Jackie Chandler

OKAY FINE GEEZ

Jesus Christ, fapping material acquired.

This man has taste.

Pro Abyss Mode play by yours truly. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uzgYsY34RZI

*Tears up* I dunno. K.O.'s black dildo/Axe body spray combination would normally make this pretty one-sided, but Midnight's mom should put us at least back to neutral.

I'm still very serious about improving and continuing playing Blazblue, and I don't think it's simply a matter of people "not wanting to play it on a higher level" or the game "being stale." There are still plenty of people here who are interested in playing BB at a higher level. In my opinion, the problem is that people who play on a higher level are rewarded so much more than people on a lower level, the latter get discouraged and stop trying to compete (or improve) altogether. I think it speaks volumes for Blazblue's depth, but for some people, that isn't a good thing. I've said it before and I'll say it again- people want a game they can be good at without dedicating a bunch of their time and effort. Blazblue is not one of these games. On a side note, you guys have to keep in mind that the Street Fighter community is not only bigger, but has more people in/closer to Nashville. It's much easier for the SF guys to get together and do local friendlies/leveling up than it is for us. Besides, we keep up with each other using this thread, so it's not like we only have one day of the month to talk with each other and discuss the things we want to.

Why is it whenever I neglect to check Dustloop in a reasonable amount of time, I *never* fail to come back to two or three more pages of material? There are so many points I feel like I should address, but I don't have the time nor the patience. To me, MTN is more than a monthly tournament. Sure, we all have different ideas and opinions, and we give each other crap on what seems to be a regular basis, but I think that's part of why I feel a closeness to pretty much everyone in the community. The fact that we're honest with each other and open with how we feel differently on all kinds of issues is proof to me of the sincerity of our community as a whole. We care about each other enough to speak our minds, and allow our ideas to clash just as much as we do when playing a game. I feel like that's one of the most profound forms of respect you can have. But that's just the social aspect of the community. When it comes to the actual events, it's so much more. Yes, it's a struggle to see who can reach the top, and yes, there's money involved, but that's not what it's about. Those are just incentive for the community to take the games seriously, and so both players can truly fight each other at the best of their abilities. In participating in these kinds of events, we share and witness these awesome moments together, as well as grow closer as individuals. And if you learn something along the way, that's just icing on the cake. I don't believe the community is just a tool for improvement. In fact, I find that notion insulting. We help each other out because we're a group of friends who have similar interests- not because we want to use each other to try and stomp everyone else into the ground. At the end of the day, MTN should be about having fun playing games we enjoy. It's what brought us together in the first place, and no matter what happens, it should be the one medium we agree on that keeps us together. At least, that's what MTN is to me.

I'm actually pretty comfortable with my match-up knowledge. All I need to do is develop that knowledge into habits and I'll be good. I'm more concerned about getting these Extend combos down pat. Depending on the starter, I've been having a bit of difficulty knowing if I can finish with the standard Dash Under -> 3C -> 22C. :/ I have plenty of time to figure it out though. You all better watch out in a couple of weeks~. Oh, and something I've been meaning to ask for a little bit. Have you guys put anything into learning any other characters since Extend came out? In helping Tret to learn Lambda, I've grown pretty comfortable in playing her. And since Relius is interesting, I put some effort into learning him a bit, too. As for my past "subs," I'm interested in Hazama but can't do the j214B loop down at all, and Noel's combos have changed so much I haven't even really started to learn them.

I need to start power leveling here in the next couple of weeks. I want my Ragna to be in his S-game by the 31st... But I want to start working on a new combo video too... :[ Also, who else is going to Powerup? Since Blazblue WON'T be happening on a school day and I have a friend in town (not including Papstr) that I know wants to go, my attendance is very likely. I'll still probably need to head out Friday afternoon, though. YOU GUYS HYPE?

Gawd, I'm so bad at checking social networking sites. I forgot I even had a twitter. I'll try to check more often. And FUCK YEAH SAMURAI KIRBY. I'm too American for "Reflexes: the game," but I'll try to give Papstr a run for his money. ... oh. I could have sworn it was... Like... A thing.

I approve. Although if he signs up as tophatmoffet, he's gonna owe me an explanation of what a moffet is. Also, you guys better watch out for Tret come the 31st. He's been doing some serious leveling up. :D

Lol, you don't have to worry about that. I may pick up and try to play other games seriously (Guilty Gear is very likely, as is KoF if I can ever manage the time for it), but I'll always play Blazblue. Also, I think I may have found the converter Star has. I found this thread which not only has a picture of the converter Star has, but mentions a name as well. It's called the Blaze Pro. He notes that you don't need a wired 360 controller to bypass Microsoft's security (a problem that other converter had), and that it works with PS3 controllers with no lag. The only problem is that I can't seem to find any places that have it in stock. :/ I'll keep looking around for ya though.

This doesn't offend me because it's true. It's been months since I bothered doing any actual research on the game, because Capcom keeps giving me reasons to not care about it. Yeah, Mega Man in general was a huge slap in the face, but the fact that DLC characters (including Pac-Man/Mega Man on 360) and costumes are already on the disk is complete and total bullshit. Not to mention this. Ugh. So no, I honestly don't know what kind of game it turned out to be. It could be the most fun, balanced, competitive fighting game ever. All I know are the basic concepts. *Cries for being forgotten* Nah, but really, of course I'll be competing. My friend Tret has really been getting into Blazblue recently, too, so if he can make it up on the 31st I'm sure he'll participate.

