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...I've shown up to this party late

Skarmand said:
Frame Traps are a scenario where the opponent does not have enough frames after leaving blockstun or hitstun to start their own move and hit the opponent.

If they try to hit a button and smack the opponent, they will start up the normal but not be able to get it out in time, which gets them counter hit (which subtracts points from the undizzy bar and that hit does x1.5 damage).

You have to leave a gap in your blockstring or combo to let them hit a button since they can't attack in blockstun or hitstun, but it's a planned gap just big enough to hit a button but not be able to finish it.
It's a bait.
It's a frame 'trap'.

An example is doing Valentines Jab, then doing a tiny little gap before doing the second hit of the jab.
The only way for the opponent to hit you in these situations is usually to reversal, because those will go through the next hit and punish the opponent.

You want to set up our resets like this so that the only option your opponent has is BLOCK or REVERSAL..
For the most part.

OK. That does makes sense, and I actually get that. I had no idea that this game would have so much going on in it. But I'm still hooked. And I think I am at a point where I can start working with a combo that has a reset. Thank you so much for taking the time, and all the effort, to clear all this up. Every match I win is because of the people here in the forums and friends on Steam.
 
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Skodial said:
OK. That does makes sense, and I actually get that. I had no idea that this game would have so much going on in it. But I'm still hooked. And I think I am at a point where I can start working with a combo that has a reset. Thank you so much for taking the time, and all the effort, to clear all this up. Every match I win is because of the people here in the forums and friends on Steam.
Happy to hear it that's why I'm here ^ ^

This game is very complex the deeper you go and very easy to get into on the surface.
 
It's a work in progress, but my consistency is finally improving. It's quite the slow process, but I can see and feel that I have greater command of what I'm doing and being able to pull it off.

But now...I'm looking...at fight sticks.

Not because I want one to fix every performance issue I'm having (I'm smart enough to know a new controller fixes nothing with your gameplay), but I have read and watched enough to consider one as a option. Before making a big plung, I'm most likely going to buy a small one to see if I would actually like the concept. My research has turned up the HORI fight stick mini 4 as a smart "trial" piece.

I've read the negative reviews, and found a lot of the hate misplaced. I read positive reviews and I see the product for what it really is. Before I go buy this thing, I want to make sure it is compatible for SG. Could anyone confirm or deny the compatibility of this?

http://stores.horiusa.com/fighting-stick-mini-4-for-playstation-4/
 
My first stick was an old dreamcast fight stick with a dreamcast to USB converter. It cost me around $90 for the two of them. If you want a trial stick I would go with that if you find a good deal on EBay for one. It's 6 buttons though so that kind of stinks but it does work on ps3 and ps4
 
joshb911 said:
My first stick was an old dreamcast fight stick with a dreamcast to USB converter. It cost me around $90 for the two of them. If you want a trial stick I would go with that if you find a good deal on EBay for one. It's 6 buttons though so that kind of stinks but it does work on ps3 and ps4
I haven't seen one cost more than $40, some less than that. I'm comfortable with this small risk. I may get the thing and hate it...try it for a couple months, and still hate it. But I would be OK with getting this and never liking it as opposed to buying a high-end HORI product and not liking it
 
Welp. I bought my first fight stick

The HORI fight stick mini 4 will be a great way to see if I would actually like a fight stick while dishing out minimal risk. It's coming in Sunday, so next week I have plenty to do. I'm excited.

Before the haters rage about this stick: it was $40, and recommended by many people I follow for the reasons I ended up buying it
 
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yeah no it's fine to try out a stick. Everyone has their own personal preference when using either a stick or a controller, or what ever [guitar hero controller] when playing a fighting game. Try it out, see if you are able to execute certain moves better, if your hands feel more at home, ect.
 
Outgoing consistency with PS4 controller

Combo: 74%
Combo with reset: 18%

I don't know what it is. I can do the reset every single time, but it's like my rhythm is messed up and I drop the combo after it most every time. Welp, more training room
 
18 hours later, I have received my first fight stick. Time to see what all the fuss with these things are all about

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Make very sure you brew a strong cup of tea, or your enjoyment will be lessened by a factor of 5.
 
Mike_Z said:
Make very sure you brew a strong cup of tea, or your enjoyment will be lessened by a factor of 5.
I understand the product I purchased, so I have no expectations. I also understand that using something completely different to play a video game will take a lot of time.

