Stories, News & Updates...

Quick Site Update

Tue, 14 Apr 2009 10:26:11 -0700

I finally figured out a way to record my game videos with sound!!!! I have a home theatre system using a Yamaha V661 receiver. My PS3 is connected via HDMI and my Xbox360 using SPDIF optical for sounds. So with 2 different sources and stupid Hava HD platinum supports only ANALOG stereo inputs (the red/white cable), I couldn’t record my game videos with any sound at all. After reading my Yamaha receiver manuals for the xx times, I realized that the pre-outs from the receiver MUST convert ALL types of sound to analog so an external amp will know how to use it. So I connected Hava’s stereo input to my front left/right pre-out and it worked!!!! Unfortunately the pre-outs have very low volume output, so when I edited my videos using Sony Vegas, I have to boost the audio output by 12dbs and even with the extra boosts, the sounds are still kinda low. So when you view my videos make sure you up the volume.
Yes, I am still updating my joystick modding section. Right now I am stumped by one of my on-going project. I recently purchased another Pelican Real Arcade Universal after I modded my previous one. I fell in love with American style joysticks. I played much better with them than my Japanese counterparts. Unfortunately, NOT ALL Pelican Real Arcade Universals were made the same. The one I just bought was NOT a common ground architecture, so it is NOT easy to simply add another Madcatz 360 PCB to it. I need to buy some parts from digikey.com to convert them to a common ground architecture. I will show how to convert from Non-common ground inputs to common ground inputs in my joystick modding blog.
On the gaming front, I’ve gotten much better now in SF4 than a couple months ago. I enjoy playing this game more now than my initial impression. Cammy still have several major weaknesses but I am beginning to overcome some of those with better strategies. Coming from old school SF2 camp, the new SF4 focus attacks were not easy to adapt to. Initially I found them to be very disruptive to the over all game flow (holding 2 buttons, dashing forward and backwards feels more like SNK games such as Samurai Shodown xx, King of Fighters xx). Now I realized that Focus Attack is CENTRAL in SF4. It is both an offensive and defensive at the same time. Now I am slowly integrating this new Focus Attacks into my game play. Even now, I have to constantly remind myself sometimes during mid game to use Focus Attacks.
So now I have gotten better with SF4, so I’ve climbed the battle point ladder to around 3200 BPs (I know BPs system sucks and people cheat but it’s a way to see your own progress if you are honest to yourself). On Playstation Network (PSN), I set my filter to “more skilled” but I kept getting sub 1500 BP players wasting my time and I get 1 bp for beating them, but on Xbox Live (XBL), I consistently getting players either above me or at most 500 bps below me. So the competition on XBL is more intense and the BPs on XBL more accurately reflect you true skills than PSN (because even getting 10~20 bps from much weaker players is a type of BP farming so it artificially inflate your BPs). Because of the potential of BP farming on PSN, I have stopped playing ranked on PSN (I still play random ranked on XBL). While It is fun to play my fellow SRK members but I still like to play random ranked matches against people I’ve never met and play against strategies I’ve never seen. Playing among friends too often will eventually narrow your skills to their strategies and that is not a good thing. You need to play someone you never played before so you can be a more complete player than just a 1 or 2 trick pony.
Check it out in my video section or subscribe to my videos on youtube. My handle on youtube is faux123 also.
PS, I’ve uploaded some new photos to my photo section. The new additions are photos of people who rage quit on me or hate mails from random on-line players. I put them up for laughs...

