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| EddyT 681th Post
 
Red Carpet Regular Member
  
    
    
|  "Re(3):The SF4 thread" , posted Sat 12 Apr 00:47:
Rufus is MALE. I have confirmed this. He looks like Cheng from Fatal Fury, Bob from Tekken, Heart from HNK... you name it. He looks AMERICAN, but looks like a wanna-be Chinese fat guy. Whoever posted that in 2ch was misinformed.
He is a fat, obviously caucasian who has a half-beard (no growth on the chin, but has hair on the lip). Has one of those chinese hairdos where they are almost bald, but has a ponytail and a patch of hair. He wears a skintight suit that exposes his stomach and a patch of hair where his navel is.
I played him once... he seemed hard to move with but had a few good moves. It was mesmerizing to watch his fat move... he's built like an orange. I called him the "uniboob". It's like if you had a DOA girl, but she had one boob and the boob took up her whole body. With a patch of hair down the middle. That's Rufus all right.
El Fuerte was like Ramon from KOF, but hyper and way fast with the command run. He is dangerous if you knock someone down and play wakeup games, but he is high-risk with his attacks. His Ultra is not very useful, because he will jump in the air and can only catch a grounded opponent from midscreen. It is also slow, ironically. You have to leave yourself wide open to get hit from this.
He has an anti-air command throw, some moves he can do while running and that's pretty much it. We are trying to figure out how to make him successful, but it will be difficult because if he's running, he's very vulnerable.
More notes at shoryuken.com
[this message was edited by EddyT on Sat 12 Apr 00:50] |
| Iggy 8451th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
     
     
  
| "Re(4):The SF4 thread" , posted Sat 12 Apr 18:05:
quote:
Whoever posted that in 2ch was misinformed.
Or more likely, was misunderstood by the person who reported it.
I don't know if they will add more characters, but if they add even one more my money is on Gôki first, and Cammy close second.
Rufus has a girlfriend. His moves have great names, Kyûseishû kick, ginga tornade, spectacle romance, space opera symphony...
There are a lot of new background, including a very bright shadoloo base where they look like they are producing wine (which might be a nice reference to Capcom's ex CIO).
The faces look better, especially Ryû/Ken.
Vega acts like a mix between both versions, floating in the sky and talking as a big undefeated boss.
The selection screen looks good and full, 8 upward, 8 downward. Not good for any further addition.
Balrog looks good, and plays well. The direction holding works fine. He can loose his claw, and has metallic sounds when he guards with it.
[this message was edited by Iggy on Sat 12 Apr 20:06] |
| Time Mage 2658th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):The SF4 thread" , posted Sun 13 Apr 09:23
Not much info on Vega(Claw), but everything I've read is simply AWESOME. Maximum Spider-esque Ultra? That's one of the most awesome supers ever, so... WOHOOO! EX Wall dive hitting on the way up? That's just amazing! I would have never thought of adding that property to his EX dives. And has a badass taunt, too.
Also, from the vids, El Fuerte looks even better in movement! I'm really surprised with this character, I think I'm going to like it a lot.
Regarding Rufus... Well, so far, I don't like him. Maybe when I see more pictures and videos of him, I'll dig the design, but so far he looks horrible.
"News flash big guy: You can wax on wax off all you want I'm still... KICKIN' YOUR ASS!"
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| Grave 1046th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member
| "Re(9):The SF4 thread" , posted Sun 13 Apr 10:15
quote:
Regarding Rufus... Well, so far, I don't like him. Maybe when I see more pictures and videos of him, I'll dig the design, but so far he looks horrible.
I don't like him either from what I've seen, but so far I've had at least a little bit of nasty stuff to say about everything in the game, and the combination of time, screenshots and loketest reports have changed my mind about almost everything, so... it's hard not to be open about it, I guess!
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| Nekros
13th Post
New Customer
| "Re(1):Rufus, Fuerte videos" , posted Sun 13 Apr 18:39
quote:
Rufus vs Blanka
El Fuerte ve Zangief
Well, the game looks better than the previous loc-test, it seems really good even in these bad resolution vids.
About the charas: I like El Fuerte al lot; he seems a hybrid between Ramon and Blanka, and the style is very interesting. Pretty well animated too.
Rufus is REALLY a giant boob ^^'
I don't like his design much but it seems fine to me gameplay-wise. His animations are also good, exept for his boob-body, so absurd.
Now I want more new characters, especially girls.
