Volleying: A New Type of Game (Updated with Video Examples: Special Guest Darrell)

[Ballistics]

Edit 3 6/1/10 Special Guest Darrel!

Falco vs Falco

Shiek vs Falcon, DK vs Falcon



EDIT2: VIDEOS
So I finally recorded some example videos with my amigo toobz

Tennis Volley

Part 1: Falco vs Falco

Part 3: Fox vs Falco

Part 4: Falcon vs Falcon, Marth vs Peach

Part 5: Marth vs Ganon, Ganon vs Ganon

Part 6: Fox vs Pikachu, DK vs Falcon, Sheik vs Falcon

[Part 7: Sheik vs Falco, Falco vs Falco

Part 8: Fox vs Fox, Link vs Fox, Ice climbers vs Fox

Edit 3 More videos 4/14/10

Example of: Why volleying is practical and you should always keep edgeguarding..

Dictionary dot com definition of friendly:
1. characteristic of or befitting a friend; showing friendship: a friendly greeting.
2. like a friend; kind; helpful: a little friendly advice.
3. favorably disposed; inclined to approve, help, or support: a friendly bank.
4. not hostile or at variance; amicable: a friendly warship; friendly natives.

So lately I've been frustrated with smash because I haven't been able to switch my mind back and forth from friendlies mode to tournament mode. But then recently I had an epiphany, and this might be a big generalization, but, I realized that all it really takes to win at super smash brothers is patience. When tech skill and combos are already developed, the game comes down to baiting and waiting.

But when I am playing friendlies, all I really wanna do is crazy combos and have fun, and playing patiently isn't fun all the time.

AND WHAT REALLY MAKES ME MAD, is that when you are trying to relax and play friendlies, sometimes the person you are playing with is really thinking they are playing a tournament match against you, and when you sandbag they beat you and think they are better than you. (SETH! ELI! cough cough.) Well educated smashers know that friendlies and seriouslies are two separate types of smash so to highlight this I came up with something.

So here is my solution to my quandary.

SOLUTION:

A new type of game with a set of unique rules, four stocks are used like regular matches, however, you are not allowed to kill your opponent in the bottom portion of the screen. This means no spikes, no gimps, no ledgehogging, nothing that would make your opponent die downwards. The left, right, and upward directions are fair game however.

What this does is prevent low percentage kills and cutthroat gimping tactics. These tactics ultimately frustrate players instead of befriending them.

Let me describe some example situations:

If marth is edgeguarding fox, (edgeguarding is still allowed, you just can't edgehog) instead of hopping back onto the ledge with a downair, killing fox vertically down, you would use a backair and send fox flying back off the stage. You would keep doing this until he gets enough percentage that he dies to the left.

This means alot more edgeguards and player's living way past the point that they should be. BUT what it does is give you edguarding practice and your opponent recovering practice, because its a friendly!

If falco has forward smashed fox, but he didn't die and is trying to recover, but can't make it to the ledge, then the falco has to shoot lasers at him to save him! Or if he is too low, the falco must drop down to shine fox and save him. After hitting him with a laser or shine, commence with a backair off the ledge to kill him horizontally.

This situation helps the falco practice team situations where you need to save your teammate while also making the falco more solid at edgeguarding.



This type of playing smash brings a physical manifestation of the difference between friendlies and seriouslies, and helps to prevent your friendly mindset from encroaching on your tournament mindset and vice versa which is exactly what I needed.


So I realize you can't always save your opponent with every character and that the system doesn't work all the time, but its so much fun to at least try. You must think of your opponent dying down, as a worse deduction than your own self dying.


Falco vs Falco I've found is the best matchup to do this with, please try this, its so much fun!

EDIT: I've decided to name this game volleying because a volley in a number of games is when a ball is received and delivered without touching the ground.


bull: Do not fear death. Death is always at our side. When we show fear, it jumps at us faster than light, but if we do not show fear, it casts its eye upon us gently and then guides us into infinity...

 

[Dark Sonic]

But...what if I need to practice finishing combos with spikes or effective ways to get low percent gimps?

