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| {{ArticleIcons|series=y}} | | {{split|A lot of different topics here, could work as multiple pages}} |
| {{for|other uses|Lag (disambiguation)}}
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| '''Lag''' is a catch-all term used to indicate periods of time where a character is busy initiating or finishing a performed move, being left unable to perform any other action (except for moving through the air with aerial moves). The two main categories of lag that every move in the game has are '''startup lag''' and '''ending lag''', and for [[aerial]]s and certain [[special move]]s when used in the air, there's an additional form of ending lag that can occur called '''landing lag'''. The more lag a move has, the easier it is to evade the move and [[punish]] the user. Typically, powerful moves have more startup and/or endlag, though this is not always the case. Lag is usually measured in [[frame]]s, with one frame being the same length as 1/60th of a second (or 0.0166666667 seconds). The amount of startup lag, ending lag, landing lag, and active frames within a character's entire moveset is known as '''frame data'''. | | '''Lag''' is the downtime period after performing certain attacks or maneuvers. While in the lag period, a player cannot attack or move, and he or she is completely vulnerable to the attacks from an opponent. Different attacks have different lag-times, with the general rule of thumb that more powerful attacks (such as Jigglypuff's [[Rest]], Ganondorf's [[Warlock Punch]], or even Captain Falcon's [[Falcon Punch]]) get longer lag times. In most cases it is actually completely avoidable with a properly timed DI. This is notable when playing with characters who have a stall-then-fall attack, and are left grounded for a few moments. Pressing upward during the correct set of frames will allow you completely avoid said lag, so and so forth. |
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| ==Start-up lag== | | ==Hitlag== |
| [[File:StartLag.gif|thumb|{{SSBM|Ganondorf}}'s [[up tilt]] has a significant amount of start-up lag in ''Melee'']]
| | :''Main article: [[Freeze frame]]'' |
| '''Start-up lag''', also known as just '''start-up''' and '''windup''', is the delay between a move being initiated and the move having an effect, such as the length of time before a [[hitbox]] is first produced. The fastest any move can come out is on frame 1 (1/60th of a second) and the more frames it takes for a move to come out, the longer its startup lag will be. Examples of moves with extreme start-up lag include [[Ganondorf]]'s [[Warlock Punch]] and [[King Dedede]]'s [[forward smash]]. Examples of moves with no start-up lag include [[Fox]]'s (in ''SSB'' and ''Melee'') and {{SSBM|Falco}}'s [[Reflector]] in ''Melee'' and [[Jigglypuff]]'s [[Rest]] in ''SSB'' and ''Melee''. [[Flinching]] during start-up will prevent the move from being executed, unless the move grants the character [[invincibility]]/[[intangibility]] or [[armor]]. | | '''Hitlag''', referred to on the [[Dojo]] as "impact stall", is the lag that occurs to an attacking character when a powerful move connects with an opponent. Most hitlags are only a few frames, but some hitlags are quite long, such as [[Zelda]]'s Lightning Kicks and [[Captain Falcon]]'s [[Knee Smash]]. These attacks have approximately 30 frames (half a second) of hitlag, which is easily noticed in real time. This lag will still affect the attacker even if the attack deals no damage, such as versus [[Mr. Resetti]], stage elements, or a character that is [[invincible]]. In addition, when two similar attacks clash and "clink", or an attack is [[Perfect Shield]]ed, it will produce slightly longer hitlag. |
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| The primary advantage of lower start-up lag is that the attack gives the opponent less reaction time, as well as the ability to hit before other attacks, giving the user greater flexibility in being able to land the attack (making such attacks all-around easier to land). Moves with lower startup lag can be used in a greater amount of situations, such as being a pressure escaping tool or as a [[punishment]] option. Moves with higher startup lag however cannot be used in nearly as many situations as the opponent can usually punish the attacker for simply throwing out the move before it can connect. Moves with very high startup lag are rarely used as a result, only being useful as a risky hard punish or as a [[shield break]] punish in most situations. While not always true, characters with fast frame data attacks tend to be more successful in competitive play than those with slow frame data attacks; part of the reason why characters such as [[Pikachu]], [[Fox]], [[Sheik]], and [[Meta Knight]] typically rank in the top or high tiers in ''Smash'' tier lists is that the general start-up lag of their attacks are among the fastest. Conversely, a major part of why characters such as [[Ganondorf]] are typically ranked as low tier characters is that the general start-up lag of their attacks are among the slowest. While low startup on attacks is certainly beneficial, it is not required if a character has a trait significant enough to make up for it. For example, {{SSBU|Shulk}} in ''Ultimate'' is commonly ranked as a high tier or top tier character despite having slow startup on almost all of his moves. To compensate, he possesses his [[Monado Arts]] which allow him to adapt to any situation, as well as outstanding [[range]] with some of the largest disjoints in the game, allowing him to attack from far enough away to be out of range for many characters to punish.
