Reviving Texas Melee

[DoH]

I don't see the Melee scene as sustainable. I think its fun to have as a side tournament if your event is large enough, but otherwise I think we should consciously choose to kill it when possible. Yes, a small portion of the community will split off and run Melee events until people stop coming or they are all old and still play the same handful of players and matchups over and over again, but its not a "growth industry" as far as Smashboards is concerned. It can only drain resources away from the real growth product, which is Brawl.

If people want to continue to play Melee, it's not like we can stop them from doing it. But I don't see any value in encouraging people to split the community further by trying to keep Melee alive as long as possible.

That was 2008.

Since then, times have been rough for Texas smash. We've seen our attendance dry up, Brawl take over, and several prominent members disappear.

I'd like to reverse that trend. I was going through some old threads from back when I was first starting out - JF and I arguing about who was the best Zelda in Texas, trolling Oklahoma for the first time, the Texas thread, the origin of no johns, etc - and it brought me back to not only a better time, but the feeling of wanting to get better. Our state has a fairly dense population, even though we're much more spread out. To compensate, we must have increased drive, willingness to travel, and dedication. I've been the Dallas taxi since...2006, and it would be nice if other regions stepped it up in terms of travel as much as we did.

So, I'm looking for ways to revive our little scene. Texas was one of the top regions in the nation, just behind MD/VA, Cali, and Tri-State. With our current talent pool and untapped potential, I believe we could work our way back to being a threat. Current ideas that can help:

1. Retired Smasher Outreach: Whatever happened to...we all have players in our community that have stopped playing. We need to find out why, and try and see if we can get them back. Travelling in different areas across the country I've seen a lot of older players coming back, even older school players coming back from Brawl. It can never hurt, especially when these older folks don't have obligations to school and probably can provide transportation, except for Drew and Chang because they fail.

2. A Real Texas Circuit: I know we tried this...but then Scav kind of moved and we lost track of what we were doing. So we could revive the idea, with monthly tournaments in Dallas, Houston, Austin, etc. This would require commitment from all cities, as well as experienced TOs and organization at the statewide level. This could culminate in a end of season championship, with extra prizes, etc.

3. Rankings: Whether it be circuit points or power rankings, that's up for you guys to decide. I feel like we know who the top 2 are, but there's a lot of turmoil in the ranks below. Wobbles/mods, can you guys add a poll to this?

4. Attracting New Players and Developing Talent: Something I've found from my years of college is that still people play this game because it's damn fun. Not all of them will understand, like, or want to be a part of a competitive community, but some will. So the time has come to do some community outreach. Swift has a bunch of players he's attracted at his church. I went to a tournament in Dallas where I knew like 3 people. We need to get and keep in contact with these people and integrate them into the scene. Get them jazzed about tournaments. Advertise with flyers like these http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=289220
We need to work with them, coach them to get better. Perhaps we could have tournaments with buy-in brackets, or tournaments like the Arcadian tournaments in Cali where the 'pros' aren't allowed to use their mains.

5. Innovation and Hype: Perhaps putting new twists on old standards? A Swiss tournament instead of bracket? Team Teams? Draft Crews? Etc.

6. Travel and Expansion: going to places we've never been before. I've been pretty much everywhere, but I think I might be willing to go to the Valley. They have great relations with Mexico from what I've gathered, and it would be interesting to have our own international tournament with just us and Mexico haha. We also need to strengthen ties between our cities.

7. More professional: Meaning less things like house tournaments. More real tournaments, more hype, more professionalism, and perhaps even pursuing sponsors?

What are your ideas?

 

[MT_]

I agree with this.

 

[Tirno]

Yeah, I'm tired of always hearing about how Texas used to be. I'm totally for reviving Texas Melee.

As for a circuit, I think Austin could participate. In general, Austin's a great place for Texas tournaments. It's well-located in the center of Texas, and the rooms at UT-Austin are easy to reserve for only $5 (meaning no venue fee) and are big enough to host decent-size tournaments (see Endless Challenge).

I've been pretty lazy this past semester about organizing regular meetings of the UT Smash Club, but I've been thinking of making Endless Challenge a semi-regular series like Dallas' Phase or SA's Final Smash. I should also get to hosting normal meetings though. Maybe try getting FLT and Xelic to play again, haha.