And please, Cammy and Gouki are fine, but STOP WITH THIS SF2 TRIBUTE!!!
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| EddyT 684th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Sun 13 Apr 20:00:
I just came home and posted the rest of my report in srk.com. The game is coming along nicely. The only thing I worry about is that the two newcomers (El Fuerte and Rufus) are lacking a bit in moves. They have a lot of potential if they added more stuff to them, and oddly enough it's good that this game is in 3D because that means that it's much easier to add/subtract things in the game. For example:
* Abel's super is completely changed
* C. Viper now has a few useful kicks that actually can hit out in front of her, if she jumps forward.
* Some characters look much better, some look the same, but hopefully the final version will give everyone equal love (no C.Viper love in this loketest apparently)
I understand the general public and their concern of this game being too much like SF2 in 3D. And really, it is an opinion that is very valid. The game plays like Super Turbo, with speed of gameplay similar to 3S (except for Fuerte, who is on crack).
However, the gameplay is very solid, even moreso with the small tweaks they have done this time around.
Maddy and I had a similar argument before I actually tried the game 4 months ago, but what he said to me made sense. Capcom needed to go back to the basics, bring back the players that loved the game years ago, and make it really fun to play without having to learn so many complex new things. Games like Tekken, VF and even the later SF games just got too complicated and scared off new players. IV is very very accessible and fun for both new players and expert players.
If you liked 3S and hated ST, yeah you will hate the game. Unfortunately, it does go old school with zoning being a main game tactic, but there are some new school tricks that opens up the game much more than ST did.
Maddy was right... he's always right. He is probably God on Earth.
[this message was edited by EddyT on Sun 13 Apr 20:03] |
| Pollyanna 2485th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(4):Rufus, Fuerte videos" , posted Mon 14 Apr 09:01
quote:
Well, I can't say the game looks bad anymore,
I must say that I'd like to know what has brought about this change of heart.
Just for the record, "looks" means "seems" in this case.
But I feel that way mainly because of positive reports and updates to the game. I don't know if all the little graphical hiccups are fixed or not, but I know the renders are being updated, and the animation has certainly improved from the earlier footage.
Before, the only reports I had were nothing but hype from the general gaming press, which is the last source I trust. Now that more people have sat down with the game, have nice things to say, and those nice things seem to be evident in the videos, the game seems solid enough.
I still don't like...well...just about everything about it, but it doesn't look like a bad game. Before we had much information (or information from sources I could trust), I think that fear was justifiable.
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| EddyT 686th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(4):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Tue 15 Apr 06:40:
quote:
A lot of complaints all over the board from SRK.
Anonymity tends to bring out the most negative aspects of most any type of fandom. Nitpicking and complaining is far easier to write than praise. Couple that with fans who are mis-remembering information -such as what might or might not be in the game- and you have a recipe for epic hissy fits.
Personally, I don't know what version of SF that SF4 will play like but I do know that it's going to play like SF. Your reports on the tests have pushed me from the cautiously opitmistic camp into really wanting to play the game. So thanks for what you've posted so far, it's been very informative.
Thank you. I think myself and all the others that played at the loketest from SRK think this game is great. We are however disappointed that there's still much negativity on the boards despite our reports.
I really think it's a fun game, and a lot of people lose sight of that. A lot of people are looking on the surface of the game only (graphics, complaints about the new characters, lack of "creative" characters) or they are pissed because it's not exactly like 3S, etc. I think people are letting little things bother them to the point of hating it even before they play the game for the first time. There's no satisfying them, really.
I think people who love SF in general will love this game, and I think people who played SF in the past but haven't played in years will love this game. It's the people in the middle, who got into SF via 3S / CvS2 / MvC2 that will hate this game. It forces people to play a zoning game and constant jump-ins are punished. Not to mention that you have to get around fireball traps and corner traps more often.
quote:
Some people at the Shoryuken.com forum said Vega/M.Bison now has scars on his face... is it true?
This is false. His face is fine.
[this message was edited by EddyT on Tue 15 Apr 06:45] |
| Nobinobita 310th Post
Bronze Customer
| "Re(7):Rufus, Fuerte videos" , posted Tue 15 Apr 09:31
quote:
Is Abel French? Cause he looks like this guy (same colors but wrong nationality):
http://fightingstreet.com/folders/variousinfofolder/ripofffolder/ripoffpage1.html#Abel
He's certainly Fedor inspired, but I think they made him French to mix things up a little.
