Category Archives: Technical

SF4 Series Focus Trade Setups

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It’s no secret that i use a lot of Focus Attacks in my SF4 and SSF4 combo videos. I understand how they might look repetitive to someone who can’t tell the functional differences between them, but there’s a reason behind each and every setup. Hopefully the following examples will shed some light on what purposes they serve and why they’re necessary.

Let’s get one thing clear right away: Anytime i can add a Focus Attack to the beginning of a tool-assisted combo without cost, i consider it lazy not to do so. From my perspective, if a character has nothing better to do, i can’t justify discarding that extra hit. It’s the same principle that forces Guile jump-in combos to start with an LP Sonic Boom. If you don’t do it, people have a right to ask, “Why not?”

However, that preliminary Sonic Boom never determines whether or not the whole combo is good. In other words, my combos are never good or bad because of the Focus Attack at the beginning. That’s simply a formality. Tuning it out won’t impact the value of the combo.

This is an important point: Combos aren’t built front to back. I never start with a Focus trade and see where it leads, the same way i never throw a Sonic Boom and see where it goes. You’ve never seen me end up with lvl3 Focus Attack (trade), j.HP, s.HP xx Hadoken, right? That’s because i start with a core concept i want to showcase and i build outward in both directions.

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SSF4 Month-One Combos: Postscript

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Three weeks have come and gone since the long-awaited release of Super Street Fighter IV. Fourteen videos and hundreds of research hours later, we have a fairly sound idea of what the new characters and spare ultras are capable of. Obviously most of them will continue developing further, but the foundation is set.

Looking forward, the most dynamic characters appear to be Rose, Ibuki, and Juri. Although several dedicated specialists have begun experimenting with Rose’s unconventional Soul Satellite ultra, i feel we’ve only scratched the surface of its advanced combo potential. Sooner or later, someone will figure out the right combination of setup, spacing, and dummy selection to control how and when each orb connects.

Ibuki has access to a disproportionately large pool of combo tools: chains, jump-cancels, ground loops, air trajectory control, etc. She’s still a relatively straightforward character underneath, but none of her known combos seem fully optimized yet. In fact it’s pretty amazing how she doesn’t have an infinite considering all the infinite-prone tools she possesses. You have to admit, Capcom has done a commendable job of balancing her.

Juri’s Feng Shui Engine ultra is essentially a Custom Combo, which always require many months to explore and optimize. She also happens to be of the best dizzy characters in the game, in the sense that you can use all her super meter to knock someone dizzy and then still have something special for the post-dizzy combo, because you get to restore her Fuhajin fireballs. It’ll take ages to wade through this many possibilities.

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SF4 Grab Classifications

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Have you ever wondered why Vega can combo an Izuna Drop after his EX Flying Barcelona Attack? You’re not supposed to be able to connect throws during hit stun, right?

It turns out the EX version of Izuna Drop isn’t a throw at all. It’s actually an unblockable hit. How can you tell? Simply head into Training Mode and set Counter Hit to ON in the Training Options menu, then test the move without connecting anything before it. Hits will trigger the “Counter Hit” message but real throws won’t. To save you some time, here are my findings.

All universal ground throws and standard air throws are true throws.

Zangief’s Spinning Piledriver, Flying Power Bomb, and Atomic Suplex are all true throws. Honda’s Oicho Throw is a true throw. Vega’s regular Izuna Drop is a true throw but his EX Izuna Drop is an unblockable hit.

Abel’s Tornado Throw is a true throw. Falling Sky is a hit. Finish Mid and Finish Low are both blockable hits. El Fuerte’s Fajita Buster, Propeller Tortilla, and Flying Giga Buster are all true throws. Guacamole Leg Throw is a hit. Rufus’ EX Galactic Tornado vacuum is a blockable hit.

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Thoughts on Fighting Game AI

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It’s no secret that computer opponents in fighting games tend to have easily manipulatable artificial intelligence. Considering that single-player mode is rarely a priority in fighting game design, it comes as no surprise that CPU AI would be so underdeveloped.

In fairness, constructing gameplan flowcharts that are both compelling and reasonably challenging is no easy task. Part of it is because optimized AI can be nearly impossible to beat in any primarily reaction-based game. SFA3 Akuma had this ridiculously dominant bully tactic where he’d tick with c.LK and then walk forward. If you do nothing, you get thrown. If you do anything, you get uppercutted.

It was the scariest throw mixup ever. He’d use this whimsically on every difficulty level without warning. Basically your only options were to reversal his throw attempt within the 4-frame window after he initiates his throw but before it connects. Or to press a button to bait his DP then kara-cancel into super. Not every character has a super that beats Shoto DP.

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with the tactic itself. Tick throw mixups are perfectly valid in competitive play. The problem is, Capcom replaced human anticipation and pattern recognition with sheer mechanical reaction speed. This removes the mental aspect from the equation, emphasizing execution alone.

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What Does Tool-Assisted Mean?

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Every time i release a new video, a few people ask the same question. I suppose the first article i wrote defending the concept was too abstract for its own good. It’s worth another try.

I’ve been using the PS3 version of Street Fighter IV throughout the SF4 Biweekly TACV series, so i’ve had to utilize two ASCII PAD V Pro programmable controllers to simultaneously control both characters. Obtaining a good (Japanese) program pad has become nearly impossible, since we’re talking about out-of-production PSX controllers. ASCII and Hori both stopped manufacturing them once the PS2 came out, probably because analog controls would’ve been too difficult to simulate.

Personally i prefer program pads to sticks simply because pads are more convenient, even though my execution is better on a stick. Both work fine, so get ahold of whichever one you can find – or better yet, learn to use macro software if your computer is powerful enough to run the PC version of whatever game you want to play.

What you can do with a programmable controller:
  – save time by consistently executing prohibitively
      difficult input sequences
  – precision mashing
  – establish and reproduce accurate spacing
  – test every possible permutation of a given
      experimental sequence to prove with a high
      degree of certainty that it doesn’t work
  – pick 3P/3K colors in CvS2

What programmable controllers can’t do:
  – cut down combo video production time, since you’ll
      have to compensate by making your combos harder
  – random mashing
  – work with games/consoles that require analog sticks
  – eliminate all randomness, since multiple factors affect
      Magnetic Tempest patterns, CvS2 superfreeze, etc.
  – bypass charge time, chain lockout, or any other
      hard-coded execution barrier
  – alter or modify the game engine in any way
  – come up with ideas

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