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Meta Competitive Smash Ruleset Discussion

Deva

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Smashboards balancing the game themselves?! You know we can't even agree on 2/3 stock right? You're under the impression that we want this game to be Melee, and we don't. You want specific special rules (that don't exist on 3DS btw) with specific equipment that most people don't have in order for the game to be like Melee, and that this "seems more fun competitively" and "more enjoyable to watch". People don't play/watch Smash 4 for Melee, and those who did have found that if they wanna see Melee, they should play/watch Melee. You're asking thousands of people to accept an arbitrary ruleset change because it's closer to Melee. I feel that this would make the game less popular, as it would be seen as "dumbed down Melee" instead of "vastly improved Brawl sequel", and your rules would alienate many current and new faces.

Ok, first of all, don't assume. Secondly, read an entire statement before going off on how something I mentioned as a side note represents my entire argument.

The badge system argument for balancing and patching characters has NOTHING to do with making the game more like melee, only balancing it so that as many characters as possible can be competitively viable.

Smashboards balancing the game themselves?! You know we can't even agree on 2/3 stock right? You're under the impression that we want this game to be Melee, and we don't.
You are not the entirety of smashboards, what you want is not what every single player wants, and it's wrong to assume so.

My statement regarding high gravity with smooth lander ( a guaranteed badge you can get on Wii U btw) was something I felt was worth looking into, because yes, from a competitive standpoint, its more enjoyable to play, and watch than a camp game of running and shielding. Granted, that's not to say there aren't players who wouldn't enjoy playing, or watching that. However look how melee has withstood the test of time vs brawl. It's been out much longer and has a much larger competitive player base compared to brawl, especially since the release of smash 4. The competitive value of brawl was limited because of how slow paced and shield camp heavy the game was with its lack of combos. That's not even to go into how 1 character completely dominated the scene to the point of being banned. Smash 4 plays more similarly to brawl than melee, so having it play more like melee would only help its competitive value based on that evidence.

I still stand by my statement that if heavy gravity with smooth lander became tournament standard, I would completely support it, but that was in no way my argument over the past several posts. All I'm suggesting is using badges as a form of balancing by the SBR, not in any way to make this game more like melee, but to make as many characters tourney viable as possible, while bringing OP characters in check. It would be difficult, yes, but if the effort was put forth, it would only benefit the growing meta.
 
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Pazx

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Heavy Gravity + Smooth Lander = a barrier to new players trying to enter the competitive scene greater than any they have EVER faced in the past

I don't hate the idea of equipment being used to """balance""" characters however I can't see it being more popular than vanilla (or vanilla + custom moves) Sm4sh. I can see it being similar in popularity to Brawl+ (or Brawl-) and items-legal rulesets (which were both incredibly well developed as a mod and a different style of play respectively). I'd certainly be down to play some matches with this system but I don't really want it to become the norm as I quite enjoy the game as is.
 

Wobz

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But when it comes to a tournament standard, that liberty is not always so easy. You are telling thousands up thousands of people how to play.

And the majority are going to be playing on base Smash 4 and will be very turned off if we introduce something so foreign into the standard.
You can have certain tournaments with fast play and certain ones with slow. We the community can make changes
 

LiteralGrill

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You can have certain tournaments with fast play and certain ones with slow. We the community can make changes
Kinda like how we banned Meta Knight, had different stagelists, and did all other sorts of similar things and how well that went?
 

Pyr

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No, I mean balance the characters because we can now do that with the custom badges
Hey. Just passing through.


Good luck there, bud. We can hardly control stat boosts/degradation fine enough to get Smooth lander CLOSE to 0/0/0. Things like 1% differences can have large effects on a character's balance. Minor adjustments here and there can change an entire character (talking 1% changes here). Why? Because the game isn't very unbalanced at this point. If something is, Nintendo will release a BALANCE PATCH.

If LoL has taught me anything, it's that the average player doesn't know how to balance a game, and the average community isn't even close to it. We can't balance **** with the badges, not to speak about the massive issue with people having to now get identical stats.

And I thought the heavy gravity bull was silly. This topped my list.
 
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Deva

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Hey. Just passing through.


Good luck there, bud. We can hardly control stat boosts/degradation fine enough to get Smooth lander CLOSE to 0/0/0. Things like 1% differences can have large effects on a character's balance. Minor adjustments here and there can change an entire character (talking 1% changes here). Why? Because the game isn't very unbalanced at this point. If something is, Nintendo will release a BALANCE PATCH.

If LoL has taught me anything, it's that the average player doesn't know how to balance a game, and the average community isn't even close to it. We can't balance **** with the badges, not to speak about the massive issue with people having to now get identical stats.

And I thought the heavy gravity bull was silly. This topped my list.
You need to also understand that with league, the people who made the game are working towards making it more balanced from a competitive standpoint, not to mention they do in fact rely heavily on player input, especially from top players. Sakurai will only release balance patches to help make the game more "fun." There is no real intent to balance the characters for competitive play. The only way to achieve that would be through the community balancing the game. Not the average players, analysis by a group dedicated to balancing this game with input from top players.
 

Pyr

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You need to also understand that with league, the people who made the game are working towards making it more balanced from a competitive standpoint, not to mention they do in fact rely heavily on player input, especially from top players. Sakurai will only release balance patches to help make the game more "fun." There is no real intent to balance the characters for competitive play. The only way to achieve that would be through the community balancing the game. Not the average players, analysis by a group dedicated to balancing this game with input from top players.
You don't think Nintendo is doing that? You don't think Nintendo has that outlook? How about you give Nintendo a chance before you attempt at "balancing" a game that doesn't need re balanced yet, if ever. And do it in a way that doesn't screw anyone without the "standard" balancing equipment for the entire roster. That alone makes it unviable.

Also, Balanced Brawl: The success of the community at work? Na. Even + did better the BB did at balancing the game. Excuse my lack of faith in the balancing abilities of people who don't do it for a living.
 
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Deva

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You don't think Nintendo is doing that? You don't think Nintendo has that outlook? How about you give Nintendo a chance before you attempt at "balancing" a game that doesn't need re balanced yet, if ever. And do it in a way that doesn't screw anyone without the "standard" balancing equipment for the entire roster. That alone makes it unviable.
You do realize that sakurai has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn't want this game to be focused on competitive play, right? Whatever balance patches they implement will be based on what their development team observes, and one thing they don't observe is competitive play, because sakurai doesnt believe in this game being played seriously, and basically told off the competitive community for smash for trying to "take a child's game seriously."

You should know from experience if you've really played any league seriously, that the development team there bases their balance changes completely from the community and competitive play. In any standard patch cycle, they impliment changes to the PBE, let professional, and average players test out the changes, and if they seem fine they send them to the live server, where they observe how the changes affect the meta in the normal and professional levels. If a change ends up being unhealthy to the meta, they work with it until it's in a healthy state.

You can't expect Nintendo to ever do something like that for smash. If you honestly don't believe me, go look up the many statements Sakurai himself has made regarding this subject.

Also, Balanced Brawl: The success of the community at work? Na. Even + did better the BB did at balancing the game. Excuse my lack of faith in the balancing abilities of people who don't do it for a living.
You clearly don't understand what you're talking bout here. BB? B+? Project M even? Those have nothing to do with what is being suggested. Those were creations by hacking methods, going beyond the game's engine. Furthermore, they weren't created by a group such as the SBR, who took analysis by top level players, with top level player input into the balancing of characters. They were created by a small group of players with gaming development skills who had limited input from top players.

What is being suggested is more along the lines of how the tier list is created. Tournament performance, and input from the professional level, slowly tweaking stats based on that analysis to create a more healthy meta for the overall cast of this game.

For me, league is also the reason I believe a system like this could work. After playing the game at high levels of play for many years, I've seen the success they achieve by balancing through testing based on player input and top levels of play. It's something from my many years of playing smash competitively and professionally that I've come to see that Nintendo has no intention of doing on their own. If a growing and healthy meta is something the competitive community wants, this would honestly be one of the best ways to go about achieving it.
 
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Pyr

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You do realize that sakurai has stated on multiple occasions that he doesn't want this game to be focused on competitive play, right? Whatever balance patches they implement will be based on what their development team observes, and one thing they don't observe is competitive play, because sakurai doesnt believe in this game being played seriously, and basically told off the competitive community for smash for trying to "take a child's game seriously."

You should know from experience if you've really played any league seriously, that the development team there bases their balance changes completely from the community and competitive play. In any standard patch cycle, they impliment changes to the PBE, let professional, and average players test out the changes, and if they seem fine they send them to the live server, where they observe how the changes affect the meta in the normal and professional levels. If a change ends up being unhealthy to the meta, they work with it until it's in a healthy state.

