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3D Positioning Theory - This is raw so bear with me because Im starting with a history lesson. Tekken Tag was arguably the best and most balanced Tekken but it had one thing that newer 3D fighting games seem to shy away from and thats the infinate stage size. There is nothing to stop you from gaining a lead in health and backdash canceling until you end the round. This instantly makes a tier gap between the characters who have good tools to pressure backdash cancel and the ones who do not because there is no other in game element to help you counter. All 3D games now have walls or Ring Edges and that gives you something to stop step where your character cant hit it. Wether it is from the wall/edge itself being in the way or the threat of what happens when they guess wrong in proximity to the wall/edge. Without this games like TTT will degenerate into backdash cancel for days at the highest level because there is no drawback from it and your playing to win.
For this arguement I am going to ignore 2 very important things just to look at how to counter movement with movement and position. This is important because you can safely move in many situations where you cannot safely attack against advanced movements.
First the opponent can attack you at any given point in time and moving yourself helps to limit the attacks you will be vulnerable to. For this I assume the opponent is a turtle and wants to wait for me to put myself at disadvantage before he risks doing anything. I ignore this because when the opponent takes the offensive the mindgames are vastly different and thats another topic for another time.
Second I use very braindead examples that you do not see in gameplay because they are very basic lessons that you simply dont see in 2D fighters. This is to establish the basics not to serve as an example of high level play.
When you add some kind of border to the stage it means your juggles can do more damage and setup into wall pressure situations or some 3D games also incorporate Ring Out where knocking someone past an edge will win you the round and that becomes the crux of many many mindgames. To start you need to first create the situation that will lead to your opponents demise because as in all games nothing is scary until you do something scary so being near a wall that doesnt potentially give your opponent free damage is just something in the way. Edges however do put even experienced players on edge because even a scrub can randomly hit a counterhit move that knocks you sideways and randomly getting hit causing death is never a good risk reward.
In all 3D games using a wall to your advantage is similar to the effect it has on many 2D games. You get more combo damage and get to put your opponent into wakeup that threatens even more combo damage and more wakeup and take away their ability to distance themself from you entirely. This can be a very nasty place to be and guessing wrong when a wall involved and exploited will be very worse then guessing wrong without a wall unless your opponent cant take advantage of it.
Now we get to the bread and butter of the positioning theory. When someone tries to hide behind a defensive movement they will be very predictable in their hyashida step (tekken), box step (VF) or step guard (SC) and the first thing you must realize is because they are in a defensive position you control where they go. They are going to move in that pattern that circles your position in the ring so all you need to do is learn how to push them to where you want to fight them at advantage. Sometimes you need to use a wall to cut movement to your characters weak side so you can lower the risk of your options. Other times you will want to point them towards the wall or edge so you can try and take them straight into/out of the wall/edge because you lack the tools to use side pressure with your character or matchup mechanics can make all sorts of strange danger zones with some games. When a smart opponent sees you use this kind of positioning tactic they will stop spamming that movement when they feel threatened and then altogether as they realize they are losing the position battle and are forced to move the other way.
There are 3 basic movements to approach someone side-stepping. Now imagine for this example you are at the center of the circle. The distance between you and your opponent is the radius and the circle is an expression of their movement. If the opponent wishes to step in the same direction and hide behind a step they will inevitably end up at any point on that circle you choose. Also I seem to ignore that the opponent can come straight at you but if they do that there are a new set of mindgames attached that I do not have time to address here, the focus of this is how to stop people from running away using movement and ring position.
Nothing - This is a powerful option because you let the opponent feel like they are using their movement to gain control of the match and you get to choose where on the stage you bring the battle. As the person who is stationary you get to control where to begin the encounter so if the ideal positioning for you is with your opponent behind you. Then simply wait for the person to step that far around and then begin your countermeasures.
Forwards/Backwards - Forwards is rarely a good idea when someone is hiding behind a step but it is still your best tool for closing range. The only problem is you often have to run in and block instead of approach and attack. Backwards is once again the best tool for creating space in most games and will change the arc of the circle where your opponent is stepping. Also the range determines what moves are applicable as in all games so changing the range changes the tools you are threatened by.
Sidestep - Using sidestep to counter sidestep sounds silly but it has 2 very different results.
Sidestep in Tandem - When you sidestep to the same side of the stage you will force the battle in that direction without turning your position on the stage. Think of that circle again and what would happen if you took the beginning of that circle after the radius and then moved the center to the side the same amount of lateral space and did it again. By stepping in tandem you will turn the sidestep arcs into paralell lines.
