Friday
May202011
Avoiding the Puddle Episode 20 featuring Blood Hawk
BY 
Aris ON Friday, May 20, 2011 at 7:10PM
Aris ON Friday, May 20, 2011 at 7:10PM 
We're back with another podcast and this time we have New York's Blood Hawk on as a guest. Blood Hawk and I cover topics like the motivation to travel to tournaments while not being sponsored, the Gosu New York streams, commentating, and of coarse TTT2. Before that, MYK and I talk about the ethics of having top players balance fighting games while still being able to enter tournaments, and our thoughts on TTT2.
If you have any suggestions feel free to leave comments or contact us at aris@avoidingthepuddle.com.
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MP3 - 00:01:26 - 69.0 MB
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Reader Comments (45)
Well too be honest, this being the first MK that's very popular it seems kinda unfair for youknowwho to be able to enjoy all the competition.....
I meant not to be able to enjoy the competition...
Leo is a fucking girl. I saw the original profile translations before namco decided they were going to fuck with everyone about her gender, she is a tomboy....
Deal with it homo, Leo has a vag.
fucking twitter. how does it work.
great interview. bloodhawk really called out some bitches that need to be called out. good point on don't let things hold things back.
"sometimes you need to let go of what is in order to become what might be." or something like that. i like that.
http://playstationlifestyle.net/2011/05/21/mortal-kombat-changes-directly-affect-the-competitive-arena/
oh look sub zero buffed, what famous person in mk community plays sub zero....hmmmmmm
^I don't see any Sub Zero buffs, all I see is this:
"Increased the damage scaling on a frozen opponent."
...which is a nerf. I don't know if they specifically mean Sub Zero's ice attacks when they say frozen or if it also affects stuff like Quan Chi's zombie walk.
Unless you mean he is being buffed by nerfing other characters, but that's way too early to tell.
I keep hearing commentary about how skill levels now aren't anywhere near where they used to be 10 years ago. Fucking of course not-- now, people have like 10,000 more venues to visit as far as electronic entertainment goes. More, the majority of us are adults now-- skill levels 10 years ago were full of those sick, savant-like child abilities. Those skill levels still exist, they're just being used in other games and venues. If you want to see skill levels high in your favorite game, play that game, and only that game, all day, all the time like you might have 10 years ago. And more-- stop fucking complaining about skill levels in forums and such.
Leo is a girl. I don't know where you ever got the impressiion she is a guy lol. They are trying to be ambigious but the main telling thing is that she is the only male looking character that you can't have topless. Because she is wearing that breast compressing vest.
Ty for the correction QuadrupleDragon it was a little early =/
I think they jacked bryan up by taking away his sway 4 ground hit and launch. Whats the point of even using the move? Might as well not even be in the game.
I want to see more ogre...but seems like there is no mercy to let them learn...it is expensive per game so...
but I have seen ogre's version of devil jin's u+rk to throw in case anybody missed it
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TaaASK0gw8Q&feature=player_embedded
and some of the bound combos that aris talked about in potcast
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn2nSls3j0c&feature=player_embedded
Kuma's air kick(2) into ogre's air kick(4) lol
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j-XrcyRgYC8&feature=player_embedded
I met 2nd category lol at psn. does not know their own character but calling asuka cheap.
I've been using Bryan for a long time. Competitively I peaked in T5DR despite never using his broken taunt~3+4 stuff; my oki game consisted of consecutive d+4's etc. So because I believe in player mentality much more than character ability I'm not worried a bit about the nerfs that I've heard about. More, I don't mind the nerfs because I choose to play characters simply because I think they're cool, not because they're ridiculously strong-- I'll be happy not to be labeled among "tier-whores", though I do respect them for making the most logical decision when heaps of dollars are on the line. Bryan's nerfs are very much like the nerfs to any competitive game. People are going to be disturbed at first, but will gradually relax and resort to 2nd or 3rd best options, which are still very usable. Granted they were easy, threatening and good, Bryan has more tools to work with than qcb+3 and 4 mixups leading into turtling players and open-ground taunt rape. Too, if movement is increased as I hear, that whole line of strategy would be less effective I would think, as one could all the easier backdash, side-step or sidewalk out of it to create a whiff on Bryan's part.
That said, I would be butt-hurt to see the animation of uf+4 changed or the frame values messed with in any dramatic manner. Too, I would feel the same for df+2,1.
Conversely, in my dreams they would change d+4 back to how it was in T5DR. That nerf bummed me out since the properties of that move were such an important part of my game.
Some dra, ogre gameplay...though its little short
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1YOHBvhg8I&feature=player_embedded#at=757
Figured something controversial must have been said on the podcast to get 33 comments, now I see it's the Leo thing. Bleh.
Thanks for the awesome podcast!
Oh and there are two things so far that worry me a little bit in regards to TTT2 if they make it into the game.
The first (and least important of the two) is the replay feature that plays after a K.O. I know they were trying to go with the nostalgic feel from the previous TTT when they made it the way that they did but in my personal opinion, it looks very outdated and PS1ish (don't have an actual word to describe it) and just doesn't sit right with me. I really wish that they would bring back T6 replay only because it can allow someone to learn as it slows everything down and let's the losing player see what they did wrong that cost them the match. I can't tell you how many times I have learned mistakes that I made strictly from watching the final replay.
The second (and far more significant topic) is the Rage ability. From every video that I have seen so far, it seems that once one character is put into Rage mode, BOTH characters on that team feature the signature Rage blinking healthbars signifying the action of Rage being enabled. Now I do not know is the character that was not damaged is having his damaged increased or not as of yet but if he is, then this factor alone could GREATLY change the way that the game is played. Tactics of purposely activating Rage would be something that you would always have to keep in mind and in my personal opinion would turn the game into something reminiscent of Marvel with the whole X-factor nonsense. I mean think about it: Say your facing off against a team of lei/Paul and the lei player purposely allows himself to go into Rage strictly so he could bring Paul in to wreck faces and kill the opponent in 5 hits. I mean I am sure that the tactic could be overturned or backfired in some way or another but not immediately. It would be something that would be overcome over time and through experience. I'm not saying that that would be a game-breaker or anything because as well all know, REAL players with put up or shut up and adjust to the game but I just thought that it would be something to think about if it pans out to be that way.
Netsu (rage) is activated only for character B after character A takes a heap of hits/dmg. Also once you bring out character A, it'll last for about 10 seconds and your team won't be able to have it for the rest of the round.
@ Aris, One more thing i don't agree with the bryan taunt changes. I can accept the knee no longer tracks, but the distances needs to be left alone and his d/f 1111+2 string also. These are staple moves and are part of his core gameplay. And if you wanna talk cheap look at some of the new TTT2 vids with the Leo and Lili team those setups and wall combos are F'N ri-dam-diculous. At this point bryan doesn't have that fear faction he always has and the bruce d 3~4 MTS doesn't mean much i just have to B! earlier.
@C.Bear:
Read the thread. Like I said, with increased movement and Bryan's other changes, the extra range on taunt wouldn't have been of used anyway, as opportunities for open ground taunt stuff would be much lower anyhow. That said, it's still somewhat of a threat at the wall, and perhaps even more, now that players will be more willing to get up and gamble because of the decreased tracking.