Messages

1

Training Room / Re: Recently got a stick

« on: June 17, 2014, 08:30:54 PM »

One more thing I recently realized after reading a tweet from Juicebox:
Don't forget: hop C-low B and hop C-hop C is kind of a mixup. Many online players stay grounded after they hop in... Stop playing SF. #KOF13

KOF has almost an airdasher element to it with the hop system. Practicing timings for rehops and redashes is important... That double tap after an input can be a difficult mental wall to execute at match speed. Another thing about practicing these motions: backdash after blockstring. The backdash on KoF comes out SO FAST that it can really mess with an opponent's offense. Think about it, he's used to your blockstring and decides to hop in since you're probably within hop or hyper hop distance. j.CD blocked gives him enough time to play some mixups with you and SUDDENLY the flow is reversed. If the opponent lands after you backdash outta where you just were and commits to something unsafe you can start cookin with heat!

I know as a dull wit I forgot to put SO many concepts into application in a tense match (every one that isn't AI). As a result it's easier to turn it into a muscle memory chunk to access on command. I play my matches almost like a flowchart (despite the negative vibes that word has started to generate). Instead of thinking commands, imagine if options like: Move, low blockstring+planned followup (jump crossup, backdash, roll, rehop), hd string, punish, were all cards in your hand. You access these cards when you decide its most appropriate. Muscle memory helps remove the idea of :  + , , , + , , ( ) into: Fingers please input the commands necessary for andy to perform his safe low string into a backdash and punish any jump ins if they occur.

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Training Room / Re: Recently got a stick

« on: June 09, 2014, 12:34:57 PM »

"Got reamed because they used sticks" - trust me I doubt that was the reason. The hard reality is perhaps that your not able to do certain inputs but certainly not because they use a stick. There quite a couple players out there who use pads and do alright. Input needs to be razor sharp on point on this game more so than SF. Think about how fast paced this game is... imagine a hyper hop taco with iori right into maiden masher in the middle of a match. And that's just the low end of input. Hwa Jai's  , , turns the reversal kick to turn into a super if your first  accidentally was sloppily input as  . That's a bread and butter for him.

This game is gonna be demanding as fuck on your dedication and patience if you're not godhands tokido tier. I've been on and off on this game for forever and am still practicing my hit confirms, I'll though I'm dumb and can't link for shit cuz of sloppiness so I stick to strong normal, command move, special, possible DC sequences. Like a TON of existing threads have already stated: getcho hops on point son. Getcho backdashes on point son. Internalize shortcut/secondary motions. Getcho inputs super clean with minimal additional inputs son.

Enjoy your masochistic road to success!

PS. DP motions are just as written . If you watch david chen's beginners guide to street fighter he talks about it. The joystick will reset to neutral after the forward if you just let go. Then just roll the stick down and into the corner of your square gate for down forward. KOF has some leniency like SF4 so will also work as will HCB, F.

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Training Room / Re: New to KoF

« on: May 30, 2014, 11:38:31 AM »

I hope your friends understand the basic nature of fighting games, though. It's not like Halo where you race to the power weapon, grab it and then are overpowered cuz of that. Eventually Ammo runs out or people gang up on the guy and he dies while someone else gets the chance to use the power weapon. In fighting games its not like that. It's very unforgiving. You create your chance, the game doesn't naturally just go: Ok, you've had enough. Time for the other dude to beat up on you for a bit. If you REALLY REALLY want to go easy on em, don't attack. KOF allows us to defend via pro-active attacks (neutral jump CD). You could just roll and jump around using defensive air to airs and such to get all your damage. Then when they whiff a more difficult to punish move you can practice your punish for that (a great one to practice punishing is EX Hangetsuzan or EX Maiden Masher).

Fighting games are unforgiving and if your friends cannot abide by that singular fact then you're better off not playing with them (it will cause emotional issues between friends in the long term). I turned fighting games into a drinking game (I don't even drink) with my buddy and drank all his booze while not letting him win a single round for 2 hours straight. We both laughed about it and enjoyed our time. If your friends cannot do this then you're better off playing something else with them.

