2602

Even though I’ve already graduated, I’ll still be in Westwood until August and I hope to be in West LA in general for many years. I won’t be around to play this weekend, but I’m down to play most evenings otherwise. If you have my number, feel free to text or call whenever to set some games up. If you don’t have my number, I’ll let you know when I’m down to meet up or to have people come over.

Imo there’s very definitely such thing as natural talent for the game, but learning and experience (and being geographically lucky in having good competition around so you can level up… which you guys all have) are very important too.

2603

That was a joke, but no I don’t think it would make you an elitist dick if you said it respectfully. You would just be ensuring that you don’t waste your time with people who aren’t trying to improve their game.

You should rethink the meaning of the word talent. Reaction speed, the ability to read people’s minds, a knack for execution, those are all individual skills that players can have a “natural talent” for, meaning that they have a natural ability to play well in a certain aspect of the game without having to practice it. The less talented a player is in a certain aspect of street fighter, the more that player is required to practice that aspect to get better at it. 2 examples:

  1. I have decent mind games and reading ability, so I don’t have to practice to vortex and pull shenanigans on scrubs all day. But my execution has always been terrible, so I’ll have to start practicing in training mode if I want to learn FADC combos lol

  2. Daigo has the natural talent of calm nerves; they say he isn’t human because he seems to feel no emotion even in the most intense matches. His mind is unaffected by external things and he’s often able to bring his absolute best performance when it matters the most. That’s a talent, and you can practice as much as possible, but some players are just going to be more naturally talented than you are (either in individual aspects of the game, or overall).

Yeah I know who you’re talking about, and those are the cases where I think it’s okay to just tell them to take a hike but in a more respectful manner. Maybe play them real quick out of courtesy, but you don’t need to waste your time with casual players who don’t take the game seriously because its counterproductive to your cause of improvement. I can understand your frustration with these players, but yeah I guess that means you have to decide who deserves your play time. I’m just saying don’t be an elitist dick to the players that are genuinely seeking to improve their game.

2604

i think we’re all maybe thinking a little too hard about this, and maybe blowing this out of proportion just a little bit.
from my perspective, this game is awesome because of what its done to bring this group of people together over this past year. we’re at the point right now where casuals are common and the group is just getting bigger and bigger, which is a really great thing for all of us who enjoy playing, for whatever reason.
obviously, most of us are concerned with getting better, because in the long run that’s really the main point in playing a game like this.
with that said though, there’s no reason for there to be any drama, despite anyone’s attitude towards this game, and at this point, anything that will cause drama in my opinion is a bad thing. i mean we’re all still friends at the end of the day, and in fact, if we weren’t friends then playing this game with each other would be really stupid. so, let’s all take a chill pill and remember that we’re doing this to have fun. i feel that we can leave the street fighter philosophy to seth killian.

2605

Casuals tomorrow evening at my place. Anyone down?

2606

You have only see the scrub juri in action, you have yet to suffer playing her and eventually beating her and giving me rights to the bottom of the ucla tier!

2607

As I said already, they don’t fucking listen anyway. They just come back and back and back and back.

SO PRACTICE MORE. I really don’t understand why some people can’t just buckle down and PRACTICE. Honestly, I lacked EVERY SINGLE ASPECT. I was the MOST untalented player when I started. My execution was shit, I had no knowledge about the game, I had no idea what mind games were, my mix-ups were minimal, and I had the worst hand-eye coordination and reaction time. I was always the most nonathletic kid around. I got to my place just through hours and hours of practice. I don’t see why others can’t.

Honestly, seriously, really, if you think I should, then I will. Don’t think that I won’t.

I’m not. I really am not. I’m always helpful to people who are “genuinely seeking to improve their game”. Honestly, ask anyone at Coinz and see if I’ve been an ass to anyone to this point. I’ve always been trying to help out until I finally decided that most people are not worth my time and effort.

Kong, I love you so much. You always make me laugh.
I really think I don’t need to comment on any of your posts anymore.

I troll to have fun, too. Go take a chill pill. I hope you do realize who the one that took this the most seriously was.

Damn. I would love to if I wasn’t being dragged to a club tomorrow night. D:
Maybe I can get some games in earlier evening tomorrow? What time were you thinking about starting?