You can't expect Nintendo to ever do something like that for smash. If you honestly don't believe me, go look up the many statements Sakurai himself has made regarding this subject.



You clearly don't understand what you're talking bout here. BB? B+? Project M even? Those have nothing to do with what is being suggested. Those were creations by hacking methods, going beyond the game's engine. Furthermore, they weren't created by a group such as the SBR, who took analysis by top level players, with top level player input into the balancing of characters. They were created by a small group of players with gaming development skills who had limited input from top players.

What is being suggested is more along the lines of how the tier list is created. Tournament performance, and input from the professional level, slowly tweaking stats based on that analysis to create a more healthy meta for the overall cast of this game.

For me, league is also the reason I believe a system like this could work. After playing the game at high levels of play for many years, I've seen the success they achieve by balancing through testing based on player input and top levels of play. It's something from my many years of playing smash competitively and professionally that I've come to see that Nintendo has no intention of doing on their own. If a growing and healthy meta is something the competitive community wants, this would honestly be one of the best ways to go about achieving it.
Are you for real? First of all, I referenced League to show that the COMMUNITY of an easy-access given game generally has no idea how to balance it. I don't give a **** what the League Devs do as far as balance goes.

You do realize that all Sakurai did was develop the game, right? I'd be willing to bet that Nintendo has a small balance team for this game, and Sakurai doesn't play a huge role in it. Why are you quoting him? He is a man, not a god. Nintendo dictates this game and it's balance, and Sakurai will only play a small role in it. Anyone who bases an opinion like yours on the work of Sakurai is a moron that can't see deeper past a single layer of, well, anything. Sakurai having an OPINION does not dictate the direction of a balance patch. EVEN STILL, let's assume it did. Those 8 way free for alls? Casual games? It'll give ENOUGH insight for balance to be done and done decently well.

THAT'S why I say give big N a chance and stop letting your idiotic bias control your judgement. If we need to balance later on as a community, it sure as hell won't be with the badge system. It'll be through Homebrew and mods again. Luckily, this IS THE MOST balanced release of a Smash game ever. I don't see it being needed.

As for your second part, you obviously lack reading comprehension if you thought that was my point. I was using it as AN ALREADY EXISTING example of why a community doing the balancing can, and likely will, fail. Please learn to, again, see past a base layer of anything before responding to me again. Even with top guys suggesting balance changes, they don't get payed for it, thus the imbalances that exist in PM, BB, and +.

Your suggestion is counter-productive. Why fix something that isn't broken, or can fix itself with time? Yoshi, ************. Melee Yoshi. Time can do wonderful things, and you want to supersede that with a bunch of knee-jerk (in the timeframe considered, it does count) reactions. And with BADGES? That we then HAVE TO STANDARDIZE WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, COMPETITIVE OR OTHERWISE? Can't work. It's simply not possible. If balance changes are done, it'll be with a Mod of a game. Badges are FAR, FAR to RNG and they give A NET GAIN IF THEY DON'T HAVE A NEGATIVE BUFF. It's not possible, and will never be possible, with the badge system. Yes, even ingame badge modding or save file modding.

It works in League because League is a VERY simple game. It is not hard to do a minor tweak and fix a champ and bring them in line. This is a fighting game. It's about 20x more complex than League is at a fundamental level. They are allowed to do it because it's so simple. Smash isn't just a numbers game. Again, badges can't make the "tweaks" you'll want. That will REQUIRE editing parameters the badges can't edit.

This is a new game. Throw everything you know about Smash, including your perceived view of what Nintendo thinks, out the window. This is a true clean slate. You can't say they have no intention of "doing on their own." THEY'VE NEVER HAD THE CHANCE BEFORE.

And you think changing the game every year is GOOD for the metagame? Look at League, since you want to use it's gameplay as reference. That metagame changes every 3 months because of minor, consistent changes. It only works because of the type of game it is. Fighting Game Metagames aren't built to keep players and to keep growing while changing constantly. See the Smash Mods, all of them. Constant changes drove away a LOT of people.

But I guess the above is mute, as constant alterations like you wish for are impossible, and, even mods through a homebrew system, will be impossible for years. At least if you want this game to grow. Barrier of Entry is a very real thing. How about we not piss off people and make it impossible to get through for new players for a few years, ok?

And hey. I Caps locked some major points so you might be able to understand what I'm saying this time.
 

Deva

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Are you for real? First of all, I referenced League to show that the COMMUNITY of an easy-access given game generally has no idea how to balance it. I don't give a **** what the League Devs do as far as balance goes.
That's a very poor example considering league uses player input heavily from the PBE to balance their game, and very succesfully. If you care about the balance of this game, it wouldn't hurt to see what they did right.

You do realize that all Sakurai did was develop the game, right?
You should have just stopped right there. But since you went on. . .

I'd be willing to bet that Nintendo has a small balance team for this game, and Sakurai doesn't play a huge role in it. Why are you quoting him? He is a man, not a god. Nintendo dictates this game and it's balance, and Sakurai will only play a small role in it. Anyone who bases an opinion like yours on the work of Sakurai is a moron that can't see deeper past a single layer of, well, anything. Sakurai having an OPINION does not dictate the direction of a balance patch.
Aside from perhaps needing to attend an anger management class, your logic is that the developer's opinion doesn't matter in the balancing of his game?. . . ok then. Hopefully I don't need to explain to you all the reasons that statement is illogical, but to make it simple, what sakurai wants isn't an opinion. What he wants at the end of the day will be implemented in his game. He has the final say.

EVEN STILL, let's assume it did. Those 8 way free for alls? Casual games? It'll give ENOUGH insight for balance to be done and done decently well.
Based on this statement I can gather you have limited competitive experience. 8 way free for alls and casual games would only help towards generalized balancing, not towards specific matchups in competitive play. This is the sort of thing Sakurai's team will look at, not what professional players do, or the balance changes they would like to see.


THAT'S why I say give big N a chance and stop letting your idiotic bias control your judgement. If we need to balance later on as a community, it sure as hell won't be with the badge system. It'll be through Homebrew and mods again. Luckily, this IS THE MOST balanced release of a Smash game ever. I don't see it being needed.
Hacking methods of balancing the game will never be accepted at major tournaments such as EVO, so your argument is invalid.

As for your second part, you obviously lack reading comprehension if you thought that was my point. I was using it as AN ALREADY EXISTING example of why a community doing the balancing can, and likely will, fail. Please learn to, again, see past a base layer of anything before responding to me again. Even with top guys suggesting balance changes, they don't get payed for it, thus the imbalances that exist in PM, BB, and +.
Actually the fact that I addressed how you are confusing games based on hacking mods and balancing based on in game options shows that my reading comprehension is just fine. The fact that you also are confusing the work of a group of players with great game development skills making games like PM, BB, and + with a trusted group such as the SBR who creates the tier list, and competitive rule set and is accepted by the competitive community only stands as a statement to your own reading comprehension.

Your suggestion is counter-productive. Why fix something that isn't broken, or can fix itself with time? Yoshi, mother****er. Melee Yoshi. Time can do wonderful things, and you want to supersede that with a bunch of knee-jerk (in the timeframe considered, it does count) reactions.
And in that same breath, Marth was gutted from high-top tier to bottom tier (based on the japanese tier list). Granted, that list is far from accurate with only the input of one region, but regardless, it doesn't take a brain surgeon to see that Marth is severely lacking compared to his previous iterations. Moving a top tier to low tier and vice versa isn't game balance. It would be to bring all characters as close to a median as possible. There will always be better characters, but the goal is to make every character viable.

And with BADGES? That we then HAVE TO STANDARDIZE WITH THE ENTIRE COMMUNITY, COMPETITIVE OR OTHERWISE? Can't work. It's simply not possible. If balance changes are done, it'll be with a Mod of a game. Badges are FAR, FAR to RNG and they give A NET GAIN IF THEY DON'T HAVE A NEGATIVE BUFF. It's not possible, and will never be possible, with the badge system. Yes, even ingame badge modding or save file modding.
Again, your argument is invalid because you are assuming an absolute with no proof. I would agree that it would be extremely difficult to impliment something like this, and a huge effort on the part of the SBR, but saying it's impossible because it's hard is somewhat pathetic.

It works in League because League is a VERY simple game.
I'd love to send this statement to Riot Games so they can have a good laugh.

It is not hard to do a minor tweak and fix a champ and bring them in line. This is a fighting game. It's about 20x more complex than League is at a fundamental level. They are allowed to do it because it's so simple. Smash isn't just a numbers game.
You're honestly trying to argue that the meta of a 5v5 MOBA is simple and easier to balance than a 1v1 fighter? Aside from the vastly larger cast and multidimensional game play factors such as the laning phase, jungle, team fights, and near infinitely more match up possibilities, you haven't given any evidence to support smash being a more complex game to balance for a competitive meta. Only generalizations as to how it is running on a more complex game engine.

