From: cywang@ux1.cso.uiuc.edu (Che-Yuan Wang)
Subject: Re: Worldwide Guide to SF2 Etiquitte (Survey)
Organization: University of Illinois at Urbana
Date: Sun, 24 Jan 1993 07:06:12 GMT

seth@cie.uoregon.edu (Seth Scott) writes:

>(Nice first name, Mr. Killian :)

>Here at the University of Oregon, we've got all sorts.  Our general level of
>play is high, but not the equal of major metropolitan areas (L.A. hard-cores,
>or even Portland masters are slightly better).  Here is the etiquette that
>I have observed:

>1)  Stuns:  unless you are feeling charitable, you're free to do anything you
>    know to do to a stunned opponent.  The corollary to (2) below, though, is
>    that a vastly superior player is expected to be sporting, and to let
>    a less skilled player recover.  After all, for us, the objective is no
>    longer to prove that we can get the combos out-- and a master who triples
>    (or guile-4-hits) a stunned novice is going to be critized.

Around here, every time someone gets stunned, the "audience" builds with
anticipation. After the combo is attempted, if the player lands it, everyone
kinda cringes in pity for the player who just got whomped. If the comboing
player screws up, they are usually laughed at (all in good fun) or asked
"What happened?!?!"   

>2)  The more experienced player gives the other player second round.  Yeah,
>    some of you (Maestas) might scoff, but that's the generally accepted
>    practice.  Against someone that is my equal, I give (or get) the second
>    round; if the player is completely helpless, really, then masters here will
>    teach the player moves, and try to tie a round to gain extra time.

I usually don't consciously throw rounds, but when my opponent sucks, I
usually play really lame and carelessly and usually give the scrub a round.


>    Since then, "cheapness" involves the most blatant stuff-- throwing a single
>    short kick and then throwing, or doing "superman combos" with Zangief,
>    or strong punch/throw with Chun Li...  the 'tap-bite' with Blanka.
>    Such things do happen, but they tend to begin a humorous and vocal
>    "cheapness escalation" with "counter-cheapness measures" and a general
>    "decline in civilization."  

Players who cry cheap are actually my favorite to play... For some reason,
I get immense satisfaction from beating "whiners". This is the general 
pattern I face against whiners. 

1) I am in the middle of a round and I throw them.
2) They mutter cheap and get so pissed off that they can't concentrate
	and get whomped.
3) They try again and are still too pissed to play effectively at all.
	(Though they usually can't play effectively even when calm)
4) They pull out EVIL Chun Li to try to jab-throw tick me. Of course,
	since I primarily play Guile, Chun Li stands no problem.
5) Then after getting thoroughly whomped, they try one as Bison, and
	usually can't even get in.

Pissed off they leave.

Of course, this has only happened to me a couple times, but it's always
extremely satisfying to whomp people who get pissed. I guess U of I doesn't
just create good sf2 players, but assholes as well. :) 
	
>    It is also regarded as mildly unsporting to hit a rising player with a
>    damaging attack, so that a player with no energy left is faced with damage
>    that he can't block and avoid.  True, some heroic measures are possible
>    (dragon punching through the fireball, as most masters here do routinely),
>    but if another master does it to me, I take it as a compliment-- he didn't
>    want to give me a chance to take him out!

Really? Around here, killing someone with no energy left with a special move
is one of the more stylish things to do IMO. One of the more stylish things
is to avoid it of course (actually only Ken/Ryu can effectively avoid it)
>    Most everyone here can "cheese" if he wants to, but for the most part,
>    throws are reserved as a trick of timing-- for instance, a friend of mine
>    (the best Chun Li player around here) enjoys this infuriating tactic:
>    when Ken/Ryu throws a roundhouse or forward footsweep, he follows the
>    sweep in to throw.  Now, Jay (the Chun master) has exquisite timing, and
>    his aerial throws and ground throws are tricks of superb timing and entry;
>    if he accidentally does a throw while taking a hit, for example, he will
>    give the other player a "free throw," since the throw didn't require any
>    skill to execute (in the local opinion).

>    The maxim is this:  there are CHEAP things that take NO skill to do 
>    (ex:  Bison torpedoes, back and forth, back and forth....), there are
>    cheap things that take some skill to do, and there are nasty things that
>    take much skill to do (like throwing someone as he withdraws a technique,
>    like Jay does).  Generally, the "cheap" things are those things that 
>    TAKE NO SKILL to execute; the more impressively skilled a move is, the
>    more acceptable it is.

Speaking of cool throws, my favorite as Guile is to do a standing forward
kick (over a Ken/Ryu roundhouse sweep) and walk in and throw while Ken/Ryu
are still recovering from the roundhouse. I also try to reverse throw with
Guile alot. I dunno why, I get a kick out of it. However, I've noticed that
all the old "weaker throwing" masters have improved greatly at their counter
throws, so I get countered alot more than I used to... :)

>		That's how it is here, at least.

>				Seth E. Scott
>				seth@cie.uoregon.edu