Input lag has been a huge talking point in the FGC over the past year. With Street Fighter V–the most featured fighting game of 2016–having a higher-than-normal delay on inputs, a lot of people were concerned about the impact such a delay would have on the overall game. There have been notable effects on both balance and player reaction, leading to Capcom eventually reducing the input lag by a degree, after which there was discussion about the implication on balance reducing the lag had. Most players expected the lag to be altered again with the Season 2 update, but with no additional changes to input lag in sight the topic has been open to discussion all over again.
In a move reminiscent of their April Fools character announcement, the latest patch for the PC version of Skullgirls promotes a wholly unique feature for a fighting game. It was announced that players can now manually choose to increase their amount of input lag by 3 frames, bringing the delay from 3-4 frames up to 6-7 frames.
I did the thing I said I'd do!https://t.co/Ck2SjzmfZ3#ascendhigher
— Mike Zaimont (@MikeZSez) December 20, 2016
The point of this patch seems like a joke at a glance, but there’s a bigger talking point here: is raising the input delay such a silly thing to do that it has to be a joke to suggest, and if so what does that mean for games that ignore a delay? What kind of impact does such a delay have on footsies, hit-confirms, zoning, pressure, and resets? Would anyone intentionally raise the delay on their game, and why? Does player input matter, or is this a decision that should be left up to developers? This option adds some important discussion material, being the best chance for players everywhere to personally feel the difference a few extra frames of lag can make.
Source: Skullgirls
