Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qua Jul 01, 2009 8:24 pm
"This was recorded at the southeast major fighting game tournament Final Round, in Atlanta, GA in March 2009. This footage was the last match of a 2 out of 3 set, Kensou winning the first match, Liston winning the 2nd. The winner of this match also places top 16 out of 240+ participants. In this match, Kensou whiffs an ultra, and Liston executes an Ultra thinking that It would connect, but instead it whiffs, Kensou notices this after standing up, then proceeds to jump back on the stick to finish off Liston who's too busy celebrating to notice before It was already over.
To clarify: Kensou is on the left standing up around 2:25, Liston is the Guy in the brown hoodie standing up as well at the same time. At 2:26 Kensou is the one that rushes down back to the stick.
Shin Kensou: "i thought i had lost honestly, and i got up laughing feeling that i lost it...but i saw viper dancing still so i did what you saw and well...the outcome is pretty obvious. a once in a lifetime thing indeed~ "
EPIC
outro ponto de vista
Liston fala da derrota
Última edição por Psipunisher em Qua Jul 01, 2009 8:38 pm, editado 2 vez(es)
psipunisher
Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qua Jul 01, 2009 8:27 pm
psipunisher
Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qua Jul 01, 2009 8:59 pm
I love america every day more......
psipunisher
Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qua Jul 01, 2009 9:26 pm
Citação :
Whether you are just starting out or you have been playing fighting games for ages and you have hit a plateau, everyone has asked themselves this question at one time or another.
Just how the hell am I supposed to be training to get good at this game?
The fact of the matter is that there are ALOT of people that have no idea how to train or what they should be doing to improve their game. They spend countless hours playing ranked matches or going to arcades and they simply don't get better or they improve for a short time and then their growth sort of flat lines.
It's simple really. Getting the most of your training isn't just about logging in the time. It's about honing in on problem areas of your game as well as developing awareness about different game concepts. You need to set clear cut goals to work towards if you want to see results.
In this thread I will attempt to go over the different areas one should be focusing on to improve their game as well as different training methods so that anyone will see fast results once they step up their training regime.
It ain't about training hard guys. It's about training smart.
Understanding the engine, terminology and basic concepts
This is a major hurdle for many people and honestly this is the main thing separating scrubs from the real players. If you want to get better you need to have a firm grasp on the engine. The more you understand the engine the more the game will make sense. If you don't know why Sagat was able to Tiger Destruction through your hadouken FTW, it's very very easy to get frustrated and stunt your growth. You need to know why things work they way they do and how you can make the engine work for you. Ultimately everything the game has to offer is a tool for you to use in battle. You need to know everything you can about it so you can exploit it to the fullest. Understand why back dashes and DP's are such good wake up options. Understand what wake up is in the first place. And it's not just the engine itself you need to understand. But also things like footsies, zoning, spacing, mix-ups, etc. Knowing stuff like this will allow you to get a better grasp of how you should be playing instead of floundering around spamming SRK's and Tatsu's. You must also strive to learn the lingo and terms this site uses so you will not be lost when reading character/gameplay discussions. A wealth of knowledge is contained in these threads and it would be a shame to miss out on all of it just because you didn't understand the terms.
Know your character
How well do you know your character? What are their AA's. Their wake-up options? Their ultra set-ups. Pokes, mix-ups, most damaging combo, hit confirms, everything. How can one even think they can get better unless they know every single facet of their character. From minuscule details to the stuff that is the meat and potatoes of their gameplay, you should know it all. If you don't THEN YOU'RE DOING IT WRONG!!!!!
Execution
Execution will never be flawless therefore you will never stop practicing it. This is something that must be practiced everyday. I would say for at least an hour but I personally practice for 3 hours a day. Everything should be practiced. Basic BnB combos, ultra set-ups, links, hit confirms, etc. Anything that requires you to physically hit buttons, should be practiced. Beginners are advised to start small with basic things like combos used for punishment as well as BnB combos and as you get better you can move on into more advanced things like hit confirms,links and ultra set-ups. There are many little drills you can do to make this more fun and effective. You can try doing 20 of each main combo you use which includes your BnB's, your ultra set-ups, main punishment combos and to test your technical prowess you can come up with a crazy combo that while very impractical, will put your skills to the test. Something that involves alot of FADCing and the use of juggles and the like with strict timing is what you would be going for. As i said this isn't about practicality. Just a way to push your technical limits. Try to come up with your own little execution drills to suit your tastes. Also to help with links try using double tapping and p linking which increases the chances of your moves coming out. There is also an in game indicator that can help you with links. When you hit someone a yellow flash will travel along their life gauge. When it's almost to the end time your next attack. If a combo doesn't work then mess with your timing.
