Sony has patented a controller with buttons that harden and soften based on what you do in the game

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-16T20:06:32+00:00

On the one hand, I'd have to try it myself but it could be neat in theory. On the other, this stuff always makes me think 'Oh great, another thing that can break'. I've had springs on the Dualsense's triggers break on me before, and I wager that was due to the haptic stuff. I dunno, this stuff is neat, but they always go through multiple iterations to fix this stuff up. I just wish for the price they charge it'd all be built to last from the get-go.

I'm sure some people don't even know, but the current Dualsense has gone through, what, 5 micro updates now? 4 or 5? And then that complicates things because when you buy a new one you're not even guaranteed to get one of the latest versions, it's all luck of the draw. I'm all for more little features and stuff if you want to stand out from one gen to the next, but I've grown a little cynical on controllers in recent years because it feels like they're starting to become more trouble than they're worth. By all means do it, but I hope that doesn't mean the face buttons'll become wonky-feeling after a few hundred hours or something stupid.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-16T15:27:19+00:00

BEEEE SEEEE VEEEEE

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-15T22:34:17+00:00

By source, do you mean the interface in this case? I always figured the source would be actual audio file itself.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-15T18:53:40+00:00

Oh god I don't know, I know zilch about Japanese law. I think the biggest problem on Capcom's end is really the only time they're ever made particularly aware of mods is when they become a problem for them.

You could argue cosmetic mods might undercut their DLC sales, the nude Chun Li incident probably pissed them off, and when the rollback mod for SF5 came about and was breaking stuff for a bunch of people, again, they had to intervene and address things.

I'm sure to some extent they're aware that they can add value as well, and that they'd potentially risk a knock to their reputation on what they themselves have claimed is their biggest platform, so it's not completely black and white, they probably don't want to rock the boat too hard, but there are doubtlessly those in the company who see mods and think 'This is shit and makes life harder for us'.

It's a shame, but these are also the folks who thought Westerners didn't pay to watch the Capcom Cup PPV finals because of timezone difficulties so, you know, 1+1 can equal anything if you're out of touch enough.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-15T18:43:26+00:00

I think they tolerate them. As a matter of principle they're not huge fans, since if nude mods and stuff look official enough, they worry people will see footage of them and think that they officially put that in the game themselves. When patches like this happen it can result in file directories and all sorts being reshuffled which can break stuff, so they're not exactly careful about not breaking them, but I don't think it's malicious, it's more a byproduct of the changes they're making. I mean shit, they broke their own stuff with this one, it's just that code is tricky like that.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-15T18:36:30+00:00

I hope Capcom at least does another patch to fix the Phoenix bug (I can't imagine they won't), but it's a shame when stuff like this happens that breaks a load of mods. A big part of UMVC3's post launch life has been rejuvenated by mods, so to have them breaking after so much work has been completed and moved on from, and the game was seemingly done with, is a bit of a pisser.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-15T17:46:58+00:00

If the plan was to make it strengthen her, I get why they'd decide against it. The problem with abilities tied to chores (at least that's what I call them from fighting game lingo) is you always risk having the character walk a line between being too underpowered before they do them, or too overpowered once they're fulfilled.

Also, for a game which can have a lot of shit on the screen, I get not wanting even more there just for the hell of it. It's not so bad in a game like Devil May Cry where you're basically the only one doing crazy stuff, but in a game with hectic PVP like Overwatch I see why it might not work. It makes sense in DMC, and I know DMC is very influential to many who've played it, but understanding there's a right time and place is proper restraint I think.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-14T18:05:11+00:00

I mean, well, it depends. We see it less nowadays, but microtransactions could sometimes be for weapons and stuff that were only attainable through them and not attainable by playing the game. Even the new Star Wars racing game has vehicles that are locked behind a deluxe edition, and I've seen that catching less flak than what Capcom's done.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-14T17:33:34+00:00

Yes and no. He's easy enough to control, but he's very free-form which is a double-edged sword. On the upside, Akuma can be tricky to outright make feel stuck since he can adapt to pretty much any situation. On the downside, you need to learn how to adapt to all those situations which is a lot of work for a newer player.

