-The HUGE problem with SFA3-
poc...@my-dejanews.com
games. That being said; I can no longer defend sfa3. It seems to me that
somewhere along the line in sf history, capcom's sf programmers got a hold of
some grade AAA gonja from Cali & decided to make sf games while having a
pow-wow. Capcom is why MJ should remain outlawed. They went & drew a whole
slew of animation pictures & put them in the game. But, when they put them
in the game, the animation became useless. I remember when Sf animation,
hit-boxes & priorities ALL made sense. Hell, I remember when dizzies made
sense. I swallowed hard when they screwed up the dizzy system in SSF2. No
big deal though. But, I will offer this for future reflection on past games:
How can a bitch jump & punch me on top of my head, then cross me in the face
& finally dizzy me by kicking me in the foot? I know, because she's the
strongest women in the world! That's fine. But then, how can Bruce Lee
double tiger claw me on top of the head, gimme a nice clip to the ankle,
uppercut me like Tyson, & then gimme a one, two, three of Kung Fu fury & I'll
be fine & not even dazed? Hmmm. I know! Bruce Lee hits like a bitch! Not
the strongest bitch, mind you. Just a little Biotch. Ok, enough of the lame
dizzy system of SSF2. As you can see; this will contain a whole lot of
rambling. This rambling was done with a point, though. The point is: that
part of SSF2 didn't make sense. I can only put up with so much non-sense in
my SF. & SFA3 has WAY too much non-sense to justify my playing. I MUST be
getting old because my imagination only stretches so far. I believe impact
points should be at the full extension of the animation. I think priority on
trades should be determined by which move is fully extended at the point of
impact & then, which move is more powerful if they are both extended. Keep
in mind that I mean this only in terms of normal moves. But, now, all moves
are "special" moves in a manner of speaking. A moves' animation has nothing
to do with its impact point or priority. The whole point of a jab or short
back in OG days was that they were fast. So they could "fully extend" faster
with more hit frames per second. So jabs & shorts were safe somewhat. The
harder the button, the longer the start up & delay BUT, the more powerful
upon impact. That ALL makes sense. Animations should be drawn like their
uses. Here's some illustrations: 1)Balrog(boxer):standing frc is drawn to
cover a huge range of distance. Fact:The glove of the frc can be overlapping
the other character sprite without ANY detection of a hit. 2)Dhalsim's
standing jab sticks straight out. Fact: another character can be hitting
Downward over Dhalsim's arm & be hit clean. Even though Dhalsim's attack is
obviously aiming in the wrong direction & the attackers move is aimed in the
right direction. Rather than go on forever...These two are ONLY 2 of
literally hundreds of occurrences in sfa3 that lead me to believe that capcom
smokes some good a** herb. Sadly, solving this problem would still not be
enough to make me feel good about winning. I find little satisfaction
knowing that my wins are racked up because of my understanding of a system
that doesn't make sense, even in the area of video games where suspension of
disbelief is the norm. My wins simply tell me that I have prolly smoked a
li'l too much in my time myself. I still have fun playing sfa3. It just
sucks to know that the game with EVERY character REALLY sucks this bad. Now,
I'm not saying stop playing SFA3 & go play sfs that make sense. But, I can
understand if you did. In the end, all the skills you have mean little next
to the infinite # of little annoying nuances in the game. I used to enjoy
when I'd play for hours & a crowd would sit by shaking their heads at my
obviously higher compacity for such games. THAT was fun. Now they shake
their head thinking "How the F*ck does THAT work!? I yearn for the old
shaking that used to occur when I played sf. Forgive me my friends for
downing any sf. But, the only improvements nowadaze, are graphical.
Strategy has taken a HUGE step backward. The hated "3" series, while not too
high on strategy, makes a whole lot more sense than sfa3. Now onto rambling
that's more fun. I apologize if my statements were unclear. It bores me so
much I couldn't bring myself to take the time to write out a more clear
definition of what I wanted to say.
Apoc.
-----------== Posted via Deja News, The Discussion Network ==----------
http://www.dejanews.com/ Search, Read, Discuss, or Start Your Own
Ultima
[rambling CHOMPed!]
So basically, you're saying you think SFA3 has some fucked up hit
detection? What, you only NOW noticed that? I noticed that since the
beta when I kept trying to use Vega's (bullfighter) jumping forward
kick, which would miss my air-borne opponent half the time. >:(
--
Ultima
http://members.xoom.com/Ultima1 - The Street Fighter RPG Manifesto!
http://members.xoom.com/ShinUltima - U's Ultimate Rambling Page
"If an arcade doesn't have a version of SF or SS in it, then it's not an
arcade"
alan
>That ALL makes sense. Animations should be drawn like their
>uses. Here's some illustrations: 1)Balrog(boxer):standing frc is drawn to
>cover a huge range of distance. Fact:The glove of the frc can be
overlapping
>the other character sprite without ANY detection of a hit.
yes that's all well and good in the real world, but back in the world of
games, gameplay flaws are a bigger sin.
remember back in sf2 when dhalsim could just fire ball/hard kick slow
Z.....how fucking lame.
maybe, just maybe capcom saw these flaws in Z3 and decided to just pull back
the collision boxes instead of re-drawing the animations and delaying the
game.....cheap on their part yes, but who cares if the collision is not 100%
but the gameplay is fine.
kayin/ka khiong kwok
Ultima wrote in message <36AA7401...@rit.edu>...
<snip>
>So basically, you're saying you think SFA3 has some fucked up hit
>detection? What, you only NOW noticed that? I noticed that since the
>beta when I kept trying to use Vega's (bullfighter) jumping forward
>kick, which would miss my air-borne opponent half the time. >:(
That sucks doesn't it. I don't even jumped often with Vega now. Usually I'm
airborne cause I'm doing one of his specials, other then that, it's usually
a ground game for me. Too bad you can't hope over fireballs with Vism's
scarlet terror special. :')
Cheers,
Ka.
=== A fight I liked to see... ===
Morrigan vs Kenneth Starr. It's too close to call. :')
poc...@my-dejanews.com
You've got to be kidding!? I only mentioned a single flaw. Do you really
want to get into a debate over gameplay? You sited one of but many KINDS of
examples. Pulling back collision boxes? Uhm, have you played the game?
