Unconventional CvS2 Haohmaru Video (complete)

[Maj]

UPDATE - 11.27.2007

The completed video, titled CvS2 Nimuro's Wrath, is available for download here: http://lowfierce.com/nimuro

A partial writeup explaining the highlights of the video can be found on the third page of this thread. Giant block of text, you can't miss it.

Thanks to everyone for your advice and support.

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AEG is holding an L5R video production mini-contest. They're probably expecting people to create a picture montage with a narrated story or to dress up as samurai characters from their card game then act out scenes or whatever. I'm not particularly interested in any of that stuff, but it does give me an excuse to try out this gimmicky idea of making a combo video that kind of tells a story.

Basically i've color edited CvS2 Haohmaru to resemble Matsu Nimuro from L5R. I've also color edited several opponents to look like other characters from the game. So like, i've color edited Sagat to look like "Hitomi" and i'm having Nimuro beat up on Hitomi for one round, showing off as wide a selection of CvS2 Haohmaru combos as i can manage.

To mix it up a little bit, i'm also going to have a credits section at the end of the video where it says, "Starring ... Sagat as Hitomi" while a Sagat combo from another game plays in the background. This'll add a bit of variety to the video, cuz CvS2 Haohmaru isn't exactly a combo maniac. Though to be fair, he's got enough versatility to make it work, especially with all the good stuff i'm jacking from ZenFire's recent tutorial.

This video is going to end up requiring quite a bit of editing. Nothing too complex, but there's gonna be a lot of pre-match dialogue referencing events in the L5R storyline. I figure it's a good way to draw more attention to the fighting game scene, cuz i sure as hell can't con that crowd into watching a 17-minute Guile video.

Here's what other people had to say about this concept:

geekiest thing i've ever read

But yeah, that's pretty geeky.

Haters.

Ok, so i've already got all of the CvS2 Haohmaru matches choreographed, programmed, played out in Versus Mode, and saved as replays on VMUs. Hopefully i'll have time to capture (at least some of) them tomorrow morning and post them for you guys to see. I've also got a couple of non-CvS2 clips done, but i might have to ask for help with some games that i know nothing about.

[Maj]

Here be the first three matches. I'll upload the remaining three tomorrow.

CvS2 Haohmaru Battle 01 | CvS2 Haohmaru Battle 02 | CvS2 Shin Akuma Battle 01

In the L5R story, Matsu Nimuro was the leader of the Lion Clan for 15 years. Some shit went down and he was forced to become a ronin because everyone thinks he's dead. So in these three clips he's wearing Lion Clan colors, then Shin Akuma beats him down, then i'll show the continue screen, then i'll briefly explain these events, then he'll be a ronin for the rest of the video. Don't worry, Haohmaru looks way less tacky in the remaining three clips.

[Goryus]

Wow, that's demented, in a deliciously awesome way. Can't wait to see the final product.

Oh, and people still play L5R?

[desk]

The idea is awesome and those preview vids are equally awesome. You can have a lot of fun choreographing fights. Though I'd imagine it's not easy to pull off a whole rounds worth of stuff like that. The idea that they'll receive this video and be totally unaware of how complex the actual gameplay is, is pretty weird. Look forward to seeing the finished version.

[Robyrt]

That is pretty geeky, not gonna lie. I mean, L5R isn't even mainstream among card gamers. Although from anyone on this forum, that's the pot calling the kettle black. I'm also looking forward to the final product, though, as I love "concept" videos.

[Maj]

Haha thanks for not laughing at me guys. These are the remaining matches.

CvS2 Haohmaru Battle 03 | CvS2 Haohmaru Battle 04 | CvS2 Haohmaru Battle 05

Some of the colors might seem a bit odd, but that's because CvS2 sprites consist of only 15 colors each. As a result, a lot of colors are recycled for different areas of the sprite - sometimes in the most unrelated, inconvenient ways imaginable. For example, changing the color of Rugal's hair also affects lots of other spots so his entire sprite has to be darkened to match. Also a lot of random things can't be customized. Haohmaru's 3K color has a red sword but it defaults to silver when he's selected in Color Edit mode and none of the available options affect it. Same goes for many other accessories such as Hibiki's sword and scabbard.