 

[DoH]

Apparently regaling you *****es with tales of yore isn't inspiring enough to make you actually do something

 

[Tirno]

Just curious, do you have a magical repository of sassy GIFs, or do you just happen find these as you go?

 

[LeVash]

Yeah I totally get where you're coming from with the feeling of wanting to get better. Brawl killed that for me. Melee is much more challenging and people actually had their own fighting style if that makes sense. I wish melee could come back and be how it use to. I mean the Valley never gave up on it but it seems like only a handful of people show up and its quiet a downer. Cause I dont want to drift to SSF4 and MVC3...which will probably happen xD

 

[DoH]

Just curious, do you have a magical repository of sassy GIFs, or do you just happen find these as you go?

I scour ONTD and right-click/save a bunch if I feel I may ever need them.

 

[Broly]

People know the Valley is reviving melee in Texas. Just look at the TYS and IT tournies. Our talent pool is extremely deep and its great to see competitive games again. Our next big step is Oklahoma, to prove Texas is still a great Melee state and show it isnt dead.

 

[Mr.C]

As much as I love this, I'm moving to Hawaii in three months. Aloha brahs!

 

[Sethlon]

You have my sword!

As for the 'more professional tournaments' part, for Dallas specifically, have you checked with FX Game Exchange (the venue that Phase uses)? I know Monica was talking about hosting melee there eventually, but now she has Mono and like three other ailments, so shes goig ot be out of commission for the next couple of months. Would DFW meleers be willing to leg it up to northern Dallas for tournies?

 

[NeoBatou]

You wanted my input and here it is bro.

Melee and brawl DON'T split the smash scene. It's a matter of choice when it boils down to the wire. If you want to play brawl, melee or both....totally up to you. Brawl and Melee are actually the same game with the same concepts of Directional Influence but brawl is actually rather harder to play.

Brawl requires more patience while melee all I have to do is gimp you and your gone usually the first or second time around. It's not as easy as I claim it to be but for most cases that's usually the deal. It's more detailed trust me but this is just my personal opinion regardless. You REALLY REALLY have to know what your doing in melee or you'll get ***** early and easily. Obviously the more you play melee the more your reflexes improve and thus the road to becoming a worthy melee player begins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be9uDkwLodY&feature=related
Isai Falcon

Melee is more fast pace and deciding how to combo your opponent and what moves to use is more easier to decide rather in brawl you really have to know how to space your opponent and look for opportunities. Patience is your greatest tool for brawl. If your used to rushing in and beating someone with some Isai knees your going to be heavily disappointed. The physics are also a fact between melee and brawl obviously. I'm not saying that reading your opponent is easier for brawl or melee but it's harder for me in brawl due to the physics and how slower the game play is. There are just more tools, glitches and factors involved in the game than in melee. It's easier for me in melee...just read your opponent, wavedash to their position and keep going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-7XWOBYX30
Batou Falcon


This is what splits the community up. People want to play both but aren't skilled enough to do both or they are quick to decide which game requires more skill to play. This concept of internal conflict is pungent especially in cases like Mvc2 vs Mvc3 or Street Fighter Third Strike vs Street Fighter IV. The two games are similar but have different elements and tools for you to learn....and thus people begin to complain...which one is better? Which one requires more skill? Which game is best for me to spend time on? Also people love to troll on both sides o.O

Both games are enjoyable.
Just learn to have fun with both or the game of your choice.

As far as tournaments are concerned I would love to come back to melee tournaments myself. I love melee AND brawl....I can totally play both. In fact I'll give melee all the props in the world. My melee team...I was the team specialist. When it came down to teams my Roy was representing even against tough Falco, Fox, Marth and shiek players. Guess what i'm good at in brawl? Teams.

I"m all up for it. Post as many melee tournaments on my boards as you want to. You have my blessings and I hope this goes well for the remaining melee players. I'd love to host a smashfest with both melee and brawl players so we can all learn from each other....after successful variations of both, I'll host tournaments myself to help the revival.

-Batou

PS: If we work together to create a huge brawl/melee scene and support each other, Smash will stay alive a lot longer than usual. Let's do our part and rep both to the fullest

 

[Sethlon]

...but brawl is actually rather harder to play.

