I came across Namco’s official patch notes while sorting through the “incoming” pile here at the Hate Speech News Desk, so this week I’m setting aside my regularly scheduled diatribe in favor of the hot-button issue. Of course, this may also be my last column ever, too. Like many of you, I took one look at the information in the patch notes and realized that life is no longer worth living.
My perfect, beautiful, wonderful game—one about which I’ve never complained, ever—is now irreparably ruined and soiled. As such, my plan for the day is simple: post this article, make arrangements for bequeathing my cherished collections of celebrity bobbleheads and Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and then driving my car off of the Golden Gate Bridge so I can go out like a boss.
Final Round XV took place on March 3rd and 4th in Atlanta, Georgia, and clocked in at a truly impressive 254 entrants. The tournament itself had numerous ups and downs, a few surprises, and an overall level of play that was truly impressive for a game so early in its life-cycle.
FRXV also inadvertently shined some light on a handful of larger issues affecting both our specific community and fighting games more generally, all of which deserve a good amount of thought and discussion. That being the case, let’s get down to it. Ladies and gentlemen, I give you the FRXV War Report . . .
We’re closing in on the one month mark and things are going pretty strong. Local tourneys abound (I’ve participated in four already), we just finished a very exciting Winter Brawl tournament, and next weekend is the much anticipated Final Round. Thanks to all these opportunities to get out and compete, not to mention the fact that we’ve had the game long enough to begin developing real strategies, it’s natural that almost everyone is focused intently on improvement. I’m right there with you.
I have a confession to make. I’ve been breaking one of my own rules by refusing to share the existence of Quick Step~4G (hereafter known as QS4G or step guard) or any related tech, despite having known about it for a while. This wasn’t some pathetic attempt to maintain a marginal unfair advantage over everyone else, though. My previous silence is in fact due to the incredibly deleterious effect this sort of glitch is bound to have on high level play.
It’s no secret that I want SCV to get big and have a long competitive lifespan, and I think most everyone taking the time to read and participate here at 8wayrun share those desires, but, in addition to all of that, I want SCV to be good. Step guard in all its prior incarnations has always undermined SOULCALIBUR’s competitive depth, and that was within more conventional, passivity-friendly game systems.
As some of you probably know by now, I've all but abandoned Wirecast in favor of XSplit as my primary streaming program. While yes, XSplit has far less features than Wirecast, it just does so many things right that I felt compelled to use it. Unfortunately, with all the things it does right, there is one thing it does wrong.
That of course would be the title card system. Sure, Wirecast's title system wasn't that simple, but once you set your XML files up correctly, it was very easy to update and adjust as needed. XSplit made it easier to set up your title cards, but in turn, its very cumbersome to update and change your titles. The built-in title plugin for XSplit is a complete catastrophe. So in an effort to make it easier for myself, I've written a program to handle title updates...
It’s hard to find two words in the English language more satisfying when heard together than “grapple whore,” at least when they’re squeaked your way, via the magic of the Internet, from the lips of a pre-pubescent neighborhood champ quivering with the sort of rage that only comes from having one’s stranglehold on an open player match literally snatched away by a giant green puppet-monster.
Disdain for the manly art of grabbing one’s opponent is hardly restricted to the underage hubris-junkie crowd, however. Veterans of other fighters, and even people who have stuck with Calibur for as long as I have, sometimes fail to grasp the role throws play in high-level matches, so today we’ll be looking at what they are, what they are not, and how they function from a design perspective. In the end, we’ll hopefully rehabilitate throws’ image and maybe give you guys a few evil little ideas on how more effectively to incorporate them into your overall game.
There’s nothing in this world more loathsome and repugnant than a flip-flopper. As we are reminded in every national election cycle, true leaders never change their minds, and they’re never, ever wrong. And I, of course, am a true leader, so please keep that in mind this week as we take another look at the function and implications of online play.
