Reading frame data

S

shinobix558

[08] Mercenary
Ok i've been playing sc4, and other fighting games for a long time now but, i need help with reading frame. If someone could help me i would be greatful.
 
Ever made a little cartoon out of some post-it notes? You draw one "frame" of the animation on each piece of paper, then flip through them all in a row to see the animation happen. When we say a move is i15, such as pressing B with cassandra, it means after you press B, there will be 15 frames of animation until the move impacts (is blocked, hits them, counter-hits them). The game runs at a speed of 60 frames per second, meaning 60 of those frames of animation will go by in 1 second. So a 15-frame move executes in 1/4th of a second.

As far as frame advantage/disadvantage goes, it shows how many frames ahead or behind you are after a move impacts. Like after you block a sophitia 236B, she is still stuck in the animation of withdrawing her sword and being unable to block for another 20 frames. So from the sophitia player's perspective, she is at -20 and you can punish her with any move you have that is i20 or faster.
 
I'm sure there are other threads on this, but I can't seem to find any, so I'll just try to give a quick rundown:

Soul Calibur runs at 60 frames per second.

Every move has 3 basic parameters:

Impact Speed: The number of frames it takes for a move to hit your opponent after you input it.

Hit Advantage/Disadvantage: Every move gives some kind of frame advantage/disadvantage when it hits.

Block Recovery: Every move gives some kind of frame advantage/disadvantage when it is blocked. (Usually disadvantage).

You can usually find the frame data for your character in his/her Soul Arena or Wiki. Here's an example of frame data for Mitsurugi's BB:

B,B = i17
B: -6
H: +4

  • i17 - This is the impact speed. It takes 17 frames to hit your opponent after you press the button.
  • B: - Block recovery. If you have this move blocked, you will be at 6 frame disadvantage, meaning any move you do right afterwords will have an extra 6 frames added to the impact speed. So if you try another BB right away after having one blocked, it will take 23 frames instead of 17 to hit your opponent. If your opponent uses a move faster than i23, it will hit before your move can. There are A LOT of moves faster than i23, So generally, it's not a good idea to attack when you are at a big disadvantage.
  • H: - Hit advantage. If you hit your opponent with this move, you will be at a 4 frame advantage, meaning any move your OPPONENT does afterwords will come out 4 frames slower. So if you hit your opponent with BB, and he tries to BB you right back (let's say he is also playing Mitsurugi), because you are at a 4 frame advantage, his BB will take 21 frames to hit you instead of 17. That means any move you use that has an impact speed faster than i21 will interrupt him and score you a counter hit. So attacking when you have an advantage is usually a good idea.

Safe vs. Unsafe moves

Some moves have such bad block recovery, whoever blocked the move can get free damage afterwords. Getting free damage after blocking a move is called "punishing".

Here's another example from Mitsu's data:

2K,B
B: -25
H: x

The move usually launches into a combo on hit which is great, but the block recovery of this move is really bad. So if you have this move blocked by your opponent, you can't block or do anything for 25 frames. That means, if your opponent is aware an reacts fast, any move he does that is faster than i25 is guaranteed to hit you and there's nothing you can do about it. So Mitsu's 2K,B is very "unsafe" when blocked. A lot of moves are punishable, if only by things like AA or K. A move is generally considered safe vs. most of the cast if it is -12 or less on block.

Whew, that may have been a little convoluted, but PM me if you have more questions.
 
Fuzion said:
Ever made a little cartoon out of some post-it notes? You draw one "frame" of the animation on each piece of paper, then flip through them all in a row to see the animation happen. When we say a move is i15, such as pressing B with cassandra, it means after you press B, there will be 15 frames of animation until the move impacts (is blocked, hits them, counter-hits them). The game runs at a speed of 60 frames per second, meaning 60 of those frames of animation will go by in 1 second. So a 15-frame move executes in 1/4th of a second.

As far as frame advantage/disadvantage goes, it shows how many frames ahead or behind you are after a move impacts. Like after you block a sophitia 236B, she is still stuck in the animation of withdrawing her sword and being unable to block for another 20 frames. So from the sophitia player's perspective, she is at -20 and you can punish her with any move you have that is i20 or faster.
Click to expand...
yay im not a confused lonely person anymore
 
Fuzion said:
Ever made a little cartoon out of some post-it notes? You draw one "frame" of the animation on each piece of paper, then flip through them all in a row to see the animation happen. When we say a move is i15, such as pressing B with cassandra, it means after you press B, there will be 15 frames of animation until the move impacts (is blocked, hits them, counter-hits them). The game runs at a speed of 60 frames per second, meaning 60 of those frames of animation will go by in 1 second. So a 15-frame move executes in 1/4th of a second.

As far as frame advantage/disadvantage goes, it shows how many frames ahead or behind you are after a move impacts. Like after you block a sophitia 236B, she is still stuck in the animation of withdrawing her sword and being unable to block for another 20 frames. So from the sophitia player's perspective, she is at -20 and you can punish her with any move you have that is i20 or faster.
Click to expand...


Excellent break down man. *Cheers*
 
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