Just got my arcade stick, some questions

[BlankHearts]

My first arcade stick has finally arrived, and I just installed the sanwa joystick and Octagonal gate but I still have not received my sanwa buttons yet. So in the mean time I'm trying out the sanwa joystick and its pretty amazing. While I'm still learning how to use the arcade stick, I noticed a few things.

Currently I'm in training mode of Guilty Gear with directional inputs on, and I noticed that when I do diagonal inputs, it doesn't make my character jump diagonally sometimes. It registers my inputs as Up, diagonal, and right instead of just diagonal. Is this supposed to happen? o.o

[tataki]

If you don't mind me asking, why octagonal gate? Going against standards always causes problems in the long run so you'd better have a really good reason.

[BlankHearts]

I.. I don't have a reason. xD When I was researching for information I saw that some people bought the octagonal gate so I got it too because I thought I needed it. Should I stick to square gate since I'm a beginner? :o

[tataki]

You should stick to square gate because ignoring the standards makes your life harder. Random scenario- Let's say your stick malfunctions in a middle of a tournament, now you can't just borrow a madcatz or an HRAP from someone and play because you never got used to playing on a square gate.

Arcade machines are also square gate, which is why that's the standard for console sticks as well.

So play on square gate and remember the golden rule of arcade sticks- It's going to be hard and you'll lose to players you know you could beat with a pad easily, but after 3 months of play when you have done playing catch-up in your skill level it all pays off.

[BlankHearts]

Ah thanks for the insight :D When I get my sanwa buttons and install them, I'll make sure to install the square gate too. I'm excited to finally be playing GG on a more serious level. As a kid I would play many guilty gear games by myself since I had no one to play with. :D

[nstalkie]

I think your problem may even be caused by your octogonal gate. I played with a square gate for years but my stick died because of rain after going to the hotel from a tournament (Damn that UK weather !!). I bought another stick from a friend but he had an octogonal gate installed. I decided to try it out for a month anyway to see if I liked it better or not. I found that I had an easier time doing qcf qcf motions to the left (but not significantly), but I couldn't do instant air dashes very fluently anymore. I never got used to it and the problem never went away, so I installed a square gate again. It's probably just me (and my horrible execution), but could also have been just a typical problem for octogonal gates where instead of hitting 9, you hit the space in between 8 and 9 or something ? It's very similar to the problem you seem to be having (hitting 8 instead of 9). This was in Blazblue btw, but the actual game doesn't matter.

As tataki mentioned: give it time, it takes quite a bit of time to go from pad to stick (IMHO +- 1 month of active playing before you start to feel a bit comfortable with it, depends from person to person ofcourse). My number 1 tip is: no matter how frustrating it gets, don't go back to pad for at least a month. If you switch back to pad and start winning again just because you are more used to it, you'll maybe start thinking it's not worth it. There's no shame in trying to learn stick, then switching back if you decide it's not something for you, but give it atleast a month of really playing and practicing before deciding.

[BlankHearts]

Is it ok to configure P K S to one button for Roman Canceling? :o

[Abominable K]

Technically yes, but everyone will laugh at you.

[BlankHearts]

Technically yes, but everyone will laugh at you.

That's no bueno D:

[TheRealBobMan]

If you're ever going to play on an arcade cabinet, you wont have that option. It's better to try to learn without it. Besides, some inputs work out well if you're hitting 3 buttons since you can negative edge out other inputs. Gunflame FRC Wild Throw or VCL FRC Sdive are examples of that.

[BlankHearts]

If you're ever going to play on an arcade cabinet, you wont have that option. It's better to try to learn without it. Besides, some inputs work out well if you're hitting 3 buttons since you can negative edge out other inputs. Gunflame FRC Wild Throw or VCL FRC Sdive are examples of that.

Nah, I live in the boring state of Missouri (Misery), nothing goes on here and there is no fight scene. So all I have is the internet to play against people. From what I've seen, our local arcades are pretty bad, but then again I haven't been to one in years since all they had were mostly shooting and ''family fun'' games.

