(Super) Street Fighter IV

[mattshutter]

Loving this thread guys. Enjoy reading your XBL experiences.

 

I had an absolute nightmare of a night last night. I wasn't in the best of moods anyway after getting stung with our gas/leccy bill.

 

My girlfriend talked to me constantly throughout me playing online and I had to give up. I was on a major loosing streak and went from 1084bp down to about 600bp. It was one of those nights where you keep shouting "FUCCCCK" and punching the sofa.

 

I don't mind loosing if I get my ass kicked good and proper. But if i'm making loads of mistakes, moves not executing when I want them to, and failing to block against annoying Ken/Ryu sweeps......it drives me mad.

 

JLM - I tried connecting twice but it wouldn't connect. I'm a little bit paranoid about my connection because it usually takes me a few attempts to connect to a Ranked Match at the best of times. Every time I set up a Lobby, noone ever joins which makes me think there might be something wrong with one of the ports on my router. I'm not a techy so i'm not sure.

 

Anyway, i'll be on tonight and my mood will be better. My heart was pounding last night, I never thought i'd get so into a game.

 

Look forward to playing you all.

[Whinehouse]

Have you had any problems from the HomeHub yet, JLM, or has it generally been good this whole time? I refuse to believe our 40x faster connection is more unreliable than the HomeHub

Also, have you got into using anyone else beyond Blanka? Balrog? Cammy? I don't know if I like the idea of sticking rigidly to one character, though it obviously has its benefits when facing the online community. I just wouldn't know who to choose! Who do you reckon I could take to the heights?

 

I missed out on that Hori fighting stick deal. I genuinely would've got one.

 

If anyone would like to fight me when I finally get my copy of the game, then feel free. My tag is the same as my board name. I win 50/50 against JLM, and while I'm probably not as good at deconstructing matches for you, it'd all probably be good training. I've also never taken it online, just many many years of 2D fighters.

[JLM]

Re: Mattshutter -

 

Hmm. Might have been a two-way problem. I had my Xbox set up at a friend's house. I was over there because he has a 20MB connection and I was streaming the Liverpool game while he was working a late shift. I set the Xbox up just after the game, but his connection is notoriously dodgy for online multiplayer at times.

 

He has more problems with connecting to games and matchmaking etc. than I do, even though I'm on a 512k piece of shit connection at home. Will be to do with his settings and his ISP's usage policy, but he doesn't have the inclination to look into it. I set up a couple of lobbies and it definitely took at least twice as long as usual for anyone to join them yesterday.

 

I'm currently on a 16 match winning streak accross both ranked and player matches, so the pressure is on every time I play someone now.

 

Re: Whinehouse -

 

It's weird. I don't think the connection at the flat is unreliable or unstable, it's just that some setting somewhere is stopping it happening. When the games actually happen they're flawless and lag free, but there'll be a NAT or port forwarding issue or something that limits who can connect to games.

 

The homehub has never let me down. Not once had even the slightest instance of lag during a match. It's not great for downloading, but for online games it does have outstanding stability. Never had any issues unless someone starts using the PC downstairs for streaming Pokemon episodes in the middle of a game.

 

Yeah, you really took to the fighting stick after the initial getting to grips with it stage. I much prefer it to the Madcatz fightpad. You can get Amazon to do an email alert when it comes back in stock, but they only seem to get small batches. I was fortunate enough to get mine from Play-Asia along with my Tatsunoko vs Capcom order. For charging characters I much prefer it to the pad now that I'm developing all my charging strategies.

 

As for characters, for our versus sessions I'll still do random select because it's good to learn the ins and outs of the whole roster, but for ranked online I definitely see the value in mastering a core of 1 to 3 characters. Playing hundreds and hundreds of games with Eileen has made me a competent Virtua Fighter player for the first time in the series' history.

 

I'd like to see you develop your Rose game because you were very effective with her in Alpha 2 and I'm yet to fight a Rose online. Other than that I'm not sure. Vega's pretty sweet now that the SCARLET TERRRRROOOORRRR is basically Remy's flash kick. A solid anti-air combined with what was already a great set of offense and the added blinding speed makes him a good pick I reckon. His standing hard punch is the best poke move ever. The range is absolutely insane. Also his standing medium punch beats a Blanka ball in this game (Blanka is considered one of Vega's worst opponents), as I discovered to my dismay the other day.