Again, badges can't make the "tweaks" you'll want. That will REQUIRE editing parameters the badges can't edit.
You shouldn't assume what "tweaks" someone will want. Assumptions only lead to a portrayal of ignorance. The badges won't solve every problem, or give perfect balance. They will however give the ability to balance the game at a basic level.

This is a new game. Throw everything you know about Smash, including your perceived view of what Nintendo thinks, out the window.
Perceived view? Again, a testament to your reading comprehension, But statements from Sakurai are not a "perceived view."

This is a true clean slate. You can't say they have no intention of "doing on their own." THEY'VE NEVER HAD THE CHANCE BEFORE.
You do realize this is the 4th game in the series correct? Granted the ability to balance the game through patches didn't exist till brawl. Regardless, there was no intention on any of the games to make them competitive, as stated by Nintendo, so you should stop assuming otherwise. Melee was a fluke. Glitches that by some miracle made the game very fast paced and competitive. As pathetic as it is to say, Sakurai made a statement that he was dissapointed that Melee turned out to be such a successful competitive fighting game. Sakurai even made the statement with Smash 4 in mind that he didn't want competitive play to be the focus of the game.

And you think changing the game every year is GOOD for the metagame? Look at League, since you want to use it's gameplay as reference. That metagame changes every 3 months because of minor, consistent changes. It only works because of the type of game it is. Fighting Game Metagames aren't built to keep players and to keep growing while changing constantly. See the Smash Mods, all of them. Constant changes drove away a LOT of people.
You should really stop using hacked mods as a reference to an argument about the use of SBR sanctioned rule sets. You're inability to understand this renders your entire argument invalid. What I'm suggesting is the SBR use badges in their rulesets towards character balance however they see fit, if at all. It doesn't have to be anywhere as constant as league. You make yet another assumption that fighting games aren't built to keep players while growing and changing. The truth of the matter, however, is that a fighting game is still a competitive game, and any competitive game will need balance changes to keep a healthy meta and keep a small group of characters from dominating the top tier. ie smash 64: pikachu, Melee: Fox, Falco, Shiek, Marth, Brawl:. . .MK. The changes don't necessarily have to be constant, just to bring characters in check if they reach MK status or bring them up the tier list if theyre. . .well. . .Marth status atm. . .


But I guess the above is mute, as constant alterations like you wish for are impossible, and, even mods through a homebrew system, will be impossible for years. At least if you want this game to grow. Barrier of Entry is a very real thing. How about we not piss off people and make it impossible to get through for new players for a few years, ok?
Your level of assumptions seems to have no end. The alterations I wish for have no need for homebrew or hacking mods. Unlike you, I'd prefer to keep this game standard at major tournaments such as EVO.

Wanting this game to grow and wanting it to have a balanced and healthy meta are 2 very different things. Although in an ideal world you would want both, personally I would prefer to have a well balanced fighting game over more people playing it. When it comes down to it though, the major barrier exists between casual smash, and competitive smash. If one truly wants to join the competitive scene and test their skills against others in an attempt to improve and show that they are better than the next, it won't matter what the rulesets are that are implimented by the SBR. They will follow them. If they find it too difficult to adhere by, they have the option to continue playing casually, which means they didn't have the drive to truly play this game competitively in the first place.

And hey. I Caps locked some major points so you might be able to understand what I'm saying this time.
Caps are unnecessary. It's more important to acknowledge the points of the other person you're having a discussion with, which you failed to do in your previous post. Picking and choosing the points you feel better your argument and ignoring the rest only invalidates your argument while either coming off as ignorant or lacking comprehension skills.

I hope this time you can understand a little more clearly that what I have been suggesting is the use of badges by the SBR in competitive rulesets for the balancing of characters, with no suggestion of a set interval of patching, Basically whatever the SBR decides, if they even decide to use them at all.
 
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Thinkaman

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Has anyone else in this topic even played heavy gravity? I mean, it's just bad. SOOOOOOO bad.

They should call it chain u-tilt mode. We were in hysterics at how bad it was.

Being in the air is awful, nothing auto-cancels, you can't risk any high-risk horizontal-based move getting punished with a juggle.

Everyone just rolls around trying to see who can catch the other in a u-tilt lock or uair juggle first.

Lots of gravity-dependent specials just flat out don't work. It's clearly a janky joke mode.

Edit:
What really blows my mind about high gravity mode talk is how totally backwards the ramifications of it are.

"Hey, let's remove all SH auto-cancels from the game!"

Like, that is literally what high gravity mode is.

You are literally adding landing lag to all previously safe AC aerials, in the entire game.

All in the name of making the game more like Melee.

Incredible.
 
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Terotrous

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You need to also understand that with league, the people who made the game are working towards making it more balanced from a competitive standpoint, not to mention they do in fact rely heavily on player input, especially from top players. Sakurai will only release balance patches to help make the game more "fun." There is no real intent to balance the characters for competitive play.
Actually, patch 1.0.4 seemed to address quite a lot of player complaints. Sheik being too strong, not enough reward for killing Luma, Vectoring letting players live too long, Ganon and Ike having no viable approaching options, etc.

It wasn't totally perfect or anything, but I'm pretty sure they must have been paying at least some attention to player feedback.


Also, Balanced Brawl: The success of the community at work? Na. Even + did better the BB did at balancing the game. Excuse my lack of faith in the balancing abilities of people who don't do it for a living.
Speaking as someone who played BBrawl pretty frequently for about a year, I thought it was pretty decently balanced. The only character who still really stood out as being a problem was Olimar. Other than that, pretty much any character could win any matchup (they still might be at a disadvantage but IMO not many were 7-3 or worse), which you certainly can't say about VBrawl.
 

Scarlet Jile

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To be fair, Nintendo really has nothing to do with this conversation.

If balance adjustments are being made, it's a lot more likely because Namco Bandai, as a frequent developer of fighting games, has a stake in making its game competitively balanced to the best of its ability. I'm guessing they will give it the old college try to increase the game's longevity through balance adjustments while still heeding Sakurai's demands for casual-friendly core mechanics.
 

Wobz

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Has anyone else in this topic even played heavy gravity? I mean, it's just bad. SOOOOOOO bad.

They should call it chain u-tilt mode. We were in hysterics at how bad it was.

Being in the air is awful, nothing auto-cancels, you can't risk any high-risk horizontal-based move getting punished with a juggle.

Everyone just rolls around trying to see who can catch the other in a u-tilt lock or uair juggle first.

Lots of gravity-dependent specials just flat out don't work. It's clearly a janky joke mode.

.
That's why you put different custom recoveries on the characters
And you can't roll much or else you will get punished with a grab.
 

Deva

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To be fair, Nintendo really has nothing to do with this conversation.

If balance adjustments are being made, it's a lot more likely because Namco Bandai, as a frequent developer of fighting games, has a stake in making its game competitively balanced to the best of its ability. I'm guessing they will give it the old college try to increase the game's longevity through balance adjustments while still heeding Sakurai's demands for casual-friendly core mechanics.
As sad as it is to say, Namco Bandai actually had no part in the balancing of this game. Nintendo only brought them on for the sake of character design, animations, and movement. They were actually very disappointed they couldn't play a part in the actual fighting game aspect in it's creation.

@ Thinkaman Thinkaman , Heavy gravity itself isn't a great idea. Try playing it with the smooth lander badge though. It gives you the option to safely shield pressure with aerials using proper spacing. though many aerials will no longer auto cancel, all aerials will have extremely limited landing lag. A lot of recoveries do suffer though, and may require a speed setting on most characters of 70+. Would require more testing though.
 
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Scarlet Jile

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Not even Sora Ltd.? I was under the impression that Nintendo was just the publisher, not directly involved in development.

Honestly, if it's only Nintendo pushing out updates directly, the fact that we've even gotten patches is a Christmas miracle.
 

Thinkaman

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Smooth Lander still leaves you with way more landing lag than auto-cancels, which are (and should be) zero.

I already made a post in the SL thread after a full day of playing with it. It makes a limited number of super-fast aerials safe on block (Diddy bair, ZSS uair/bair, Sheik fair/bair, Palutena fair, ect.) and very mindless. We ended up roll spamming against these characters when they were in the air, because shields were no longer viable.

It also helps everyone else very little, since random aerials into shields or dodges are still unsafe no matter how you slice it. It was really sad to watch.


Even regardless of all of this, SL does nothing about high-gravity's broken u-tilt chains, broken juggles, broken recoveries, or broken aerial combos.


If you really wanted to make a homebrew secret clubhouse version of the game with less lag and "more options", you'd forget smooth lander and give everyone the option of roughly +20 agility. This opens up quite a few SH AC options for characters that have few, and even some other things like FH AC dair on Mega Man. The run speed also allows more things to punish rolls. Characters who already have aggressive ACs and good roll punish options probably wouldn't accept it though, and would prefer their shorter jumps. (Dunno, many would compromise for superior movement.)


