EventHubs Podcast

From Dan to Rose, V-Shifts to a possible guard crush mechanic, here are our reactions and biggest takeaways from the Street Fighter 5 Winter Update

Capcom hit us with their Winter Update and it was absolutely jam packed with a ton of intriguing new Street Fighter 5 content. From the V-Shift mechanic to new characters, we react to and offer our thoughts and speculations about where SF5 will go in the coming days. All of that plus I have a few words to say about a recent Poison article that didn't exactly go over so well.

Timestamps
00:58 - Immediate reactions to the Winter Update
02:58 - Reactions and thoughts on V-Shift
14:30 - Did today's presentation inspire the community?
17:30 - Reactions to Eleven
21:57 - Did we spot a guard crush mechanic?
26:50 - Reactions and thoughts on Rose
34:42 - Reactions and thoughts on Dan
41:50 - Brief glimpse at Oro, immediate community reactions, and six months prediction
48:48 - About the "Poison is fun" article

What does Street Fighter 5 need in the Winter update in order to stay relevant and finish out strong?

We're nearing the first major content drop for Street Fighter 5's fifth season and developers are planning to share information on battle mechanics next week, Catalyst and I discuss what we think might be coming down the pike. Then, with more and more sightings of #when'sSF6?, we get into some conversation about what the community needs to see in this update in order for SF5 to stay relevant and engaging for at least another year and a half.

Timestamps
01:58 - Capcom's new communication is working, but still has room to grow
14:13 - Two ways to approach fixing the low tiers
21:11 - SF5: A good experience "if you play the right character"
31:36 - An increase in #WhensSF6?
35:25 - What needs to happen for SF5 to have a strong final chapter?
42:24 - How likely are these things to happen?
46:18 - Secret hints in today's message and image?

How we'd change Street Fighter 5 to make it more fun and buff low tiers

How do we help the low tiers and make Street Fighter 5 more fun to play? Catalyst and I share and argue about a few theories. 

Timestamps
01:28 - NRS sets a good example for character balancing
04:00 - Online play (LAG) needs to be considered when balancing characters
11:00 - How does life look through the eyes of low vs. high tiers?
15:00 - Encouraging lower tier exploration
21:15 - Dangers of cheapening the game experience
29:12 - Certain characters styles that shouldn't be the best (Grapplers, Trolls, others?)
34:59 - Catalyst's change: Fireballs
44:30 - Raptor's change: heavy normal neutral
52:07 - How would we specifically change things here?
1:03:12 - Why this would help the lower tiers

Is NetherRealm Studios being overly sensitive? Street Fighter 6 may not appear as soon as we'd hoped

NetherRealm Studios disqualifies a player from one of their online Pro Kompetition events for playfully criticizing Mortal Kombat 11, Street Fighter 5 still needs heavy work in the department of balancing offense and defense, and Street Fighter 6 might be farther off than we'd hoped.

Timestamps
01:18 - The NRS ban situation
06:47 - No communication on the subject is a bad look
10:19 - Closer look at the rules
16:55 - Legitimacy of policing criticisms at your own events
23:48 - V-Reversals suck in SF5 (emotional reaction to imbalance between defense and offense)
29:13 - How immensely would you need to buff V-Reversals to balance SF5's offense right now?
32:48 - Where should our expectations be concerning balance on this level?
44:09 - Street Fighter 6 is probably delayed, when should we expect to see it?

Out of touch mistake or next level communication by Capcom? Our thoughts on Akuma's apparent tatsu nerf; King of Fighters 15 trailer analysis

For the first time ever we're talking about Akuma in Street Fighter 5 as Catalyst explains why it would be a travesty if he isn't properly balanced. Now very recently Capcom showed some footage of what looked like a substantial nerf to the character's bread and butter combo, but this nerf did not come to fruition in Tuesday's update leaving us to wonder whether Capcom is making basic mistakes or getting into next level hinting. Plus analysis, reaction, and speculation from the King of Fighters 15 trailer.