As someone else pointed out before, Abel is wearing a sambo outfit, which is the style Fedor uses. Fedor is also known as the best MMA fighter in the world and possibly of all time, another good reason to reference him.
By making Abel French istead of Russian, it keeps him from being a complete Fedor clone.
Also, MMA is pretty popular in France. When i lived there there were always MMA magazines at every stand and i saw flyers for kick boxing and muay thai classes in every city i went to. In fact, Sambo seems to be catching on there as well:
http://www.sambofrance.org/
http://www.bruzat-sambo-academy.com/wp/?page_id=4
Oh by the way, i love your SF celebrity tribute site. It's been in my bookmarks for years. You've done the SF community a great service.
quote:
This is really unfair. Ono never showed any glimpse of creativity since the departure of Funamizu put him in charge. It's not what he known for. He's known for... for...
For his good intentions.
(￣▽￣)ノ＿彡☆バンバン！!
that's the best description ive heard of him.
To his credit, he did produce Shadow of Rome which was great fun until you fight the amusingly overpowered last boss.
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| Iggy 8455th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):Rufus, Fuerte videos" , posted Tue 15 Apr 14:51
quote:
Also, MMA is pretty popular in France.
I never heard of MMA before the thread here a few month ago. But then, I live in Paris, not in "France".
quote:
To his credit, he did produce Shadow of Rome which was great fun until you fight the amusingly overpowered last boss.
I totally forgot the existence of this game... was it.... Hum, nah, I think I'm fine with it.
EddyT : interestingly, I have the feeling the situation is the same on 2ch. Except for the 3rd strike part : the 3rd players pretty much abandoned the game immediately after Ono said he wouldn't borrow from SF3. People here just bash the game without really mentioning what they would like it to be : 2D, Zero3, SSF2T, or Melty Blood.
The thread is annoying, with lots of trolling and misinformation, while others ask repeatedly for more moe or gothic loli.
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| whitesword 1614th Post
Red Carpet V.I.P- Platinum Member
| "Re(5):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Tue 15 Apr 19:21
quote:
I really think it's a fun game, and a lot of people lose sight of that. A lot of people are looking on the surface of the game only (graphics, complaints about the new characters, lack of "creative" characters)
Those are mostly legitimate complaints though, and being a fun game doesn't mean it's a good sequel. For example, Doom 3 is a fun game, but it's a shitty sequel to the classic Doom games and failed to meet many of the expectations fans had (compare this to RE4 in how it exceeded most fans' expectations, not to mention brought a lot of new fans into the series).
They brought back most all of the SF2T characters, with no visible or significant changes to either design or story (Blanka's mom is too cheap to buy him some new clothes? And why the hell is he still fighting anyway?) The cast would be much better with a few more characters from other games, even from SF1 (Joe plz).
Graphically the game looks impressive, especially in motion, but the mixing of 3D graphics with 2D gameplay is just unappealing to me. I'd have had no problem if they either tried to set a new standard for 2D graphics, or preferably, if they attempted to incorporate some sort of (gasp!) 3D element to the gameplay. They have, however, chosen the less ambitious 2.5D route, and lack of ambition is not something I want for SF4.
In the end I'm going to play it anyway, because while creativity seems to be lacking, I can't say the same thing for effort, but I'd like them to at least not rush this game. They've just announced it this year, and already they're planning to release the arcade version this summer, it's almost as if they're already planning to release upgraded versions of it in the future.
It would also be nice if they would change its title from Street Fighter 4 to something (anything!) else, but that's not going to happen <:X
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| Pollyanna 2486th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(6):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Tue 15 Apr 20:41
I agree with most of what Whitesword said (in varying degrees), but my big problem with the game is character selection. I'm just not interested in these characters. I can use Chun Li and...uhm...well, I might try the new characters, but none of them appeal to me in terms of design. It's like I always say Mortal Kombat is the hardest fighting game for me because I can't make it past the character select screen.
I think I use...18 characters in KOF XI? More than half the characters in 3rd Strike, and at the very least 3 in most 3D fighters. I can only have so much fun using one character.
But I guess that's more of my problem than Capcom's. I'm sure this cast is tremendously appealing to some people.
2.5D is a sort of tender spot (in a bad way) for me, too. I'm not a 2D purist or anything and from a gameplay perspective as well as a visual perspective, you can do a lot with 3D...but this game...it doesn't do anything. It's like they're using 3D strictly as an excuse NOT to use 2D. So...yeah, I really hate games with 3D models "squashed" onto a 2D playing field.