Finally, I will flip a table the next time anyone posts the absolute bullcrap Sakurai-hates-competition narrative. It's just not true. It's blatantly not true. It's never been true. But certain people in the community, like certain people in all communities, badly want to feel persecuted. They want there to be a dark god who hates them, no matter how much nonsense it makes.

Reminder: The top 12 players on the development team are exclusively responsible for all balance proposals. Sakurai has to approve them (which is ideal because balance decisions should NEVER be done by committee, and should NEVER be allowed to become political), but they are responsible for all patch content.
 
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Pyr

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As sad as it is to say, Namco Bandai actually had no part in the balancing of this game. Nintendo only brought them on for the sake of character design, animations, and movement. They were actually very disappointed they couldn't play a part in the actual fighting game aspect in it's creation.
Ya know, I'ma need a source on this one. Where are you getting that information?

I'ma make an edit here: This goes for any other "Nintendo won't do anything for the competitive community" bull as well. With how big E-Sports has become, we're likely a rather bright light for them because of how well Smash does competitively as a whole. I'm sure EVERYONE on the forums would like to see information that shows Nintendo doesn't care (from creditable sources, of course. Not like the idiots that said some Amiibos and the GC adapters were already discontinued and prompted Nintendo to give an official statement).
 
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ParanoidDrone

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Finally, I will flip a table the next time anyone posts the absolute bullcrap Sakurai-hates-competition narrative.
┬─┬ノ(ಠ_ಠノ)

Please respect tables.

That said I don't know enough about equipment effects to understand how +20 agility will affect everyone the way you say. What exactly happens with that?
 

Deva

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On the table flipping note. . . and since someone asked for sources here, Sakurai's own words:

"Melee fans who played deep into the game without any problems might have trouble understanding this, but Melee was just too difficult."

"If we want new people from this generation of gamers to come in, then we need it accessible, simple, and playable by anyone. You can't let yourself get preoccupied with nothing but gameplay and balance details.

Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-08-smash-bros-melee-was-too-difficult?

Sakurai's main focus is accecibility. Game play and balance are very low on his list of priorities in this game. The main reason being he doesnt want the game to become "too dificult"

“When planning the development of a new game, I always take a lot of care to discuss the concept and try to define it as best I can. For example, I like to think of Smash as a four-player battle royal action game. You’ll notice that’s a lot longer than saying it’s a fighting game, because ‘fighting game’ is a completely different label."

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/06/20/smash-bros-sakurai-wants-to-target-silent-brawl-loving-community/

He is defining it as a 4 man battle royal, and whatever balance he implements will be geared towards that, not a 1v1 fighter.

"If tournament popularity was the most important consideration, then I think we would create a Smash Bros. game that included a multitude of fast moves with complicated controls. However, I believe this is actually the greatest shortcoming of fighting games at present, and that is the reason why I don’t do it."

"While there’s a lot of enthusiasm for tournaments on the one hand, there are also users who just give up on these sorts of games because they can’t handle the complexity and speed. While other fighting games continue to work on honing this tournament aspect, I think that we need to move in a direction where there is more of a focus on inexperienced gamers."

"There are so many other games out there which are geared to tournaments. It is important for us, however, to maintain the game’s status as a kind of ‘rough’ party game in which anyone can play without feeling too much pressure over winning or losing.

He is flat out admiting he does not want competitive play to be the focus of this game to avoid being like other fighting games.

Source: http://nintendoeverything.com/sakur...-smash-bros-more-interesting-than-the-others/

In response to Melee

"However, he has one particularly deep regret: the game's accessibility level. "I had created Smash Bros. to be my response to how hardcore-exclusive the fighting game genre had become over the years"

He wanted smash to be a fun party type fighting game and not like all the other hardcore fighting games of the time.

Source: http://smashboards.com/threads/smash-bros-melee-was-too-difficult-new-sakurai-interview.293080/

that thread has a lot of sakurai's other views regarding competitive smash.

And Finally, when asked if he takes feedback on balancing the game from high level competitive players, he responded:

"Mostly I don't incorporate feedback like that. Basically, Smash Bros. is designed to be sort of targeted at the center, intermediate players, and if you think of sort of a skill graph or something where if you're targeting just the peak of that performance level, you're targeting a very small group of people. We wanna avoid a situation where it becomes a game sort of like other competitive fighting games, where it's only apreciated by a very small, passionate group of sort of maniac players. We definitely don't want that sort of situation. It's supposed to be a fun game for a wide variety of people."

Apparently Sakurai views the competitive scene as a group of maniacs, isn't that reassuring. . .


Source: http://kotaku.com/an-in-depth-chat-with-the-genius-behind-super-smash-bro-530744390


Granted, he doesnt hate competitive play, he is against smash having its main focus around competitive play, gameplay, and balance. balance we receive will generally be geared towards 4 man ffa. Not that there will be 0 balance for competitive play, but if you want balance geared towards the competitive scene, I wouldn't hold your breath to get it from Nintendo.

On a final note, this is the truth behind Namco bandai's actual part in the balancing of the game.

"In all previous Smash Bros. games, I've entered in all the data for fighter skills and hitboxes by myself, and it's quite nearly that way with this game too. I've thought about leaving this work to others and I've actually tried it once or twice, but it hasn't worked out. I don't want to release an incomplete game, and I want everything to be as successful as possible, but it results in a massive amount of work for me. It's a big problem, but there are reasons for doing it this way." — Masahiro Sakurai

"...we have to work to keep things dynamic and not over-fine-tune the balance. If we aim for complete fairness, there won't be any personality to it." — Masahiro Sakurai

Source: http://www.gamnesia.com/news/sakurai-is-balancing-the-new-smash-bros-games-by-himself
 
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Thinkaman

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This all stems from this inane and childish notion that trying to create a game for everyone instead of just competitive players equates to hating competitive players.

Focusing on competitive play is ironically self-defeating, because it is so insular. All core competitive communities are innately exothermic. Literally all competitive e-sports, from StarCraft to LoL to M:tG to Hearthstone, devote the vast majority of their design resources to sub-competitive play. This is the only way for competitive play to grow and thrive!

The most recent Famitsu interview had the best account of the balance process. He's mentioned the 12-man balance team a few times now. Of course, we already see the results: in the WiiU release patch, like 95% of balance changes were in line with top level play.

All of these statements are really non-controversial and frankly kinda boring. "I want to make a game for everyone" is pretty bland interview fodder. And yet, some people want so badly to believe in this dark god that personally hates them, that they will somehow always read exactly that. It seems impossible to believe at this point, given that:
  • Sakurai added an Item Switch in every version of the game
    • If I were an anti-competitive vengeful god, the most obvious first step would be to remove it
  • Sakurai included balance changes in the PAL version of Melee targeting high level play
    • A vengeful god wouldn't bother, or would nerf a casual-stomper like Link; not Sheik.
  • Sakurai continually insists publicly that the GameCube controller is the "true" way to play
    • At all public events, he tends to only use GCN controllers
  • Sakurai devoted a large % of stage modeling time to Omega stages
    • This is out of touch with the western scene, but sadly not the Japanese scene where FD-only is more common
  • Sakurai included For Glory
    • It's not perfect, but like with Omegas an anti-competitive vengeful god would never, ever, EVER do this.
  • Sakurai made Nintendo release a GameCube adapter for the WiiU
    • This would never have happened in a million years without his insistence.
  • Sakurai put the strongest players on the development team in charge of balance proposals, and meets with them twice a week.
    • He touts and follows the same paradigm as David Sirlin, Riot, and Blizzard; balance for everyone by using high-level play as the focal point. Understanding how this is different than just balancing for low level play or balancing exclusively for high level play is key to all of this.
  • Sakurai released a Smash 4 balance patch that overwhelmingly addressed high level play.
    • Hard-to-use characters that were dominant in high level play and unused by casuals? Nerfed, not buffed.
At this point, it requires an absurd suspension of disbelief to buy into the anti-competitive vengeful god conspiracy narrative. But again: There are always people who want to feel persecuted. They have allowed this anti-authoritarian notion to become part of their identity.

"But, I guess since a lot of them are children, it cannot be helped." - Masahiro Sakurai
 
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BRoomer
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I have to echo @ Thinkaman Thinkaman 's post. It frustrates me and honestly blows my mind that people think sakurai is out to get them and their way of life. Since 64 smash has always been about creating your own experience. The only Ideas and concepts that were taken out of smash were to make the games more accessible, and for a community that wants to grow that is ideal.

Simple game play with meaningful choices. That has never changed, its only become more true with each iteration.
 