...the tea is already brewing. And I have videos lined up that will show me recommended ways to use this. Any 'day one' tips?
 
When I got a stick, I tried to play games that aren't Skullgirls on it. And that weren't even fighting games!
Both games that perhaps make sense (arcade games) and games that do NOT make sense on stick (Zelda... but.. 3D.)

It was a fun experience that helped me adjust to the controller. (I did the same with my hitbox, FWIW.)
 
Skodial said:
I've bought it a month and something ago and I like it a lot. I'm still adapting to it (mainly running ad dashing) but I like more playing with it. To understand the basics I've found helpful the following video:
apart the "using two fingers for button" suggestion which, for this stick doesn't work that well.
 
ribaluigi said:
I've bought it a month and something ago and I like it a lot. I'm still adapting to it (mainly running ad dashing) but I like more playing with it. To understand the basics I've found helpful the following video:
apart the "using two fingers for button" suggestion which, for this stick doesn't work that well.
That is the video I was referring to. I'm sure that it comes down to personal opinion, but I think it's a great tutorial piece. I had a great first day with it, but it will take time to adjust to matches with this

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
So I took my new fight stick and waltz right into the weekly Get GR8 earlier today. And how did i do?

Bloody horrible. Cursing wouldn't begin to describe the train wreck.

That was probably the worst I've ever done at one. But I knew that I would struggle to get a grip on this thing. For some people, it takes months to get used to a fight stick after using only a controller. So I'm not disappointed by how it went. I actually did better than I expected.

Time to really work on this thing BECAUSE IT DOESN'T HURT MY WRISTS!
 
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For the very first time ever, I have performed my BnB 10 times in a row without dropping it once. After seeing everyone I play with progress past me for the past month, and wondering if I was as good of a player as I would ever be, it feels really good that I finally hit an unofficial milestone in playing SG
 
After about a week with the Mini 4, I can safely say I am a stick person. (Insert penis joke here). With deals on eBay that come and go daily, it's tempting to scoop up a used Hori or other top brand and replace the buttons and stick.

I'm very mechanically inclined, and very comfortable with cutting and soldering. So fixing up a used one in decent shape wouldn't be a big deal. Who here buys used sticks to fix up, and who buys new?
 
Skodial said:
I can safely say I am a stick person. (Insert penis joke here).
I'm also a stick person!

Skodial said:
Who here buys used sticks to fix up, and who buys new?
I don't play stick but I think most people buy new and ship them.
Controllers that are expensive and high quality are a long term investment.

I've had my Hitbox for two years and I've only had to replace the USB Cable, and fix the connection on two buttons. (The chord was $10).
I wouldn't buy used because I'd be running into more problems and some of them might not be fixable.

You can also pick up plenty of sticks usually at events and tournaments.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[Go To Combo Breaker]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]
 
Skarmand said:
You can also pick up plenty of sticks usually at events and tournaments.

[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[[Go To Combo Breaker]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]

Recently, I have thought about going to some kind of event. Not to play (I don't hate myself THAT much lol), but just to see what they are like and watch great players. If I saw something there I liked, I would buy a better fightstick. Are they any in Southern California, or is this something that is easy to look up?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
 
Skodial said:
Recently, I have thought about going to some kind of event. Not to play (I don't hate myself THAT much lol), but just to see what they are like and watch great players. Are they any in Southern California, or is something that is easy to look up?

Sent from my SM-G900V using Tapatalk
Socal is where Mike Z lives.
There are lots of Skullgirls players there that you should be playing with and visiting.

There aren't very many 'majors' in Socal though.

If your able to make it out to Combo Breaker that is where EVERYONE who plays Skullgirls at the moment will be.

Here is the Socal meet up thread:
http://skullheart.com/index.php?thr...eklies-twin-galaxies-live-los-angeles-ca.862/

Here is Combo Breaker:
http://skullheart.com/index.php?thr...aker-2016-chicago-il.8454/page-19#post-358852

Also going to a tournament for Skullgirls and not entering Skullgirls is about as great as going home and watching a twitch stream.

The only way Skullgirls gains exposure and gets bigger at tournaments and respected more with good stream time and main stage and pot bonuses is if you ENTER. :)
 
Skarmand said:
Socal is where Mike Z lives.