90% OF MARTH'S EDGEGUARDING GAME IS GIMPING! And you're essentially telling me not to practice the strengths of my character. Killing people off the side (or top, dear god) for Marth is not nearly as fun as figuring out how to end your combo in some kind of ridiculous gimp. It also takes MUCH, MUCH longer and is more frustrating, because beyond certain percentages Marth's combo game simply stops working (hard to imagine I'm sure), while at the same time his kill moves STILL have to be sweetspotted to kill and are still very unsafe to throw out (once again, hard to imagine for a Falcon main who can just throw out knees <_<). So then I'M the one getting frustrated as I have to wrack another 50-70% in stupid single hits just so I can finally get the kill and get back to my fun combos.

You pretty much just straight out told me not to have fun Q_Q

Sure saving people is neat and all, but we really just play teams friendlies to practice that (and more importantly, practice how to prevent the other team from saving each other ).

I don't know about how other people take friendlies, but most of the time I'll play seriously, unless I'm specifically asked not to by the other person.

 

[Ballistics]

DS, I have found that marth is a very hard character to do this with indeed, because he is such a gimp oriented player, however, it can be done! And it is fun! Please try it and if you still hate it I might reconsider the all characters statement.

 

[Moooose]

i really think a better solution would be just to let your friends think they're better than you, then money match them. =D

 

[Ballistics]

i really think a better solution would be just to let your friends think they're better than you, then money match them. =D

Haha see this is what i used to do but money gets people upset sometimes and ruins the friendly atmosphere.

 

[Dark Sonic]

I've tried it, and honestly it's not that fun. Saving people with Marth is not very rewarding imo, because if this were truly a teams match he'd most likely just get gimped himself when doing the save (and there's not much he can really do about that).

Killing off the top doesn't occur until absurd percentages, and killing off the side normally involves bad DI. Normally they simply go just a little too far to recover in the first place, or Marth edgeguards them to death. It's when you DON'T do these things that characters start to live ridiculously long against Marth, at which point the Marth player is no longer having fun (cause come on, you know it's not fun when you can't combo OR kill <_<).

I can understand going easy on the gimps if I'm asked to, but it's not so I can have fun. It's so that THEY can practice their on stage game. But I still make sure to try to kill them before they leave my combo percentage cap because that's just me practicing good habits myself.


Hella fun with Y.Link though He's my goof off character

If you ask me to go easy on you I will. But otherwise it's 100% so you know you're getting valid practice and not just fighting someone who's experimenting with a million new things at once.

 

[Ballistics]

I've tried it, and honestly it's not that fun. Saving people with Marth is not very rewarding imo, because if this were truly a teams match he'd most likely just get gimped himself when doing the save (and there's not much he can really do about that).

Killing off the top doesn't occur until absurd percentages, and killing off the side normally involves bad DI. Normally they simply go just a little too far to recover in the first place, or Marth edgeguards them to death. It's when you DON'T do these things that characters start to live ridiculously long against Marth, at which point the Marth player is no longer having fun (cause come on, you know it's not fun when you can't combo OR kill <_<).

I can understand going easy on the gimps if I'm asked to, but it's not so I can have fun. It's so that THEY can practice their on stage game. But I still make sure to try to kill them before they leave my combo percentage cap because that's just me practicing good habits myself.


Hella fun with Y.Link though He's my goof off character

If you ask me to go easy on you I will. But otherwise it's 100% so you know you're getting valid practice and not just fighting someone who's experimenting with a million new things at once.

Haha you truly are a warrior! I cannot argue marth with a marth main. Maybe marth does fail the test.

I don't know if you've ever played Johnny from South Florida DS, but his favorite way to kill people is marth's upthrow at high percents. So i guess to each his own?

 

[Dark Sonic]

Don't worry bro.

I'm just a serious guy when it comes to games (lol wut?)

We gotta get more friendlies in at smashfests though. You're too ****ing fun to play


....too bad we live like a billion miles appart <_<

 

[Ballistics]

Haha yea its a shame we're in the same state but so far away, I'm glad to hear that others have tried this even if they didn't particularly like it like yourself, its brought back the magic of casual smash for me

 

[Jonas]

Rules for friendly matches? Lol
Nah when playing friendlies, it's probably best if you play with a relaxed mindset. Your opponent should too so he doesn't get frustrated about gay **** happening to him. In friendlies, nothing is on the line, and your ego can afford to lose.

 

[Ballistics]

Rules for friendly matches? Lol
Nah when playing friendlies, it's probably best if you play with a relaxed mindset. Your opponent should too so he doesn't get frustrated about gay **** happening to him. In friendlies, nothing is on the line, and your ego can afford to lose.

I do play this way, the problem is that others sometimes don't see it that way. So when you play in this manner that I have described, it artificially puts your mind into practice mode instead of winning mode.

