SFLIU Frequently Asked Questions (& Answers!)
=============================================

By Brian Chan (chanav@sfu.ca)
SFLIU V2.20


Q1:  Can I write to the authors?
A1:  Yes you can!  And here are the email addresses of the author and his
    dearest assistant. :) Comments, suggestions, requests, or even a word
    from you would be appreciated!  Your letter will probably be the only
    reward Derek and I will ever get, so feel free to write to us!

    Derek Liu (Lanzer) - deliu@unixg.ubc.ca
    Brian Chan         - chanav@sfu.ca

Q2:  When's the next version of SFLIU coming out, and what can we expect?
A2:  Will there be another version?  Probably not.  But we said that V2.10 
     would be the last version, but we changed our minds. :)

Q3:  Can you put in bonus rounds/joystick/mouse/GUS/PAS support?
A3:  Unfortunately not, since we didn't originally program the game.

Q4:  SFLIU runs too fast on my computer.  Is there any way to slow it down?
A4:  Turn off the turbo :)

     Actually, that was one of the main complaints Derek and I had
     about SF2IBM V1.96 - there was no longer a slight slowdown after
     a hit, making combos extremely hard to do.  We have had varying
     degrees of success with turning off the turbo, playing with no
     disk cache, and experimenting with EMM386/QEMM.

Q5:  SFLIU runs too slow on my computer.  Is there any way to speed it up?
A5:  Buy a Pentium :)

Q6:  Why does Bison's Head Stomp miss?  Why can't Vega air slam after
     a wall jump?  Why can't Chun Li/Vega jump off the walls?  Why
     does Blanka's roll hit multiple times?  Why doesn't a jumping
     jab last for the whole jump?
A6:  In SF2IBM, the movement of each attack must be mapped out exactly.
     There is no way to tell where the opponent is at that particular
     time.  Similarly, there is no way to detect where the player is
     at that particular time, so wall jumping cannot be implemented.

     Also related to this, there is no way to tell if a move has
     hit the opponent or not.  That is why Honda's torpedo can be
     blocked multiple times, and why Blanka's roll can hit/be blocked
     multiple times (Honda's torpedo knocks down).  That is also why
     jumping jab/short attacks cannot last for the whole jump - otherwise
     they would start hitting multiple times (like the original versions
     of SF2IBM).

Q7:  Why does the computer sometimes start attacking the wrong way?
A7:  That's because the computer is in the middle of a computer combo.
     See Q6 for a more complete explanation of how SF2IBM works.

Q8:  Why can't Ryu/Ken/Chun Li do Cyclone Kick/SBK in the air?
A8:  SF2IBM has a number of problems regarding the ability to perform special
     moves in the air.  Firstly, it cannot detect where the ground is, or
     where in the jump that the CK/SBK was called.  Therefore, we cannot
     program a proper CK/SBK without having Ken/Ryu/Chun Li "float" back to
     earth, or disappear below the ground.  Secondly, continual use of moves
     in the air has the potential to hang the game by having Ken/Ryu/Chun Li
     go higher and higher, off the screen.  Thirdly, there is a bug in the
     .EXE that involves interrupting sequences "reprogramming" other
     sequences.  Therefore, we tried to keep interrupting to a minimum:
     just the moves that are able to be interrupted in the arcade.  Fourthly,
     if we did do moves in the air, it wouldn't exactly match the arcade
     anyways.  In HF, an aerial CK/SBK has no ascending motion, while in
     SF2IBM it would.  Also see Q6 for further details.

Q9:  Can you give everyone Hyper colors?
A9:  Graphics editing for SF2IBM is a huge pain in the butt.  It would take
     way too much effort to recapture every single frame of a character,
     edit out the backgrounds, and match them to SF2IBM's palette.

Q10:  What's the difference between Ryu and Ken, anyways?
A10:  1)  Ryu's CK knocks down.  Ken's CK hits multiple times but does piddly
          damage.  In SSF2 mode, Ken's CK will hit on the way up.
      2)  Ryu's CK is invulnerable at the start and end. (HF only)
      3)  Ryu's FB recovery time and FB speed is faster.
      4)  Ryu has a slower DP.
      5)  Ken's DP has more range than Ryu, fierce can hit twice, for HF
          mode.  In SSF2 mode, strong hits twice, fierce hits three times,
          and sets you ablaze.
      6)  Ryu's cuter.

Q11:  Why are the interruptible moves still able to be interrupted when I
      haven't hit my opponent?
A11:  SF2IBM interrupt feature makes no distinction between previously hitting
      or missing your opponent.  Besides, it is possible in the arcade to
      interrupt without a previous hit (although it is nowhere near as easy
      as SFLIU!)

