The Marvelous Essentials team returns to Twitch tonight with another episode of their Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3 roundtable discussion podcast. In their last episode, the team was joined by Panda Global’s Ryan “Filipino Champ” Ramirez, and with semi-recent events in mind, it’s only appropriate that Black Eye’s Nicolas “Kane Blueriver” Gonzalez should join them for tonight’s discussion.
The talk this evening will focus on upcoming events Final Round 19 and NorCal Regionals 2016, which are set to take place this weekend and next. As always, have your questions ready for the end of the podcast.
We’ve embedded the stream below for convenience, or you can head over to Twitch to join the chat.
The folks over at VGBootCamp recently went live with another installment of Smash @ Xanadu from Xanadu Games in Baltimore, Maryland. These weekly broadcasts provide a great look at the region’s Smash community, with tonight’s stream focusing entirely on Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
In addition to local talent, tonight’s Xanadu will feature appearances by VoiD, Hyuga, and Pink Fresh.
The stream is live below, but you can also head on over to Twitch to join the chat.
By now, it’s no secret that Street Fighter V was plagued by numerous issues in the weeks after its launch. Some, like matchmaking, continue to be improved by the developers, but others could still use some work.
In a recent video, Battle(non)sense takes a break from the world of first-person shooters to explore input and network lag in modern fighters. His research focused on Street Fighter V, Ultra Street Fighter IV, Mortal Kombat X, and Skullgirls, using a sophisticated setup to determine input delay in both offline and online environments.
As you can see, his findings are pretty shocking. Despite being the newest game on the market, Street Fighter V’s input lag is considerably higher than both the previous franchise installment and its direct competitors. On average, Street Fighter V features more than double the delay of Ultra Street Fighter IV, and more than four times that of Mortal Kombat X and Skullgirls, both of which perform admirably.
The culprit is V-Sync, a tool that adjusts framerate to match a monitor’s refresh rate. While this typically has the benefit of cutting down on things like screen tearing and other graphic distortions, it can have a disastrous effect on fighting games by increasing input lag. Unfortunately, Street Fighter V doesn’t offer an in-game option to disable V-Sync, forcing players to edit the game’s configuration file themselves.
Once this option is taken care of, however, things get a little better for Street Fighter V players, but not enough to match the lower input lag in other fighting games. This disparity also carries over into online play, even though Mortal Kombat X sees a dramatic increase itself.
The second part of the video shouldn’t come as much of a surprise for veteran fighting game players (higher ping contributes to higher input lag during netplay), but it still provides great insight into the different ways titles handle online play.
To remain competitive, Street Fighter V needs to be sure to cater to players who can’t make it out to tournaments every week. While training at home will never match the experience one gets from stepping outside their comfort zone, adding in-game options to mitigate some of those speed bumps would work wonders in closing the gap.
Let us know in the comments if this video was helpful, and be sure to give Battle(non)sense some love as well. His hard work is much appreciated.
Today, we’ve gathered up loads of new Street Fighter V footage from around the community, ranging from short character-specific snippets to longer looks at more generalized strategies. Regardless of what you’re looking for, you’ll probably find something helpful below.
Many new players have likely noticed the staggering amount of on-wakeup jabs they encounter after knocking down an opponent, and they may, in turn, become afraid to apply to pressure in such a situation. In today’s first video, Sajam takes a quick look at how to go about setting up some meaty options with Ryu to stuff those puny light attacks, then moves on to discuss how these opportunities evolve to include a wider array of available offensive tools. While the specific strategies offered apply directly to Ryu, the concepts carry across the cast.
On the other hand, maybe you’ve got your offensive options locked down, but suffer when it comes to keeping your own health bar intact. If that’s the case, this next video from Zissou may have the information you need to keep yourself healthy and safe.
In it, you’ll learn about why pushback exists, how to take advantage of opponents who attempt to pressure with unsafe attacks, and plenty more.
Yesterday, Bafael had a few assorted morsels of technology, and today he has followed up with a few more. First, he takes a look at some of the ways Chun-Li can juggle with her crouching fierce, and though he thinks there’s still more optimization to come to such combos, this should help push things in the right direction.
Next, Bafael demonstrates some frame trap and counter-hit combo options which offer Laura players enough time to react accordingly.
