Simple English Wikipedia

Apparently there exists a Simple English Wikpedia and i noticed there are SF2 and Tekken entries but no VF entries. Hence my post: if you were asked to sum up VF in simple english and in few sentences, how would you go about it?

 

sex

 

vf was the first 3d fighter. it is complex, but rewarding.

 

This is actually a good idea but my English is awful so i'm afraid I can't help.

 

In Virtua Fighter two people enter a ring to beat the snot out of each other. Only one leaves.

 

Virtua Fighter was the first 3D fighter and is the deepest and most balanced of all 3D fighters.

 

virtua fighter >*

 

It's been half a year now so i've taken the liberty of posting quash's suggestion.

 

Virtua Fighter: A 3D fighting game based primarily upon option-select and buffering.

That's how I read it, anyway.

 

The newly discovered throw escape technique could probably qualify as an option select, since you can block and throw escape at the same time rather than choosing from one or the other.

 

Option select means that a single input, or even a series of inputs, that can result in multiple outcomes, will always result in the correct (or best) outcome because the computer choosing the end result.

So you would input a series of commands, that have two or three potential results, and depending on what your opponent does, the game engine automatically chooses the best option for you.

Virtua Fighter 1 actually had a very basic form of option select. The throw or attack option select occurs because there is no dedicated throw command in VF1. If you perform the command for a throw (let's say forward+punch) and your opponent is in a non-throwable state, or you are out of range to throw, the game will automatically give you an attack animation instead. However if you are within range, and your opponent is in a throwable state, you will always throw in VF1 if you input a throw command, there is zero chance that an attack will come out under those conditions because the game engine makes the ultimate decision as opposed to the player.

With the introduction of a throw command and throw animation, it eliminates option select, because you have to commit to either throw or attack. You cannot input one command for both throw and attack and have the game decide for you based on positioning, frame advantage, and other factors.

Super Turbo is the king of option select, in fact high level ST is filled with tons of option select, I'll list some things here and get what I can in.

Negative edge command throws. This incorporates two types of option select in Super Turbo, negative edge being one, and command throws without a whiff animation being the other. In Super Turbo if you press a button down the game will register it for normal, special, and super attacks. If you hold and then release a button, the game will register the release as an input for only special and super commands, so you cannot get a normal attack if you just release the buttons.
So with that in mind, if you have a character with a command throw (or special throw) that does not have a whiff animation, you can input the throw command and release the buttons and end the throw command in down+back. If your opponent is in a throwable state and you are within throw range you will grab your opponent with the special throw. However if your opponent performs a special move with invincible start-up, the throw will not come out, and you will be in safe defensive crouch, if you did a negative edge (button release) command throw.

Safe jumps. If you jump in at someone who is waking up, with an attack from the air, and they perform a reversal (an attack with invincible start-up animation), then they will knock you out of the air unless you safe jump. Knock down and wake up animations in ST are invincible. So if you perform a an invincible attack on the very first frame you wake up, there is no chance for anyone to attack you as your are waking up. The thing is that reversals have a timing of 1/60 of a second so there is prohibitive difficulty regarding execution that makes this strategy not a 'gimme' at any level of play but top players can still reversal most of the time. So let's say you think your opponent is going to reversal but you still want to jump in on them. Well you need to safe jump. A safe jump is when you jump at your opponent so that your jumping attack only coincides with your opponent's first few frames after they wake up. The option select is that if your opponent fails to reverse or just decides to block then your jumping attack will connect. If your opponent reverses, their special move still has a few frames of start-up animation. So let's say that Ryu's dragon punches have four frames of start-up animation before they become active attacks. If you safe jump so that you will land within the first four frames that Ryu is finished waking up and is standing, then you will safely land, before his dragon punch can connect with you.

Normal throws, safe reversals, the auto-mix up, and a few other minor forms of option select still exist in ST but I just chose to explain the two above. Just scroll down a bit in SRK's ST Wiki and read about whatever you want.