Hard kick? I hope you're using this term to appease the sf illiterate. &
the only lame thing about the scenario of Dhalsim & Gief you sited is the
fact that THAT is the depth of the match for you. Ok, I'm being a bit harsh,
maybe. But, realize I'm not the occasional scrub that is complaining about
losing. The sheer fact that capcom still didn't put in a motion for cc
activation is gameplay at its worse. & even THAT doesn't destroy the game
for me. I believe you're missing the whole point as far as hit points are
concerned. The things that pass for depth in A3 are trifling at best. I'm
not saying the game is 100% crap. Saying the gameplay is fine is an
incredibly bland statement with no frame of reference. Compare HF or ST
gameplay to that of SFA3 in terms of seriousness of strategy, timing & skill.
I understand it is an unfair comparison. I only mean it as a frame of
reference. Sfa3 only overcomes these games on looks. It falls behind on
depth, balance, & strategy. Why are people on bandwagons now more than ever?
Because in a game like A3, it is more beneficial. I'll play sfa3 for a long
time. But, in the end, it isn't a game suitable for real competition. The
factor of knowing the game is more essential now than ever. Nothing is
absolute until you "check it out". THAT is lame. Capcom's effort in this
case is trivial to me. Why else do you think that a game with as many
characters as SFA3 can die so quickly? A2's lifespan was 4x's as much. No
one was more excited about this game than I, & sadly; it wasn't worth the
wait. I'm sorry to say: They should've left Guile where he belonged, in real
games.
This is just an opinon of a disgruntled consumer. Swallow slowly & don't let
it give you indigestion.
WhoaMoses
because the arcade version was dying already and they wanted to save the game
with a few new characters and World Tour mode........
But that's okay, this game's not gimmicky according to you guys, right?
James Margaris
[big clip]
You should read my "A3 SUCKS!" post I made when it first came out. Hit
detection is one of the things I complained about. (Duck the Blanka low
fierce?) Of course that was just one of the many things.
I used to defend new games, but I'm sick of it. A3 is crap. Let's see:
Horrible individual character changes. Examples are duckable mid level
kicks (Sagat comes to mind, this helped destroy him.)
Projectiles that make a loud "pop" and produce large hit stun and do 1
pixel of damage. "Projectiles" useless from far away. Brilliant. Capcom
doesn't even understand the basics anymore.
Hit damage is utter crap. Supers still do 50%, so do VCs, while some
normals and specials do basically nothing. WTF. I constantly have to watch my
energu or I have no idea how I'm doing.
Little or no wake up game thanks to flips.
BLOCKABLE anti-air "special moves." Special moves worse than normal
moves...wow. I say, give Charlie's low fierce a charge motion and make his
flashkick a normal standing roundhouse.
VC's.
isms- can you say gimmick?
Worse graphics than A2. Horrible background graphics.
New characters anyone?
Mashing and countermashing.
Rainbow Mika super 720 with punch is the super version of her KICK
throw. Why oh why?
Oh yeah, thanks for fixing Blanka's parabolic ball attack...
Basically no block damage except on VCs. Back in the old days we
didn't need the guard crush, we had throws and *gasp* useful specials.
Remember when a BLOCKED Tiger uppercut did a little less than 1/10 damage?
A3 fixed a big problem of A2 (CC's and AC's) as well as the frame
eating supers but overall A2 was a more solid game.(With much better graphics)
There is no reason to believe that capcom knows how to produce a good
game anymore. With SF2 they had the right mix of ideas and personel. They
don't anymore. A3 is an excersize in boredom.
James M
nicholas louis rogal
> In article <78dlc2$mvj$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>, poc...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
>
> [big clip]
>
> You should read my "A3 SUCKS!" post I made when it first came out. Hit
> detection is one of the things I complained about. (Duck the Blanka low
> fierce?) Of course that was just one of the many things.
>
> I used to defend new games, but I'm sick of it. A3 is crap. Let's see:
>
> Horrible individual character changes. Examples are duckable mid level
> kicks (Sagat comes to mind, this helped destroy him.)
>
So, I'll admit on some characters it looks stupid, but it's just
more variation in the game, it's not a major problem, yes Sagat sucks now,
but all characters suck in some games.
> Projectiles that make a loud "pop" and produce large hit stun and do 1
> pixel of damage. "Projectiles" useless from far away. Brilliant. Capcom
> doesn't even understand the basics anymore.
well their still more useful than in Sf3
>
> Hit damage is utter crap. Supers still do 50%, so do VCs, while some
> normals and specials do basically nothing. WTF. I constantly have to watch my
> energu or I have no idea how I'm doing.
huh? supers do shit damage at level's 1 and 2, all the time, I
notice that a simple Jump-Roundhouse, forward, Fireball with the shoto
boys does more damage than any of their level 1 supers?
>
> Little or no wake up game thanks to flips.
Yea, but we got the whole jumping juggiling game instead, I never
really liked how some Sf's (ST for example) was about 80% wake-up games,
now it's only about 20% which I like better.
>
> BLOCKABLE anti-air "special moves." Special moves worse than normal
> moves...wow. I say, give Charlie's low fierce a charge motion and make his
> flashkick a normal standing roundhouse.
yea yea, well don't spass out on the flash-kick as your all
purpose anti air, pick and choose man. I will state, that I don't like
how specials are progressivly becoming less and less useful as the series
continues.
>
> VC's.
Are abusive at high levels of play only, are beatable otherwise
everybody would play V-ism characters. Are 20 times better than A2 cc's,
at least in A3 their not free damage.
>
> isms- can you say gimmick?
can you say more options...
>
> Worse graphics than A2. Horrible background graphics.
your opinon, I like A3's better.
>
> New characters anyone?
Karin is cool, with some original ideas, I also like the new
cammy
>
> Mashing and countermashing.
Which has been around forever in grapples, also their isn't that
much massing in A3.
>
> Rainbow Mika super 720 with punch is the super version of her KICK
> throw. Why oh why?
why not?
>
> Oh yeah, thanks for fixing Blanka's parabolic ball attack...
>
> Basically no block damage except on VCs. Back in the old days we
> didn't need the guard crush, we had throws and *gasp* useful specials.
> Remember when a BLOCKED Tiger uppercut did a little less than 1/10 damage?
This I agree on, specials need to do more block damage, the guard
crush meter *is* a good idea though, it rewards pressuring, and agressive
play.
>
> A3 fixed a big problem of A2 (CC's and AC's) as well as the frame
> eating supers but overall A2 was a more solid game.(With much better graphics)
>
what!! A2 was all about CC's, the rest of the game hardly matters.
