Northwest VF (Pacific NW, North America)

This thread is devoted to the VF scene in the Pacific Northwest of America. We'll be having discussions, event planning, event reports, and even my own regular commentary (scene updates) here. This post will keep an updated roster.

The Pacific Northwest scene includes Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia. Feel free to toss in Idaho, I guess.

<u>Northwest VF Roster</u>

<u>Oregon (17)</u>
AJ
Andrew
BahnYuki
Chanchai
Dougbob1st
Fatbear
Hellsap
imhien
Kabukimono
Luis
Mackinzie
MrGekiganger
Raishinken
RaybladeX
ShinRyuJinX
Taijiri
TheLogos
theunkanny

<u>Washington (15)</u>
Codyliciouz
DAWOLF57
Deezo
Douglasmaxwell
Femto
FrAnkDAdAnk
Gray Fox
JALbert
Kuenai
Preppy
Resok
Switchup
TheKinzel
Yosuke
Zigmover21

<u>British Columbia (2)</u>
Moby
ppoint423

*Note* This roster represents players who have expressed interest or are actively playing Virtua Fighter. There are probably many more VFers int he Northwest out there.

The Pacific Northwest VF scene is back! Portland's scene has been reborn and is developing with plenty of new blood. The foundation is being built for Seattle. Hopefully British Columbia can rise again as a VF destination in North America like the VF2 and VF3 days.

The rosters are bound to grow with strong interest in the 360 version of the game coming and some warriors from other fighting games wanting to learn VF after this year's Evo is over (they are in training mode for their focused games right now).

 

Good shit Chanchai!


Hope to play the two other peeps in WA in ANY VF as well as the rest of the NW bretheren.

 

Hey Femto,

There are a few others interested in VF5 (including some that probably have it) in the Seattle area. I'll try to find a way to reach them and hope you guys are able to all meet up (in a safe environment of course) and play some VF.

I might even be taking a brief trip to Seattle soon myself (like really soon). If I go up there, I'll bring my PS3 and sticks up. I assume you have a PS3 though, right?

I love VFDC and it's a great way of banding VFers together. But I will have to admit that in small scenes, one of the best way to reach out to other potential local VFers (those already interested in the game and may or may not have it) is to be proactive on http://www.shoryuken.com in the forums based on your region. Not many people check out Gamefaqs, but it's worth a try now and then. Sega forums as well. Or chatting with the known fighting game players in your area (in the case of Seattle, you have quite a few--you can meet people at Preppy's poker nights which happens twice a month, there's Rattana who is a very strong MvC2 player and knows a lot of people, etc...).

BTW, how is the game treating you? /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

-Chanchai

 

Nah, don't have a PS3 yet. Only been able to watch vids early on about VF5 while playing EVO.

Been wanting to go to one of Preppy's gaming nights but too many factors got in the way. They are about gone tho' so hopefully I can hit it up sometime soon.

I'm almost thiiiiiiiis close to picking up a PS3 for this game, like very soon.....

 

NORTHWEST EVENTS (posted 5/15/07)

NORTHWEST EVENTS ANNOUNCEMENTS

<u>Upcoming VF Events</u>

Random Select (PSU Fighting Game Club) (Portland)
When: May 16th (Wed), 3:00pm-9:00pm
Where: Portland State University's Student Union (room is TBA)
What: This is a weekly get-together where PSU's fighting game players (and more) meet up and play. Expect lots of Capcom action with your occasional Guilty Gear, Virtua Fighter, DDR, and sometimes the background Pokemon. Note: I'm not sure what the official club name is and I'm not a student at PSU. I'll make whatever corrections are needed.

Friday Night Fights (Portland)
When: May 18th (Fri), LATE LATE NIGHT
Where: Ask someone who goes there (which might be me, might be Rayblade X). Since it's at someone's place, it's usually good not to post where.
What: The creatures of the night in Portland's Fighting crew come out to this weekly weekend fight-fest. The heat isn't just from the crowded atmosphere--competition is fierce here. Third Strike and VF5 are pretty constant here, as is MvC2, CvS2, Super Turbo, with some occasional Halo 2 and Gears of War action going on on the side.

