thoughts and prayers - GGStrive

These opinions are my own.

Good:
- character models and animations
	- fantastic, everyone looks great
	- I love the hair physics everyone has(which seem pre-animated rather than the ugly SFV dynamic physics engine hair)

- stellar netcode
	- felt better than AC+R for me
	- was able to play USA and all of Europe with no problems

- I like the character select screen
	- having character difficulty next to char is a great addition, especially for introducing the game to new players(im sorry for anyone i had to introduce to xrd and they pick venom thinking "oh i just shoot balls?")
	- sick colors(Except ice cream zato... hurts my eyes)
	- great that it works in the lobby, without the lame DBFZ menu selection

- universal wakeup timings and soft kd
	- if rev3 was out and it had this, no one would have any excuse besides YRC to not play
	- soft KDs make the game flow a bit better than older GGs, better pace/back and forth
	- setups still exist too off certain moves(with built in safejumps at times), good mix of both systems

- Nago is a great newcomer and fits really well with the rest of the cast
	- wish there was less slayer in him, but he's very cool
	- recycled sin gimmick but in a very interesting way
	- fun to play outside of weird design decisions(f.s and his super jump being super slow...)

- Floor system for ranked is very novel and cool imo

- Axl time stop is one of the coolest implementations of time stop ive seen in a video game

- 5[D] is a great addition, despite being easily burstable in most situations(succesful bait is still worse than having your burst baited on the ground, due to neutral reset) and also very buggy.

Nitpicks:
- Lobby system is what it is
	- needs button settings on pause screen
	- iron out some of the bugs(character selected turning into sol and breaking the conn, lobby avatars teleporting like its dbz)
	- warmed up to it over time
	- should be fine in the final game if you can do private rooms(if there isn't, this is the worst possible decision)

- Ky's fireball is yellow?
	- the blue + red guy has a yellow fireball???
	- it used to be blue + red before????????
	- is he secretly romanian? is that why he can dragon install?????
	- I understand it's likely for readability, but it's very jarring to me and inconsistent with the char's old iterations

- Giovanna's dog doesn't have enough agency, feels like an extension rather than separate entity
	- 2d and j.236236h isn't enough imo, sorry
	- needs white colour for DOG(not giovanna)

- new intros are pretty lame
	- mostly ok, but the whole back and forth between chars isn't interesting and takes too long to see
	- xrd has better intros(due to less stage loading to do), but not as representative of character relations as +R or BB
	- worst of both worlds basically, which is a shame
	- not bad per say, only something i noticed
	- hope IKs are back to see more of characters interacting

- weak implementation of Xrds character reactions
	- they brought back the Xrd reactions to HPB and Faust super, but not as good IMO
	- the chair isn't particularly interesting; reacting to pain is p normal and unsurprising(save for raven) compared to faust poking ppl in the ass and them having an over the top reaction to it
	- HPB has the same problem it had in Xrd, where it's not really noticeable. I do know Xrd has unique voice lines the grabbed character spouts out(and a better angle on the char's face), and those are gone here(or not particularly audible/visible) which is overall a downgrade in my eyes

- some cinematic supers look weird
	- mainly due to black bars, and obscuring the UI; makes "is it gonna kill?" moments awkward
	- not having them during non-cinematic supers is weird
	- some are not as pretty/vibrant as Xrd ones(see May and Axl as prominent examples) and some are just weird and confusing(Zato, Faust)

- corner system is unintuitive
	- needs better visual indication of corner HP, rather than player having to deduce mid fight
	- Wall break forces you into a certain playstyle due to positive bonus giving you extra meter gain and damage
	- disadvantageous to consider not breaking the wall
	- will ultimately break it anyway
	- less choice overall(corner crossups, different pressure from midscreen less prevalent, intuitive reward swapped for artificial reward)
	- changing screens results in less posibilities for character gimmicks(ram swords, venom balls, etc)
	- also introduces new bugs to the series!

Bad:
- UI bad
	- :)
	- they didnt give two cents about the CBT feedback and it's telling that it's all still here(save for moving burst icon)
	- no indication of stagger is very bad
	- tension bar is confusing to new players - should be colour coded based on 0/50/100 thresholds(y'know like xrd? +R?)
	- Positive, Danger and NegPen messages are bizarrely large and not really pertinent information for spectators. shouldn't be this big(don't want x to ask wtf is that message and what does it mean, mid set - detracts from the action), risc however should be way bigger and maybe burst icon too
	- COUNTER
	- 69 HITS

- readability is v bad in general, particular due to BG/character contrast, extreme lighting on some stages and counterhit camera being motion sick inducing for some(only annoying for me)

- why is escapeable stagger back???????????
	- just make it a crumple like SF4 and leave the player alone, I for one have broken enough sticks as is
	- bad for beginners, coupled with no UI indication outside of the post stagger hit letting you know
	- not a lot of staggers outside of CH, but will affect the game's future DLC characters in some way. it will become a real problem if you don't consider it already to be one.