Again, it's not that the game looks bad, and I'm happy to hear that it's being fairly well-received, but it's still a bit of a slap in the face.
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| Just a Person 1130th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(8):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Tue 15 Apr 22:40
quote:
Pollyanna, you use Chunli ONLY? Are you a girl?
...I'm a guy and I use Chun-Li nine out of ten times I play any SF game.
About Polly, she has confirmed before she's a girl, hasn't she?
quote:
About SF"4" charas: I only complain the lack of new faces and I think the entire 2T roster is unecessary. With minor changes, too. Ono isn't Funamizu, we know, but SF4 is a game people claimed to be for several years and I'm a bit disappointed in how the franchise is being used. This is a comment involving only the characters, since I haven't yet played the game but in the roster I find a big delusion.
Ah, one question for EddyT: is there any stun bar or similar?
Yeah, me too. So far, I'm loving the way SFIV is becoming; however, in terms of characters, it does need at least two more new characters (and a new boss). Giving Guile a new special move wouldn't hurt, either.
Plus, it would be nice to see one returning character from out of the SFII game appearing in it. Since Ono commented on how he planned to balance the male:female ratio, and since it's pretty much implied that Ibuki and Sakura will only appear in home console versions, SFIV needs Cammy's return and at least one new female character.
But since we're in the middle of April and SFIV will only be released in the end of July (if I'm not mistaken), I guess there's still time to improve the cast. I hope in May or June we'll find out more about it.
I can be any person in the world... maybe I'm this person right in front of you... maybe I'm not.
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| chazumaru 520th Post
New Red Carpet Member
| "Re(5):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Wed 16 Apr 00:12
quote:
Ok, but the characters? I mean, who cares about those 90s stereotypes anymore? The were good and I like the reprisal of them, but not ALL of them. It seems like Ono's team lack imaginations and creativity.
Not to be rude, but this quote is quite delicious to me considering your avatar is the supreme example of how little imagination SNK had with MOTW and simply piled up the most boring 2000s stereotypes.
I can understand why Rufus is not a crowd pleaser, but the SF4 syndrome "each new character revealed is more interesting and makes the previous new character look not that great in retrospect" is still valid in my book. Rufus is an interesting throwback to the 90s character design era, although he looks more like a Fighter's History Dynamite chara than a SF chara. They really should have made the Gyakuten Saiban designers work on the SFIV characters. They proved their talent at creating silly but endearing designs in a typical Capcom way. Or, maybe have each of the Capcom guys (CRMK, Ikeno, Akiman, Nishimura) provide one new character?
At least, the current SF4 team seems to be doing a very interesting work with animations. I think Iggy was the one saying it was hard to give the same animation impact to a 3D game because you could not exagerate (apologies to Iggy if he never actually said that), but I don't remember a 3D fighting engine stealing so much from traditional 2D animation before.
quote:
Ono never showed any glimpse of creativity
Ono is a very funny guy. I am not sure that any of his human qualities make him a great directo-
quote:
Demento and Shin Onimusha.
...OK now I am convinced none of his human qualities make him a great director, but he definitely shows some imagination whenever asked a stupid question. And he's been asked a lot of stupid questions.
Random trivia of Capcom nostalgia: Vampire Savior SS版 is 10 years old tomorrow.
IT'S THE BLACK PUDDING!
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| Nekros
16th Post
New Customer
| "Re(6):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Wed 16 Apr 02:00
quote:
Ok, but the characters? I mean, who cares about those 90s stereotypes anymore? The were good and I like the reprisal of them, but not ALL of them. It seems like Ono's team lack imaginations and creativity.
Not to be rude, but this quote is quite delicious to me considering your avatar is the supreme example of how little imagination SNK had with MOTW and simply piled up the most boring 2000s stereotypes.
LOL. I didn't like Freeman design very much too, but with me around the creepy guy it's a given. I'm quite creepy myself I presume ^^
About SF4 I don't like simply characters. I mean, the 90s aspect is fine to me, but they are TOO simply, they lack personality for now. The sambo guy and Rufus in particular. El Fuerte is nice, it has some personality and cool moves, Viper instead, i didn't like she from the beginning. She seems some Falcoon sketch of a unrealeased character and it's not a compliment.
Sagat, Elena, Ibuki, Dudley are very good examples of characters stereotypes with some attempt of interpretation. They're great to me, and I wanted to see something like this again in SF4.
