AlbertaSmash

[victra♥]

whoa randall youre a premium member? O.O

 

[Randall00]

whoa randall youre a premium member? O.O

Yessir--these boards have my undying support. Despite the disconcerting trend towards Facebook groups that fracture the community into pockets of local players, this is still the number one place to go for all things smash--especially for new players (which I was surprised to learn still exist!).

 

[Taste]

You're just salty you bought premium for a site we don't use anymore.

 

[Stevo]

I'm pretty sure Clouds are never salty

 

[Randall00]

You're just salty you bought premium for a site we don't use anymore.

I'm so salty, I don't even know what "salty" means.

 

[Rush]

Since everyone uses the fb group and rarely looks at this thread, we should use it as our secret hideout.

 

[Frio]

i see you ron

 

[Imagination]

you should put RIP Neil Detheridge on the front page too

 

[Imagination]

and Aaron from punch crew. Those edmonton cliffs are deadly

 

[Randall00]

Behold!

MELEE IN THE MORNING!

 

[Hussler]

Hi guys, just a quick update about Rebel I this weekend (I'll be posting this on the fb page as well):
We'll keep registration for Melee open till 6pm.
This is because the CRT's that will be used for SSBM will be used for SSBM and only SSBM; there won't be as big a need to have it follow the minute to minute schedule like the other games. I hope this helps out some of the guys that asked me about entering the bracket late.

Anyways, practice hard and see ya Saturday! =D

 

[Randall00]

REBEL I - Super Smash Bros. Melee - May 12, 2013​

​

RJM's EPIC OLD SKOOL TL;DR SHOUTOUTS​

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Tournament directors and ex-tournament directors know that first and foremost, shoutouts go out to Mr. Farhan Husain and the Fighting Game Club of Calgary for hosting an excellent event and continuously doing what he can to promote the fighting game community at large whilst welcoming smashers into that fold with open arms. It is through the continued support and positive, forward-thinking attitude of individuals like Farhan that have continued to see Melee grow in prominence even now, a decade after release. Without folks like that on our side, the thought of being in contention for an EVO spot for our game may never have been realized.​

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Secondly, to Clarke, continuing to represent for the Ice Climbers in Calgary and basically conducted the entire tournament bracket to an event that he hadn't even planned to attend until a couple of days ago. No doubt that many will enjoy the matches that he was also able to record for all of our viewing pleasure and not enough credit can be given to those willing to donate their time and resources to the community. Additionally, the Ice Climber dittos with MICH were a rare treat to watch and I suspect if more people had been around at the time, the old school vs. new school 16-****** hammerfest would've registered pretty high on the hype-meter.​

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Otherwise, I can't say I met everyone, but here's a selection:​

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Allan: It is clear that while we went and buggered off to let our tech skill rust like a tin can pinned to the ocean floor by a dead whale, you continued playing and practicing and learning how to win. I was glad to see you break out the ol' Samus in teams, though I suspect your refined competence with the rest of the top-tiers these days has pretty much put her to rest for tournament use. There's no reason why you shouldn't continue to climb higher and achieve more if you keep on playin'.​

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Brock (Mini): I watched you pull a clutch down-throw f-air to beat JIN from behind in the first game that gave you the psychological advantage to comfortably win the second and you did a great job at adapting to what is a rather uncommon matchup. Then I faced you for my tournament life, managed to win a game, but saw the same thing happen. You were able to adapt quicker than I was and came out on top from behind again! Your mental strength is all there and if you keep practicing, that Sheik will be a handful for anyone.​

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Jeff: We had only spoken at the last event I think, but it was good to be able to play you this time around. I do struggle to get the hits on Jigglypuff and I think it would be fair to say that Luigi is not exactly the most spectator-friendly opponent for the Puffster, but I do enjoy the challenge of the match and you've given me a few things think about for future encounters.​

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Brad: Thank you, as always, for remaining a force in the community for the promotion of the game--too bad about the Cirque du Soleil double-booking, but I surely hope to be available for whatever events you plan to run next. I'll likely never be able to give as much back to the community as I used to, but I am willing to be of some help and I've got a couple of ideas that might be worth thinking about, too.​