> There is no reason to believe that capcom knows how to produce a good
> game anymore. With SF2 they had the right mix of ideas and personel. They
> don't anymore. A3 is an excersize in boredom.
A3 is the second best streetfighter game, HF is first, A3 actually
has some new ideas, some cool features. If they tone down VC's, up the
block damage, and usefullness of specials, increase throw damage (or go
back to the old system, or get rid of tech hits), and pull it off with out
totally fucking character balance it'd be the best.
>
> James M
>
>
nicholas louis rogal
> In article <Pine.SOL.3.96.99012...@ux9.cso.uiuc.edu>,
> nicholas louis rogal <ro...@students.uiuc.edu> wrote:
> >On Sun, 24 Jan 1999, James Margaris wrote:
<snipped because there was general agreement.>
> >> Little or no wake up game thanks to flips.
> > Yea, but we got the whole jumping juggiling game instead, I never
> >really liked how some Sf's (ST for example) was about 80% wake-up games,
> >now it's only about 20% which I like better.
>
> Yah, the wakeup game doesn't give an traps. Yay. And we now get
> the incredibly poor juggling games, which are pure let-go-of-the-stick
> solitare. Wakeup games and traps were good because while they had a
> similar lockdown effect, they required action on both parties.
Yes, for some characters a juggle = 'free damage', but with very
few exceptions their not end of round lockdowns, which could occur in ST
between certain characters.
>
> >> BLOCKABLE anti-air "special moves." Special moves worse than normal
> >> moves...wow. I say, give Charlie's low fierce a charge motion and make his
> >> flashkick a normal standing roundhouse.
> > yea yea, well don't spass out on the flash-kick as your all
> >purpose anti air, pick and choose man.
>
> Pick and choose my @$$. Pick and choose air defense is a really
> bad idea, since most characters have only a few moves that will work as
> air d. What's wrong with that, you say? Simple - if someone like Charlie
> has three air defense options that will each work on 1 or 2 of someone's
> three different defenses. In the first case, it is always to that
> person's advantage to jump because they will, randomly, win two exchanges
> out of every three. In the second case, it seems as though they're going
> to lose, because they will, randomly, *lose* two exchanges out of every
> three. That's not the way it works, though, since on the one time they
> *do* get through they can combo for many times the damage of the two
> attacks [which were either a normal punch/kick or a special], because it's
> easier to start a combo from a jump in than an anti-air.
> Now, add VCs to the situation, which beat essentially *all* air
> defenses and do, baring a huge super or VC, a largely unrecoverable amount
> of damage, or at least a whole helluva lot =)...
VC's aside, I prefer no guaranteed air-defense, it makes you think
about what the opponent is going to do, rather than just tap F D DF punch,
everytime they leave the ground. VC's are a problem, you can always
block.
>
> It's ugly.
>
> > I will state, that I don't like
> >how specials are progressivly becoming less and less useful as the series
> >continues.
>
> And when were they worst? SF3. At least we can agree on this,
> no?
Yep..
>
> >> VC's.
> > Are abusive at high levels of play only, are beatable otherwise
> >everybody would play V-ism characters. Are 20 times better than A2 cc's,
> >at least in A3 their not free damage.
>
> They're much better, for the person who knows how to do them.
> They're abuse as long as everyone is reasonable competent and can connect
> with them. It's not that hard to pull a number of the bigger VCs off.
> Earth Sodom, corner Hadokens, and lotsa strong sho ou kens all come to
> mind in that regard. They do more relative damage and have more
> invulnerability, sorry but that's unneeded.
Ok I disagree on this, at least in A3 VC's take some skill to land
unlike A2 where it was oops! your standing 40% damage.
>
> >> isms- can you say gimmick?
> > can you say more options...
>
> Dude, it's even got the whole onomonapei (sp?) thing going. It
> *screams* gimmick, even though I don't think it's necessarily a bad
> addition.
Well if it's not a bad addition who cares if it is a gimmick...
>
> >> Mashing and countermashing.
> > Which has been around forever in grapples, also their isn't that
> >much massing in A3.
>
> W. t. f.! He's talking about the "red block" or whatever you want
> to call it, and it's not used often, but you have the option to use it on
> EVERY HIT (I've done it after single hits, though I don't know if it's
> effective).
oops my fault... yea the red block thing is pretty lame.
>
> >> Basically no block damage except on VCs. Back in the old days we
> >> didn't need the guard crush, we had throws and *gasp* useful specials.
> >> Remember when a BLOCKED Tiger uppercut did a little less than 1/10 damage?
> > This I agree on, specials need to do more block damage, the guard
> >crush meter *is* a good idea though, it rewards pressuring, and agressive
> >play.
>
> It's nice, but I wish it was easier to break it without using
> really stupid things like VCs.
agreed.
>
> > A3 is the second best streetfighter game, HF is first,
>
>
> >A3 actually
> >has some new ideas, some cool features.
>
> New ideas in A3: Guard crush, blue block, red block, flipping,
> multiple modes, throws wiff.
>
> Air moves were in HF, juggling was already there since ST,
I like the new juggiling system though.
> ..
> Juggling. If I wanted characters that bounced off my jabs, I'd
> play MK. The juggling now leads to excessive corner damage and in some
> cases excessive midscreen damage. It looks stupid (really, it doesn't
> make sense that you bounce off like that), and makes the game too loose.
Yea, but did it make sense how in the earlier SF's you just became
invincible once you got knocked off your feet, unless you were it with a
auto-combo move? I could do with less poping around, but I don't have
problems with jabing someone out of the air and caneling it into a DP or
whatever.
o_ev...@hotmail.com
> games. That being said; I can no longer defend sfa3. It seems to me
that
> somewhere along the line in sf history, capcom's sf programmers got a hold of
> some grade AAA gonja from Cali & decided to make sf games while having a
> pow-wow. Capcom is why MJ should remain outlawed. They went & drew a whole
> slew of animation pictures & put them in the game. But, when they put them
> in the game, the animation became useless. I remember when Sf animation,
> hit-boxes & priorities ALL made sense. Hell, I remember when dizzies
made
> sense. I swallowed hard when they screwed up the dizzy system in SSF2.
