My Experience with USF4

[Jackie Daytona]

Many people have been asking in the discussions, "Is this game good? Will I like this game? How is online play?" Your experience may be different, but I wanted to share mine.

Throughout most of my life, I've been bad at fighting games. There were moments I really shined. There were games I dominated. For the most part, I just got beat down in fighting games.

For many years I wanted to go to tournaments and play online. (Having convinced myself I was awesome.) It never worked out. (Mainly due to financial problems.)

In late 2013, I was finally able to afford something other than rent/bills/food. I bought(built) a new computer, I purchased SSF4AE, and I set about being the best Street Fighter player I could be.

As it turns out, I'm really bad. At first though, I did quite well as Zangief. There were spinning pile-drivers and Final Atomic Busters everywhere. I laughed a lot. I didn't always win, but I had fun.

Sometime later, I started to face extremely good players. Over time, it would happen more and more. I was losing almost every game to strategies and tactics I just didn't understand. I thought maybe I was taking it too hard. So, I started keeping track of my wins and losses.

One day I had THIRTY losses in a row. It broke me. I tried to ignore it and move on, but it ate at me. Constantly had thoughts like, "You're so bad at this. Everyone beats you. What's wrong with you?"

All the while, I was trying to communicate my problems to people on the Steam forums(and elsewhere). I'm not very good at conveying my thoughts and ideas. My rage and frustration clouded any point I tried to make.

Many tried to assist me, but things didn't go well. I hate asking anyone for help. So it frustrated me. This was compounded with the frustration from losing constantly. As a result, I couldn't even talk to anyone about the game without appearing to be a madman.

At the same time, I was getting trolled... hard. So I started lashing out at them. I got some people confused, and before I knew it, I was attacking people that were trying to help. I was so blinded by rage, I had no sense of humor remaining. Things got completely out of hand.

I had also violated certain "rules" enforced by the Fighting Game Community (FGC). I complained with emotion, which meant I was a "scrub". I said certain things were "cheap" or "cheesy". Again, this made me a scrub. I had a high opinion of my own skills yet lost frequently. This too made me a scrub.

The FGC does not like scrubs. Once labeled a scrub, you'll be trolled... endlessly. No one will listen, and no one will help you. It's the kiss of death, and there is no coming back from it. The hatred the FGC has for me is truly insane. I mean, these guys have a fanatical devotion to the idea of doing "anything to win". Anyone calling for respect or honor is treated like a big joke.

This has resulted in players resorting to the most difficult-to-deal-with-tactics possible. They've found ways to make sure you cannot attack or defend. They are just that good... and ruthless.

TL;DR

It's been nearly 2 years that I've owned SF4. I've learned a lot. I'm way better than I used to be, but it is NOTHING compared to the average online player. To this day, I continue to lose almost every time.

My experience has been rather poor. It took a long time to get nowhere. The game only makes me: angry, frustrated, and depressed.

Long ago, I set a goal to be good at fighting games. I'm not there. Perhaps I never will, but I'm still trying. It's been tough. Too tough. I wouldn't recommend USF4 for anyone looking for a casual online experience. It's brutal beyond belief. If I wasn't specifically trying to be a competitive fighting game player, I wouldn't touch this game.

[n00bdragon]

They key here is to not cry about how unfair and cheap certain parts of the game are. It's no secret these games aren't for everyone and after dealing with the 9001st person to walk in and complain that throws are unbeatable or whatever the flavor of the day is you just get tired of trying to talk to such people. They aren't in the mindset to listen and most of the time they never will be.

The FGC can (ever so occassionally) be a helpful and supportive place, but in order to receive that help you need the humility to understand that in almost every case it's not the game that needs fixing, it's you.

I advise joining a group and becoming active. Get to know the people and hopefully when you do get frustrated they'll realize you're just going to need some space to digest all the salt before you can start learning again.

[Lars]

Good post, Weisswurst! Much of this is true, especially the brutal road to becoming a great player, it is without a doubt gruelling and not for everyone. I will agree that if you want to really shine at this game, and can't stand losing and being humiliating by opponents much better than you on a regular basis, USFIV can be a rather miserable experience.