Besides, its not so much rules as guidelines. Try it out Jonas!

 

[Jonas]

Yeah ok. If you're playing someone who just hates that, I guess you could cut them some slack
Nevertheless, friendlies are still great for practicing. Some gimps or chaingrabs may not be HARD to pull off, but they still take a little practice before you can do it in a tourney/money match, so you kinda have to do it in friendlies sometimes.

At the same time, when you gimp or meteor someone, at the same time you are also educating them on how not to end up in a situation where such things can happen to them. So yeah, it kinda depends on how competitive your friendly sparring partner is P:

 

[`Jammin' Jobus]

when i play friendlies i dont try till the last stock.

when i play seriouslies i always try

 

[Fortress | Sveet]

^ this

 

[S l o X]

horrible idea

stop sandbagging

- zions

oh and no johns you loss (the game also)

- zions

 

[Ballistics]

horrible idea

stop sandbagging

- zions

oh and no johns you loss (the game also)

- zions

Thanks man ur awesome

 

[bobson]

The solution is to play friendlies with items on.

 

[INSANE CARZY GUY]

Wtf spikeing people is fun also I just want to get better most of the time so I play hard most of the time. Really just say no camping. Gimps really shouldn't happen much unless they messed up

 

[Keblerelf]

I can't do this.


I play jigglypuff.

 

[smakis]

I can't do this.


I play jigglypuff.

then you have all the tools necessary, rest, and carry people off stage with fairs/bair and amazing saving abilities

 

[spider_sense]

Another successful Derek thread.

 

[Brightside6382]

AND WHAT REALLY MAKES ME MAD, is that when you are trying to relax and play friendlies, sometimes the person you are playing with is really thinking they are playing a tournament match against you, and when you sandbag they beat you and think they are better than you.

I stopped reading here. Joooooohns

 

[Ballistics]

then you have all the tools necessary, rest, and carry people off stage with fairs/bair and amazing saving abilities

Yes this is exactly right thanks man

 

[Jonas]

I stopped reading here. Joooooohns

Yeah

and

"Oh no this guy thinks he's better than me IT MAKES ME SO MAD!"

 

[INSANE CARZY GUY]

Yeah just don't camp or chain throw when your winning or fighting someone who you should beat easily.

 

[Roneblaster]

I just hate when I'm just trying to relax and play friendlies and when i kill them and go the edge to get a few edge-hop practice moves in and the come over and edgehog or go for a shine spike or edgeuard. Pisses me off to no end.

Im pretty sure im the only person in my crew who doesn't give a **** about the outcome of friendlies.

Its ****ing friendlies man, no1 gets better when you do **** moves like that.

I like the OP as an idea, but its not something you can enforce upon people who dont want to do it.

 

[Ballistics]

I just hate when I'm just trying to relax and play friendlies and when i kill them and go the edge to get a few edge-hop practice moves in and the come over and edgehog or go for a shine spike or edgeuard. Pisses me off to no end.

Im pretty sure im the only person in my crew who doesn't give a **** about the outcome of friendlies.

Its ****ing friendlies man, no1 gets better when you do **** moves like that.

I like the OP as an idea, but its not something you can enforce upon people who dont want to do it.

Yea definitely its not something permanent just a fun way to try and play

 

[th0rn]

Is this a thread for scrubs who can never win a friendly when playing with people?

 

[Trikrome]

Yea Derek. I know where you're coming from but friendlies is time for practicing. Meaning practicing new techniques that can include gimping or having ur opponent die at the bottom. Ledgehogging I can understand but if you dont practice gimping in friendlies how do u expect to get a gimp in tournament when ur opponent is concentrating more.
And I would like to add that I am better than u now and recent money matches has proven that. Hopefully I can match up with u in saturday's tourney to prove to you that I beat u in friendlies, seriouslies and tourney.

 

[th0rn]

wait...

so you made this thread to basically john about losing a couple of friendlies to Trikrome.

hilarious LMAO

Trikrome > you

=p

 

[ChaosKnight]

no matter if its friendly or tournament

ima try my best to **** you :D

 

[Trikrome]

wait...

so you made this thread to basically john about losing a couple of friendlies to Trikrome.

hilarious LMAO

Trikrome > you

=p

This is true

 

[Rubyiris]

i wish people would take friendlies more seriously. friendlies is the best way to improve.