Please don't even start this. We want a melee revival thread, not another flame war.

 

[z00ted]

bump bump bump

there were about 12-20 people at HOBO 30 playing Melee and it was pretty nice, I wanna see the scene revive - even if I don't play the game.

 

[Broly]

Yeah seriously batou. GTFO with that. People hate getting gimped and therefore they hate melee

 

[z00ted]

ey broly where da f is our money match?

 

[Broly]

When i play the game again we will. Go lose to Shlike again and stop trolling

 

[Kal]

Batou, where the **** did that come from? This thread is about reviving Melee, not comparing it to Brawl. Also, thanks for the shallow assessment of Melee's metagame. Super constructive.

 

[z00ted]

Go lose to Shlike again and stop trolling

ummmmmmmmmmmm wat

 

[UltimateHaxor123]

this thread should be stickied

 

[Jake13]

First off: mr.c have fun in whykiki!

2nd: lol doh too homo

3rd: good thead doh

4th: ignore brawl flame plz

And

5th: word up homies I'm always trying to bring in new players but how would you suggest this? Let's get a decent tourney and have us an amatuer bracket. I call UT as the venue! Mt or tirno get something going for the next semest kthx
<3

 

[The_Smash_Champ]

You wanted my input and here it is bro.

Melee and brawl DON'T split the smash scene. It's a matter of choice when it boils down to the wire. If you want to play brawl, melee or both....totally up to you. Brawl and Melee are actually the same game with the same concepts of Directional Influence but brawl is actually rather harder to play.

Brawl requires more patience while melee all I have to do is gimp you and your gone usually the first or second time around. It's not as easy as I claim it to be but for most cases that's usually the deal. It's more detailed trust me but this is just my personal opinion regardless. You REALLY REALLY have to know what your doing in melee or you'll get ***** early and easily. Obviously the more you play melee the more your reflexes improve and thus the road to becoming a worthy melee player begins.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=be9uDkwLodY&feature=related
Isai Falcon

Melee is more fast pace and deciding how to combo your opponent and what moves to use is more easier to decide rather in brawl you really have to know how to space your opponent and look for opportunities. Patience is your greatest tool for brawl. If your used to rushing in and beating someone with some Isai knees your going to be heavily disappointed. The physics are also a fact between melee and brawl obviously. I'm not saying that reading your opponent is easier for brawl or melee but it's harder for me in brawl due to the physics and how slower the game play is. There are just more tools, glitches and factors involved in the game than in melee. It's easier for me in melee...just read your opponent, wavedash to their position and keep going.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-7XWOBYX30
Batou Falcon


This is what splits the community up. People want to play both but aren't skilled enough to do both or they are quick to decide which game requires more skill to play. This concept of internal conflict is pungent especially in cases like Mvc2 vs Mvc3 or Street Fighter Third Strike vs Street Fighter IV. The two games are similar but have different elements and tools for you to learn....and thus people begin to complain...which one is better? Which one requires more skill? Which game is best for me to spend time on? Also people love to troll on both sides o.O

Both games are enjoyable.
Just learn to have fun with both or the game of your choice.

As far as tournaments are concerned I would love to come back to melee tournaments myself. I love melee AND brawl....I can totally play both. In fact I'll give melee all the props in the world. My melee team...I was the team specialist. When it came down to teams my Roy was representing even against tough Falco, Fox, Marth and shiek players. Guess what i'm good at in brawl? Teams.

I"m all up for it. Post as many melee tournaments on my boards as you want to. You have my blessings and I hope this goes well for the remaining melee players. I'd love to host a smashfest with both melee and brawl players so we can all learn from each other....after successful variations of both, I'll host tournaments myself to help the revival.

-Batou

PS: If we work together to create a huge brawl/melee scene and support each other, Smash will stay alive a lot longer than usual. Let's do our part and rep both to the fullest

its melee revival and secretly also hoping for brawls death.dont ever put the two together, brawl is trash and so is it kiddie infested community. I dont want a brawl/melee scene, just melee.

 

[Kal]

Hey, another constructive post! Great, this thread will delve into the Brawl vs. Melee discussion and we'll be unable to further discuss anything relevant to the first post.

Is anyone interested in discussing this over a chat client? I can do anything from Skype to gmail chat.

