Virtual-On Oratorio Tangram/Controls: Difference between revisions
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==Projectile | ==Projectile Attacks== | ||
Projectile combat is the bread and butter of Virtual-On. Characters have a ton of attacks to choose from for different purposes. | Projectile combat is the bread and butter of Virtual-On. Characters have a ton of attacks to choose from for different purposes. | ||
Revision as of 18:28, 3 September 2020
See Notation / Player inputs if you're uncertain about how controls are written here.
Control Layouts
Gamepad control layouts
Layout A: Rotation on right stick - Default button mapping
This is the default pad control layout. You can map another turbo button to R3 to turbo rotate easily. However, rotation on right stick is not ideal. For some advanced techniques you want constant access to rotation while having access to everything else. As L1 and R1 are unmapped it’s recommended to map something on them, like turbo buttons or macros.
D-Pad / Left Stick |
Directional movement |
Layout B: Rotation on L1/R1 - Recommended layout (variation on default)
Default layout but the shoulder buttons are mapped to left & right rotation. One of the ideal mappings as all actions are available without switching finger positions. Map L3 or Back/Share button to Left Turbo to enable Both Turbo inputs (only used with one character).
D-Pad / Left Stick |
Directional movement |
Layout B2: Rotation on L2/R2 - ‘Armored Core’ style
Same as above but swap Rotation and Weapon mappings. Possible improvement by having weapon inputs on buttons instead of triggers (more sensitive).
Option C: Turbo on L1/R1, Rotation on Right Stick and/or Square & Circle
More easy to push both turbo buttons at the same time if needed. Closer to Twinstick setting. For Specineff specific advanced techniques if layout B isn’t working for you.
Twin-Stick control layout
The default layout from arcades. No room to switch around when using a Twin-Stick apart from swapping Turbo and Weapon buttons. In console ports of the game the twinstick control layout can used on a gamepad with stick movement corresponding to the left and right analog sticks. But it’s difficult to use the analog sticks similar to the original 8-way arcade control, so most players stick to the pad configuration.
Movement Control
Movement is the most central part of the game and its core mechanics are universal to all characters.
Note: All movement speed on the horizontal plane is slowed down the closer you are to your opponent.
Basic/VO-OM movement options
Core movement options that were present since the first Virtual-On game, Operation Moongate.
Walking
Input-Pad: |
In a neutral state on the ground, move the d-pad or left stick in wanted direction. |
Your character will walk around in 8 available directions. Walking is a truly ‘neutral’ state, in that you can perform any action out of it.
Ground Dash
Input: press a Turbo Button while holding a walking input in any direction.
Your character will start a dash in the given direction, moving faster than walking. Dash directions have differing speeds and have different accompanying dash attacks.
Generally forward dashes move the fastest while backwards directions are slow.
- Dashes can be directly cancelled into a Jump, this is a common technique.
- Pressing a Turbo Button during a dash will cause a dash cancel, ending the dash. Dash cancels have a short recovery formed by a sliding animation which can only be cancelled into a Jump.
Jump
Input-Pad: |
Jump button. Hold to increase height. |
Character goes airborne and rapidly gains height. Holding the input will increase jump height.
- During the rising part of a jump your camera will automatically turn to face the opponent.
- All ground movement options can be cancelled into a jump.
Jump Cancel
During the rising part of a jump..
Input-Pad: |
Crouch button. |
Your character quickly falls back down to the ground. If performed quickly camera also rapidly rotates to face the opponent.
- Can be performed immediately after starting a jump: this is the usual way to re-target your opponent in Virtual-On.
- If Jump into Jump Cancel is performed quickly the sequence is so fast that you never see your character leave the ground.
- Generally during a dash, performing a jump cancel is a faster way to go back into a neutral state than a Dash cancel.
Guard
While in Close Combat range (Double Lock)..
Input-Pad: |
Hold crouch button while in melee range, or held during landing. |
Character guards while stationary, preventing them from hitting. Guard is readied instantly and has no recovery. Guarding ends upon release of crouch input or performing some other action.
- If crouch is held while falling from a jump you will immediately guard on touching the ground.
- The requirements of a hold input can be avoided by performing a quick jump cancel or quickstep.
VO-OT movement options
Movement options introduced in the second Virtual-On game, Oratorio Tangram. Central to the flow of the game but clearly built upon the previous set.
Vertical Turn / Watari Dash
During a Ground Dash or Air Dash..
Input-Pad: |
Release directional input to neutral, then move in a new direction. |
Your current dash direction will change to the given direction.
- Allows you to perform attacks matching a different dash direction direction at will, regardless of how you were initially moving. For example you can be dashing to the side, then suddenly switch directions and perform an aggressive frontal attack.
- Gives you the ability to move in more complicated patterns without stopping the dash.
