A Frame Trap is a 2-move sequence that attempts to trick your opponent into pressing a button, thus scoring you a counterhit. In USF4 you'll usually be using frame traps to catch your opponent crouch-teching while you pressure them up close.

Frame Trap - Specific allows you to check the number of frames between the "first move" being blocked and the "second move" starting up. FAT assumes that you enter these two moves perfectly one after the other with no gap in between.

Remember, you're probably aiming to catch your opponent doing a crouch-tech (db+lp+lk input always gives cr.lk). These usually have about 3-5 frames of start-up. If your opponent is mashing crouch-tech you'll want a frame-trap between 1-4 frames. Once they start delaying their crouch-tech, you can either extend your framegap or throw them.

Link Mode

Select your first move (this move is assumed BLOCKED by the opponent) on the left, and your second move on the right. FAT will show the first move on block, the second move on startup, and the gap in frames between the two.

Cancel Mode

A bit more complicated. You must select your first move first. This will then load the second move dropdown with moves that can be cancelled from the first move. Then select your second move. FAT will then assume that the move is being cancelled on the first active frame and will display the first move's blockstun, the second move's startup and the gap in frames between the two. You can offset the active frame that is cancelled using the dropdown provided.

A Frame Trap is a 2-move sequence that attempts to trick your opponent into pressing a button, thus scoring you a counterhit. In USF4 you'll usually be using frame traps to catch your opponent crouch-teching while you pressure them up close.

Provide Frame Trap - Lister with a number which represents the number of frames you'd like in your frametrap and FAT will list all possible move sequences which can be performed to give a frame-gap of this size. FAT assumes that you enter these two moves perfectly in game, one after the other, with no gap in between.

Remember, you're probably aiming to catch your opponent doing a crouch-tech (db+lp+lk input always gives cr.lk). These usually have about 3-5 frames of start-up. If your opponent is mashing crouch-tech you'll want a frame-trap between 1-4 frames. Once they start delaying their crouch-tech, you can either extend your framegap or throw them.

Input your number in the box and then tap the filters to turn certain moves on and off. For instance, you may not want to use ultras or supers in a frame trap, so you can turn both of those off. Similarly if you only want normals, tap all of the other filters to off.

The Move Punishing mode will show you a list of moves you can use to punish another characters selected move.

The dropdown menu contains a list of your OPPONENT'S (ie. the character being PUNISHED) moves. When you select a move, your character's (ie. the character who is PUNISHING) entire moveset will be checked against your opponent's selected move. FAT will tell you how unsafe your opponent's move is and will give a list of available punishes. FAT can only tell you what the math says, and can't take into account things like range though. Sorry!

If that confused you, you may want to read the below explanation of "punishing a move". Otherwise, hit the back button to get started, or press close above.

Punishing Explained

When you block a move, you are put into a state called "block-stun". This correlates with your character doing their guarding animation. You can't do anything while in block-stun; you are forced to sit there and guard. Once block-stun ends, you are free to do what you want again. This includes attacking your opponent.

When you input an attack, there are 3 stages to a move: Startup, Active Frames and Recovery. Startup is how long it takes before the move becomes active. Until a move becomes active, it can't actually hurt your opponent. Animation wise, startup frames tends to correlate with you beginning to stick your limb out, or winding up for an attack. Once the Active Frames start, the move can now "hit" your opponent. This generally correlates with your character sticking out a limb/other bodily appendage, or throwing a projectile. And finally Recovery is how long it takes for your character to finish the move (e.g. bring their limb back in, land after a dragon punch etc). Again, once your character is in recovery, they can't hurt the opponent.

If your "block-stun" state ends before the opponent's move recovery ends, and you have a move that's fast enough, you'll be able to punish your opponent i.e. counter-attack; and there's nothing they can do about it! When this situation occurs, your opponent's move is said to be "negative" on block.

A classic example of this is Ryu's cr.hk or "sweep". It's an excellent move that can be linked into, starts up quick, has great range and causes a hard knockdown. One thing it is NOT, however, is "positive" or "safe" on block. In fact, it is EXTREMELY unsafe, at -14 frames on-block. What does this mean for you? Well, if you block Ryu's cr.hk, you can "counter-attack" or "punish" with any move that a) starts in at least 14 frames and b) has enough range to hit back.

