Actually, most DOA players were sick of DOA and now play and like SC. Ask around. The funny thing is, most people that played DOA would never bash SC because they know it's good, and several of them would bash their own game because they know the problems in it. Hell, 99% of the community except for like Master thinks the exact same way. All the CGS people are playing SC4 except for him, because they know it has a great chance of getting in. I'm pretty sure I see Offbeat, NinjaCW, Perfect Legend, Dave Cheppelle, and Black Mamba playing SC4 all the time. As well as most of the other people that placed in tournaments, are now playing it. So seriously guys, stop talking like we'll mercilessly defend a game we play, and stop talking like it's the worst shit in the world. We know more than anyone that it has problems. That being said, I'll take on a few misconceptions and defend the game a bit.
Throw breaking is so good too!
DOA doesn't exactly need throw breaks because throws mean something completely different. Attacks beat out throws 100% of the time, unless the throw is in a guaranteed situation (throwing against a hold, throwing after an unsafe attack). As well, attacks beat out throws for 150% damage, meaning if you launch vs a throw, it's going to do insane damage. Because it's so punishable, throws are fast and unbreakable. It makes sense in its own right, really.
PPP6PPKPP6K,P+K w! K2K!!!!
That's another thing. If they're not in the air, none of that is guaranteed. It can be shaken or countered, and thus stuns aren't really considered combos but mixups into combos. The most efficient thing to do is to stun>launch or CH launch, since holds do damage. Risking less holds and mixing it up appropriately can result in a good guarantee afterwards. If you're talking about strings, a safe string is rare as hell, and most are pretty easily held. 99% of strings you can just block and punish afterwards easily. As well, most strings do not have sweeps in them, unless you're hitomi or kasumi. Therefore, you don't have a lot to worry about with strings themselves, if they're just going high and mid mostly. Juggles aren't hard to do, but the only way you can get a bunch of hits in is if you guess vs holds 3 times instun, most people won't risk that. It's some of the guaranteed damage in the game, and people have to take what they can get. There's no air control, because people can already hold out of stuns. It would be ridiculous in DOA's system for juggles to not be guaranteed.
Dumbest shit I ever heard was DOA has a longer following then SC ? Jesus the only time people ever really even got into DOA was in part 4... other than that its been underground joke bullshit game...
Actually, the Japanese version of DOA3 (3.1) is easily the best DOA game. Guaranteed damage, a bit of a good stepping system, falls kill, guaranteed ground grabs, huge punishment, some things that have adv on block, wall stun is guaranteed, weaker holds, etc...
Universal Holds that do damage, with a large window
Most people's main complaint, and for the most part it can be a real problem. There are some things you still have to take into account when discussing holds though. First, there are 3-4 options (since low can cover highs). Second, the amount of damage is based on the part of the window you held the move (150% for 1-4, 125% for 5-12, 100% for 13-22). There's also the fact that the hold is out there for 30 frames, and thus you have quite a good amount of time to throw them for 150% damage yourself. This damage is not based on a window, if the opponent holds and you throw, it's automatically 150%. Third, attacking less, or varying the timing (let's say at a range) can screw with the timing of the hold. Most people have a pattern for their holds or do it for a reason, but in a tournament setting it becomes difficult to clue in on it fast enough. I don't know any people that truly did it randomly and came out on top. All that being said, it's still too long of a window for too much damage, heh.
A lot of fighting games have guessing elements. Forcing people into 50/50's (between a mid and a low at advantage, or just breaking throws in general). Guessing that somebody will do a linear move and banking on it with the correct stepping. Guessing that somebody will do a high and high crushing them. The thing is that DOA makes attacking period too risky, and people don't like that, as well, most things do a lot of damage if you're right. That being said, DOA still has the usual ranged game, launches, crushes, safe/unsafe/punishment, etc... it just does things a bit differently that won't sit well with some people. It doesn't have a sidestepping system because it already has an option-based secondary defense in its holds. Although, stepping can help you avoid or hit somebody off a cliff, wall, or other environmental obstacle.
No fighting game allows mashing. In DOA you'll get blocked and throw punished or CH launched easily, especially since the good player is already using faster moves than your opponent because the good player knows frame data. In SC you'll get stepped, tech trapped, frame trapped, ring outted, and simply beat out by faster moves because the good player knows frame data. Either way, intermediate vs masher will usually result in a 50-0 or more in any fighter. In DOA, intermediates still pose a threat vs high level because of the way holds work, which is why people have problems with the game. However, if you look at results, there has been a good bit of consistency with DOA4 tournaments. Mamba, PL, Offbeat and Master always get top 3. Offbeat and Master both had CGS seasons with only one loss. There was a girl in CGS that got one win in two seasons and lost every other one.
DOA4 is more entertaining and has a bigger fanbase
Everybody knows this is bullshit, especially people that play DOA. SC4 can bring in 100+. DOA4 at its "height" was like 40 people. Except for Evo that got like 70 because of people that entered and thought they could win without knowing the game, but the top 8 still ended up being actual DOA players. Anyways, DOA4 is getting less popular by the second, and was never popular to begin with. The leader of team ninja left and it's unsure whether there will even be a DOA5. People are trying out new things because of this. Also, DOA only got into CGS because it was the only 360 fighter out, and VF5 while better seems boring to some people. Now that there's another popular 360 fighter, I doubt that will last into the next year. CGS picks games on how much ratings they'll get by showing it, which is why SC4 is probable.
However, the people that have barely played the game and write it off without really knowing much about the system, back off. Seriously, that's just bad as people that go (OMG SEX APPEAL) and don't take a game seriously because of that. Every fighting game has girls with large breasts now, literally. There are problems with DOA4, I'll agree with that. SC4 is better for a number of reasons, I'll agree with that. But saying DOA is shit with barely playing it? That's just really stupid.
tl;dr DOA4 has good points, is an alright game with some problems, SC4 is awesome and its numbers/popularity shows. DOA3.1 is still awesome.
CGS has been sketchy with some of their drafts. But both times they did end up drafting the top 3 male placers at the combine tournament. I wouldn't worry about it.
I voted for SC4, btw.