Also, I don't think I can play this without assigning P K S to one button for FRC's

Edited March 22, 2013 by BlankHearts

[BlankHearts]

As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps Baiken isn't for me. Maybe too technical for me at this point, still trying to learn the ways of the arcade stick AND learning how to play a character is a bit much I guess.

Any character suggestions? I'm more of a rush down, combo oriented player, no good with charge characters.

Edited March 23, 2013 by BlankHearts

[BlackYakuzu94]

As much as I hate to admit it, perhaps Baiken isn't for me. Maybe too technical for me at this point, still trying to learn the ways of the arcade stick AND learning how to play a character is a bit much I guess.

Any character suggestions? I'm more of a rush down, combo oriented player, no good with charge characters.

Well Sol & Ky are the beginner characters who's inputs and combos aren't too hard so you might wanna start there.

[TheRealBobMan]

You can do stuff with Sol as a beginner, but Sidewinder loop is hard. If you want to be able to compete without having to learn harder combos and FRCs, Ky is probably a better choice. However, you said that you want rushdown and combos, so I'd suggest Chipp or Millia (Ky puts pressure on but wants to be at 1/2 screen). The problem there is that Millia is actually pretty difficult, and while Chipp isn't super hard, he's probably in the top 50% for execution difficulty instead of being near the bottom. I'd honestly rate Baiken near the bottom for execution difficulty, so if that's too technical for you... I can't suggest Pot because his mobility is low and he has a charge move... try Jam?

Ky, Jam, and Faust all seem like good choices for what you want, except that Ky/Faust want to zone more than rushdown, and they don't go for big combos. Jam can hit for 50% of someone's hp by doing 236S > D > repeat until meter is gone. Or if you don't have meter, you can 22K to charge cards up, and use 236K > 236K until your cards are out.

[BlankHearts]

You can do stuff with Sol as a beginner, but Sidewinder loop is hard. If you want to be able to compete without having to learn harder combos and FRCs, Ky is probably a better choice. However, you said that you want rushdown and combos, so I'd suggest Chipp or Millia (Ky puts pressure on but wants to be at 1/2 screen). The problem there is that Millia is actually pretty difficult, and while Chipp isn't super hard, he's probably in the top 50% for execution difficulty instead of being near the bottom. I'd honestly rate Baiken near the bottom for execution difficulty, so if that's too technical for you... I can't suggest Pot because his mobility is low and he has a charge move... try Jam?

Ky, Jam, and Faust all seem like good choices for what you want, except that Ky/Faust want to zone more than rushdown, and they don't go for big combos. Jam can hit for 50% of someone's hp by doing 236S > D > repeat until meter is gone. Or if you don't have meter, you can 22K to charge cards up, and use 236K > 236K until your cards are out.

Is baiken really that easy in terms of execution (including FRC combos)? D: Unfortunately I can't play this game without assigning PKS to one button, the amount of technical prowess I need to know for this game far exceeds my physical and mental limitations. I'll keep training but I'm not making much progress. Worst case scenario is that I give up on my dream of being a good GG player and going back to SSF4 or waiting for Blazblue Chronophantasma. I should probably set up my broadcasting stuff soon so I can start streamin on twitch tv again.

Edited March 24, 2013 by BlankHearts

[TheRealBobMan]

Well, Sidewinder loop is hard in that it's character specific for everyone, and it's dependent on hitting the opponent in a specific part of their hitbox. So like with Axl, Sol wants to do his big flaming punch right to his balls, and if he does, Axl wall bounces and takes extra damage. Then you loop it as many times as possible. If you have a background playing games that are really spacing dependent you might pick that sort of stuff up faster than you will the dexterity needed for other things, so still consider Sol. Unlike SF4, you don't have to learn a bunch of back-to-back 1-frame links.