Memorial Day Massacre - Presented by Yosuke (Portland)
When: May 25th-27th
Where: Portland, Oregon
What: Yosuke is coming to Portland on Memorial Day Weekend. It's gonna be a great time and egos will be scarred (except Yosuke's). That's okay, because Yosuke's an Honorary Portland VFer! Chanchai will be working his ass off early next week to free up the entire weekend.

<u>Other Upcoming Events</u>

Preppy's Twice Monthly Poker/Games Nights
When: TBA (seems like there's confusion right now, despite how regular this get-together is)
Where: Preppy's place. Details here
What: This is a regular Seattle get-together. I haven't been to one of these yet, but I plan to go eventually. From my understanding, there's lots of poker and lots of MvC2. There's a PS3 there, but it tends to get monopolized by Tekken 5 Dark Resurrection. However, this is probably a good place to find strong fighting game players that may eventually get into VF5.

Portland Tilt Tourney #4
When: June 2nd (Saturday)
Where: Tilt Arcade @ Lloyd Center Mall
What: A big tournament and Evo-warmup that will cover Street Fighter 3: Third Strike, Tekken 5: Dark Resurrection (which had a huge showing last time), and probably Marvel vs. Capcom 2. Even if just to watch, it should be good times and you can always play a bunch of other games on the side. The Lloyd Center Tilt has been the fighting game capitol of Portland for awhile. More info here.

Raishinken's FCFF Fight @ The Roseland Theater
When: June 9th (Saturday), 7:00pm
Where: Portland Roseland Theater
What: This isn't a gaming event. However, Raishinken is one of Portland's fighting game players, so it's worth shouting out for and supporting. Raishinken will face a tough No-Holds-Barred opponent as part of the Full Contact Fighting Federation's Rumble at the Roseland. He sets out to extend his undefeated record. More info can be found here.

 

NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/15/07)

Here's your weekly Northwest VF News Summary...

Memorial Day Massacre
This looks like it could be it. The time could be perfect now and Portland will sort of have its own mini-get-together (it's not quite a gathering). Yosuke and I are pretty darn sure things will work out this time.

We've been challenged by illness (Yosuke once, myself twice), school, and even Mother's Day (well, that challenged me anyways). But no more! Academic schedules seem to work out, I don't plan on getting sick again (I hope), and it's a three-day weekend for crying out loud.

Yosuke's going to show us what Memorial Day is all about as his VF game puts us six feet under. But hey! It's a fast-track to seeing the VF light!

PSU to Sponsor Evo 2007 Players
Thanks to the Random Select Club at Portland State University, the University itself will sponsor a few (I believe 4) students by paying for their trip to the Evolution 2007 Tournament. However, this arrangement only applies to PSU students. The selected students will be decided by a tournament held by PSU. I believe the tournament will be open. When I find out more of the details (like whether or not it includes Evo West), I will post about them.

Southwest Airlines Deal Expires 5/17
In case you haven't purchased tickets to Evo West or Evo World yet, Southwest Airlines will cut off their current promotion (or announce a new one) Thursday night. The current deal they have is $99 per way, which doesn't include tax. More info here.

Report: Friday Night Fights - May 11th
The event which I usually refer to as The Secret Hideout or Friday Night Fights, went very well last Friday. For VF, it was an awesome night. I would love to detail everything about those nights, but I'll keep it down to the VF.

Andrew's Akira and Brad have been quite a force in the Portland VF scene. On their own, they are moving in such a strong and good direction. I can't comment much on Brad at all, but I know Andrew has done well to stuff me in exchanges and maximize damage decently. His Akira is the toughest Akira in Portland because he executes very well.

I need to write some Akira vs. Lion notes for Andrew. My impression is that he knows how to play his characters well, but the next step is to get more matchup specific.

