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...

Canadian Soulcalibur players Emlarr and Partisan were recently featured on the Zako Live podcast. Zako Live is a show which focuses on learning how to improve in Street Fighter and Marvel Vs Capcom, however this episode was dedicated on learning the basics of Soulcalibur V.

If you are new to the series or haven't played a Soulcalibur game in a very long time, then you should watch this episode by clicking here.

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.

While I do indeed stand by everything I’ve previously said on the subject, the shockingly decent netplay afforded us by SC5 definitely warrants a new round of consideration regarding what benefits it ultimately provides us, the limits of its usefulness, and how far it can take us in our development as players.

The Official Guide to SOULCALIBUR V, which is published by Future Press is now available for purchase. Already, I have seen people with the guide, and I went and purchased the guide myself yesterday, and it is amazing.

Future Press wanted to share the news of their guide with us before it was posted onto their Facebook page with a PDF excerpt of the chapter for Mitsurugi. To make up for it, they have sent directly to me a combo video for Mitsurugi along with additional details that they wanted to share with the community.

Now that SC5 has been released, we are going to probably have a lot of new users... especially today. In the Soulcalibur community, we have not had a major community website survive during the launch of a core title; even Shoryuken couldn't stay up during the launch of SF4. I've been optimizing our scripts for the past half a year in order to prepare for today. We'll see how it goes.

Moving on, with the new game and new players, there is bound to be a lot of new information. If you're a new player: welcome, we are glad to have you! Make sure you head to our New Player Arena and make a thread to introduce yourself. If you're a veteran, be sure to say hello to our new members; direct them to the right areas, and for the love of all things Soulcalibur, stop being a bunch of whiny little bitches! I hope to see you all attending tournaments in the upcoming year.

Well kids, the wait is finally just about over. SOULCALIBUR V officially hits stores tomorrow, so it’s time to go out, grab a copy, and start practicing. Well, almost. For those of you not living near incompetent Wal-Marts or shady mom & pop establishments willing to break street date, you still have an absolutely grueling few hours remaining before SC5 is in your hot little hands.

Believe me, I sympathize. Whether you’re purely hyped or filled with questions and doubts, the last little bit before you can have the game and make your own judgments on it are absolute torture. Of course, there’s an upside here. What’s that, you ask? It’s simple: those of you out there who don’t have the game—the vast majority of you—are my captive audience. Given both that fact and the equally pertinent one that I’ve now had a chance to go through the game in semi-detail, this week I’ll be playing reporter.