is VF5US on life support

so the last few days i either get no matches in ranked or i have to wait for almost 10 minutes for someone to show up then if i do find someone i play the same person over and over again also i get network errors constantly needles to say it cost me points and even demotions/ when i do find more than 1 person a night this has been a constant for at least the last 2weeks from11pm to 1am pst

 

Usually, (as far as rank goes) the VF community is divided into 3 groups.

Group 1 (The largest group) will mess around in rank for the first few days, maybe first week of the game's release. They tend to land somewhere in the KYU and DAN range. And then, they either leave online play altogether, OR they leave rank mode and only play in player matches and room matches. Because they really don't care about rank. Its all about having fun with their friends or family. This group plays primarily single player and offline modes. If there are no significant single player or offline vs mode (with single player options) Group 1 which is the largest group for a fighting game fanbase will usually move on to another fighting game. Usually a fighting game that has decent single player content.

Group 2. (The second largest group) These are players that care somewhat about rank, and want to have a respectable rank next to their ring name when they play online. These players will usually play rank the first few weeks , maybe play in rank for a month or so, until they get a respectable rank, or they a hit a wall and can't progress any further, then these players leave rank mode and only play player or room matches. And will only occasionally go back to rank mode from time to time. These players spend most of their time in everything but rank mode.

Group 3 (The minority) These players are highly competitive, and obsess over rank They keep rank grinding until they can get the highest possible rank. For this group of players rank mode is the primary mode of the game. They grind and grind and grind and they play tournament after tournament chasing tournament ranks.. They want in game ranks, they want tournament ranks. Ranks, ranks, ranks, compete, compete,compete for this group that's the primary purpose of a fighting game. This group could care less about fighting game story modes, single player modes, character customization, single player trophies, or character back stories, character intro movies, or character ending movies.

@mlp715 at this point in the VF5US cycle, Group 1 and Group 2 may be done playing ranked matches altogether, and are only interested in either player, room matches, or the Arcade mode.

And in rank mode all you're left dealing with are either a few scattered players that are late to the game, or hard core rank grinders, rank sharks, rank predators that are very adept at taking rank points off of players that are unaware of the hustle.

 

Ha ha, certainly in group-2 (myself)
Not skilled enough to rank up past level 21
So only join rooms with lower ranked players.
What level are you now ?
Maybe there are no people online at your level
And might have to play online at different times to catch people online.

 

Then their group 4. The group that don't play at all and just preach on VFDC.

 

We would have to cover Group 4 in another thread along with our discussion of VF trolls. This thread is really about players who actually have legitimately earned some kind of rank through playing in online rank matches. The people that don't play at all can't possibly have a rank, and most trolls especially the ones that like to suck D, or would like to suck D, are usually pullers, wi-fi cheaters, rage quitters, frame-master-wanna-bees or low budget tech trap spammers so whatever rank they actually do have is not legitimate and that fact alone would also disqualify them from being in Group 1, 2, or 3

So in order to keep things clear this thread leaves those individuals out

@ShinyBrentford I believe you should replace the word 'their' with the word 'there' in your post

 

Well, actually, it should have been "they're," so we're both wrong, but that's not really relevant.

The real point is that the people who DO want to play Rank can't find anyone to play against, and it's kind of a vicious cycle, because most people do play fighting games to be competitive (like the guy who started this thread) so if there's no one to compete with, people leave. And when people leave, there are even fewer players to compete against.

The frustration is that so many people want to talk about VF instead of jumping in and playing.

Listen, here's what I'll do to help: Add me (ShinyBrentford) to your friends list and I'll add you next time I start a room.

 

I get the rank thing. I also understand the match making problems online. I love VF, I think it is the most awesome 3D arcade fighter every made. So I want to see it succeed. I've played thousands of matches online both in rank mode and in player. mode. I've played many thousands of rounds in Single Player mode also. I play the game much more than I should But here is the deal:.

If you have the opportunity to talk with any Fighting Game Publisher in person (I have on several occasions) and you ask them who is their largest player base (i.e. who purchases the most games) They will tell you that its the noobs and causals. If you ask them who their most loyal player base is they will tell you its the competitive and hardcore. If you ask them who is willing to spend the most money on DLC, seasons, and promoting the game on Twitch and Youtube they will tell you its the competitive and hardcore.

So here is the dilemma the minority of the fan base is the most vociferous, will spend the most on DLC, and will promote the game on Youtube and Twitch. However the largest purchasing segment, the segment that is responsible for making the player base grow significantly is represented by the noobs and the casuals

VF's problem is it does not invest any serious money in content that will satisfy its largest potential market segment(Single Player!). Instead Sega caters to its most profitable market (hoping to grow the game from there). Hoping that somehow it will grow the player base from the 25%-40%. But here is the deal. If there is significant and fun single player modes and content, large percentages of the noobs and casuals transform into intermediate competitive players and some go on to be very competitive even hard core. In other words future players for any fighting game, this includes Tekken, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur, DOA, come from the ranks of Single Player modes first. If a fighting game has no serious Single Player modes/content its fan base will dwindle and ultimately only consist of a small group of loyal , dedicate fans.


So in answer to the person who started this thread:

The absence of fun and engaging Single Player Content leads to fewer and fewer people playing in rank or online modes.

Since AM2 never really gave Virtua Fighter the full Single Player treatment (the exception was VF4 EVO) VF has always had a considerably smaller player base than Tekken, Soul Calibur, & DOA. (the other 3D fighters) all of which typically have reasonably significant Single Player modes and content. VF5US gets released with only a bare bones Arcade mode, VS mode, and fat Online features. Well surprise, surprise rank mode is a ghost town, and room attendance is dwindling every day. The other 3D fighting games simply have more to offer new players, or casual players so they've gone elsewhere.

