woo! someone to match up with!
Ugh. I'm waiting for Arcade to download. My primary xbox won't connect to the internet. Spent half an hour trying to get it. I bought a cheap xbox for playing video in the bedroom so I moved up there. Of course it doesn't have super. 700 meg download and every time I try to do anything it starts over so I can't even practice. Very annoying. I'll join when I can (assuming my wife isn't in bed by the time it finishes).
Thanks for the matches, all. Sorry for bailing without saying anything; had to take a call and I guess the wireless headset had gone to sleep or something.
Great games everyone, that was a ton of fun. I won't be around this Saturday, so you all have fun and I'll catch you next Wednesday. I'll post the game for next week by the weekend, and I'll aim for something most people have.
Good times.
My thumb hurts though. Stupid d-pad.
If it's AE again on Saturday I should be around for it. Not going to promise I will, MLG Columbus is this weekend and I was planning to watch most of it, but generally in the past I've taken a good solid break from watching their past events on Saturday because they get into a lot of open bracket stuff that I find less interesting. Should leave me plenty of time for a couple hours of SF4.
Is there a good fightstick that's not $150? Or is that kind of minimum for one that won't break in a week?
There used to be a regular $70 FightStick from MadCatz, but I see it as out of stock now (going for $180 on Amazon Marketplace). I don't know of any others myself. I built my own, and it wound up costing the same as a Tournament Edition stick, but it was a blast. Highly recommended if you want a project involving soldering and woodworking.
I bought the special edition of Tekken from Amazon for CHEAP and it came with a stick that I actually like quite a lot. Check around for something like that.
Just a quick search on Amazon turned up this for $50. Sure, the branding is ass but that's a Mad Catz stick for $50. I would assume it's the same as the SF4 sticks. My primary stick is actually one of those models (without the rock on it) but I added a custom stick and buttons.
I would look locally for the Tekken 6 Arcade stick. There's a used bundle (with Tekken 6 game) on Amazon but you should be able to find it for < $100. The nice thing about the tekken stick is it is wireless. It is made by Hori which has a good reputation.
You can also try the WWE All Stars Brawl Stick. It is made by Mad Catz and looks just like the SF IV stick (with different graphics). This is probably your best bet for a solid but inexpensive stick. These are easily modded with Sanwa parts.
If you really want something cheap you could try this one. There is only one review on it from Amazon and it's someone complaining it doesn't work well for Pac-Man.
To give you a preview of what's to come in later weeks, here are the games I'm picking from:
Mortal Kombat
Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift EXTEND
Tekken 6
and eventually Street Fighter X Tekken and possibly Soul Calibur 5
Which version of Mortal Kombat? I may get that if it's not too expensive. SF X Tekken and SC 5 are available on Red Box so I'll probably rent them when they come up (assuming they're still available). That also may be a good reason to include them. Most people should be able to rent them.
All versions of MK should work with each other now after patching.
Having used my stick only a day and playing SF4 for 3 days I felt like I got thrown in the deep end. It was awesome. I took notes and learned a lot. A fundamental problem is that I can't consistently close in on a human opponent.
My biggest problem is that I get ridiculously nervous which leads to fumbled inputs and poor decision making. I'll get some combo stuck in my head and keep attempting it instead of adapting to the situation. When I say 'ridiculously', I mean that I switched to a controller to grip something because my hand would literally shake. It may seem silly but I wouldn't share this if you all weren't goodjers. This sort of competitive anxiety is something that I've dealt with for a long time. Normally, this would be the point that I just pack it in and give up. Not this time though, damn it. That said, don't feel sympathetic and 'take it easy' on me as I need the opposite. Bring it on and eventually I will too.
Edit: Also, if anyone is around on off nights and I'm online I will play anytime. I've got SSF4, UMvC3, BlazBlue CSE, MK and SFxT.
Good games last night. It's been a while since I've played fighting games with a group that doesn't tear me up or vice versa. If we do SF4 again, I'll probably go ahead and grab AE.
All versions of MK should work with each other now after patching.
This. Still, if you can find the Komplete Edition for cheap, then you'll have everything. I'll try to come up with a schedule if people want to rent games, so that you can have a few weeks to make sure it arrives.