No
> big deal though. But, I will offer this for future reflection on past games:
> How can a bitch jump & punch me on top of my head, then cross me in the face
> & finally dizzy me by kicking me in the foot? I know, because she's the
> strongest women in the world! That's fine. But then, how can Bruce Lee
> double tiger claw me on top of the head, gimme a nice clip to the ankle,
> uppercut me like Tyson, & then gimme a one, two, three of Kung Fu fury & I'll
> be fine & not even dazed? Hmmm. I know! Bruce Lee hits like a bitch! Not
> the strongest bitch, mind you. Just a little Biotch. Ok, enough of the
lame
> dizzy system of SSF2.
Well...I can jump in here since I have this game at home, also. I think it's
fair, personally. Apoc, next time....use crouch jab, close fierce, Rekka Ken
x3 after connecting the jump fierce. THAT will dizzy. Still, if you think
about it, how powerful would Fei Long be if he could dizzy you from a simple
jump-in combo from the front? He'd be VERY scrubby, for sure. As for Chun's
combo, that's not an easy combo to do...so I agree with it dizzying. Granted,
it doesn't make sense as you're taking WAY more hits with Fei Long's combo
versus Chun Li's combo, but as far as how the game plays, I think it makes the
game play well.
But, everything you said about hit boxes and such.....I've been there with
you ever since the game came out. It makes absolutely no sense and it messes
up the playability of the game.
Onaje Everett
o_ev...@hotmail.com
"I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me."
-Philippians 4:13
Shaun Patrick Mcisaac
nicholas louis rogal <ro...@students.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>On Sun, 24 Jan 1999, James Margaris wrote:
>> and do 1
>> pixel of damage. "Projectiles" useless from far away. Brilliant. Capcom
>> doesn't even understand the basics anymore.
> well their still more useful than in Sf3
So your defense is that A3 is not as bad as the worst SF ever?
I'll stipulate to that =)
>> Hit damage is utter crap. Supers still do 50%, so do VCs, while some
>> normals and specials do basically nothing. WTF. I constantly have to watch my
>> energu or I have no idea how I'm doing.
> huh? supers do shit damage at level's 1 and 2, all the time, I
>notice that a simple Jump-Roundhouse, forward, Fireball with the shoto
>boys does more damage than any of their level 1 supers?
I think he's speaking more of X mode and Lv3 A mode supers, which
can do around 40-50% for most of the cast. Damage is waaaaaay down in
general, except for lv3s, lvXs, and (surprise) VCs.
>> Little or no wake up game thanks to flips.
> Yea, but we got the whole jumping juggiling game instead, I never
>really liked how some Sf's (ST for example) was about 80% wake-up games,
>now it's only about 20% which I like better.
Yah, the wakeup game doesn't give an traps. Yay. And we now get
the incredibly poor juggling games, which are pure let-go-of-the-stick
solitare. Wakeup games and traps were good because while they had a
similar lockdown effect, they required action on both parties.
>> BLOCKABLE anti-air "special moves." Special moves worse than normal
>> moves...wow. I say, give Charlie's low fierce a charge motion and make his
>> flashkick a normal standing roundhouse.
> yea yea, well don't spass out on the flash-kick as your all
>purpose anti air, pick and choose man.
Pick and choose my @$$. Pick and choose air defense is a really
bad idea, since most characters have only a few moves that will work as
air d. What's wrong with that, you say? Simple - if someone like Charlie
has three air defense options that will each work on 1 or 2 of someone's
three different defenses. In the first case, it is always to that
person's advantage to jump because they will, randomly, win two exchanges
out of every three. In the second case, it seems as though they're going
to lose, because they will, randomly, *lose* two exchanges out of every
three. That's not the way it works, though, since on the one time they
*do* get through they can combo for many times the damage of the two
attacks [which were either a normal punch/kick or a special], because it's
easier to start a combo from a jump in than an anti-air.
Now, add VCs to the situation, which beat essentially *all* air
defenses and do, baring a huge super or VC, a largely unrecoverable amount
of damage, or at least a whole helluva lot =)...
It's ugly.
> I will state, that I don't like
>how specials are progressivly becoming less and less useful as the series
>continues.
And when were they worst? SF3. At least we can agree on this,
no?
>> VC's.
> Are abusive at high levels of play only, are beatable otherwise
>everybody would play V-ism characters. Are 20 times better than A2 cc's,
>at least in A3 their not free damage.
They're much better, for the person who knows how to do them.
They're abuse as long as everyone is reasonable competent and can connect
with them. It's not that hard to pull a number of the bigger VCs off.
Earth Sodom, corner Hadokens, and lotsa strong sho ou kens all come to
mind in that regard. They do more relative damage and have more
invulnerability, sorry but that's unneeded.
>> isms- can you say gimmick?
> can you say more options...
Dude, it's even got the whole onomonapei (sp?) thing going. It
*screams* gimmick, even though I don't think it's necessarily a bad
addition.
>> Mashing and countermashing.
> Which has been around forever in grapples, also their isn't that
>much massing in A3.
W. t. f.! He's talking about the "red block" or whatever you want
to call it, and it's not used often, but you have the option to use it on
EVERY HIT (I've done it after single hits, though I don't know if it's
effective).
>> Basically no block damage except on VCs. Back in the old days we
>> didn't need the guard crush, we had throws and *gasp* useful specials.
>> Remember when a BLOCKED Tiger uppercut did a little less than 1/10 damage?
> This I agree on, specials need to do more block damage, the guard
>crush meter *is* a good idea though, it rewards pressuring, and agressive
>play.
It's nice, but I wish it was easier to break it without using
really stupid things like VCs.
> A3 is the second best streetfighter game, HF is first,
>A3 actually
>has some new ideas, some cool features.
New ideas in A3: Guard crush, blue block, red block, flipping,
multiple modes, throws wiff.
Air moves were in HF, juggling was already there since ST, supers
were in since ST, tech hits (bleah) were in ST, shitty throws were in
since alpha2, VCs were called CCs in alpha2, chains were in alpha1,
airblocking was in since alpha1, ACs were in alpha1. Anything else?
Rolls were in the previous alphas... Birdie has always sucked?
Of the old things changed: The changes in throwing sucks hard.
They're so pitiful now. VCs are *still* overpowered, just a little harder
to abuse (though not as much as some think). Not die buttons but still
far too good. ACs now suck. Good. Juggling...
..
Juggling. If I wanted characters that bounced off my jabs, I'd
play MK. The juggling now leads to excessive corner damage and in some
cases excessive midscreen damage. It looks stupid (really, it doesn't
make sense that you bounce off like that), and makes the game too loose.