Note - Just as in SF4 different characters have different jump arcs in 3D fighters the step movement is different in length and speed for different characters. In matchups where your step is outmatched the opponent will naturally flank you eventually if you step in tandem but the effect is slow enough where the tactic is still useful before you get to edges/walls
Sidestep to Counter - This has the exact opposite effect. If you move the radius of the circle the opposite way you turn the battle more instead of not turning it at all. This can change position quickly and in most games 2 steps on both sides can 180 your position in the ring so you can use your opponents predictable step to turn him or push him in the direction he wants to go. This tactic can be powerful to change the side thats threatened with a single step because things that move you to the right arent the same moves that move you to the left.
Heres an example using Cassandra from SC4, her 4B,B:A JF is one of the best RO tools in the game because of how it works in combos. Now this move pushes back and to your left when your defending against it. I just blocked her 2A when I am point blank aganst an edge and cassandra is at a 45^ angle to my left and since I just blocked her poke I get the initiative and I can choose to attack or take a free step G. I step to my right because if he doesnt move I can escape the corner fastest like this only to have him step the same way where anything hes going to do can potentially kill me on CH. the next time I guard an attack that gives me advantage if I step left here I put myself in just as bad a position as I already am with my back to the edge but if the opponent tries to trap me from the normal escape route and steps to his left again hes put himself on the wrong side of the edge because hes only got 2-3 RO tools for my right side.
Backdash Counter - This is much less prevalent in 3D games with walls and RO because its very straightforward to counter... step and turn the match and move forward into the space retreated and you can choose your own spacing and position to start the exchanges. This concept should be very easy for 2D players to understand because its similar to jumping back until you see the corner... yeah people dont do it once they get out of range in general. Good backdashing will be able to force a defensive mixup if you try attacking the person doing it because most characters are forced to use linear or slow moves if they attack outside their optimal range so your opponent gets to mixup with sidestep and backstep while being relativly safe and you can punish whiffs on reaction in 3D games so this is powerful in some matchups.
Now this is where the mindgame starts and the depth of the player skill will determine how far ahead they see that edge comming. Will they be in the danger zone and suddenly realize it? Will they realize right before they step there or will they see you step with them initially and read where they will end up in the ring?
Now when you see the really top players go head to head sometimes you can see battles for position that you dont really comprehend without intense matchup knowledge. Top players will be able to use moves to manipulate situations and naturally people will try to use moves as reversals that may or may garner position advantage or a free escape from edge pressure. Also many of your best moves on hit for positioning are single side tracking so sometimes stepping into the percieved danger zone can get you out of trouble if you guess at what your opponent will do specifically but also having to guess with specific reversals can be risky as in many games.
For this arguement I am going to ignore 2 very important things just to look at how to counter movement with movement and position. This is important because you can safely move in many situations where you cannot safely attack against advanced movements.
First the opponent can attack you at any given point in time and moving yourself helps to limit the attacks you will be vulnerable to. For this I assume the opponent is a turtle and wants to wait for me to put myself at disadvantage before he risks doing anything. I ignore this because when the opponent takes the offensive the mindgames are vastly different and thats another topic for another time.
Second I use very braindead examples that you do not see in gameplay because they are very basic lessons that you simply dont see in 2D fighters. This is to establish the basics not to serve as an example of high level play.
When you add some kind of border to the stage it means your juggles can do more damage and setup into wall pressure situations or some 3D games also incorporate Ring Out where knocking someone past an edge will win you the round and that becomes the crux of many many mindgames. To start you need to first create the situation that will lead to your opponents demise because as in all games nothing is scary until you do something scary so being near a wall that doesnt potentially give your opponent free damage is just something in the way. Edges however do put even experienced players on edge because even a scrub can randomly hit a counterhit move that knocks you sideways and randomly getting hit causing death is never a good risk reward.
In all 3D games using a wall to your advantage is similar to the effect it has on many 2D games. You get more combo damage and get to put your opponent into wakeup that threatens even more combo damage and more wakeup and take away their ability to distance themself from you entirely. This can be a very nasty place to be and guessing wrong when a wall involved and exploited will be very worse then guessing wrong without a wall unless your opponent cant take advantage of it.
