobbies will only be two people large at launch. Eight man lobbies with spectator mode and an online training mode won’t be there at launch but are priorities and should be patched in shortly after release. Plans have been discussed to even allow for multiple simultaneous battles within the same lobby rather than just a standard rotation system. Replays, replay sharing and Youtube uploads are also planned and will be patched in sometime after release. GGPO delay options will be added to Training mode later. Tutorials right now are general; character-specific challenges are delayed to better gauge the needs and wants of the community. There are no offical versus screens at launch but instead a cute animation of George, they and other neat aesthetic touches will come in the near future. There also won’t be in-game command lists; surprisingly enough between creating the UI, translations for multiple languages, bug testing, etc. creating such lists can take weeks. Fortunately, the Shoryuken wiki is already incredibly robust and will only become more so as time goes on. Also, not so saint and worldjem7 have made a neat, colored move list that features all the command normals, specials and suppers of the launch cast here.
[How robust can we expect the Training mode to be?]
Well we have hitbox display (simple or advanced, advanced shows throw-vulnerability, physical extent and object points) and hitstun/blockstun bars. You can toggle the ability to die, meter (normal/0/1/2/3/5/infinite), life (normal/one pixel/10%-20%…100%/infinite), and attack data. Hitboxes indicate lots of extra stuff like your block type or invincibility type by changing color. Attack data shows life, red life, last hit / combo / max damage. “Hit” also means chip damage and “combo” also means your current block string. You will even be able to see which stage of the combo the IPS thinks you’re in. “Normal” life and meter is, well, normal, infinite never goes down, and setting them to any particular value will return them to that value after the current combo is over, even setting zero meter which is useful because of the whiff-normal rules or for seeing what you get on block. The dummy is always P2 for manual control. Again, you can toggle into “Sparring” mode from Versus mode and if you do, you are automatically set to 100% life/5 meters/no deaths/hitstun bars/attack info. Be sure to check out the “Practice Room” portion of the wiki for more info and pretty pictures.
[What is Skullgirls?]
Skullgirls is a 2D indie fighting game. It is being developed by Reverge Labs, published by Autumn Games, and distributed by Konami.
[How does Skullgirls play?]
Skullgirls is best described as a love letter to all the wonderful craziness of Capcom’s older series of versus titles, games like Marvel vs Capcom 2, Xmen vs Street Fighter, and so on.
[How many buttons may I mash with?]
Skullgirls is a game that uses six buttons.
[Tell me more!]
Much like the versus games Skullgirls lets you choose a team of charcters to play with. Unlike them however, you are free to choose the size of your team. You can pick a team of one, two, or three characters.
[A team of one or three, really?]
Yes. Each team gets appropiate strength and weaknesses applied to them as well. A team of one is devoid of calling assists (due to having no team mates) but does much more damage. A team of two gains the ability to call out an assist, but does less damage then a team of one. A team of three gains two assists, but does even less damage.
To recap:
One person team: No assists, big damage.
Two person team: One assist, average damage.
Three person team: Two assists, below average damage.
Of course with a team of two or three you get access to dhc’s and the like as well.
[What about the health for each team?]
From Mike_Z:
Ratio dmg got tweaked a while ago:
2v1 or 2v3, the 2 has 115% life, 130% dmg.
1v2 or 1v3, the 1 has 175% life, 200% dmg.
1v1 and 2v2 are 100%, 3v3 uses R2 settings because of the 15% dmg bonus, which helps keep matches from stretching too long compared to 2v2.
[So how do I call out an assist?]
Assist 1 = LK + MP or LP + MK
Assist 2 = MK + FP or MP + FK
[Tell me more about assists!]
Skullgirls has three types of assists. The first two are predetermiend, or ‘canned’ if you will. They’re usually two of the specials the character has. The third assist however, is completely custom. Outside of supers you can do pretty much anything. The game will ask you to input your move (or even your normal), recognize it, and you’re off!
[What about tagging in?]
Tag 1 = MP + MK
Tag 2 = FP + FK
[Can I snap back?]