Remember though, not all punishes are the same. If a move is -5 on block, and you have moves with 3, 4 and 5 frames of startup, then the move that starts in 5 frames is referred to as a "1 frame punish". This means that you have a one frame window (16ms in real time!) to input this move. Otherwise your opponent will be able to block again. The move that starts in 4 frames will be a "2 frame punish" and so on.

One final thing to note is that the above "timing" only applies to normals and throws i.e. moves that can not be "reversaled". Special moves, Supers and Ultras can all be inputted on "reversal". This means that there is a large gap before you exit block-stun where you can enter the move and it will always come out on the frame you leave block-stun. This is EXTREMELY useful information! It means that you can always get a 1 frame punish, with very simple timing, if you have a special move that starts up fast enough!

The Move Linking mode will show you a list of moves you can link after the selected move.

The dropdown menu contains a list of your character's moves. When you select a move, your character's entire moveset will be checked for moves that have equal or less start-up than the selected move. FAT will then list out the moves that can be linked and will tell you how tight a link it is. FAT can only tell you what the math says, and can't take into account things like range or how meaty the move hit. Sorry!

Use the counterhit button to add +1 frame of hit advantage for lights and +3 for everything else. [DEV NOTE: I know that there's some moves that don't obey this rule! I am going to implement this soon, please bare with me :)] Use the filters to remove certain moves from the results, like supers or specials

If that confused you, you may want to read the below explanation on what "links" are. Otherwise, hit the back button to get started, or press close above.

Linking Explained

When a move hits, your opponent is put into a state called "hit-stun". This correlates with your opponent's character doing one of their hit-stun animations such as reeling back from the blow. Your opponent can't do anything while in hit-stun.

When you input an attack, there are 3 stages to a move: Startup, Active Frames and Recovery. Startup is how long it takes before the move becomes active. Until a move becomes active, it can't actually hurt your opponent. Animation wise, startup frames tends to correlate with you beginning to stick your limb out, or winding up for an attack. Once the Active Frames start, the move can now "hit" your opponent. This generally correlates with your character sticking out a limb/other bodily appendage, or throwing a projectile. And finally Recovery is how long it takes for your character to finish the move (e.g. bring their limb back in, land after a dragon punch etc). Again, once your character is in recovery, they can't hurt the opponent.

If your opponent is still in hit-stun by the time your move has recovered, you are said to be "positive" or "plus" on hit. If a move is "+6" on hit, then you can "link" another move afterwards which has 6 or less frames of start-up by carefully inputting that move.

As an example, let's take Ryu's cr.mp (crouch Medium Punch) which is +5 on hit. There are a bunch of moves Ryu can link after cr.mp as Ryu has lots of moves that start 5 frames or less. "cr.mp > cr.mp" is a 2 frame link as cr.mp has 4 frames of "start up" and is "+5 on hit". That means you have 2 frames where you can input the second cr.mp and have it hit.However, cr.mp > cr.mk is a 1 frame link as cr.mk has 5 frames of "start up". That means you have 1 frames before your opponent can block again. That's 16ms!

Frame Data is a very simple mode. Choose a move and FAT will show you all associated data for that move. Choose "All Moves" to see the character's entire moveset, then filter it down by tapping the filters. "All Moves" is always selected by default. For a detailed explanation of Frame Data, read on! Otherwise, hit back or the above close button, and dive into the frames!

Character Stats Explained

Health

Character's total health. When this is all gone they get knocked out. Shocking stuff! 1000 is the average.

Stun

Each attack deals a certain amount of stun when it hits. When this number is reached, the character becomes stuned. Again 1000 average.

Foward Dash

How many frames in total it takes for a character to perform their forward dash.

Back Dash

How many frames in total it takes for a character to perform their back dash.

LVL1 FADC Fwd

This number indicates how much frame advantage a character is after performing a LVL1 focus and then dashing forward. This focus can either be blocked or hit, the frame advantage is the same for both.

LVL1 FADC Back

This number indicates how much frame advantage a character is after performing a LVL1 focus and then dashing back. This focus can either be blocked or hit, the frame advantage is the same for both.

LVL2 FADC Fwd

This number indicates how much frame advantage a character is after performing a Level 1 focus and then dashing forward. This number is only used for blocking because on hit, LVL2 crumples.