2608

I think this boils down to expectations that people have with the game.

Some just enjoy the community of people who play ssf4.
Some just play for fun.
Some really want to improve and love the competition.

It’s difficult to please everyone, and I think Lainysky genuinely wants to improve as much as possible.

However, there’s a tradeoff.
If you want to get really good, you have to spend more time and dedication to doing things that will help a person get better, which includes playing with better people.
This also comes with a cost, because time is valuable. For ssbm (please don’t laugh), I do try to help people improve, but I don’t really bother playing noobs.

Because
a) it’s not fun
b) the skill gap is really too big
c) however I still give advice

Do people think I’m arrogant? Probably
But at the same time, i’m not here to pamper everyone and neither should lainy

-tafo

2609

this.

Honestly, the idea is that you play someone who’s at your level, or slightly better, and you climb up the ladder WITH them.
I had Richard when I started out, then Marc in the later parts that really helped me get better.
Richard was obviously better than me when I first picked up the game, but after quite a bit of practice, I was able to beat him.
Then he went on, thought about the game, improved it, and he started to beat me pretty consistently.
After that, I improved more, and I was on top, then him afterward, and it just went on like that.
Which I believe has helped both of us get better significantly.
Same thing goes to Marc. He was a competition worth having, each of us overtaking the other as time went on.

Honestly, I don’t think I would’ve leveled as effectively if I were playing someone like James Chen like I played Richard.
The skill level difference would’ve made me frustrated and I would’ve been lost on what to do pretty damn often.
It’s like me playing the bottom of the ladder.
Honestly, when I beat you all repeatedly, what did you learn?
I’m sure you can’t point anything out. Because you didn’t learn anything.
But if you were playing people your level, then it would’ve helped you level up, and get closer to the people at top.
The whole reason why the tier list was created was for you to know who’s at your level.
So you can gather up, and play together with people around your level.
But well, obviously some people don’t want to see it.

It’s really not fun beating on noobs 30 times in a row.
I know it’s not getting beat on constantly.
So get together with people your level, and get better together.
That’s honestly all there is.

This is why I proposed Danisen instead of Ranbats.
Ranbats, you play against random people at random skill levels, and half the time, who wins has a lot to do with how the brackets are set up.
Danisen is a continual process that shows your progress constantly.
It helps everyone level up with the people around their own level.
But Ranbats aren’t going to help as much.
One day of utter defeat will not change things for the lot of you.
You’ll still have the mentality of “playing only for fun”.

There’s only so much that we can do for you.
We can give you advices, but in the long run, you’ll have to learn on your own.
You have to put yourself to the right mindset, and put in efforts of your own.
On top of taking the advices in the first place, that is.

Honestly, I know a lot of you guys are trying to get better.
If you want to play just for fun, stay out of tournaments. You’re wasting your money.
If you really do want to improve, I’m willing to help you out.
But don’t expect me to be as cooperative as I’ve been in the past.
'cause the longer this goes on, the more things I’m learning about some of you.
And it’s discouraging my helpful side.

With that said, the following is the UCLA tier list. If you want to look at it, and see where you stand, then feel free.
I actually advise you to figure out who’s around your level, and get together with each other to practice.

And before you guys get hot and bitter,

2610

Lainy being an asshole? I haven’t read this in its entirety, but I support the notion.

2611

I don’t care what you decide. You’re a big boy, make up your own mind. But you seem to want to help the community improve, and you keep whining about all the players that don’t take the game seriously, so why not just exclusively play against the ones who do take it seriously?

2612

That’s the best compliment that could come out of your mouth. Thanks! :slight_smile:

Because that would make me an elitist dick.

2613

I didn’t even know I played enough to be acknowledged on that list =/ When do the danisen battles start?

2614

According to my plans, it was going to start as soon as summer started.
But now I’m off the case. Try and see if anyone’s willing to patch it together.

2615

Hehe. This is Taylor again–I made a username to reflect the name I actually want to use for fighting games and whatnot. Sorry, I shoulda done it earlier. Sam, could you change the name on the Tier list? Not a biggie either way, especially if we don’t use it.

