I wrote this post at the Capcom-Unity threads hoping Sven or some other higher-up staff member will read it, as I believe the suggestions contained herein are relevant to the game. If you, Hadouken.TV forum member, agree with this,
please post your comment/support in said thread (http://www.capcom-unity.com/street_fighter/go/thread/view/7411/22155437?sdb=1&post_num=1#385132497) and spread the word.---
Everyone has heard and seen by now that we get to choose between two Ultras for SSFIV characters, instead of having both available at the same time. This is good because it prevents some overpower scenarios that would be caused by having both Ultras active (such as Zangief having a ground AND an air throw at the same time), but... it'll inevitably cause one of the Ultras do be regarded as "best, more effective" and the other to be forgotten in the eons of time. We've seen that happen with SF3's Super Arts. It'll happen again. So, I was thinking... there's one simple solution to avoid this from happening while keeping overpower scenarios in check AND adding another layer to the mind games.
We select our Ultras after selecting our characters. So, both players can see each other's Ultra selection (it might not be like this in online battles with double blind selection, but that's not the focus here). But what if that was not the case? What if you could select your Ultra nº 1 by holding the L1 button (or it's XBOX equivalent) and your Ultra nº2 by holding the R1 button while you select your character? Just remove the Ultra name from the versus screen and all's done. That way, even if one of the Ultras is regarded as "best", you'll be able to surprise your opponent by choosing the other, "inferior" one, when the opposite is the expected. This would be specially nice for characters with Counter Ultras, which would be more likely to surprise their opponents.
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Another thing I was thinking was the option to listen the character's themes in the fights. While Shiozawa said in the blog it'll be possible, it's not very clear how that will be made. It seems we have to predetermine it via main menu options, and it even seems like it'll only apply to online battles (leaving those who play more local games like me in the dust).
Guilty Gear is a game that got this right: for every match, when selecting the stage, you could set the music by Stage, by Character (player 1 or player 2), or even handpick a song to play during the match. I guess handpicking it would detract from the game's "personality" (as not having a specific song attached to a character and/or stage), so I'm wondering, couldn't we have the option to choose between Stage Music, Player 1 Music or Player 2 Music available in SSFIV? These options could be set on the Stage Select screen, and we would scroll them with L/R button presses.
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TL;DR VERSION: I suggest the choose the Ultras in a hidden way by holding a specific button for Ultra 1 or 2 (like L1 and R1 or equivalent), and that we get to choose the song to be played between Stage Music, Player 1 Music or Player 2 Music in the Stage Select Screen, scrolling these options with L1/R1 buttons.I'd also like to ask a question: will the awesome layout of the SFIV's Command List return to SSFIV? All we've seen so far is a bland list with the attacks broken down in sections (Specials, Supers, Ultras). It'd be great if they returned, because they looked very nice and arcade-y, giving a nice vibe to the game.
Those are my two cents. Here's hoping they're worth something.
~Bruno de Castro "Holygriever" Barbosa