- very buggy in-game
	- i've seen too many bugs
	- eg. out of bounds glitches, returning flashbang, local versus audio desyncs on some stages, characters dissappearing, upside down UI, infinites
	- quite concerning, since only 1 month until game goes gold and bugs will be prioritized before any balancing changes which is a shame

- clunky menu system
	- switching from Floors to Parks takes a good 2 seconds before your input is detected(prolly due to server communication, which is abysmally slow)
	- no big ass "Play Now" button still. less is more, honestly.
	- booting players in training mode matchmaking back to the main menu on match denied is stupid

- change for change's sake(and the resulting questionable game design):
This is a big one, so I'll go in more detail. A lot of strive's design decisions strike me as a desire to separate itself from the X series, which is entirely fine.
However, rather than pursuing it's own entirely new direction(ala sf3, with a new roster to signify this), they've decided to take the original GG formula and change some of the rules.
But without adding any new significant mechanics(like Parry, meter building button whiffs, supers select etc.), in my opinion, each change seems to have resulted into a cascade of design decisions which eventually work against the solid core of GG.

Example A: Removal of proximity throw
Prox throw is a bit of a dark art and it's understandable to have removed it for new players. But the removal of proximity throw introduces new problems:
	- running throw no longer requires a pause, making it a much stronger option overall; which in turn makes command grabs less preferable(in turn they buff their overall damage to make them preferable again - see Example D) and also forces removal of pressure-centric gameplans(see Ky)
	- the addition of whiff animation with a CH state and also landing recovery makes air throw an unappealing anti-air option. good luck trying to throw megafist, cus if you mess up you're more likely to die for it now
	- placement of the input results in j.D's being less appealing in neutral. usually they're very situational anyway, but now not being able to do j.4D to OS a block reduces them to "gatling only" use. Ironic when 5d and 2d don't have this issue, since you're rarely raw dusting
	- one good thing is airborne throw OS is gone, making burst stronger overall(a problem that GG has always had), tho the loss of the grounded version is regrettable as it added a lot of nuance and threat to character pressure(sol 6kh, ky 6c.sh)

Example B: Airblocking grounded normals for free
Run up throw being so strong results in a need to jump more and to avoid getting caught midair as a newer player, they've added normal block for all grounded normals.
	- this results in antiairs being less effective overall. pre-emptively antiairing a j.4S will have your opponent blocking the move, which forces you to look for riskier late timed AAs(Axl suffers especially from this, coupled with removed 6k,2s, 6k jc and 2s jc)
	- being airborne feels less committal compared to previous games, while being on the receiving end puts you into an unfavorable position(quite a lot of my experience online has been dealing with ram jumping at me with j.SH and overall players jumping like crazy).
	- 6p into c.s would be a good answer for this as it increases risk gauges, but:

Example C: Removal of gatlings
Gatlings getting toned down was definitely a huge change. I think the main objective was to make players less likely to get caught in pressure loops and hard to escape stagger situations(Xrd Sol f.s,2s, ky c.s, 6h, etc)
The final result is the following: the game is less complex, yet more difficult.
	- gatlings removed simultaneously reduce complexity and makes it harder for the player to do what they want
		- having less strings is both beneficial to new players(no more advanced pressure strings to deal with for example), but also detrimental as it's harder to just string buttons and "do stuff"
		- less time to hitconfirm if you're new
		- less combo variety overall and less ways to get damage(f.s 5h is an optimal punish at most ranges for most chars and you have little reason to go for anything else outside of extending with RC)
	- chars have a harder time to anti air 6p and apply risc or convert into a combo(coupled with airblocking change, feels v bad to fight May or Ram jumping at people)
	- reduced posibility space in the end, which is a common thing with strive's design(see forced wallbreak mechanic, and lack of 25 meter options)
	- reduced gatlings make P normals feel mostly useless outside of niche situations or characters, especially when some characters have great 2k/5k's instead(Sol, Millia, Nago). They're not even + to my knowledge

Example D: Damage amplification
With shorter gatling routes to go on the ground, damage has been amplified overall, but not uniformally. This does double duty too - more explosive damage, means more spectator appeal, more potential for blowups and funny twitter videos of chipp dying(despite that always being a thing in previous titles). Why not do it?
	- f.s which used to be a key poking tool is more buff than ever. rather than rewarding players for taking a risk and approaching a range where they can get an air combo for launching via example string c.s 6p 5h(Xrd sol, ino)
	- f.s 5h special does a lot of the same work, with c.s only offering an extra button to tack on damage, making the risk reward less significant(I for example, had v little incentive to ever not go for Axl f.s 2h as my go to poke/punish outside of jumps being much faster than recovery of f.s)
	- approaching a close range does not feel as rewarding as it should be is my ultimate point; poking from a distance is safer and leads to similar damage, tho it doesnt offer mixup
	- the fact not everyone can go for sick air combos like sol and millia further solidifies this problem - you need to do damage, it's gonna have to be grounded, so you'll likely hit f.s 5h in your route at some point.