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Arthur & Gryphon: By adding a whole new level of punishment to the already-punishing Peach down-smash, I foresee many sleepless nights in the future, waking up in a cold sweat from nightmares about Falco stuffing me into an automated carwash where all the rotating brushes are made of pink fabric.​

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ASSORTED REFLECTIONS....​

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This was a really unique experience for me and I can't really describe to this newer generation of smashers what it's like to come to an event like this, twelve years after I first popped Melee into my Gamecube. ​

​

We Pro Impact Players have talked a lot about the different paths that everyone in the community has taken to get where they are and how vastly different those paths really are. I was trying to think of what it must be like to be a "new" smasher now, in an era where Gamecube controllers are uncommon, copies of the game even are uncommon and the thought of playing with items has been brushed so far under the carpet that hardly anyone even knows what a Lip's Stick is. ​

​

The modern game is, like all games at the highest level, about weighing probabilities and making choices that give you the best chance to win. It is about calculating the best existing character builds, the right stage selection and the application of your ability to maximize those two calculated choices. When a new player enters the fray in today's game, you are taught things in an instant that it took the community at large years and years to uncover. A new player today already knows that you don't play Kirby, they already know that you don't play matches on Icicle Mountain and their character selection screen has essentially been reduced to a set of roughly 10 choices.​

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To me, it is both exciting and baffling that with these limitations, new players are still joining the community to this day, but I can't stress enough how different it is coming into the game with a competitive mindset than what we experienced. ​

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Of course, we're not alone, but the fact is, we played this game for four years in varying combinations of items, in all sorts of stages, in all sorts of modes and for A LOT of hours, long before we knew what a wavedash was. We know a lot about the trophies, we've beaten Adventure Mode with all the characters several times over and maxed out play time on more than one memory card. When the competitive community really started to take off around 2005, we began to learn the metagame while it was being developed and it was very exciting to find these things and begin to work them into our game.​

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With four years experience, we already thought we were pretty good. And we were....with items. Eliminating items changed the game completely and of course, you already know that. You already know that the game is not competitively viable with items and some might go so far as to say "unplayable". There are definite advantages to coming into the game today when the textbook is already written, but I can't help but feel that newer smashers have missed out on something by not experiencing those formative years in the same way. It was those years that truly cemented my love for the game and I have fond memories of a time before I had even heard the words "tier list" when I would naively believe that all the characters were equal. I remember when I first looked at the list of banned stages and being completely unable to understand why the list was so long. "BUT I LIKE CORNERIA, WHAT'S WRONG WITH THAT??" ​

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And because we played smash for so long as the rad party game that it was marketed to be, that is why today we waltzed into a minefield of Marths and space animals armed with some rather unusual characters, with little to no concern for stage bans and counterpicks. When you play a game for that long in its infancy and without any clear purpose other than the sheer fun of it all, some of the choices you make about the game stick, and one of those things is character selection. ​

​

When information about the early metagame first hit the internet, I had already put more hours into playing Luigi than most players ever have in their life. Can you imagine playing Luigi for FOUR years without wavedashing? I can't....and I was the one who did it. Chris played Link--still does, always has and always will. Our character selections had nothing to do with giving ourselves the best chance to win. But we put in a lot of hours and by 2005, it was obvious which ones we played the best. In turn, it was obvious which character's metagame we would be putting the work into. ​

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And so time went on, we begin to learn about things like matchups, having never even considered that Sheik might be able to wreck Pikachu with chaingrabs or that Peach was supposedly a hard Ice Climbers counter. The truth began to settle in. Though we may have been in denial for awhile, playing the game without items and with a greater attention to detail did eventually lead to our reluctant acceptance of the fact that there weren't any Links winning tournaments and Luigi players, though heroes in their own community, were mostly just getting shinespiked. ​

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If we wanted to win tournaments, that would've been the time to switch characters, but it didn't seem at all realistic at the time. I didn't play other characters, I barely knew their movesets and I was sitting on years and years of Luigi. Realizing I had spent all those years and not actually become very good at all, I then vowed to dedicate myself to playing the best Luigi I possibly could. The metagame opened everything up and suddenly Melee did seem to be almost like a whole new game, which triggered another four years of long hours and tens of thousands of stock taken. ​