As far as I'm concerned, on the Portland Curve, it's not lack of skill that makes it difficult for Andrew to play against me. He has the skill, and the general know how. He knows how the game flows. But it's the specifics of the matchups that lead him to not know that he can punish his opponents so strongly for certain things they do. I get away with things because my Lion puts so much pressure on people who are not used to playing Lion and I don't give them much chance (in the game) to figure out how they can punish Lion for some things.

I think this will open up the floor for character-to-character matchup discussions in Portland.

Kabukimono is shaping up nicely. He's only just now picking up VF5 after such a long time away from VF in general. I'm so glad to have a Shun player in Portland who loves to do his research, can watch matches and assess them over their full length of time (I think I have ADD when it comes to watching match vids), and generally loves fighting games. Kabukimono is doing quite well for himself against most of Portland's players, but he is still at the movelist stage with VF5 Shun (he doesn't have a PS3). He's almost beyond that stage though.

ShinRyuJinX and I didn't get to play enough. But I'm always so glad when he's there, even if I am zoned out playing VF5 in my own world. Darn him and Andrew going to Taco Bell--I was getting so damn hungry when they were eating behind me. Need to get some more matches in With ShinRyuJinX though, his Pai is always fun and creative.

Thomas is the current player I privately rave on about. Well, maybe not so privately if you're in Portland. There are some missing basics, but the foundation and fundamentals are there. Thomas is good with spacing, good with defense, and best of all he is good at watching his opponents. If they have a rhythm, he'll lock onto it. If they have a leaning towards certain classes of attacks, he'll lock onto it. If they're very aggressive, he's patient. If they are patient, he's more patient.

Things Thomas could get better at:
-Mixing up throws. Goes for chain throw too much, but the problem is he goes for the same link all the time. If he mixed it up just a bit, he'd be doing more damage. And Aoi has so many throws.
-Learning the nuances of VF's DM/evade system. Still very used to the way evades work in many other 3d fighters. My tips: use evades when you're in disadvantage because you'll likely recover when they are already in the execution phase of an attack. Common disadvantage situations include your attack being blocked, you whiff an attack or throw, when you're getting up. If you know they are going to attack, and you really want to evade their attack during a neutral situation, then don't evade on prediction in cases like that. Evade on reaction--you want to see animation if you're going to dodge it from a neutral situation.
-Opponents who evade a lot are giving you a lot of opportunity to throw. With Aoi, this is a good thing for you since she has a strong throwing game.

RaybladeX was the dominant force of the evening. True to the accumulation of talent, skill, and hard work that we know Ray to posess, it showed on Friday night. Ray's game was still aggressive as always, but his focus was far stronger than I have seen him play with in recent times.

In many ways, Ray went back to basics and it was all for the better and led to some very intense matches showing that Ray can be a super-efficient and scary player when his focus is there. Aside from the focus, Ray took advantage of small advantages better than I've seen him done in a long time--he didn't let small advantages go to waste. For most of the night, he did not over-commit to evades/DMs as he had done a few weeks ago. Patience was also a good factor as he didn't rush himself into bad situations. All of the above translated very well to the large cast of characters Ray played with. His Wolf is getting better, his Lei Fei stands out, and his Pai scares the crap out of me. On top of that, it's fun playing against his Akira, Brad, and Vanessa. VF5 Vanessa seems to be an interesting transition right now though.

Another great point was that on 5/11, Ray didn't play with a "skewed probability" logic. In the past, Ray tended to rely on his opponent to change up, or he just wanted to wait for them to change things up sometimes. If an opponent kept doing something, especially if it was an opponent Ray respected, he would sort of expect them to change it up eventually. This isn't necessarily wrong, but the trouble comes in if the opponent has a sense that that's what he's waiting for, or if Ray is just putting his character in a bad position because he thinks he can eventually gain a good advantage. What Ray did instead this time was to generally not throw himself into so many risky situations--he didn't try to rely on this awkward plan to trap this opponent who will eventually change things up. He just simply bowed out of bad situations, played solidly, and he didn't get repeat throws happening to him, or repeat staggers happening to him.

