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Frame Data Trainer (12.08.03)
Campbell "Buktooth" Tran
Frame Advantage/Disadvantage
Frame advantage is the amount of frames you recover before your opponent after
making them block/get hit by a move. If you make your opponent block a move
that has a +5 frame advantage, you recover from your move 5 frames before your
opponent gets out of guard stun. "Link" combos can be figured out simply by
finding a move with frame advantage, then finding another move with a shorter
execution time than the frame advantage. For example, CvS2's Chun Li has a low
jab which gives +6 on hit or block. Her low strong has an execution time of 4
frames, 2 frames less than the 6 frame advantage. From this, we can surmise
that Chun's low strong can hit the opponent 2 frames before the opponent
recovers from the hit stun of the initial low jab, making a possible link combo
with a 2 frame window of error, frequently referred to as a "two frame link".
There are a huge number of other things you can do with the ability to move
before your opponent (hence, frame ADVANTAGE), but that goes beyond the
scope of this guide.
Frame disadvantage is, you guessed it, how many frames you recover AFTER your
opponent after making them block a move. A small frame disadvantage simply
gives your opponent initiative on the next move. A large enough frame
disadvantage makes the move unsafe. How large the frame disadvantage needs to
be to make the move unsafe varies from game to game. In CvS2, moves that give
-3 are usually punishable by jabs and certain uppercuts if the opponent is
close enough. In 3S, a meager -2 is enough for Ken to super you, -3 is enough
for Chun Li to super you. Namco games usually need around -9~11 to make a move
unsafe, and so on.
Something to remember, frame advantage/disadvantage is always calculated
assuming a move hit on its first frame active time. While that is indeed the
case the vast majority of the time, meaty moves affect frame
advantage/disadvantage in the attacker's favor. To use Bison's slide as an
example again:
Bison's slide executes in 6 frames, has a whopping 35 AC, or "active frames",
and has 18 frames of recovery. The frame disadvantage is at -29. Ouch. Of
course, this is assuming Bison hits with the very first active frame of the
slide. What if he hits with the LAST frame of the slide? This would cut off
a sizable 34 frames of recovery on the move. The -29 frame disadvantage would
get +34 added to it, bringing Bison to a +5 frame ADVANTAGE. Of course,
the timing to get Bison's slide to hit consistently at the last frame of
impact is inhumanly difficult, so not many even attempt to try it in a real
match.
Certain games have a number of frame advantage/disadvantage modifiers:
conditions that affect the frame advantage/disadvantage of a move (usually in a
positive way). Most games have a positive modifier for counter hits, the Street
Fighter 3 series and the Virtua Fighter series have positive modifiers for
moves that hit while the opponent is crouching. Some even have different
modifiers for "minor" and "major" counter hits. The end result of the frame
advantage/disadvantage after the modifier should be listed in a seperate
category of the game's respective guide, or at least a formula for you to
follow to figure it out yourself. You should always keep these modifiers in
mind when looking over your frame data, though, since they'll often open up
lots of opportunities for guaranteed link combos not possible otherwise.
What to do with your Frame Data
The obvious things:
- Find possible link combos
- Find possible link combos involving a frame advantage modifier
(counter hit combos, crouching character combos, etc.)
- Create attack patterns with a few holes as possible
- Formulate counter hit/throw set ups
- Create true 50/50 mix ups
- Find ways to cover up a frame disadvantaged move
...possibly a more in-depth write-up coming soon. A lot of ways to exploit
frame advantage/disadvantage overlaps with basic footsie concepts in 2D
fighters, and that might possibly deserve a guide in itself. In 3D fighters, it
should be fairly self explanatory how you can use frame advantage/disadvantage
to your umm... advantage.
What not to do with your Frame Data
The basic cardinal rule of using frame data is NOT TO LET THE FRAME DATA DO ALL
THE THINKING FOR YOU. I can't stress this enough. I've seen discussions for both
2D and 3D fighters where some people would say: "Don't ever use [insert move here].
It's got [insert slow execution time or frame disadvantage here]." I've seen people
even go as far as to criticize the usefulness of a move because it carried a -1
frame disadvantage. MINUS FREAKIN ONE.
A move is much more than the sum of its numbers. Sometimes its uses are
clearly evident, such as having long range or moving your body forward (Ryu's
hop kick in CvS2). More often than not, a move has to experimented with
extensively to determine its true potential. Maybe it beats a really
problematic move cleanly. Maybe it has really funky hitboxes that you can use
to your advantage. Maybe it's an ideal set up for something else. This holds
true more often in 3D fighters than their 2D brethren, but still is applicable
to most any fighting game. Did you know that in CvS2 Rugal's low strong not
only works great as an anti-air against most characters, but as an anti-cross
up also? Did you know that Julia and Michelle from Tekken can use their
incredibly slow uf+3+4 jumping stomp to cross up opponents?
Guides with frame data are supposed to encourage creativity, not stifle it.
<< Page 1: Preface, Definitions, and Attack Classifications
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