Switches between certain directions are not allowed, for example forward (8) to back (2). In these cases quickly input an intermediary direction like horizontal (6/4) before moving to the final one.
Air Dash
Input: press a Turbo Button while holding a direction during the rising part of a jump.
Begins a dash similar to the ground dash at your current height in the air.
- Accompanied by a set of air dash attacks that vary based on the direction.
- Vertical Turn / Watari Dash is still available.
- You can cancel the air dash by pushing a Turbo button again for an air dash cancel. Performing an air dash cancel puts you into a falling state. This is the only way to cancel an air dash and commonly used for aerial mobility.
Fast fall & Delayed fall
When in the air in a falling state..
Input-Pad: |
Input Crouch button for fast fall. Hold Jump button to delay your fall. |
Fast fall will make you fall to the ground quickly. It will continue until you release the input. Almost always used as it will both make you harder to hit during the fall.
Delayed fall has a maximum hold duration. You can still keep performing it repeatedly until you hit the ground. Delayed fall can used to mix up landing timing. If the opponent misjudges the situation they might miss their attack and give you an opening.
Don’t get predictable using delayed fall as you can be hit with more attacks than normal.
You can stop these actions at any point and mix between the two.
Quick Step
Close Combat range only (Double Lock).
Input: Release a Turbo button and immediately input a movement direction.
A special movement option available in close range. You can quickstep in 8 directions. Your character will perform a large step motion relative to your opponent (rather than the camera).
Left and right quicksteps make you rotate around your target.
- Can be cancelled into any other movement actions or Guard.
- A movement method that simultaneously evades and keeps track of your target.
- In some situations can be performed with the same input as a dash (easier): on landing
Double Jump
During the rising part of a jump..
Input-Pad: |
Jump button. Hold to increase height. |
The same rules apply as to a normal jump.
- To gain maximum overall height, hold the first jump input until the last moment and do the same with your double jump.
- In contrast the speed of jumps decelerates as you hold the input. So to gain a burst of height as quickly as possible, double tap jump.
Rotation control
The Virtual-On series has controls for turning your mech to the left and right on the horizontal plane. Some control over rotation is almost always accessible.
Rotating via manual control is used to maintain vision & lock-on on your opponent, aim attacks or fine-tune your movement.
Standard rotation
Available while Stationary, Walking, Dashing or Airborne.
Input-Pad: |
Default: Move Right stick to the left or right. Custom: Rotate Left & Rotate Right buttons. |
Rotate to the left or right.
Turbo rotation
Available while Stationary, Airborne or performing a rotatable Special Attack. Input: Left or Right Rotation while holding a Turbo button
Rotate with increased speed.
- While in neutral or in the air, rotation speed slows down when the reticle is close to your opponent. During dash rotation the position of the opponent has no effect.
- Rotating during a ground dash changes your facing without affecting the current dash. Dash direction changes using Vertical Turn will match the current screen rotation.
- Rotating during an air dash changes your movement direction and makes it curve.
Projectile Attacks
Projectile combat is the bread and butter of Virtual-On. Characters have a ton of attacks to choose from for different purposes.
- Left and Right Turbo attacks and crouching dash attacks were added in VOOT.
- Keep in mind that attack variants corresponding to each weapon can be entirely different types of attacks.
Weapon gauges & reloading
There are three weapon gauges. They represent your ammunition / energy reserve and constantly refill. They are visible on the middle of the screen on top of the player character while firing and reloading.
- From left to right the gauges correspond to Left Weapon (LW), Center Weapon (CW) and Right Weapon (RW).
- Projectile attacks require a certain amount of gauge to fire and consume a certain amount on being used (these are often not the same).
- Weapon gauges refill quite quickly. If you are using all three weapon groups you can often keep attacking without any breaks.
Neutral projectile attacks
Standing & walking attacks
Standing attack input: Weapon
Walking attack input: Movement direction + Weapon
Fire a basic projectile attack. Walking attacks fire the same projectile but recovery and cancel ability can differ.
Crouching attacks
Input-Pad: Crouch + Weapon
Input-TS: 6-2 + Weapon
Fire a projectile attack from a crouching state. Crouching projectiles usually have higher ‘projectile priority’ and can aim higher to the air.
Sliding attacks (crouch attacks while moving)
Input-Pad: Walk -> Crouch (hold) -> Weapon
Input-TS: Walk -> Crouch (hold) -> Weapon
TS example: 6-6 -> 6-4 (hold) (this maintains the walk) -> Weapon
Sliding attacks fire the same projectile as crouching.
- Walking and sliding attacks lose cancel-ability of neutral attacks. You are forced to wait through recovery animations.
Left Turbo attacks
While in a standing state..
