Middle Tennessee Needs Gaming! Monthly Versus Tourneys - Antioch, TN

[Volpe-de-Glacio]

I don't think having a competitive drive is ever a bad thing. I can only think of a few instances where it becomes a problem when you deliberately try to harm or hinder someone due to the built up salt or whatever (I don't really thinks this happens though. At least, i've never heard of it). Salt in itself is not a bad thing either. Actually, I think there's a clear different between salt and not having fun. I believe it's necesary for players to go through that experience of getting frustrated to truly start enjoying the game they're playing (at least, if they want to be competitive anyways).In short, if you ask me, I don't think there is a limit to how serious one can take a game. Since playing that game seriously shows just how much you actually do love playing it. I don't know how anyone feels about that but that's pretty much my take on it.

Also, how are you alienating yourself from MTN? If they play fighting games competitively and you play fighting games competitively...then? Problem? I do feel where you're coming because sometimes, only sometimes, it does feel like i'm taking things far more serious than MTN players do. However, that just kind of upsets me a bit.

One more thing and i'm done here. When it comes to having that whole high off of recognition or whatever, I think a lot of people have that problem. Instead of going to tournaments for an outlet for your urge to play cometitively, they go to show off their stuff and create their own set of rules on how a game is supposed to be played and whatnot. I'm not exactly sure what i'm trying to say here 100%. I had this well thought out in my head before typing it out but it seems to have turned into a mess. Lol

I kinda get where you're coming from, but in my mind a scrub is someone different from what I was turning into. I think that mentality is a huge part of being competitive in the first place, and following some unwritten code on what's honorable and what isn't is probably the worst mindset one can have when it comes to fighters. That high of being acknowledged was separate from my competitive drive - I just feel massively robbed when I can't go 100% in a tournament. Partly because I can't improve when I make beginner mistakes, and partly because I was getting addicted to receiving acknowledgement as a player, and I felt I couldn't get the respect I truly deserved if I couldn't play 100%.

Luckily for me, recently life has seen fit to backhand me a few times and make me snap out of my ego driven bullshit. More and more I feel like the shit I was so concerned about is becoming irrelevant, such as how I appear to others. One day soon, I shall finally learn to give zero fucks.

Part of the thrill of fighting games is the seriousness of the matches (most of the times), that intensity is what draws me to the genre, so as long as it doesn't engulf your life, I say keep chasing. And I'm a PS3 player, though I'm hardly ever on lol.. We should really try to get some matches in some time! You like fighting the bull and it's persona right?

Dark Souls really is an amazing game, I've replayed it so many times now it's not even funny now. I'm working on a SL1 character atm, sitting in front of the oreos and smores door right now, lol. The series has so much replay value it's insane. And the PvP is so exciting too! :D Honestly don't think I've spent so much time on any other RPG.

Yeah. . . I'm a firm believer in partaking of anything in moderation. It probably sounds crazy to some, but I'm the kind of person who is perfectly okay with people using say, heroin or meth, as long as they don't let it control their lives. But that's a whole 'nother can of worms. I just had to make sure I wasn't coming on too strong, and I appreciate the feedback. As for P4A, I definitely need more Slab experience because WOZ IS ALWAYS BUSY PLAYING LIKE 50 DIFFERENT FIGHTERS FROM BYGONE ERAS.

And Dark Souls <3. It's probably one of my favorite games like, ever.

I believe enough becomes too much when you stop having fun, and keep playing.

I also don't think you've ever alienated yourself from us. We ALL just wanna play games, whether it's extremely casual, or quite intense, so it's hard to alienate yourself.

The day I stop having fun pressing mah buttons is the day I put my controller down for good. The feeling of correctly reading an opponent and punishing them HARD is just too damn good. I swear, it's like a drug.

I don't think you, or anyone else, has put the rest of us off because of trying too hard, so you shouldn't feel like that. All of us actually want to nurture your competitive vibes, it's just a distance problem that prevents you from visiting more often, I think. If you want to be competitive, be competitive and do what you can to improve yourself. Don't get discouraged, cause then you're just gonna feel worse. =O

Yes, some salt is good. I actually think I understand what you were trying to say with your last paragraph.

However, lemme segue into something. I think you, Volpe, and one or two others think that the rest of the community isn't serious about being competitive. We are, we just aren't serious-face about it. Instead we laugh and have a good time, because that's what playing games is all about. It's cool to be serious and concentrating, but it's also fine to laugh about it, as well. Someone's outward expression toward a game is not indicative of their take on it.

This last part is what I meant by alienation. My tendency to over-think things and general social ineptitude combined to make me feel like I came across as some sort of sneering elitist simply because I try as hard as possible, and so might inadvertently come on too strong, especially when I beat myself up for my mistakes. I feel like when I get audibly salty with myself I'm sort of messing with others' enjoyment of the game, because they're just chilling and playing while I'm bitching and cursing.

