infomon
Smash Scientist
New in Smash4 is the ability to customize your character's Specials:
http://www.smashbros.com/us/howto/entry2.html
We cannot know, until launch, if this will be simple, mild, and intelligently balanced, or if it will be awkward, over-powered, and broken.
I think most of us already assume that the customized specials will be banned from competitive play. Slow down; let's consider the parameters here. This could be one of the most thrilling, intense, competitive aspects of smash4.
I am only considering the Special-Move variations, and not the equippable items which will certainly be imbalanced.
The case for custom movesets in competition:
ONLY IF:
Why this is awesome:
If any of my ONLY IF conditions are failed by the game, then custom moves should not be allowed. They cannot overtly disrupt the balance or flow of the game, and they cannot be an undue burden on tournament organization and efficiency.
I think Condition 2 will be a success. Evidence: Here are all Mario's options:
Similar to controller-customization (which was relatively quick in Brawl, and was permitted), all you need to do is pick one of each of the four options. Done. Easy. Many people will prefer to play with "vanilla" characters anyway. As long as this menu is quick to access, and especially if a player's favourite variations can be saved and transferred between systems, we do not have a problem.
Much more seriously, the great unknown is Condition 1: Will custom variations be mild and balanced? Sakurai has cited "balance" issues as being the reason that custom moves are not allowed in "For Glory" online matches. This is deeply worrisome, as it suggests he does not intend the customization to be especially balanced.
One possibility is that he was referring specifically to the "equippable item" variations, and that custom-Specials will be allowed in For Glory. This seems rather likely, unless Palutena herself will be disallowed from Glory-mode.
Regardless, our competitive community does not base its choices around the options that Nintendo sanctions for their online play. These are different worlds. Even if the game developers "intended" movesets to be imbalanced, we might find they're pretty well balanced anyway. And it does look like they are trying to make them reasonably minor, balanced variations.
Of course we cannot make any decision now; not until we've played the actual game after launch, probably for several months, before it is clear whether custom moves enhance the game or not.
I personally expect they will be be balanced, creative, competitive, and awesome fun, and that they'll substantially improve the game's longevity. Which is great for everyone, especially tournament organizers and competitors.
http://www.smashbros.com/us/howto/entry2.html
We cannot know, until launch, if this will be simple, mild, and intelligently balanced, or if it will be awkward, over-powered, and broken.
I think most of us already assume that the customized specials will be banned from competitive play. Slow down; let's consider the parameters here. This could be one of the most thrilling, intense, competitive aspects of smash4.
I am only considering the Special-Move variations, and not the equippable items which will certainly be imbalanced.
The case for custom movesets in competition:
ONLY IF:
- The moveset options are mild and balanced (they make simple trade-offs and do not over-power characters).
- The moveset options are quick and easy to configure (as simple as custom controller settings),
or if they can be uploaded easily (via DS / Wiimote / Amiibo / ?). - It is not super difficult for people to "unlock" the custom moves, and/or "fully unlocked" game discs are easily available to tournament organizers.
Why this is awesome:
- This adds a "personal" element to the game; it's fun to make a character perfectly suited for your personal playstyle.
- Protection against "unusably bad" character glitches. If a specific "basic" special move is determined to be useless / unviable in competitive play, then the character is not lost -- they can pick a variation that is functional.
- Last-resort protection against "broken good" characters. If a specific move has a glitch that renders it impossibly good (think: the MK infinite dimensional-cape glitch), there may be a variation that does not glitch out. Again, the character is saved.
- It allows the metagame to evolve deeply. When a specific move seems too powerful (think MK tornado), specific moveset variations could be found to counter it (Mario's Fire Orb?). This has a connection to the philosophy behind counterpicking characters.
- It is a deeper skill. The best player at smash4 is the player that can adapt to any situation, and this is one form of adaptation. You can adapt to your opponent's moveset during the fight, and you can adapt your character (and hence your own playstyle) to be the best for the moment.
If any of my ONLY IF conditions are failed by the game, then custom moves should not be allowed. They cannot overtly disrupt the balance or flow of the game, and they cannot be an undue burden on tournament organization and efficiency.
I think Condition 2 will be a success. Evidence: Here are all Mario's options:
Similar to controller-customization (which was relatively quick in Brawl, and was permitted), all you need to do is pick one of each of the four options. Done. Easy. Many people will prefer to play with "vanilla" characters anyway. As long as this menu is quick to access, and especially if a player's favourite variations can be saved and transferred between systems, we do not have a problem.
Much more seriously, the great unknown is Condition 1: Will custom variations be mild and balanced? Sakurai has cited "balance" issues as being the reason that custom moves are not allowed in "For Glory" online matches. This is deeply worrisome, as it suggests he does not intend the customization to be especially balanced.
One possibility is that he was referring specifically to the "equippable item" variations, and that custom-Specials will be allowed in For Glory. This seems rather likely, unless Palutena herself will be disallowed from Glory-mode.
Regardless, our competitive community does not base its choices around the options that Nintendo sanctions for their online play. These are different worlds. Even if the game developers "intended" movesets to be imbalanced, we might find they're pretty well balanced anyway. And it does look like they are trying to make them reasonably minor, balanced variations.
Of course we cannot make any decision now; not until we've played the actual game after launch, probably for several months, before it is clear whether custom moves enhance the game or not.
I personally expect they will be be balanced, creative, competitive, and awesome fun, and that they'll substantially improve the game's longevity. Which is great for everyone, especially tournament organizers and competitors.
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