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| Nobinobita 312th Post
Bronze Customer
| "Re(8):The SF4 thread" , posted Thu 17 Apr 03:45
quote:
I was talking about unoriginal designs, not bad designs. Q is the most unoriginal ever since it doesn't feature a single unique aspect. I'd rather have a decent character than a good but already existing character unless he/she is from the SF/FF/MB universe.
http://fightingstreet.com/folders/variousinfofolder/ripofffolder/ripoffpage2.html#Q
I like Q's design alot too. It doesn't bug me at all that he's an homage to old Tezuka and Ishinomori robot characters. That's actually the exact reason I love him. No other fighting game has ever referenced this sort of archtype.
I agree that simply referencing a character, or making an homage can often be lazy character design. But when it's done well it can also be very rewarding.
I would say Q is more of a conscious evolution of that archtype rather than a rip off. He's got a very unique feel to him that's different from those aforementioned robot detective characters, and a WAY different than any other fighting game character.
Q has a genuinely mysterious feeling about him. His moveset conveys that he fights and wins purely through brute strength. Yet he's not a big ball of muscle, he's a tall, slim, lanky man. His movements are cumbersome and its obvious that he doesn't have a normal intellect driving his movements and actions. He doesn't have the posture of a fighter, but that of a monster. He feels so cold and malevolent! And in a totally atypical way. That's why I think Q is a great design. He's got a totally unique feeling about him which is perfectly matched to his moveset, which again, is unlike any other character out there.
The creative world doesn't just exist in a vacuum. All the best art in the world works off of the art that came before it. There are thousands of statues and paintings of David, yet Michaelangelo's stands out for its flawless execution and its atypical posture (powerful, pondering his next move, muscles slightly tensed and ready for action).
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| Tai-Pan
223th Post
Frequent Customer
| "Re(9):The SF4 thread" , posted Thu 17 Apr 05:20
quote:
I was talking about unoriginal designs, not bad designs. Q is the most unoriginal ever since it doesn't feature a single unique aspect. I'd rather have a decent character than a good but already existing character unless he/she is from the SF/FF/MB universe.
http://fightingstreet.com/folders/variousinfofolder/ripofffolder/ripoffpage2.html#Q
I like Q's design alot too. It doesn't bug me at all that he's an homage to old Tezuka and Ishinomori robot characters. That's actually the exact reason I love him. No other fighting game has ever referenced this sort of archtype.
I agree that simply referencing a character, or making an homage can often be lazy character design. But when it's done well it can also be very rewarding.
I would say Q is more of a conscious evolution of that archtype rather than a rip off. He's got a very unique feel to him that's different from those aforementioned robot detective characters, and a WAY different than any other fighting game character.
Q has a genuinely mysterious feeling about him. His moveset conveys that he fights and wins purely through brute strength. Yet he's not a big ball of muscle, he's a tall, slim, lanky man. His movements are cumbersome and its obvious that he doesn't have a normal intellect driving his movements and actions. He doesn't have the posture of a fighter, but that of a monster. He feels so cold and malevolent! And in a totally atypical way. That's why I think Q is a great design. He's got a totally unique feeling about him which is perfectly matched to his moveset, which again, is unlike any other character out there.
The creative world doesn't just exist in a vacuum. All the best art in the world works off of the art that came before it. There are thousands of statues and paintings of David, yet Michaelangelo's stands out for its flawless execution and its atypical posture (powerful, pondering his next move, muscles slightly tensed and ready for action).
Thats the PERFECT explanation of Q's uniqueness. I love Q.
"Those who follow the path of a warrior must be ready to die in order to stand for one's convictions live for one's convictions die for one's convictions"
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| Pollyanna 2487th Post
Platinum Carpet V.I.P- Board Master
| "Re(8):My band called the SF2 Tribute" , posted Thu 17 Apr 16:01
quote:
Pollyanna, you use Chunli ONLY? Are you a girl?
Most girls, from my experience, use Ken and Balrog. It may have been different when SF2 came out, but these days I think "hot guy" trumps "grrl power".
Anyway, I'll probably always be sour about the 2.5D thing, but I hope the game does well all the same. I'm sure by the time they hit "Super Turbo" they'll have more characters I like.
Still, if they like SF2 so much, they should have just made a SF2 HD remake where they redraw all the sprites frame for frame. If Capcom of Japan didn't have enough people to work on it, I'm sure they could find some talented American team. I bet comic book artists would do a great job!
