Week of May 12th to the 18th, 2014.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Fighting Games Weekly is the weekly discussion thread for all things fighting games. News, events, streams, videos, players, drama, everything fighting game related.
Don't know what to watch right now? Check the FGCPros Twitch Group or Jaxel's Stream Viewer. If you want to watch multiple streams at once, you can use Jaxel's customizable multiviewer as well.
New to FGC-GAF is the FGC-GAF Index which lists the fighting games GAFers plays as a neat reference with some rough statistics to boot. To add yourself to the index, quote this post and use the survey link below. Please remember to save/bookmark the "Edit your response" link so you can edit your responses if/when you buy a game already on the list or a new game that releases in the future.
Last week's thread. An archive of previous FGW threads is available here.
Toryuken 3 [ Stream 2 ] [ Friday ] [ 7PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
- TorontoTopTiers' second major tournament series returns, bringing the Canadian FGC together and attracting international talent as well.
- This event continues through Sunday.
- Rules, fees, schedule, platforms, location, payout, prizes and much more information is available here.
- One of France's largest multigame tournaments returns, attracting considerable international talent.
- This event continues through Sunday.
- Prizes, location, rules, schedule and more information is available here.
Every week, FGW will spotlight one GAFer to get a better picture of their history with fighting games, their preferences, and much more. For this week's FGW Player Spotlight, we will be taking a closer look at our native Stanley Whitefin, DiscoShark!
What fighting games do you currently play, what are your all time favourites and why?
Currently all I'm playing these days is Skullgirls. I took a break for a while between the release of Squigly and Big Band but it definitely feels nice to jump back into the fold and mess around with the game's newly released characters.
My all time favorites would probably include games like Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Skullgirls with the occasional sprinkling of Vampire Savior for good measure. TvC was my first real exposure to traditional Capcom style 2D fighters and would eventually lead me to playing everything else and despite some quirks with the Bursting system was a well built and mechanically sound fighting game. Shame it was doomed to be only ported to the Wii.
Skullgirls is obvious. MikeZ is an incredibly competent developer who has gone above and beyond to create a game that is not only an absolute blast to play but actively goes about trying to question old design practices and fix them in an age where fighting game tournaments are increasing in popularity. Tournament mode has a forced button check at the start screen, Training mode has been revamped to show frame data and exactly when and where a move starts active and invincible frames along with the addition of save states and the like, you need to HOLD start for a certain amount of time during a match in order for a pause to occur. I could go on ...
And Vsav has like ... the perfect pacing in a fighting game. Despite having a tendency to play more combo oriented fighters I really dislike being stuck with nothing to do for long periods of time, in Vsav your mistakes were capitalized on by your opponent in combos that would generally take less than a second to complete. It was a game that immediately put you back into the action as soon as possible and the matches themselves were all super fast as a result. The Vampire Savior round system (that Skullgirls recently introduced for 1v1 fights) also had a lot to do with keeping the match progressing from start to finish without a break.
What are your favorite mechanics from the current selection of fighting games and why? What are your least favorite and why?My all time favorites would probably include games like Tatsunoko vs Capcom and Skullgirls with the occasional sprinkling of Vampire Savior for good measure. TvC was my first real exposure to traditional Capcom style 2D fighters and would eventually lead me to playing everything else and despite some quirks with the Bursting system was a well built and mechanically sound fighting game. Shame it was doomed to be only ported to the Wii.
Skullgirls is obvious. MikeZ is an incredibly competent developer who has gone above and beyond to create a game that is not only an absolute blast to play but actively goes about trying to question old design practices and fix them in an age where fighting game tournaments are increasing in popularity. Tournament mode has a forced button check at the start screen, Training mode has been revamped to show frame data and exactly when and where a move starts active and invincible frames along with the addition of save states and the like, you need to HOLD start for a certain amount of time during a match in order for a pause to occur. I could go on ...
And Vsav has like ... the perfect pacing in a fighting game. Despite having a tendency to play more combo oriented fighters I really dislike being stuck with nothing to do for long periods of time, in Vsav your mistakes were capitalized on by your opponent in combos that would generally take less than a second to complete. It was a game that immediately put you back into the action as soon as possible and the matches themselves were all super fast as a result. The Vampire Savior round system (that Skullgirls recently introduced for 1v1 fights) also had a lot to do with keeping the match progressing from start to finish without a break.
Favorite - Baroque from TvC, one of the best risk/reward mechanics I've ever come across in a fighting game. One had the opportunity to sacrifice all of one's recoverable red life in order to do a cancel that filled you with the power of rainbows and modified the damage of the remaining combo based on the amount of red life you sacrificed. There was this in game interplay between saving it for a tag to get some of it back or blowing it all to attempt to kill off your opponent's character / keep yourself safe after doing an unsafe special move. Dropping the combo after Baroque's activation would also kill the damage increasing effects. How you could go from that to something like X-Factor I'll have no idea but it was a mechanic that definitely made TvC stand out for me.