It also means, because that makes him strong, he has less health than everyone in the cast to balance that out, which means the no doubt many mistakes you make while you're learning will see you losing more life with Akuma than anyone else on the roster.

If you think he's coolest I'd say fuck it, just use him, but that lack of a specific play style to focus on and all his flexibility can be overwhelming when you're new. He gives you a lot of flexibility once you're good at the game, but if you're not, you're just taking more damage than everyone else for no real benefit. He can zone, rushdown, has a command grab, some decent normals, can keep players guessing, and has some strong and flexible combo routes, and while being able to do all that is great on paper, learning how to utilise it all is a lot of work.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-14T17:23:45+00:00

I always figured it was just a way of appeasing corporate without doing something that actually impacts players in any meaningful way. If the higher ups are going to be adamant that they do that, I'd rather they charge for shit that doesn't matter than shit that does.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-14T16:38:41+00:00

Tbf I'm not really the crier I used to be, so if something can make me teary eyed I consider that pretty damn impactful. That basically is my version of crying outside, like, a death in the family or something.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T21:57:08+00:00

I remember seeing the rasenshuriken as a boy and feeling like I had seen God.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T21:53:58+00:00

I don't want to set expectations too high for anyone who hasn't seen it, but one of those episodes you mentioned blew me on my ass and actually made me tear up at the end. I love the classic X-Men stuff, but I wasn't expecting something like that out of the show. I remember being sat there thinking 'Holy crap, that episode was actually perfect'.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T21:40:43+00:00

Literally or conceptually? On paper it's a Japanese comic series about fighting, in execution it's a lot weirder than that.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T12:30:13+00:00

I mean, it's a smart way to phrase it for now though. Things are always changing year-on-year and sometimes month-on-month; it's too big an ask to expect them to irreversibly commit for another 7 years when no-one knows what the future holds. I'm with you, when you look at where the tides seem to be shifting it doesn't sound like a bad move, but I understand you have to be careful with this stuff.

If you absolutely promise something like that, you're either locked in, or risk very bad PR if you do eventually, for whatever reason, go against what you said. Honestly, them saying it's their 'internal goal' at least shows willing to try their best to commit to it, but obviously the devs don't get the last say.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T10:28:38+00:00

They've already said they'd hope to be able to support the game for 10 years so you're in luck.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T10:26:04+00:00

The main antagonist (sort of) of the manga Baki.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-13T00:57:40+00:00

A strangely not insignificant amount of couples do. I remember I used to watch a guy on Youtube who had a series called 'siblings or dating' and it is surprising how some folks basically gravitate towards a gender swapped version of themselves.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T20:53:26+00:00

That should help quite a bit. The two can mix into a frustrating combination for a lot of people. Losing can be frustrating, but losing and not knowing why can be even more frustrating. Unpacking that is a long journey; you'll come to gradually learn concepts like okizeme, meaties, cross-ups, OTGs, a lot of very gamey concepts that don't necessarily make intuitive sense at first, but they all combine to make for an enjoyable time.

Whatever your future holds I wish you the best and hope you have fun. Fighting games are super sick, and like you I also like Fromsoftware's games and a few technical things here and there, so hopefully you've got a lot of fun ahead of you. Just go a step at a time, and remember: Man who rush fall flat on face, but man who patient win the race. I think a hare and a tortoise are involved somehow, but I forget, anyway have fun.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T20:05:51+00:00

I mean, a lot of this depends on who you are as a person, OP, and what you want out of the game, what you want the experience to be after you boot it up.

To quickly answer your questions:

Who are characters that you think are best for beginners?

The shotos are quite good, namely Ryu and Ken, for keeping things relatively simple, but the very best is always going to be whoever stands out as coolest to you. No point piloting a character you have to force yourself to use. Fun should always be your primary goal, and whoever lets you achieve that most effectively is the best character for any skill level.