Deva

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Actually, Link was nerfed in the PAL version of melee lol. He lost the pseudo spike on his Up-B, which was in fact a great tool for casual-stomping.

I think you're missing the point though. He is no way a vengeful god out to destroy competitive play, nor does he hate competitive play, but any competitive game takes input from the top levels of play and analyzes the top levels of play when it comes to balancing, even if a large portion comes from the sub competitive player base.

Sakurai blatently admit that he does not factor in competitive players when balancing his game. He also admit that he does the balancing by himself, so I don't see what part his balance team even plays in that regard.

I'm not really sure where the persecution reference is coming from, No one has mentioned anything of the sort in recent posts anyways. The only issue being addressed is that competitive balance isn't a priority on Sakurai's list, and there are statements from him to back it. Which brings us back to the original point, if you want proper competitive balance changes, holding out for Sakurai may not be the best option and it may be worth looking into other options such as community balancing from a committee level.
 

Pyr

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Actually, Link was nerfed in the PAL version of melee lol. He lost the pseudo spike on his Up-B, which was in fact a great tool for casual-stomping.

I think you're missing the point though. He is no way a vengeful god out to destroy competitive play, nor does he hate competitive play, but any competitive game takes input from the top levels of play and analyzes the top levels of play when it comes to balancing, even if a large portion comes from the sub competitive player base.

Sakurai blatently admit that he does not factor in competitive players when balancing his game. He also admit that he does the balancing by himself, so I don't see what part his balance team even plays in that regard.

I'm not really sure where the persecution reference is coming from, No one has mentioned anything of the sort in recent posts anyways. The only issue being addressed is that competitive balance isn't a priority on Sakurai's list, and there are statements from him to back it. Which brings us back to the original point, if you want proper competitive balance changes, holding out for Sakurai may not be the best option and it may be worth looking into other options such as community balancing from a committee level.
On the Sakurai balancing the game on his own:

"S:Until now I always considered that I was responsible for each and every aspects of every characters, the balance of the game, to the point where I created each different attacks separately for every characters. I'll share this work with other people this time around, to make sure a good balance can be found for this game."

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603986

He states he is sharing the balance work.

"Sakurai was also asked about the possibility of Super Smash Bros. receiving patches, balance and otherwise, to adjust the game for dedicated players. Though he sees balance patches as important to sustaining the game, he also hopes players take the time to decide for themselves whether a character needs adjusting rather than jumping on popular opinion. Sakurai finishes by admitting that the development team will have to take all of this into account should they begin work on such update."

Source: http://shoryuken.com/2013/06/26/mas...says-hes-not-opposed-to-downloadable-content/

He has a development team that worked on balance.

So, I've got 2 sources that are, or are based off of, direct interviews, obviously stating that he isn't the only one in charge of balance. And you've got?... Your own bias and speculation?

I told you to post your sources. Either do so or stop spouting your hate-mongering for Sakurai and Nintendo. All you do is shout your biased opinions without proof. The "proof" you posted earlier? You extrapolate a **** tone and twist it into your own views. It's obvious to at least 11 of us.

Do I need to post the countless articles that state that he cares deeply about game balance this time around as well? Because I can. In fact, you can refer to both of those for a general. In fact, let me bold a towards that in the second source:

"Sakurai was also asked about the possibility of Super Smash Bros. receiving patches, balance and otherwise, to adjust the game for dedicated players. Though he sees balance patches as important to sustaining the game, he also hopes players take the time to decide for themselves whether a character needs adjusting rather than jumping on popular opinion. Sakurai finishes by admitting that the development team will have to take all of this into account should they begin work on such updates."

Oh hey. He cares about balance and finds it important and thinks people should (mywords) stop being ******* before adjustment is considered. (/mywords)
 
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Deva

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On the Sakurai balancing the game on his own:

"S:Until now I always considered that I was responsible for each and every aspects of every characters, the balance of the game, to the point where I created each different attacks separately for every characters. I'll share this work with other people this time around, to make sure a good balance can be found for this game."

Source: http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=603986

He states he is sharing the balance work.

"Sakurai was also asked about the possibility of Super Smash Bros. receiving patches, balance and otherwise, to adjust the game for dedicated players. Though he sees balance patches as important to sustaining the game, he also hopes players take the time to decide for themselves whether a character needs adjusting rather than jumping on popular opinion. Sakurai finishes by admitting that the development team will have to take all of this into account should they begin work on such update."

Source: http://shoryuken.com/2013/06/26/mas...says-hes-not-opposed-to-downloadable-content/

He has a development team that worked on balance.

So, I've got 2 sources that are, or are based off of, direct interviews, obviously stating that he isn't the only one in charge of balance. And you've got?... Your own bias and speculation?

I told you to post your sources. Either do so or stop spouting your hate-mongering for Sakurai and Nintendo. All you do is shout your biased opinions without proof. The "proof" you posted earlier? You extrapolate a **** tone and twist it into your own views. It's obvious to at least 11 of us.

Do I need to post the countless articles that state that he cares deeply about game balance this time around as well? Because I can. In fact, you can refer to both of those for a general. In fact, let me bold a towards that in the second source:

"Sakurai was also asked about the possibility of Super Smash Bros. receiving patches, balance and otherwise, to adjust the game for dedicated players. Though he sees balance patches as important to sustaining the game, he also hopes players take the time to decide for themselves whether a character needs adjusting rather than jumping on popular opinion. Sakurai finishes by admitting that the development team will have to take all of this into account should they begin work on such updates."

Oh hey. He cares about balance and finds it important and thinks people should (mywords) stop being *****es before adjustment is considered. (/mywords)

You sir need to learn to read.

"If we want new people from this generation of gamers to come in, then we need it accessible, simple, and playable by anyone. You can't let yourself get preoccupied with nothing but gameplay and balance details.

Source: http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2010-12-08-smash-bros-melee-was-too-difficult?

“When planning the development of a new game, I always take a lot of care to discuss the concept and try to define it as best I can. For example, I like to think of Smash as a four-player battle royal action game. You’ll notice that’s a lot longer than saying it’s a fighting game, because ‘fighting game’ is a completely different label."

Source: http://www.vg247.com/2013/06/20/smash-bros-sakurai-wants-to-target-silent-brawl-loving-community/

"If tournament popularity was the most important consideration, then I think we would create a Smash Bros. game that included a multitude of fast moves with complicated controls. However, I believe this is actually the greatest shortcoming of fighting games at present, and that is the reason why I don’t do it."

"While there’s a lot of enthusiasm for tournaments on the one hand, there are also users who just give up on these sorts of games because they can’t handle the complexity and speed. While other fighting games continue to work on honing this tournament aspect, I think that we need to move in a direction where there is more of a focus on inexperienced gamers."

"There are so many other games out there which are geared to tournaments. It is important for us, however, to maintain the game’s status as a kind of ‘rough’ party game in which anyone can play without feeling too much pressure over winning or losing.


Source: http://nintendoeverything.com/sakur...-smash-bros-more-interesting-than-the-others/

when asked if he takes feedback on balancing the game from high level competitive players, he responded:

"Mostly I don't incorporate feedback like that. Basically, Smash Bros. is designed to be sort of targeted at the center, intermediate players, and if you think of sort of a skill graph or something where if you're targeting just the peak of that performance level, you're targeting a very small group of people. We wanna avoid a situation where it becomes a game sort of like other competitive fighting games, where it's only apreciated by a very small, passionate group of sort of maniac players. We definitely don't want that sort of situation. It's supposed to be a fun game for a wide variety of people."
Source: http://kotaku.com/an-in-depth-chat-with-the-genius-behind-super-smash-bro-530744390


"In all previous Smash Bros. games, I've entered in all the data for fighter skills and hitboxes by myself, and it's quite nearly that way with this game too. I've thought about leaving this work to others and I've actually tried it once or twice, but it hasn't worked out. I don't want to release an incomplete game, and I want everything to be as successful as possible, but it results in a massive amount of work for me. It's a big problem, but there are reasons for doing it this way." — Masahiro Sakurai
"...we have to work to keep things dynamic and not over-fine-tune the balance. If we aim for complete fairness, there won't be any personality to it." — Masahiro Sakurai

Source: http://www.gamnesia.com/news/sakurai-is-balancing-the-new-smash-bros-games-by-himself


So, Since you couldn't read or comprehend my previous post and pretended that all I had was "bias and speculation," lets see if you can read and comprehend after seeing it a second time. . .

I have. . . 6 sources stating that sakurai does not prioritize the competitive scene, and a source stating that he does all the balancing "by himself." Let's try counting now, I hope that's not too difficult for you to understand. not just 2 sources, but 6. Do you understand? 6 sources is not bias or speculation. I'm not sure how much more simple I can make that for you to comprehend.