The only way Skullgirls gains exposure and gets bigger at tournaments and respected more with good stream time and main stage and pot bonuses is if you ENTER. :)

OK. You have convinced me to look and see what I can find in Socal. I see something about a meetup place in Burbank...which is a little far for me. But I did just find someone on Steam who is part of a local meetup in my county.

That would probably be a great start, meeting up with other SG players. And who knows, maybe I'll learn great things and improve greatly by next April
 
Playing in locals is the best way to improve, and everyone at your locals is very nice.

I've taken a plane to California just to play at the locals there.
 
Next weekend is NWM so a few people like Mike and SP will be in Seattle, just so you know.
Not sure if they are still on for Friday.
 
I recommend learning some more resets. Additionally, you tend to drop corner combos quite a bit, as I've mentioned. I see you're becoming more consistent with combos...which is great! ^.^
 
Sunset Radiance said:
I recommend learning some more resets. Additionally, you tend to drop corner combos quite a bit, as I've mentioned. I see you're becoming more consistent with combos...which is great! ^.^
I would recommend that I stop dropping the reset that I have >.<

And I have now realized that corner combos just don't work the same way that a mid-screen combo works. But after about month with my combo, I have been improving with it while improving the combo itself. I've been working on it a lot, and hopefully will have something new ready for Get GR8 on Saturday
 
Sometimes, a week off does do some good. It gives you more time to look at where you are at (being honest with myself), where you need to improve (again, need to be honest), and then take those steps to become a more competent player in matches.

Signing up for the intermediate bracket for this week's Get GR8 was sort of a Leroy Jenkins move. However, I can comfortably say I at least qualify to be in it with....screw it, I'm calling it my BnB. All I need to do is clean up on the consistency and I'm ready to pick back up the Solo Valentine flag.

(Does victory lap in loving room. Cats looking at me like I need help).

 
Another Monday, and another Get GR8 to comb over. Annnnnd I have a lot of poo to sift though. My three match consisted of panic, panic, more panicking, and a huge comeback in the last match after calming down. I was very nervous about going into my first intermediate matchup, and the painful footage showed it. Until the last match, all I ended up doing was dropping my combos and reacting too slowly. This week, I will try to figure out how to practice in a way that will help me with consistency and reaction speed (timing too, that's also a mess)

Many people have been telling me that I should learn a second reset to at least mix up my attacks and become less predictable. But it's difficult to start looking for something new to learn when I'm currently struggling with what I have.

First off, though, is to not get discouraged. There are times when I play much better than this, and use the pressure to my advantage. So now I dive into this past week's Get GR8. My matches begin at the 1 hour, 8 minute mark. It was a big turnout with incredible matches.

 
A couple things from your match with Skreegore:

-Use (cr.)LP and cr.LK more. You start all of your combos and blockstrings with MPx2 which isn't ideal as it scales your combos a lot (you can check that by doing your combo in training mode, once with cr.LK, cr.MK, cr.HP as the starting string and once with cr.LK, MPx2, cr.HP as the starting string), is much slower, hits mid and can be easily PBGC'd. If you decide to go for a tick throw then LP and LK also give your opponent less time to react.

-Don't always go from a blockstring to mortuary drop, it requires 1 bar to convert off of it and it is pretty hard to convert off of it midscreen. It is also super unsafe if you miss and has a bunch of start up. The risk-reward isn't very good so use it very sparingly.

-Throw more, I don't think I saw you use your throw once in those matches and Val's ground throw is great (easy to convert off of as well as you can just go straight into cr.HP). Once you start using cr.LK instead of MP to start off of your combos/blockstrings then you will be able to go for a 50/50 low/throw mixup.

-To punish Double's tag, just hold back and it will always hit same side. It is also punishable enough that you can punish with cr.HP straight away so your combo will do more damage.

-Use j.HP when your opponent is grounded, especially when you are jumping over them as it can hit crossup much easier than j.MP. You can also use j.LK instead of j.MP to mix it up a bit and confuse your opponent.

-When your opponent is in the air then j.HK is quite a good button, it has large range and is easy to convert off of (either air dash into j.MP, cr.LP... or bypass then OTG...).