青春謳歌 弱肉強食
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| Just a Person 1147th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Last loketest to be announced on Tuesday" , posted Sun 18 May 09:19
According to Shoryuken.com's translation of Capcom's SFIV official blog, it seems that Capcom will announce next Tuesday the date and place of the next game loketest.
The part that worries me is that according to their translation, this will also be the last SFIV loketest. Which probably means the game is almost complete by now...
This worries me because so far, despite all the positive reviews from the people who tested the game, the cast isn't really innovative. It's basically the SSFII cast, only with Viper, Abel, Rufus and Fuerte substituting T.Hawk, Dee Jay, Fei-Long and Cammy... I liked the four new characters, but I hope there are more new characters than that. A new boss would be cool as well (although it's possible the last boss would be Dictator or Akuma).
Well, let's wait until Tuesday...
I can be any person in the world... maybe I'm this person right in front of you... maybe I'm not.
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| EddyT 714th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member
| "Re(1):Last loketest to be announced on Tuesda" , posted Sun 18 May 09:38:
quote:
According to Shoryuken.com's translation of Capcom's SFIV official blog, it seems that Capcom will announce next Tuesday the date and place of the next game loketest.
The part that worries me is that according to their translation, this will also be the last SFIV loketest. Which probably means the game is almost complete by now...
This worries me because so far, despite all the positive reviews from the people who tested the game, the cast isn't really innovative. It's basically the SSFII cast, only with Viper, Abel, Rufus and Fuerte substituting T.Hawk, Dee Jay, Fei-Long and Cammy... I liked the four new characters, but I hope there are more new characters than that. A new boss would be cool as well (although it's possible the last boss would be Dictator or Akuma).
Well, let's wait until Tuesday...
Yeah, even I'm afraid. Especially with all the negative backlash about the leaked Rufus vids and pics. If they released new characters after a guy like Rufus, you would think that they may be even worse in concept than Rufus.
I still like the game a lot, but it will probably end up a "stepping stone" game that will pave the way for a future quasi-sequel that more people will enjoy. SF4 may end up like Alpha 1, original SF2 and original SF3... an afterthought that was important to release, but quickly replaced by a better upgrade down the road.
Let's hope there is a quasi-follow-up, at least.
If this ends up as a Tokyo-only loketest, I am tempted to go... even if the train ride will be a bit expensive. I hope Maddy will be there if it is.
[this message was edited by EddyT on Sun 18 May 09:40] |
| Professor 2470th Post
MMCafe Owner
     
| "Re(2):Thanks Maddy" , posted Sat 24 May 00:53:
I went to the beta test today humm... it played better, faster than back from AOU in February but otherwise it doesn't feel that much different. Pretty much a SSF2T with 3D graphics and a very flexible guard attack move.
The roster of 16 was playable today, and I'm assuming that's the final roster leaving aside a possible Akuma. (The world warriors + 4 bosses + 4 new charas). BTW, it seems that Rufus is a caucasian with a Chinese hairdo.
One of the things I was kind of surprised was that, they didn't upgrade the supers since the AOU. All the characters still only have one Super (two, if you add the revenge/ultra move), and it's fixed, pretty much like SSF2T. Not a selectable system like in 3S.
The super meter fills up rather slowly compared to modern games, but it gets carried over to the next round. I don't know whether the revenge meter has any use other than for the Ultra combo, but it'll fill up at least once a round.
With SF4, the game cabinets are all connected locally via LAN and the system automatically does matchmakings. Which is both a good thing and a bad thing. Good thing is that, you'll always have someone to play against. Bad thing is that, let's say you want to play alone and you sit before a cabinet with noone on the other side. Tough luck, you're gonna get connected with someone in the arcade.
Of course the Capcom developers figured that issue out. The beta test had one cabinet set up for single player mode. There was 4 modes you could select:
Arcade: Machine sets you up against another human player whenever someone plays at the arcade.
Beginner: Lets you play for 3 matches without interruption, thenafter it matches you with other players whenever there is someone.
Survival mode: Time trial mode, single round matches.
(forgot the name of gamemode): A mode where you get to play special challenges. You can earn special ranks and points by doing so. Machine has to be connected to the NESYS network to play in this mode.
All in all, SF4 feels like a good next-gen substitute for SSF2T. It feels like more of a revival than a new game.
