New features and fixes revealed by Capcom–promised to roll out shortly after the beta test concludes.
In addition to the incoming balance patch, Capcom indicated they were working to address the myriad of complaints centered on the Capcom Fighters Network and Street Fighter V’s online playability. Today’s post on Capcom-Unity offers a look at what improvements to SFV’s online game we can look forward to; additionally, PC players will have the opportunity to try the new online experience–along with an early shot at the upcoming rebalanced gameplay–by participating in an online beta test for the new CFN between 1:00 PM PDT on March 28 and 12:00 PM PDT on April 3. Steam users, keep an eye on Capcom-Unity to find out how to sign up. Sorry PlayStation users, console gamers cannot participate in this beta test.
Here’s a breakdown of the incoming Capcom Fighters Network (and other) changes to expect:
Rage Quit Penalty System The special Player Profile Icons will work correctly, and matchmaking logic will take into account your online behavior and frequent disconnectors will be matched with similar opponents.
Ranked and Casual Match Loading Times There will be a shorter transition when going into a Ranked or Casual Match.
Battle Lounge Country Flags Country flags will now properly load in Battle Lounges, allowing players to locate competition in their region.
Training Mode: User Settings Saved Training Mode settings will now save and carry over to the next time the mode is accessed.
Matchmaking Improvements It should now take less time to find an opponent in online matches, and logic will be added to avoid frequently being matched with the same opponent repeatedly.
Fighter Profile Stats More detailed stats will be tracked and presented on your Fighter Profile.
Country/League Based Rankings Players will be able to filter leaderboards based on Country or League.
Friend Management System In addition to adding a player to your Favorites, you will be able to add Friends and follow them on CFN. You will also be able to Blacklist players.
Interactive Timeline On the CFN home menu, a live feed of your Friends’ activities will be presented on an interactive Timeline. Using the Timeline, you will be able to immediately add a recent match to your Replay List, view a Fighter Profile, manage your Friends, and adjust Timeline display settings.
In-Game Announcer Voice The in-game announcer will give you stats on both you and your opponent using data pulled from the server.
iPad users will be able to start playing Elder Scrolls Legends thanks to its global release today. The game is compatible with iPad 4 and higher. Elder Scrolls Legends launched for PC earlier this month and other platforms will be included as the year wears on. Android tablet players will see it arrive in April, Mac OS in May and iOS / Android phones sometime in the summer.
Warpportal has announced that browser-based Ragnarok Journey is ready to open on March 27th. Opening week will include a number of activities including Daily Boss Dungeons, login rewards, and extra in-game rewards just for taking part.
Snail Games has sent word that its latest mobile ARPG, Sword of Shadows, is now available worldwide. The game features a martial arts style of combat and sees the player go from raw recruit to ‘legendary warriors’ in an ancient world.
The Guilty Gear online league continues this week with a new set of Daredevils. This time, the Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League has four new combatants once again. We’re going to see some zany techniques from Faust and smart countering from Leo Whitefang. Then, Potemkin will show the strength of patience against Dizzy’s onslaught of spells and critters.
Here’s a breakdown of the fighters this week, and a little on their background:
ElvenShadow
On the match: “Zidane and I have played in tournament only twice if I recall correctly. The first time was APEX 2015 Grand Finals where I won in a close set. The 2nd time was at NEC 2015 where I won in top 16. At APEX we also played two FT5 exhibition sets in which we went 1-1, and finally a FT5 at a Frosty Faustings IX after party, in which he beat me. I feel like if I am on point and apply my matchup knowledge well, I can take the set.”
On his opponent: “I think I first met Zidane during the Guilty Gear XX Slash era. He had one of the best Anjis in the U.S. along with KBnova, and since then has been regarded as one of the best U.S. players, though I don’t recall actually playing against him much in the XX series. He has been one of the most consistent U.S. players in Xrd, despite the fact that he doesn’t travel that much, and his performance at Evo 2015 was also, of course, great stuff. He’s a smart player, so it’s going to be a really tough match, but I look forward to the challenge!”
On his own playstyle: “I love zoning with long pokes and fighting from a distance, but once I am able to find an opening, I also really love rushing down! I always have a general gameplan when I play, but things can completely change at any moment depending on what items come out, so I am always ready to adapt on the fly. Because of that, I feel like I play using instinct and feeling a lot of the time. This can be either a good or bad thing at times. I could probably stand to be a little more mentally disciplined in some regards. I also feel like I play even harder when my back is to the wall, and I am on the verge of losing. The Chicago FGC refers to it as ‘EX Bozac.’ I need to learn how to play like that all of the time.”