I do still think that there's room for enjoying the game fairly casually, however. I personally am a total scrub which I've come to acceptance with, but I can still enjoy a good match even when getting totally destroyed. Instead of focusing on how much better the other player is, I try to look at what I did in those matches, and try to only get salty when I do particularly stupid mistakes in my own plays. When my opponents style me down I try my best to just nod in appreciation of the other guy's skill instead of becoming frustrated over it.

About the FGC, it has a reputation for being exceptionally vitriolic, and it certainly can be, but I don't think its any worse than any other competitive game community. Just look at the hearthstone forums for instance, its the most casual game you can pick up and still its pure toxic, just as bad as the most elitist corners of any FGC. As with any competitive game, there are a lot of big egoes that need to be stroked, salt overflowing, and also a low tolerance for bull. But there are also helpful people around.

[Useless Bunny]

tl;dr version: game's hard, prepare your anus or leave.

This game is most certainly not casual-friendly because it isn't meant to be. It's not like WoW where one dungeon has multiple difficulties to attend to multiple types of players. Capcom said they are looking to make SF V attractive for both casual and competitive players, but I'm pretty sure the pendulum will swing more to one way or the other.

[Cipher Esteria]

Originally posted by Useless Bunny:

tl;dr version: game's hard, prepare your anus or leave.

This game is most certainly not casual-friendly because it isn't meant to be. It's not like WoW where one dungeon has multiple difficulties to attend to multiple types of players. Capcom said they are looking to make SF V attractive for both casual and competitive players, but I'm pretty sure the pendulum will swing more to one way or the other.

They already tried making SFIV causal friendly. They have to rework a lot. Invincible frames.Whats that?Most people dont understand them and do stupid stuff like spaming DP,cause this move beats anything.
Capcoms idea of trying to make SFIV causal friendly,was making Ryu and Ken as easy as possible and making this game as much SF2 as possible,oh and Ultras,the comeback mechanic.
It ended that you see online only Shotos and 95% suck,cause they don't understand the game. Ryu is good for newbies? Maybe he is, I don't think so. Most Ryus I meat end with spaming DP as soon they get hit and they don't learn what the bad point about this is.

I still dont have what it takes,I must mash harder!
-online Ryu SFIV

However becoming good in a FG is a hard journey.Beating the AI and a real player is a different like day and night.Words like Scrub and noob,cheap,salt will someone hear a lot.

The first step of becoming good is to understand the basic of any 2D FG.The neutral.Then the systemmechanics,the character,zoning,MU's.
It can be very good if you understand how zoning works and how to zone,without having a char for this.I take Ken as example,his fireball is bad,he still can zone if he understands how.Same goes for characters like Cammy.If the Cammyplayer understands how zoning works and how to zone,they can get in much easier,cause they can easier say what kind of fireball the opponent throws and how to react.

But the best point of FG's is,that you cannot lose,you can only win or learn.

[LDClaudius]

+1 That basely the case when someone try to get good on one game regardless if it a FPS, MOBA or any fighting game. If I want to get good on one game (such as Insurgency, for example), I would have to put a lot of hours practicing one game that you have to prepare yourself for a rough match or GTFO. Think of it like this. You would have to train yourself many many times so you can be prepared. Otherwise, if you stop practicing, you would start to loose everything you learned and you have to start over again.

That why I put 500 hours playing Insurgency since I bought this game last year. Just because I put so many hours on this game doesn't necessary mean I always win all the time. That because if I were to challenge someone in a competitive Firefight. Chances are, there going to be some people out there that will take me down no matter what K/D ration I get at the end of the game. There going to be a couple rounds where you either win as a team or you lose as a team. Does it bother me no matter how many death I revived or lose a round? No. It doesn't stop me from playing. But if that get worse. I probably would want to take a step back and let me take a look on what I did wrong in my match. For example, where did that hostile snipe me from? Was there any miscommunication going on in my team? And so on.

Just remember, it not easy to get good on this game. But at the end of the day, all I simply want to do is have fun.

[Monk]

Thing is the feeling of being noob never goes away..never. Seriously, ask any decent player if he considers himself good, you'll be surprised)

I got into this game in 2009 and I still consider myself azzzss.. and when someone tells me that I'm good or pro or whatever.. makes me smile) I know its just not true, because I suck, and its them just being bad. When you in rage its never in your favor, you'll just go down hill, fast. So I accepted my scrubbiness and stopped caring, and just try to have fun that is left from all these years of suffering and hate. I don't care if someone don't like my character/style/gameplan etc. I do what it takes to WIN. Sometimes it don't work out as I'd wanted to...oh what the hell!? this is street fighter, you can't win every battle.