And in his third and final video of the day, Bafael shows off a lesser-known fact about Zangief: his V-Skill cancels right into his V-Trigger. This means his slow, armored walk forward just got a little bit more intimidating than it already was.
The next video, from ReikiKirei, focuses on a rather specific aspect of the game: how Karin can punish Cammy. This information will help Karin players looking to make the most out of their opportunities, but it will also help newer Cammy players understand the sorts of unsafe offensive options they should avoid in order to save themselves from Karin’s massive damage output.
The information goes beyond simply offering optimal punishes for poorly placed Spiral Arrows and the like, and includes methods for dealing with some of Cammy’s frame trap options, as well as how to turn her own resets against her.
With a command grab at his disposal, the game’s resident purveyor of Spanish ninjutsu has no trouble bullying his opponents. And, as Af0 shows in this next bit of footage, the pressure doesn’t have to stop just because Vega successfully scooped up his victim.
If you’re looking to upgrade your Dhalsim arsenal, this playlist from Peter Souvannarath is an excellent place to get started. In these quick videos, you’ll pick up a variety of meaty setups, ways to deal with dragon punches, and a way to maximize your stun combo damage output under perfect conditions.
To close things out today, Olympic Gaming has provided us with a compilation of some perfect victories. These one-sided rounds include a wide variety of character representation, and you’re certain to see several familiar names popping up on both the giving and receiving ends of the beatdown.
Got something of your own you want to show off? Send it our way! You video could be part of our next Street Fighter V community roundup!
While many of Final Round 19’s official rules are still unclear (clicking the appropriate link on their website simply downloads a document with a ‘Coming Soon!’ message), one in particular regarding Mortal Kombat X has caused quite a stir as of late.
According to organizer David Richardson, the tournament will be allowing the use of the game’s newest downloadable characters, just two weeks after their release. For comparison, the Evolution Championship Series ruleset, which most tournaments adopt to keep parity throughout the year, makes characters released within three weeks of their events illegal during competition.
Apart from the unfortunate Kung Lao bug caused by Kombat Pack 2 fighter Alien, this decision raises numerous questions about viability and fairness. Is two weeks enough to time to learn how to counter these new characters at a high level? Furthermore, can players master using them at a high-level, so much so that it would throw a wrench in an otherwise level playing field?
We caught up with Razer’s Carl “Perfect Legend” White for his thoughts on the matter. As a longtime tournament competitor, he doesn’t agree with the decision, saying that there hasn’t been enough time to learn the massive amount of matchups the Kombat Pack 2 characters added to Mortal Kombat X.
This sentiment is shared by NetherRealm Studios’ Ed Boon. “Players need time to learn new character matchups, so to include new characters that are less than three weeks old doesn’t make a lot of sense,” the creative director explained on Twitter, stating that it’s less about promotion and more about giving competitors ample time to practice. “It’s more important that all players have a fair shot at winning,” he concluded.
Attempts to contact head tournament organizer Larry “ShinBlanka” Dixon for his unique insight went unanswered, but we will be sure to update this article as soon as we receive a response.
We also want to hear from you, our readers, on this matter. Below, you’ll find a poll with a simple question: do you agree with this decision? Feel free to follow up with specifics in the comments.
Final Round 19 is scheduled for March 18-20 in Atlanta, Georgia. More details can be found here.
While many of Final Round 19’s official rules are still unclear (clicking the appropriate link on their website simply downloads a document with a ‘Coming Soon!’ message), one in particular regarding Mortal Kombat X has caused quite a stir as of late.
According to organizer David Richardson, the tournament will be allowing the use of the game’s newest downloadable characters, just two weeks after their release. For comparison, the Evolution Championship Series ruleset, which most tournaments adopt to keep parity throughout the year, makes characters released within three weeks of their events illegal during competition.
Apart from the unfortunate Kung Lao bug caused by Kombat Pack 2 fighter Alien, this decision raises numerous questions about viability and fairness. Is two weeks enough to time to learn how to counter these new characters at a high level? Furthermore, can players master using them at a high-level, so much so that it would throw a wrench in an otherwise level playing field?
We caught up with Razer’s Carl “Perfect Legend” White for his thoughts on the matter. As a longtime tournament competitor, he doesn’t agree with the decision, saying that there hasn’t been enough time to learn the massive amount of matchups the Kombat Pack 2 characters added to Mortal Kombat X.