Zidane
On the match: “It’s going to be an uphill battle since Leo vs. Faust is one of Leo’s harder matchups. It’s tough to approach Faust; his buttons out-range mine, Leo has very low mobility, and I always have to deal with Faust items like bombs, meteors, Mini Faust. If I get in, I have to worry about his options on wakeup. 5D being invulerable is another thing I have to look out for besides things like backdash/super/YRC. If I’m able to cover his options or guess right, the bright side is Leo deals massive damage and could win any around off a few stray hits.”
On his opponent: “ElvenShadow has been playing GG longer than I have, I came from #Reload. He’s always been an amazing player, he’s placed high in U.S. tournaments since I’ve been around the game. I feel he’s more aggressive than the average Faust player, but it works out for him. We played against each other throughout the years, but I’m not sure we played each other in tournament until Xrd. I haven’t actually beaten him in an Xrd tournament.”
On his own playstyle: “I think I’m an aggressive player. I want to go in, keep players locked down and generally make them play my game rather than playing theirs. I enjoy reacting to what they’re doing with the proper punish or hit confirm, it’s one of the most enjoyable things for me.
“Gameplay style is kinda funny. I enjoy well-rounded characters, characters that have almost every tool: Good buttons, reversals, mobility, etc. Even if I want to go in, I prefer having tools to disengage or play from a distance. The character I play in Xrd is not a well-rounded character. Leo’s sole strength is offense, so I’ve had to change how I play. A lot of Leo players I watch go 100% on offense even if the pressure is fake (which it mostly is).
“I’ve had to dial down aggression because I recognize what situations are smoke and mirrors, and I try to play a more… ‘honest?’ game. I think going crazy with the character from time to time is a good way to keep someone off-balance. Making players second-guess themselves is needed for a character like Leo who has very little options. So yeah, I have to be less aggressive playing a max-aggressive character.”
Octopimp
On the match: “I’m a little nervous! Potemkin vs. Dizzy is one of those matches where you can either completely stamp her into the ground, or she won’t even let you get started. Because of her low health, it doesn’t take that much to end a round, especially after a Pot Buster (command throw). However, if she starts to gain momentum, it takes a couple of good reads and a lot of patience to get your turn again. Using Slidehead against her 421S (homing ice spike) and all her summons is very important. Also keeping Flick in mind for 236S/H can stop her cold (no pun intended) if timed well.”
On his opponent: “I play tenpai!! a lot, and I would say we are about at equal skill. I’m at that point where I can do some reads based solely on ‘I know tenpai!! is looking for <x> so I’m gonna do <y>’ and it keeps our matches really interesting. tenpai!! is the type of Dizzy player who loves to run away and try and trip you up so that he can engage on his own terms. He’ll use things like 236S>YRC (Ice Spike) a lot to try and catch me using Hammerfall. He also likes to use the D fire fish to bait out Flick, since Flick is very strong against dizzy, but if you Flick the D fish it’s bad news. Hopefully, I won’t fall for that, though. tenpai!!’s corner mix-up game is REALLY strong, and I still have trouble blocking it effectively. Potemkin also doesn’t have a whole lot of ways to get out of the corner, as he lacks a true reversal against someone like Dizzy who can just instant-airdash all over the place and not worry about reversal Pot Buster or Trishula, unless he plays very aggressively.”
On his own playstyle: “First of all, I would like to describe myself as the U.S.A.’s top fraudulent Potemkin player. I know that sounds a bit harsh, but I tend to fall back on gimmicky stuff when I’m really pressed into dire situations. Very dangerous, but sometimes it pays off! Every match I try to play very patiently and figure out their habits, then exploit them and attempt to do wacky stuff that they wouldn’t really expect. Don’t get me wrong, when it comes down to it, I’ll play the waiting game for an opening, but I try and play a balance of defensive and aggressive that frustrates and intimidates my opponent.”
tenpai!!
On the match: “I think Dizzy has a slight advantage over Potemkin just because she has so much freedom to dictate the pace of neutral, but it’s a much more complicated matchup than it might seem on the surface. Potemkin can Flick, Slide Head, or even Hammerfall through lazy zoning, and his normals can be hard to deal with head-to-head, so it’s a grinding, patient battle where we both try to trick each other into choosing the wrong option. I’m pretty confident in my ability to dictate the pace of the match against Pot, but any slip-up leads to extreme damage, so keeping cool for such a long set is a rewarding challenge that I’m really looking forward to.”
On his opponent: “Octopimp and I play each other a fair amount, so I have a decent grasp on his playstyle. He’s a very active player for a Potemkin main, with a particular fondness for Blitz Shield, raw Potemkin Buster on defense, and of course 5D. In general, this committal style can sometimes get him into trouble, but the reality is his character has twice as much health and does twice as much damage, so it’s a good fit for the matchup to take risks. It sounds like he’s been preparing for the matchup a lot from our conversations, so I look forward to seeing what tricks he has up his sleeve!”