Now my personal question, how many arcades will be willing to buy a set of cabinets for over $5000? I don't know how much it'll retail in the US, but that's the price that operators will have to pay for in Japan.
[this message was edited by Professor on Sat 24 May 01:03] |
| Maese Spt 421th Post
Gold Customer
| "loketest impressions" , posted Sun 25 May 03:40
OK, I just came back from the loketest.
Forget the blurry vids, in person the game is graphically amazing. Really, you have to see it in motion to believe it. Sheer beauty. Tekken 6? VF5? SC4? Pfff... THIS is how a next generation game should look.
I could spend hours talking about how marvelous, colorful and plentiful the backgrounds are. The animation (both of the characters and on the stages) is really wonderful as well, and the facial gestures are just the perfect complement to the mix.
But sadly, after the "first impact" the whole thing gets pretty boring. The same characters, the same moves, the same everything. What's worse, the new challengers are utterly uninteresting (well, maybe CViper is slightly fun to see in action). Half of the character models are ugly as hell. Rufus is hideous beyond any possible description.
All in all, just as expected, if one is to judge from the previously leaked stuff.
What really dissapoints me is seeing the GREAT oportunity Capcom has missed. Just putting more care into character selection, design and modelation they could have pulled out an awesome game. A game future generations would have remembered as we old geezers remember good ol' SFII. A game that would have turned the fighting genre upside down again. Man, what a pity.
I can see SFIV having a moderate success, tough. It sure has attractive, and it plays just as smooth (and simple) as the original thing, which always is a plus. I was expecting something else, yeah, but that's just me. I should know better anyway.
And now, on a slightly related note, allow me to digress a bit about the loketest itself. There were about 40 people, much less than I expected, considering the crazy queues of 100+ persons on the Sengoku Basara X loketests. A bad omen, indeed.
Of course, all of them were the finest Akiba geek breed. I had not seen as many bald guys per square meter since the last time I visited my grandpa's asylum. And don't let me get started on their looks. How cunning of you, Capcom, giving them a classy, refined character like Rufus so they have someone to identify with! I am commenting about this because I don't think is a good sign at all to have the loketest infested of otaku nerds. If this is the only crowd SFIV is able to attract, then Capcom has aleady lost the battle.
Then again, Basara X loketest was packed with young girls (a potentially new market for fighting arcades), and we all know how it ended up...
Anyway, there *were* two female beings at the loketest. One was a somewhat cute, well dressed chick on her late twenties, who seemed completely out of place, completely mesmerized by the screens. She did not even try to play a friggin' match, just stared and stared for hours. The other one was an old hag who seemed even more out of place, but who actually dared to play by herself, and managed to beat the 4 matches of solo play with C.Viper in spite of her total lack of familiarity with the joystick. Maybe she just went there to take her son to the loketest but, hey, there is hoping for SFIV to bring some fresh blood into fighting games community! Well, perhaps not so "fresh", but still.
And that's about it. Maybe you were expecting some comments regarding gameplay, but... to be honest, nowadays that's what I'm less interested in. I'm growing old, and grumpy, I guess.
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| EddyT 732th Post
Red Carpet Regular Member+
| "Re(1):loketest impressions" , posted Sun 25 May 08:23:
quote:
And now, on a slightly related note, allow me to digress a bit about the loketest itself. There were about 40 people, much less than I expected, considering the crazy queues of 100+ persons on the Sengoku Basara X loketests. A bad omen, indeed.
I'm waiting until the KOFXII loketest to really judge on how popular this loketest was. And yeah, sounds like Basara X had a lot of people for their loketest... I'll take your word for it, but I don't think it's a reflection of how well-made the game is or how well the game will do. I see people play Basara X once in a while, but I don't see a group crowding to play that game like other fighters.
In Osaka, there were maybe 25 max at one time. You must be in the Tokyo area.
Like I said before, I feel that the game will be fun for hardcore SF players and will interest newbies or very casual gamers. It's the people who lie in the middle who will not care or will despise the game. Especially those who wanted major changes or those who hate the original 12 WWs. I can totally understand that mentality.
Gameplay-wise, it has a lot more going for it than Super Turbo ever did. EX moves and Saving Attack make the original WWs feel a lot more different.
I still firmly believe there is more to the game that will be revealed down the road... but for now most of the characters introduced seem to play pretty solid.
[this message was edited by EddyT on Sun 25 May 08:25] |
| Maese Spt 423th Post
Gold Customer
| "Re(2):loketest impressions" , posted Sun 25 May 16:55
quote:
OK, I just came back from the loketest.