Now we get to the bread and butter of the positioning theory. When someone tries to hide behind a defensive movement they will be very predictable in their hyashida step (tekken), box step (VF) or step guard (SC) and the first thing you must realize is because they are in a defensive position you control where they go. They are going to move in that pattern that circles your position in the ring so all you need to do is learn how to push them to where you want to fight them at advantage. Sometimes you need to use a wall to cut movement to your characters weak side so you can lower the risk of your options. Other times you will want to point them towards the wall or edge so you can try and take them straight into/out of the wall/edge because you lack the tools to use side pressure with your character or matchup mechanics can make all sorts of strange danger zones with some games. When a smart opponent sees you use this kind of positioning tactic they will stop spamming that movement when they feel threatened and then altogether as they realize they are losing the position battle and are forced to move the other way.
There are 3 basic movements to approach someone side-stepping. Now imagine for this example you are at the center of the circle. The distance between you and your opponent is the radius and the circle is an expression of their movement. If the opponent wishes to step in the same direction and hide behind a step they will inevitably end up at any point on that circle you choose. Also I seem to ignore that the opponent can come straight at you but if they do that there are a new set of mindgames attached that I do not have time to address here, the focus of this is how to stop people from running away using movement and ring position.
Nothing - This is a powerful option because you let the opponent feel like they are using their movement to gain control of the match and you get to choose where on the stage you bring the battle. As the person who is stationary you get to control where to begin the encounter so if the ideal positioning for you is with your opponent behind you. Then simply wait for the person to step that far around and then begin your countermeasures.
Forwards/Backwards - Forwards is rarely a good idea when someone is hiding behind a step but it is still your best tool for closing range. The only problem is you often have to run in and block instead of approach and attack. Backwards is once again the best tool for creating space in most games and will change the arc of the circle where your opponent is stepping. Also the range determines what moves are applicable as in all games so changing the range changes the tools you are threatened by.
Sidestep - Using sidestep to counter sidestep sounds silly but it has 2 very different results.
Sidestep in Tandem - When you sidestep to the same side of the stage you will force the battle in that direction without turning your position on the stage. Think of that circle again and what would happen if you took the beginning of that circle after the radius and then moved the center to the side the same amount of lateral space and did it again. By stepping in tandem you will turn the sidestep arcs into paralell lines.
Note - Just as in SF4 different characters have different jump arcs in 3D fighters the step movement is different in length and speed for different characters. In matchups where your step is outmatched the opponent will naturally flank you eventually if you step in tandem but the effect is slow enough where the tactic is still useful before you get to edges/walls
Sidestep to Counter - This has the exact opposite effect. If you move the radius of the circle the opposite way you turn the battle more instead of not turning it at all. This can change position quickly and in most games 2 steps on both sides can 180 your position in the ring so you can use your opponents predictable step to turn him or push him in the direction he wants to go. This tactic can be powerful to change the side thats threatened with a single step because things that move you to the right arent the same moves that move you to the left.
Heres an example using Cassandra from SC4, her 4B,B:A JF is one of the best RO tools in the game because of how it works in combos. Now this move pushes back and to your left when your defending against it. I just blocked her 2A when I am point blank aganst an edge and cassandra is at a 45^ angle to my left and since I just blocked her poke I get the initiative and I can choose to attack or take a free step G. I step to my right because if he doesnt move I can escape the corner fastest like this only to have him step the same way where anything hes going to do can potentially kill me on CH. the next time I guard an attack that gives me advantage if I step left here I put myself in just as bad a position as I already am with my back to the edge but if the opponent tries to trap me from the normal escape route and steps to his left again hes put himself on the wrong side of the edge because hes only got 2-3 RO tools for my right side.
Backdash Counter - This is much less prevalent in 3D games with walls and RO because its very straightforward to counter... step and turn the match and move forward into the space retreated and you can choose your own spacing and position to start the exchanges. This concept should be very easy for 2D players to understand because its similar to jumping back until you see the corner... yeah people dont do it once they get out of range in general. Good backdashing will be able to force a defensive mixup if you try attacking the person doing it because most characters are forced to use linear or slow moves if they attack outside their optimal range so your opponent gets to mixup with sidestep and backstep while being relativly safe and you can punish whiffs on reaction in 3D games so this is powerful in some matchups.
Now this is where the mindgame starts and the depth of the player skill will determine how far ahead they see that edge comming. Will they be in the danger zone and suddenly realize it? Will they realize right before they step there or will they see you step with them initially and read where they will end up in the ring?
Now when you see the really top players go head to head sometimes you can see battles for position that you dont really comprehend without intense matchup knowledge. Top players will be able to use moves to manipulate situations and naturally people will try to use moves as reversals that may or may garner position advantage or a free escape from edge pressure. Also many of your best moves on hit for positioning are single side tracking so sometimes stepping into the percieved danger zone can get you out of trouble if you guess at what your opponent will do specifically but also having to guess with specific reversals can be risky as in many games.