On his own playstyle: “Oh jeez, I don’t really know – I think it’s really hard to describe one’s own playstyle accurately, especially as a weak player like myself. I generally like to play defensively and lame, running away from the opponent and frustrating them with zoning until they make a fatal mistake. I’ve been playing a lot with strong players like BjornSonOfBear and DEB to break myself of my many bad habits, though I’m still far away from making a breakthrough and end up taking a lot of steps back, because I don’t have a lot of confidence in my decision making. Hopefully, I can overcome this in the future and show the world what my Dizzy can really do!”
tenpai!! fights Octopimp first in a FT7 set. After that, it’s ElvenShadow’s Faust vs. Zidane. Catch the action tomorrow, Thursday, at 10:00 PM EST/9:00 PM CST/7:00 PM PST. As usual, it will be on silva_hime’s Twitch channel. NerdJosh and Rynge_ will commentate.
Last week’s Super Steam Xrd Exhibition League brought a showdown between Mynus’ I-no and doren2k’s Jam, as well as Gekioh’s Axl-Low and DaveO’s Sol Badguy. Catch up on that set here:
Online warriors have a new chance to shine. As the Steam version of Guity Gear Xrd -REVELATOR- offers a superior net connection in comparison to the console platforms, a new league plans to take advantage of this. Level Up Gaming, a company that streams and organizes fighting game tournaments, is teaming up with Stream.me to host the Overdrive Series. Following the success of online leagues for Mortal Kombat, Killer Instinct and Street Fighter, Stream.me are now branching out into anime fighters.
The series plays out over four tournaments in April. The dates divide into qualifiers, and then top 8 matches the following day. What are the stakes? Nothing less than a free trip to Las Vegas, NE, for Evolution 2017 (including lodgings). Runner-up prizes are yet to be determined.
Users have to be in the United States, Mexico, or Canada. Using a wireless connection isn’t allowed, and the players must have an upload speed of at least 3 MB/s.
As per the website, here are the dates for the tournaments:
Dates / Times
April 3-4
April 10-11
April 17-18
April 24-25
Mondays are qualifiers starting at 6 PM PST
Tuesdays are top 8 finals at 7 PM PST
Everything will be streamed over at Stream.me. Players can stream their matches, but only on this platform. Level Up invites interested parties to view the Guilty Gear subreddit and sign up via smash.gg.
Are you gearing up to participate in this online league? Let us know in the comments.
Looks like the leak was right on the money this time, as Atlus U.S.A. confirms our expectations.
Last week, word got out that Vanessa was inbound as the next DLC character reveal for SNK’s The King of Fighters XIV. Today Atlus U.S.A. has confirmed that as true, with the release of the reveal trailer for the new fighter. Vanessa now joins Whip and Yamazaki as incoming DLC for The King of Fighters XIV.
First playable in The King of Fighters 2000, this housewife-turned-mercenary knows how to use her boxing skills to lay her opponent out in style–with flurries of high-speed punches, naturally. No pricing information or release date has been revealed as of yet, but most likely she’ll cost the same as Whip ($5.99 USD), who kicks off the releases of these DLC fighters on April 5th.
The Pokémon Company International have at last revealed more information on this year’s Pokkén Championship Series: with the finals taking place as part of the Pokémon World Championships in August, competition will be fierce to decide the 16 players that will make up the final bracket. With a prize pool of $20,000 on the line at the World Championships, expect trainers of all stripes to be hitting the gym.
North America’s qualifier will be at CEO 2017, with the top four players going through to attend Worlds. Unlike VGC tournaments, there is only one age division for Pokkén, meaning players of all ages can compete for one of those coveted spots. There will be a $5000 prize pool at CEO 2017, with the top four all receiving flights to attend Worlds in Anaheim. Do not fret if you do not qualify at CEO, there will be a last chance qualifier held at Worlds to give four more players a chance to get into the finals.
There is currently a 256 player cap in place for Pokkén at CEO due to the overwhelming popularity of the event. However, if there is substantial support from the Pokkén community before mid-May, there is a possibility that this cap will be lifted so get out and sign up.
Europe will be getting its own qualifier where four players will gain a spot in the finals, with the remaining four invites being given to Japanese Pokkén players. TPCI have yet to announce the details of the European qualifier, but stay tuned for more information.
Editor’s note: as reported previously, the Championship in Anaheim will run on the Wii U version of Pokkén Tournament–not the updated arcade version; no news has been released confirming (or outright denying) an update to the console version to bring the two versions into parity, but as we move closer to the Series season itself, that is seeming increasingly unlikely.