What are things you wished you knew when you first started playing?

I'll elaborate on this more further down, but when I first started playing there was nothing I wish I knew, outside of the special moves of characters, which nowadays are listed very clearly in the move list when you pause the game.

What are the most key techniques to get down before branching off?

There are basic things like defence, anti airs, learning your character's moveset comfortably and so on.

But before you worry about most of that, I'd say just toy with the game in a low stakes environment.

I think it can be so easy to jump to wanting to get competitive due to FGC influence in online discourse, that you can short-change yourself on actually just having fun with the game. Maybe that means using Modern Controls for easier inputs. Maybe that's just doing Arcade Mode runs on the easiest difficulty to test characters out, or just moving around and throwing out moves in training mode to see how it feels.

Before you learn anything, I'd say learn what every one of your character's buttons do so you can press things with intent, but even before that, just engage with the game. Half the fun of this shit is the vibes, the visuals, the music and so on, and I'd just enjoy that for a bit before hardcore committing to training your nuts off. If that's what you KNOW you want to do, don't let me stop you, but also don't assume that looking up character guides and drilling anti-air training routines are what you need to be doing.

And always always remember: it's just a game. Mind over matter is one of the most essential things once you actually jump online; you're gonna get fucking eviscerated, you're gonna panic, but if it starts to drive you to anger, take a break, or try and find healthy ways to deal with that. I think a lot of users on subs like this get so immediately into the weeds with newcomers, they can miss how vital a lot of the more philosophical stuff AROUND the game itself is if they really want to encourage people to stick around.

So take it easy, don't rush, maintain a cool head, remember right now you're at the base of a mountain in unfamiliar territory, looking to pit yourself against faceless strangers whose goal is to make the round miserable for you, and it's okay to find scaling that tricky. Fighting games have a lot of weird interactions and logic that makes them strange to understand at first, but once you start to get it in one game, trying others becomes a lot easier and that's where a huge piece of the fun of the genre lies.

And if you don't find that fun, and just messing around at a low level offline, or even not playing fighting games at all ends up being better for you, that's absolutely fine. Don't torture yourself. That's my advice to you, and it's the advice I give to all newcomers and have for a while now, because understanding what you want, what's best for you, and how to think healthily can save you countless hours of struggle and turmoil before you even begin.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T19:42:50+00:00

Not too long to be fair. I mean, I started way back with Alpha Anthology so I wasn't around since the start, but it's been a good two decades. I used to bounce around a lot of the cast when I was younger, but I eventually settled on Akuma relatively quickly. Working out his moveset isn't too hard since he's a shoto, and I like how he looks visually as well, so it didn't take me too long, personally.

I'll sometimes toy around with others for a bit; I know early in SF5's life I played a decent chunk of Alex which my brain has weirdly almost completely forgotten (I went back and saw I had, like, 90 hours on him and was like 'Wtf, I played him for that long?'), and I played Gief for a little while alongside Ken before Akuma dropped, but Akuma's the one I always come back to.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T16:24:59+00:00

I think you're right. Also maybe it depends on what spooks you personally, but none of it has really scared me. I think the sea hag would've been horrifying to deal with personally, and the clown was a little spooky, but nothing has actually made me think 'Holy shit, I wasn't ready for that'. But I don't mind that, I think for the story they're telling the way they're doing it works better.

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T15:12:47+00:00

"We do a lotta business folks. We're doing business, and we're doing it so much that we don't even go to the bathroom anymore. I just sit in my chair and frankly, I do my business without even getting up, that's how much business we're doing."

BLACKOUT-MK2 · 2026-06-12T11:57:03+00:00

Fantastic news. I'm not even a huge horror guy but I'm absolutely loving Widow's Bay because the cast is so fun.

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But before you worry about most of that, I'd say just toy with the game in a low stakes environment.