Of the new things added: GC is ok, and blue block is silly and
unneeded. Red blocking is *STUPID*. It encourages bad play and wrecks
controls. Flipping should never have been necessary. Throws didn't need
to be worse than they were in Alpha1 or 2.
> If they tone down VC's, up the
>block damage, and usefullness of specials, increase throw damage (or go
>back to the old system, or get rid of tech hits), and pull it off with out
>totally fucking character balance it'd be the best.
It'd be a step in the right direction, but I'd doubt they could do
it without overhauling the game and the engine.
--
How do you spell a-n-d?
Shaun Patrick Mcisaac
nicholas louis rogal <ro...@students.uiuc.edu> wrote:
>> Yah, the wakeup game doesn't give an traps. Yay. And we now get
>> the incredibly poor juggling games, which are pure let-go-of-the-stick
>> solitare. Wakeup games and traps were good because while they had a
>> similar lockdown effect, they required action on both parties.
> Yes, for some characters a juggle = 'free damage', but with very
>few exceptions their not end of round lockdowns, which could occur in ST
>between certain characters.
Nearly everyone has a big VC that juggles you solitare style,
while a lockdown was for the most part a rare char vc char issue; that is,
in sf2 there are a few matchups where a trapper could have his opponent
lot go of the stick, but these depended on the characters, both of them.
In A3, it depends almost solely on the VCer.
> VC's aside, I prefer no guaranteed air-defense, it makes you think
>about what the opponent is going to do, rather than just tap F D DF punch,
>everytime they leave the ground.
If you're jumping for no reason, why should I have to think about
my response?
>VC's are a problem, you can always
>block.
And you can get GCed, too.
>> Juggling. If I wanted characters that bounced off my jabs, I'd
>> play MK. The juggling now leads to excessive corner damage and in some
>> cases excessive midscreen damage. It looks stupid (really, it doesn't
>> make sense that you bounce off like that), and makes the game too loose.
>
> Yea, but did it make sense how in the earlier SF's you just became
>invincible once you got knocked off your feet, unless you were it with a
>auto-combo move? I could do with less poping around, but I don't have
>problems with jabing someone out of the air and caneling it into a DP or
>whatever.
One or two hits is one thing, bouncing off 20 hadokens is another.
James Margaris
[big clip]
> VC's aside, I prefer no guaranteed air-defense, it makes you think
>about what the opponent is going to do, rather than just tap F D DF punch,
>everytime they leave the ground. VC's are a problem, you can always
>block.
Here is the thing though: In SF2, many characters have :guaranteed air
defense, but only if they are ready. For example, Guile has 100% defense, but
only if he is charged. He loses the charge whenever he throws the sonic boom
(which is a primary attack of his), and his normal anti-air defense is not all
that great.
Same with Ryu/Ken/Sagat. They have an uppercut, but they also rely on
the fireball. If you jump over the fireball thay have NO air defense because
they are stuck in the FB animation.
The difference is that in SF2 you must anticipate and jump at the
right time. The mind game is when to jump and when not to. In A3 you can jump
anytime, the mind game is simply what you are going to do in the air. Block?
VC? Attack?
I prefer SF2 air-defense because it has more to do with distancing,
timing, anticipation, and the overall initiative of the match. If you are Ryu
in control of the situation (IE, opponent is cornered in FB barrage) you can
be sure to counter a jump in 100%. However, if your opponenet successfully
jumped straight up over a FB you have lost some of your momentum and some
control over the situation, and your opponent can now either walk up (if you
don't FB) or jump at you if you do. SO, your skill and your opponents skill at
domination the match and having proper position effects the chance of a
successful jump in.
In A3, a large factor of the jump-in is simply whether you press a
button or hold back, just a simple guessing game that does not rely much on
the overall flow of the match.
Plus, with more knockdowns in SF2, you have more opportunities to jump
at someone as they get up, do a blocked combo, throw or go for the crossup, or
be tricky and jump a little early and block as you land to lure out a
reversal. In general events in SF2 are more connected than in A3, where each
attack or combo exists in a relative vaccuum.
Just my 2 cents plus some more
James M
ps: Julien, was that "interesting" enough for you, or would you rather have me
discuss more on topic issues like my Mac LcIII?
robo...@my-dejanews.com
js...@cornell.edu (James Margaris) wrote:
> In article <Pine.SOL.3.96.990124...@ux4.cso.uiuc.edu>,> [big clip]
>
> > VC's aside, I prefer no guaranteed air-defense, it makes you think
> >about what the opponent is going to do, rather than just tap F D DF punch,
> >everytime they leave the ground. VC's are a problem, you can always
> >block.
You can't always block a VC (see Akuma); or, if you do, you get GC'd (see
anyone w/a fb). However, I still like them, they're not abused, then again,
my comp sucks. And, I agree, they're better than CC's.
> Here is the thing though: In SF2, many characters have :guaranteed air
> defense, but only if they are ready. For example, Guile has 100% defense, but
> only if he is charged. He loses the charge whenever he throws the sonic boom
> (which is a primary attack of his), and his normal anti-air defense is not all
> that great.
The only people that had 100% air defenses were Ken and Ryu (when ready, to
use your stipulations). One would think that Guile had 100%, especially
since it seemed that he could recover instantaneously from sb's and do a fk.
But, it wasn't. Ken, Ryu, Chun-li, and yes, Blanka could all stuff the fk.
Blanka even had two ways of stopping it (at least on one version). I'd argue
that Dhalsim's s.rh was more reliable, not a lot more, but more enough (the
key is to use it when you need to, unlike the fk, when you can fk pretty much
at your leisure; but I digress).
> Same with Ryu/Ken/Sagat. They have an uppercut, but they also rely on
> the fireball. If you jump over the fireball thay have NO air defense because
> they are stuck in the FB animation.
Maybe, but not all the time. The dp can be buffered from the fb. Then again,
this is true of everyone, except maybe Sagat, since he doesn't have the same
invulnerability (I'm not too sure, I would have to check).
Dale
Milo D. Cooper
>
> Lemme start off by saying that I am usually the defender of the latest sf
> games. That being said; I can no longer defend sfa3.
Man, what a great post! I don't quite agree with all of it, but my man
Apoc made some good points, and in a very entertaining fashion! Let's
hear it for the Old School.
