Reaction Time Analysis

[darkasjinksu§]

I created this thread to help out anyone having trouble reacting to certain attacks. So to start off, the average reaction time is about 200 to 300 milliseconds.

After some quick math, you can tell 1 frame is 16.6-onward milliseconds. Now, for example, a green grab has 15 frames until you can't reject it anymore, so: 15x16.6= about 250 milliseconds, right in the middle of the average. Now, you're probably asking "Are you crazy?! Reacting to green throws? Preposterous.", In which case, you'd be right.

Certain things affect reaction time, most importantly in BlazBlue, variables. Variables increase reaction time by a considerable amount, which we all use to our advantage, in the case of "overhead or low" mixup attempt.

Now, to test this, Blackwing55 and I entered a test match. Before researching, we thought Jins' overhead was nearly impossible to react to, however, during testing we were pleasantly surprised. We had no trouble reacting to that trademark twirl, and after doing the math, it makes sense. 16.6×19= about 316 milliseconds, which even those with slower reaction times would be able to react to.

Now, an easy way to improve your reaction time is to simply know the options. If you're having trouble with a certain blockstring, see if you can get someone to help you practice with it.

With this being my first thread created, let me know if it breaks any rules I didn't notice. That being said, feel free to ask any questions if you need help.

[mAc Chaos]

It's generally not that the attacks by themselves are unreactable, but keeping an eye out for them while you're busy looking out for a number of other kinds of attacks too.

If someone just stood in front of me and said "I'm going to throw you" then it would be easy to react to. But if they were doing heavy stagger pressure, throwing in crossups and overheads, and then suddenly went for a throw, it would take a moment to even realize what happened, if they did it right.

[TD]

notable information, yes, and those who read/know the frame data of any fighting game should know this if they are looking for a way to improve their offense and defense.

while this is by no means something new, it does answer the age-old question of, "how didnt l block that?". the highlight of your post would have to be, know the options. if you know what is coming, you've won half the battle.

[GenoWhirl]

Then you enter "The Zone" and react to instant overheads

[Jackie Chandler]

Another factor is being able to identify/distinguish the animation of the attack you need to react to. For example, even though Jin's 6A has 2 frames less startup than Tsubaki's 6A, his overhead is still easier to react to because of the sword spin, and her overhead is harder to react to because the startup of its animation is very similar to her 6B (a low). If you think of things that way, your reaction time isn't really processing anything until you notice what differentiates the mix-up from something else.

Does that make sense?

[Tong]

http://www.teyah.com/milliablocker.html

Good way to test reactions.

However blocking or reacting to overheads is not only about reaction time...

[Tall31]

There are a multitude of other factors that contribute to the time frame allowed to react to certain situations within the game's mechanics. As mentioned earlier, mix up options cause doubt which slows reaction time. Also consider netplay. The slightest input delay can be a crucial factor in determining how well someone can react to a certain move. You also have to factor in the milliseconds it takes for the brain to send messages to your fingers to input the commands required to react as well as the actual time it takes to input those commands. In reality the window is even smaller than your "test" suggests. The majority of overhead blocking comes from predictability rather than reaction. People look for overheads after certain moves or in certain situations. Its much easier to react when you assume it is coming. Thats also why mix up games work so well in all levels of play.

[Airk]

The 200-300 milliseconds thing is for reacting to stuff like a green square turning red, where:

A) The change is immediately and clearly noticable. Things like throws and overheads in this game are often not distinguishable from other attacks until well into their startup frames. Check on the first "frame" of animation of Ragna's 6B . You think you're going to differentiate that from his standing animation or any of his other attacks? No, you are not. So you've already "lost" some of the startup time of that attack, because you're not going to be able to tell the attack is started at that point. This is true for most moves, because that's how you make the animation fluid.

B) The Green->red square change is the ONLY thing you're watching for. This too, is rarely the case in fighting games. You have to watch for at least two things at any given time, and in reality it's more than that, because of all the delays and the like that can happen.

So yeah. It's all well and good to say "that is reactable" but realisitically, you don't get the kind of situation that is reflected in the tests that produced those results. An opponent is never just standing there, OR doing an overhead.