 

[Igcoris]

my friends and i camp the ledge in friendlies. gimp only.

 

[shadowboii]

Sounds like you're butthurt from losing a friendly.

 

[Banks]

it should be easier to **** in friendlies because there is no pressure

you might not "try your hardest", but i couldn't see someone who was definitively worse than someone winning a majority of friendlies unless you actively try to lose

or maybe i'm wrong and after paying an entrance fee gamma radiation flows thru the veins of some smashers and their skill surpasses everyone in the room

(a serious way to practice with someone and get around winning/losing altogether is to play unlimited time matches and just play for however long you want)

 

[Ballistics]

I dont think anyone has tried this game im talking about

Ill try to get a sample vid

 

[AXE 09]

ok ok ok wait hold on....

alright, so i see where you're coming from. there are many times when you shouldn't be doing things too seriously. like when i play a friendly match with someone and we're both laughing and having a good time, i just find it plain disrespectful if... say i were falco, and i just do something like Fthrow someone of the edge -> forward smash their double jump -> spike them. that's just ********, and it doesn't make it fun for my opponent, or if he were to do the same against me, i'd just be like... man, it's just not fun playing against you

instead, when i play friendlies with someone, i always try to do a bunch of different things to make everything more fun. for instance... if i was pikachu on FD, and my opponent was fox, i wouldn't just chainthrow them to death, or just Uthrow -> Usmash all the time, i'd try to do something like Uthrow -> Dsmash -> tech chase into a Dtilt -> run behind them and pivot grab, etc etc

or... let's say i'm grabbing the edge against a falco, i know that i could just roll back on the edge and they'll die, but instead i'd try something like ledgehop Uair and land on the stage, turn around, and shorthop Tailspike him, then dropzone Dair his Up-b

just a bunch of random stuff that you probably wouldn't do in a tournament match. this just makes things a lot more enjoyable and fun for everybody. the opponent should react in the same way, and just do a bunch of silly stuff, you know what i mean?

but i don't think you should have rules, such as "no killing your opponent downwards". there shouldn't be "rules" in friendlies, but there are many things that can take away respect from a player

In my position as a pikachu main, no killing downwards would be just stupid, because then that would take away tailspiking, which is a huge part of pika's game

friendlies should just be about doing fun and new things. for instance...

as falco, you could just jump out and Dair your opponent, then double jump -> up-b back onto the stage

but in a friendly, for things to be more fun, you should probably do something like jump out, Dair your opponent, then Dair him a second time for a Suicide kill

ok so maybe that wasn't the best example, but...

basically, there are times when you should play seriously, and there are times when you should just be silly and stuff

if you're at a tourney with a bunch of people that you might not ever see again for a long time, i feel that most "friendlies" you play with someone else, you should probably treat it as a tournament match. when you play with new people, it's generally a test of skill. you don't practice so much just to show someone how silly you can be. you should show someone new the level of skill you have, so both of you have an understanding of who might be the better player. i'm not saying that you should camp the crap out of someone that you just meet in a friendly, but i'm also not saying that you should sandbag to an extreme. i feel that you should just try hard enough to get an understanding of each other's skill

however, if you're playing someone for a long period of time... i feel that you should start out with seriouslies, then gradually continue on to being just friendlies

there are times, however, where you can play someone for a long period of time and have the entire time be serious matches.



alright, in short... don't set restrictions on what a friendly should or should not be. if you don't like playing with the person that you're playing with, i recommend to find another person to smash with. in your situation, if someone thinks that they're better than you, show them that they're not if that's what you truely think. maybe challenge them in a money match. or if you want to play a serious match, just tell them. tell them to try their hardest for a few matches and you'll do the same for a test of skill. then after you guys decide who's better, continue on to friendlies

 

[th0rn]

Friendlies mean nothing.

If you want to be an a sshole and try hard, do it.

If you want to be an a sshole and sandbag, do it.

If you're trying to be flashy/cool in friendlies and are not taking it serious, why would you care if you get gimped or w/e. You're not taking it serious, remember? Oh wait, is it because you care about winning/losing and having the other player think he's better? Then why the **** are you sandbagging you *******... no johns.

If the player is better than you, even if he sandbags he'll most likely still **** you with just sexier combos.

 

[Untrust Us]

To me, friendlies is not getting upset over losing a match because in the end, it's just a friendly and not a tournament match. Gimp, spike etc all you want, it makes friendlies just that much more interesting!