They need to want to grow. They need to truly want to EARN their victories (the way your great grandparents won the war) and not just "earn" em (the way you won that ribbon at your middle school competition).

Good luck trying to get your friends into the genre!

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Training Room / Re: New to KoF

« on: May 29, 2014, 10:05:47 AM »

I don't understand how "you don't go all out". I mean if you're not doing HD combos and MAX damages that's ok, but if you want to use your buddies for footsies practice what's the problem? For example some guy raw supers and you jab him out of it.... So? You practiced your spacing, timing, and footsie knowledge. Some guy keeps jumping so you keep jump air to air'ing him. Or you keep AA'ing him. So?

I can understand if your friends become discouraged by making ONE mistake and you opening a giant can o whupass on em, however if they're whining about being punished 50 health for committing the same mistake over and over then shame on them. Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. So if you bait a DP, instead of punishing with a HUGE meterless combo just punish with a hp+special cancel. You get your baby tier punish, practice spacing and timing, and they don't feel like they're fighting out of their weight class.

Also one GREAT thing to practice against casual players is low profiling. Crouch b's can go under a LOT of attacks. So let's say you're babying your friends again, stroking their egos. Every jump in, crouch b under their attack, then continue blocking EVEN IF YOU COULD punish. You just successfully practiced a tactic to open up a gap in your opponent's offence without humiliating your pals. Furthermore THINK to yourself what the appropriate action to take after low profiling should be (Maybe low profiling with my character on that specific jump in allows me to b,b,b command normal, special, maybe my character has a fast enough close c or d that I can cl.c, command normal, special). Acknowledge it and continue the game.

Finally, even if your friends are casual: teach them. My one buddy used to go crazy in SF when I would mix him up so I started teaching him about crossups and mixups. He got better, forced me to evolve, and the cycle continued. That's what playing with your friends is about. It's not about just having a live person to beat up on or to joke around with. It's having a friend who evolves with you, forces you to grow. If you feed them knowledge thats like forcing yourself to grow at an even faster pace.

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Training Room / Re: Tips for better excecution?

« on: May 29, 2014, 09:05:40 AM »

Input display is probably the most constructive thing to improving input. If you have problems with Mature rekkas I'm betting you'll run into the same problems as I did doing Kensou's rekkas under pressure: His QCF's turned into rekka [DC] DP gut punch. Or Ralph, his Command normal into qcf+c turned into command normal super. The reason for this is that there are tiny tiny input errors. For example my Kensou problem was a result of QCF's being rushed as well as the second punch coming out a taaaaad early so the punch would land on the down forward rather than the clean forward. For Ralph it was that when going into down forward, I would sometimes hook too hard with my ring finger and it would turn into d, df which counted towards the super's buffer.

Input leniency has breeded a generation of fighters with bad habits. Mashing DP's or inputting your DP as f, df, d, df, f, or a similar derivative will be accepted as a DP to the game due to input leniency but will also build inputs towards future buffers. Learn to do everything perfectly clean and you'll be ok.

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Offline Matchmaking / Re: Looking for KOF XIII players in Shanghai, China!

« on: March 12, 2014, 04:19:50 PM »

So I never got that phone call. Still waiting on some heads. My skill level has gone nowhere, my desire to practice goes nowhere, as there is nobody to play with. Hit me up guys! Is there still nobody in Shanghai? I'll host at my place even!

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Offline Matchmaking / Re: Looking for KOF XIII players in Shanghai, China!

« on: November 13, 2013, 09:10:04 PM »

I don't think so... just call the number as I've listed it (18621347***). As long as you're using a shanghai cell number.

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Offline Matchmaking / Re: Looking for KOF XIII players in Shanghai, China!

« on: November 05, 2013, 08:37:15 AM »

Wow! I had given up all hope of meeting people here. I have pm'd you my cell phone number so you can contact me when you arrive. Shanghai is a BIG city so there is a chance that there are closer options than what I'll be giving you. The major difference is that the venue I am directing you towards his a WIDE variety of games and is clean/smoke free.

Here's a LOT clearer instructions, I went and met up with Kusha and figured I'd take some photos and remeasure distances.