 

[UltimateHaxor123]

2. A Real Texas Circuit: I know we tried this...but then Scav kind of moved and we lost track of what we were doing. So we could revive the idea, with monthly tournaments in Dallas, Houston, Austin, etc. This would require commitment from all cities, as well as experienced TOs and organization at the statewide level. This could culminate in a end of season championship, with extra prizes, etc.

I def agree with this. So far all we've had are little tournaments here and there. A circuit with experienced TO's and regular tournaments would make the Texas scene much more active.

3. Rankings: Whether it be circuit points or power rankings, that's up for you guys to decide. I feel like we know who the top 2 are, but there's a lot of turmoil in the ranks below. Wobbles/mods, can you guys add a poll to this?

zomg, Texas PR. How BA would that be. Getting a panel together and doign this would definitely inspire more people to come out more often.

4. Attracting New Players and Developing Talent: Something I've found from my years of college is that still people play this game because it's damn fun. Not all of them will understand, like, or want to be a part of a competitive community, but some will. So the time has come to do some community outreach. Swift has a bunch of players he's attracted at his church. I went to a tournament in Dallas where I knew like 3 people. We need to get and keep in contact with these people and integrate them into the scene. Get them jazzed about tournaments. Advertise with flyers like these http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=289220
We need to work with them, coach them to get better. Perhaps we could have tournaments with buy-in brackets, or tournaments like the Arcadian tournaments in Cali where the 'pros' aren't allowed to use their mains.

YES! this is something i've been trying to do alot in my town and at my school. Like today, i went on FB and posted that that i woudl give 100dollars to anyone who was able to beat me in a set (intending to inspire some people to start playing the game or find some new pocket of talent). Texas has alot of talent i feel, but we just don't exhibit it as much.

If ur like me and live in a place with relatively few smashers, i think the most important thing is to start up a community. Just getting some scrubby friends who play it as a party game is a good start :D

I fully support this and even though i'm pretty scrubby myself and dont' have much tournament experience, i hope i'll get to help out XD

 

[SUNG475]

Yea awesome! I feel Dallas especially needs this!! I'll be in socal for the next 4 months

PR idea sounds so sweet

 

[NeoBatou]

I do support the revival. Excuse my flame starting intro (even though it wasn't meant to start one...) I probably shouldn't of placed my own person opinion about both games....i apologize for that Kal and to everyone here on this thread.

I don't want a flame war either. I was just wanting both games to co-exist community wise....but you really don't have to get personal about my opinion either.

When you say "brawl is a trash game", isn't that a flame starting statement in itself?

Let's be mature about this.

Not everyone is going to agree with you bro....but you do not see me getting butt-hurt over your statement either. Learn some restraint....or some respect at least.

I gave respect to both games in the end.

 

[BINtheWIZard]

You don't have to like my opinion...and it's just that...my opinion.

You don't have to agree with me..it's the prologue to the meat of what i was trying to say...the last part that is.

I do support the revival. Excuse my flame starting intro (even though it wasn't meant to start one...)

I don't want a flame war either. I was just wanting both games to co-exist community wise.

When you say "brawl is a trash game", isn't that a flame starting statement in itself?

So yeah...my bad sethlon...sh**..forgive me for trying to be a mediator for liking both games.

So i was eating a pizza with extra cheese as i always roll, i came across your abominable post

you started a flame war by saying 'brawl is a harder game'

maybe you should just stick to forward smashin your way to victory with your roy in teams instead of posting pointless posts


as an avid starcraft 2 and chess player and a brother of sung, i'm all for it


time to practice for the CCB.











I'm Britney, *****
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elueA2rofoo

 

[BINtheWIZard]

I def agree with this. So far all we've had are little tournaments here and there. A circuit with experienced TO's and regular tournaments would make the Texas scene much more active.



zomg, Texas PR. How BA would that be. Getting a panel together and doign this would definitely inspire more people to come out more often.



YES! this is something i've been trying to do alot in my town and at my school. Like today, i went on FB and posted that that i woudl give 100dollars to anyone who was able to beat me in a set (intending to inspire some people to start playing the game or find some new pocket of talent). Texas has alot of talent i feel, but we just don't exhibit it as much.