[MoonlitDNC]

I can empathise with the TC - I used to play SSF2 Turbo on the SNES and Guilty Gear @!#$% on PS2 and was quite good at both of them, at least amongst the people around me in RL. I got Street Fighter 4 when it was first released for PS3 yeeeeears ago at this point, figuring I'd have an amazing blast since people were saying it was a fighting game revival.

I didn't. It turned out to be one of the few games I've actually returned back to the store in my lifetime. The original roster was pretty lousy IMO, and all of the characters felt pretty stiff, especially compared to Guilty Gear characters dashing back and forth. Online was completely unplayable between my skill level vs. other players (and spamming).

Long story short, I picked up a new mentality after watching the EVO feeds for the last year or two. I dont play USF4 as aggressively anymore and make it a point to study character and player patterns during a fight. I'm still too lazy to go through frame data for everyone, but even with a loss now and then, I always have a lot more fun these days since I use every match to experiment & learn more about the game & the players rather than throw fits if my specials get stuffed.

[OLYMP & BBOR1N]

Purchased this game just yesterday.

I've maked 5 ranked matchs so far. 5 wins. 3 with Fei Long and 2 with Cody.
With a keyboard. What am i doing wrong :/
I'm not trolling, it's just, i dunno, let's us see one of you'r replays ?

[n00bdragon]

Originally posted by 「Sнιяσ¥αsнα」:

Purchased this game just yesterday.

I've maked 5 ranked matchs so far. 5 wins. 3 with Fei Long and 2 with Cody.
With a keyboard. What am i doing wrong :/
I'm not trolling, it's just, i dunno, let's us see one of you'r replays ?

That's a surprising number of wins for your first day with the game. Congrats.

[Lars]

Originally posted by 「Sнιяσ¥αsнα」:

Purchased this game just yesterday.

I've maked 5 ranked matchs so far. 5 wins. 3 with Fei Long and 2 with Cody.
With a keyboard. What am i doing wrong :/
I'm not trolling, it's just, i dunno, let's us see one of you'r replays ?

I wouldnt mind seeing your replays of those first five matches, tbh. Well done!

[CeramicDragon]

USF4 is a tough game with a huge following. People have been playing since SF2 and their skills carry over. Do you use a fight stick? Join the shoryuken forums, watch youtube vids.

[OLYMP & BBOR1N]

Originally posted by n00bdragon:

Originally posted by 「Sнιяσ¥αsнα」:

Purchased this game just yesterday.

I've maked 5 ranked matchs so far. 5 wins. 3 with Fei Long and 2 with Cody.
With a keyboard. What am i doing wrong :/
I'm not trolling, it's just, i dunno, let's us see one of you'r replays ?

That's a surprising number of wins for your first day with the game. Congrats.

Originally posted by BS|Couchfighter:

Originally posted by 「Sнιяσ¥αsнα」:

Purchased this game just yesterday.

I've maked 5 ranked matchs so far. 5 wins. 3 with Fei Long and 2 with Cody.
With a keyboard. What am i doing wrong :/
I'm not trolling, it's just, i dunno, let's us see one of you'r replays ?

I wouldnt mind seeing your replays of those first five matches, tbh. Well done!

I think that i was just lucky. Finding those "free weekend users" who never played SF before.
I'm not an amazing player, but at least i know my special moves and i know how to parry and counterattack.

My training in training mode is as simple as this. Put the CPU on Highest and try to block everything, for like 10-20 mins. And i love to do this) <3

btw, thanks guys <3 and yes, if i would know how i can let you see my replays, i would do so.

[ViForsaken]

USF IV best fighting ever, best online with mic

[Rickie82]

I lose more then I win. Do I get salty... yes, sometims even dangerous amonts for my own wellbeing. But when I win I can get that nice feeling of pure bliss aswell.
This game brings out extreme emotions from me, kinda why I like it =P

[hell]

I got to thank you for this thread. I was thinking about getting this game. But i don't look for another REALLY competitive game. Since i already play a lot competitive games like CS:GO and Starcraft 2.
So it seems like this is not the game to get if you just want to have a few fun matches from time to time.