Timestamps

01:15 - It would be a travesty if Akuma isn't properly nerfed
10:00 - "Ultra Street Fighter 4 had the best balance of any SF game thus far" Comparing Akuma to other characters and games
16:54 - The mysterious Tatsu nerf - out of touch mistake or next level communication strategy?
30:27 - Message to Capcom
35:30 - King of Fighters 15 trailer analysis/reactions: graphics
45:44 - Character charisma and personality
49:18 - SNK hasn't gone overly PC to avoid cancel culture... thank goodness
58:07 - How to prep for KOF15
01:01:09 - Roster talk
 

 

The dangers of artificially closing the skill gap in fighting games

Accessibility has become a major talking point in the FGC especially over the last few years and is a concept that needs to be approached extremely carefully by developers, we dig into the details of the most important do's and don'ts of this particularly hot topic . Plus Capcom releases a new video content usage policy and we examine how using big data is a must for our genre moving forward.

Timestamps

01:58 - Capcom's new video content policy
09:42 - Accessibility in fighting games - necessary, but dangerous
17:30 - The foundations of competition
24:40 - Ono's 2020 statement that makes me wary
31:58 - Legit ways to make fighters accessible
38:21 - Modern technology and big data can make fighting games better than ever

 

Predicting the top 5 losers of Street Fighter 5's next balance patch

On last week's episode we each gave our top five lists in terms of which Street Fighter 5 characters will be the biggest winners of the upcoming balance patch, now we're running down our top 5 potential losers.

Timestamps
02:47 - Jon's #5 pick
15:27 - John's #5 pick
21:57 - #4 pick for both
31:01 - Picks #3 and #2 for both
48:27 - #1 pick for both
59:20 - Raptor's Recommendation

Predicting the top 5 winners of Street Fighter 5's next major balance patch

The roster of Street Fighter 5 will be going through potentially big changes fairly soon as the next yearly balance patch should be dropping in February with Dan, and Catalyst and I have each compiled lists of the top five characters who we think are likeliest to get the most substantial buffs. 

Timestamps

02:20 - Setting the stage
06:44 - John's #5 AND Jon's #5
15:21 - John's #4 (which is Jon's #2)
25:54 - Jon's #4
34:13 - John's #3
38:51 - Jon's #3
50:15 - John's #2 (which is Jon's #1)
56:42 - John's #1

 

Will this Thursday's SFL announcement be Dan? What are the biggest lessons learned from Street Fighter 3 and Street Fighter 5?

Capcom has promised a special announcement this Thursday at Street Fighter League, but will it be Dan and/or Season 5 related? We're not exactly convinced yet. Plus Catalyst takes a look back over the trying days of Street Fighter 3 to highlight the crucial lessons learned about what a fighting game's success or failure seems to hinge on, and I speak from a more emotional standpoint about the biggest overarching takeaway I hope Capcom has gotten from Street Fighter 5 with.

Timestamps
00:52 - A special announcement of "something" is coming
09:40 - How past lessons of SF3 are impacting fighting games to this very day
12:04 - People legit felt SF3 was boring
14:20 - When the market gets over saturated
19:38 - A warning about passing judgement too quickly
24:25 - Capcom needs to learn how to better manage their relationship with fans
31:58 - The alienating effects of leaving fans too far out in the cold
36:15 - What happens if things don't change?
44:04 - Have we seen any progress yet?
52:15 - Raptor's Recommendation: Wim Hof

 

5 past mistakes we don't want to see repeated in Street Fighter 6, Capcom Cup hopefuls aren't marketing themselves enough, and silk Spongebob boxers

We're looking over Street Fighter history and discussing five mistakes that we hope to see handled properly in Street Fighter 6. Plus why the hell aren't more Capcom Cup hopefuls running campaigns and marketing themselves to win the popularity poll and snag the final spot in Capcom Cup 2020, and what does that have to do with a picture of college me riding a mechanical bull in Spongebob boxers?

Timestamps

01:33 - Mistake 1: Balancing offensive and defensive mechanics
04:24 - Good examples from Street Fighter 4
15:01 - Mistake 2: Overpowered comeback mechanics
23:38 - Mistake 3: Option Selects
34:42 - Mistake 4: Lack of customization on character select
40:49 - Mistake 5: Removing meters like stun gauge
45:02 - Dishonorable mention: Gems/Pay to win
46:02 - Capcom Cup hopefuls aren't campaigning enough
54:24 - Raptor's relevant college story