Least favorite - Just Frames in 3D fighters. I really dislike the idea of having an execution barrier on what amounts to a character's basic moveset and the emphasis and advantages that come with using these moves make it so that there are certain characters in these fighters where you're going to need to learn the Just Frames in order to be maximally effective with them. It's the wrong approach to fighting games as a whole and it's really part of my larger issue with needless execution barriers in popular fighting games today. You just unnecessarily create more hurdles between newer and more veteran players in a genre that should be about learning, reacting, and reading your opponent rather than fighting the mechanics of the game. I'd argue that really difficult links (and Vampire Savior's ridiculously stupid pushblocking system) are just as unnecessarily limiting in other games as well.
What got you into fighting games? Are there any other genre of games you play?Least favorite - Just Frames in 3D fighters. I really dislike the idea of having an execution barrier on what amounts to a character's basic moveset and the emphasis and advantages that come with using these moves make it so that there are certain characters in these fighters where you're going to need to learn the Just Frames in order to be maximally effective with them. It's the wrong approach to fighting games as a whole and it's really part of my larger issue with needless execution barriers in popular fighting games today. You just unnecessarily create more hurdles between newer and more veteran players in a genre that should be about learning, reacting, and reading your opponent rather than fighting the mechanics of the game. I'd argue that really difficult links (and Vampire Savior's ridiculously stupid pushblocking system) are just as unnecessarily limiting in other games as well.
Super Smash Brothers Brawl was my gateway drug, from there I branched out to TvC and to eventually fighters that would appear on the PS3.
I don't know if indie is a genre but I find myself playing a lot of the smaller, more popular indie releases on Steam. If I'm not playing Skullgirls it's usually Faster Than Light : Advanced Edition or Recettear. I'm really looking forward to Transistor's eventual release as well.
What is your favorite fighting game character and why?I don't know if indie is a genre but I find myself playing a lot of the smaller, more popular indie releases on Steam. If I'm not playing Skullgirls it's usually Faster Than Light : Advanced Edition or Recettear. I'm really looking forward to Transistor's eventual release as well.
Dormammu from MvC3, from the moment I heard him say Run
Run! on the reveal trailer I was hooked. Super interesting zoning style of play, love the charge up Power of the power of the
and the utility of the Floating Bomb super just made him an absolute blast to play.
Describe your style of play, and how do you play (local, online, etc.).
It's really dependent on the game that I'm playing and even then there's a lot of variance for me. Vs style Capcom games have me pushing towards zoning types, Arc Sys fighters I'll play the Grappler (Love Potemkin and Tager), and in the more footsies based fighters I'll tend to stick on the more overall jack of all trades type of character. If it's Skullgirls it's random select. 
In any instance it's usually online though.
What do you feel are your biggest strengths and weaknesses as a player?In any instance it's usually online though.
I think I have a tendency of shying away from really difficult competition or anyone that I perceive as being super difficult. It's totally a bad habit and probably ends up stunting my development as a player once I plateau at a certain point.
Best and worst moments in the your fighting game career?
nothing comes to mind! I just play the games in the comfort of my home in most cases, may have something to do with the whole shying away from competition thing though.
What do you want from future fighting games?
A more competent ranking and matchmaking system first and foremost. If there was a way to better quantify what a player is doing and sorting them based on those qualities (rather than just win/loss) then I'd love to see something like Starcraft 2's Bronze League → Silver → Diamond → Master/Grandmaster progression system and having players only play people that have achieved their level of skill in a ranked match environment.
More PC support goes without saying I think, especially with next gen consoles all paywalling online multiplayer. I think a more significant push to break into the PC arena is going to be a healthy thing for fighting games as a whole. We're seeing promising things from titles coming from smaller developers (Yatagarasu, Skullgirls) and larger ones (Capcom with Street Fighter and Namco with Naruto) and I'd like to see more of it.
... and GGPO/Rollback style netcode. 'Nuff said.
Who should be on next week's GAF Player Spotlight?More PC support goes without saying I think, especially with next gen consoles all paywalling online multiplayer. I think a more significant push to break into the PC arena is going to be a healthy thing for fighting games as a whole. We're seeing promising things from titles coming from smaller developers (Yatagarasu, Skullgirls) and larger ones (Capcom with Street Fighter and Namco with Naruto) and I'd like to see more of it.
... and GGPO/Rollback style netcode. 'Nuff said.
More SG-gaf representation! Nominating Beats.
Super Desperation Radio [ 9:30PM EDT | 6:30 PDT ]
- Hellpockets and various other members of the KoF community discuss KoF and happenings in the FGC.
- Out of the ashes of Cross Counter Live rises a new discussion show from Gootecks and Mike Ross!
- Out of the ashes of The BOX Arena, comes the San Diego FGC's newest organized weekly for UMvC3.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
Kachitagari TV (JP) [ 9PM JST | 8AM EDT | 5AM PDT ]
- Bon-chan, Kazunoko and Fuudo's new show, focusing primarily on SSFIV AE ranked matches but is branching off into other games as well.
- NYC VF crew presents VF5:FS tournaments casuals out of The Next Level arcade in Brooklyn.