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By the time we were able to deliver a reasonably competitive Luigi, Link and Ice Climbers game, both Link and Luigi had pretty much disappeared from the business end of tournaments and the Ice Climbers were made famous by the exploits of Chu Dat, but still quite uncommon. As the metagame continues to grow even to this day, I do think it has actually gotten tougher to win as Luigi and Link due to how much more critical speed and quick movement through the air has become. I guess I can't say that it's become more difficult to win with Ice Climbers, but their ability to win is somewhat uniquely independent of those factors, so it might make more sense in their case to say that it has become more difficult "not to lose".​

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Regardless, these are our characters and they are choices made from the heart, founded on more than a decade of celebrated good times and iconic imagery from Nintendo lore that cling to the warm memories of our fleeting youth. ​

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Oh sure, some people look at me like I've never played the game when I don't ban Dreamland against Peach, or when I take Marth to Yoshi's Story on my counterpick, but it don't bother me. I've always thought everyone gets a little too pre-occupied with the game theory, but that's because I still have this wonderful image of Melee as a full and complete masterpiece from back when there was no metagame. Today, "the metagame" is the game. ​

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I envy you players who embraced the game late because you are afforded a wealth of knowledge and the tools you need to be training the right things for the right reasons. I envy that you are smashing in an era when you can watch and learn from countless hours of the best players in the world at the click of a button. And I envy your ability to see how great this game is without having had the long, rich experience that I have had. ​

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I envy you, but I would not trade. No amount of trophies can replace what I feel has been a very whole journey through Melee, both as a rad party game and the incredible metagame we know today that continues to push the finish line at the end of this journey just out of reach. ​

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And one other thing...​

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Less philosophical and a little more technical now:​

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After thinking about the games I played at this event and the various errors that led to Luigi's untimely death, I had a few suspicions. This was the scene as I returned home from the tournament:​

*digs an old CRT television out of the storage space*​

*plugs in Gamecube*​

*attempts to waveland some SH aerials*​

Randall: "Oh ****."​

​

Like any decently-competent smash tournament director, I have known about and acknowledged lag on HD televisions for a long time and I have recognized that playing on a TV with lag is crippling, particularly for certain characters. However, even though I've been able to notice the difference from one HDTV to another, I have personally never had much difficulty adjusting.​

Former attendees of our bi-weeklies will know that we hosted a number of these events using an HD television because it was the cleanest way to capture the video in those prehistoric times. That television has a "Game Mode", as many of them do, which effectively reduces the lag but does not eliminate it. I still have that TV and it is the one that I've been using to practice in the weeks leading up to this tournament.​

Over the past couple of years, I haven't played very much Melee and when I did, it was usually for casual reasons, and almost certainly on an HDTV. Even while I was running the bi-weeklies years ago, the majority of the smashing I did was on that same HDTV because I honestly did not feel like I struggled to adjust to the lag.​

I was wrong. So wrong.​

During my matches at Rebel I, there were a few specific things that were happening to me that I didn't quite understand and other instances where I appeared to be doing things that I simply do not do.​

Sometimes, I would input a wavedash and Luigi would do a peculiar full jump with some wonky DI in the air. ​

Wavedashing on to the stage from the ledge is something I can do pretty consistently without error, but Luigi just wasn't getting enough height on the ledge hop and must've died eight or nine times, helplessly tumbling into the abyss out of his air dodge animation as if I was just learning how to do it for the first time.​

I struggled to space and time ledge-hopped f-airs, a bread'n'butter element for Weege. Sometimes they wouldn't even come out.​

Luigi can SH-waveland his c-stick aerials, but for some reason, I couldn't seem to get the wavedash out in time, seemingly every time I tried.​

At first, I attributed this all to a combination of age-old tournament nerves, the higher-than-usual temperature in the room, sweaty hands, etc., etc. But then, in my match with Mini--if you were watching, you might've seen this and been a little confused yourself--I was hanging from the ledge at over 100% damage and Luigi STANDS UP on the ledge. He then, obviously, eats an aerial, then recovers, grabs the ledge again and then...STANDS UP AGAIN! It even happened a third time shortly after!​