But yeah, I kinda liked the idea of the tier list, just because I think it’d be a good incentive to get better, and, since we are all chums, the competition would stay friendly–and I know from experience in other sports and whatnot that there is no reason friends can’t be very competitive and serious and not also enjoy the time playing. I was sorta looking forward to at least attempting the 10-game thing, just because I don’t usually play with too much focus, and I thought it would’ve been pretty fun. (EDIT: Productive, FOCUSED fun.)

That’s all I really have to say about it. If most people dislike the idea, then I don’t think it’s a big deal if we don’t do it. Most of all, I would like to sit down for some serous level-up sessions, but that’s tricky since I’m not in Westwood. I’ll do some planning.

2616

with all due respect, i would just like to comment on why this list should not be taken seriously.
of course, by this point i think we all know that marqus, dan, sam, simon and the rest are pretty much the best around ucla. however (keeping in mind I don’t know exactly who decided on this list), the fact that some of those players would assume to know how the bottom players stack up against each other seems very questionable. for example, when was the last time that any of those top players were there to see eric lee play against gavin? or to see me play against rommel? hell, when was the last time that azncoffee played against any of us?
now i’m not doing this to complain about my rank, because i know exactly how good i am at street fighter and i don’t need a list to tell me who i can’t beat. what i am saying is, that i for one believe that i know a lot more about how i stack up against the people that i’ve played than better players who aren’t even around to watch me play the vast majority of the time.
my original concern about this list is that people would take it seriously, when it would really make no sense to do so. i know who’s at my level, and i know who to call up for casuals and practice sessions. i think all of us do. this list is pointless.

2617

When the new tier list ever gets made, then I’ll be sure to change it. This list is temporary, anyway.

Here’s a simple solution. If you want your name to be excluded from the tier lists from now on, then feel free to tell me so, and I’ll be sure to leave you out. Otherwise, tier lists will be updated about once a month. (Note that Summer 2010 will have a separate tier list, since not everyone will be staying in school.)

I’ll do whatever it takes to build a COMPETITIVE UCLA community.
If that means taking my word back, then be it. If that means chewing people out, then I’ll do it.
I’ll just do what I believe is right. If you guys want to get better, get at me.
Otherwise, go on and keep scrubbing out on Live or PSN.
If you want to call me elitist because you refuse to get better, then go on. Whatever.

Things will be different.

Taylor, you already have the basics of Abel down. You just need to learn how to mix up better, and just simple do-s and don’t-s.
We can work something out, I’m sure. West Hollywood’s not too far away.

2618

THIS and

THIS don’t add up.

First, it doesn’t matter who beats who. What matters is how much understanding you have for the game.
How the list was composed of was not according to who beats who, but rather, what skill level everyone’s at.
We know relatively how good everyone is, and this is just a collection of numerical scales of those ideas.
Tell me honestly where it doesn’t make sense exactly, and I’ll fix it if there’s justifiable reasoning behind it.
But just trying to invalidate the list because “you guys don’t know if A beats B or not” is just simply retarded.

Second, whoever said that Marqus, Dan, Simon, and I decided on this list?
Just having top players decide would make the list either inflated or deflated.
We obviously don’t want that. There are more than just the top players involved in making the list.
Which is exactly why I didn’t say who helped, although the credit should be given out fairly.
I don’t want you going to person C and asking them why they rated you a 2, for example.
Three sets of the data have detailed reasons attached to them.
People who are curious about what other people say about them can feel free to ask me about it.

Making sense usually help in arguments.

2619

@mio… with all do respect mio… you still doing drama shit? this aint ddr anymore bro… lets just have fun and please do not go all surgical with this shit… lets just have fun and play the game :slight_smile:

@lainySky… where do you have casuals in ucla? does the arcade have supersf4 setup now? also the stats report that you were doing. i know someone that can help you with points system…

2620

edit: nevermind, I’ve said my peace. I was gonna make a point but it’ll just come out sounding like more drama. See yall around Coinz.

@Vest: With all due respect, quit turtle fighter 4 and come play a man’s game (3s) so you can learn how to rush down like a true G… lol jk. I always get surgical with this kind of shit online, you can thank Cory Evans for that. Doesn’t matter if it’s politics, nba or street fighter, I usually have something to say. I’m sure it’s annoying to some people but I’d much rather talk freely about it online than be super talkative (and annoying as fuck) about it in person.

2621

Lol UCLA drama.

Just play and have fun.