Now that Street Fighter 6 has been in players’ hands for a few weeks now and the scent of the new game is starting to fade a bit, we’re starting to hear more about the issues people seem to be having with it.
The most common complaint we’ve noticed lately is that players are having problems getting the input they want in SF6 sometimes, but why is that?
Well, fortunately for the community, Loïc ‘WydD’ Betty I’ve already worked out the numbers and tested the input interactions to get a better look at what makes SF6 tick under the hood.
Two things that affect players’ input in this game are the move priority system and the input buffer system, both of which work a little differently than they do in Street Fighter 5.
The input buffer refers to the leniency provided by the game to determine the amount of time and input required to successfully pull off a move.
Quarter-circle movement attacks have a notorious 11 buffer in SF6 according to WydD, which means the player has an 11-frame window of pressing down and forward to have the game count them as a valid quarter-circle.
I’ve created a document that summarizes all the actions you’ve done in it @Street Fighter 6 Input and comparison system with SFV.
Lots of details to read, lots of small changes.
It may be subject to more modifications but there should be most of them.https://t.co/aU1yaHO6dF pic.twitter.com/R7ClGsg5v4
– Loïc *WydD *Petit (WydD) June 12, 2023
Pretty much across the board, Street Fighter 6 is framerates 1-3 tougher for input than Street Fighter 5 is, but there are a few notable exceptions.
Half-circle inputs saw the input buffer increased from 8 frames to 12 frames while full-circle/360 motions were increased from 25 to 32 frames.
This may not seem like a huge difference, but it does have an effect especially when the inputs start to overlap, which we’ll talk about shortly.
Fixed a few small things here and there. But the biggest change is: I’ve updated the HCB definition to accommodate the fact that 6314 is valid. pic.twitter.com/WE1B46TDVp
– Loïc *WydD *Petit (WydD) June 13, 2023
It also appears that the developers have removed several input shortcuts that took advantage of the controller’s no-arm triggers in SF5.
Capcom previously changed their rules regarding non-lever controllers which will be legal at official Capcom Pro Tour events going forward.
Instead of the generally accepted method of two opposing directions still resolving in entries (such as up + down = up), Capcom ruled that opposing directions should cancel each other out, which had a mixed reaction from the community.
The competitive scene in Street Fighter 5 itself has faced some controversy over the Gafrobox and other unrestricted controller devices like it being deemed illegal for official tournaments.
Another notable thing different about SF6 is the game’s priority resolution system, which sets certain actions to take priority over others if overlapped.
In stark contrast to SF5, the new game moved Overdrives and Super Arts to the top of the food chain while prioritizing OD over everything else.
This means if you do a double forward quarter circle and two punches with Ryu, you will get an OD Hadoken instead of a Level 1 Super Art.
It also explains why you may get occasional servers when you don’t intend to go out.
The developers also moved the semi-circle’s priority below the quarter-circle and Shoryuken’s moves, which on paper could mean that you could accidentally have a special quarter-circle over the semi-circle depending on your input/timing.
We’ve seen other complaints though too like Lily players who say they get a 360 command snatch when they say they’re going to a quarter circle.
Since 360 has a wider input buffer and higher priority than quarter circles, a player can score a 360 move if they make enough of the required inputs right before the quarter circle.
We can’t say for sure that these explain all of the weaknesses that players have, but these are the general rules that control how key SF6 mechanics work. If something breaks these rules, it’s very likely that there is a bug that we hope to address in the update.
There is also an interesting change in how the game handles its input polls.
Basically, instead of reading button inputs once per frame like Street Fighter 5, SF6 reads three times per frame.
In early testing, WydD found that entering three different directions within the same frame would result in the game as a seemingly random selection of one.
Since it’s still early days, more testing needs to be done to find out exactly how this affects players and the game.
There will always be an adjustment period and acclimatization issues when trying to start a new fighting game, so our best advice is to hit practice mode and do your own testing on what input you’re making and how it works.
If these perceived input issues are not what Capcom intends or produce problems for the game, we can expect developers to make modifications to the game’s systems and mechanics in the future.
You can find the full breakdown of information on how Street Fighter 6 handles its input and interpretation WydD site here.