The deadline to apply for SNK’s KOF XIV E-sports Support Program has been extended to July 31st, 2018. Originally set to end on August 31st of this year, the program offers cash prize bonuses, social media advertisement and other perks to qualifying tournaments.
As mentioned in our report of the program’s launch, the basic requirements to apply are simple: The tournament must be offline and there must be at least 20 participants. Despite the name of the program only mentioning The King of Fighters XIV, the support is extended to any game under the SNK umbrella, but in order to get support, the game played must (of course) be an SNK title.
If you or someone you know is interested in applying, you can get all details be reviewing the full application here.
BCF2, the multi-game exhibition and title match event in Burbank, CA, is just a day away. To promote the event, Body Count Fighting is giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the preparation their competitors are making for their battles.
Krayzie, Awesomeo, Han Rashid, and Commander Jesse each sat down with Body Count Fighting to talk about their opponents, their playstyles, and the measures they are taking to secure victory in tomorrow’s grudge matches.
BCF2 will be streamed live on Twitch and YouTubeThursday, July 27, 2017 at 6:00 PM PST.
MMORPG.com has been given closed beta keys for DISSIDIA FINAL FANTASY NT – the all new team based brawler game from Square Enix and Team Ninja from KOEI TECMO GAMES!
Fresh new games from independent developers that you’ll definitely want to take notice of.
No longer just the world’s biggest fighting game tournament, Evo has become a hotspot to show off new software to the fighting game community, and this year had one of the hottest lineups to date. The Indie Showcase is now a recurring feature, bringing players and indie developers in touch with each other. For those who were unable to attend Evo this year — or attendees that might have missed some of these titles — Justin Woodward of The MIX reached out to us to break down a selection of the promising titles that were on display. From Woodward:
At previous Evos, the Evo Indie Showcase has been a hotbed of exciting indie titles geared towards the fighting game community, and the booth’s space at Evo 2017 was no different. Presented by The MIX, the booth offered fans the chance to get hands on time with dozens of awesome games, some of them presented to the public for the very first time ever. Here are some of the major highlights from the Evo Indie Showcase, with descriptions pulled from the booth’s website!
Bounty Battle: Presented to the public for the first time at the event, Bounty Battle is a no-holds barred brawler that lets players face off against a cadre of their favorite characters from a wide assortment of beloved indie games!
Absolver: Absolver is an online multiplayer combat game where players are placed behind the mask of a Prospect under control of the Guides, the new rulers of the fallen Adal Empire, who will determine your worth in joining their elite corps of Absolvers. [Absolver is currently available to pre-order on the PlayStation Store, as well as for PC on GOG.com. – Editor]
Coffence: Coffence is a fast-paced hybrid between fighting games and twin-stick shooters for up to four players. Players must wield their cup into battle in an attempt to empty their opponent’s coffee while protecting theirs in various locations ranging from an office building to a pirate ship. Coffee is literally your health bar and every hit you take ejects it up in the air for anyone to claim, creating dramatic reversals and tense stand-offs. Coffee is more than your health though: it’s also your source of power. Sacrifice a sip of your precious beverage to tap into the infinite power of caffeine to unleash a powerful secret technique known as the COFFEE BREAK.
Punch Planet: Punch Planet is a competitive sci-fi 2D fighter with a rich and immersive story, spanning a universe of exotic planets, advanced cities, and alien races. Developed by 3 longtime competitors in the fighting game community, Punch Planet is a fighting game with a solid foundation of competitive mechanics while also introducing a new depth of story, humor, and design. [Look back at our coverage of Punch Planet news here. – Editor]
Nidhogg 2: Return of the wurm! The next installment of the epic award-winning dueling tug-of-war is coming! Destroy your opponents with all new moves and weapons across ten different arenas. Enjoy new monstrous visuals by artist Toby Dixon and bangin’ beats from Daedelus, Mux Mool, Doseone, and more! [Nidhogg 2 is set to release on PC and PlayStation 4 on August 15, 2017! – Editor]
Mystic Melee: A great evil is threatening the galaxy, and only four arcane wizards can stop it. Master imaginative spells in this fast-paced physics platformer. Take your skills to the arena for fierce multiplayer battles.
All in all, the Evo Indie Showcase was a hit, and offering up a great deal of exciting indie games of which that fans couldn’t get enough. Bounty Battle, one of the games on display at the event, is set to begin its crowdfunding campaign on Fig.co this week. For more details on all the great games at this year’s Evo Indie Showcase, check out the official website.
There were lots of other games in the Indie Showcase this year, too; check out The MIX to learn about them. Keep an eye on Shoryuken for upcoming hands-on impressions of some of these titles, and more!
Northern Arena, the largest esports organizer in Canada, will be partnering with telecommunications company Bell Canada to run the Northern Arena Knockout Tournament 2017 Circuit at the Canadian National Exhibition.