Trial mode
This mode is just a great way to familiarize yourself with any character and learn their ultra set-ups and basic combos. Normal trial is good for beginners while hard trial is what you want when you want to take your execution up a notch. It may be a good idea to come back to the hard trials occasionally just to test your execution.
Expand your knowledge
This is really just a continuation of understanding the engine, but beyond the basics there is so much more. The entire game can honestly just be broken down into numbers and scenarios. As you learn more and more about the game you will be able to choose whichever actions are appropriate for w/e situation you may find yourself in. And to hit this point you have to study the game constantly. Frame data and hit boxes are probably the mains things you will be looking at. There two things decide what beats what and what loses to what barring super armor or invincibility frames. A firm grasp on these two things will give you a sizable advantage in battle and allow a player to make large advances in their own skill level. Understanding frame data is easy enough. You can check that stuff out on the SRK wiki. Hitboxes are a little tougher. But you can get a general sense of them by using your character and attempting to use different moves to strike at the CPU while they do different things such as jumping, crouching or attacking. through experimentation you can find out many cool little things like how Ryu's low forward when well timed will allow him to duck a TK from Sagat and then punish him. Stuff like this will give one an advantage in battle.
Take notes and ask questions
Going to the arcade is a great experience. You get to met other players, chat it up with them and often times you can learn a trick or two. When you watch other players play, make sure you take down notes in a notebook. Write down what players do in certain situations or what combos they use. Anything from habits and tendencies to a certain strat you observed and noticed how successful it is. By absorbing the knowledge and styles of others you will get a lot better in a shorter amount of time. And if you see something you don't understand or you want to know why something works then speak up. Just politely ask someone, hey why do you think he did that or why did that happen? Or after the player's match is over, why not ask one of them? Most players would be glad to tell you and help you out. As you learn more and more be sure to incorporate what you learned into your own game.
Study your own game
This is a tough one, but one of the most important to see results in one's training. As you play matches take mental notes on what you did wrong. Even better if you can record matches. Then go over those matches later and take notes. What did you do wrong? What did you do right? What was your mindset during these choices that you made? Do you know why your bad choices were bad? How can you fix them? What aspects of your game need work? Zoning? Mix-ups? Punishment? Wake-up? By specially honing in on what you need to work on, you will see results sooner then if you were just playing blindly. This allows you to target areas that you need help in and increase your skills where you need it most.
Watch vids/streams of high level players
It's very easy to gain access to high level videos these days. Back in the day you had to be at the arcade or hope someone had a camcorder and would put it on VHS. Times have changed for the better. But still people are so damn lazy. You wanna get good? Just go to youtube and search for some high level vids or check out some links to high level play on SRK. You also look for live streams whenever there is major going on. Then watch and learn. Study those matches. Take notes. Question why the players did what they did and seek the answers. Assimilate what they do into your own style so you can grow stronger. And always compare your own gameplay to theirs.
The three types of opponents
You need to fight three types of opponents regularly. They are the amateur, the rival, and the pro.
The amateur is little more then a step above the CPU. The advantage here is that you get to practice basic tactics and tricks against a thinking adversary, but they aren't strong enough to pose a threat. This way you can work out the kinks of strats while still working on basic concepts like zoning, spacing, etc.
The rival is your equal. Rivals are interesting fights because this is a person who knows your play style and all of your weaknesses. They will unconsciously exploit any holes in your game and you will do the same to them. So to beat one another you must evolve on the fly. This is good practice for tournaments and high level play. High level players will try to read other players during battle to gain the upper hand. To avoid this you must remain unpredictable or at the very least if you ARE predictable you have to make sure there are no holes in your gameplay to be exploited. Your rival will keep you in top condition, constantly forcing you to re-evaluate your play style and evolve to erase those holes in your gameplay.