I haven't made a single biased hate remark towards sakurai or him hating the competitive community. I only pointed out that competitive balance isn't a priority on his list.

I also posted direct quotes from him in interviews stating the opposite of the statements he made in your sources, only showing that if anything, he's lying about his statements, so how much can you really trust what he's saying?

In one interview he'll say he has a balance team that does the work, in another he'll state he does all of it by himself. In one interview he'll say he wants to create balance patches for dedicated players, in another he'll state he wants to balance it for casual 4 man battle royals and that he ignores the input of the competitive scene.

If anyone here has a biased opinion, its you. You ignore facts even if they're staring you in the face, and post your own sources, even if all that proves is that the person you put your blind faith in is either lying or changing their statements extremely often.

It's a simple system in debate, though I don't expect you to understand it. For what you're arguing, you would need proof that he prioritizes competitive play balance. The issue with your argument, all I have to do is post 1 source stating that he doesn't and that renders your argument invalid. You could have sources from here to the moon, and it wouldn't matter if I have even 1 statement from him saying he doesn't. Because even if he was lying about the statement he made in a source I post, the fact that he would lie about it, or change his stance on the issue that often shows that you can't really trust any statement he's made. Since your argument is to trust him and have faith in him. . .well, I hope you can do the math why your argument would be invalid at that point. . .though from your recent comprehension, I'm not so sure. . .

You yourself need to stop twisting others words. I've said it at least 3 or 4 times now, that I don't hate sakurai, nintendo, and that I don't believe sakurai hates the competitive community. This "hate mongering." is a perfect example of how you twist the words of others and extrapolate your own biased views, not to mention you did the same thing with your sources.

For the last time, all I am saying is that he has stated WITH PROOF that he does NOT prioritize competitive balance. That would suggest within reason to look into other options for balancing, but you're free to do whatever you like. Though I suggest again looking into an anger management class.
 
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Pyr

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You sir need to learn to read.

So, Since you couldn't read or comprehend my previous post and pretended that all I had was "bias and speculation," lets see if you can read and comprehend after seeing it a second time. . .

I have. . . 6 sources stating that sakurai does not prioritize the competitive scene, and a source stating that he does all the balancing "by himself." Let's try counting now, I hope that's not too difficult for you to understand. not just 2 sources, but 6. Do you understand? 6 sources is not bias or speculation. I'm not sure how much more simple I can make that for you to comprehend.

the person you put your blind faith in

It's a simple system in debate, though I don't expect you to understand it.

.well, I hope you can do the math why your argument would be invalid at that point. . .though from your recent comprehension, I'm not so sure. . .

You yourself need to stop twisting others words.

This "hate mongering." is a perfect example of how you twist the words of others and extrapolate your own biased views, not to mention you did the same thing with your sources.

Though I suggest again looking into an anger management class.
I can understand a if this issue gets heated, so I can understand personal attacks, but 10 total? Telling me to go to anger management class? You're over the line here. You do not wish a discussion. You wish an argument, and an attacking one. I will not reciprocate and will simply say that you are not attacking the argument. You're attacking the arguer.

I suppose we've gone off-topic here. The original start of all this was your idea of balancing through badges. It cannot work. It's impossible to get a set to the entire competitive community, especially the section that doesn't open Smashboards. Further, the only realistic way for a community to balance a game like this is with a balance patch of their own: a mod. This will never be Nintendo endorsed, meaning it'll never be major-tournament legal, as Nintendo is hosting them finally. Side majors still exist, but things as big as Evo? It won't get Nintendo's support.

Hate them if you want: They are making the rules here, not us. A community balance patch is now impossible for major tournament play, thus your idea is mute and impossible.
 

Deva

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I can understand a if this issue gets heated, so I can understand personal attacks, but 10 total? Telling me to go to anger management class? You're over the line here. You do not wish a discussion. You wish an argument, and an attacking one. I will not reciprocate and will simply say that you are not attacking the argument. You're attacking the arguer.

I suppose we've gone off-topic here. The original start of all this was your idea of balancing through badges. It cannot work. It's impossible to get a set to the entire competitive community, especially the section that doesn't open Smashboards. Further, the only realistic way for a community to balance a game like this is with a balance patch of their own: a mod. This will never be Nintendo endorsed, meaning it'll never be major-tournament legal, as Nintendo is hosting them finally. Side majors still exist, but things as big as Evo? It won't get Nintendo's support.

Hate them if you want: They are making the rules here, not us. A community balance patch is now impossible for major tournament play, thus your idea is mute and impossible.

I only suggest going to an anger management class because you yourself are the one attacking the person you're having a discussion with. That in of itself is not an attack, but a healthy suggestion since you are taking this very personally. Aside from taking note of your reading comprehension, which again isn't an attack, but a statement due to you overlooking information I had posted, I said nothing else that would suggest an attack. Calling it "blind faith" is not an attack either since I presented you with proof that Sakurai contradicted his own statements, which speaks volumes about his trustworthiness. You are the one who resorted to name calling.

"Anyone who bases an opinion like yours on the work of Sakurai is a moron "

"give big N a chance and stop letting your idiotic bias control your judgement."

"stop spouting your hate-mongering for Sakurai and Nintendo."

"(mywords) stop being *****es before adjustment is considered. (/mywords)"

Badges were only a suggestion for community balance, badges themselves weren't the focus of the topic. They were a suggestion based on Sakurai not prioritizing competitive play in the balancing of this game. There are other options, or you can just put your faith in him, regardless of his statements.

It wouldn't be impossible to get a badge set for the competitive community, but it would be very difficult. You can't state it's impossible without trying. As far as the section that doesn't open smashboards. . .the real competitive community exists within smashboards. Any major tournament will be based off rulesets created within smashboards. SWF IS the source for information regarding competitive play.


As a final note, considering badges exist within Nintendo's own game and are not a hack or mode, it is within reason to speculate that Nintendo would allow them in their tournaments, meaning my argument is in fact not "mute" and impossible.

Also, just for future reference, try using "void" or "invalid" instead of mute. Mute would suggest being unheard.
 
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Pyr

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I only suggest going to an anger management class because you yourself are the one attacking the person you're having a discussion with. That in of itself is not an attack, but a healthy suggestion since you are taking this very personally. Aside from taking note of your reading comprehension, which again isn't an attack, but a statement due to you overlooking information I had posted, I said nothing else that would suggest an attack. Calling it "blind faith" is not an attack either since I presented you with proof that Sakurai contradicted his own statements, which speaks volumes about his trustworthiness. You are the one who resorted to name calling.

"Anyone who bases an opinion like yours on the work of Sakurai is a moron "

"give big N a chance and stop letting your idiotic bias control your judgement."

"stop spouting your hate-mongering for Sakurai and Nintendo."

"(mywords) stop being *****es before adjustment is considered. (/mywords)"

Badges were only a suggestion for community balance, badges themselves weren't the focus of the topic. They were a suggestion based on Sakurai not prioritizing competitive play in the balancing of this game. There are other options, or you can just put your faith in him, regardless of his statements.

It wouldn't be impossible to get a badge set for the competitive community, but it would be very difficult. You can't state it's impossible without trying. As far as the section that doesn't open smashboards. . .the real competitive community exists within smashboards. Any major tournament will be based off rulesets created within smashboards. SWF IS the source for information regarding competitive play.


As a final note, considering badges exist within Nintendo's own game and are not a hack or mode, it is within reason to speculate that Nintendo would allow them in their tournaments, meaning my argument is in fact not "mute" and impossible.

Also, just for future reference, try using "void" or "invalid" instead of mute. Mute would suggest being unheard.
4 over several posts vs 10 in 1 post for you. Please re-look at the whole "seek anger management" thing.

And we can't consider it within reason because EVERYONE would have to use the same set. This is impossible, as badges cannot be farmed consistently to do so. Even so, if Nintendo wants the balance provided, they can patch it, making it redundant.

Mute is correct. Mute to Nintendo. Could it be better phrased? Ya. In context, though, it is correct.

Edit:

Aren't we starting to talk circles here? Just sayin'
Ya. But I think we're back on track now. Right Deva? Everyone? Nintendo's stance on anything besides a ruleset shouldn't be present here. I personally apologize for my role in the tangent on Nintendo's intentions instead of the idea that brought that opinion to the forefront of conversation: a possibility at a competitive ruleset change in the future.
 
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Deva

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4 over several posts vs 10 in 1 post for you. Please re-look at the whole "seek anger management" thing.

And we can't consider it within reason because EVERYONE would have to use the same set. This is impossible, as badges cannot be farmed consistently to do so. Even so, if Nintendo wants the balance provided, they can patch it, making it redundant.

Mute is correct. Mute to Nintendo. Could it be better phrased? Ya. In context, though, it is correct.