Bishop:
On approaching - This has a lot to do with what safe moves your character has, and who you're facing. You can gain most of this info just by playing more, but you can give yourself a head start by looking up what moves your character has that are safe in various situations. For example, the reason you saw me do so many j.MK approaches followed by c.MP with Ryu is because any jump attack, if you make it meaty, cannot be punished. Ryu's c.MP is +2 frames on block, also meaning it can't be punished. Super SF4 has been out long enough that all the data is on the Shoryuken Wiki if you want to look it up. Any attack that is positive frames is safe and can be part of a combo in that situation (i.e. on block, on hit), anything with negative frames is not safe or will end a combo if not cancelled (i.e. Ryu's c.FP).
Meaty means an attack that is already active on top of the opponent when they recover. This is how I was doing all my j.MK approaches last night, and there are only two responses to a meaty attack - a Reversal, and simply blocking. If you're going to try for a reversal, you have to consider if the move has startup invincibility or not, if it does not you'll still lose to the meaty attack. Meaty attacks are great for keeping the pressure on, particularly if you're facing an opponent you know doesn't have a good reversal against your meaty attack. If they block, you go into a block string, mix-up, or throw. If they try to reversal and fail, free combo.
On adrenaline - I had this exact problem for a long, long time. These nights helped me get past it a lot. The other things that worked for me were forcing myself to remember to breathe (I would hold my breathe for the whole match, not good), and starting to regularly exercise. The exercise helped the most, but that won't help you if you're already exercising.
I think everyone has some anxiety when playing. Yours seems a bit higher than most, though. I think it's like most things. If you do it enough you'll get used to the anxiety and eventually it won't have the same effect.
Is there a good fightstick that's not $150? Or is that kind of minimum for one that won't break in a week?
I really like this stick: the Hori EX 2. It's pretty cheap and I strongly prefer it to the Tekken 6 bundle stick and the wrestling game Brawlstick. (Our group has all three, so I've used all three a fair amount.) The Brawlstick isn't bad, but the Tekken 6 stick feels too light weight and the buttons feel a bit sticky to me.
I do have the Soul Calibur 4 stick, which is a branded Hori EX 2, and it's a solid stick. Not as nice as the $150 ones, but for 1/3 the price it's a good stick.
EDIT: For next week, I'm deciding between Mortal Kombat and Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3. Anybody have any particular preferences?
I'm personally in favor of MK as opposed to MvC as I'm terrible at MvC.
I don't have ultimate so I'd prefer MK but then I flaked out this week so maybe I shouldn't get a vote =)
I don't have ultimate so I'd prefer MK but then I flaked out this week so maybe I shouldn't get a vote =)
You still have Saturday.
I don't have ultimate or MK but I may be willing to buy MK on the cheap. I do have MvC 3 but not ultimate. I'm annoyed at the release of ultimate so soon after and the hich cost so I'm skipping it.
That's good enough for me. Next week will be Mortal Kombat, get your rentals/cheap purchases in order if you want to join in. The best part about Mortal Kombat, is that our avatars appear MST3K style in lobbies, so we get to taunt the other players, make various gestures, and even throw things at the screen. The worst part is that last time I played Mortal Kombat online the lag was atrociously bad, but the game has been patched since then. If lag gets the best of us, we'll fall back to Super SF4 AE.
EDIT:
I'm just going to throw out a schedule. If anybody absolutely hates this order, scream loudly.
3/25 - 3/31: Mortal Kombat
4/1 - 4/7: Street Fighter X Tekken
4/8 - 4/14: Blazblue: Continuum Shift EXTEND
4/15 - 4/21: Super SF4 AE
This should give folks plenty of time to rent copies if they want to. U. MvC 3 and the Namco games will get scheduled later, so the folks who bought them for this don't feel like they wasted money. 
I have a Hori EX2. It's OK as a starter stick, but if you think you're going to stick with fighting games, then do consider getting a 'proper' MadCatz or Hori. I realise it's not what people may want to hear, but the difference in quality in them is substantial. When I bought mine, the TE sticks weren't out, so it was a good option. (I have an originial TE now, too.). I'm glad I had an EX2, but if the TE were available then it would have been a false economy.
