Monthly Archives: September 2009

In Defense of Tool-Assistance

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Today i wrote an article (posted on sh/classic) explaining why the irrational hate against tool-assisted combos needs to end. While the essay is backed by facts, observations, and logic, the core of it still boils down to my personal opinion on the matter.

If anyone out there still thinks that all TACVs are dumb, that’s okay by me. You’re entitled to your opinion. I just wanted to share my perspective and hopefully help the issue mature a little bit. In case anyone wants to discuss the topic further, feel free to use the comments section below.

CV Spotlight: T-7’s KoFXI Combo DVD

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King of Fighters Roman Numeral added several new features to the teammate tagging system introduced to the series by KoF2003. It didn’t take long for someone to find a glitch to keep multiple teammates on the screen at once. T-7 built an entire combo video around that revolutionary discovery.

Here’s a sample: T-7’s KoFXI Combo DVD Preview

It looks ugly and most people don’t seem to like it, which frankly isn’t surprising. Still, it’s sad how quickly people judge something they don’t understand. I mean, there are probably less than ten people on the entire planet who can fully appreciate this thing. While i’m not one of them, i know i’ve never seen anything like it before.

The entire concept of manipulating two or more characters simultaneously through one controller is largely unexplored territory. What little of it we’ve seen in MvC/MvC2 is only the tip of the iceberg. That T-7 ventured out as far as he did without any conventional trail to follow is nothing short of remarkable. We don’t have to enjoy watching it, but we should at least recognize its significance.

He’s actually started uploading the entire DVD, one character segment at a time. The last Ralf combo is pretty dope.

Tournament Atmosphere vs Casual Play

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There’s no arguing that SF4 has revitalized the fighting game tournament scene in a big way. It’s great seeing long-standing series such as ECC and MWC revitalized after struggling over the past few years. And it’s funny seeing first-time organizers hosting inaugural events, only to get rocked for underestimating the draw of SF4. You could tell your friends you’re holding a mini-tourney at your house and there’d be 128 people waiting in your driveway when you got home.

However, the prevalence of online play has made it common for people to play competitively for an entire year without ever considering attending a single tournament. A lot of newcomers don’t realize how different the tournament mindset can be. Even ignoring the online lag factor, playing against faceless challengers from the comfort of your own home is nothing like playing against someone face-to-face with everyone watching. There’s no end to the stories of players beating opponents handily in casual play half an hour before a tournament only to get eliminated by that same guy a couple of hours later.

ComboVid.com - Fighting Game Combos, Tutorials, Matches, Screenshots, and Strategy

Tournament play is fundamentally different from casual play. This doesn’t mean that beating someone in casual play means nothing and beating someone in tournament play means everything. Certainly if you beat Rob Ingrim (CaliSean) five times in a row in casual play, that’s something to feel proud about. But it does not mean you will beat him in a tournament. Rob happens to be a much better tournament player than he is a casual player. He adopts a different, more effective style when playing in a tournament, and he knows how to take advantage of your tournament pressures and fears that aren’t there when you’re playing casually and nothing is at stake.

Make no mistake, there will be pressure. The guy you’re about to play drove all the way from his house to the tournament, put down his entry fee, and waited (im)patiently for his turn to play. He has no intention of losing his matches and going home knowing that he wasted three hours and ten bucks to play four games. He’s bringing his A-game and he’s done hiding all his dirty tricks. There’s no time to warm up. You have to be ready when the first round starts. Your friends will be cheering for you. Your rivals will be watching your every move, trying to find weaknesses in your game in case they face you later on. It’s an entirely different experience from casuals.

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Ten Things I’ve Tried: Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2

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Well, launch day rolled around and i couldn’t resist checking out the game. After playing through it once, here’s a short list of ideas i’ve attempted along with the results.

MUA2 Captain America1) Switching characters during fusions doesn’t work. The other two characters simply disappear until the fusion ends and the point character fully recovers. It’s a shame, because it would have opened up a lot of combo opportunities.

2) Switching between characters after using their powers negates the stamina recharge waiting period. Normally you have to wait a couple seconds before the blue bar starts refilling, but when you switch to another character, the previous one starts recharging immediately. Basically you never have to resort to melee attacks.

3) It’s possible to land all three hits of a triple-hit targeted fusion (such as Spider-Man+Songbird) on a single opponent, by positioning the aiming marker right next to the swinging character. Stand next to a boss and initiate Spidey’s fusion, then aim the target right by him. He’ll swing the boulder over a very small radius, so the backwards swing connects as well.

4) Triggering a story point with the Iceman+Wolverine fusion has the added bonus of giving you a closeup of Wolverine’s ice armor gradually melting off as you listen to Nick Fury tell you what to punch next. Try it on the first stage prior to picking up Black Widow’s intel drop.

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