When SNK was acquired by Chinese investors in 2015, one of the ideas they floated around was the possibility of bringing the King of Fighters franchise into other media. Now it seems that we’re going to see the first fruits of this effort, as SNK have just announced a new CG animated series for the franchise.
Called The King of Fighters: Destiny, this new CG animated series is set to premiere in China sometime this summer, with a Japanese release likely to follow after. As part of this announcement, SNK have dropped a trailer for The King of Fighters: Destiny showing a number of characters, and apparently focusing on past events between the Bogard brothers–Terry and Andy–and their nemesis Geese Howard.
In addition to this, the series’ official website also lists Kyo Kusanagi, Benimaru Nikaido, Goro Daimon, Joe Higashi, Ryo Sakazaki, Robert Garcia, and Yuri Sakazaki as making appearances.
After explaining the ramifications of Alex’s changes in Street Fighter V’s upcoming April balance update, VesperArcade moves on to look at what’s happening to Guile. Considered by many players to be one of–if not the best–characters in the current build of SFV, he will be getting some nerfs in the next update to weaken his offensive capabilities–which were unintentionally strengthened by Capcom last December, as he is meant to be defensive in nature to contrast Nash’s aggressive style.
First up, the Air Slasher’s forward throw, Dragon Suplex, has had its hit advantage reduced by 3 frames. In Season 2, this throw’s hit advantage was increased by 6 frames, so that advantage has been cut in half, but is still more than what it originally was in Season 1.
After expressing great surprise that Capcom didn’t also weaken Guile’s Judo Throw (due to his throw loops), the ability to bully characters that lack a 3-frame normal on their wakeup, or his mixup potential with command normals and Crush Counters, Vesper moves on to his Reverse Spin Kick.
This command normal’s hit advantage is being reduced from +6 to +4, after being increased from merely +3 in Season 1.
This is really not that bad of a nerf, honestly. So now Guile can’t normally link a crouching medium punch after this anymore, because it’s 6 frames, but Guile can still link a crouching light punch afterwards. He can still do Reverse Spin Kick, crouching light punch, Flash Kick, for example, and if he lands a counter hit with this, you can easily confirm that into a crouching medium punch anyway. And Guile can still convert into V-Trigger from this, as he can still cancel a crouching light punch into Sonic Boom, I still feel this will be the best command normal in the game, even after the April changes.
Despite not being listed by Capcom as a “Shoryuken-like attack,” like the uppercuts Ryu, Ken, Akuma, Cammy, Necalli, and Juri wield, it seems they want Guile’s medium Somersault Kick to receive the same improved anti-air properties as those other attacks. It will be completely invincible to airborne attacks from frames 1-8, but will have an added hurtbox to attacks and projectiles on the ground for frames 3-8, weakening it as a reversal option.
Perhaps the Family Man’s biggest change in Season 2 was becoming the first SFV character to have the size of his V-Gauge altered, as it was lowered from 3 blocks to 2, similar to Ryu, Alex, Chun-Li and Cammy. This resulted in Guile currently being able to acquire Solid Puncher much more quickly and at higher life totals, massively improving both his zoning potential as well as his ability to rush down the opponent behind the cover of Sonic Breaks. Capcom will be completely reverting this change in April, as it will again be increased to 3 Bars, with the gauge consumption amounts for regular and EX Sonic Breaks being adjusted to Season 1 values to compensate for the increased length.
To clarify, Sonic Break is Guile’s follow-up Sonic Booms after he throws one and his single shot Sonic Booms when V-Trigger is active. In Season 2, the V-Gauge timer for a single shot was increased, so they were nerfed. Since that’s being reverted, he can use more single and EX shots in April. However, the timer for the follow-up shots was decreased, so they’ll consume more in April. Technically, Guile’s V-Trigger in April will still be stronger than it was in Season 1, because his Sonic Booms do 10 more damage for the follow-ups.
VesperArcade offers up his final opinion on Guile’s changes:
Overall, my final verdict on Guile, for this patch alone, is slightly nerfed. I’d even go so far as to say barely nerfed. He’s still definitely stronger than his Season 1 counterpart for sure, and I definitely feel that Guile will still be top tier in April. Reverse Spin Kick is still insane, Judo Throw is intact and V-Trigger is just simply reverted, but still stronger than Season 1, and I feel like these three things combined is what makes Guile so strong in the first place. If you’re a Guile player, you have nothing to worry about with these changes. It just brings Guile down a slight amount, but he’s still really powerful and he can still do the same things that he could before.
You can catch the full video with more of his thoughts below.
You can also take a look at his videos about the new system changes here, here and here. What do you think about the upcoming Guile changes? Do you feel they needed to do more, or were they just right? Perhaps they went overboard? Tell us your thoughts in the comments.