I would put Baiken on the easy side of things, but yeah, hitting any FRC is hard, and she sort of needs to hit her tatami FRCs in some matchups, as well as the FRC on her j.D to maximize damage. Fortunately, Faust does not need to FRC at all, and he even has probably the biggest FRC window in the game on one of his moves (his G-spot super). Jam has FRCs, but you can get things done just by spamming that stupid dragon kick and FB puffball. I'd say Jam fits your playstyle more though. Also, since you have a SF background, consider Slayer. He has to link stuff more than he can cancel, but if you're used to it already you'll probably enjoy playing him. He hits hard and has crazy abare.

Go ahead and map 3 buttons to 1 button if you have to until you get used to it. It's definitely hard learning stick and a new character at the same time, and I can speak from experience since I switched to I-No when I got my stick. At some point though, after you've gotten used to playing stick, manually hitting your FRCs by pushing 3 buttons might be more efficient and lead to better options, depending on what character you play.

[Solid Gold Wall]

i don't know if i'd say she's super easy or anything (5s -> jd frc -> ad -> j.s -> j.d is still something im not 100% comfortable with even after 5 years sadly) but she's not particularly execution heavy for sure. but you said you're looking for a rushdown type character and baiken definitely isn't that. i agree with bobman, try jam out!

[BlankHearts]

Hmm, Jam huh. To be honest, Jam was actually one of my first picks when I played on pad. Maybe Jam is my calling afterall :o

[Jagd]

Is baiken really that easy in terms of execution (including FRC combos)? D: Unfortunately I can't play this game without assigning PKS to one button, the amount of technical prowess I need to know for this game far exceeds my physical and mental limitations. I'll keep training but I'm not making much progress. Worst case scenario is that I give up on my dream of being a good GG player and going back to SSF4 or waiting for Blazblue Chronophantasma. I should probably set up my broadcasting stuff soon so I can start streamin on twitch tv again.

Believe in yourself more, dude. FRCs are about muscle memory. If you can get it a couple times and then keep practicing it, you'll get the hang of it.

Mapping FRC to one button is going to probably be harder than just pressing 3 buttons. With the macro, you'll have to move your fingers further and into a weird position and that wastes time and is easier to get clumsy with. Keep trying. You're gonna love this game when you get past the technical barrier. Try to figure out what you are doing wrong and STOP DOING IT.

Its fine to just use a character you are able to use when you are still learning, but don't shy away from anyone because you don't feel good enough. If you use a character you like, you'll have more fun and that will motivate you to get better.

[tataki]

Is it ok to configure P K S to one button for Roman Canceling? :o

Don't be a pussy and do the right thing! Winners don't use macros.

[BlankHearts]

Believe in yourself more, dude. FRCs are about muscle memory. If you can get it a couple times and then keep practicing it, you'll get the hang of it.

Mapping FRC to one button is going to probably be harder than just pressing 3 buttons. With the macro, you'll have to move your fingers further and into a weird position and that wastes time and is easier to get clumsy with. Keep trying. You're gonna love this game when you get past the technical barrier. Try to figure out what you are doing wrong and STOP DOING IT.

Its fine to just use a character you are able to use when you are still learning, but don't shy away from anyone because you don't feel good enough. If you use a character you like, you'll have more fun and that will motivate you to get better.

Thanks so much for the words of encouragement, I definitely need them as I try to tear down a brick wall with my bare hands. B)

Don't be a pussy and do the right thing! Winners don't use macros.

*grabs arcade stick and unassigns one button FRC's* I will never be a p**** D:! I will train harder until my fingers bleed! I'm a winner, not a loser! Rah! D:

[Circuitous]

If you're on a stick, using a button to FRC is a waste. With all four buttons at your disposal it's easy to hit FRCs anyway, and using a macro takes away your ability to decide what button to hit. If a combo involves an FRC followed immediately by another button press as you become neutral, or the FRC is very shortly after the input (like Baiken's Youzansen FRC), you can hit the attack button and the three other buttons with separate fingers and avoid having to try and double-tap it.