The other thing with option select is that it's truly meant to be as comprehensive as possible. In VF4 and 5 if you ETTEG you are actually option selecting (or protecting yourself) against throws, linear attacks, and one direction of attacks. The thing with VF is that ETTEG can lose to delayed attacks (like Akira's FC palm or Wolf's toe kick hit throw), it can lose to throws that aren't escaped, and it can lose to circular and half-circular attacks. So while ETTEG can beat two things at once it can lose to just as many.

The VF series has seemingly always tried to emphasize yomi as much as possible by eliminating the automatic decision making of option select. While ST doesn't take extreme mental focus based on choosing what to do in what situation (like I just got an MC high punch as Akira I need to do X), ST moves at such a fast pace that successfully doing something like a safe jump or a safe reversal takes so much precision and execution that it requires the same mental strain as playing VF and having to ETTEG or react quickly to an MC punch (not that ETTEG is easy execution wise).

Yes. While this is option select it is an incredibly weak form of it (well compared to the mammoth variants in ST at least) because it can be beaten by so many things. HTEG (hold throw escape guard) can beat beaten by any other directional throw than the one being escaped against, it loses to low attacks, inescapable throws or catch throws, and guard breaking attacks. So while you are protecting yourself against mid and high attacks (that don't guard break) you are still vulnerable to low attacks, other throws, and more. So it's not very comprehensive.

This is opposed to Super Turbo where you can safe jump in on everyone but Ken and Blanka (because they have special moves that attack on the first frame) and win every time. Or T.Hawk or Honda who have special throws without whiff animations. Even Claw's wall dive will option select between attack or throw depending on if you are within range or not when you hit punch.

 

I guess I was just comparing it more to Tekken, which is more reactionary. Option-select in VF:

Evading and cancelling - If you input something like and your opponent attacks, you'll still get a successful evade. If not, the evade will be cancelled and you'll be able to guard a delayed attack.

ETEG - InstantOverhead already made mention of this.

VF5R throw escapes - Already mentioned by Reno.

Jumping/heavy down attack - Inputting as the opponent hits the ground will result in one of the following: If the opponent recovers you will jump back to a safe distance. If the opponent does not recover, they will get hit by a heavy down attack.


Just some contemplation on what else might be option-select:

If you enter into Aoi's Ying Yang stance and press or immediately and your opponent attacks, you might get a sabaki or evade, right? Faster attacks like jabs might be parried while slower attacks like lows might be evaded. It would depend upon when the evade is initiated perhaps? I haven't experimented with this, but I thought that it was worth mentioning in case this was true. If it does work, it would probably be inconsistent since her Ying Yang evade is a hitbox issue.

 

Virtua Fighter's defensive system revolves around buffering big time. I'm comparing it to Tekken in my head. In Tekken you can't buffer throw escapes (to my knowledge), and cutting evades short isn't a matter of buffering since they can be cut short at any time during their animation. I can't really think of any fuzzy guarding situations in that game either, though ducking into a guard may involve the same mechanics in both games, excluding crouch dashing to duck. In VF you buffer throw escapes, fuzzy guarding, and cancelling evades. Other games are more reactionary whereas in VF you stand a chance against those with lightning fast reflexes as long as you're good with buffering and have a decent understanding of nitaku. Defense in this game involves buffering more than any other fighting games, albeit limited, that I've played.

As far as attacking, it may rely on buffering just as much as other games. In fact, Tekken may rely on it more ever since 5. A more accurate assessment would have been that defense revolves around buffering in VF, at least in part. That part, however, is a big one.

 

I'm far from simple, unfortunately. I'm a mystery wrapped in a riddle wrapped in an enigma. No one understands me.

I have a pathological impulse to post in excess. Don't mind me.

 

tony understands. Come here you! *hugs Libertine*

 

Good shit.

 

It's just not Simple English Wikipedia anymore.