--
/|__Milo D. Cooper__________________EverQuest character modeler__|\
\| http://www.milos-chalkboard.net/ http://www.everquest.com/ |/
Milo D. Cooper
>
> [...]
> I'm sorry to say: They should've left Guile where he belonged, in real
> games.
>
> This is just an opinon of a disgruntled consumer. Swallow slowly & don't let
> it give you indigestion.
Dude, you're just angry because Balrog sucks. Join the variable-
comboing shoto masses, and know happiness once again.
Milo D. Cooper
>
> [...]
> BLOCKABLE anti-air "special moves." Special moves worse than normal
> moves...wow. I say, give Charlie's low fierce a charge motion and make his
> flashkick a normal standing roundhouse.
Hahahaha, good one!
> [...]
> Worse graphics than A2. Horrible background graphics.
Does Ken's background *stink*, or what?? Bison's lacks any character
whatsoever, Ryu's is ripped straight out of Samurai Shodown 2, Zangief
gets the Commie plant again, Blanka's is made of one color, Mika's is
almost as bad as Ken's (i.e. full-on pastels and banal detail), Balrog's
is even more annoying than his pre-Alpha version, and on goes the list.
Alpha 2 has much better graphics.
James Margaris
>> James Margaris wrote:
>> Worse graphics than A2. Horrible background graphics.
>
> Does Ken's background *stink*, or what?? Bison's lacks any character
>whatsoever, Ryu's is ripped straight out of Samurai Shodown 2, Zangief
>gets the Commie plant again, Blanka's is made of one color, Mika's is
>almost as bad as Ken's (i.e. full-on pastels and banal detail), Balrog's
>is even more annoying than his pre-Alpha version, and on goes the list.
>Alpha 2 has much better graphics.
This is the first thing I noticed playing the game. Instead of being
thrilled I was like "what the hell?" A lot of the backgrounds look washed out
and are just plain boring. Mika's looks terrible, like a barren wasteland.
Ryu's is one color. Charlie...ugh.
Another problem I have is that some of the new moves they gave to old
characters are done in a different style, so it looks really wierd. Examples
of this are Ken's new spinning roundhouse and Sagat's new laughing win pose,
as well as his fierce punch. Press fierce and he magically morphs back to ST
Sagat for a moment. When he laughs his body gets thinner and his neck longer.
Furthermore, they ruined Blanka. Once a ferocious beast, now comic
relief. We have enough of that with Dan and Sakura. (Who Blanka is teamed up
with now?) I remember when they redrew his portrait for Super, man did he look
mean and nasty, like he was ready to rip out your intestines. Now he throws
around bananna peels. Sigh.
Oh yeah, and with Guile they gave him a lot of animation then did the
old SF3 thing. "We drew lots of frames, so we'll play them REALLY slowly so
you can admire all the work we did"
James M
PhtSaqs
> Furthermore, they ruined Blanka. Once a ferocious beast, now comic
>relief. We have enough of that with Dan and Sakura. (Who Blanka is teamed up
>with now?) I remember when they redrew his portrait for Super, man did he
>look
>mean and nasty, like he was ready to rip out your intestines. Now he throws
>around bananna peels. Sigh.
It was most likely an exaggeration on your part grouping Sakura, Blanka and Dan
together in terms of being "characters". But it if wasn't, you're seriously
mistaken. Neither Sakura or Blanka are anywhere near the non-character statuts
that Dan has. Sakura is at least upper mid tier, and Blanka is severely
underrated. All in my opinion of course. As for Guile... bleh. :)
Ric C
Ultima
> In article <36ADD41C...@milos-chalkboard.net>, "Milo D. Cooper" <mi...@milos-chalkboard.net> wrote:
> >> James Margaris wrote:
> >> Worse graphics than A2. Horrible background graphics.
[snip background comments]
Two things: One, I suspect Capcom actually made the backgrounds bland
and lifeless on purpose. They left them free of movement so that the
home PSX port would be easier (that's if you believe they were thinking
that far ahead, and I believe they were in this instance).
Two, I though you guys didn't give a rat's ass about silly things like
backgrounds? I thought "gameplay was all", yadda yadda yadda? Well,
there are gameplay issues, but NO WAY worse than A2 (read: VCs are still
more tolerable than CCs).
> Another problem I have is that some of the new moves they gave to old characters are done in a different style, so it looks really wierd. Examples of this are Ken's new spinning roundhouse
Looks okay to me. No stranger than when they added new frames to the Sf2
characters in SSF2 from HF.
> and Sagat's new laughing win pose, as well as his fierce punch. Press fierce and he magically morphs back to ST Sagat for a moment. When he laughs his body gets thinner and his neck longer.
Er, that's an exaggeration IMO. It's not *that* bad :p
> Furthermore, they ruined Blanka. Once a ferocious beast, now comic relief.
Didn't you see the way his eyes used to bug out when he used to get hit
in the head? In addition to that, there's his stupid (classic, but still
stupid, though it's better than the one he has now) growl and his
original lose portrait. He's the ORIGINAL comic relief. They just upped
it slightly for Alpha 3, as I suspected they would. It's still limited
to one hit-stun pose, his miss-throw animation, and his fruit-throwing
win poses. Big deal.
> We have enough of that with Dan and Sakura. (Who Blanka is teamed up
> with now?)
Sakura's in a class by herself: She's comic relief and appeals to the
sailor-fuku freaks. Dan's the real comic relief, as is R.Mika.
> I remember when they redrew his portrait for Super, man did he look
> mean and nasty, like he was ready to rip out your intestines. Now he throws around bananna peels. Sigh.
His portrait for Alpha 3 could be considered ferocious if it didn't
suck, but that's a feature shared by all the characters.
>
> Oh yeah, and with Guile they gave him a lot of animation then did the old SF3 thing. "We drew lots of frames, so we'll play them REALLY slowly so you can admire all the work we did"
Eh? GUile's weak, but it's not because he's slow. The only moves of his
that I found to be somewhat slow were his low forward (speed is about
the same, but has less range and surprisingly bad recovery) and low
roundhouse (considerably slower than before when he swings around the
second time, though this move was never that useful IMO). Oh yeah, his
Sonic Boom has longer recovery (you can still follow a slow one, but not
like his old self or Dee Jay can).