Q12:  Why was Terry and Andy distributed with past SFLIU versions?
A12:  The original author substituted Terry and Andy for Balrog and
      Vega in the original SF2IBM V1.96.  SFLIU V2.00 included Balrog,
      but not Vega.  So Andy was used to fill Vega's place.

Q13:  Who the hell is Terry and Andy, anyways?
A13:  The Bogard brothers, from the Fatal Fury series.

Q14:  I've looked into the KEY file and noticed that there are many moves
      starting with a number followed by an "U", should I edit them so we can
      use the move?
A14:  Hey, those are for the computer only! :)

Q15:  Why is the computer so stupid?  The game isn't much of a challenge.
A15:  SF196.EXE merely does normal moves and the special moves (specified in
      the KEY file) at random.  See SFLIU210.TXT on tips on how to get the
      most fun out of the game.

Q16:  Why is there a file called "HYP-#SET.COM" and what does it do?
A16:  It turns on the Number Lock.  A while back, Derek and I were annoyed at
      having our number lock turned off by SF2IBM, so we came up with HYP-#SET.
      If you prefer having your Number Lock off, just edit it out of the batch
      files "SF2.BAT" or delete the "HYP-#SET.COM" file.

Q17:  Why isn't there charging built into the game?
A17:  Actually, charging IS built into SF2IBM, but it doesn't add anything
      to the gameplay.  You cannot jump and charge, so Guile wouldn't be
      able to do any combos.  The charge time is too long, longer that
      Guile's jump time, so Guile still wouldn't be able to do combos! :(
      A single keystroke would erase the charge, so one cannot punch and
      charge at the same time.

      Note that charging is used on Balrog's level 3 TAP.

Q18:  Why is the delay after Guile's Sonic Boom so long?
A18:  Well, see the above for the charging aspect.  Also, if the delay was
      any shorter, then one would be able to do Sonic Boom/Sonic Boom/Sonic
      Boom/Blade Kick as a combo.  (Yikes!)  Also, it would be too easy to
      do a Sonic Boom/Blade Kick trap, much like Ken and Ryu's FB/DP trap.

Q19:  How do I Cyclone Kick over a fireball?  The game always makes me block.
A19:  "Timing", in the arcade sense, is not needed to perform special moves in
      SF2IBM.  The game merely detects a series of keystrokes within a certain
      time "window".  If it matches a special move, then that special move is
      performed.  Try pressing "down", release, then press "back", release, then
      finally hit a kick button.  Ryu/Ken should still do a CK, despite the fact
      that the keystrokes were not "consecutive".  Of course, this doesn't apply
      to Sonic Booms or Yoga Fires.  And also keep in mind that only Ryu is
      invincible on the way up, and that you cannot CK over a slow fireball
      unless you're getting up.  This method also applies to going through
      projectiles with the jab Sumo Head Butt.

      Also keep in mind that Ryu's CK is no longer invincible in SSF2 mode.

Q20:  Why do some combos still redizzy?
A20:  The internal dizzy meter works a bit differently than the arcade.  When
      dizzy in the arcade, one's dizzy meter should be set on empty to make a
      re-dizzy extremely unlikely, if not impossible.  In SFLIU, dizzy power
      cannot be tuned-it is directly proportional to the damage of the move.
      Besides, in SF2IBM, the dizzy meter is extremely crude.  In SFLIU, the
      "big" combos might redizzy, such as the Fierce/Fierce/DP combos.  However,
      there's not much we can do about that, since the dizzying power of all
      attacks were already lowered as much as possible.

Q21:  Why is it that if I throw a fireball close up, and my opponent blocks, his
      blocking time is shorter than my fireball delay time?  Then he combos me
      back.  This isn't MK, y'know!
A21:  In the arcade, different actions cause different blocking time.  For
      example, the "block stun" time of blocking a fireball is exactly the same
      as the fireball delay.  The block stun caused by a jab will be shorter
      than the block stun caused by a fierce.  However, in SF2IBM, there is only
      one blocking time.  We had to shorten it to allow blocking a high attack
      immediately followed by a low attack.  Unfortunately, that brought in the
      MK factor.  :(

Q22:  Why can't I do moves if my opponent is holding down too many of his keys?
A22:  It's a hardware limitation in how many keystrokes a keyboard can send
      at the same time.

Q23:  Why doesn't the close range attacks work if my opponent is directly above
      me?
A23:  The .EXE only calls up the close range attacks when the opponent is on
      the ground.

Q24:  What happened to Bison's blue torpedo flame?
A24:  There aren't enough hit reactions to implement that.

Q25:  Why is Player 2 always green?
A25:  The color choice for the second player is hard-coded into the EXE
      for some strange reason.

Q26:  Why didn't you put in more SSF2 characters, graphics, etc.?
A26:  See Q9.
