Off to a good start gang. I cannot even complete Dhalsim's third NORMAL trial. :)

On a side note, Leo, I absolutely love your avatar. Nobody's got nothin on Tellah, the legendary sage of Mysidia.

LikeHaterade

So, I guess this leaves us with two questions: one, when does everyone want to get started? Sounds like you want to get going right away, which is cool, but to be fair to you, I say we hold off till we at least have the mains decided for everyone.

Two, how will Haterade and King9999 vote on our nominations? So far, it looks like we've got Seth for martialbullet, Abel for Metamania, Viper for King9999, and we're looking at Sim or Dan, so far, for me. Remember, guys, we get ZERO input on our own picks, so I'm at your mercy, lol. Haterade, King9999, my main pretty much comes down to you guys. You can either tip the scales in favor of the two nominations so far, or you can start from scratch with a new nomination. Totally up to you guys. Like Haterade said, I signed up for this, so whatever decision comes down from on high is the decision I'll roll with.

[QUOTE="ShenlongBo"]

Ground Up Project: Metamania

Unfortunately, you and I don't have any experience playing each other, so I was only able to consider your character, Ryu, when coming up with a nomination for your main. I tried to think of someone who would demand a lot of a player in terms of spacing, footwork, and who would develop the tenacity a player needs to be what I would consider a relevant Ryu threat. At first, it was tempting to just select a low- or bottom-tier character who might make you more fully appreciate Ryu's strengths. But in the end, I thought, this probably wouldn't really have any meaningful impact on a Ryu player's overall game, and it would probably just make you resent the project instead of enjoy it. I finally settled on Abel. He's a versatile character, a powerful character, and he can be used creatively, but I think the shock of switching to him will highlight elements of your game - strengths and weaknesses - that you didn't realize were there. How will you close the gap when you don't have a super-fast fireball to bait jump-ins? What will you do when your opponent figures out he can throw you out of M. roll? What are you going to do with an extremely damaging Ultra that isn't quite so easy to land? Ryu has a lot of leeway in SFIV, he's inherently good at several approaches, and he can get a lot of mileage out of otherwise neutral, or even bad, situations. With Abel, you'll have to crank it up on all fronts.

:)

Guys?

Metamania

I think that's a great choice for me. I would have to use him differently and try to come up with a better strategy for him. I'm down with that! I'm cool with this choice. Good thing I have my tournament edition stick now....well, I'll be getting it later this morning, but either way, this will help me with my time on Abel.

*raises hand in nomination*

Unless if anyone else has any other objection to it and have a different character to mind, please let me and the others know. Otherwise, if you feel comfortable with me being Abel, that's cool too!

Also, on another note, when does this project of yours start and when does it end?

Ah, glad you asked. Personally, I'm down to start this thing like... right now. However, I do have a tournament coming up on the 19th, and because I'm gonna stick to this thing no matter what, I don't wanna get stuck playing as freakin' Dan or something if that's who you guys pick for me, lol. I was gonna ask if you guys wanna start on the 20th, but that's pretty far off. Basically, this thing kicks off when everyone chimes in and says "go." As for duration, I was thinking a solid month. 30 days of this ONE character, for all modes (even practice), and in all settings (casual, tournament, ranked, you name it).

Damn, great choice! :D

You really observed all my strengths and weaknesses and came up with the perfect character for me.

*raises hand in favor for the nomination* I!

I'm almost finished with my nomination for your character. Just gotta be sure. I'm almost certain about this one. Bet you'll get a kick out of it :twisted:

martialbullet

Second, devil horns has me second-guessing this whole operation :P

Ground Up Project: King9999

Okay, so just as with MM, I have exactly zero first-hand experience playing you. All I know is that you main Cammy, talked about Ken some, and you've got a reputation as a good player. I have to admit, I haven't thought this through at all, and I don't have the kind of experience with, or knowledge of, SFIV Cammy to feel like I can nail down an great nomination. Martial plays Cammy a lot, though, so perhaps his nomination will be stronger. At any rate, shooting from the hip, I want to go with C. Viper on this one. She's a bit fragile, but she's tricky and can rip an opponent apart in a heartbeat if she gets an opening. She's also, in my opinion, difficult to use. In my experience, experimenting with a character because they're hard, or because they don't suit your natural styIe often pays off. Sounds like a winner to me.

:)

Ground Up Project: Metamania

Unfortunately, you and I don't have any experience playing each other, so I was only able to consider your character, Ryu, when coming up with a nomination for your main. I tried to think of someone who would demand a lot of a player in terms of spacing, footwork, and who would develop the tenacity a player needs to be what I would consider a relevant Ryu threat. At first, it was tempting to just select a low- or bottom-tier character who might make you more fully appreciate Ryu's strengths. But in the end, I thought, this probably wouldn't really have any meaningful impact on a Ryu player's overall game, and it would probably just make you resent the project instead of enjoy it. I finally settled on Abel. He's a versatile character, a powerful character, and he can be used creatively, but I think the shock of switching to him will highlight elements of your game - strengths and weaknesses - that you didn't realize were there. How will you close the gap when you don't have a super-fast fireball to bait jump-ins? What will you do when your opponent figures out he can throw you out of M. roll? What are you going to do with an extremely damaging Ultra that isn't quite so easy to land? Ryu has a lot of leeway in SFIV, he's inherently good at several approaches, and he can get a lot of mileage out of otherwise neutral, or even bad, situations. With Abel, you'll have to crank it up on all fronts.

:)

Guys?

Heck yeah man! Fire away, guys, I'm ready!