If ur like me and live in a place with relatively few smashers, i think the most important thing is to start up a community. Just getting some scrubby friends who play it as a party game is a good start :D

I fully support this and even though i'm pretty scrubby myself and dont' have much tournament experience, i hope i'll get to help out XD

yo, you ****ing suck


seriously though, i feel ya
i'd love to see more smashers come over, nice to see y'all and rob do ****

 

[MuraRengan]

I'm not a Texas smasher, so I may be out of place, but I think that the most vital thing that can be done is to have a HUGE tournament in texas somewhere for the specific purpose of bringing Melee back to Texas. Do like ROM, since Texas players want to kill Melee, you host a tournament indefiance of that idea. Make sure that the players know that this is not just a tournament, but an effort to combat an almost universal effort to destroy Melee.

In order to do this, sponsors, a great venue, and big name support is vital. This tournament needs to be on the same scale as Genesis, it would need a huge pot, accessible arrangements for travelers, and a base of well known players who are willing to come. I don't know exactly what all that entails because I've never done something like that, but if this can be accomplished, not only will OoS smashers come, but the Melee players in Texas will have a national tournament to attend in their own state, which is something that I don't think even retired smashers will pass up.

 

[Jake13]

Lol tee em pee DIP

 

[NeoBatou]

Ugh, again you get butt hurt over my own personal opinion. I already apologized for the sake of not wanting to start anymore drama, and now your wanting more. Jesus man get over it already.

 

[UltimateHaxor123]

Ugh, again you get butt hurt over my own personal opinion. I already apologized for the sake of not wanting to start anymore drama, and now your wanting more. Jesus man get over it already.

he was just screwing with u lol. dont' pay any attention

 

[NeoBatou]

he was just screwing with u lol. dont' pay any attention

I hope so.
And yes I do want this revival to happen

 

[DoH]

I for one, and I feel most of the Melee community feels the same way, feel that we should avoid combined events at all cost. Not only do they drain resources from each other such as setups and time, but dealing with players switching back and forth, fighting over projectors/laptops, is more trouble than its worth. Additionally the communities in general don't like each other, so I don't think its worth forcing them to be friends. Will we be *******es and schedule events right on top of each other. No, we'll try and work with them to make sure we minimize conflicts.

But from my experience, this kind of segregation is generally a good thing.

 

[Zigsta]

If anyone else brings up any comparison to Brawl whatsoever, you'll get infracted. This is a thread about reviving Melee in Texas, not a Brawl vs. Melee thread.

 

[musashi]

Yo if you guys do a big enough tournament after Genesis2 Mexico will most likely be there.
Everyone worth a damn is getting their Visa for G2 so they will be up for bigger tourneys in the future and whats better than a tourney close to us :D

 

[MT_]

Yo if you guys do a big enough tournament after Genesis2 Mexico will most likely be there.
Everyone worth a damn is getting their Visa for G2 so they will be up for bigger tourneys in the future and whats better than a tourney close to us :D

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[z00ted]

Xyro is hosting melee at whobo 3.

hype?

 

[DoH]

It's on a Sunday.

You also have to pay like $40 just to get into the con. How many Texas Melee players would do that?

 

[Xyro77]

Thats why i have lost all respect for the remaining few melee players. We give you events and you dont show/complain about pricing. WHOBO 3 is a brawl national that has the ability to bring 50+ melee players(m2k and Hbox are really interested in entering melee) and all you can do is complain? I give you an entire day devoted to melee ONLY and you complain?

You want to "revive" melee in tx, how about you cut the **** and start attending events

http://www.smashboards.com/showthread.php?t=287843

 

[Jake13]

If there ends up being 50+ melee players, I'll consider going to whobo. Pound registration was like 50 bucks for three days of melee, not 55 for like 7 hrs of melee. Not trying to be a ****, just show how... different the price for play is, its like you're paying a dollar per player.

I'm sure its too late for most ppl now but a lot of texas should go to oh snap. I think a total of 4 states are going, which in turn would bring more players to texas, making our tourneys bigger, therefore more ppl wanna go, yada yada yada the scene gets bigger.

Also, alan is melee for sure anyway? I remember when I was on my way to the venue with setups for either whobo 1 or 2 when you texted me last minute to say that you decided to cancel melee (after you had already said that it was a go), talk about a bummer.