KOF XIII General Discussion/Rant Thread

[Tel]

Thanks for the reply guys. I may want to get an X360 as it's only slightly more expensive than a PS2, and it's certainly got more long-term appeal (and I certainly can play XIII this way). I was using an arcade stick that's compatible for the PS2, PS3 and PC, but not sure if it works for the 360. I'm not really looking to play online with the PS2, although with the 360 it's a different scenario altogether. I was basically testing out 2k2 UM for the guide rather than playing against friends, and I'm just looking to complete the guide as it's about half done before the PS2 I was testing it on died. If my arcade stick works on the 360, it'll be pretty awesome to get 2k2UM and play on Live.

[Gunsmith]

Thanks for the reply guys. I may want to get an X360 as it's only slightly more expensive than a PS2, and it's certainly got more long-term appeal (and I certainly can play XIII this way). I was using an arcade stick that's compatible for the PS2, PS3 and PC, but not sure if it works for the 360. I'm not really looking to play online with the PS2, although with the 360 it's a different scenario altogether. I was basically testing out 2k2 UM for the guide rather than playing against friends, and I'm just looking to complete the guide as it's about half done before the PS2 I was testing it on died. If my arcade stick works on the 360, it'll be pretty awesome to get 2k2UM and play on Live.

Your stick will work on the 360 but you'll have to get an adaptor that only works when you also have a wired 360 controller plugged in at the same time.

Btw you know about the Tougeki version? The PS2 version is out, and it's cheap. Don't know if the 360 version will be the same. Slated for an August release...

I guess you should consider all the games you want to play - whichever console has the most, take that one.

[Tel]

I was playing vanilla 2k2 UM when I was writing the guide, but I suppose running off the Tougeki version wouldn't hurt if it comes to the 360. My arcade joystick has a USB port for playing on the PC, so I'm wondering if I can plug it into a 360 directly (although I do have a wired 360 controller for Windows). If not, it's not a real deal breaker as I find the 360 controller a lot better for fighting games than the PS pad.

From what I gathered, the Tougeki version doesn't have the bosses playable with the arcade version, but does the console version re-enable the bosses?

[Toxic Avanger]

From what I gathered, the Tougeki version doesn't have the bosses playable with the arcade version, but does the console version re-enable the bosses?

It does, unlockables are the same.

[Tel]

Ah, that's great to know. Thanks a lot!

[Kane317]

I'm pretty sure this has not been posted before; I found out something new in XIII.

Roll canceling - Any character can cancel out of a roll (at least a forward one) by activating HD. It acts like canceling into HD from a normal and will for the most part do a s.C (just like d.B, d.B, d.BC does a s.C) but I'll have to test it some more. Alternatively, you can try performing a special with BC, like K' can do roll cancel into +BC, great for juggling. In fact, for now at least, I think the implications of roll canceling are only for juggling (except the rare 'surprise' move).

Testing it with Chin is somewhat interesting: If you perform +BC by itself, from a idle stance, he'll execute B+HD (his counter walk). If you do roll --> roll cancel +BC he'll do +C+HD, which is infinitely more useful than his counter walk. EDIT: Hmm now that I think about it counter walk+HD isn't so bad afterall...gave me some ideas.

EDIT2: "Phoenix" over in the IRC channel brought up a good potential usage that'll we'll have to test out: Roll canceling after GuardCancel Rolls. Now I can see how a HD-s.C would be useful now. Crazy if this works out.

EDIT3: Ok so the GCAB does not work. Also after testing, you can only roll cancel if you dash roll.

EDIT4: Here's roll canceling in a practical situation. (Thanks Dark_Chaotix)

[Dark_Chaotix]

Thats what Dune was doing in that combo vid of his....

[Kane317]

Thats what Dune was doing in that combo vid of his....

Which one of his vids was it, I want to review it again now that I know what the hell he was doing.

[Dark_Chaotix]

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=8iCHCdzaP_A" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

4:50 on onwards

[Yuki Yagami]

Blog Update:

http://game.snkplaymore.co.jp/official/ ... st_27.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; (Saiki)

[Kane317]

http://www.youtube.com/watch#!v=8iCHCdzaP_A

4:50 on onwards

Cool, noted.