Ground Up Project: martialbullet

Settling on a character for you wasn't easy. Last time we played each other, you ran several characters (to include a solid Cammy), but you played them all in virtually the same way. Your defense is pretty remarkable, all told, but somewhere along the line, you haven't developed the tenacity to get inside and bring the pain to your opponent. Now, there is a lot to be said for turtling, but if it's not winning you matches, you're doing it wrong. Likewise, reaction-based play is safer than prediction-based play, but if you never initiate the offense, you make yourself rely on perfect defense (which is basically out of the question for anyone), and perfect execution on substantially damaging punishes. On top of that, you miss the opportunity to put your opponent into uncomfortable situations, which means you get almost zero intel on him, as a player. I thought it over for a long time, nearly settling on Fei Long, El Fuerte, and Akuma along the way. Each of these characters, though, presents the opportunity for you to keep up the same habits. With Seth, on the other hand, you will either fight, or you will be destroyed. And that's why he's my nomination for you.

:)

What say the people?

Ground Up Project: LikeHaterade

The character I'd like to nominate for you is, in my opinion, THE complete opposite of Fuerte, but could be a very interesting complement as well. This character shares almost nothing in common with Fuerte on the surface level. That is, he doesn't have the insane ground speed, his Ultra isn't *quite* as reliable/potent, and he doesn't have the easy, go-to mind games that Fuerte enjoys. Instead, this character relies on spacing, reaction, and opponent manipulation. You'll learn to rely on methodical, dependable BnB, and will have basically ZERO gimmickry to fall back on. This is not to suggest that your Fuerte is anything BUT legit (because it is), but Fuerte has a few moves that can be thrown just for the hell of it because they're just inherently good and safe. Not so true for who I nominate for you: Dhalsim. By the time this project is over, you'll have a more well-rounded understanding of the game, I hope, as Sim will force you to solidify your fundamentals and analyze every character and opponent you face. That's the idea, anyway.

:)

All in favor? All opposed?

Alright guys, I'm gonna go ahead and kick off the Ground Up Project right now. I'll start with the basics about me.

Main: Gouken
Alternates: Sakura, Vega, Fei Long, Bison, Akuma

StyIe: I try to use a balanced approach, so that I don't commit to too much offensively or defensively at any given time. How well I pull that off, however, is questionable. I guess you could say I'm a "wait, watch, react" kind of player, rather than an obvious rushdown/turtle player.

Strengths:
- Solid analysis of opponent in just a couple of rounds
- Can spot opponent strengths/weaknesses; generally flexible enough to make required adjustments in approach
- Effective at switching from turtling to rushdown on the fly
- Good clutch player; don't give up until the round is over; pull "miracle" comebacks often
- Very good at using wake-up Ultras on opponents who try to apply pressure on knockdown; rarely get baited into bad wake-up Ultras
- Decent footwork and move/combo execution; good mind games/mixups
- Calm, even when annoyed

Weaknesses:
- Sometimes take too long analyzing opponent; overthinking leads to missing easy punish opportunities/falling for obvious attacks
- Stubborn; will keep trying a move/combo/approach even when it is clearly NOT working
- Weak at improvising; tend to lean on prediction rather than reaction
- Confirming needs work
- Can lose entire life savings to any opponent who just walks up and throws
- Too often value flash over substance; hand rounds/matches to opponents because of stupid decisions
- Can correctly predict opponent action, pre-meditate a solid counter, and still get waxed or miss punishes for reasons I have yet to understand
- Sometimes complacent; tend to throttle back when overwhelming opponent
- Get "experimental" in situations where I should just stick to what works
- Sometimes, but rarely, feel defeated at the character select screen (inexplicably inept at fighting a rare few characters, even if I have the "advantage")

I guarantee you there are weaknesses I'm either forgetting, or that I haven't even noticed yet. DC, Kreatzion, and MartialBullet can help me positively identify those, though, no doubt.

Alright, up next, I submit my nominations for you all of YOU will main for the duration of the project, starting with Haterade. Oh yeah.

*evil laughter*

Note: King9999, I did read that you want in. Good stuff man. I'll put in a nomination once I know who your main is.

Count me in. I'll do my best!

Metamania

One of my non-GameSpot friends just told me he's down for this as well, so that brings our participation roster up to a whopping FIVE, lol. I think we can run with that, though. You guys ready to start discussing picks? If so, post a reply saying who your current main(s) is/are, along with a brief description of your playstyle (be sure to include perceived strengths and weaknesses). Just try to be careful not to influence anyone into picking/not picking a certain character for you. If you have a good reason why you should NOT have a certain character (for example, I am a natural with Blanka. I never use him, but maining him would take like ZERO effort - probably not an ideal choice for me in this project, but I'll take whatever you guys dish out.), then say so. But for the most part, just stick to the facts.

Once we've all posted up, we'll mull through the roster and try to figure out which players should get which characters. This will definitely be a consensus thing; not up to any one person. The only rule on this is simple: don't chime in on the discussion about who YOU are going to play! Just sit back and let it happen. Now, I've already got a pretty good idea who I'm going to choose for everyone so far, and I'll be happy to nominate once we kick this thing off, but by no means is my vote any more valid than anyone else's. I just ask that we kinda get it all sorted out by, say, this Friday, so we can get to work by the weekend.

Anyone else that wants to join in, just join in. It's just a casual, friendly project that, uh... I came up with on the fly one night while I'd been drinking, lol (and these suckers came along for the ride :P). But yeah, let's do this, eh?