Monthly Archives: June 2010

SSF4 Combo Challenge 01: 700 Class

By request, here’s an SSF4 challenge heading into Evo2k10. It’s a remake of one of the more popular SF4 challenges. In fact, a few people have already tried submitting SSF4 solutions, so it seems like a good starting point. I considered overhauling the rules to avoid the recurring maskless Vega questions, but decided against sacrificing the flexibility of the original wording.

SSF4 introduced a multitude of new characters and new moves, making way for countless fresh combos.

Challenge: Get within 50 points of killing any dummy character using a combo that wasn’t possible in SF4. (Character vitality values can be found on the Shoryuken Wiki.)

Rule #1: Start the opponent with 100% vitality and 0 stun.

Rule #2: Obey gauge limits. (Set S.C. Gauge to Refill but use only 4 stocks. If you plan on building enough meter to use 5 or more bars, set S.C. Gauge to Normal or Max Start so we can verify your method. Keep in mind that super meter charges slower during combos.)

Rule #3: No duplicates. (Look through all existing submissions to make sure your idea hasn’t already been recorded. Don’t worry, if two people independently upload the same combo within hours of each other, i’ll accept both.)

CV Spotlight: Magnetro’s Variable Atmosphere 2

Hot off the presses, Magnetro presents a choreographed situational MvC2 TACV which he’s been developing since assisting on joo’s MvC2 Combo Collection. He states that it’s his “final MvC2 project,” so we should all wish him happy retirement or something.

Variable Atmosphere II | downloads/explanations

It features a lot of amazing, highly elaborate content. I can’t think of any other game where most of this stuff would be possible. Every clip builds on years of community-wide exploration and research, employing a variety of glitches and bizarre properties. Personally, my favorite parts are the Wolverine/Morrigan interplay at 3:55, the Spiral deadbody combo at 4:32, and the Magneto combo at 4:47. I also enjoy watching armored Colossus flying around at the beginning of the last setup at 4:57.

The accompanying explanation clips are narrated by onReload, providing a lot of insight into what makes each sequence work. As you can tell by the title, this project is the sequel to the original Variable Atmosphere by Magnetro, Vega Omega, and Dj-B13, premiered at Evo2k7.

The Role of Damage Scaling

Every time i release a new combo video, especially for SF4 or SSF4, someone comes along to declare that “damage scaling makes it worthless.” I have a number of objections to that claim. First, damage scaling makes sense. Second, damage scaling only matters in combo videos when the author says it matters. Third, combo videos and combos in general are a relatively small piece of the complete fighting game puzzle.

Balancing a dynamic combo system is extremely difficult, partly because players demand substantial character variety. I’d be surprised if even 1% of the damage scaling complainers have ever tried drawing up their own hypothetical combo framework as a thought experiment.

We can all agree that practical touch-of-death combos are generally detrimental to game balance. There need to be fair limits on how badly a single minor mistake can punished. The price of whiffing c.MK should not equal the penalty for whiffing an ultra. Furthermore, characters possessing the best mobility and the most offensive mixups probably shouldn’t have the highest damage potential.

How are such considerations governed without confining players to pre-programmed combos? SF4’s solution is a sharp reduction scale which magnifies the first four or five hits, then blurs out the remainder. This affords designers and testers the luxury of managing a reasonable subset of possible sequences while holding the rest to a combined average of less damage than one hard attack. Thus it becomes much easier to identify which characters can get ahead of the curve, then adjust their damage values and frame data accordingly.

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Weekly Screenshot: Dr.Wily’s Circus

Mega Man: The Power Battle is certainly a fun CPS1 title, but its character sprites and weapon effects are a little too small to produce great screenshots. The lack of versus mode complicates matters further. I’m not exactly sure how to approach the game, but i’m not giving up yet.

megaman-mega-proto-slash-01

MMPB Megaman activates Junk Shield then Slides while Protoman activates Burning Wheel then Dashes toward CPU-controlled air-diving Slashman.

Whoever comes up with the best title wins a Mayflash Max Shooter for Xbox 360. As always, the rules are one entry per person and i’ll choose my favorite on Monday. (I’ve opened it to test it and honestly it’s a piece of junk. However it was expensive junk, so maybe someone can find a better use for it that doesn’t involve digital PSX pads, which it doesn’t support.)

Getting Ready for Evo2k10

I’m planning on going to Evo again this year. If all goes well, i should have some cool stuff to show everyone on the last day between finals blocks. In order to get everything finished by July 9th, i may have to break from the usual site update schedule from time to time. And it probably wouldn’t be a bad idea for me to practice a little along the way, so i’m not completely rusty in case anyone randomly asks to play me.

In the meantime if things slow down around here, don’t worry – it probably means i’m working harder than ever. See you all at Evo!