For the most part, i'm happy with the way the combat turned out. The Hibiki one might seem a bit mundane, but a lot of those actions were planned out for storytelling purposes. It'll make more sense once i add the dialogue, though i'll definitely get laughed at then.

In case anyone was wondering, R4 characters were used in the last clip because they have 40% more hit points than R2 chars while inflicting only 4% more damage. For a detailed explanation, check out the "Ratio System" section of jchensor's CvS2 Systems and Combo Guide. Anyway the point is that R2 Rugal wouldn't make it past R2 Haohmaru's first far standing fierce, whereas R4 Rugal survives two of R4 Haoh's tries.

[fullmetalross]

The videos were all good. This project seems like a fun Idea. I can't wait to see it with speech bubbles and stuff. The most important thing from this forums standpoint, is that the variety of combos used is very astounding, you managed to constantly put in a refreshing variety all the way throughout the 5 clips. Good job Maj!

[Maj]

Still working on this but it's taking goddamn forever. Hopefully in a couple of days i'll have a relatively polished preview for you guys. In the meantime, here are the two clips i've made for the credits sequence.

SamSho Haohmaru Combo | SF2CE Sagat Combo

I'll be needing a few more of these, one for each of the following characters: Fatal Fury 2 Mai, A2 Shin Akuma, GGX Testament, A2 Rolento, Last Blade 2 Hibiki, and KoF95 Rugal.

No worries about the A2 stuff, i'm sure i can handle those. Any ideas about the rest? They don't have to be death combos, just gotta be cool and roughly the same 10 seconds in length as the Sagat clip.

[Mike Z]

Any version of GG, or specifically X as opposed to XX/#R/Slash/AC?

Mike Z

[Maj]

I'd prefer GGX cuz that's about as close as i can get to his first appearance. Plus i happen to have the Dreamcast version whereas i'd have to buy/borrow any of the XX games. Is GGX Testament completely boring?

Btw, i found a cool LB2 Hibiki combo at 1:02 in this KoFUnion Combo Video, but i don't like the walking forward jabs so much. I'd like to keep the super at the end but i'm hoping to find something more interesting to put in the middle.

[fullmetalross]

That combo is probably the most interesting you are going to get with power hibiki.... BUT if you were in ex mode or speed you may be able to do something that looks a little cooler, as they both have chain combos, so you might be able to do like traded super, tech roll, jump in, some sort of chain back into super.

[Mike Z]

For Hibiki, I think in EX mode she could do combo to super, then CC and combo to launcher, 1 or 2 juggle hits, another super. CCs were the only thing that would hit people out of the weird fall-down state her super causes.
I could be totally misremembering, it's been ages since I've played that game.

GGX/XX Testament is pretty boring compared to every other incarnation of him since he doesn't have FRCs...but if you're willing to work for it you can do Faultless Defense Cancel combos in X, and those can be basically as broken as you want them to be.
The idea - in GGX, a sweep is D+S+HS. Also in GGX, you can cancel a sweep with Faultless Defense (Back/DB and any 2 buttons) during startup...so you could hit with any move that could be cancelled into a sweep, then during the hit stop do sweep and immediately Faultless Defense to cancel your normal directly into FD. I'm sure there's broken junk using that with Testament, since there was with everyone else. Good luck...

Mike Z

[fullmetalross]

For Hibiki, I think in EX mode she could do combo to super, then CC and combo to launcher, 1 or 2 juggle hits, another super. CCs were the only thing that would hit people out of the weird fall-down state her super causes.
I could be totally misremembering, it's been ages since I've played that game.

