My Vision for VFDC

It's 4 am in the morning, and I really don't want to do any more Econ homework. At least for a while. /images/icons/wink.gif

So I'm going to take a few minutes to rant about how I see this site evolving.

Redesign
I'm so impressed with the set up of this board, I may even alter the color scheme of the redesign we had discussed before at the old Versus City to match this one. Unless I receive strong objections, this is probably what will happen.

Beginner Friendly
We all know that VF isn't the easiest game to play, and that it's not the most rewarding for the common gamer. If we ever want VF to be a success here in the U.S., we must be prepared to provide the foundation for beginners to start off from.

Step Guides
This will be a major force at VFDC, and will be the "meat" for many beginner and intermediate players.

- Step 1 Guides will be written for every character, and each guide will be beefed up by extensive use of images. I'm hoping to be able to get images for all the major moves and maybe images for D-pad and button inputs.

- Step 2 Guides will basically act as giant FAQs that will bring the player up to a competent level with a character. These guides will probably be the most difficult to write as they must be quite comprehensive.

- Step 3 Guides are much more flexible and dynamic. Essentially, they are documents that will be collectively written by veterans. I know that most of you don't have the time to write huge FAQs, but love to write a paragraph or two about specific strategies. Step 3 Guides will be a collection of those strategies, and will feature only the most advanced or obscure techniques that only a master of a character would bother learning. Thus for all intents and purposes, Step 2 guides are sufficient for most players to be "good". Step 3 is the domain of veterans only.

General Guides
There will also a big push for more guides focused on general issues. Topics can range from VF psychology to stuff like the optimal method of control. Basically, articles to help players become better overall gamers.

Multimedia
Even more movies. Lots of them. We will also try to include such miscellaneous things as wallpapers, screensavers, etc. but I think we can all agree that the emphasis should be on concrete content.

Easy User Participation
I've begun dabbling in Perl scripts, and I've found a few really, really cool tools that will make adding content to this site a snap. Seriously easy. So easy that you won't really need to know any HTML to be able to contribute to this site. I want this site to be something by VFers, for VFers.

Meijins of America
The Japanese had their Tetsujins. And because these players held such high status, beginners looked up to them and saw them as examples to follow. America does not have a parallel, and I think this is unfortunate.

The best VFers visit this site. The best VFers travel cross borders to participate in gatherings. These are the Meijins of America, and recognition needs to be given. Yes, I want to idolize the best of the best in this country so beginners can look up to all of you as examples of what could be achieved. I want to create the American equivalent to the Tetsujins.

Sponsorship
I touched on this a little bit before. To be honest, we need money to really get this web site going. We also need to hire a translator to transfer the ton of VF information from Japanese to English. We need a ton of space and bandwidth if we intend on adding the kind of multimedia that we envision. I will be intensifying my search for such sponsorship after the move is completed.

I will be frank -- http://virtuafighter.com as it is does not generate enough page views to be able to survive on its own.

The Future: Virtua Fighter 4
This site will attack VF4 like a tiger that hasn't eaten for weeks. VF3tb is the foundation for this site, the starting point, but VF4 will be the iteration where this place will truly explode. VF3 is our Saturn, but VF4 will be our Dreamcast. I have already decided to purchase a VF4 arcade as soon as it is released so that I can test the combos, techniques, and strategies as soon as they are discovered. Hopefully, by then I would have also mastered the art of motion video and would be able to transplant them on to the Web fairly quickly and regularly.

The question, of course, is when? Where is Virtua Fighter 4?

The House of VF
If you love VF, love the web, and have lofty ambitions, I encourage you to contact me. It does not make sense to have two different sites that feature similar content. Integrate into VFDC and VFDC's vast resources will be open to you (i.e. a large amount of space and bandwidth).

Well, that about ends my rant. All feedback is welcome.

P.S. My computer should be arriving on the 20th this month. Expect things to really begin rolling then.

ice-9 | Sennin

 

Of America?

Uhm, I don't want to sound as though I'm ignoring Europe or Canada with the "Meijins of America" thing. It's just that I've never played any one across the Atlantic or the legendary Canadian greats (aside from KBCat, Godeater, Llanfair, and Graham of course) so it's hard to judge. /images/icons/frown.gif

ice-9 | Sennin

 

Re: Of America?

I just thought, with the comming of VF4...I would up this thread in Honor of Ice-9 and this amazing site he has been so generous to maintain and give us. So, how much of this have you accomplished? How can we help you to make it what you want?

"Victory can be anticipated, but not assured" Sun-Tzu

 

Re: Of America?

Hear hear Shadowdean, this site is truly one of a kind, with the stuff that's planned it can only get better. I like the stuff about more guides and beginner help, the more players the more better. Man I wish I could afford a VF4 arcade machine....

 

Re: Of America?

Oh God, I sounded like such a complete dork!!! I was so naive...there was so much to do but so little time.

ice-9

 

CrewNYC

Hey Jeff,

If you want to do video, and amazin video at that, i've dabbled a bit in video captue and after using several cards, I would suggest visiting www.matrox.com and www.canopuscorp.com

Matrox makes a card called the RT2000
Canopus makes a card called the DVStorm

(problem with the Matrox is that since it does real time 3d effects you have to install their G400 Card which isnt too good for todays standards)

(DVStorm seems to be more stable) read their support forums

I've already tried ATI All in wonder card (not the 128 or radeon versions)
Iomega Buzz
Sony DV Capture Card
Miro DV 300

You'll need a bundle which provides Adobe 6.0RT (real time) so you can capture and output effects without rendering, this speeds up capturing time tremendously. Also get a copy of Adobe After Effects to do titiling and cool effects to the video. Lastly you need to get CineLook's, CineMotion, and you can simulate the video looking like it was made for a 70MM movie theatre filmed on professional cameras.

Well these would be my compositing tools of choice, the only problem? Well the Matrox Card is about $1,000. The Canopus Card is like $2000.

Thats the cost though You're going to need to capture from composite/rca I dont know of any cards that can do capture from a VGA input, ive never seen that before, but you never know they may make something like that.

CrewNYC



<font color=red>ORA! ORA! ORA!</font color=red>

<font color=white>adam</font color=white><font color=red>YUKI</font color=red>

 

Re: When???

Despite being shown in video form at the AOU show last month, AM2 has confirmed plans to release their long awaited Naomi2 fighter Virtua Fighter 4 this summer in Japanese arcades. According to a company spokesperson, "Ideally we're looking at a summer release in arcades, and sometime later this fall on the PlayStation 2. We're at a stage in development now where I know we'll have something playable this summer, albeit in public or at several private shows."



<font color=red>SummErs' 'enemy SPODED, enemy DOWN'