The pro. This is honestly just anyone who is better then you and completely wrecks your shit. This player shows you a level beyond what you know. Beyond what you are capable of understanding. But the knowledge that there is something beyond what you can see is exciting. Learn all you can from this player. Play them and learn from them. They too will exploit your weaknesses and beat you into the ground only far worse then your rival ever could. Take those beatings to heart and use it as a chance to rid yourself of your weaknesses. Ask yourself constantly how this person is able to beat you. As you learn from this person, you will see exponential growth as long as you make the most of it.
Focus on different aspects of your game
This is a fun little training exercise. Basically you seal off a tactic or move and don't allow yourself to use it in a serious match. This forces you to really think about your other options. So if a player seals off their DP, they must think of another way to get out of tight spots instead of just mashing out a DP. Then forces creative thinking and will make you realize that you have alot more options then you may think. In the end you will become a stronger player because you are forcing yourself to explore your character further instead of relying on a crutch you may have fallen back on in the past. If anything it will force you to strengthen other aspects of your game so you don't need to be so reliant on the move or tactic that you sealed.
You could also do the inverse of this. Force yourself to fight using only a select few tactics and moves to strengthen one particular aspect of your game. So a Ryu player might only allow themselves to use fireballs and DP's in an effort to strengthen their zoning game which is pivotal for Ryu to be successful at a high level.
Both these methods are fun effective ways of improving different aspects of your gameplay.
Learn match-ups
Training isn't just about knowing your own character, but all the other characters as well. You need to constantly study your character's match-up with the others and understand thier gameplans. The game constantly evolves and many different people have various play styles so never will a match-up with the same character be exactly the same with two different players. This process is on going and it won't ever really end. Just when you think you know a match someone will come along and complete destroy you in that match and all the thoughts you had about that match-up will go out the window. Just keep studying and keep playing vs various characters. You might even want to try playing that character to get a feel for what they are capable of.
Dealing with plateaus
This is something we all will go through at one time or another. You experience steady growth as a player and then you just sort of...stay at the same level for awhile. So...wtf are you supposed to do. Well I have gone through this in several games, and the thing that always gets me past this level is a really simple concept.
Fundamentals over flash.
John Choi took second at Devastation. He really doesn't play SF4 like that. He is an ST OG though and is known for having high levels of adaptability combined with a very intimate knowledge of spacing and zoning. If you watched the streams of his Ryu he was eating people alive with nothing but fireballs and DP's. Very little flash here folks other then the standard DP to FADC to ultra.
So...if John doesn't play SF4 as much as say, Justin Wong then how the hell is he so good?
The answer is fundamentals.
At the end of the day Street Fighter is still Street Fighter. It's a game that rewards knowledge of spacing, risk v reward, and good zoning. John clearly understands these concepts and that's how he was able to go so far in a major for a game that he doesn't really seem to play all that much.
To see the inverse of what I mean look at Daigo vs Poongko at the US nationals. Both played Ryu but Daigo won all his matches while Poongko...well...Poongko didn't do so hot. Why? Well, if you watch the matches it's not hard to see why. Poongko is so flashy but even more then that, is that he is RISKY. He plays with no regard for his safety and although that might cut it vs opponents that aren't on his level, when he faced other champion level players he was outclassed due to poor decision making and a lack of solid fundamentals.
Now, another way to get past your plateau is something i mentioned earlier. You need to study yourself to get rid of the weaknesses in your gameplay. Sometimes it's not a matter of what you lack, but of what's holding you back. So take steps to analyze your own gameplay and get rid of bad habits and weaknesses so you become a more well rounded player.
If those two things still don't work you can try learning some more advanced things like frame traps and the like. Check out the character forums to learn what sort of little tricks your character is capable of.
You might just be bored of your character though and maybe you need to switch or you should take a break from them. You can gain new insight on your play style by switching to another character. Try it out sometime.