I agree with Naimat 100%. While Blazblue is a great game, it's not the kind you can play casually and expect to place well in tournaments. In Blazblue, you're rewarded SO MUCH for knowing your character's utilities and being able to capitalize the most with your combos, but there's more to the game than just that. You have to be knowledgeable of the game as a whole, as well as play against your opponent appropriately, in order to place high. And while it might sound like I'm stating the obvious, I feel like that's the reason less and less people have been playing it. But why is that? The way I see it, idealistically, people want a game they can be good at without dedicating a bunch of their time and effort. That's why games like MvC3 and (maybe) SFxT are so popular- they flaunt system mechanics that players can use to compensate for those kinds of things. After all, "why practice teching throws when I can have a gem that does it for me?" And "why learn complicated things about my first two characters when I can just Level 3 X-Factor clutch with my best character?" Sure, these games might be fun to play for a large audience, but what about competitions? The answer should be clear. In a game that doesn't emphasize being knowledgeable or stepping up your game, inferior players win. It's not a matter of the skill ceiling being too low- it's that eventually, the amount of work you put into improving will be greater than how much the game can reward you. So yes, while games like this may be enjoyable, what's the point of a serious competition? The people who care most about the game and play it the most will have difficulty placing consistently, if at all. Of course, then you have the other side of the spectrum- a game that ONLY rewards the most knowledgeable and execution-heavy players. Street Fighter is probably the closest thing to a game like this IMO. In order to compete and hope to do well, you need to know the game's ins and outs. Knowing what every character is capable of and how your character can counter what they can do will serve you well, and so will nailing those one-frame links. If you want there to be value in practice, you better practice often- otherwise your opponents will get ahead of you, or you'll miss that input by a couple frames and lose the game because of it. In a game like this, the superior player will almost always win. But there's a problem in that too, isn't there? The purpose of the competition remains intact, but it isn't inherently to have fun- it's about winning, so that all of your blood and tears that went into this moment were worth something. The game might reward all your efforts, but would you feel rewarded if you stopped having fun because of it? So, you're probably wondering what any of this has to do with Blazblue, or the original point I was trying to make. The way I see it, Blazblue is a fine middle ground between both extremes. There are a few reasons as to why it's probably not too popular in the mainstream tournament scene, but in my opinion, the biggest reason is just that. It's a game that rewards being knowledgeable, but is fun to play even without knowing its intricacies. The people who want an intense fighting game that's a "true test of skill" will probably play a different game in tournaments, and the people who play it recreationally probably won't show up for tournaments at all. It's such a shame, because it could really serve as a bridge for the two communities. tl;dr- Blazblue is a great game. I can't help but feel like the majority of people who "don't enjoy it" haven't even given Extend a chance yet, or tried to step up their game since CSII (if not before then). Learning and practicing in Blazblue is fun, and so is competing. Just give it the chance you know it deserves, and you won't be disappointed. So to answer your question, Milln, I would run Blazblue at least one more time. Like Naimat said, we haven't had one for Extend, and it'll give you the chance to see if the results > the work put into running the tournament. (P.S. I don't feel like Mahvel/SFxT/Street Fighter are extremes in themselves- just the closest thing to them. Not trying to start a flame war or anything.) (P.P.S. This took me an hour and a half to type up. Gawd. I'm going to sleep now.)

LOL. That guy wearing the Mega Man hat showed up on the streams a few times. Every time, the stream would explode with "NIGGAMAN!!!!!!" Also, I screencap'd Midnight and Klein on the GG/BB stream, and a very small picture of Milln on the Marvel stream. I might upload them later.

Yeah, I got ya covered Tad. My camera records in 1080p, although I don't (currently) have a decent tripod for it, haha. If you'd like, I can help you record whatever it is at next MTN, or just let you borrow the camera for whenever you need it. I really don't use it all that much.

Yeah, it really is. I saw a picture of a tornado actually in Cookeville today, right next to the high school. Couldn't believe it. Stay safe man.

And now Azure Phoenix is playing. This is a small fuggin' world.

Kyle's on the stream now. Playing May. Making her look so broken. WHERE ARE YOU GUYS

Phil just played in Guilty Gear on the stream. It was so fucking hype. You guys need to get into this stream right now.

I'm hype for this Guilty Gear stream, as well as Blazblue at 5. Thanks for streaming, Funky.

OH MAH GAWD. FunkyP's doing a Guilty Gear stream at FR.

Nice. Since I'm still bedridden, I'll be watching for you guys on these streams. Best of luck!

... You guys are never going to believe this. Guess who has a nasty sinus infection? :/ I've been getting random nosebleeds since Saturday (I had one on my way to pick everyone up in Cookeville for Milln's), and I wasn't sure of the cause. My parents/friends assured me it was just the drastic changes in climate. Well, this morning, I have the most gigantic headache I've ever had, and I'm jacked up on antibiotics. Don't get me wrong- I'm not salty that I didn't sign up for Final Round now- I'm expecting to be bed ridden (besides the trip to the doctor) until some time next week, depending on how serious it is. But damn, it's just the whole idea of it that bothers me. :[