- New Jersey's largest weekly featuring UMvC3 and Injustice.
- JamessMK & DarKNaTaS host a raw and uncut weekly talk show discussing events in the FGC with various FGC personalities.
- Weekly FGC show dedicated to match analysis, teaching, commentary, news, debates, and more! Hosted by UltraDavid and James Chen.
- iPlaywinner hosts a weekly talk show featuring alpha stream monsters Harrison and Honzo Gonzo.
Game Spot Versus KoF Casuals (JP) [ 7PM JST | 6AM EDT | 3AM PDT ]
- KoF 1998UM, KoF 2002UM and KoF XIII C action from Japan.
- Description needed.
- NYC's biggest weekly at The Next Level Arcade in Brooklyn featuring SSFIV AE, UMvC3 and TTT2. If the Teamsp00ky link is not working, it is likely on the backup stream on Arturo's channel.
- Often, WonderChef will stream Injustice pools up until Top 4.
- SoCal's biggest weekly at Super Arcade in Walnut, featuring Injustice and SSFIV AE. Season details are available here.
Melee It On Me [ 9PM EDT | 6PM PDT ]
- A bi-weekly Smash podcast discussing recent events, news and issues in the Smash community, hosted by Scar, Prog, Cactuar and Sheridan.
- Galloping Ghost Arcade presents an Injustice weekly out of Chicago.
- A weekly FGC talk show hosted by iPlaywinner, featuring a varying, ensemble cast of prominent members of the fighting game community.
- Aris' new weekly show, discussing whatever he wants to! The format resembles old ATP podcasts.
- The UMvC3 and KoF XIII branch of Wednesday Night Fights also hosted at Super Arcade in Walnut, California. P4:A is usually streamed on CounterAssaultTV until Top 3.
The Smash Break Bi-Weekly [ 6PM EDT | 3PM PDT ]
- The Break hosts a new Melee bi-weekly to replace Rokunaya Bi-Weeklies which are ending.
- For those who know how to use Nico Live, also join the GODSGARDEN community page on Nico to know when Ura KaoTV! goes live.
- A weekly Skullgirls event hosted by members of the Skullgirls development team, often featuring preview builds of the game.
Rebel Up [ Secondary ] [ 7PM EDT | 4PM PDT ]
- Super Arcade's anime weekly, featuring GG, BB, P4A, SG, Gundam and older anime games as well.
GGPO VanBats [ 4PM EDT | 1PM PDT ]
- Weekly GGPO Vampire Savior ranbats streamed by GAFer Rotanibor.
- Level|Up and Team OXY partner up to create a new weekly for the SoCal Melee community, featuring doubles and singles.
On GAF we have various members that stream fighting games from time to time too. If you would like to add your channel to this thread, send me a PM.
Additionally, if you want to really get involved, you may want to check out the various OTs for specific games:
Additionally, if you want to really get involved, you may want to check out the various OTs for specific games:
- BlazBlue: Chrono Phantasma
- Chaos Code
- Darkstalkers: Resurrection
- Dead or Alive 5 Ultimate and Core Fighters
- Divekick
- Gundam Extreme VS Full Boost
- Injustice: Gods Among Us
- JoJo's Bizarre Adventure: All Star Battle
- Killer Instinct
- The King of Fighters XIII
- Marvel vs. Capcom: Origins
- Mortal Kombat
- Persona 4: Arena
- PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale
- Project M 3.0
- Skullgirls
- Soul Calibur: Lost Swords
- Soul Calibur V
- Street Fighter X Tekken v.2013
- Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition v.2012
- Tekken
- Tekken Revolution
- Tekken Tag Tournament 2
- Ultimate Marvel vs. Capcom 3
- Virtua Fighter 5 Final Showdown
- 8WayRun - Soul Calibur franchise community
- DOACentral - Dead or Alive franchise community
- Dream Cancel - King of Fighters franchise community and resource, more US-centric
- Dustloop - Forums/community for Arc System Works-developed games
- Eventhubs - Frequently updated news blog, resource and forums for all things fighting games
- FreeStepDodge - Dead or Alive franchise community
- Homing Cancel - Arcana Heart community
- iPlaywinner - Large fighting game news site and resource, and the home to Teamsp00ky and iPlaywinner
- Jet Upper - UK-centric news source and community
- Mayonaka Midnight - Persona 4 Arena community and resource
- Melty Bread - Melty Blood community
- Mizuumi - A resource for various "poverty" games
- Orochinagi - King of Fighters franchise community and resource, more EU-centric
- Reddit Fighters t- Reddit's own fighting game community subreddit
- Shoryuken - The largest FG community and multigame resource on the web, with a large Capcom games community
- Skullheart - fan Skullgirls community and resource made official
- TekkenZaibatsu - Tekken franchise community
- Test Your Might - Mortal Kombat and Injustice community and resource
- UKFGC - UK-centric news source and community
- Smash Boards - The largest Smash Bros. Community
- VFDC - Virtua Fighter franchise community site
- - -
If you have any suggestions for the OP, please do not hesitate to post in this thread or PM me to let me know.