PS3 Version 2.70 Firmware Rants

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 10:41:29 -0700

Sony on April 1 has released a new firmware version 2.70 which supposed to add in game text features and let you back up your purchased videos etc... BUT it has also added many “unwanted” hidden features.
One of the most NASTY HIDDEN FEATURE added for 2.70 is the disabling of certain 3rd party peripherals. As you know I have used Sumoto PS2->PS3 adapters for many of my dual-PCB custom modded sticks, Sony decided to NOT SUPPORT the adapter anymore, so right after 2.70 firmware upgrade, as soon as my adapter was plugged in, it will instantly freeze the PS3 system software force you to do a reset. I, of course, found out about this AFTER I upgraded my firmware, so while I was upgrading to 2.70, I had my Sumoto adapter plugged in. As many of you know that firmware upgrade is a very delicate process, any hiccups during the upgrading process will BRICK your PS3, well, my PS3 was bricked because I had the adapter connected while updating it. So I spent almost an hour trying to unbrick my PS3 via the safe mode built-in the PS3 system. I tried re-upgrading the same firmware, restore default settings and so on and none of them worked until I picked restore the entire PS3 system which means complete WIPE of ALL DATA including ALL GAME SAVES, downloaded contents. After I restored the complete system back to its original pristine state, I had to re-download my SSF2T HD Remix and a few other downloaded games. I was NOT A HAPPY CAMPER. I have spent countless number off hours unlocking the STUPID COLORS in SF4 and now I have to redo the ENTIRE BORING ASS UNLOCKING PROCESS all over again. ARGH.....
So a HARD LESSONS learned from this horrifying experience. WHEN UPGRADING FIRMWARE, UNPLUG ALL CONTROLLER/ADAPTERS just to be safe. You never know when SONY will decide to disable or not support the peripherals you may have purchased.
I suppose this is Sony’s cruel cruel April Fool’s Day Joke on us Playstation 3 owners.

PS: I have finally set up my HAVA Platinum HD and integrated it into my home theatre system. I can NOW record my PS3 or Xbox 360 game plays and uploading them to Youtube. I have just upload a test video to youtube. It is a video of some friendly matches between Imajinn (fellow SRK member) and me. I am still tweaking the video qualities of my youtube videos. Check it out in my video section or subscribe to my videos on youtube. My handle on youtube is faux123 also.

Busy Busy Busy....

Wed, 18 Mar 2009 17:53:35 -0700

Just ranting here.
Sorry for the lack of updates on my site. Lately I’ve been extremely busy at work and at home I have several joystick mods going on simultaneously. I also just received my Hava Platinum HD recording device I bought off ebay last night. This is for recording my game play in HD Remix and SF4, but I need to re-wire my home entertainment system to accommodate for this new addition. My priority right now is to finish up my joystick modding projects first, then hook up my Hava HD (still waiting for some cables from Monoprice.com and finally write some more articles in both my joystick mod log and my SF strategy guides. My plan for the strategy guide is to supplement my guides with actual videos so it would be easier to understand and see the strategies played out in actual game play.

Off Topic Movie Review

Sat, 14 Mar 2009 14:36:26 -0700

Just saw Watchmen the movie last night. The movie is around 2:40 minutes long and it was NOT LONG enough for me. I read the original comic books this movie was based from and all I can say is that the movie mirrors the comic book pretty faithfully but there were a few important details omitted by the theatrical presentation. Can’t wait for the unrated extended director’s cut to come out on Blu-ray or DVD. My buddy who went with me didn’t like the movie at all. He said the movie was confusing and incoherent. So for people who have not read the comic books yet, I suggest you read the books before watching the movie. There a few scenes in the movie where they intentionally slow down some action scenes somewhat similar to the matrix effect I thought they were quite good trying to recreate the comic book pane look. Overall I rate the movie around 7.5 out of 10, slightly lower than the IMDB rating of 8.1. Rorschac’s character was the most interesting role and it was really well acted. Silk Spector AKA Laurie was HOT! Pure eye candy.

Street Fighter Cammy Play Log...