GGX/XX Testament is pretty boring compared to every other incarnation of him since he doesn't have FRCs...but if you're willing to work for it you can do Faultless Defense Cancel combos in X, and those can be basically as broken as you want them to be.
The idea - in GGX, a sweep is D+S+HS. Also in GGX, you can cancel a sweep with Faultless Defense (Back/DB and any 2 buttons) during startup...so you could hit with any move that could be cancelled into a sweep, then during the hit stop do sweep and immediately Faultless Defense to cancel your normal directly into FD. I'm sure there's broken junk using that with Testament, since there was with everyone else. Good luck...

Mike Z

Mike is right about the hibiki stuff, cept for the jugge after cc part, I don't think hibiki has anything like that. But yeah he got to the point I was quickly trying to type out before heading out earlier this morning.

[Maj]

Yeah i remember reading about Faultless Defense Canceling in an article on GCC ages ago. I'm sure i can put something together. I was just wondering if you'd seen anything particularly stylish.

As for Hibiki, i'm not too worried. I've never seen her get around the 70% combo damage limit, so i don't even think it's possible to do a death combo with her. I'll just mix it up a bit and pick out the most stylish variant. That trade setup against Shigen appears in a couple of LB2 videos so as long as i don't xcopy the exact same combo i'll be ok.

By the way, this video is going to end up being around 13-14 minutes long. I'm about halfway through it but i've gotten past most of the especially time-consuming edits. Hopefully it'll be done by the end of the week.

Fair warning though: It's gonna be incredibly boring for you guys to watch. It's got soooo much L5R-related text that most of the video is freeze frames. I think the target audience for this thing will dig it though.

[fullmetalross]

most people don't get past the 70% damage limit without glitched throws or combos that aren't real combos. Game just won't let you.

[Maj]

I found a ghetto 5-hit EX-mode Hibiki combo which is only one frame away from being a much better combo, but them's the breaks. Good thing her super takes so damn long.

In Fatal Fury 2, hitstun makes you invincible until you're fully recovered and able to block. So much for Mai combos. I was wondering why i couldn't find a single combo video for that game. Guess i'll have to go with Fatal Fury Special.

Shin Akuma isn't selectable in arcade SFA2 or SFZ2A so i'll probably end up going with the Dreamcast version of 2nd Impact. It'll be tight if throw into double air fireball xx super air fireball works against Hugo.

[Maj]

There are no forward dashes in Fatal Fury Special but all backdashes are invincible almost the entire time. Very useful feature for meaty setups. Unfortunately, it turns out that the screen isn't capable of scrolling fast enough to allow for a decent projectile setup.

FFS Mai Failed Projectile Setup

This game does have combos unlike FF2, but i'm convinced that it doesn't support simultaneous hits. Something like Terry's fullscreen meaty LP Power Wave, HP Burn Knuckle results in the Burn Knuckle whiffing outright. If you do it way late so it's nowhere near simultaneous, then you can get it to combo.

I'm guessing that once you get hit, you become invincible for the duration of hit impact freeze, then you become vulnerable again for the remainder of hit stun. Normally this isn't a problem if you're dealing with physical attack sequences. However, since projectiles only put the victim into hit impact freeze and not the attacker, they cause all sorts of problems. In Terry's case, there's some rediculous 13-frame window where that combo doesn't work.

[Maj]

Quick update: I'm pretty much done with editing the body of the video, but i haven't started on the credits sequence yet. It'll probably take me all weekend to get through that, especially since only half of those combos are ready.

Also i need to add music, which will take an extra day at least. I'm still debating whether i should go through the hassle of chopping up a bunch of random tracks i like. It would be much easier to stick to Samurai Shodown BGMs, but the end result wouldn't be as action-packed. Plus i do have kind of a long list of music that i've been wanting to use in a video.

What bitrate should i use for encoding in WMV9? The dimensions are 320x240, running at 59.94 fps. I don't have too much experience with Windows Media Encoder.