People's Square Subway to Arcade:
So if you're riding Line 2 it may be harder to find Exit 1. Exit 12 leads to Exit 1. After going out Exit 1 immediately turn right. If you walk forward 50 feet you should see the scene described in Panel 1 of the attached photo. The logo has been enlarged and the lady ( I hate to use her like this but she IS a recognizable landmark) has been framed in a red box (she is always at that bench). If you keep walking forward another 150 feet past that woman (do not go down the escalators) you should arrive at panel 2. I've enlarged the street address for your convenience (I do not know if that will help much). Go down and if you walk straight you should see the arcade.

D-Mall is a good place to take a girl on a date. Once you become more familiar you'll know of the route that you can take that does not involve going above ground (I just prefer it because less people in the way of my powerwalking).

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Training Room / Re: Developing from a COMPLETE newb

« on: August 25, 2013, 06:18:26 PM »

Thanks a lot guys. I decided to feel around more for characters I actually enjoy and settled down finally on Kensou. 1 in 3 isn't anywhere near close to the end of the road but at least it's something. After working on him for a little bit I'm still VERY VERY rough but I'm seeing a LOT MORE results in my game. It feels good winning 3 out of 5 at an arcade. Obviously the other guy was a scrub too but... now I can see punishes and pro-active actions to take. My mixup game is coming along well enough too.

I'm still having trouble with Kensou in regards to mashing his dp stomach barrage correctly. That and his DP kick to divepunch timing on the 4th hit is still AWFUL, however I'm very happy these days :D

At this point do I continue grinding away at kensou or start also developing a feel for another character's basics?

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Offline Matchmaking / Re: Looking for KOF XIII players in Shanghai, China!

« on: August 25, 2013, 06:07:55 PM »

The competition here is WIDELY ranged. Come on, turkeys to shoot AND lions to hunt.

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Training Room / Re: Developing from a COMPLETE newb

« on: August 20, 2013, 06:01:35 PM »

Thanks. I think I'm going to just.... ease up a little bit in my expectations towards the rate of my improvement. I also am going to pick up characters I like rather than characters I have minor success at simply because 2 steps forward at the beginning is great and all but if I'm in it for the long run I might as well enjoy what I'm doing.

Thank you for the advice, thank you for the encouragement too.

BTW, saw you in Juicebox's stream lol.

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Offline Matchmaking / Looking for KOF XIII players in Shanghai, China!

« on: August 19, 2013, 08:59:53 PM »

This is a really long shot, but are there any English speaking KOF XIII players in Shanghai? I got my own sticks and I hear there's rent by the hour centers in the city. I also got a PS3 copy of the game and am down to play anywhere with a system (Can't be at my place because of the sensitive nature of the field in which I work and the amount of work related materials at my house). I'd prefer to go to a place where I can plug in my own fight sticks but if we have to use the arcades that kids beat to shit then I'm down. I have a membership card to the People's Square arcade near D-Mall (Di Mei Guang Chang) and there are 2 KOFXIII cabinets there.

I am located in Pudong but am willing to travel anywhere within 1 hour of Century Garden by metro.

PM me and I can give you my contact information.

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Training Room / Re: Developing from a COMPLETE newb

« on: August 18, 2013, 09:20:19 AM »

I sincerely appreciate the help. I think you may be overestimating my abilities. I am not judging a character's ability or utility through trial mode. Analysis of this game has led me to the understanding that each character's utility is withing 2 points of each other on a scale of 1-10. The issue lies not in the character's utility it lies in my ability to execute even simple combos. The reason why I choose down a's is because the timing is a lot more tight and restrictive than down b's. I'm trying to develop my execution. Andy is the only character I'm having ANY success with.

I know you should go with characters you like but I like Leona, Duo Lon, Kensou, Takuma, and Terry. I have very little success with these characters. I mean if I really want to I could buckle down and just decide to devote my time to these characters, however charge motions are the bane of my existence in terms of executions because of the added requirement of a 30 frame charge. With SF I can hit rekka commands no problem but for some reason I have trouble with 100 percent execution with Duo Lon's sequence. When I first started out playing KOF it was a special move fest. I got destroyed in the arcades because of the recovery time and the fact that my opponents were local Chinese that had twitch memorization for lots of combos. I tried again the other day and through the rule of only using normals I was able to knock out 2 out of 3 characters for one of the more spastic emotional players.

