Snake FAQ/generic question thread

[BND]

Despite the fact that most people seem to desire a Snake guide, most people don't know how to make it (most of the people who want to read it), some people don't seem to have the time to make it (Prof), some people are contributing in chunks but nothing overarching (Cisyphus), some people are doubtful that it'll happen (pretty much everyone on this forum), and some have severe cases of crab mentality and 20xx paranoia and refuse to contribute until prompted (me). With that being said, it seems that the closest we'll get to a guide on this forum in the coming months will be in the form of scattered threads posted on the forum.

Unfortunately, while looking at these scattered threads is a viable way to get information, there are a handful of really common questions that dilute conversation and make the reading a chore. To expedite information gathering on this forum, this thread will address common questions that people new to Snake frequently have so that the rest of us (or even those new to Snake after getting used to him) hopefully won't have to wade through the forum clutter.

Spoiler: Q: How do I drag people around while grabbing?

A: Use left and right on the dpad. The left and right buttons on the dpad must be mapped with the standard side taunt though.

Spoiler: Q: I can drop a C4 on the ground, but it’s not exploding! What gives?

A: C4 in Project M now has an optional fakeout function. If you press down-B with a C4 out, on frame 22, or the frame on which detonation usually happens, the game checks if the B button’s held. If it’s not held, it explodes normally, but if it is, Snake enters a fakeout animation and nothing actually happens. For future reference, 1 frame is 1/60 of a second, and is what the game uses to count frames. So, in our example, we press down-B on frame 1. 21 frames later, or .35 seconds later, the game checks for a B press.

Spoiler: Q: I found a bug! If you pull out a grenade and there’s a mine in the center of the stage it blows up!

A: This is known. Details on how the bug works can be found here, along with a fix if you’re desperate enough and the PMDT hasn’t fixed it yet.

Spoiler: Q: How do I recover with C4? I keep fastfalling.

A: Usually, C4 recovery works like this in gameplay videos: You Cypher up, and when Cypher ends you drop a C4, then blow it up. The key is the bit where Cypher ends. Cypher is composed of 2 parts: the rising animation, and the mandatory hanging animation. The rising animation can be cancelled by pressing down (In general we don’t want this, of course; it makes your recovery shorter), which skips directly to the hanging animation. The hanging animation can be cancelled with only the A or B buttons and lasts for 20 frames. To successfully drop a C4 without fastfalling, it’s recommended to hold down during the hanging animation, and not let go until the C4 has been both dropped and blown up. The hanging animation will eat the fastfall input and Snake will fall down at normal speed. Of course, you could also hold down at the end of the rising animation, but this makes your recovery shorter.

After actually inputting the down, you press B at least twice: once to drop the C4 and once to blow it up. It’s ok to mash B while attempting to drop the C4, but mashing B while trying to blow it up may trigger the fakeout and is generally a bad idea. With that being said, mashing down-B for half a second usually works, but if you want to be extra safe and have room, it’s best to press down-B once, wait for what you think is a little more than a third of a second (actually exactly a third of a second), then press down-B again. If Snake enters his C4 animation, wait; if not, press it once more, and you should be able to get blown up.

Spoiler: Q: How do I sweetspot the ledge with Cypher?

A: The hanging portion mentioned in the above question lets you grab the ledge after 17 frames (out of 20) in that animation. With that being said, all you need to do is tap down (not hold it, otherwise you can’t grab the ledge) once you’re near the edge and on Cypher.

Spoiler: Q: Why do people wavedash over grenades to pick them up?

Wavedashing over grenades is the fastest conventional way (I.E. puts you into a neutral position) to pick them up and presumably throw them. A brief analysis can be found here (http://smashboards.com/threads/instant-grenade-tossing.383089/), but long story short, shielding then wavedashing over a grenade after pulling it out takes at least 24 frames, while shielding, dropping shield, then picking up the grenade manually after pulling it out takes 35 frames.
There are other ways to pull out and use grenades, some faster and some slower, but these two are the conventional ways that put you into a neutral position. For more information, follow the link above.

Spoiler: Q: I have two tranq shots left after killing my opponent, but shooting them to reload takes too long! What do I do?

You can reload your tranq gun manually, even if you have a full clip, by pressing shield within 1/10th of a second (6 frames) of pressing side-B. Sounds hard on paper, not so much in (and after) practice.

By no means is this list complete; suggestions to this thread are welcome (regardless of whether or not you know the answer). Answers with non-objective or multiple solutions don't really belong here though.

 

[zen-bz-]

Very useful for newer players. Thanks for this.

 

[The Baron]

One big thing this list needs is how to drop a grenade and pick it back up, and effective ways to do it quickly

 

[BND]

Added; thanks for the input.

 

[zen-bz-]

One thing that might be useful is combos that lead into a sticky.
For instance, Up-B OOS -> Sticky or U-throw -> Sticky and the like.

 

[cisyphus]

I have u-throw to c4 percentages roughly mapped against the entire cast here

Up B is extremely volatile as a combo move and you kinda gotta read the DI and which hitbox(es) your opponent came in contact with (there's I think four different knockback values they can be sent at).

I have down throw pretty well-defined as well, although you'd have to logically deduce when you can c4. Working on down-tilt stuff as well.

All of that isn't really FAQ stuff, though.

 

[BND]

One thing that might be useful is combos that lead into a sticky.
For instance, Up-B OOS -> Sticky or U-throw -> Sticky and the like.

More or less what cisyphus said (though the Cypher statement was incorrect). There are a buttload of ways to stick someone, but in many of these cases you'd have to trick your opponent into getting stuck and/or reading them hard, lest you get punished in return, miss the sticky entirely, or both. You should consider it as an aerial grab when trying to get a C4 on someone.

 

[cisyphus]

Oh it's the fact that grounded Cypher is a Sakurai angle that makes things a bit goofy.