- other weird design choices
	- Throwable DPs, non-throwable burst - why? esp when burst throw OS is gone... but you can OS your safejump into a throw to beat DP RC?
	- Nagoriyuki slow f.s, slow jump - they made his jump slow to force him more grounded as a poking character, but then they gave him slow grounded pokes(f.s 5h 2h) which are risky vs GG jump options...
	- Sol f.s...
	- Gold Burst becoming punishable - wakeup GB; a diffcult, nuanced option is less appealing now(tho it is understandable for consistency)
	- speaking of consistency, hitting Chipp Gamma blade hurts Chipp, but hitting Nagoriyuki's Gamma blade doesn't hurt him?
	- all characters appeal to Strive style, except Potemkin who looks like a cartoon with heavy black outline and cartoony face and pose. this was the time to give him his jeans back and not double down on the Panzerfaust design
	- Chipp losing teleports, but gaining very little is quite sad. No longer justifies his low HP. Can't have glass cannon without the cannon. May has a similar problem, but she benefits from the new system more
	- ADs having a pause, meant to make Airdashes more reactable but ironically makes them harder to anti air
	- Jumping is very strong, especially paired with a ridiculous air normals like Ky j.H, Ram j.S/H and May j.S/H. Very frustrating to deal with rejumpers due to this - you'll block a mispaced jump-in, whiff throw and get jumped at again
	- Pot heat knuckle being blockable, results in HK being lower reward vs DP characters(and probably in general, but I haven't labbed it), and air throw being the guaranteed damage hard callout option, which seems unintuitive as HK already carries risk. hard to really justify this changing, just seems to have been done because why not
	- blockable slidehead? safe hammerfall? just wild, if only you could realistically IB HF
	- Axl's new move Snail is too good due to the angle/area it covers, especially now that rensen has been nerfed completely, with a TERRIBLE up follow up and slow startup. Rainwater's also seemingly useless outside of beating mash after any Axl blockstring(which is what rensen did before anyway).
	- DPs being + on air block is so bizarre and unbelieveable I almost forgot to include it here. Why not give everyone one if you're going to buff jumps to hell and back?
	- nerf to IB window is not fun, less likely to see it used, especially with shorter strings - forced to use reactively, randomly and ineffectively due to the smaller window. Minor EDIT: to sollidify this point, new IB is more like a red parry, but with less reward and no screen stop to inform your succesful IB. hence my previous point - it's harder and less useful overall
	- questionable balance in general(see Pot, Ram, Sol, but also Chipp)
	- gravity based combo system with no air tech is just terrible and not thought out at all.
	- the vocal tracks really should have instrumental versions in-game; Giovanna theme makes my skin crawl

Conclusion:

- I like guilty gear a lot and my main problem with strive is not that it's straying too far from what I consider GG.
Xrd made some concessions, but a lot of legacy stuff was still there. I can say after being introduced with the series in +R, that Xrd felt very similar being intentionally difficult yet consistently rewarding.
Strive is a good point to branch off into something fresh.

What's actually happening though is this - they want to branch off, but not too much. They wanna appeal to new people, but also appeal to old fans.
Just looking at the roster is SIGN enough; they werent confident in creating something new.
They should have made something completely different, with a different amount of buttons, no burst, new mechanics, something crazy.
A lot of legacy mechanics don't belong in Strive and that's clear as they wiggle their way trying to fix one and breaking another in the process.
It's wishy-washy, boiler plate, risk-averse, uninspired at times, questionable at others, beautiful visually, ugly mechanically, great online, horrible in lobby, designed by a comittee to sell more and not by some big weirdos with an idea or a vision.
The least rock n roll thing you can do is to sell out and Strive is doing just that.

I don't envy the position these devs were put in, having to hire more people and produce a bigger/better product while satisfying everyone, but also pursuing the direction you want, it's nearly impossible.

I did like the game and I had fun playing it, but the amount of problems are too much for me to stomach and support, especially for something I'd like to play for thousands of hours.
I will cautiously await for them to change direction in gameplay and maybe try I-No, but this is not a game I'd like to play long term right now, unless some key gameplay decisions make it more interesting.

If you actually read this, go play ULTRAKILL. I'd recommend Xrd, but the PC stability is laughable.