Input: (crouch+) Left Turbo + Weapon
Left turbo projectiles can be fired in melee range.
Often one of the following:
- A weaker but faster, more cancellable attack
- Some kind of utility move
- V-Armor stripping move
Right Turbo attacks
While in a standing state..
Input: (crouch+) Right Turbo + Weapon
Powerful attacks, dealing more damage and consuming more gauge. These also tend to have both slower startup and a long recovery animation. Right Turbo attacks are generally not cancellable into anything else.
Dash attacks
One of the defining mechanics of Virtual-On. Perform a unique attack matching your current dash direction.
Ground dash attack
Performs a different attack depending on dash direction.
Input: LW, RW or CW during a ground dash
Crouching ground dash attack
Attack depends on dash direction.
Input: crouch + LW, RW or CW during a ground dash
Air dash attack
Attack depends on dash direction.
Input: LW, RW or CW during an air dash
Dash attacks are not cancellable. Your movement direction gets locked from input to the end of the attacks recovery.
This locked movement and recovery is a moment of weakness where you can be punished.
Forward and forwards diagonal dash attacks are usually of an aggressive, fast type with high damage. Other directions have more unique properties.
Backwards and backwards diagonal directions are rarely used but there are strong exceptions.
VOOT added crouching and air dash attacks, tripling the amount of available dash attacks. Since you can switch dash directions repeatedly with Watari Dash / Vertical Turn you can access any of these 8 directional attacks at will by switching directions right before firing.
In the initial phase after inputting the attack your VR will turn to face the target. Dash attacks will have a tiny amount less startup if your final dash direction was rotated towards your target. This can usually be ignored.
Jumping projectile attacks
Jumping attacks
Input a weapon at any point during the rise of a jump.
The attack will come out at the apex of your current jump. You can move and rotate during the whole jump and attack animation. If you change your mind and dont wan’t to use the attack it can be cancelled by performing a jump cancel. You cannot air dash while a jumping attack is buffered.
Jumping turbo attacks
Input turbo + weapon at any point during the rise of a jump.
These follow the same rules as normal jumping attacks. Unlike grounded turbo attacks, jumping turbo attacks can be performed while moving and rotating at the same time. The air dash input looks to be in the way: to get around it first input a normal jumping attack, then a turbo attack. The latest input will take priority. For example holding movement direction the whole time -> jump -> RW (buffer) -> RTLW = jumping RTLW comes out while constantly moving.
Half-cancellation of Center Weapon attacks
A variety of Center Weapon attacks can be ‘half-cancelled’. This means only firing ‘half’ of the attack, matching to the left or right side.
Input: Begin Center Weapon input (LW+RW), then keep holding either LW or RW while releasing the other quickly. Timing is attack specific.
A simple example is half-cancelling Raidens CW laser. You can choose to fire only the left or right laser to consume less CW gauge.
- Usual benefit of half-cancel: reduced gauge consumption
- Usual cost of half-cancel: smaller hit area, less potential damage
Note: more info on half-cancels in Advanced Techniques / Half Cancels
Neutral attack cancel routes
Neutral attacks can often be interrupted/‘cancelled’ into another action, like walking, jumping, dashing or a different attack.
Walking and sliding attacks lose any movement cancel ability and may only be chained into another attack. This is why you see many moves used only when stationary.
The cancel can apply to the end of attack recovery or a larger part of the animation. Cancel routes are entirely attack and character dependant.
Possible cancels to look out for:
- Cancel into another attack (may reduce gauge consumption)
- Walk cancel
- Jump cancel
- Dash cancel
- Rotation cancel
- Generally speaking right turbo attacks are not cancellable, while left turbo attacks are more cancellable than normal.
- For crouching attacks, if walk or rotation cancels exist they usually take place around the end of the recovery animation.
- Most crouching left turbo attacks are jump cancellable at any point of the animation. This has some special use for mobility and armor or as a cancel route from another weapon. They may also have increased dash cancel ability.
Melee Attacks
Melee attacks are done with the same inputs as projectile attacks. When close enough to an opponent your weapon gauges turn yellow. The yellow gauge signifies that the weapon is in melee range and will now perform a melee move.
This is with the exception of Left Turbo attacks which will always fire a projectile.
Melee attacks do not require weapon gauge. Melee ranges are character dependant and vary between weapons.
Normal melee
Input: LW/RW/CW while weapon gauge is yellow
Performs a melee attack for high damage. First moving towards the target, then swinging your weapon. Normal melee can be comboed into other attacks for increased damage.
- Normal melee can be cancelled into any movement option or guard at any point.
- Normal melee can be cancelled into crouching melee until active frames.
RW and LW melee often have a 2-3 part attack string by inputting the weapon multiple times. These strings are quite slow and don’t deal the highest combo damage, making them rarely used.
