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Plinking – Revisited

I absolutely cannot stress this enough - SF4 has way too many links to not know how to plink.

Don't know what plinking is?  I'm sure SRK can explain it a lot better than I can, but I'll quickly try my best.

Basically, you hit two buttons almost-simultaneously, such as MP~LP.  In this case, you hit MP first which the system reads as MP.  Then you hit LP and, if you've hit it fast enough, the system will read it as MP+LP.  Because the system has a "priority" of which attack actually comes out when you hit multiple buttons at the same time, the system reads MP+LP as another MP.  That's 2 MPs in 2-frames... you'll just have to trust me that this is totally significant.

I know, I know... I've gone over this before, but I still feel the need to stress its importance.  You may think you don't need to use plinking because your timing is perfect or whatever, but why the hell not do it anyway.  It's easy enough.  Besides, you're never going to hit 1-frame and 2-frame links every single time, so might as well increase your chances (significantly) with plinking.

To see the difference, try the following:

Ryu: c.mp, c.mp, c.hk
Chun-Li: c.lp, c.lp, s.hp
Akuma: s.lp, s.hk
Guile: c.lp, c.mp

Here's those same combos, with plinking:

Ryu: c.mp, c.mp~lp, c.hk~mk
Chun-Li: c.lp, c.lp, s.hp~lp
Akuma: s.lp, s.hk~lp
Guile: c.lp, c.mp~lp

It may feel excessive, but give it some time and it'll start to feel natural.  If you're anything like me, you'll find this method more natural (and faster) than double-tapping.

These Are Things

My extended family used to get together once every couple years and go over the family tree.  It was always a great way for all of us relatives, distant and close, to get together and remember how we are related.  Unfortunately, somewhere along the way, we lost the tradition and we stopped having those gatherings.  But this year, oh this year was different and some crazy genius in my family decided to start it back up again.

I'm not that genius.

I am thankful, however, that a genius does reside somewhere deep in my family tree and somehow managed to pull all of us together again.  Hopefully this year will be the restart of that old tradition.  But I'm not really here to write about the reunion or how awesome it was.

At the reunion I got to talk to a cousin (3rd cousin) that was with me when my Street Fighter obsession started.  I'm not sure if he knows it, but this guy was once "the benchmark".  You know - it's the guy that you train SO hard just to beat.  You play until your fingers go numb just practicing moves over and over again.  And it's not because you dislike him or anything - it's actually the exact opposite.  You put in the insane hours and work so hard to impress him because... well... you just look up to the guy.

Anyway, he was asking me a few things like if I still played Street Fighter and what peripherals do I have.  Being the shy person that I am (even with family...) I didn't really say much.

So, Alvin, this post is actually for you.  Here's a few things...

I’m Quitting Street Fighter 4

Okay, so the title isn't entirely true.  Due to the fact that it's not entirely true, it is partially true.  The partially true part of the not-entirely-true title is that I'm quitting online Street Fighter 4.

PSN Street Fighter 4 netcode is absolute garbage.

I always knew that playing Street Fighter 4 on PSN was laggy no matter what the connection bar said, but I never realized how laggy it actually was until a recent marathon session with Jon.  It's fucking laggy, let me tell you.  After playing SF4 extensively (...8 hours straight) on a no lag setup, I simply cannot go back to online play.  It's just impossible.  There were three cases that finally drove me over the edge:

Case 1.  Chun-Li's standing MK anti-air.
PSN: Next to impossible.  PC: Possible, even on reaction.

Case 2.  Chun-Li's crouching MP anti-air.
PSN: Possible on reaction.  Hit MP at the peak of opponent jump.  PC: Possible on reaction.  Watch the opponent jump, get up, drink some water, come back, hit MP just as the opponent hits the floor.

Case 3.  Teching throws.
PSN: Possible if you can read minds.  PC: Possible if you are awake.

There are actually several other cases that did it for me, but those are the main ones.  I always thought that the SF4 netcode was okay and that it was somewhat playable.  I've even defended it at times.  Now though -  now I see that it really is garbage.  Don't get me wrong, it does have its uses, but improving your technical game is definitely not one of them.

Good-bye PSN SF4, you laggy sack of crap.  Call me when you get GGPO netcode.