Category Archives: Transcripts

SF4 Biyearly TACV 19: Guile

Happy Halloween! After many unexpected delays, here is the last remaining episode of my Street Fighter IV Biweekly Tool-Assisted Combo Video series. It’s hard to believe that i actually made it through the entire cast, but Guile was the only character left undone. I’m pretty happy with how his combos turned out, so this is a good way to close out the project.

The strangest thing about working on vanilla SF4 Guile combos in 2012 was knowing that his capabilities are vastly inferior to every other version from SSF4 onward. Reducing Sonic Boom charge time from 55 frames in SF4 down to 50 frames in SSF4 made a world of difference! Moreover, DF+HK was upgraded from a simple knockdown to a free juggle setup, F+HK frame advantage was boosted from +4 to +5, and he was given a combo-friendly secondary ultra in Sonic Hurricane. Many clips in this video would’ve turned out quite differently with those changes. Yet i still found SF4 Guile to be an interesting combo subject, despite his drawbacks.

0:11 Both hits of Guile’s EX Sonic Boom carry a juggle potential of two – making it possible to follow up a regular Sonic Boom knockdown with two EX Sonic Booms, provided the first EX Sonic Boom only hits once. Cammy’s vertical j.LK trades with Guile’s lvl3 Focus Attack, creating a free juggle setup for the LP Sonic Boom and allowing just enough time to charge the first EX Sonic Boom and buffer the motion to begin pre-charging the second EX Sonic Boom.

0:18 Guile’s close s.HK has 3 active frames and normally yields only +1 frame advantage. Seth’s HP Tanden Storm avoids the first active frame and provides a counterhit bonus; both necessary to link into far s.HP, which is cancelable into Guile’s MK Double Flash super because Seth’s superfreeze provides ample charge time. Interestingly enough, the airplane wing on the Small Airfield level can’t be broken until the plane comes to a complete stop and finishes bobbling. This combo deals 696 damage and 450 stun, which may be Guile’s maximum.

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SF4 Biyearly TACV 18: Seth

As the primary end boss of the Street Fighter IV series, Seth’s moveset contains quite a bit of boss character nonsense – including an EX move that grounds airborne opponents. He excels at pretty much everything except dealing high damage. Making this video was more fun than i expected, but finding the time for it also took considerably longer than i might’ve anticipated.

0:11 The entire goal of this setup was to integrate two F+PPP Yoga Teleports into a single combo. Seth’s teleport lasts for 40 frames while his s.HP only causes 22 frames of hit stun. How do you fill the gap? Put a Sonic Boom in the middle! Unfortunately, Seth’s LP Sonic Boom travels annoyingly fast whereas his walk/dash/jump movement speed sucks. Furthermore, the SF4 camera resists scrolling which drastically impedes Seth’s ability to race past his own fireball. Luckily it turns out that M.Bison’s HK Knee Press Nightmare pushes (slightly) past the edge of the screen, which creates that tiny bit of extra space necessary to delay the fireball impact enough to make this sequence click. Of course, the SF4 engine hates crossup combos so there isn’t much Seth can do midscreen with Bison leaning into him. I thought s.MK would look more interesting than another s.LP, c.MK rerun. By the way, that c.HK sweep at the end is a one-frame link off lvl2 Focus Attack xx dash forward, F+PPP Yoga Teleport.

0:22 Trading with Seth’s Hyakuretsukyaku produces roughly the same hit stun duration as a standard hard attack, but interrupting him shortly after it connects maintains its unique extended reaction. Both instances are shown here. First, Seth’s LK Hyakuretsukyaku trades with Rose’s close s.LK, then her LP Soul Spark interrupts another LK Hyakuretsukyaku to set up crossup j.HK, c.HP, HK Hyakuretsukyaku back into the corner for the stompy super finish.

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CvS2 Leftovers ’08

These tool-assisted combos were prepared for a video project proposed by D44-Bas. He wanted to use them as bonus materials for some sort of CvS2 advanced tactics tutorial, but never got around to completing a draft. Since then, these clips have encountered repeated debacles and delays – eventually ending up in numerous scattered community projects. Now nearly four years later, i’ve decided to reunite the whole set for the sake of completeness.

0:02 Dan makes an exceptional combo dummy in CvS2 because his Chohatsu Densetsu super bestows 1/8 meter with each of its first five Taunts, then 3/8 meter from the final Taunt. Thanks to that hefty refund, C-Morrigan gains access to four bars of meter. Her lvl1 Soul Phoenix connects after she initiates lvl2 Valkyrie Turn, fulfilling its cancelability requirements. Canceling into lvl1 air Soul Phoenix then creates a free juggle state and resets the juggle counter, allowing both hits to connect. Valkyrie Turn also locks the screen in place until Morrigan reaches neutral state, thereby creating a temporary pseudo-corner situation.

0:14 Kyo’s lvl3 Serpent Wave barely catches Iori’s descent from an air-to-air j.D+HP sudden knockdown. OTG LP Flashing Slash connects at maximum distance in the corner.

0:20 Todo’s crossup j.LK triggers Blanka’s Counter Attack facing the wrong direction, then F+MK slides into its last active frame. Todo’s momentum carries him over Blanka’s lvl2 Shout of Earth, which can only be mashed using one kick to avoid unintended special moves. Canceling into whiff LP Rolling Attack creates a free juggle state for vertical j.HP to connect.

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CvS2 Notebook Highlights and Leftovers

These Capcom vs SNK 2 game engine exploration clips were recorded in 2004 and distributed individually on a weekly basis. Nobody has the patience to download forty files anymore, so i’ve assembled the highlights along with a few unreleased leftovers into this compilation.

Detailed explanations of each experiment can still be found in the old notebook archive. Even the unsorted clips at the bottom are either self-explanatory or covered in some other entry. The only real exception is the batch of OTG throw leftovers starting at 0:28.

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SF? Balrog Exhibition (WNF:AE Edition)

This brief, tool-assisted combo video starring Balrog was presented live on stream today – at the inaugural Wednesday Night Fights: Arcade Edition tournament held at Super Arcade. The idea to make a Balrog combovid came up during Balrog: Behind the Glory filming. I couldn’t say no, but i didn’t have much time to work on it, so it’s missing a few of his appearances.

0:04 / SF2CE Dhalsim’s non-knockdown air recovery animation has a vulnerable period exclusive to Champion Edition, leading to inescapable juggle combos. Normally that weak spot rises with every hit, but the corner changes everything. Touching the wall makes him descend with each hit, so the entire combo revolves around precise corner spacing. Balrog’s F+HP hold allows him to set up another juggle situation after the dizzy, which most characters can’t do.

0:15 / HSF2 Balrog’s c.HP, close s.MP, and Dash Upper originally shared the same exact active sprite. All three are showcased in the first combo, starting with backwards c.HP against ST N.Dhalsim’s whiff far s.MK, followed by his c.LK -> s.MP CPS1 chain, linked into HK Dash Upper for the dizzy. Unfortunately the only reason this combo requires CE Balrog is because HF Balrog’s fully-extended backwards c.HP refuses to hit Dhalsim’s s.MK cleanly. They always trade. CE Balrog is better than HF Balrog in the most subtle ways, which is surprising because he wasn’t even considered good in Champion Edition.

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