Getting the most out of training mode
Training mode is sexy as fuck. Well, for starters make sure the attack data is on and that the input indicator is on. This way you can see how good your control and precision is. If you notice that you tend to mash or press alot of inputs then you need to tighten up your inputs and be more precise. There are many other tools available to you in training mode. You can set the CPU to randomly block which will greatly help with hit confirmation training. You can record actions and then have the CPU play it back. This will let you practice against a particular set-up or tactic as much as you want before testing out any solutions you may have vs a human opponent. You can check the attack data to see which of your combos is the most damaging, so you can maximize your damage potential when you see an opening. Training mode is a tool to be used to heighten your skills. Use it well.
psipunisher
Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qua Jul 01, 2009 9:26 pm
Citação :
Getting the most out of online play
Alot of people have this idea in their head that if there is no arcade scene near them, then there is no way they can improve. I call shenanigans. This is very important, so listen to me. You are certainly at a disadvantage. But you aren't screwed. No way. Don't buy into what other people say. You can still become amazing through online play. There are just several things you need to do. Here's a little list. BTW alot of these tips are applicable to IRL play as well.
1. Don't fall into bad habits. It's all too easy to allow your gameplay to degenerate because you fight noobs all day and they let you get away with certain things or they don't force you to switch up your tactics. Which brings me to my next point.
2. Try not to fight complete newbs alot. Once you hit a certain level fighting opponents who are too far below you will not do you any good nor will it do them any good. You are so far above them that they won't know what's going on in the match or how to counter you and their awareness and skill is so far beneath your own that they really won't offer much of anything as far as training is concerned.
3. If you do fight newbs, make a very specific training exercise out of it. Noobs lack a deep understanding of the game. Things like safety, footsies, zoning and other fighting game concepts are lost on them. If you try to mindgame them you will fail simply because there really isn't any to mindgame. They aren't playing the same game as you. Most will mash out DP's or spam jump ins and the like. But this is good opportunity if you know what to do. Just practice your basics. Your AA's, footsies, BnB combos and zoning. Don't get fancy. Just the basics. What this does is increases the strength of your foundation. It can actually do wonders for your gameplay as long as you don't get caught up in actually trying to figure out what very low level players are thinking. Doing so often backfires.
4. Get a wired connection to improve your connection with others and make sure when you play you aren't d/ling anything. You can also try opening ports on your router for your PS3/360, so online runs smoother.
5. Try not to play matches below 3 bars. If you have a laggy match and you chose that match knowing it was a 1 bar connection, then that's not the game's fault. It's your fault for choosing that particular match.
6. Seek stronger opponents. Your online experience will only be as good as the quality of your opponents. And this may seem somewhat harsh but as you level up and you notice that you are leaving your regular sparring partners behind, delete them from your friend list. You can always just write their names down on a sheet of paper anyway. Try to recognize who has the drive to improve and who is more casual. If you want to become strong you must surround yourself with like minded individuals. Send friend requests to those individuals who also want to improve or who play characters that you need practice against. As you get better you may even go so far as to ask for a match with a pro/master level player. If they see your skill and potential they may send a friend request. Also try joining chat rooms on PSN/live and challenging different people. As you get better, people will spread your name around and you will get challenges for stronger opponents.
7. After a fight or a training session, always ask your opponent tips on how you can improve your game. Give them tips as well. Becoming stronger isn't just a solo endeavor. It's something that everyone around you will take part in. So as you grow, do your best to help others grow too. Your reward will not only be the bonds of friendship, but people will be more likely to want to go up against you if you have a strong sense of sportsmanship.
8. Use online as a chance to get match-up experience. The world is your arena. Make good use of it.
Follow these tips and your online experience will be much more enjoyable.
Really great thread by Bentobox. Lots of useful links in this thread. It has links to pretty much everything you need to become amazing at SFIV. Check it out.
A link to all the articles written by the man himself, Seth Killian. You wanna be good at Street Fighter? Read this man's words and be shown the light.
http://www.gootecks.com/
This is the guy who will put SFIV on the media map. Check out his blog and listen to his podcast. This dude has a vision. And he interviews very high level players so it's worth sifting through old podcasts to hear their insight.
http://www.eventhubs.com/
Good site for capcom fighters. Has good info on SFIV
And that wraps it up guys. I hope I was helpful. Keep training no matter how good you get because the constant journey to become stronger then you were yesterday is all part of the fun.
If there is anything that anyone thinks I should add, then please let me know. Feel free to ask a question about training and if it's a good one I will put it in this post and answer it.
sidsidsid
Assunto: Re: Street Fighter IV Qui Jul 02, 2009 8:37 am