🚀 go-pugleaf

Hi- I'm David... a new guy in this group, but a damned good Mortal Kombat 
player. I saw this thread and the lack of messages. Hmmm....


In a previous article, ps...@andrew.cmu.edu (Philip John Stroffolino) says:

>>how come we have so few msgs in this newsgroup?  i mean, there are usually
>>people playing MK when I go to an arcade.  SF2 is almost dead but
>>there are still a lot of msgs in alt.games.sf2.  could it be that MK
>>is so simple that we've found out all the tricks, combos in it?

The thing that makes groups go is not necessarily the subject, but the people
posting to the subject. Sure, one can argue which game is the most intricate,
or which group has the most die-hard fans. But regardless, if the MK folks 
are not posting, there are probably a few reasons why not. I believe the
reasons why this group is not alot lively are:

	(1) People don't know about this group (like I didn't)
	
	(2) MK fans are spread out ALL OVER the net. in the .sega group;
		and basically in all of the video game groups (you know 
		what they are...) I have seen MK discussed everywhere
		around here, at least in six different groups.

	(3) The people here look like they are not reading everyday
		(Judging by reply time between posts).

	(4) The posts here are quality posts. Alot of those high volume
		groups have many posts about BS. There simply are not 
		alot of stupid posts here.
 

>die hard fans out there.  SF2 also has a lot more subtleties than MK -
>by that I mean that many questions of the type, "what would happen if"
>or "what is the best thing too if" still seem open ended among players. 
>MK intercation is much cleaner and predictable, and most of the best
>combos/strategies have been more or less exhausted.  One of MK's
>strengths, character balance, is also a weakness when it comes to
>promoting discussion.


	The number of messages in this group is DEFINITELY not porportional
to how good MK is or the number of subtleties in the game or anything like
that. Please don't start putting down one of the best co-ops ever because
this newsgroup doesn't have many posters... or frequent posters.


>Are there any tricks/combos left to discover in MK?  I doubt it.  The
>devastation that is possible seems to be maximized in the FAQ.  Even the
>discovery of obscure bugs seem to have been exhausted...


	Puleeze, there are still many tricks to discover. I am one the
best MK players I know, yet I spent all summer at UC (University of Cincinnati) 
where the competition is very high. And everytime I lost, I learned 
something new. (Going back to the play to beat/ play to win discussion) 
When people did the Sonya leg grab thing (which was the only way to get 
me off of the machine frequently),I wasnt upset, in fact, after getting
whipped by that, I openly encouraged people to be cheap, so I could 
learn how to play againist it.

	One of my favorite combos is when Im Subzero, get someone to 
jump in front of you, freeze them in the air (at least a knees distance 
off of the ground). Then walk over to them, punch them (either lo or hi), 
and Quickly "jump kick" them, then slide under them. 3-PIECE!!! This works
on ANY MK no matter what the version. I have done it on MANY MKs including 
Genesis. 


>I mean, there is only so much that can be discussed about ping pong.  It
>is much more fun to play.

	Come on now!



	Getting back to the play to win/play to beat....

	I think I generally play "fair", this is "fair" being moves that
can generally be countered-- as opposed to moves such as Subzero's flip/
freeze/flip combo, or Sonya's leg grab, etc. Those moves are considered 
by many "cheap" because they can be virtually "uncounterable".

	Also, I regard "cheapness" as continuously repeating a move for
most of the match, or being extremely "defensive" during a match, forcing
the opponent to HAVE to take the offensive. 

	I think there should be a balence between offense and defense,
and generally a fair match (This coming from a guy who during my last mall
visit, I was beating this guy and talking to my boy. This guy apparently
was not used to losing and was getting quite frustrated. But in my
eyes, I was DEFINITELY a better player than he. Basically what happened was
he called me a few names, punched the front glass of the game, then 
threatened to beat me up and/or shoot me; all over my "hoe" playing....)

	But do you all ever notice how if you're playing againist someone,
and they lose -- it may have even been a close match -- and that person 
starts to get frustrated, (they don't realize this) their skills begin to
deminish, as they get angry and become more and more irrational. 
Interesting phenomenon to watch after continuously beating someone.


David E. Rives
de...@po.CWRU.edu
rapfan @ irc
case @ NSBEnet
Subzero @ MK   -- To see how good you are first...
Ken/Ryu @ SF   They're the most fun to play.



P.S.  Are there any female players in this newsgroup? I have never played 
againist a female who was a serious player, with REAL skills. And I have 
played alot in a few states...