SoWL

The alpha has started, and of course, my 32-bit OS is not supported At least the devs seem to be open to the idea of releasing a 32-bit version of the game later down the road, unlike something like Rise of Incarnates. From what I've seen, the game feels about as deep as any other fighting game, combining both SF-style footsies and GG-style crazy combo potential. Ironically, it feels that the game isn't newbie-friendly enough, even with the one-button specials. I don't mind that, just feel that it contradicts the game's original goal.

As a Bullet, I'm more annoyed by the people with gorilla normals that I can't dodge through. Even Terumi can zone her by simply pressing 5D and j.D over and over again.

Looking at this poll makes me realize how similar Tager's yelow palettes are On one hand, I'm glad that my palette is almost guaranteed to be in, but on the other hand, which one am I supposed to vote for?

Too bad that the OST is meh. Still wish it had more Dengeki tracks than Sega ones.

As I said in the site discussion thread, I love this idea to death and would gladly see something like this in our subforum. Sure, neither the footage we have nor the players that stop by are perfect, but we have to start somewhere. The write-ups don't even have to be that long, just enough to spark discussion. I believe that every match has something you can learn from, it's just that you have to know what to look for well. For example, if we take a video of a rare match-up, we would have a lot to discuss even if the Bullet player didn't do too well.

Remember that there's a universal mechanic specifically made to counter projectile spam, and that Ein's mobility is actually rather average (other than a few of her gun shots pushing her away). And even if that doesn't help, you can just use your Assist to pressure Ein from full screen and finally get in.

@SKD: That entire idea sounds excellent, and I want to see it in action ASAP. Moving the general video dumps to the matchup threads is one of those ideas that sounds obvious right after someone proposes it, but no one does for some reason. And hey, since this discussion has started from the ideas on improving the main page, why not post some featured matches (maybe a digest of the discussion) there, too? That's something I noticed happening in the Bullet subforums. I remember being all excited about recording some of my casual matches back when vanilla CP got released, because now I could post something in the critique thread and improve my game. Unfortunately, watching around 11 matches was apparently too much for most posters, so I got little to no feedback. I tried posting my matches a few more times with similar results, and after that, it was the good old negative feedback loop: I don't feel like I should post anything because there is no discussion, and there is less discussion because there aren't that many videos. I must admit that things are getting much better lately, as we got a few excellent posters in the subforum, but unfortunately, I get less matches recorded, and when I do, I don't feel like I should post them because the mistakes are obvious to me (mostly the input errors). I could comment on other people's videos, but there aren't that many of them, and I don't feel like I'm in a position to criticize other people when my own game is sub-par. At least I'm trying to contribute to the matchup threads when I get some good long sessions going.

Ethica and Sonico (assist) are to be added on the 6th of August: http://www.inside-games.jp/article/2015/07/29/89817.html Get your names right, Examu. Anyways, it took much less time than everyone expected, huh. It's also worth noting that this patch is supposed to fix the character balance, for the first time since the game's release (all the fixes in the old patches were only concerning the bugs). Also, that Demonbane stage is pretty cool, though it feels worse than the Nitro Royale one... Again. Considering that none of the Examu games ever had a PC port, I don't like our chances.

Slayer is now voiced by 11th? YES. He's my favorite Mirai Nikki character, and I always thought that his voice actor needs more love. He certainly sounds similar to the late Kayumi-san, so I'm very happy with this all around. Here's a small sample. Not sure how I feel about Jack'O being voiced by Igarashi-san. Her most well-known role is probably Anzu from im@s, but she's got a lot of range over her roles, so she might sound like this, this, or even this.

Before doing that, people should probably contribute to the wiki / character subforums. CPEX wiki is pretty much dead, even though it hasn't been out even for half a year (not even a month for most of the website's audience), all because people either think that it's all the same as in vanilla CP (it isn't) or because the CF announcement made everyone lose interest in this "outdated" version that we're still going to play for about a year. Of course, there's also the sheer size of the roster that's at fault here, as it's not so easy to find 28 players across the entire roster who both know their characters well and are good writers (and have enough time on their hands to write an in-depth article). I wanted to update the Bullet page since forever, but job hunting and random translation requests take more time than I'd like.

I just noticed that Dustloop makes that link invalid. Let's try this again: http://nitroplus_blasterz.marv.jp/#premium_campaign_1/shopsWhile I'm at it, here are the exclusive bonuses that are listed there. Animate: exclusive artwork (specific product TBA) Amazon: PS3/PS4 wallpaper by Yaegashi Nan AmiAmi: A3 tapestry (limited edition), multi-stand (regular edition) Imajin: original cloth poster Ebten: Yaegashi Nan artwork (specific product TBA) CharaAni: original IC pass case Gamers: B2 tapestry (limited edition only) Seagull: original phone card Theta Shop: original QUO card Seven Net Shopping: original digital wallpaper Sofmap: B2 tapestry (limited edition only) Takarajima: tin badge set (differs between PS3 and Ps4) Trader: B2 tapestry Furu1Online: mousepad WonderGoo: extra-large tapestry

I dunno about SFV, but every single MMO beta starts with the servers stress-test, so this shouldn't be surprising to anyone. It's still important data, even though they weren't able to get the data on other things they wanted to learn about. This isn't supposed to be just a free chance to play the game, it's still work that you're not even paid for.