Personally, I think when you try to skew probability, you're ignoring that your opponent is a human who is responding to what you are doing too. If you keep falling for what he does, he has no reason to stop. Ray didn't fall into any such thing last week (and he generally doesn't, but I somehow can feel when he's going to try to rely on eventual changeups and it gave me so many free points in the past).

I hope to see much more of this focused and tighter play from Rayblade X. It reminds me of the belief that I have in his talent, ability, and love of fighting games.

Ray pretty much dominated me from midnight-3am. By 3am, I started to play a much more focused game and I think Ray's game forced me to raise my game. From 3:30am-4:30am, we had extremely intense 5-round matches. I hope that both Ray and I continue to push each other in the game like this. By 4:30am it was either too late in the evening or too early in the morning as Ray's focus wore out because he was tired. But that hour that started at 3:30am was a highlight of the week for me, during a week of many highlights.

-Chanchai

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/15/07)

hey!
I have registered shoryuken,but once I log in, i can not see any posts.... what is going on!? haha

I am so looking forward to meeting you guys.

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/15/07)

Hey Yosuke!

That's weird that you can't see any posts on SRK... Do you get to the main forum page? Or are you on the main page of the website? There are a lot of forums there as well. I post a Northwest VFers report in the Pacific Northwest Forum.

I can't wait until you come on down here as well! PDX (Portland) has to steal you away before Seattle develops a scene

Speaking of which, I've updated the roster. From Seattle I've added JALbert and FrankDAdAnk. It looks like some of the Seattle VFers will be going to the poker night if it happens this weekend. We'll see and I will keep a lookout to see if it happens. I would love to go, but it would be complicated with my schedule. But who knows, I've done crazy things many times.

JALbert is interested in learning Vanessa.

Frank is interested in learning Pai and Eileen.

I can't remember what Deezo was looking at, but I think he was thinking about using Jacky.

In any case, if Preppy has his gathering this weekend-it will be a good opportunity for Seattle VF. The tough part will be kicking the Tekken players off of the PS3

 

Great games Wednesday night at PSU with @js, Thomas, Hellsap, Mackenzie, and Luis! As always with VF, I had a wonderful time.

Luis - Nice to meet you again man. We barely met each other the first time. We will eventually play Soul Calibur 2 sometime, I think /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif I'm obviously a bigger fan of VF, but I really enjoy SC2. I hope we play more and more VF in the future.

Mackenzie - Hey man, great to play VF with you again. Keep it up, a lot of things will start to click over time. The flow will come to you soon, just work on actively defending and it should click much sooner. I think that when you start defending properly a lot more, you'll get a better sense of how to construct your offense.

Hellsap - Oh boy, it was a real treat playing against your Lion in VF5. You pickup on things fast--habits, moves to use, etc... I can see your good experience with VF before when you were learning it on your own, but you're really a fast learner. Keep it up. You were giving me hard times in there quite a bit!

Thomas - It's always good games with you. I'll eventually get some charts and what not for you. Probably the simplest area of improvement for you, and something that accomodates your style so much, is to get really good at executing on guaranteed attacks. We'll have to create some Aoi list for you so that you can make the most of guaranteed situations. The one little change in your throw game was worth a lot of points. Keep expanding your Aoi's throw arsenal and you'll get a good return. Beyond that, I think we can work on spacing to extend your comfort with defense. And then also work on constructing offense safely so you can gain more confidence on the attack. I really do think that once certain things are in place, you'll be much more confident in executing some offensive plans.

@js - Lots of great matches and times man. I love fighting against your Brad and your Akira. The Eileen training bouts we had were very fun for me too. We've already discussed a bunch of things we can work on for your Akira. One thing at a time, but you'll have a much more complete Akira in no time /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

Side Note:
-noodalls just posted a translation of the Goh Black Book Strategy section up at:
Black Book: Goh Strategy

 

Youske, I take it you are not Otome at SRK then?


Either way look foward to meeting you and other fighting game fans soon.

 

Yosuke is not Otome, officially because... *cough* I want Cla to take Otome's moneymatch challenge at EvoWorld and we can all have fun watching that one!