Single Player modes kind-a represent the little leagues, and the amateur leagues. And just like IRL Its rare that VF athletes jump right into the pros. For Virtua Fighter to have a healthy rank mode and online activity they need to support the little leagues and the amateur leagues. At present VF5US has no support for little leagues. Sega's plan to go from Zero right into full blown successful e-sports franchise is not going to happen. Especially if they don't add some real support for the little and amateur leagues (Single Player Modes/Content)

I have wife, a son, daughters, brothers, nephews, family and friends who all play Virtua Fighter, so I can play competitive VF any time I want(they are all quite good actually) . I have VF4, VF4EVO, VF5, VF5FS so I can play about 200 different VF AI (which I also enjoy playing) But thanx for the invite. I'll probably only show up online during the bigger, higher profile online tournaments and help people understand why I'm called Master Po , the Last Monk

 

The sad part is this group has more player base than all the other groups combined. Keyboard warriors stay united!

 

So, any ideas as to when the most players are online? What have you all noticed is the "golden hour" in this game?

I'm relatively new to SERIOUS VF5...I've played for ages, but not with any sense of dedication per se, and certainly with no community to learn with....and I'm trying to actually learn this game and rank up...but no one is ever in ranked! I admit I have ton to learn, and just wanna get out of the dan-level ranking LOL

As mentioned above, I'd be in group 2 also. Willing to learn and play more!

 

This will obviously depend on your region and other factors, but for me (and I'm going to assume most people) the "golden hour" is during the evening when everyone has just gotten home from work or school.

I'm on the East Coast US. I find the most people with good connections to play against starting around 4PM until about 10-ish.

You'd probably benefit from finding a sparring partner and working out a time when you can get online and just fight in long sets. This website or the Virtua Revival discord channel is great for that.

 

I think fighting games are just in a tough spot in general They clearly aren't selling as well as they use to, which means they have to cut costs, which means cutting out content, which just shrinks your fan base more. It's just a vicious cycle.

 

I have this issue too, i wanna rank up more so bad! Either no match up or horrible connection that makes me disconnect when there is match. The people i meet is total random; sometimes Japanese, or European or American. What i do now is join room matches or make ones to deal with this.

I actually returned to VF5FS because i missed the customization and surprisingly i found few who still play rank and we did room matches together too after that. It feels different lol dunno why.

 

Noted. I've had more success in evenings my time also. Weekends have been hit or miss, but here's to hoping.

Room mode is a good idea--I've always never just hopped in someone else's room, but it may be a good idea to start

 

Idk. Is VF5US on life support? No, but the future of VF is. I don't like the idea that VF6 is dependent on VF5US being a sterling success. In that case we are fucked and VF6 is never going to happen.


Po, weren't you supposed to fight me like last summer in 2020, you punk bitch? What happened? You just make 2 million excuses and avoid competition, or ever learning frame data. I bet $20 you play VF on a control pad. They never learn......

Then there is category 5: the VF streamers. if you play VF consistently online, and stream it, it starts to encourage others to jump back online. It's brings on all circle of players: stream snipers, up and comers, old heads alike. Some people dont play ranked because they think ranked is important, they play online ranked because that's the only place to find players at any given moment. It's hilarious when you beat these rank dwellers so consistently and devastate their toon so badly they make an alt account to protect their rank.

One of the reasons NAVF VF5US offline barely got off the ground is the pandemic. It's just slowly starting up again with Summerjam. It's way too early to say the game is on life support.

 

@ICHIBANin10000

First of all, its Master punk bitch to you.....

Second, I use a Mad Catz Stick for my PS2, a Hori Stick on my PS3, I use a control pad on my PS4, and I've played hundreds of matches in rank on VF5US (where were U when the gettin was good) You had ample chance to face my Dead Duck Broken Wing Kung Fu. Nevertheless, when the online tournaments get big enough, and the stakes are high enough I will come out of hiding and demonstrate why I am Master Po, the Last Monk. No need to show off my exquisite skills at losing until I'm moving from Quarter Finals, to Semi-finals. For now I want my ability to lose in spectacular fashion to be a total surprise for my competition in the top 8 and Quarter Finals. Too much sparring with the common folk leads to familiarity You know what they say, once you seen one Master PO loss , you've seen them all So for now, its nothing but training in solitude in the mountains for me

 

PSN: Relugus, Rank: Hunter, Main: Pai Chan

I mostly play ranked mode as most of the rooms are code-locked and I don't know many other people. VF5US feels very half-assed. Some of the stages actually look worse (lack of cloud shadows in Pai Chan's stage, trees being stationary in Brad's stage, for example), the stiff hair and lack of anti-aliasing on the character models, the fact that the customization is very bare bones, and I have a feeling they are not going to add anything to it. Sega just don't seem to grasp that if you want an IP to succeed, you have to invest in it.

I love VF, it's my favourite fighting game by far (with Soul Calibur and DOA behind it), which is why I feel so frustrated that such a fantastic game, which used to be at the cutting edge, is now lagging far, far behind it's rivals. Nevertheless, when I play a great online match, my love of this game comes surging back.

 

To be honest, when we think about it, almost every fighting game including those at evo, are in a sense on life support, but the companies behind those other fighting games will never admit it, because that would be bad for business. But anyway, don't worry about it too much. Maybe VF players are caught up in other real life stuff, so they can't play as much as they want too.