Now, I know you guys don't really know my Luigi like the back of your hand and I know my playstyle is probably at least a little unorthodox, but let me tell you, nobody who has been playing this game for as long as I have stands up on the ledge at +100% on purpose. It is, frankly, pretty hard for me to even do it by accident. It was so jarring that I froze up in a state of confusion at one point and, no johns of course, but I do feel it cost me the match, or at least a very good shot at it.​

Flash forward to the end of the day, I plug in the old CRT at home, jump into a quick match with a Level 1 Kirby and tried to do a few wavelanded f-airs.​

Luigi f-airs....and then lands on the ground.....I try it again....Luigi f-airs....and then lands on the ground. ​

I tried it again and again and it didn't work. So I'm sitting here in my room, staring at the CRT screen, inputting the commands to waveland f-airs like I always do and it's not happening on the screen in front of me. I am baffled. Floored. Completely discombobulated.​

Let it be known, that I can waveland f-airs like a boss. It is probably the most rhythmic thing you can do with this otherwise totally arhythmic character and the timing is burned into my brain. To not be able to execute it has got to be one of the weirdest sensory experiences I've had in a very long time. Kinda like biting into an apple but tasting a cheesecake. It just didn't compute. In fact, if I DO NOT look at the screen, the wavelanded f-airs come out perfectly. ​

​

"AGGGGGHHHH! What have I done!?"​

​

Mitch and I discussed it in some detail and although I'm sure others have come to similar conclusions, but it seems to me that if you play for an extended period of time with some noticeable degree of input lag, you're kind of playing a different game. This entire time, though I wasn't realizing it, I've been doing things like timing d-airs so they hit just after I've input the command because the visual representation of what I know to be the connecting part of the hitbox has always come out after that short delay. However, if I plug in the CRT and really pay close attention to what's happening, the reality is that the d-air actually is coming out immediately as the command is input.​

It definitely makes me feel a little silly that I hadn't really been able to see this before now, but I also don't feel like I can blame myself too much. As we began to fade out of the competitive scene, the twilight of the CRT era was also coming to an end and we had just purchased an HDTV for far too much money in order to capture the videos. The issue of input lag wasn't terribly well-documented and we didn't personally feel the ill effects just through subconsciously adjusting to it. So the notion of returning the fancy new TV and the fancy new capture card just to go back to a CRT and a stack of VHS tapes didn't even cross our minds.​

So, the realization that I probably haven't played Melee on a CRT for more than a handful of matches in years washes over me like an acid bath. Stinging. The feeble, sinking sensation of having wasted a lot of time. Mitch was able to notice the difference on the CRT as well, but he did not struggle with it the same way I did. Rather, he was able to adjust and described how the images on the screen seemed to be moving faster, which would make him think that he needed to input the commands faster. But in actuality, he was just being made to input them sooner than he would here at home because the subconscious delay we had grown accustomed to was no longer there. Very interesting.​

While it is a little bit heart-crushing to know that I've been playing the game with hardware that actually teaches bad timing, I have to look for the positives. All of this lagged-out practice time is not really completely wasted, but it will take a pretty big adjustment before the game feels natural on a CRT again.​

​

​

I expected that I would be impressed with the quality of play, and I was. I expected that the strength of the community's online presence would be reflected in person, and it was. I expected to "get bodied" and, surely, I did. ​

​

Because it is a sport and it inspires all of the passions of sport, it always hurts to lose and the moment when it happens is surely the worst, but again, my love for the game runs too deep for it to really matter. I will play again and although I will probably never win any tournaments, I can't lose either. As long as it continues to thrive and inspire players to push themselves to the next level, the community can learn and grow off of one another and that's a win every time. ​

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If you have to beat up on a bunch of old guys in the first round in order to do it, then so be it--it's money well-spent, if you ask me. ​

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Two and out, baby!​

​

#4lief​

 

[KlTHKlN]

tl; dr

 

[KlTHKlN]

But actually, so well said Randall. It was a blast getting to see you guys again, and I wish it to happen more in the coming time. The amount of respect I have for you guys is immeasurable in the smash community, next time I promise to actually have time to play and speak with you guys.

edit: Besides, nobody misses counterpicking rainbow cruise and corneria more than me

 