Bait: Who is this Otome Sama who does not equal Yosuke? Cla should "teach him a lesson in moneymatches" in Las Vegas. FT5-100+ ftw!

 

Okay, now that Cla has accepted the offer, umm...

Yes... Otome Sama does not equal Yosuke equals Yosuke

Showing in Vegas in late August:

Otome vs. Cla
Prize: $100+
Terms: First to 5 Match Wins
Characters: Jacky ("Let's see if you can walk the walk") vs. Sarah (LOL)

Don't miss it!!!

 

>>Femto
when I play VF, I am YOSUKE. I am not YOTAKU though

before I came here,I already threw away my handle name, which used to be YOSUKE,but once I came here, I was well-known more than my expection. therefore, I (kind of) had no choice to keep using YOSUKE.

then I found another thread where other players who dont know me post, so I changed a little my web name on purpose. I also considered if my new handle name is...

YOSUKE not equal YOTAKU

Rei Ayanami ( from Evangelion) not equal YOSUKE

Haruk- Suzumiya ( from The melancholy of Suzumiya and rumbling heart) not equal YOSUKE

------ not equal YOSUKE series /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/cool.gif

you should see the thread that concerned with EVO North of KOF. you can see the person who calls me as Otome.

You can call me YOSUKE. hope to meet you soon. hopefully before I go back to Japan for a summar break

 

besides, I will be embarrassed if you guys call me Otome since you guys already know my real name lol.

 

haha, I was playing with the Otome name because I really wanted Cla to take the bet--hook, line, and sinker!

I felt he might learn a lesson at Evo /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/wink.gif

 

NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/21/07)

This pre-Memorial Day week VF news is presented by the one and only Chanchai:

Memorial Weekend Massacre presented by Yosuke (Seattle/Portland)
The massacre is still underway! This coming weekend, Memorial Day Weekend, Yosuke will be coming to Portland. The sessions begin Friday in Seattle!

I was hoping to begin Yosuke's reign of VF terror on Thursday by going to Seattle that day. However, I have something to do on Friday morning (like at 5am). Therefore, I will make my arrival in Seattle in the morning. I hope some of the upcoming Seattle VFers can make it out on Friday as we plan to have VF5 sessions going until 7:30pm or so. At 8:00pm, Yosuke and I will leave Mariner-country for Portland.

Yosuke will then be making his Portland Masterpieces at the Art-House (what I used to call the Secret Hideout or Friday Night Fights) on Friday Night. BTW, I'm calling it the art-house because it's a museum of beautiful 3S, VF, MvC2, and CvS2 play (toss in any other Capcom fighter too).

Saturday and Sunday are yet to be planned. Depending on Yosuke's academic schedule, Monday might also have festivities too, but we shall see.

Chanchai is going to Evo
Just a quick announcement that I plan to definitely go to Evolution World 2007. Furthermore, I do plan on going to EvoWest.

So Chanchai has been added to the already well-representing list of Portland players going to Evo. It's also my Evo debut I guess. Portland has been consistently well-represented over the years and I leave myself in the care of my Northwest brothers (and international VF family too).

Northwest Evolution Sponsorships
I've already announced that Random Select, the group of PSU fighters, have inked a deal with Portland State University to sponsor their top members for Evolution.

The details are sketchy, and I probably won't be able to announce anything until after Evolution 2007 is over, but I am working out a deal that would lead to providing more sponsorship opportunities for Northwest players in 2008. Nothing is solid yet, but I'm working on it and I think it will definitely work out. If it overlaps on PSU players because they have sponsorship, I am thinking of providing options (whether it's sponsoring part of the lodging, or sponsoring a friend, or whatever).

Again, nothing is set in stone yet. We may not really know how it will all work out until sometime in the Fall. But I'm working on it. Evolution is the big sponsorship, but I am also looking into sponsorship for one or two VF gatherings as well (sponsoring a player or two to go to a VF gathering). This might be just unique to VF because VF is a community that's handled these types of events with regularity.