Sure. It’s qcf+tag.
[Is there a universal launcher?]
Nope. Everyone’s got a different way of launching, usually with a normal / command normal.
[What about supers?]
Supers are done with a varitey of different motions, from qcf, to qcb, to dp, but you’ll always press either two buttons and two kicks right afterwards.
[Are there level three supers in the game?]
Yes there are.
[You can combo two level threes?]
Yes. First you’ll need a full 5 meters (the max limit allowed in the game). Next you’ll do your first character’s level 3. From there you can do the next character’s level 3, even though you’ve only two super meters. In this situation, dhc’ing from one level 3 to the next, the second level three only takes two super meters.
[Are there tag team supers, where all three characters come out at once?]
No sir.
[Does everyone have an air dash?]
Nope. Many characters do, but the speed, length, trajectory and so on vary greatly from character to character.
[Let’s get a bit technical, what about hit stun?]
There’s several types. There’s standing, stagger, wall bounce, and sliding state. Another unique feature of Skullgirls is that when a character being air juggled comes close enough to the ground while still in the combo they will be put into a standing state.
[How do I build meter?]
Like most fighting games, meter is built on hit, when being hit, on block and blocking. Of course you build more meter when hitting your opponent then when you are hit and meter gain on black is reduced from either perspective. The difference in meter gain between you and your opponent reverses as a combo becomes longer but it takes somewhere in the neighbored of 40 hits before the defending player starts building more meter than the aggressor. You can build meter on whiff but only up to the first bar and only if you are moving forward. You’ll hear a distinctive chime each time you reach a new level. Once you reach the maximum, at five, the bar will glow obnoxiously to remind you that you have meter you haven’t been using. Use it!
[How do throws work?]
Throws are two button commands (LP+LK). The aim is to eliminate option selects between a standing normal and a throw, intentional or accidental. It also works better with throws that aren’t 0f and from a design standpoint for assigning proper priority and such. The throw tech window mirrors that seen in SFIII: Third Strike (8f total, 3f before and 5f after the throw animation). Throws have whiff animations; they are a powerful tool but don’t go throwing them around all willy-nilly.
[Can I snapback?]
Yes, the command is QCF + TAG. They are 12f+3f, are only invincible after the flash till the hit, and do no damage. Recovery time/advantage/strength differ per character.
[What’s the deal with DHCs and THCs?]
DHCs, known as Co-Star Combos in this game, there are done just as in any Marvel-esque game: inputting the next super command in the midst of the current super. Due note, the order change following a DHC is ABC -> BCA like MvC2 but not ABC -> BAC like MvC3. Team Hyper Combos don’t exist in this game due to memory issues. Modern consoles are notoriously bad at handling high-level 2D animation and unlike assists, using THCs would require entire additional characters to be loaded into memory at a time rather than just their assist frames.
[How does the color palate system work?]
A robust palette and recoloring system allows for a wide range of pseudo “skins” and “costumes”. Some are even references to other games, cartoon/anime, etc. The system supports up 64 colors per character though not that many exist yet. Colors are visible as you scroll through them in the character select screen and each comes with a button shortcut to save time in the future. Each character comes with nine default colors and has some number of unlockable ones. As more colors are made, they will be made available as DLC. Finally, there will be no color edit mode.
[What does the Patch & DLC plan look like?]
There will be free updates mixed with paid updates but the full rundown of the plan has yet to be released. Patches will come as needed to fix potential bugs, update character balance and add additional features. Though glitches of the nature of the Gambit glitch / Ruby Heart game freeze / Sonson DHC freeze / etc would be targeted for a quick fix, others would likely be thoroughly evaluated before action. The developers are very opposed to any sort of knee-jerk balance patching. Patch notes will accompany any major changes. Characters will of course fall under the paid category but will likely include new stages alongside them; each character will likely be on an individual basis. Additional color and win pose support is also planned but will likely come in packs. The soundtrack should release about 2 weeks after the game on Amazon, iTunes, etc.