Also any tips about my hop issue or is this just my pure lack of ability showing? Regardless I plan to get competent at this game one way or another.

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Training Room / Developing from a COMPLETE newb

« on: August 17, 2013, 09:52:08 AM »

Hey Dreamcancel, my goal is to become relevant to the Chinese scene at KOF. Currently not only is that goal far away its almost unfeasible. The biggest reason I cannot progress is my execution. So much theory exists in my head but not enough in my fingers. I can't destroy if I can't do more than   all day or throw a super on its own to zone. As a result I'm committing an hour a day to execution practice. I don't like Andy as a character because of his average normals but he happens to be the character to whom more of the inputs work for me at a cursory run at his trials. As a result I figure this is a good base to start. Seeing as how he is the only character I have had a modicum of success in I have resolved to use him as the basis for my development at KOF (tell me if this thought process is wrong) despite my dislike of the actual character.

Currently I'm sticking to just this:
1. 10 hops
2. 10 reps of   to  
3. 10 reps of   to   to Zan'eiken
4. 10 reps of   to   to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake
5. 10 reps of   to   to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake to Zan'eiken
6. 10 reps of   to   to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake
7. 10 reps of   to   to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake to Zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake to Zan'eiken

Is this wise? Is this too much? Should I be spending my time elsewhere? currently I can get to step 6 minus the brake in execution but not in consistency (meaning I might be able to get it if I'm feeling ballsy. I can't even get a 10/10 on demand zan'eiken to Kuuhadan Brake at the moment). Also I am having trouble with hops. I can get 10/10 after trying 50 times but I cannot execute a hop and without knowing at the screen or seeing the outcome feel 100 percent confident that I got a hop and not a jump. Sometimes in my desire to do a hop I actually get NOTHING happening despite hearing the click of my stick... (I suspect that i   then   in split second timing rather than   but I don't really know...)

My desires lie in Takuma and Duolon but without even being able to execute a 3/3 on demand Rekka I don't know if that's wise, and in order to speed development I've simpled... settled for Andy.

Thoughts guys?

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Training Room / Re: New

« on: August 16, 2013, 07:41:33 PM »

It's funny because sometimes when you start out... having TOO many options actually is a liability. I had some REALLY casual experience with SF (which you also have to look at frame data if you want to be competitive... at least as much so if not more than KOF) and so when I picked up this game I had the same troubles as you if not MORE. Here in China 90 percent of the people on the sticks are 100 pct kill combo masters.  I get beat by 40 year old men who only have one eye open because of the cig smoke on their other. After watching Juicebox's tutorials I started picking characters with lots of options despite my unfamiliarity with this game thinking the more options the more survivability I have. I forgot the armed forces creed: KEEP IT SIMPLE, STUPID!

Today I hit up the arcades again... Terry, Takuma, and Duolon. Despite my COMPLETE unfamiliarity with Duolon (I've played 15 minutes total with him prior to this match) Terry's low kicks and his command normals as well as duolon's command normals were responsible for a majority of my success. Laming out the flashy opponent through proper normals execution and applying mixup pressure using alternating normals for short combo strings into trips allowed me to knock out 2 out of the 3 characters of my opponent. I ended up getting raped by a person of low skill level for the Chinese scene but I had success. However small, I had success.

You also have to realize a huge distinction: Casual vs Dedicated/competitive. On this board are a LOT of people who would chuckle at the concept of a wakeup shoryu in Street Fighter. On casual level gameplay this tactic is actually HIGHLY encouraged but in competitive circles its almost suicide and reserved for punishing predictability. Realize that most people on this board HAPPILY put 1 month solid of an hour a day into this game before expecting ANYTHING.

When I started street fighter I started going against my buddies the minute I got a 10/10 accuracy on my hadoken inputs. 

Good Luck! Have fun! I hope you and I both grow to our desires.