[Gunsmith]

Arcadia Magazine September shots

http://kof-uk.blogspot.com/2010/08/arca ... -look.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Apologies in advance if this has been posted already

[Yuki Yagami]

http://www.4gamer.net/games/111/G011100/20100820077/

Some interesting interview and pictures about KOF XIII.

Professor @ MMCafe gave the full synopsis of the interview

Very thorough interview on KOFXIII at 4gamer. I've written a synopsis below but the site is very worth checking out, there's a lot of images. Development 3D model pics of K' and Mai, Yuri's special KO, some background cameos, slideshow of Mai's taunt, etc.

Btw, after reading this, I hope to dear God they're going to fix up the game balance, because the finished product is quite different from what they've tried to acheive. It's not a problem if you're playing against casual players that pick the average characters, but when someone comes in with the top tiers (they're in a league of their own), it ruins the game very quickly. It's not as bad as some previous KOF releases, but it's hardly at the balance of 98.



Article synopsis:
Anything in parentheses ( ) are personal notes.

- The fundamental settings, plot, and conclusion to the Ash storyline was already set seven years ago when the chapter started. On the other hand, the team storylines are made up during each of the game's development. (Note: KOFXI's Magaki storyline gives a good overview on the identity of the Kanochi gang.)

- After XI, SNKP made multiple prototypes for a new KOF and it took them quite some time to come up with XII. Some parts of XIII were developed simultaneously with XII.

- Hwa Jai was chosen in XIII for multiple reasons:1.He seemed like he'd be an interesting character /2.He's often appeared in previous Neogeo game's stage backgrounds and he's somewhat known /3.People wouldn't care if the developers played around with his creation, unlike other popular characters /4.With Raiden in Kim's team, Hwa seemed like the perfect extra teammate /5.They wanted a funny character that has impact. (Note: And it was easy to make him by using Joes sprites, but that of course wasn't mentioned)

- There was originally no hyperdrive meter and drive cancels used the power meter. But the developers dicided that adding a new meter would give more depth to the game and give more things for players to learn. Beginners and normal players can start off by playing with just the power meter, and learn to use the drives as they advance. (Note: Nice concept, and drive cancelings are fun to do. However, there's also the downside; the new system lets advanced players annihilate beginners very quickly even compared to previous KOF titles.)

- The developers balanced the game so that not all the characters would be "almighty". They purposely balanced the game in a way that each of the characters have certain opponents that they're strong against. That way, KOF's 3-on-3 system works well. (Note: In competitive play, everyone just picks the Almighties.)

-For instance, with team Japan, Kyo was developed as a shoto character who can shoot projectiles and do anti-airs, making him good at fighting from a distance. Goro on the other hand is a close-range character, and Benimaru was created to fight in mid-range. (Note: Kyo has no need to fight like a Shoto.)

-XIII uses the same rendering techniques as XII in which the sprites are made from 3D models. The developers had an easier time with XIII since they already figured out the methods. A Physics engine and inverse kinematics is used for their movement, but there's a lot of manual fixing by hand to make their movements look better. (Note: K's body isn't separated into 4 colors in his 3D model stage.)

-The 3D models are not nessesarily realistic in terms of body balance since it's for a game; for example, their size of their fists are large in comparison to their heads. (Note: Deforming on the body balance is quite essencial for games.)

-The 3D models are only for reference and details, such as the face and coloring, are done by hand. Also, the model only has diffuse reflection toon shadings; specular reflection highlights (the gloss) are added by hand.

[Gunsmith]

-For instance, with team Japan, Kyo was developed as a shoto character who can shoot projectiles and do anti-airs, making him good at fighting from a distance. (Note: Kyo has no need to fight like a Shoto.)

Note: frickin lies! Kyo was developed as a shoto character, then from 96 was designed as an anti shoto, with his jump C and autoguard aragami chains!!! Ah well, that's mainstream interviews for you!

[SonicTempest]

Um, I'm pretty sure they mean the XIII version of Kyo. Who is a lot closer to the '95 version than the post-96 version.

Also since when is good players beating bad players in a game 'a downside'?