Just how good are YOU? And how do you tell?

I don't know of any all-encompassing criteria that tell you if you're good or not... although some other folks have proposed some real knowledgable, interesting stuff... but i've been going by "does the way i see it in my head look like what i see on the screen?"

For example, when you play lead guitar, you have all this kickass stuff going on in your head. The test of how good you are is if what you're playing actually approximates what you hear in there.

Translation: I'm not very good yet, but i can hold my own.

And VF is incredible. In no other fighting game is it so satisfying when you actually do everything you intended to do for the match and completely dominate.

 

I can beat human players now but for some reason I keep losing to the computer. /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

Hmm... I never lose versus the computer. The only limitation to my streak is when I need to get off and do homework. However, I can't beat a lot of players - and the sad thing is: they're really BAD. My strategy consists of learning their tactics, and then blocking until I set them up for a throw or combo. Computer uses tactics, button mashers don't. That's MY problem. /versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

 

how good am i?

not as good as my crowd........ that's all i need to know right now. /versus/images/graemlins/wink.gif

 

I lost to my 8 year old cousin who never picked up VF before.
/versus/images/graemlins/confused.gif

How good is that?

 

Lol, yeah. I invited my friend over and he just picked a random character ( Jeffrey), and pwned me by mashing. I really sucked back then.

 

I still consider myself a beginner player. I know I would get my ass handed to me by a more experienced player. I am trying to work on that however. When I get my joystick, I plan on really working to advance my skills.

 

Now months after my initial post I can safely say I still suck.

 

Still a beginner I'm afraid, but obviously hoping to improve to intermediate, if only for personal satisfaction. I'll most likely level out at intermediate, but that's cool.

I do well against my buddies (all of whom are novices as well, but who have played VF for a few months now) and using Akira I pretty much clean house. That's not to say I don't have much to learn with him, but I have a pretty good idea of how to use him effectively, at least against my level of competition. Using any other character, well the scales are more or less evenly tipped.

Speaking of competition, I think in order to improve your game (with anyone) it's essential you have a decent set of human competition, and I strongly doubt anyone can get good at the game just playing the cpu all the time. Luckily, I have 3 friends who love the game and have different playing styles, and we play often.
Just this last weekend, My friend and I sat for 4 hours straight in vs. mode (me Akira and him Lion) and played till our fingers were raw.
Suffice to say I could see a noticable improvement in our play after even this short time period, and I learned more from this than all my 600+ fights against the cpu.

Actually, I think the cpu hinders progression, rather than helping it. I find I always hit a comfort zone and start playing like crap in for instance, Kumite mode. After a while I'm fighting like an utter novice again, because the cpu seems to fall into the same traps over and over.

 

Consider yourself lucky man: I just played 4 the first time in my LIFE against a good VF player...
A small young Jap playing since VF1 completely annihilated me...I realise now that I don't have much to learn, but instead have everything! to learn...
To make things worse I had to play 2inches away from a T.V. screen with a SERIOUS hangover+playing Akira which I only picked up since Evo....But I'm a headstrong mothefucker and won't give up-If i won't beat any of you than it'll be my grandchildren being amazed by my play...

 

I can honestly say that i suck beyond belief.

I never use a throw escape, and if i do, it's by accident (altough this could also be because fights never last long enough to study and learn patterns)

I am almost totally unable to do reversals, since i'm not that quick of a study.

I haven't made it past 5th dan (which isn't that un-understadible, since my little brother actually managed to format my memory card /versus/images/graemlins/mad.gif!?)

My two best characters are Lau and Sarah.

I can't play Akira effectively, and i am totally unable to do his knee consistently.

All of my friends have never played the game b4, and immediately think it sucks.

The only one i can practice with is my 11-year old brother.

I can't seem to evade in time.

and i have never even seen a tournament ( i guess they don't have them in Holland (God i hate that country, they don't have anything, they have a REALLY hard time accepting foreigners and it's alway cold!))

So........That's why i suck worse than a dead toddler with parkingson disease being dragged by a bus.

*phew* needed to get that out of my system

 

I am Champ with Pai - my record with other Champ AI about 40-5

I rank myself intermediate - I could not pass the tutorial challenge nor do the combo D,f +P, P, crouch P+K, PPKK consistenly

and yes still practicing