I was talking about this list: http://nitroplus_blasterz.marv.jp/#premium_campaign_1/shops I wouldn't be surprised if they only send the code with pre-paid pre-orders, or only in the stores that don't have international shipping. If someone manages to get it, do share your experiences.

They don't cost any W$, though?

A quick heads-up: you are supposed to get a promo code for wallpapers and extra color palettes if you pre-order the game, but AmiAmi doesn't give you any (even though they are on the list of stores that are supposed to give it out). If you care about that, you better pick a different store.

It's pre-alpha, of course it does. I'm not a person to bash a game before trying it out, though.

Wow, you can tell them apart, what autists I'll give it a try, since it's free and will most probably run on my toaster. The whole point of the alpha test is to criticize the game to hell and back, so the potential fans get a chance to enjoy it very early, while potential haters get the chance to expose its flaws ASAP. I don't have anything against simple inputs (I even enjoy fighting games with no inputs at all, like BattleCon), and the cooldowns are supposed to compensate for having single-button DPs and stuff, I suppose. I'm a little bit doubtful about the lack of local multiplayer, but it seems like they're already figuring that out. Also, I'm going to be very surprised if all those customizable move sets won't end up having some hands-down best kits that will make the whole customization process meaningless.

Yeah, nah, she deserves being in the trailer as much as Ouka. No idea why one is in it while the other isn't. That new anime OP is looking great, looking forward to the full version. Also, lol @ Dragon and Another Blood being the first Assists shown.

There aren't that many specific tools you have to learn, just know your combos (especially H0 to H2 and H2 to H2 ones), know when to use which Drive follow-ups, and have some 720 buffer spots learned. Other than that, you just grind your neutral game, as that is Bullef's greatest weakness, and you can't really practice it in training mode. Oh, and know your pressure strings and how to adapt them to your opponent's behavior.

I was going to go to Japan to try the game, too, but I just haven't got as much money as I expected. I ended up pre-ordering the regular version for similar reason, though there is also the fact that I don't need some of the LE bonuses (even though I'd really like to have that OST and artbook). Are you talking about Dragon? Because there's a good reason why Dragon + Another Blood are so ubiquitous: the two of them give mad damage from any confirm, to any character.

Should probably post the trailer if you're going to discuss it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OzrPqNHB1bo I don't know, something doesn't quite click with me in him, even though I usually like brutal grapplers. Maybe it's because his design is pretty bland outside of the hair?

Anna is actually considered one of the weakest characters in the game, mostly because the other characters are simply better. Muramasa and Saya are considered to be lacking in some aspects, as well. Ignis is the undisputed queen of the game, her traps are simply dumb, and her pokes allow her to win neutral game quite easily. Ruili and Mora are mobile characters with solid mix-ups and damage even without the Assists. The rest are somewhere in the middle: still viable (all characters are), but not as unfair. Fun fact: most of the cast got 6F jabs. Ruili and Ignis got 5F ones.

Haven't seen anything about it, but they seem to be working very similarly across the entire roster: you perform a close-ranged safe attack with invulnerability, and if it hits, you deal from 2k to 4k damage.

Found some more Twitter reports, mostly from Uido: https://twitter.com/Cweed_blt - 6A no longer chains into 5C. - 5C can no longer be charged. - All Drive normals launch you at the opponent as soon as you lock on them. To charge it, you have to hold one of the four directions in advance. - That might mean that you can no longer cancel the Drive, or the cancel has been moved to some button (A?). - Command grab deals about 1500 damage with no follow-up. No invincibility. H2 follow-up bounces them back to you right out of 6A's reach. - H2 Flechette (623C 623D) sends the enemy flying really far away (cannot reach them with 3C on mid-screen). - 6A can now chain into 6C and 3C. - H2 Explode (623B 22D) bounces the enemy closer to you. - Afterburner after 2C leaves you at about 2-frame advantage (5B won against Azrael's 5B). - 623B RC 6A 236[A] works. - 6B j.C j.D 41236C 5B 6B j.C j.D goes to blue between the last j.C j.D. - j.D goes to red lock faster. Well that is one hell of a wet blanket. I might be in the minority, but I'd rather lose Heat on block than have even the red lock drive be unsafe. With the former, you at least trade Heat for a pressure reset, but in the latter case, you gain Heat at the price of a full punish. About the combo routes: this part of the match video has Bullet go 2AA 2B 5B 5C (dropped 5D) at what feels like the max 2B range. I don't think the combo dropped because of 2A's starter rate, so we got more important things to worry about. If you're not within 6B's range, you won't get the optimal combo now, even if it gives you more corner carry than we get now. Maybe we can just use 2C out of that range? Also, smaller j.D circle means that we're much less likely to spend the match jumping around and fishing for Drive counter-hits. Bringing Bullet down to the ground makes sense, but it's going to make her a bit heavier. EDIT: Got ninja'd in a few points, but I'm too lazy to edit them out

Had a long session with a good Hakumen yesterday, and it really is frustrating just how many options he denies you in neutral game. You can't Miquelet through anything, he cuts your Flints for sweet stars, and most of your pokes lose to his. It basically comes down to denying him resources (by blocking random Zantetsus and Tsubakis, for instance) and abusing his bad mobility. It also feels that you should be a bit more liberal with your throws, especially where you usually go for the pressure reset. In the end, his gameplan is pretty straightforward, so you just have to get used to it to figure out how to beat it.