reaVer

I've been using stick for 1.6 years now, $20 sticks are crap by default(unless the guy doesn't know what he's selling). Most likely you have a stick with a "consumer" spring, in simpler terms: a spring that's too stiff for you to bash your stick into your microswitches. Ofcourse the opposite happens as you use more strenght to regain the speed and bash them into the switches more forcefully:D Anyways, most probably the spring is tighter then it should be and with that, execution will take way to long until you get used to it. And once you've gotten used to it, you'll fail @ any good stick. My advise to you is to do some research on your stick, whether it's moddable or not etc etc... and put sanwa buttons in, and either a sanwa stick or a seimitsu stick. I've ordered a seimitsu stick myself, I'll report on how it's different from my sanwa pretty soon:P

If the back of your hand starts hurting you're doing something wrong. Common was to handle the stick is with the shaft in between pinky and ring finger or the saft in between ringfinger and middle finger, in both cases the shaft is at such a distance the thumb and index finger can do the job, rather then the entire hand. If you have the shaft to close for example, certain directions will become a problem. As for the right hand, if that one starts hurting, the stick is at the wrong height. Make sure your lower arm is either leveled or a bit lower then the stick. As for handling the buttons, use as many fingers as possible, as it will allow you to respond quicker:)

If you don't need the art work, just get a factory line box, otherwise you're wasting your money.

people should stop mirroring images:'(

I recommend the default arcade layout: K S H R P _ D And I suggest people don't toy around with that:P

Sanwa parts are hard to find? http://www.himuragames.com/

zero

Could you explain me that one? As for the throwing, while in blockstun, you can't throw. This means there is also a way to secure throwables moves a bit such as Gun Blaze.

Well, without doubt, you know I'd love to go to Japan, seriously, but money isn't growing on trees unfortunatly:( Actually the throw thingie, I saw it earlier and asked BillyKane about it, he said that the japanese are way more experienced when it comes to throw games then US or EU, they can play it in such a way that your throw fails and they gain the advantage. By this it means throwing is even far more risky to do over there then over here. Meaning that they actually have no choice but to keep mixing you up with normals. But again, there are gaps, even small at start, they will turn out bigger once you started using moves like vipers and other invincible moves. And then they need to be just as carefull with stringing you up as you have to be to get out of that string.

HOS midrange would be a bit odd, as 70% of his normals don't work at that range:S Well, I really can't say you're wrong about what they do or anything, but even in matchvids I see players block out entire strings. HOS vs Shadow on chariot is one example... And for me the flashy thing is the least of my concerns, if I get my gap that bar will decrease eventually:P Yes they can do all those funky 100% combos and shit, but if you're not defending or eating hits to prevent that, you end up dying anyways, just a bit slower. Putting myself in a situation where my defense will be poor and the likely of eating CH is high is something I simply refuse.

Noon wants to block:P I only wanna block when I'm about to eat hits:P But I do not think a player is required to play the game in such a way he doesn't have to block.It malforms the player's playstyle pretty badly in my opinion. In my view it's better to start blocking and blocking properly and only after that start searching for gaps. I'll believe you about Ogawa, but you have to understand that every character has gaps that can be made or are there. Thing is, these gaps are often triggered by an impact guard, FD or a combination of both. This is also what I think people should learn to do properly, this is probably hard at first, but afterwards it ends up being a lot more usefull then just trying to avoid blocking.

looser spring:P Man those sammy sticks have tough springs:P

For me it's not really a last resort, and my character has no zoning capabillities, so for me it's not "zone"; it's rush or block. I block whenever I feel I can gain the advantage shortly afterwards(forcing a DAA for example).

I guess it depends on the character really, primarily look at how they sit, some chars like OS and Sol indeed tend to get a bit wider. CD: it's never a good idea to "just block" but it's better to sit there blocking waiting for a real hole then a fake one. For some reason, even with my rotten attention span, I have no problem following my opponent for a pretty long while blocking most of the stuff he has... However, this can also have to do with my opponent being to slow, so I'll leave my capabillities in the middle here. Trying not having to block is like trying to stop the rain, yes it can be done in a way, but to common humans it's not possible. If you play someone that's actually good you can't play the game so that you won't have to block. Rushdown can keep the pressure on for a pretty good time, but even there there is a moment where you can no longer go and HAVE to defend, and with any rushdown that's not very long. Run away would be the second option which depending on the character might be plausible, but any opponent that can deal with that will still eat you alive, because when you're running, you ain't blocking. Zoning, well some chars have anti zoning tools(such as Sol and HOS), some others can outzone you on every aspect (Axl). Your pick really... But you will end up blocking in the long run. Just my 2 cents...

I disagree, blocking is as integral in GG as any other part that's in there. It's even better to sit out an opponent till he fucks up then trying to interrupt him and giving away counter hits. More so, isn't it better being one step away from being combo'd then being combo'd? I'd stay one step away from being combo'd the entire match rather then giving them away. Ofcourse the multiple ways of blocking do allow you certain things, FD requires the opponent to run in on you sooner, generating a hole, IB allows you to respond sooner etc etc. But that never means it's not a good idea to end up blocking.

why is the crap encoded into a52?

for SF that's too late.

Savage Fang is one of OS's overdrives, and yes I do know, that's why you have to be FDing when the flash appears, otherwise you'll eat it:P To be sure, all of HOS's SV need to be FD'ed, I haven't tried VV myself, but what I do know for sure is that all ground versions of it need to be FD'ed. I haven't tested the airversion yet. EDIT: air VV can be blocked without FD.

Some ground special moves don't have to be FD'ed, primarily "ranged" attacks such as Eddie's drills and Sol's Gun Flame. HOS's Savage Fang is unique in this aspect because it requires you to FD in air.

Afaik the burst guage increases depending on the number of hit you recieve, not the damage. I could be wrong though.

Well, certain japanese arcades are equipping seimitsu sticks, then there's certain players that have played on both and actually say that seimitsu sticks are better for games like sf because fireball motions execute better on it. So there's already nummerous of reasons why I want to try a seimitsu stick, but I just need to know if it's actually maintainable.

I have a HRAP2 in pink. I'm about to order black buttons and a seimitsu stick:P Though I saw that seimitsu sticks have leafswitches, anyone knows how maintainable they are? I mean, I heard that leafswitches tend to break and stuff.

I'm seeding now, I'll stop in about 5-6 hours though:P

I'm seeding now, I'll stop in about 5-6 hours though:P

Yup