I used to think somewhat like there was this invisible line that separated the community, but I've come to realize a few things about how flawed this mentality is. I viewed it as more of a priority thing. Training up for the next tournament or MTN gathering or even just in general is pretty crucial for me (even with my abundance of free time), which is why I get so crushed (and probably a bit over-dramatic) when it seems I can't make it out. It seemed to me that when people like Ayashii can become so good with their busy schedules preventing them from going to tournaments, there should be no reason other people couldn't do the same. Since they weren't, I simply saw it as a lack of effort, or else not taking competition as seriously. (I hope this doesn't sound condescending, it's not like I looked down on anyone for this perception.) I just felt we had vastly differing mindsets. Personally I couldn't fathom how some people had certain mentalities, but as long as they're getting what they get out of the game then I never saw any problem with it. It was just an opinion kinda thing.

I'll admit I used to divide the community between casual and hardcore players in my mind, but I've since realized that not a single person in our community fits my idea of a low level player. Everyone is capable of adapting to different situations in my experience, and I've come to the conclusion that we don't have a single weak player because of this. Especially when you take into account that there are other games that players who tend to place low can absolutely wreck shit in. We've all got our strengths and weaknesses, and in the end we're all fighters. Or some corny shit like that, I dunno.

[Bane]

Well said. Our community is pretty great.

I wish I had more opportunities to come see the people outside of Cookeville.

[Thackston]

I have to do school stuff this weekend so I cant come to MTNG Its all good though, im still working on getting better. Love you guys <3

[Tophatmoffet]

Yikes, I should actually read when I refresh sometimes.

Volpe you need to stop worrying so much. You're painting yourself having natural reactions to wanting to improve in a bad light. Its not healthy. I don't, nor have I ever thought you resembled anything close to a "sneering elitist." You're a nice guy and a great player, and I do hope you continue that trend.

Also if you guys are into dark souls, especially sl1 runs, check out emarrel on youtube. Dude is great.

I'm currently not playing it much, but I will when my ps3 gets here.

[Mr.Minionman]

That and DarkSoulsMindsEye are 2 of my favorite DS channels. I watch them all the time :o I especially love emarrel's vs Hackers vids, (but still, sl1 NG+++++++ runs ftw)

[Tophatmoffet]

Also sansviedotcom is like the dark souls jourdal.

[Urichinan]

I definitely need more Slab experience because WOZ IS ALWAYS BUSY PLAYING LIKE 50 DIFFERENT FIGHTERS FROM BYGONE ERAS.

If it was a fighter that released on PS3, I probably have it. If you ever want to play a fighter with me just ask, unless I'm already playing with someone else, I'm always free to play other games.

[tret_tree]

Speaking of which, does anybody here even play GG online? I'd love to play somebody not from Cookeville without having to go out of town, but I'm not sure how seriously people take it considering shitty netcode etc.

[Mr.Minionman]

I tried it, but it gave me nothing but errors connecting for half an hour before I gave up. And the people on PSN should get into a lobby on P4A at some point, I'd like to get matchup experience in before MTNG. Trying to get back into this game, and I still got a bit of work to do.

[LastStarSaviour]

GG netplay is shit ass and Arcsys should give me my fucking money back for releasing this garbage. Played a FT10 with Volpe and then the connection just gave us a good middle finger. Oh well, fuck that game anyways. If no character wants to embrace my love, I say fuck the roster.

Played through almost everyone in the game now and I still can't find anyone i'm remotely interested in. I thought I had Venom on lock, but after a lot of studying of his gameplay, he doesn't fit me at all. The same goes for Millia. I hate stupid mix-ups and 50/50 bull shit all the time to open people up. It's so brain-dead and auto-pilot it's not even possible to have fun doing.

[Alphakami]

I thought I had Venom on lock, but after a lot of studying of his gameplay, he doesn't fit me at all. It's so brain-dead and auto-pilot it's not even possible to have fun doing.

BWA HAA HAA HAA!!!!

[Klein]

I died so much. I just can't. Star plz.

And Tret, I'd deal with the shitty GG netcode as long as you hit me up on Skype or something to schedule first. Also Volpe, I know exactly how you feel about beating yourself up over mistakes, I do that all the time but these fgts still like me.

[LastStarSaviour]

I think you missed the part where Millia was in that sentence tad...

[Klein]

I think you missed the part where Millia was in that sentence tad...

With all due respect, I think you gave me brain cancer. I'm just gonna go over here and do things, and try to forget this ever happened.

Also, if I see you guys DP ladder in grand finals, I'm punching both of you.

[LastStarSaviour]

With all due respect, I think you gave me brain cancer. I'm just gonna go over here and do things, and try to forget this ever happened.

How? I mean, shed some light on a situation you apparently more than me about. Since apparently, you know more than me about Millia's mix-up.

[Klein]

How? I mean, shed some light on a situation you apparently more than me about. Since apparently, you know more than me about Millia's mix-up.