[Maj]

Here's what i was able to put together over the weekend.

FFS Mai Combo | SFA2 Rolento Combo | LB2 Hibiki Combo | KoF95 Omega Rugal Combo

Hardest part of the Mai combo was the setup, which requires a fair amount of precision. The s.LP, c.HP link which i used twice only works against the shortest characters, because they have to be short enough to make the first part of the s.LP whiff. Even then, it's a one frame link in the sense that any attack that's one frame slower than her c.HP will whiff. However, the timing is a lot more flexible than one frame cuz the game buffers inputs up to like 4 frames in advance, which makes one frame links totally practical. This combo only works on two characters in the game, Mai and Tung Fu Rue, because they're the only ones short enough to make the s.LP hit meaty as well as having a long enough backdash to make the setup work.

Rolento combo took forever and i'm still not that happy with the final result, cuz it looks like a chaotic mess. It's possible to do like 60 hits just by mashing c.MP but it only does like 50% damage. All the damage is in the jumping hits. I finished the combo with c.LP -> c.LK -> c.MK xx Thra Thra Thra because i liked ending up with an even 50 hits. I think i could have kept mashing c.MP to get maybe 52 hits, but that didn't seem as cool. At the very end, Rolento gets to cancel into whatever but since the round has ended, he can't cancel into special moves. So i stomped on Adon then blew him up.

Hibiki's c.LP is the only thing fast enough to connect in that situation. Tried a bunch of different things but nothing changed that fact. She can't link from it and she can't chain from it, so i did the only thing i could do. She can't even cancel it in Power mode, so i used EX mode cuz i like the colors better than Speed mode.

There's nothing crazy about the Omega Rugal combo. What you see is what you get. Terry calls out Billy for no reason. It doesn't change anything. Turns out O.Rugal's super is too slow to combo into, except like full screen LP fireball against a cornered opponent. Too bad, but whatever.

[Maj]

Why do all (three) of the GGX videos on the internet use maxed out guard gauges? Hella annoying.

Testament sucks btw. He's got like three special moves and he can only RC the one that's a knockdown. I'm having trouble finding a dizzy combo so i'm gonna do a bunch of slashes followed by a super. It'll look ghetto but i've decided i don't care. I simply don't know enough about the juggle system to make it good without putting a week into it.

Quick question: Only one OTG per combo in GGX?

[Maj]

Wow, this is annoying. This last pair is taking longer than all the previous ones combined. Still not done with GGX Testament, but here's the 2nd Impact clip.

SF3:2I Shin Akuma Combo

This was done on "Normal" speed, with super meter set to "Max" in the standard options menu (not extra options). Both players start out with maxed out meter, but i whiffed Hugo's super so he could show off his kicks. Everything else is default options, i believe.

Right off the bat let me say that i'm unfamiliar with this game's combo engine, so i have no idea if it would be possible to add more hits without removing any of the cool stuff. The most obvious thing that sets Shin Akuma apart from regular Akuma is his double air fireball, so i made an effort to show that off. At the end, the combo counter appears way before Hugo hits the ground so i'm assuming that at least the combo can't simply be extended.

The most unreliable part of the combo was the first F+MP karacanceled into HK Hurricane Kick. Once that connects, then the next Hurricane Kick has a very good chance of connecting, and the last double air fireball has a 50/50 chance of connecting.

I don't know where the randomness was coming from, but here's the weird part: That first Hurricane Kick connects in the second round about ten times as often as it connects in the first round. For whatever reason, the first attempt is always helluva jinxed, no matter how much i let the clock run down. In retrospect, i should have probably gone back to the default meter setting once i lost hope in the first round.

The parry at the beginning isn't necessary but i needed an initial gap between the characters for editing purposes. I probably could have thrown Hugo without the parry - simply didn't think of it. Artifacts pop up during the superfreeze background but they're unavoidable cuz my Dreamcast is still dying. It's unbearable on some stages. Hugo's stage is the worst, which made Training Mode outright painful.