Oh yeah: Who says Balrog sucks now? He seems like a good strong
character to me. He may not top tier (V-ism might be lethal, but I
haven't gotten a chance to try it yet - still waiting to get my PSX
modded), but who expected Balrog to be top tier after they knew how
throws were going to be?
Milo D. Cooper
>
> [...]
> Two, I though you guys didn't give a rat's ass about silly things like
> backgrounds? I thought "gameplay was all", yadda yadda yadda? Well,
> there are gameplay issues, but NO WAY worse than A2 (read: VCs are still
> more tolerable than CCs).
It's grossly irrational statements like this that make it impossible for
me to despise what this newsgroup has become. How does the fact that we
determine the ultimate worth of a game by its play value mean that we
shouldn't criticize its graphics??
James Margaris
>>>> James Margaris wrote:
>
>> Furthermore, they ruined Blanka. Once a ferocious beast, now comic
>>with now?) I remember when they redrew his portrait for Super, man did he
>>look
>>mean and nasty, like he was ready to rip out your intestines. Now he throws
>>around bananna peels. Sigh.
>
>together in terms of being "characters". But it if wasn't, you're seriously
>mistaken. Neither Sakura or Blanka are anywhere near the non-character statuts
>that Dan has. Sakura is at least upper mid tier, and Blanka is severely
>underrated. All in my opinion of course. As for Guile... bleh. :)
I was only talking about the drawing style and "character" that these
characters have, not their rankings. I wa simply stating that Blanka is drawn
to look like a comical character. I didn't intend any commentary on the
usefullness of the characters.
James M
Ultima
> > Ultima wrote:
> > [...]
> > Two, I though you guys didn't give a rat's ass about silly things like backgrounds? I thought "gameplay was all", yadda yadda yadda? Well,
> > there are gameplay issues, but NO WAY worse than A2 (read: VCs are still more tolerable than CCs).
> > [...]
> It's grossly irrational statements like this that make it impossible for me to despise what this newsgroup has become.
Please. Grossly irrational is claiming "X person fucks cows" for no
particular reason. I was asking a question more than making a statement
(in the former sentence). Plus, all it takes for you to hate this
newsgroup is for someone to disagree with you, and I can assure you that
I don't give a flying fuck about that.
Oh, and I take it you meant "impossible for me NOT to despise what this
newsgroup has become"? Oh well, who cares. You can always leave and say
you'll never come back and how this newsgroup sucks and that you hate us
all (again).
> How does the fact that we determine the ultimate worth of a game by its play value mean that we shouldn't criticize its graphics??
It doesn't. I just see talk about anything other than "the game sucks
because of XX feature" so seldomly than it seemed that everything else
was a non-factor in a game's worth (not something I believe in, of
course - I consider the whole package). But I shouldn't have been
surprised, since bitching is this newsgroup does best.
And I'll be sure to make this same case anytime someone claims something
like "story doesn't matter", or some other equally "irrational"
statement.
James Margaris
>Milo D. Cooper wrote:
>
>> > Ultima wrote:
>
>> > [...]
>> > Two, I though you guys didn't give a rat's ass about silly things like
> backgrounds? I thought "gameplay was all", yadda yadda yadda? Well,
>> > there are gameplay issues, but NO WAY worse than A2 (read: VCs are still
> more tolerable than CCs).
>> > [...]
>
>> It's grossly irrational statements like this that make it impossible for
> me to despise what this newsgroup has become.
>
>Please. Grossly irrational is claiming "X person fucks cows" for no
>particular reason. I was asking a question more than making a statement
>(in the former sentence). Plus, all it takes for you to hate this
>newsgroup is for someone to disagree with you, and I can assure you that
>I don't give a flying fuck about that.
Hmm...of course person "X" is totally variable...could be anybody...
Anyway, if my only problems with A3 were the graphics I would be
happy. When I first play the game graphics are the first thing I notice
because they are the first things I see. I do LIKE good graphics, being a fan
of 2d artwork, so it does add to my enjoyment of the game when they are good.
Just like in KOF some of the SDM's look really cool, wereas in Alpha the
supers are all recycled animation. That makes KOF a bit more fun and cool in
that respect. Of course, you need the gameplay to go with the graphics, and
given one or the other I'd take gameplay, but I'd like to have both
if possible. The thing about A3 is that the graphics got WORSE from A2. Why
redraw then? I am missing something, probably the same thing that led to other
cool new ideas like mashing.
I can evaluate a game from the perspective of a player or as a fan of
good graphics.
I also like cool characters and a good story. Think about R. Mika. A
big complaint is that she looks really bad. I can't take a game seriously with
R. Mikas and Sakuras running around in it. These things influence the overall
"cool" factor of the game, but of course priority number 1 is the gameplay.
As for Blanka, every frame of his looks dopier now. Example: jumping
roundhouse (he looks too stretchy).
And as for Guile, his close standing roundhouse in V mode is also VERY
slow, and also one of his most animated moves.
James M
Ultima
> >Two things: One, I suspect Capcom actually made the backgrounds bland
> >and lifeless on purpose. They left them free of movement so that the
> >home PSX port would be easier (that's if you believe they were thinking
> >that far ahead, and I believe they were in this instance).
No. And I never said it was.
> Compare the time for A2 and A3 to hit the
> home versions. A significant difference.
Let's see. Arcade A2 came out around May 96, right? Home version came
out October/November 96. A difference of about 6 - 7 months. A3 came out
June 98, and the home version came out late December 98 - 7 months, plus
or minus a few weeks. This is a significant difference?
[SLASH]
> >His portrait for Alpha 3 could be considered ferocious if it didn't
> >suck, but that's a feature shared by all the characters.
> Okay........I think you just killed you own arguement.
Uhm, how? Relatively, Blanka's A3 portrait is as ferocious-looking as
his WW-HF portrait (not his SSF2/ST one though. However, the portrait
itself sucks, like many of other A3 characters.
And just because he had a mean-looking portrait doesn't mean that Blanka
had goofy elements to him.
> So why is Blanka bein comic relief a bad thing? Because you already had Dan, Sakura, and R.Mika.
Blanka was first.
> And anybody who doesn't think E.Honda's "DOG PILE!" isn't utterly rediculous........I dunno what Capcom was thinking, but making so many joke characters isn't funny, it's annoying and disturbing.
Says you. I don't mind Blanka in A3 at all. I think he's a good
character to use, and I find his little silly touches to funny.
Definitely not "annoying and disturbing".