Forget the blurry vids, in person the game is graphically amazing. Really, you have to see it in motion to believe it. Sheer beauty. Tekken 6? VF5? SC4? Pfff... THIS is how a next generation game should look.
What's worse, the new challengers are utterly uninteresting (well, maybe CViper is slightly fun to see in action). Half of the character models are ugly as hell. Rufus is hideous beyond any possible description.
If you don't like the designs, then isn't the game itself ugly? Or is the technology that impressive (and the other half of the characters that good looking)?
Yeah, I know, I know, but it's pretty difficult to explain my feelings about this. I'm thorn apart between totally loving and totally hating those graphics.
I realy like the technology and the overall visuals of the game. They're truly gorgeous. But the way most characters are modeled is hideous. They are ugly, rough and unelegant. Especially Ryu and Ken, who look particularly awful. And, what's worse, that uglyness makes a bitter contrast against the overall magnificency of the graphic engine. It's such a waste... they could look SO MUCH prettier. I dunno, the art direction is both amazing and awful at the same time, in a very strange way.
Moreover, some characters are more than OK. Chun Li looks gorgeous. C. Viper too. Ugly and horendous as his original concept is, Rufus' in-game model is prety solid as well. But some others are just horrible, they look modelled by a mentally challenged kid messing around with some neat 3D animation program he has just downloaded. I mean, if they had the talent to make such a wonderful Chun Li, how comes Ken is a plain abomination?
But it's not easy to explain, and maybe I'm being biased by my (crushed) expectations on the game too.
quote:
That's impressive for Japan. One of the first things I noted about visiting Japan was how great everyone's hair was. And I don't mean just styling, I mean I've never seen so many people of all ages with full, thick heads of hair on average. Must be all the fish and seaweed in their diet.
While I mostly agree with that statetemt, don't let your guard down. Riding the Chuo line every morning can pretty much destroy most myths and preconceptions about japanese people. Anyway, the only thing that surpised me about those geek baldies was their age. It's not common at all in Japan to see a 30-something guy bald as a baby rat. Then again, I suppose the rotting process of their brains ends up afecting the scalp too. Yucks.
And, to Eddy T: weren't you living on Tokyo area as well? If so, why do you go all the way to Osaka for the loketest? Just curious.
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| Maese Spt 426th Post
Gold Customer
| "Re(6):loketest impressions" , posted Mon 26 May 16:36:
quote:
??? I haven't played the game or anything, but I've been impressed by the character models so far. You're simply talking about how the characters look, right?
Yup, the characters (most of them) are ugly as hell, but they are beautifully animated. They have lots of little details, moves, poses, facial expressions, etc. Backgrounds are pretty well animated too. Overall, it's almost a 3D version of what we saw on SFIII. But everything gets wasted because the characters are just... ugly. Ugly AND uninteresting, but that's another debate.
I guess this is a matter of taste, tough. What looks ugly to me can look gorgeous to you, so don't get my words too literally and wait to see the real thing by yourself.
Man, how many times have I used the word "ugly" on this thread...?
EDIT: spelling for teh lulz
[this message was edited by Maese Spt on Mon 26 May 16:41] |
| Just a Person 1164th Post
Red Carpet Premium Member+
| "Re(2) Artwork of our lovely balloon-man..." , posted Thu 29 May 05:02
quote:
Also rumors about Fei Long being in the game. Picture sent from DragonFave723 on srk.com. Whether or not he will be an arcade character or console-only character, it's not known at the time.
quote:
Double posting for the awesomeness that is Dan.
...Weren't both Fei-Long and Dan in a SFIV poll with Dudley, Sakura, R.Mika and Necro? Maybe the poll DID have a motive, after all.
However, if I remember correctly, Dudley was the most voted character in this poll, and then Sakura. Shouldn't THEY be added to the roster instead of Fei-Long and Dan, then? After all, some people are dying to see a SFIII character in SFIV, and Sakura would help the female ratio in it (Ono said he would try to balance the male:female ratio, didn't he?).
If Fei-Long and Dan are really in the game (whether being time-release characters or console-only characters), I hope Sakura and Dudley are in it as well!
I can be any person in the world... maybe I'm this person right in front of you... maybe I'm not.
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"Re(2):The SF4 thread" , posted Sat 12 Apr 00:15:
"Re(5):Boss video" , posted Mon 28 Apr 23:40