 

Who else... Crimson Viper perhaps? Chunners? Gen? There are so many possibilities. It's a shame the closest thing to Urien is Seth really. You're a bastard with Urien.

 

As long as it's not Ryu, Ken or Akuma I don't think you'll go wrong, but then I know you'll find the endless stream of Shotokans as boring as I do. They're great characters, but the roster has so much more to offer.

 

What's the deal with your copy of the game anywho? Have you ordered it online or have you not got round to it yet? Death Tank is a powerful thing.

[mattshutter]

Cheers for that JLM.

 

If you are about tonight we should try a game.

 

I got the Lobbyist achievement last night and the "Perfect" one. I still need to complete the bloody game on medium though. I've been far too obsessive with online play.

 

I'm turning into an achievement junkie.

[FLips]

I gave Street Fighter a break last night to play FEAR 2 online. As fun and as impressive as it was, all the time I was looking at my SF IV box and just thinking "play play play" I think i've got a problem.

 

Dan is quite impressive on this game, considering he's a "joke character". He can throw together a few nice little combos and his ultra and super (not the taunt) are quite effective. My top characters to use have became Abel, Balrog, Dan and Sakura which is a nice little mix up of styles. I think Balrog is the only one near the top tiers though, so I usually have the disadvantage when playing Sagats. I'd say I had the disadvantage playing Ken and Ryu but nobody i've played that uses them has actually learnt any techniques, so they're easily disposed of.

[Whinehouse]

My housemate reports that my copy of the game has finally arrived! It'll be a busy weekend but afterwards I'll get to work on my online game.

 

Funnily enough, I was thinking Rose, actually. I very much like her; she's a totally underrated character. Plus, being able to trump people who instinctively spam fireballs is a beautiful thing, so I'd have a fighting chance against Sagat players. Also, the Ill-you-sion spark is awesome. She can be on my list for sure. I thought of Blanka too, but the fact you use him makes him O.B. Gen would be great, but I feel mastery of him is a long way off. I really love Fei Long in this incarnation, so he's a possibility. As is Gouken, if he's allowed. I don't see why not though, because he brings a new level of technicality to the otherwise boring and predictable world of shotokan. The roster is damn good in this game! I think I may have to discover through experiment.

 

AAA, it is pretty surprising what they've done with Dan. He retains his joke character title with his flamboyance and attitude (also greatly helped by the lack of "Sagat!!! You killed my FATHEEEERRRR!!!" rivalry present in this game), but has been given enough priority and difference (not inferiority) to the shotokans to be worthy of note. He is pretty comboable. And if you beat anyone with him, you get the added shame factor of having beaten someone with Dan.

 

I must say, from what I've heard, I can't wait to fight a Sagat player online. Seth fell to the powah, and I probably will too...

[FLips]

Yeah, when me and my friend were playing and I was Dan, he beat me and the second I flew to the ground shouting "FATHERRRRRRR" we both burst out laughing. Reminded us of the IT crowd where he bursts into the church and screams it.

[JLM]

Yeah, Dan is fun. The Gadouken is as lame as ever, but other than that he's perfectly useable. I've always liked his Art of Fighting three kicks thing since the Alpha 2 days, plus yeah, there isn't a more entertaining and satisfying victory than a Dan victory. As I said earlier, his Goryuken is insanely combo'able because it comes out in no time at all. I also like how the EX Gadouken comes with an over the top, super-determined "GADOOOUUUKEEEEEEENNNNN!" shout, yet is still a weenie piece of crap.

 

No beef with Gouken at all, he's under-represented, though he's also available to far less people at this stage. The amount of people who still haven't beat Seth at all or are unclear on the unlock requirements mean that people have had less practice with him than anyone else.

 

I've used him in one player match so far and it was hilarious. This Ryu player was doin the stock jump-in one-two of jumping hard kick and then hard sweep. The first time I thumped him out of the air with a crouching hard punch (Gouken's has INSANE priority), the second time I swatted him with an angled Hadouken, and the third time I blocked the jump kick then used his low counter to catch the sweep and smash the guy's face in. He has so many options. It's weird, he's the grandaddy of Shotokans and yet has the best Anti-shoto strategies going, with tonnes of anti-air options and a move that passes through fireballs. I'd love to see you master him. I love that the EX-hadouken covers two angles, but what's even better is that he fires the straight one a half-second before the air one, so people still jump on instinct before they realise they'll be jumping into an air-ball.