> >> Oh yeah, and with Guile they gave him a lot of animation then did the old SF3 thing. "We drew lots of frames, so we'll play them REALLY slowly so you can admire all the work we did"
> >Eh? GUile's weak, but it's not because he's slow. The only moves of his that I found to be somewhat slow were his low forward (speed is about the same, but has less range and surprisingly bad recovery) and low roundhouse (considerably slower than before when he swings around the second time, though this move was never that useful IMO). Oh yeah, his Sonic Boom has longer recovery (you can still follow a slow one, but not like his old self or Dee Jay can).
> Wow. He's not weak because he's slow? That's funny because everything you just said was slow, were Guile's strong points. Low forward, double crouching roundhouse, and CERTAINLY sonic boom recovery.
I contest the low roundhouse being one of his strong points. He had much
better weapons. I saw no use for that move save for the occasional
push-out.
As for Sonic Boom recovery, yes it is slower, thought not MUCH slower
compared to ST Guile (compared to HF Guile, oh hell yes). Ryu's FB
recovery has been well-slowed since ST down as well. Is Ryu considered
slow now?
Anyway, I think Guile is weak because his Sonic Boom does next to no
damage (ARGH!) and his anti-air is weak (like Charlie, his low fierce is
his best anti-air it seems). A couple of his moves are slower but he
himself is not slow. Slowing down a couple of moves does not make Guile
as a whole "slower". Hell, his Flash Kick is faster now.
> Sheesh, did you ever even play Guile in the old days?
Yes. Not one of my best characters, but I knew how to play with him.
Intermediate level on HF would be my guess at where I was with him.
WhoaMoses
>and lifeless on purpose. They left them free of movement so that the
>home PSX port would be easier (that's if you believe they were thinking
>that far ahead, and I believe they were in this instance).
>
Exactamente. But is that any excuse? I mean, if I make a game with three frames
of animation per character, and the home port comes out 2 hours after the
arcade version, is that a good thing? Compare the time for A2 and A3 to hit the
home versions. A significant difference. Skimping on the backrounds is NOT
good. It lowers the overall quality of the product.
>
>> Furthermore, they ruined Blanka. Once a ferocious beast, now comic
>relief.
>
>Didn't you see the way his eyes used to bug out when he used to get hit
>in the head? In addition to that, there's his stupid (classic, but still
>stupid, though it's better than the one he has now) growl and his
>original lose portrait. He's the ORIGINAL comic relief. They just upped
>it slightly for Alpha 3, as I suspected they would. It's still limited
>to one hit-stun pose, his miss-throw animation, and his fruit-throwing
>win poses. Big deal.
>
>> We have enough of that with Dan and Sakura. (Who Blanka is teamed up
>> with now?)
>
>Sakura's in a class by herself: She's comic relief and appeals to the
>sailor-fuku freaks. Dan's the real comic relief, as is R.Mika.
>
>> I remember when they redrew his portrait for Super, man did he look
>> mean and nasty, like he was ready to rip out your intestines. Now he throws
>around bananna peels. Sigh.
>
>His portrait for Alpha 3 could be considered ferocious if it didn't
>suck, but that's a feature shared by all the characters.
Okay........I think you just killed you own arguement. So why is Blanka bein
comic relief a bad thing? Because you already had Dan, Sakura, and R.Mika. And
anybody who doesn't think E.Honda's "DOG PILE!" isn't utterly
rediculous........I dunno what Capcom was thinking, but making so many joke
characters isn't funny, it's annoying and disturbing.
>> Oh yeah, and with Guile they gave him a lot of animation then did
>the old SF3 thing. "We drew lots of frames, so we'll play them REALLY slowly
>so you can admire all the work we did"
>
>Eh? GUile's weak, but it's not because he's slow. The only moves of his
>that I found to be somewhat slow were his low forward (speed is about
>the same, but has less range and surprisingly bad recovery) and low
>roundhouse (considerably slower than before when he swings around the
>second time, though this move was never that useful IMO). Oh yeah, his
>Sonic Boom has longer recovery (you can still follow a slow one, but not
>like his old self or Dee Jay can).
>
Wow. He's not weak because he's slow? That's funny because everything you just
said was slow, were Guile's strong points. Low forward, double crouching
roundhouse, and CERTAINLY sonic boom recovery. Sheesh, did you ever even play
James Margaris
>WhoaMoses wrote:
[clip]
You are right about crouch roundhouse. It was always worthless. In between the
first and 2nd hit K/R can uppercut or even just low short out of it. The first
part of the double kick has crap range, so using it as a pushaway tactic is
dumb, much better to do low strong low forward or something.
>> Wow. He's not weak because he's slow? That's funny because everything you
> just said was slow, were Guile's strong points. Low forward, double crouching
> roundhouse, and CERTAINLY sonic boom recovery.
>
>I contest the low roundhouse being one of his strong points. He had much
>better weapons. I saw no use for that move save for the occasional
>push-out.
>
>As for Sonic Boom recovery, yes it is slower, thought not MUCH slower
>compared to ST Guile (compared to HF Guile, oh hell yes). Ryu's FB
>recovery has been well-slowed since ST down as well. Is Ryu considered
>slow now?
After the sonic boom Guile cannot follow up in any sort of effective
way. This makes him much worse than any other Guile. Ryu's FB revovery may
also be worse but following up a FB was never a part of his strategy, plus in
Alpha his fireball release is MUCH faster to make up for it.
>Anyway, I think Guile is weak because his Sonic Boom does next to no
>damage (ARGH!) and his anti-air is weak (like Charlie, his low fierce is
>his best anti-air it seems). A couple of his moves are slower but he
>himself is not slow. Slowing down a couple of moves does not make Guile
>as a whole "slower". Hell, his Flash Kick is faster now.
Faster? The original flash kick was instantaneous. How can you get
faster than that? The problem with his new flashkick is crap priority and you
can airblock it. His low roundhouse (although always useless) is slow. His air
roundhouse is slow and has worse range, his low forward is slow and has less
range. Air roundhouse was a large part of his air-to-air game (from far away),
and low forward was obviously a large part of his game. My low forward got
beaten clean by a Charlie low roundhouse as it was recovering. That would
NEVER happen in SF2.
What can Guile poke with now? Jab, short, low strong. Outside of low
strong range he has nothing useful now. And since he can't follow the boom,
once he gets out of low strong range he can't get back without a lot of
trouble.
James M