Coming soon - Guard Crush system

I'm currently planning to add a fully functional guard crush system to NGBC2. The mechanic has already been tested, using Terry as the test character and Amakusa as the test opponent.
The system is point-based, with each character starting out with the same amount of points (160 currently). When blocking, a character loses 1 point for every frame of blockstun they're in. So for example, an attack that inflicts 10 frames of guardstun will take 10 points off the defending character's guard crush points. 15-20 frames of blockstun means you lose 15-20 guard points, and so on. When a character loses all their guard points, they'll get 'guard crushed' which stuns them for a few seconds, leaving them wide open to enemy attack. It is possible to suffer a guard crush both on the ground (stand/crouch block) as well as in the air (airblocking)
So far all the functions are working perfectly, and I will soon get to patching the guard crush coding to all the other characters.

Finally, some more updates (yay!)

-Setsuna can no longer cancel from his standing forward+heavy punch into Anonymity #1 (QCF+P), Anonymity #2 (DP+P), Anonymity #3 (QCB+P), and Anonymity Severance (QCF x 2+P). But on the flip side, Anonymity #1, 2, & Severance can each negate one projectile hit, and *only* one hit. Against a multihit projectile, it will just negate one of the hits.

-Amakusa's QCF+LP/LK/HP projectile is a four-hit move, but it will now be destroyed automatically when it clashes with another projectile. (think Akuma's 3-hit red hadouken in Third Strike). The priority on his midair QCF+LP/LK/HP is greatly lowered, making it harder for players to spam. Still a useful combo setup tool, but it's more risky now.
Also, Amakusa now has a guard cancel knockback move - push HP+HK while blocking, takes one stock of meter to use.

Practical Problems

Look buddy, I'm an Engineer. That means I solve practical problems. Ahem. That was an entry-line joke. Anyways.
Further news has revealed that the Programmer (Renegade) has in fact coded projectiles to clash as opposed to them running through each other. That aside, further loke-testing will be conducted at Anime Expo and reviews will be required after each person's play. I will provide links and other pages necessary to contact and update others who are interested in this project. I have informed the facebook representative of AKSYS Games and am looking forward to their review of this M.U.G.E.N.
~Lead Blogger,
Chokumen The Decade
P.S.: Another programmer has been added. Both have been informed that if they do not get in gear, there are consequences.

Yet more updates

-Shigen's anti-air command grab now has faster startup but weaker damage
-Shigen's ultimate command grab (HCBx2+HP) is now a level-3 super. It is no longer cancellable from any move, but it now deals MUCH greater damage, and also has autoblock on startup.
-the damage on Hikaru's supers have been increased somewhat so as to balance out her overall weak attack power.
-Yuki's overall attack power was originally a bit too high, and it has thus already been decreased to a fair level.

Updates

From now on, our programmer (AKA: Renegade) will post major updates. I am quite pleased with how he has done his job so far. And I am hoping he will continue the efforts.
~Chokumen the Decade
Note: Please do not forget to spread the word. This blog must obtain visitors outside of the group to get more clout. More clout means more testers. More testers means better chances of catching any type of method to break the game. And when we do, that method to break the game will be corrected, thus balance increased. Good luck and godspeed, gentlemen.

Testing out new stuff/characters

-finally tested out the NGBC version of Akari. From what I can see, all of her moves are coded in but they're also coded rather poorly. She will have to undergo much refinement before she is deemed fully playable.

-using an updated version of Iori. He now has his 'One-For-The-Road-Blast' (aka Eight Wine Cups) projectile super move. It does greater damage than usual, but in exchange it does not chip away life like it used to.

-tested out an updated version of Rai. He seems to be nearly identical to his original Waku Waku 7 version. I'll have to replace his Waku Waku-style ground recovery system with MUGEN's default one, however Rai will still maintain his wakeup rolls and his wakeup attack. His aerial projectiles will also be removed.

-I have also tested out an updated Cyber Woo as well as NGBC versions of Mr. Big and Jin Chonshu. So far they appear to be pretty well-coded, and I will be putting them into the game soon.

-Sonia Romanenko is nearly identical to her original Rage of the Dragons version. For NGBC2, she will be edited into a more technical character.

-the version of Rugal that I have is the CVS2 version, but without the groove system. Rugal will be reworked into a counter character, and his moves will be fixed so that they are less spammable.

-Shigen has undergone a few changes as well:
*all of his normals have no vertical pushback on both airhit and airblock - this prevents the abuse of his airgrab after a landed/blocked normal in midair
*his light punch claw swipe no longer knocks down in midair, but floats the opponent instead - this allows for mindgames just after the opponent lands
*his weak command grab his decent range but weaker damage, while his strong command grab has almost no range but higher damage
*his chain grab is now an EX move - it now takes 1/2 a stock to use, so as to balance the fact that it deals much greater damage than his other command grabs

Anime Los Angeles beta-test report

An NGBC2 beta-test was held on the second day of Anime Los Angeles, and it actually went really well. We set up a laptop with some super-loud speakers, and two PS2 controllers connected through USB adaptors.
The players' feedback was almost all positive, with only a few minor gripes here and there. I also found several exploits that I am currently in the process of correcting:


-Mai's airthrow causes a freeze glitch in Hibiki (I have already removed Mai's airthrow - she already has a couple of useful aerial moves (down + light kick/down + heavy kick) that she can use at any point while she's in the air, so she never really needed her airthrow anyway)

-Athena's air command grab, when used on Mai, causes her to immediately land on the ground while Mai is in the 'getting thrown' animation (I have already corrected this one too - I just raised Athena's sprite positioning by 10 pixels while she's in the 'throwing the opponent' animation)

-according to the beta-testers, Slash's normals (especially his light normals) don't have enough recovery time

-Rolf's light/medium normals need more recovery time, as he can pressure with them far too easily due to his high mobility

-a lot of the beta-testers were suggesting that the health percentage be lowered, due to battles (even the really well-fought ones) dragging out for too long