Mon, 2 Mar 2009 14:41:03 -0800

I have NOT been playing SF2T HD Remix for a week due to Street Fighter 4, then last night out of nowhere I got an invitation from True_Old_School for SF2T HD Remix. How can I refuse an invite from a buddy, so I quit my SF 4 scrub fest and hopped right back to SF2T HD Remix. For the first couple of games, I was doing some really STUPID things carried over from SF4. At first I was trying to perform EX Spiral Arrows against Guile’s Sonic booms and Dictator’s Psycho Crusher, then I was trying to tick->throw using Jab+Short only to realize that I using moves for the WRONG game. I also completely changed my Hooligan Throw motions, instead of using the Easy Mode motion from HD Remix, now I am using the ST Classic/SF4 motions for all Hooligans. After a few rounds of HD Remix last night, it made me realize how much I missed the 2+ player lobbies. Having bunch of SRK members in a 4 or 6 player room was so much more fun than the stupid 1 vs 1 format of SF4. I can’t wait for the rumored “Championship Edition” add-on for SF4 to come out.
After the PSN Gods decided that “ALL GOOD THING MUST COME TO AN END”, our awesome 6 player room on HD Remix was LAG disconnected by PSN and everyone got kicked out, sigh... I then hopped back on to SF4 for more scrubfest playing. The state of ranked matches in SF4 is really sad right now. Almost everyone plays with Ken, Ryu, Akuma and Sagat, and once in a while Rose or Balrog. I haven’t seen any other characters used on ranked at all, but I guess it is going to be a while before others gets picked.
Cammy can seemingly combo with just about anything as long as the timing is correct. For example, last night I was playing against a Ken player who was spamming DP, I did a quick jump and as soon as I landed, I performed a short spiral arrow followed by a round house Cannon Spike and it connected at MID-SCREEN! I knew about this property or combo at the corners, but I was NOT able to perform this outside of corners but last night’s combo surprised me. I tried over and over to repeat it was unsuccessful. In HD Remix, I would tick throw occasionally (because I use my Hooligan trap combo very often), but in SF4, to be successful with Cammy, I found myself trying tick->throw @ EVERY OPPORTUNITY. With Hooligan’s usefulness reduced, I guess I am using tick->throw to make up the difference. Talking about throws, Cammy’s airthrow has really high priorities in SF4. I’ve air thrown Shoto’s DPs, Tatsus, and even Rose’s Soul Grab while both of us were on our way up.
SF4’s battle point system is WACKED. I don’t play many ranked matches because of rage quitters and lack of good competition. Case in point, I played a Sagat player last night with around 4800 Battle Points which supposedly a sign of a good player, I finished the match in 2 rounds and nearly perfected him on the 2nd round (the very last hit was a trade with his tiger uppercut vs my Canon Spike). When I play my scrubby Cammy vs any fellow SRK members, I get my ass handed to me.

Street Fighter 4 Cammy Impressions...