LVL2 FADC Back

This number indicates how much frame advantage a character is after performing a LVL2 focus and then dashing forward. This number is only used for blocking because on hit, LVL2 crumples. As an aside, there is no Level 3 value because Level 3 Focus attacks can not be blocked and always crumple when they connect.

wUltra Scaling

In USF4, there are two categories character can fall into for W Ultra (Double Ultra, or commonly "wUltra"); 65% and 60%. This indicates how much the damage is scaled down that if the Ultra was performed on it's own.

Simple View - Columns Explained

S = StartUp

How many frames it takes before the move becomes "active" i.e. can hurt the opponent.

A = Active Frames

How many frames it takes for a move to completely finish it's animation after the active-frames.

R = Recovery

How many frames it takes for a move to completely finish it's animation after the active-frames.

oB = On Block

How positive or negative a move is on block. If a move is -1 or more, the opponent may be able to punish it.

oH = On Hit

How positive or negative a move is on hit. If the character has another move who's startup is equal or less, they may be able to link this move.

Frame Data Explained

Frame Data is absolutely instrumental in improving your game and becoming a better Street Fighter Player. Understanding Frame Data provides a much deeper understanding of what you're actually doing in the game, and what it is that is causing you to win and lose matches. It is a topic that often seems scary to newcomers, but we were all once like you. Once you break through that initial barrier of understanding, a whole new world of Fighting Games opens up. So if you ever wanted to understand frames and frame data read on!

The 3 Stages

When you input an attack, there are 3 stages to a move: Startup, Active Frames and Recovery. Startup is how long it takes before the move becomes active. Until a move becomes active, it can't actually hurt your opponent. Animation wise, startup frames tends to correlate with you beginning to stick your limb out, or winding up for an attack. Unless the move also has "invincibility frames", your character can be hit during this phase of the attack. Once the Active Frames start, the move can now "hit" your opponent. This generally correlates with your character sticking out a limb/other bodily appendage, or throwing a projectile. While your character is still vulnerable to attack in this phase, your opponent must navigate around your attack (limb, projectile etc.) in order to hit you. And finally Recovery is how long it takes for your character to finish the move (e.g. bring their limb back in, land after a dragon punch etc). Again, once your character is in recovery, they can't hurt the opponent. Further more, your character is particularly vulnerable to attack in this state.

On "Hit/Block"

There are three outcomes to you sticking out an attack: the opponent didn't block and they're hit; the opponent held back and they blocked; the opponent avoided the attack and it "whiffed". In the third scenario, you should refer to an attack's recovery frames to see how long it takes before you can do something else. However, we're more interested in those first two situations

You'll often here experienced players refer to moves being x on hit, or y on block. This is one of the most important things to understand in frames. When your opponent is hit by a move or blocks one, they are put into a certain number of frames of "stun". This can be either "hitstun" or "blockstun" and will correlate with the opponents getting stuck in their "reeling back" (hitstun) animation or "blocking" (blockstun) animation. However, working things out with hitstun and blockstun can be confusing, and isn't really in the scope of this tutorial. Knowing what hitstun and blockstun are is enough for now!

"On Hit" refers to how many frames of "hitstun" your opponent is in after your character has finished their move recovery. So if you're "+5 on hit", and you have a normal that starts in 5 frames or less, you can input that move to try and "link" the two moves together into a combo. If you're "-7 on hit", your opponent can actually hit YOU if they have a move that starts in 7 frames or less (Yes this is actually a thing, see Cammy's close HK!). This is known as being unsafe on hit. If a move is unsafe on hit

"On Block" refers to how many frames of "blockstun" your opponent is in after your character has finished their move recovery. More often than not, these values are in the negative. How negative, and who you're fighting determines how "safe" a move is on block. If a move is +4 on block, and you follow it up with a move that starts in 3 frames, your opponent will never leave blockstun the whole time. This is known as a "true blockstring" and is useful if you think the opponent is mashing reversals or other moves. If a move is -3 on block you may be in danger of being punished, as all characters have at least one 3 frame move in the form of their throws. However, being safe and unsafe is relative to how far from the opponent you are, what moves they have and how "meaty" they blocked the attack (not in the scope of this tutorial).

Character notes is an extremely helpful mode which allows you to store information on a character for looking through later. This is a common tactic used by the best players in the world. It helps them remember certain 'character specific' combos, option selects and strategies. How you take notes in this section is totally up to you. You can use your own style and notation throughout as this will be for your eyes only.

To learn how to use the match-up section, tap 'Select an Opponent' (bottom option) and then tap the help button in the top right corner of the character Select screen!