Alright. For one, Millia's rushdown game is probably the least 50/50 based rush other than HOS', it's just really hard to block. If you don't believe me, watch Bishop vs Phil and look for all the ridiculous stuff they both block.

And Millia is probably the least braindead character you've played, since there's more to fighting games than pressure strings and combos.

That's my 2 cents as someone who's never played Millia in my life. I'd love to hear what Phil and Tad could say on the matter.

[LastStarSaviour]

I never called Millia brain-dead. I just said, applying the mix-ups is brain-dead once it's been learned. There's no real thought process behind the MIX-UP. Pay attention to the way I state my comments please.

Also, no fucking whooop that there's much more to fighting games, i'm simply stating how the mix-up game is more or less on the more brain-dead side when it comes to opening someone up.

[Klein]

Okay, I'm gonna need you to clarify something for me. What is YOUR definition of a non-braindead mixup game?

[LastStarSaviour]

1) Unsafe

2) Only guaranteed one mix-up, then return to neutral

3) Instant over-heads aren't possible or at the very least isn't prevelant

4) The mix-up doesn't lead into REALLY good damage and more mix-up

5) Having to know what the opponent is thinking as opposed to just setting a situation up

[Hellknight10]

so you want a character that doesnt do mix-up to actually do mix-up?

that's what you consider not braindead?

please no

[Milln]

5) Having to know what the opponent is thinking as opposed to just setting a situation up

can I pick at number 5? If you set them up, then you force your opponent to think a certain way and that's why it's called a set-up, and why you train your opponent. Set-ups involve forcing a thought process. I don't really understand what you're saying here. Are you talking about... Like.. I dunno. Can you elaborate?

[LastStarSaviour]

The clearest example I can give is Millia doing sweep>roll>throw disk>Do what I want

It's a guessing game at that point. Your opponent wakes up, and has to guess between whether i'm going to do an overhead, instant-overhead, or a low. All which are very hard to react to to the point where you're guessing. There is no conditioning. You're telling your opponent four things: They're going to wake up and block (this is fine), they're going to guess (problem), if you don't guess correctly, you're getting hit into damage with more mix-up on the way (problem), and there's little consequence to me doing these mix-ups (problem)

Yes, I know this is just basic Millia, but it's still very, VERY strong basic Millia.

Edit: Also with 5) I should have worded it better. It shouldn't be overly-advantageous.

[Volpe-de-Glacio]

This is why I'm so confused over high level competition in fighters. . . Yomi is this intangible, prevalent force and sometimes I'm unsure if it's even legit or not. I mean, it is legit when you see it in action. But how the hell do you cultivate a skill that seems to be born from instinct? Unless you believe in the more intangible, spiritual aspect of life and meditate to improve latent empathic abilities, (which I am looking into, as crazy as that might sound. I can't recommend meditation enough. Regardless of one's personal beliefs, it does have tangible effects.) it seems the capacity to develop yomi is something you have to be born with.

Star, I think when you break fighters down into their components and scrutinize them from a technical standpoint, it seems fraudulent and brain-dead. It isn't until you factor in the speed of decision making at higher levels of play and the ability to read your opponent that you become aware that there's this invisible curtain of skill that some players can poke their heads through and some can't. If you don't have that aptitude for mind games, it just feels like rolling the dice. There's a difference between reading your opponent based on the pattern of their mistakes (like how we punish each other's bad burst habits), and legitimately reading your opponent.

@Dark Souls - I can see why people want to challenge themselves, but I could never do a SL1 run. I'm so addicted to improving my stats it's not even funny. Also, for any MMO players, it feels like I'm back in my WoW days tanking heroic raids whenever I join someone's NG+(+. . .) and fight O & S. I can't say I miss WoW's addictive formula, but I do miss the thrill of tanking. . . I would kill for a Souls style game that focused more on group tactics.

[TransientFaith]

This is why I'm so confused over high level competition in fighters. . . Yomi is this intangible, prevalent force and sometimes I'm unsure if it's even legit or not. I mean, it is legit when you see it in action. But how the hell do you cultivate a skill that seems to be born from instinct? Unless you believe in the more intangible, spiritual aspect of life and meditate to improve latent empathic abilities, (which I am looking into, as crazy as that might sound. I can't recommend meditation enough. Regardless of one's personal beliefs, it does have tangible effects.) it seems the capacity to develop yomi is something you have to be born with.

If you want to be technical (and sometimes, there are things you just don't want to be technical about), yomi is just a read. A read is just a guess. Now this guess becomes better the more information you put into it (ie. picking up on opponent's habits, putting them in situations where the options are limited, reacting to certain audio/visual cues), but there is some probability that you guess WRONG. I honestly don't think anybody is incapable of yomi, just some people pick up on the factors that increase their chances faster than others.

[ZomB]

Sometimes you just ~know~