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 17:34:35 -0800

Now that Street Fighter IV has been released, I’ve been trying to play my main girl Cammy for a while already and so far I am NOT ADJUSTING to this game as well as I could.
Normal Moves:
Jabs and shorts: Both are the same have the same speed HDRemix and ST Classic but damage wise, SF 4 version is far inferior compared to HDRemix and ST Classic. They also took away the cross up with J.LK (some people claimed they can do it, but I have not been able to cross up in training mode at all).
Strong and forwards: Both have been changed in SF 4 compared to HD Remix and ST Classic. The range seem the same but the recovery animation are awful. Which means a whiff will likely ending up eating your opponents combos.
Fierce and Roundhouse: Fierce speed seems to be the same. The new standing roundhouse is uses a new animation but its range, speed, and recovery are shorter/slower/slower compared to HD Remix or ST Classic.
Combos:
It is very easy to Combo in SF 4 than both HDRemix and ST Classic.
Examples:
J.HK->S.lpx2->c.lk->SA/CS for 5 hit combo easy
J.HK/MP/LK/MK->c.mp->SA/CS for 3 hit combo easy
The 5 hit combo with mentioned above does so little damage its not even worth it except to break Focus Attacks (Super Armor). The 3 hit combo does more damage.
Throws:
Her throw range seem to be shorter but I really can't say for sure because the 3d animation vs Sprites is hard to compare directly. All of her throws now have whiff animation. One of her most damaging attacks under HD Remix or ST Classic was the air punch throws. In HDRemix and STClassic, it can do almost 30+% damage but in SF 4 her throws does barely 10% damage due to SF4 overall damage reduction compared to SF2 series.
Special moves:
Spiral Arrow (AKA Canon Drill): Short version is not safe on block as in HDRemix, it is similar to ST Classic (because SF 4 is done by Japanese not by American studio as in HDRemix so I guess I can't really blame them. Wish the 2 sides would talk to each other). EX versions goes under ALL projectiles (SUPER/ULTRA included) but the range is short same as regular mk version.
Cannon Spike (AKA Thrust Kick): First of all, it is NOT safe on block on any versions of it. 2nd, mk and hk version of it have the same ground horizontal range only differ when airborne and the ground horizontal ranges are EXTREMELY short. It has super high priority over many specials but it does NOT have any INVULNERABLE frames. EX version adds nothing, so better not to use EX version and save them super meters.
Spinning back fist: The hp version of it is so crazy its very difficult to time it well because it hops all the way across the screen but in slow motion. So just about anyone with fast enough reflex can punish it. The only saving grace for spinning back fist the the EX version. It is fairly fast and has good invulnerable frames in it, but this makes it hard for Cammy to build any meter since you will be forced to use this version more often than the non-EX versions.
Canon Strike (AKA Canon Dive): This is really a replacement of the changed Jump MP. In both remix and ST Classic, Cammy's Jump MP has short arch, high priority but in SF 4, Jump MP is so altered because they use the same jump mechanic as her jump fierce/roundhouse (floaty jumps). So essentially her best normal move was removed and now they seem to throw this dive to simply replace the normal move. Normally you can only use this move while jumping forward, but the EX version allows you to use it while jumping neutral up, backwards and forwards. You can also use the OLD TIGER KNEE motion for a short ground hop version of this move. The TK motion is not easy to do under pressure but this version of the Canon Strike has lots of combo potentials.
Dash Backwards/Forwards: Cammy need to stay close to keep the pressuring up, having a super AWESOME dash backwards does not help too much. Dash forward is OK, but be careful, the dashes can be hit by normals or specials.
Focus Attack: This NEW thing is nice but they SCREWED Cammy again but this time UNINTENTIONAL. Cammy's best normals are her MP/MK. Having Focus attack using those 2 freaking buttons, a lot of time in the heat of the pressuring my opponent, inadvertent focus attack will come out because I tapped MK/MP to close to each other in sequence. Compare to others, her FA does not juggle.
Hooligan Throws/Slides: I don't have problems with the ST Classic motions (I played ST Classic Cammy also) but WTF is with Hooligan throw NOT ABLE TO GRAB a CROUCHED opponent. Cammy's style has always been difficult vs turtles and her ONLY Equalizer was the Hooligan throw. Now in SF 4, your opponent can hold DB and there's NOTHING Cammy can do via her Hooligan throw/slide, instead now you have to approach the opponent and forced to use focus attacks or tick throw. They also reduced the speed of Hooligan roll (about 1/2 the speed compared to HD Remix), it is very obvious and very easily knocked out of it. The EX version of the Hooligan has a crazy high arch air roll. It is very fast (just a bit slower than the old HD Remix /ST Clasic fierce punch version) but still unable to grab crouched anything.

My rating for SF4 Cammy is:
HDRemix > ST Classic > SF4
In HDRemix her toughest match up is vs Honda
In ST Classic her tough matches are Honda and fire ballers.
In SF4 her tough matches are vs ANY turtle.

A New Beginning...

Sat, 28 Feb 2009 12:50:42 -0800

Well, this is my very first blog entry on my new site.
Introduction:
I have been playing Street Fighter 2 since High School. When I first saw the game, I was addicted from that moment and I still remember the exact location where the arcade cabinet was located in my local Bowling Alley. I played Street Fighter series from High School through College until I graduated from University of California, Irvine exactly 17 years ago (Yikes, yes I am old school). I then took a 17 year break from the Street Fighter until late last year when Street Fighter 2 HD Remix was released on consoles. Because of my long absence from Street Fighter scene, I was quite rusty when I first played HD Remix (suck ass) and it took me a while to get back in shape. Now I play an OK Cammy by the handle of Faux123 on both Playstation Network and Xbox 360 Live.
I’ve also joined a great on-line community dedicated to all fighting video games (especially Street Fighter Series) Shoryuken.com. Another great thing about Shoryuken.com is that it also provided technical information and knowledge regarding game mechanics, joystick building, repairs and modifications. I am a tinker myself, so after reading and seeing all the great joysticks people have made on the forum, I was inspired to build/modify a few joysticks myself. One of the main reasons for me to create this website is to host all the information and steps I took in modifying my joysticks so I may share with other enthusiasts my experience.