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/21/07)

I am so sorry that I may have to leave there sunday noon so that i can be back by 4 PM.

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF NEWS (Posted 5/21/07)

No problem, Yosuke /forums/images/%%GRAEMLIN_URL%%/smile.gif

We're just glad you'll be available a couple of days. I wish I could head to Lynnwood on Thursday though!

-Chanchai

 

NORTHWEST VF RECAP (Posted 5/25/07 - morning)

Here's the long-delayed recap of Portland VF last week (the week ending 5/19). This recap just covers my side of things, anyways.

Random Select
Went to the PSU Random Select club meeting and that was a great time. I reported on that earlier on 5/17, I think.

Friday Night Fights at the Art-House (because that's where masterpieces are born)
I actually showed up early for once and things were pretty chill.

After most people had their meals we began with a guided tour through Evo 2006 (we watched the Evo2k6 DVDs). I actually requested to watch some of the Dead or Alive 4 tournament (to the dismay of some fellow fighting game aficianados). I enjoyed watching PerfectLegend and DoAMaster, but wasn't too crazy about the gameplay of some others--but I don't know much about DoA4. I have to admit, watching a jaguar or leopard interrupt the footsy game of two serious competitors did bring comic relief to the evening. But watching how players space and orient themselves on the traffic stage at least brings seriousness to the concept of dynamic environments.

We watched the Tekken 5 tournament (Steve seems to be a beast in T5, though I hear it's not so bad in DR). Also watched just about everything else on Evo2k6 DVD (including Mario Kart DS for a brief bit--some of us had to explain to others what snaking is and what the players were doing). As usual at the Art-House, Capcom games prevail and bring up lots of heated discussion (and smack-talk). Last year's Portland representatives got to relive what they saw and did at Evo2k6.

On the VF side of things, the following players made great appearances on the PS3: RaybladeX, Chanchai, Andrew, Thomas, ShinRyuJinX, and Hellsap.

Hellsap's Lion is gaining momentum and playing quite well. He loves the PPd/u+P string, especially during combos which can lead to some beautiful combos when it works. His poking game is getting stronger and stronger and he does mix in throws for good measure. He can be a tough opponent and he mixes a lot of lows in without being too predictable (whereas I can be very predictable with low attacks).

If there was a critique I could give on Hellsap's developing game, it's that his balance between pokes and throws isn't nearly 50/50--it's actually very lopsided with the pokes and usually linear pokes. This isn't a bad thing, but I see him struggling with opponents who like to dodge a lot (RaybladeX and myself are very guilty of this). Mixing in throws will help. Another option is to figure out which attacks of Lion's are semicircular or full-circular and occasionally use those when the situation says it's fairly safe to use them. But Hellsap's game is fast developing and his Lion is fairly entertaining to watch. Keep it up!

I didn't get to play ShinRyuJinX all that much, but I did enjoy watching his Pai give everyone else a hard time with her tricky setups and lack of predictability.

Thomas' Aoi and Eileen are improving, though it's not a drastic improvement yet. However, signs are very good because the improvements are more foundational as he gets to know the VF system much much better. Understanding the evade systems better as well as okizeme and getting a better feel for Aoi's larger arsenal is a very good focus and while it might not lead to drastic results at first, it's going to be huge in the longrun. You might take more losses for awhile but I think you'll see the rewards soon enough.

Andrew was playing pretty well, but not being able to have much momentum (we were all playing 1 match rotations last week with one setup) can be rough on Andrew if there's a long line. While 2 out of 3 matches means a long wait for anyone in line if we don't have a second setup--I think Andrew is the type of player who plays much stronger in the 2 out of 3 because he really builds momentum and can sort of lock down on his opponent by the second match.

Back to Andrew's game, it's developing nicely as little by little he's doing more guarantees. His poke/throw mixup is getting better. I think his Brad is using better sub-strings and his pressure game is tighter (taking better advantage of whatever little advantage he gets, but finding good moments to delay). The dividends on these along will pay off. He mostly maximizes damage, but once in awhile misses.