Edit:


Ya. But I think we're back on track now. Right Deva? Everyone? Nintendo's stance on anything besides a ruleset shouldn't be present here. I personally apologize for my role in the tangent on Nintendo's intentions instead of the idea that brought that opinion to the forefront of conversation: a possibility at a competitive ruleset change in the future.

Again, you're not addressing what I posted. It's not 4 over several posts vs 10 in 1 post because I pointed out that within your posts, it was legitimate name calling. Something I refrained from within any post you thought was an attack. And I explained that I had legitimate reasons for bringing in reading comprehension and blind faith into those statements you misunderstood as attacks.

Also, if you use a word that you want in a specific context such as "mute" you need to reference that it is to Nintendo, since this discussion isn't about Nintendo only. It's about rule sets and balance changes with the potential for community balance changes, which means it wouldn't be mute to the smash community. Without putting it in the context of "mute to Nintendo," that makes your statement inaccurate, just fyi.
 
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Pyr

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Again, you're not reading what I posted. It's not 4 over several posts vs 10 in 1 post because I pointed out that within your posts, it was legitimate name calling. Something I refrained from within any post you thought was an attack. And I explained that I had legitimate reasons for bringing in reading comprehension and blind faith into those statements you misunderstood as attacks.

Also, if you use a word that you want in a specific context such as "mute" you need to reference that it is to Nintendo, since this discussion isn't about Nintendo only. It's about rule sets and balance changes with the potential for community balance changes, which means it wouldn't be mute to the smash community. Without putting it in the context of "mute to Nintendo," that makes your statement inaccurate, just fyi.
I have equal reason for for doing everything you're attempting to in your first paragraph. I'm unwilling to do an entire dissection of your comment to do so anymore. If you wish to continue that part of the conversation, please initiate a PM with me and we can have a proverbial bloodbath.

The second paragraph references a failure for you to read and understand what I posted. I said it may be poorly worded. No need to continue extrapolating on that fact. Again, PM me for further discussion on the matter. Let's continue to discuss your initial idea: viability of the community balancing via the badge system, and the ability for it to be made into a ruleset for Nintendo-sponsored events.
 

Deva

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I have equal reason for for doing everything you're attempting to in your first paragraph. I'm unwilling to do an entire dissection of your comment to do so anymore. If you wish to continue that part of the conversation, please initiate a PM with me and we can have a proverbial bloodbath.

The second paragraph references a failure for you to read and understand what I posted. I said it may be poorly worded. No need to continue extrapolating on that fact. Again, PM me for further discussion on the matter. Let's continue to discuss your initial idea: viability of the community balancing via the badge system, and the ability for it to be made into a ruleset for Nintendo-sponsored events.
You don't have equal reasons because you are the only one who resorted to name calling. And I kindly refuse your offer to initiate in such behaviors even in PMs.

Regardless of you saying it was poorly worded, you tried to justify your use of the word, so I explained to you the proper use of the word, and that you should reference that it was meant specifically for Nintendo, so as to not create misconceptions for your arguments in the future. If anything I was doing you a favor.

Continuing the discussion with you regarding the use of badges for balancing in competitive play would not be productive since you made an absolute statement as your argument for why badges should not be used. your argument is that it is "impossible." Making an absolute statement in a debate scenario requires absolute proof, which you cannot provide because this scenario has never been tested. There has never been a system implemented by Nintendo in the past where the players would have access to balancing the game without the use of hacking mods. That invalidates your argument so there can be no further discussion from your end unless you provide a more reasonable stance on the issue.
 

Pyr

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You don't have equal reasons because you are the only one who resorted to name calling. And I kindly refuse your offer to initiate in such behaviors even in PMs.

Regardless of you saying it was poorly worded, you tried to justify your use of the word, so I explained to you the proper use of the word, and that you should reference that it was meant specifically for Nintendo, so as to not create misconceptions for your arguments in the future. If anything I was doing you a favor.

Continuing the discussion with you regarding the use of badges for balancing in competitive play would not be productive since you made an absolute statement as your argument for why badges should not be used. your argument is that it is "impossible." Making an absolute statement in a debate scenario requires absolute proof, which you cannot provide because this scenario has never been tested. There has never been a system implemented by Nintendo in the past where the players would have access to balancing the game without the use of hacking mods. That invalidates your argument so there can be no further discussion from your end unless you provide a more reasonable stance on the issue.
Again, PM me for anything involving me.

I've offered the fact that, as Nintendo controls balancing and can patch anything they want, and as, in the end, it'll be their rules at the tournaments they sponsor, aka the biggest ones available to Smash, how can it be implemented?

Further, how do we offer a wide-spread "patch" involving badges when it is nearly impossible to get an identical set on more than 1 system without outside influence? How do we get it to the competitive community outside Smashboards?

These are very real issues, and I feel that they are too major for this idea to be viable in 1 year, in 5 years, and ever.

Edit: Missing question mark.
 
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Deva

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Again, PM me for anything involving me.

I've offered the fact that, as Nintendo controls balancing and can patch anything they want, and as, in the end, it'll be their rules at the tournaments they sponsor, aka the biggest ones available to Smash, how can it be implemented?

Further, how do we offer a wide-spread "patch" involving badges when it is nearly impossible to get an identical set on more than 1 system without outside influence? How do we get it to the competitive community outside Smashboards?

These are very real issues, and I feel that they are too major for this idea to be viable in 1 year, in 5 years, and ever.

Edit: Missing question mark.

Again, I kindly refuse to engage in name calling. You've already shown that its something you partake in, but it's not something I would like to do, even in a PM.

The biggest tournaments aren't necessarily run by Nintendo. Most of the biggest tournaments to date (take EVO for example) were run by rule sets by the smash community. Of the few that have been sponsored by Nintendo. Professional Players only attended the ones that Nintendo sanctioned the rules created by SWF.

The point you're missing is SWF is the competitive smash community. A competitive scene outside SWF will not contain the professional players you see today. Anyone who truly plays smash competitively at major tournaments plays by the rulesets created here by the SBR.

As far as getting an identical set for each system. you would only need badges for characters you play. Then transfer them to the Wii U system of a tournament with a 3DS. I have also already suggested a stat range of within 10 of the suggested stat, because it would be difficult to get an exact number when every badge is different.

Now that could affect certain matchups still. Even within 10, it could make it so a certain character could not be comboed anymore, at which point, the issue is brought to the SBR, and they would have to patch it so that it wouldn't negatively affect said character in said matchup. It would be a very difficult system to implement and a lot of work on the part of the SBR, but it wouldn't be impossible.
 
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Pyr

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Again, I kindly refuse to engage in name calling. You've already shown that its something you partake in, but it's not something I would like to do, even in a PM.

The biggest tournaments aren't necessarily run by Nintendo. Most of the biggest tournaments to date (take EVO for example) were run by rule sets by the smash community. Of the few that have been sponsored by Nintendo. Professional Players only attended the ones that Nintendo sanctioned the rules created by SWF.

The point you're missing is SWF is the competitive smash community. A competitive scene outside SWF will not contain the professional players you see today. Anyone who truly plays smash competitively at major tournaments plays by the rulesets created here by the SBR.

As far as getting an identical set for each system. you would only need badges for characters you play. Then transfer them to the Wii U system of a tournament with a 3DS. I have also already suggested a stat range of within 10 of the suggested stat, because it would be difficult to get an exact number when every badge is different.

Now that could affect certain matchups still. Even within 10, it could make it so a certain character could not be comboed anymore, at which point, the issue is brought to the SBR, and they would have to patch it so that it wouldn't negatively affect said character in said matchup. It would be a very difficult system to implement and a lot of work on the part of the SBR, but it wouldn't be impossible.
It's not about what Nintendo runs. It's about what they sponsor. For example, Evo should be this year. That alone is enough to make this a shaky idea at best. If the most viewed tournaments aren't following the same construction as others, the masses will follow them (edit: them being the biggest tournaments, aka the ones Nintendo sponsors and the game they patched).

You see, this isn't about our slice of life here on Smashboards. The success of a game will depend on growth. While we can influence a lot here for the top competitive standards, we do have to keep in mind the local and state tournaments that will look here for guidance. Without growth, where will we be? At a game no one cares about or plays except us. With, though, we'd be at one of the most popular fighters in the world. I'd prefer the latter, personally. It means more people to meet, more events to attend, and more hype to be had.

While things as big as some of the biggest Melee tournaments do exist (using for reference to size, not game itself), and will use our ruleset, Nintendo will take a piece of that profit pie guaranteed. They can now, after all. They can literally give the word and any gaming sponsors will pull themselves from a tournament because it is unsponsored by the base company. It doesn't happen often because most places that host high-level tournaments know that gaming sponsors bring in a lot of money, and players playing for them will follow their sponsors. And the places that adhere to Nintendo? Tons of publicity, and success, and, again, profits for a lot involved for many different reasons.