Crouching melee
Input: Crouch + LW/RW/CW while weapon gauge is yellow
- Crouching melee can be cancelled into standing melee, quickstep or dash until the move becomes active / hitbox can connect with opponent..
- Crouching melee cannot be guarded, it deals full damage to guarding opponents.
- Crouching melee is completely uncancellable as it is active and recovering. This is the risk involved with using this move.
Turbo melee
Input: RT + LW/RW/CW while weapon gauge is yellow
- Turbo melee can be cancelled into any movement options before active frames. Turbo melee can be cancelled into Guard at any point.
- Usually a more powerful melee attack that causes immediate knockdown instead of continuing into a combo. Turbo melee cannot be cancelled directly into other melee attacks.
- When blocked, turbo melee causes slight damage and forces knockdown.
Guard Reversal melee
Input: LW or RW during Guard - or shortly after releasing Guard
VR performs a quick melee attack without moving from current position.
- Guard Reversal melee cannot be cancelled.
A melee attack that can be manually spaced. Usually faster total startup than normal melee. These properties make Guard Reversal a strong option.
Normal melee often moves unnecessarily close to the target before actually starting the attack. With guard reversals you can space your attack to hit at maximum range. This is effective with VR that use long melee weapons such as Fei-Yen and Cypher.
Attack differs depending on weapon. Like with crouch melee, lack of cancel ability is the risk involved. Keep in mind that jump cancelling / fast falling immediately puts you into a guarding state.
Quickstep melee
Input LW,RW or CW immediately after performing a sideways (4/6) Quickstep.
Performs a melee attack while rotating around the opponent. Startup is somewhat slow and can be interrupted. You can cancel it anytime by dashing, jumping, or guarding.
Since you rotate around the opponent it can often hit from behind and go around the opponents guard. Good at catching opponents jump cancels as the attack is delayed but mobile.
Sometimes comboable into as an unblockable.
Jump melee
While opponent is in range on horizontal plane (yellow gauges not required)
Jump input + LW/CW/RW
Auto targeting melee move starting from the air and falling down. Completely uncancellable, can be punished on guard or whiff. High damage but rarely used apart from hard reads or combos. Usually it hits someone perfoming a grounded attack, the jump part making them miss. Weapon type changes attack for some VR (Raiden)
Dash melee
Down / 2-2 OR Rotate + LW/RW/CW during a ground dash (forward or diagonal forward)
Perform a meleattack while continuing on your current dash direction. Can be performed anywhere during ground dash. Fully manual control of the swing, no auto targeting. You can rotate during the whole animation to control hitbox further. Like a ground dash projectile you are stuck in an animation until the recovery ends.
note: dash melee is extremely difficult to use but is efficient in some scenarios at high level. Also used as a combo tool.
On the ground (OTG) melee
Condition: Opponent is in knocked down state.
Input: RW (LW for fei-yen) when weapon gauge turns green while in melee range.
Causes high damage on grounded opponent. However this attack is not a guaranteed hit if the opponent wakes up fast enough. You can get punished heavily as the move is completely uncancellable and you are in point blank range.
There are exceptions like Fei-Yen who has exceptionally fast OTG melee startup.
Other VR have different melee moves or projectiles that do less damage but are suited better for grounded hits than OTG melee.
Melee cancel route examples
Since melee attacks can be cancelled in many ways you have the freedom of cancelling into anything you want by indirect means assuming your execution is fast enough.
- Example 1: normal melee (HIT) -> jump cancel -> any action
- Example 2: turbo melee -> guard -> jump cancel -> any action
Quick step -> guard -> guard reversal is a common defensive technique.
Wakeup options
Actions you can perform after being knocked down.
After getting knocked down the player has a few ways of varying wakeup timing to get back into the fight. Despite these options the neutral (safe) wakeup option is almost always used.
Inputs for wakeup options start counting once your VR stops completely in place after the knockdown.
Safe wakeup speedup - general option
Input: mash movement and rotation inputs
Effect: knockdown duration decreases drastically
Player is invincible after wakeup, and nothing cancels this invincibility. Basically you get a free move after waking up and the enemy needs to respect this ability.
Gamepad input method: mash directional and rotation inputs.
Twinstick: Jump input must be avoided, so for example spin the other stick and move the other one up and down, or rotate on the inner side.
Unsafe fast wakeup
Input: attack or jump
Effect: interrupt knockdown in a single input
This should basically never be used as it is only a couple frames faster than safe wakeup. If the enemy is trying to set up delayed attacks & traps without pressuring your wakeup at all then it can sometimes catch them off guard. (ie. they’re probably Bal-Bados or Angelan)
Otherwise you lose the abilities granted by momentary invincibilty. If the opponent notices that you use this you will start taking massive damage on wakeup.