-If you want another reset, try replacing the j.MP from the reset you currently use with j.LK. It is more obvious that you are going for a reset (and it can be mashed out of with falling jab) but it gives you a cross under. From this you can jump and do an air grab, go for a low/throw or cross back under them with a dash to make it same side or go for jump, IAD, j.HP for a cross over overhead. Another thing you can do if they start to cotton on to this reset is, after the j.LK has hit the opponent, cancel it into j.MP and you'll land same side. Basically you can do a bunch of things after this one. You could do some of these after your j.MP reset but this one just adds in the added layer of crossing under first.

-Another, more ambiguous reset that looks more like your j.MP reset would be cancelling the j.MP into j.MK (1), then j.HP. The j.HP causes you to fast fall and you can then dash under the opponent for a cross under or stay same side. This one is more difficult than the above reset though.

-I don't know how you are doing your dashes in combos but I'd recommend using button dashes, I find them much easier and faster in combos so it should make that second j.HP easier and more consistent.

Hope that helps :)
 
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Lex said:
A couple things from your match with Skreegore:

Um...wow. That's a lot of information to take in. But I am at a point where I am taking any and all advice. Instead of just typing out a response, I will put together a simple video where I discuss your notes. That way, maybe everyone would get a better understanding of where I'm at, or maybe realize that there are things that I don't know that I am misunderstanding.
 
Skodial said:
Um...wow. That's a lot of information to take in.
I've edited it in order to make it a bit easier to read. The stuff in bold is the most important stuff to focus on. The majority of my post is me explaining why I think X thing is something you should do so if you want a summarised version, just look at the first sentence of each bullet point.

The stuff at the bottom is just suggestions for a couple resets and a tip for execution.

And, yeah, I guess it didn't turn out to be a "couple" pointers in the end haha.
 
So after a few days of being more aware of every time I hit a button, I realized that I was constantly hitting buttons because 'fighting game, bro'. I'm not sure if I always did this and tough opponents are exploiting this, but I am assuming this is what's up. So I took this week to approach the fightstick completely differently: less aggressive, staying calm no matter what, and treating the buttons like egg shells to stop button mashing.

The results aren't much different, I still lose most of my matches in intermediate lobbies. BUT. The matches are much closer. I can see opponents having to dig into their bag of tricks against me now, attack in ways that even I can see are less safe, and make mistakes from time to time. Because I'm not button mashing, I'm blocking so much more and taking much less damage. And I now find myself in position to punish more often.

Better yet, I am beginning to pull off my full BnB in online matches with a fair amount of consistency. I do drop it from time to time, but now all the practice is FINALLY showing. For the first time ever, I feel like I am coming in this week's Get GR8 as a better player.
 

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It's great to see you're improving!

A few things to add after Lex's comments:

1. Hit confirm. After you throw out a c.lp/c.lk, go straight to c.mk. This gives you enough time to recognize whether or not you caught them in a block string, or you got a clean hit (AKA hit confirming). If you got a clean hit, go straight to c.hp and do combo. If they're blocking, then either go to your s.hk(x2) xx dead cross blockstring, or just do nothing cuz c.mk is safe on block and only -2 with decent pushback. If they pushblock, then not extending the block string would be the optimal thing to do, since you're given time to dash up.

Similar concept with landing j.mp on grounded opponents. j.mp gives you all the time in the world to recognize if they're blocking or hit, but always try to hit confirm afterwards with a c.lp (followed by c.mk). I noticed that you go straight to s.mp after j.mp, and that just never combos. So you lose your advantage. c.lp is guaranteed to combo after j.mp, so use that instead.

2. Mortuary drop resets are fine when your opponent least expects them, but the big problem with mortuary drop is that once you land it, you leave yourself at fullscreen again unless if you cancel it into air scalpels after the drop and do a combo. I'll post a combo that follows up with scalpels later when I have time.

3. When punishing things point blank that are VERY minus on block (tag ins, supers) go straight to c.hp. When a character flashes red, that means that character was hit out of the startup or recovery of an attack (AKA counter hit). The first hit that initiates a counter hit gets a damage boost (15% i think? idk) and reduces undizzy. Heavies reduce 100 undizzy, mediums/specials/throws reduce 50, and lights reduce 15 undizzy. Therefore longer, more damaging combos are possible of off heavy counter hits.

The ideal punish for Val looks something like this:

I haven't had you do rejump combos yet, so just use that as a general concept.
 
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