want practice partners

[Linear04]

they arent

if you feel the slightest of delays in frame its not valid at all

playing offline and playing online is a whole world of difference based on the frame-importance nature of the game

there's a reason people shell out cash for lagless monitors and everyone plays online tournaments just for fun

[Jazzy]

I come from games that are almost exclusively played online. Ive won tournaments before(in battlefield 2142), so i know what its like to compete. And I'm competitive in most games i play. Quake is extremely affected by latency, but as long as your ping is within 20-60ms range its totally fine and high level play isn't affected. Starcraft is the same way. It's just odd for me for people to think that 40-60 ms of delay or about 2-4 frames of animation would matter so much. Maybe I just come from communities that accept latency as one of the things you have to deal with.

So where do the majority of top players practice then? arcades, or with friends locally?

because the communities i come from lans and tournaments are proving grounds for what you practice, not a place to learn.

[Chris Chaos]

OK, I'm going to post up a video where one person discusses the values of online play:

Start @ 4:08 to 5:15

I completely agree with this statement here. If you find multiple players with a solid connection online that has a good understanding of the game, you can gain a lot from it. Granted there is always going to be input lag but we can all adjust to that. Now I will say this, playing at a tournament will give you a better aspect on how more advanced players play and inspire you (If you are dedicated to learning the game at a high level) to play more, and level up your skills. Heck, I got better over a weekend of playing top players at EVO, and everyone who's played me has said so.

Both sides are right in this discussion. Online play can give you a good grasp on how multiple characters can be played which you can't get from offline casuals if your scene is too small or don't have a variety of characters. Offline play will give you an idea on what high level play looks like and give you a better grasp on how certain things are done and why.

In the end, if you're serious about getting better at the game, you will need both.

[pktazn]

I agree with everything said in the post above.

[Linear04]

I come from games that are almost exclusively played online. Ive won tournaments before(in battlefield 2142), so i know what its like to compete. And I'm competitive in most games i play. Quake is extremely affected by latency, but as long as your ping is within 20-60ms range its totally fine and high level play isn't affected. Starcraft is the same way. It's just odd for me for people to think that 40-60 ms of delay or about 2-4 frames of animation would matter so much. Maybe I just come from communities that accept latency as one of the things you have to deal with.

So where do the majority of top players practice then? arcades, or with friends locally?

because the communities i come from lans and tournaments are proving grounds for what you practice, not a place to learn.

2-4 frames of animations is a whole world in fighting games, shooting games not so much due to how the games are processed, and lag compensation, rollbacks, etc...

before you post about anything i used to play starcraft and shooters like counter strike and quake exclusively before blazblue

in any case, fps != fgs so comparing the two is like comparing apples to oranges

online IS a good way to get better, and i think is the right thing for the OP considering how he prioritizes bb and his circumstances, but offline is a whole world of difference due to one frame links, attack startup, tech times, etc. etc.

if you CAN play offline, and are willing to sacrifice travel time/fees, by all means go for it, as it is superior to online, but online is decent if you have a solid connection, and a good way to learn even with some lag.

in completely competetive situations however, online is pretty much shit for fighting games.

edit: also ggs to cake on thread derail SO hard. lol

Edited August 15, 2011 by Linear04

[Atreides]

So pick up a game, go to tournament, lose first round, get sent to losers, lose that round, improved.

[YukiBlue]

yehsfdhtj

Too much Aggro, Bro.

[CakeWasBannedd]

So pick up a game, go to tournament, lose first round, get sent to losers, lose that round, improved.

more like pick up game, go to tournament, play pre-tournament casuals, socialize with people, lose first round of tournament, get sent to losers, watch other people better than you play, learn from them, lose loser's round, ask opponent for advice on what you could improve on, watch the rest of the better players than you play and try to learn from them, play after-tournament casuals, improved.

come on, tournaments aren't that simple where you just play your tournament matches and then do nothing.

[Rhiya]

Does it give you the wrong idea about any stuff that you might actually suppose was really the case? :P

I hear a lot of blahblahblah overheads and purple throws netplay, but actual evidence suggests that A) These claims are overrated, since both I and the people of similar skill level (read: Not high) do block/tech these at the expected rates (Not high, but present) and B) No one would actually seriously think that, so... :P

Netplay is fine as a supplement to knowing what to do, but if you only play netplay and try to learn from those experiences without enough outside knowledge, you'll begin to do some seriously stupid shit. That is why you hear lolnetplay a lot. It's because when people don't understand how netplay affects the game and that netplay is not 100% "real" play, when they do try to play seriously they do some things that just don't fly. It's fine if you /do/ know how netplay affects the game.

I play this one Rachel both offline and online, and the difference is pretty clear when I'm occasionally failing to block 28f overheads on netplay and pretty much never get hit by them ever when he's sitting next to me on my couch. Now, consider how much difference in matchflow it makes when you get by hit by just /one/ overhead you should've blocked. Yeaaaaaaaaaaah.

Edited August 16, 2011 by Dusk Thanatos
repetitiveness in my hatred

[Chris Chaos]

So pick up a game, go to tournament, lose first round, get sent to losers, lose that round, improved.

You are completely looking over the picture here, the answer is in your face and you can't see it...

more like pick up game, go to tournament, play pre-tournament casuals, socialize with people, lose first round of tournament, get sent to losers, watch other people better than you play, learn from them, lose loser's round, ask opponent for advice on what you could improve on, watch the rest of the better players than you play and try to learn from them, play after-tournament casuals, improved.

come on, tournaments aren't that simple where you just play your tournament matches and then do nothing.

Cake says a lot of things that's full of BS but this is one of his smarter posts.

Tournament's aren't just play the tourney and go home, there are casuals before, during and after the tournament. You do your homework by talking to others you play and taking their honest criticism and make changes to your game. If your losing and someone can tell you why and how to fix it, wouldn't you correct the issue so you can improve? If the answer is no, then you should not try playing this game seriously nor should you be playing any fighting game seriously. If the answer is yes, do it and see how much of a difference your game changes in the long run.

No one is born a top player nor becomes a top player overnight, it takes time, studying, grinding, contemplating on your victories and letting the defeats sink in so you can think, WTF did I do wrong? If you can't figure it out, the tourney scene is there to help you identify the issues so you can improve on your weak points. Most players that support a scene will assist you in trying to get better because it makes their scene stronger and makes the competition a lot more fierce, if you're hungry for it and the guy's you're playing are too, you will all improve by working together.

You're looking at what everyone is telling you in skew bro, actually sit down and read everyone's post, you will understand if you truly want to be a high level player or just have fun and improve in the game overall. I already posted a video with some truth about netplay, it's not perfect but it does help out a bit especially if you're playing with the right people and in time, you will know who they are if you already don't. But I'm just preaching to the choir, you are the one who makes the decision in the end.

[BeaverDeity]

If you want to improve definitely go to tournaments. I used to be completely terribad at Blazblue but now I can net some wins from learning and talking with people at the tournament scene. People are usually nice and cool and are willing to tell you what you're doing wrong for future reference, so you can improve your game.

Netplay is good too, but I would only recommend playing with people with a decent connection. If you play in too laggy of a connection you'll get used to online-time as opposed to offline-time and it can screw with your input timings sometimes.