Early TEs had some issues, but if you pick a later expensive MadCatz model secondhand, you should still get something cheap-ish that works without issue. They are built like tanks. Weirdly, a potential problem with the TEs for new players is that they might be too well-made. The stick has very little throw - movement needed to activate it - so you can do moves easily and the buttons are very sensitive. If you're fidgety or a masher, you might end up doing moves by accident.
FWIW I also had an old-school expensive Hori or the PS2. It cost about $160. Good stick, but still not up to TE standards.
Edit
Also, you don't need a stick to win. Wolfkrone is a PS3 pad player that is one of the best players in the world, controller regardless. And there's a YouTube video of a guy called Broly who is severely disabled and uses his jaw to play on a 360 controller. He's worked out how to play Chun Li to his strengths and style, so that he maximises what he's able to do.
Edit 2
Qanba and Eightarc sticks are also well regarded. I think both can be used on 360 and PS3 - special PCBS - so they're gaining traction in the fighting game community.
I have an original TE stick and later picked up the lesser model they had for SF4 since it was 40.
I tried to play SF4 on live. I won one match out of like 14. And the one guy I beat it was really close and he was playing.. Dan.
Ouch. Is there real matchmaking going on there where it tries to equate skill levels? I mean, even if there is at this point the game has been out for so long it wouldn't matter. Even the very worst of players that have been playing for so long are still going to be better than someone who just picked it up, I'm just curious if there's anything there at all besides basically "Here's a player for you to fight, good luck"
The game does have matchmaking, based on your BP. However, the trouble with starting out from 0 at this point is that there are few other players still playing who don't already have some BP. So the game will match you as closely as it can, but eventually it widens the search to just find anybody instead of saying "sorry, you can't play".
The downside to this approach is what you experienced, a high loss rate early on while you get your skills up to the minimum BP level. The upside is you'll learn a lot faster, because you'll be playing people who will force you to learn faster.
I think I should just stick to our nights. If I want to feel bad about my skills at a game I'll go play ladder matches on Starcraft 2. At least on that there's plenty of other people playing that are as bad as I am 
I highly recommend going into the replay mode, downloading some replays of the character you want to learn, and watch them. Just note one or two combos they do, then try to replicate them in training mode. Going into a match knowing how to do a combo gives you a big leg up on quite a lot of players.
EDIT: Bishop, I just played 4 matches of SF x T, and my hands are shaking a bit. You're not alone. 
I tried to play SF4 on live. I won one match out of like 14. And the one guy I beat it was really close and he was playing.. Dan.
Ouch. Is there real matchmaking going on there where it tries to equate skill levels? I mean, even if there is at this point the game has been out for so long it wouldn't matter. Even the very worst of players that have been playing for so long are still going to be better than someone who just picked it up, I'm just curious if there's anything there at all besides basically "Here's a player for you to fight, good luck"
I would try not to get discouraged. You learn a lot from playing online. When you learn combos, learn simple combos. Don't try to learn long ones or worry about getting ultras in there. Try to stick with a single character and get better with them. Almost all characters have a decent chance against others (though there are some with some pretty bad matchups). Also, try to find a character that suits your style. I lose a lot playing Ryu. I just don't quite get him.
I'm pretty good with Blanka, though. He suits my style. I can't do long complicated combos. I do a fair amount of unsafe stuff so I need high stamina. I am primarily defensive. Blanka has a solid defense and a very good reversal move (against most characters). His combos are short and easy to execute. His ultra 2 is also a defensive move and is relatively safe. Besides Blanka I am also decent at Guile, Bison, and Gouken. All have similar characteristics to Blanka.
Ahrezmendi is an offensive player. Watch him play Cammy or Ryu. He loves the rush down.
Haha, you're absolutely right! And the crazy part is that I'm totally not outgoing, forceful, or aggressive in any way in my daily goings on. I guess these games are where I allow my inner aggression out, 'cause I definitely prefer the rushdown characters, and I have incredible trouble with the defensive characters. I can't play a charge character to save my life.
I love the aggressive play style. Even when I play a charge character, I'm likely to try and be in their face constantly.
I would also think that the SFIV online scene might be one of the toughest to jump into, given how long it's been out and what a high-skill game it is.
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