This sentiment is shared by NetherRealm Studios’ Ed Boon. “Players need time to learn new character matchups, so to include new characters that are less than three weeks old doesn’t make a lot of sense,” the creative director explained on Twitter, stating that it’s less about promotion and more about giving competitors ample time to practice. “It’s more important that all players have a fair shot at winning,” he concluded.
Attempts to contact head tournament organizer Larry “ShinBlanka” Dixon for his unique insight went unanswered, but we will be sure to update this article as soon as we receive a response.
We also want to hear from you, our readers, on this matter. Below, you’ll find a poll with a simple question: do you agree with this decision? Feel free to follow up with specifics in the comments.
Final Round 19 is scheduled for March 18-20 in Atlanta, Georgia. More details can be found here.
It’s always a treat to see top players play long sets. The extended format allows both competitors more room to experiment and adapt to each other, which often times gives new insights to how certain matchups can be played.
One such set, played between Ari “Floe” Weintraub and Red Bull’s Darryl “Snake Eyez” Lewis, is highlighted in the following video. Their ten-game set is a must watch for players of either character; Vega users will surely get some good knowledge on the matchup from Floe, and Snake Eyez provides a showcase of Zangief strengths when making good reads..
Week after week, the Jump In podcast has provided an interesting angle on goings-on in the fighting game community. Logan Sama, Shady K, and YUBIKEN’s Kim1234 have been quite busy discussing Street Fighter V after its release, and they recently returned with their third episode.
Below, the trio touches on various topics, including Street Fighter V’s launch, online play, and balance; Lupe Fiasco’s exhibition with Mad Catz’ Daigo Umehara; the Capcom Pro Tour; Evolution 2016; and their predictions for Final Round 19 this weekend.
Last week, Microsoft and Iron Galaxy Studios gave us a look at the full spectrum of alternate colors guest character Rash will have available in Killer Instinct Season 3, and now they’ve set their sights on the return of Kim Wu.
Most of Kim’s colors revolve around the basic purple that’s associated with her character. Reflecting her new backstory as a spunky fashion design student, this is matched with a plethora of bright colors in both her clothes and hair.
For those who prefer a more classic look, the team also dropped images of Kim’s retro costume. Unlike her modern design, each alternate for her retro costume is mostly based on a single dominant color, reflecting the character’s 90s roots.
You can check out all the variations of Kim Wu’s modern and retro costumes in the individual galleries below.
To say that King of Fighters XIV is the leakiest fighting game in recent memory wouldn’t be much of a stretch. Far from a couple of unknown characters, the entire cast was revealed through forum posts months before the game was even announced, and official reveals since then have matched those leaks perfectly.
But we were still in the dark when it came to the newcomers on the King of Fighters XIV roster. For example, we knew one of the newcomers fit the “Mysterious Hooded Man” trope, but how much of a spoiler could a basic description like that be?
Well, fans no longer have to wonder, because we were recently provided with what appears to be a legitimate character select screen, or at least a mock-up of one. Folks are still not entirely sure where it originated, but the earliest source we could find is a Twitter user by the name of shen-woo, which was then picked up by JohnGrimm in our own forums, and then finally plopped at our feet by the one and only Laban.
We want to thank everyone involved with bringing this to our attention, and also take the time to tell those of you averse to being spoiled that now is probably a good time to vacate the article.
As you can see, the image above depicts the entirety of the King of Fighters XIV roster as described in the aforementioned leaks. New characters are outlined in red, highlighting the fact that three full teams are comprised of newcomers. These include the Another World squad made up of Samurai Shodown’s Nakoruru, Sky Love’s Love Heart, and Dragon Gal’s Mui Mui; the South American team; and the Official Invites, who were previously listed as the Palace Wan team.
The photo also gives us our first glimpses of the mid-boss and final boss of King of Fighters XIV, a “Russian billionaire” and “non-human species” respectively…if the leaks are to be believed.
While we don’t speak Chinese ourselves, a friendly community member has assured us that the text at the top of the image is grammatically correct, a key point that many fake leaks get wrong. It mainly highlights the large cast, stating that a total of 19,600 team combinations are possible thanks to the 50 playable characters.
King of Fighters XIV is slated to release for PlayStation 4 sometime this year. Stay tuned for more details, and be sure to let us know what you think of the new faces in our comments.