 

EDIT: I actually find Dan funnier left in Japanese. "OYAAJIIIIIIIIIIII" (FAAAATHEEEERRR) is delivered in an even more hilarious manner. Reminds me of Calculon from Futurama.

 

How have people done their voices? I've left it so Cammy, Balrog, Rufus, Guile and Rose are English and pretty much everyone else is left in Japanese. I like Cammy's English voice, I like Balrog's "MYYYY FIGHT MONEEEEEEYYYY " and Rufus is an obnoxious American tub of lard who sounds wrong in Japanese.

 

Abel is going to be a destroyer of worlds once people truly master him though. The potential is massive. I've seen people do a knock down, cross-up using his roll, do his EX-command throw as people wake up, launch the opponent with a crouching hard punch and then catch the opponent with his sky fall anti-air throw thing. So much potential, plus mix-up options off that "change direction" punch. I will fear Abel as soon as enough people have him mastered.

[CuckedByMenry]

Had a few plays on a mate's 360. Not read through the thread so there might be some deja vu for you people, just a couple of points:

 

1. Seth is a bastard.

2. I'm almost certain Sagat has a move called "Firetruck!".

[JLM]

hat has become a problem as I've gone on, that when you fight a Ryu/Ken now, you expect them to be totally clueless and spam special moves at random. The closest I've come to losing to a Ken (which still hasn't happened ) is when I've battered the first round only to realise that they actually do know what they're doing and have decided to change their gameplan for the second. Getting into a routine of dispatching chumps is a dangerous thing, because there are plenty of good or improving players about who will surprise you.

 

Also, another gem from the RLLMUKforums:

 

Earlier today I had a few games of ranked and ended up playing against six Kens and a Gen. And I'm sure I only got the last one because he thought it said Ken.

 

Also, this is magnificent work:

 

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_2N-HuuZ5Otk/SaW1...enflowchart.gif

[FLips]

That flow chart is outstanding

 

The other brilliant thing i've noticed about Ken players is that the ones with mics will follow this pattern-

 

Win - taunt me before they leave

About to win- taunt me as they're about to finish me

About to win but I made a comeback and won- they go silent after taunting

lost- they stay silent all round, giving me the image of them sat on their sofa crying/having a mental breakdown because their "tactics" didn't work.

[Mr. Seven]

A question for the mighty and wise JLM. I recently got my Xbox Live disconnected, and I don't see it getting reconnected for a while, so is it worth playing this game at all seeing as I can't play online?

[JLM]

That's a question for everyone who owns the game! Stop elevating me, I don't want all the forumers gunning for me.

 

Anywho, it depends if you have a suitable offline opponent to play against on a regular basis. There's challenge, arcade, survival, time attack and trial modes which are all fine, and the game is lovely to look at, compelling to play, has plenty of unlockable content and a funky soundtrack (AMAZING main theme song too . However, damn near anything you do in the game is, for me, training and preparation for taking on human opposition. It doesn't have to be ranked online matches in an effort to become the best in the world, but there has to be competition. Fighting games are the purest of competitive videogames, and that's why I love them so much. Playing chess against a chess computer is educational, diverting and possibly even entertaining if you're a fan of the game, but it'll never grip you in the way that trying to outfox a human opponent will. Same is true of Versus fighting games, especially because the AI in these games (much like in football games) is generally totally soulless and often feels like a chore to play against.

 

So yeah, don't buy it for a 100% single player experience, but if you have someone who will be willing to play with you for long enough to become a solid oppoent, then I wholeheartedly recommend it.

[Joe_the_Lion]

A question for the mighty and wise JLM. I recently got my Xbox Live disconnected, and I don't see it getting reconnected for a while, so is it worth playing this game at all seeing as I can't play online?

 

Do you have any friends?

[Chest Rockwell]

That's a question for everyone who owns the game! Stop elevating me, I don't want all the forumers gunning for me.

 

Man, I'mma get my lead pipe and balaclava, jump you and Kingpin your joystick hand...