[GhllieShdeKnife]

thank you for the good read randall, and im not just talking about you being all over me in doubles . I hope you guys come out to future events and i get a chance to enter doubles with mich. Even though i could see mich struggling with the climbers i learned alot from our dittos and i cant remember even having as much fun as i had in doubles with him. I enjoyed not having any pressure to perform well and instead focusing on running a successful bracket and recording what i could.
i will not be attending otafest because i dont have the money to spend on a ticket, i could not even afford to pay for a nice dinner at the u of c.(although my ham and mustard sandwich was top tier)
When i was playing doubles with the proimpact crew, i panicked everytime randall called my number thinking "oh ****, that weegee is after me, where is JIN" lol. I was surprised at how much i was being carried by MICH he has such a solid mindset even when in the madness of 6 chars on the screen.

 

[Imagination]

REBEL I - Super Smash Bros. Melee - May 12, 2013​

​

RJM's EPIC OLD SKOOL TL;DR SHOUTOUTS​

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...​

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Two and out, baby!​

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#4lief​

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Best Randall post NA, brought me back. I still think brawl ruined melee.

 

[Imagination]

DOBBLE POST
Sorry I never made it to this tourney, I'll try and make one of the other ones in Calgary this month. I'm trying to get you guys some free food if you stop by one of the restaurants I'm working at. More details after Tuesday

update edit: no new details cus my boss sent me home after like 10 minutes. Maybe tomorrow

 

[Hussler]

Great post Randall!
Made me all teary eyed :').

I want to thank you all personally for coming out and making Rebel I such a successful and fun event. Shout outs to Ghil for recording the matches and also to Sleak for running the brackets. Also, shoutouts to the OG's for coming. That means so much to our little club .

If you have any feedback, comments, or concerns about Rebel I and how we can improve next year, please send an email to FGCC.contact [at] gmail.com


And yes, next year I promise to have way more CRT's for smash. I'm so sorry we were lacking.

 

[sleak-]

if anyones reading this: otafest is tmr!!!
https://www.facebook.com/events/421371854623530/?fref=ts

 

[GhllieShdeKnife]

shoutouts for pauls setting up brackets for me to run while winning mvc3

 

[MurdaMoe]

Hello guys idk if u rmbr me but i attended a tourney in edmenton a few years back. Well i am in calgary now for the next month and wondering if there are any tournies going down soon? :O

 

[T-block]

yo sup moe

i'll alert one of the calgary guys to post here

 

[Taste]

There is a melee tourney this Fri. I can post the details a bit later or you can just join the Alberta smash group on Facebook

 

[Alphicans]

I am sure we could arrange a brawl tournament in Edmonton, but then you'd need a ride.

 

[KlTHKlN]

Moe, is that you that we drove with to edmonton and stayed at Sid's? (that would be myself (brad), alex, levi, kevin, riley) and you drank orange juice like a king?

 

[victra♥]

smashboards

 

[Randall00]

Hello guys idk if u rmbr me but i attended a tourney in edmenton a few years back. Well i am in calgary now for the next month and wondering if there are any tournies going down soon? :O

Thrash & Bash - Fri. May 31st | DiscX - 3512 17th Ave. SE​

 

[Gerbality]

It's been a very long time since I've visited these boards, is there any melee still going down in edmonton?

 

[Alphicans]

More than ever tbh. https://www.facebook.com/groups/albertasmash/ We've moved discussion here.

 

[| Big D |]

Prepare your anus Alberta,(listen to it while you scroll)

because...

Big D is coming.

This is going to be fun.

In the darkness of AB, a hero will rise to claim the title of Best in the West.

 

[Yakal]

^geyyyyyyyyyyy

 

[`dazrin]

lel

 

[KlTHKlN]

So like, it's nice that you can post pictures. But care to post what you're talking about?

 

[Crusayer]

He's coming to ABD3 for brawl.

 

[victra♥]

WHOA PEOPLE ON SMUSHBURDZ

 

[Tyson651]

dazrin, i like you because of your avatar

 

[victra♥]

selena gomez? gross

 

[Tyson651]

better than your favourite, miley cyrus

 

[Alphicans]

Same ****, different gen

 

[victra♥]

miley cyrus and selena gomez are maxim's 2013 hottest women, #1 and #2 respectively