How to | Universal Notes

• Choose a section you want to store some data about.
• Once you've chosen a section, tap the "Add" button in the top right corner of the screen. A text box will appear. Simply type in your information, and tap "Save".
• To edit or delete a piece of data, simply tap it to bring up the editing mode. Change the text in the text-box and tap "Save", or tap "Delete" to remove that piece of information from the database.

Overview - Universal Notes

The idea behind the universal notes section, is for you to write notes on your own character; things which apply to all match-ups equally. Information you put here, generally should be the same for any character you fight against.

Combos

This speaks for itself. Write down your go-to combos for certain situations. For instance, you might enter a different combo for each of your character's common openers (one for c.lp, one for s.hp), or you might note your combos that require two meters etc.

Notation wise, it's totally up to you; use whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally like to go with a "," for links; "xx" for a cancel; and ">" for any moves that require a follow-up button. As an example (Dudley):

*requires 2 meters* c.lk, c.lp, s.hk xx QCF lk > k xx FADC, h.DP

Punishes

Because this is the "universal section", you should take note of the number of frames you're punishing by, not the actual move. For instance, Ryu's generic 3 frame punishes are "c.lp" and his "DP" (Shoryuken).

Frame Traps

Again, genereic frame traps, you use on everyone (most frame traps are generic anyway (work on everyone). These might be a string of moves put together to test your opponent's teching or simply two moves stating the gap between them.

Option Selects

Option Selects or "OS"s are beyond the scope of what I'm willing to type into this help box! However, you can learn about them all over the web these days. This video here in particular is a fantastic and brief guide on how they function and why they're SO important to your gameplan.

Set-Ups

Set-Ups are a sequence of moves and events that allow you to always get the same outcome regardless of the opponents decisions. At the most basic level, these are usually "safe jumps". Again, these are beyond the scope of what I can fit in here but basically they allow you to jump at your opponent after you've knocked them down, and keep you safe from their reversal on wake up. Watch this video for a much better understanding.

This mode works similar to the Universal notes mode, with one major exception: rather than taking notes that only involve your character, you can use this mode to take notes on actual match-ups.

What does this mean? Well, it means that you can write down every character specific combo, punish and all other info in one easy to access place for EVERY character in the game.

How to | Match-Up Notes

• Choose the "enemy" character you want to take notes on.
• Once you've chosen an opposer, tap the "Add" button in the top right corner of the screen. A text box will appear.
• Type in your information and then choose which heading you want to store this info under using the drop down menu.
• To edit or delete a piece of data, simply tap it to bring up the editing mode. Change the text in the text-box and tap "Save", or tap "Delete" to remove that piece of information from the database.

General Match-Up Info

Put your general game plan under this heading. Consider things like spacing, stage position, what to watch out for, which Ultra to choose in the match-up and why etc.

Combos

This speaks for itself. Write down your go-to combos for certain characters. For instance, Dudley has height specific combos, so I would note them under each opposing character's section.

Notation wise, it's totally up to you; use whatever you feel comfortable with. I personally like to go with a "," for links; "xx" for a cancel; and ">" for any moves that require a follow-up button. As an example (Dudley):

*requires 2 meters* c.lk, c.lp, s.hk xx QCF lk > k xx FADC, h.DP

Punishes

Because this is the "match-up section", you should take note of what actual moves your punishing for each character. For instance, Dudley can punish Ryu Sweep with U1, so I would write that down here.

Frame Traps

Frame traps you use for specific character's, perhaps if you're trying to catch them mashing a certain move in your block strings.

Option Selects

Option Selects or "OS"s are beyond the scope of what I'm willing to type into this help box! However, you can learn about them all over the web these days. This video here in particular is a fantastic and brief guide on how they function and why they're SO important to your gameplan.

Set-Ups

Set-Ups are a sequence of moves and events that allow you to always get the same outcome regardless of the opponents decisions. At the most basic level, these are usually "safe jumps". Again, these are beyond the scope of what I can fit in here but basically they allow you to jump at your opponent after you've knocked them down, and keep you safe from their reversal on wake up. Watch this video for a much better understanding.

Moves List is pretty basic. Choose a move, look at the input, perform the input. Complex!

• Heading

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• Underline ~ <u>Underline</u>
• Italics ~ <i>Italics</i>
• New Line ~ Press Enter