[NKI]

I don't know what's going on in all these crazy SNK games, but that Rolento CC was dope. Heeeelllllaaa damage, and pretty stylish, too.

2I combo looked dope too, even though I barely know what's going on in that game.

(BTW, any chance you can include sound in future videos? To me, it makes a video much more enjoyable.)

[Maj]

Actually i'm planning on including sound in this video. I've always included sound effects in every video i've ever made, as far back as i can remember. I totally agree with you - it makes a huge difference.

These clips are long enough that i can get away with fading the background music in and out. It's gonna turn out slightly ghetto but many of those games have no option to turn off BGM.

That A2 Rolento combo still looks a bit messy to me, but i love the way it sounds.

[Maj]

Aight here's the final combo clip, finally done.

GGX Testament Combo

It's possible to substitute two supers at the end of that sequence but the problem outside of training mode is that super meter comes up short. It seems like it charges slower the more combo hits you've built up. Even dashing forward half a screen distance isn't enough.

Honestly i just got tired of staring at this game. I have the worst luck ever with that stupid bird's randomized attack selection.

If anyone asks why i didn't do any supers or Roman Cancels, i'll use the Master Akuma defense and say that i was going for basic and practical combos. That's right folks. If you ever need to record a combo for a game with a juggle engine that you don't understand, just keep mashing without using any knockdowns until you get pushed too far away to add anything else. Givin' away protips for free!

[Mike Z]

The crow's attack patterns aren't totally random - there are 4, each starting with 1 of the 4 attacks, and they are choreographed after that. There was even some relation to the timer for which attack pattern you get, until GGXX#r.

FDC is awesome, and always dumb looking, but you can probably make a much better ending using close S->H->net, Gravedigger, close H->net, Gravedigger, super...or something?

Mike Z

[Maj]

In GGX there are only three crow attacks, and i've seen almost every variation of sequences - way more than four. Even if they are choreographed, i was still having bad luck with getting it to start out with the feather projectiles. Maybe it is related to the clock like you said, and it kept taking me the same amount of time to build meter and set up spacing.

He doesn't have the net in GGX and i don't know what Gravedigger is but i'm pretty sure he doesn't have that either. All he has is Raven Skull (QCF+P/K), Lunge Sickle (QCB+P), Exe Beast (HCF+S/HS), and Demonic Poison Counter (QCB+S).

[Maj]

Well, this damned monstrosity is finally finished. You'll find the blue download link near the bottom of the aforementioned Nimuro page.

I fully expect everyone on the sh/f memberlist with 0 posts to come out of the woodwork just to lol at me.

[fullmetalross]

LOLLL NIMURO HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH. You sir are silly... jk I'll post something real after I watch the movie. I just wanted to get in some good natured ribbing.

Oh my god...... That may have been one of the most wonderful fan videos I've ever seen... ever.

Damn music was great. Cut scenes were great. Timing was amazing. Great combos over course. You got the text down perfectly, even the speed at which the text moved was good. Your sense of humour played out really well especially with the mixing of speaking styles. WOW!

Random thing = at least in my vlc when nimuro became ronin there started to be blue artifacting popping up along random surfaces in the stages... just thought you should know.

BUT ANYWAYS. You sir are amazing. The editing was stupendous. Yes!

What's good? That was fucking good.

[NKI]

WELL DONE!!

It was put together very well, very professionally. Video editing, combos, scripted matches...everything was great.

I'm sure I'd appreciate it even more if I knew more about Legend of the Five Rings, but still, I thought it was quite entertaining.

[desk]

that was really, really good. The haohmaru combo with the charge, cr. short, cr. short in the middle was quite silly. And the sagat combo that began with the tiger uppercut was equally great, was there a reason that you kara'd into it? or was that so rog had time to turn around?

I kind of wish I knew the source material but it was awesome anyway. Are you giving it a proper release or just entering it in this comp?