The Canadian National Exhibition, or CNE, is the largest fair in Canada. It’s an 18-day event that has been running since 1879, and is the 5th largest fair in North America. To enter what may end up being the biggest FGC esports event in Canada yet, players must qualify in one of two ways. One is via qualification through these tournaments:
Montréal: August 1st, 8th, 15th, 22nd Location: Mixed Virtual Arts – 2069 Rue Pathenais, Montréal, QC Qualification Slots: 3 https://www.facebook.com/groups/MTLSF/
Those that can’t attend in person can try to qualify online through a 128-player open bracket competition, which will be held at the CNE in Toronto from August 25th to 27th. Anyone within North America can enter, not just Canada! The top 8 players from this event will qualify.
These combined 16 players will fight for a $5,000 prize pool. The top 4 players will move on to the live event at Northern Arena Knockout in September. If you wish to attend or participate, you can visit the event page here.
The Knockout Finals will take place September 15th-17th at the Bell Media Studios and offer a $30,000 prize pool. In addition to the four qualifying players, 12 international SFV pros will be entered into the bracket. Northern Arena says full event details will be announced at a later date.
Participants will need to purchase initial entry passes to CNE, with a discount on tickets being given through Northern Arena (details can be found on the event page). Northern Arena says complimentary passes will be given to players who advance to subsequent days.
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] just came out in Asian regions, and those who imported or bought the game online are eagerly training with the latest version and new characters. While UNIST is a fairly accessible game, there’s plenty of depth to it. The strategic systems, for example, the GRD system, can be challenging to utilize most effectively. Thankfully, those who wish to elevate their game can read a practical guide.
Under Night In-Birth Exe:Late[st] just came out in Asian regions, and those who imported or bought the game online are eagerly training with the latest version and new characters. While UNIST is a fairly accessible game, there’s plenty of depth to it. The strategic systems, for example, the GRD system, can be challenging to utilize most effectively. Thankfully, those who wish to elevate their game can read a practical guide.
UDON kicks off this year’s fun in the sun with another annual collection of Street Fighter-inspired pin-ups.
If you were eagerly awaiting this year’s installment of scantily-clad Street Fighter ladies (and some men) enjoying the summer sun, you need wait no longer! UDON’s second collection of Street Fighter swimsuit pin-up art, the Street Fighter & Friends 2017 Swimsuit Special, has arrived on store shelves as of today — this year it features characters from some other Capcom franchises as well, such as Darkstalkers and Final Fight.
You can pick up one of this one-shot comic’s multiple cover variants for $3.99 – $4.99 each. The Street Fighter & Friends 2017 Swimsuit Special is available at a comics retailer near you, or digitally via ComiXology.
PQube and Digital Crafter have announced the next two characters that are joining the heavenly Fight of Gods roster. From Shinto legends comes the sun goddess Amaterasu, and from the Abrahamic religions comes the prophet Moses. Last time I checked, Moses wasn’t a god — but he looks prepared to go a few rounds against the likes of Odin and Athena here, anyway.
The liberator of the Hebrew slaves actually fights using a copy of the Ten Commandments, along with his staff and water magic. As long as he doesn’t kill his opponent, he’s still following the rules that he himself set down. I wonder if “thou shalt teabag thine salty foe” has been added as his personal 11th commandment?
Amaterasu is a ranged specialist, who uses her bow and sun shield to keep her enemies at bay. The shield serves as a reminder of that other incarnation of Amaterasu seen in a fighting game, namely in Marvel vs. Capcom 3 via Capcom’s Okami.
You can see the two fighters battling it out in the trailer below — and you can play Fight of Gods yourself when it launches August 22nd on Steam.
A number of upgrades to Capcom’s CFN Portal arrived quietly alongside Street Fighter V’s Abigail patch yesterday, adding login functionality for players and full frame data tables for each character.
Using their PlayStation Network or Steam login players are now able to check CFN data online, including win rates, recent matches and overall ranking information on a platform called the Shadaloo C.R.I (Combat Research Institute). Using this information players can generate a personal player card called a “Psycho Pass” showing off their favorite character, rank and chosen avatar. The pass can then be shared via social media, and the C.R.I tracks the number of followers a player has.
Many of the features mirror those of the the now defunct V-League.pro which was active until April of this year when the website’s CFN account was banned. However, the C.R.I platform only shows recent Ranked match opponents, and does not list specific match results or match IDs for replays.
Logging into the C.R.I also provides access to frame data for each character, and while there have been some alternative sources, it’s certainly nice to have the data from Capcom first hand. The data is also quite detailed, including airborne frames for attacks and exact numbers for V-Trigger cancels.
Though it’s odd that Capcom would roll out this service without a formal announcement, it shows at least some progress towards turning CFN into a better platform for competitive players.