And, again, the more publicity and hype an event gains, the more it'll define other tournaments. I reference Evo here again because, really, it's hard to get bigger than that in the fighting game world.

"Only need badges for characters you play?" If the smooth lander thread taught us anything, it's hard to become accurate enough to get 0/0/0 in the first place. To get specific stats, without other special effects, is extremely difficult for 1 character. I know you referenced this in your last post, but, even still, a variant of even 1 point can mean the world. It can mean the difference between an AC and landing lag, or death vs living. Balancing of that nature would have to be accurate, else the experience across all players isn't the same. The experience matters more than anything.

Also, what if you have more than 1 character you like to play? What if you want to practice on specific characters, or the entire roster? What about if you're a local guy trying to get into the TO business and need a full set? The little guys are our lifeblood and will be the reason this game thrives. Make their lives hard, and they just move on to something more accessible. I'm not speaking hypothetically here. Google this issue and you will find plenty of testimonies on everything in this little paragraph.

We can't throw the little guys under the bus because we don't like the game as is. They matter more than us, and they can push more growth into the game than any other group can. To reference another major game, the pros of League get the spotlight and their ideas are used first. The people under Diamond V drive the game forward and keep the game ITSELF in the spotlight. Their skill level is irrelevant because, for what they lack in skill, they add in value to the game and the scene as a whole.

As for the SBR, you must remember: Smash is not their job. Even if they review everything and offer their input, updates will be few and far between in one of the most variable metagame-generating games in existence for the genre. A lot of work for the Back Room is the most accurate statement you can make. Not impossible? Maybe. A lot of additional work added to their plate? Very much so.

And, if something goes wrong, they get the blame. As they perform a lot of important functions to the competitive community, I do believe that they'd want to remain viewed in a good light as much as possible. Conjecture, I know. But it's a valid concern.

Edit: This idea has a lot of issues. Issues that cannot be solved very easily without causing some rather major damage somewhere. This is a risk vs reward issue here. We risk massive damage to the growth of the community for this game and the game itself, the view of this game to the public, the fighting game community, and Nintendo, damage to local smashers seeking to become top level players one day (raising the barrier of entry), and damage to our direct community here via splits and balance debates and spreading the BR thin of resources. And the reward? A possibly more balanced game. Again, that's a maybe. It could be worse off. It could be 50:50 all matchups. It could change nothing.

Large potential risk in many aspects and some possible unavoidable damage. Small, unguaranteed, reward.
 
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Deva

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It's not about what Nintendo runs. It's about what they sponsor. For example, Evo should be this year. That alone is enough to make this a shaky idea at best. If the most viewed tournaments aren't following the same construction as others, the masses will follow them (edit: them being the biggest tournaments, aka the ones Nintendo sponsors and the game they patched).

You see, this isn't about our slice of life here on Smashboards. The success of a game will depend on growth. While we can influence a lot here for the top competitive standards, we do have to keep in mind the local and state tournaments that will look here for guidance. Without growth, where will we be? At a game no one cares about or plays except us. With, though, we'd be at one of the most popular fighters in the world. I'd prefer the latter, personally. It means more people to meet, more events to attend, and more hype to be had.

While things as big as some of the biggest Melee tournaments do exist (using for reference to size, not game itself), and will use our ruleset, Nintendo will take a piece of that profit pie guaranteed. They can now, after all. They can literally give the word and any gaming sponsors will pull themselves from a tournament because it is unsponsored by the base company. It doesn't happen often because most places that host high-level tournaments know that gaming sponsors bring in a lot of money, and players playing for them will follow their sponsors. And the places that adhere to Nintendo? Tons of publicity, and success, and, again, profits for a lot involved for many different reasons.

And, again, the more publicity and hype an event gains, the more it'll define other tournaments. I reference Evo here again because, really, it's hard to get bigger than that in the fighting game world.

"Only need badges for characters you play?" If the smooth lander thread taught us anything, it's hard to become accurate enough to get 0/0/0 in the first place. To get specific stats, without other special effects, is extremely difficult for 1 character. I know you referenced this in your last post, but, even still, a variant of even 1 point can mean the world. It can mean the difference between an AC and landing lag, or death vs living. Balancing of that nature would have to be accurate, else the experience across all players isn't the same. The experience matters more than anything.

Also, what if you have more than 1 character you like to play? What if you want to practice on specific characters, or the entire roster? What about if you're a local guy trying to get into the TO business and need a full set? The little guys are our lifeblood and will be the reason this game thrives. Make their lives hard, and they just move on to something more accessible. I'm not speaking hypothetically here. Google this issue and you will find plenty of testimonies on everything in this little paragraph.

We can't throw the little guys under the bus because we don't like the game as is. They matter more than us, and they can push more growth into the game than any other group can. To reference another major game, the pros of League get the spotlight and their ideas are used first. The people under Diamond V drive the game forward and keep the game ITSELF in the spotlight. Their skill level is irrelevant because, for what they lack in skill, they add in value to the game and the scene as a whole.

As for the SBR, you must remember: Smash is not their job. Even if they review everything and offer their input, updates will be few and far between in one of the most variable metagame-generating games in existence for the genre. A lot of work for the Back Room is the most accurate statement you can make. Not impossible? Maybe. A lot of additional work added to their plate? Very much so.

And, if something goes wrong, they get the blame. As they perform a lot of important functions to the competitive community, I do believe that they'd want to remain viewed in a good light as much as possible. Conjecture, I know. But it's a valid concern.

Edit: This idea has a lot of issues. Issues that cannot be solved very easily without causing some rather major damage somewhere. This is a risk vs reward issue here. We risk massive damage to the growth of the community for this game and the game itself, the view of this game to the public, the fighting game community, and Nintendo, damage to local smashers seeking to become top level players one day (raising the barrier of entry), and damage to our direct community here via splits and balance debates and spreading the BR thin of resources. And the reward? A possibly more balanced game. Again, that's a maybe. It could be worse off. It could be 50:50 all matchups. It could change nothing.

Large potential risk in many aspects and some possible unavoidable damage. Small, unguaranteed, reward.
Actually, Nintendo did not endorse smash at EVO until there was a huge upset that they would not let EVO stream melee at the event. Nintendo has a history of not endorsing its game at professional level tournaments, yet they still happen. Nintendo sponsoring or endorsing it's game does not constitute a tournament being a major tournmanet, and plenty of money has been made at major tournaments, including EVO without Nintendo's support. If anything, Nintendo has learned its lesson to adhere to the rules created by the competitive smash community, which again, is SWF.

The difficulty to accomplish something should never be an excuse for giving up. Anyone who truly wants to get into the competitive scene would not care about the barrier of entry, because if they really want to prove how good they are, they'll make the effort to farm for the required character stats, or learn whatever is needed to better themselves as players in the competitive community.

It would be a lot of work on the part of the SBR, it would require input from top players, character boards, tournament performance, and lack of use in tournaments. It would be a huge project that would require constant attention, but that doesnt mean it can't be done.

There are those who want this game to grow competitively in numbers, and there are those who prefer it to grow as a fighting game. I honestly could care less for how large the competitive community becomes, as long as the game itself is one that focuses on balance and a healthy progressing meta.
 
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HeroMystic

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Personally, I dread the fact that players who most likely are not high-level competitive Smash 4 players are constantly yammering for us to "fix" the game. A game that has only been out for a maximum for three months (18 Days if you only count the Wii U version). It truly shows the lack of knowledge that players have when it comes to competitive balance and logistics.

Even when it has been constantly stated that using badges would destroy the current balance of the game, it is ignored for the wide-eyed nostalgic feeling of being able to relive the days of Melee, even though Melee still exists and Project: M borrows from it's philosophy. To be frank, the lack of sound, solid reasoning is so baffling I'm wondering if anyone can come up with a solid, competitive reason beyond "it's more fun that way", which by the way is not a valid objective fact.

I believe anyone who wants to apply custom equipment in the competitive metagame should do so with an objective point of view, and propose a criteria and ruleset, and make a list a objective, competitive reasons as to why this should become standard, because I'm personally weary of reading baseless and subjective posts that stuff like Smooth Lander and custom equipment somehow makes a stronger competitive metagame.
 

Muro

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Deva laying the smackdown in this thread.

There are those who want this game to grow competitively in numbers, and there are those who prefer it to grow as a fighting game. I honestly could care less for how large the competitive community becomes, as long as the game itself is one that focuses on balance and a healthy progressing meta.
this might not even be an "either or" kind of thing. Groing it as a fighting game will probably result in better numbers both in attendance and viewers.

I absolutely agree that SLHG ruleset should be explored, there are tons of badges with set stats that are the same for everyone and are easy to unlock.

Even if HG ends up not working well SL alone seems like a no brainer.
 
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