In Defense of Tool-Assistance

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.

6 thoughts on “In Defense of Tool-Assistance

  1. c001357

    “…those performed within the established confines of an unaltered game engine. Otherwise, we may as well be playing MUGEN.”

    What does this mean exactly?

  2. Maj Post author

    Yeah but if a combo doesn’t work in MUGEN, you can just change the character or give him another move or make her fireball travel slower, right? Juggle rules are a big part of what makes a combo engine unique, so having to work with limited components is what makes big discoveries special. Adding extra moves to the game changes everything.

  3. onreload

    I think that, yeah, in a case like ssf2nes, you’re playing in a restricted environment – now it might not be restricted a whole lot, but it’s still got rules. However, “MUGEN” is a fighting-game character/game engine. So if someone came out with “ssf2nes championship edition”, you could put out new stuff for the people who know the rules of the old game, but it’s lost on those who don’t – I certainly wouldn’t know if you added an extra hit or two in any of those combos, and that’s why closed-source games are better combo video fodder, and the audience (and the audience’s understanding/appreciation) grows with the popularity of the game.

    ..but like I said, MUGEN itself has no permanent rules. I personally think you could put out a combo video with True Angel Ken vs. Evil Juggernaut or what-have-you and those who know the created characters well would see if you were cheating, but that’s an incredibly small audience…and since MUGEN characters already generally push the common limits of gameplay so much, how much room is left to really impress the combo video audience?

    Like your video – I find your combos on that particular game interesting, but I’m not sure if they’re very hard to pull off, as I have no experience with it. So, it’s more visual than intellectual.

    Hope you don’t take any of that as offense!

  4. magnetro

    Hm, I think I disagree a little about your closing statements where you say that people shouldn’t praise you for getting a combo in training mode because you got lucky.

    I think that the praise is for your perseverance in stickying to the combo. Maybe other people could have done the combo too, but they didn’t have the perseverance to stay in training mode for a long time to get a combo that’s original by manual combo standards.

  5. Maj Post author

    Well, it’s not exactly luck because i paid for it. But it’s not exactly skill either. The worst part is, it’s not even lack of skill. A lot of exhibition combos exist slightly beyond that point where you can reach them by getting better. Sometimes the best you can do is repeat the same exact sequence until things fall into place (hopefully while you’re recording). I wouldn’t call the process pleasant, but i like the end result.

    Perseverance is cool and all, but we’re talking about video games, not ending world hunger. Personally i’m here to here to see creativity, not dedication. A lot of times creativity comes from dedication, but on its own dedication isn’t enough for me here.

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