I think something Andrew can get better at is baiting whiffs and punishing them. Two parts. Andrew does bait botched attacks with Brad's sway/ducking game--that is already improving. But I think Andrew could add spacing for baiting into his arsenal. He uses spacing to break some of the tension or to engage combat, but I think he could bait whiffed attacks from his opponents more often. The second part is punishing whiffs. I don't know Brad too well, but he definitely has the tools to punish whiffed/missed attacks, and I think this is something Andrew could improve on. His Brad (and his Akira) would be a nightmare for me if he improves on this because he could easily bait me to whiff and I have whiffed often on my own against him.

I played well against everyone except RaybladeX on Friday. Actually, I played more or less as well as I could play that night (I had trouble focusing, but I was playing as best I could regardless), and Ray was mopping the floor with me. I'm still upset with myself for not maximizing guarantees or even going decent with them--I let go of a lot of guaranteed damage and it's such a basic thing. If I ever end up auto-piloting, which I tend to do when I lose focus, I do too many risky attacks and often in various predictable patterns. Ray has also locked down on when I tend to evade, showing me how predictable I am when I use them (if I whiff an attack, 9 times out of 10 I will evade). All credit to RaybladeX for giving me the strongest beatdown I've had since going to SoCal. I really have to work on my focus, followup on guaranteed opportunities, and while I should never play on auto-pilot, I should at least be playing safe if I am. I also need to play a much tighter game, I'm losing out a lot against Ray in tight exchanges. He'll make better use of frame advantages than I do and sometimes it's 1-2 frames difference, but that's all one needs to score a big advantage.

RaybladeX was the player of the night for VF5. That he gives everyone hell with a large variety of characters shows that his basics have become very strong. He dodges a lot, but last week it did not feel like it was too much at all--it felt pretty close to just right I thought (we'll see in the future). His gameplay is much tighter, squeezing out tiny advantages for what they are worth. His defense is getting better and I think it shows his improved focus. Mad props to how he has played the last two weeks, I have a lot to work on and I can easily see it because of our matches.

If I had an idea of what to suggest for RayBladeX to improve... He could do more guaranteed attacks when he blocks certain things. To expand his knowledge of this, there are a couple routes to improve this:

-Go through the frame data. You're looking for your character's fastest attacks from standing and from crouching. After that, skim the framedata for other characters and look for any disadvantage on Guard that is -10 or worse (-11/-12 depending on which character you are playing).

-Watch Japanese match videos and look for how they react to blocking certain things. This isn't as complete as going through framedata, but it's easier to remember visually.

Another thing Rayblade could improve on is adding the option selects to his game. He might be doing some of it already, I know he has the dexterity to do a good amount. Going back to VF4:Evo's Challenge Mode can help some of this (especially multiple throw escapes):

-Work on evade-double-throw-escape-guard.

-Start implementing box-step during the spacing games. Simple pattern: backdash --> evade --> crouch dash --> dash (either way) --> evade, etc...

-Successful evades won't be cancelled by the crouch dash, but failed ones will.

-Plug in throw escapes instantly when you whiff attacks, but don't have a throw whiff animation afterwards.

-Mix in d+G, n+G fuzzy guard after moves are blocked if your disadvantage is -5 - -2. You can do it at other times if you want as well I guess.

-Mix in the CD, n+G fuzzy guard after moves are blocked if your disadvantage is -6. You can also use the CD-fuzzy-guard method more if you want, but it's tricky to time in general, when it's not a -6 situation.

There's more, but the above options will take awhile to incorporate into your game and they won't have immediately strong results. At least most of them won't. Like all things VF, there's an answer to everything--so none of them are fullproof.

In any case, I had great times at the Art-House.

I look forward to writing the next report when I can talk about a practice session and better yet, a couple days of YOSUKE!

It's gonna be a Memorial Weekend we won't forget!!!

-Chanchai

 

Re: NORTHWEST VF RECAP (Posted 5/25/07 - morning)

IF YOU HAVEN'T LEFT CALL ME!!!!!!!!!


I GOT ALL DAY TO KILL!!!