| | Not to be confused with hitlag is '''[[Flinch|hitstun]]'''. Hitstun is the amount of [[frame]]s between the time you get hit and when the [[knockback]] actually occurs. During the hitstun, it is possible to use a technique known as '''Smash DI''', which is where you input a direction during the hitstun, and immediately go in that direction, regardless of the initial knockback direction. It is also possible to perform '''Multiple [[Smash DI]]s''', which is best represented in the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CG1DLooq3Pc Perfect Control] video on Youtube, at about 2:36, and a slower version at about 3:51, during the credits. |
| <gallery widths="200px">
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| Ganondorf Neutral B SSBU.gif|Ganondorf's [[Warlock Punch]] has an extreme amount of start-up lag.
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| Fox Down Special Hitbox Melee.gif|Fox's shine in ''Melee'' has no start-up lag, coming out immediately.
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| </gallery>
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| ==Ending lag==
| | Notably, most electric-based attacks cause a decent amount of hitstun and hitlag. |
| '''Ending lag''', often officially referred to as '''vulnerability''' and also known as '''cool down''' and '''recovery''' in other fighting games, is the delay between a move's effect finishing and another action being available to begin, such as the length of time after an attack's hitboxes ceases before the character can move again. The vast majority of attacks have more ending lag than startup lag, though generally, attacks with lower start-up lag tend to have proportionally more ending lag and vice versa. Attacks such as [[Rest]], [[Ike]]'s [[forward smash]], and [[Mega Man]]'s [[up tilt]] are notorious for having an extreme amount of ending lag. Moves known for having especially low ending lag include {{SSBB|Meta Knight}}'s [[up aerial]] in ''Brawl'', [[Zero Suit Samus]]'s down smash, and [[Mr. Game & Watch]]'s [[up smash]]. Typically, an attack's ending lag can't be avoided, but some attacks can avoid ending lag without the character being flinched or [[priority|out-prioritised]], such as grabbing a [[ledge]] with a recovery move before it ends, and jump canceling Fox's and Falco's Reflector in ''Melee''. Additionally, aerials can avoid their ending lag by the character landing before completion; despite this inducing landing lag, it can be overall faster if the character lands soon enough and the attack's landing lag is low enough (a prominent example of this is Ike's [[neutral aerial]], which has a huge amount of ending lag, but rather low landing lag, thus landing earlier can be utilised to circumvent the attack's high ending lag). Also, if a character using a grounded normal attack becomes airborne before the attack finishes (such as from being pushed off by [[wind]] or the [[platform]] underneath them disappearing), the attack will abruptly end with the user free to move, thus avoiding the attack's ending lag (though [[special moves]] will continue if this occurs while using them). {{SSBU|Steve}} can exploit this quirk particularly well by building a [[Mine / Craft / Create Block|block]] and then using a ground move while standing atop it. When the block breaks, the move is instantly canceled, allowing Steve to immediately perform another action.
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| The less ending lag an attack has, the less time an opponent has to [[punish]] it if it whiffs, and thus the safer it is to use. Attacks with low ending lag are also more effective at [[combo]]ing, as they allow a greater window for the attacker to attack again before the opponent can respond. An example of this in ''Smash 64'' can be seen with {{SSB|Kirby}} and {{SSB|Donkey Kong}}'s [[up tilt]]s. Both up tilts have the same startup lag but Kirby's has much less ending lag, which makes it drastically harder to punish as well as making it a much more effective combo tool compared to Donkey Kong's. While having attacks with low ending lag is considered important in competitive play and characters higher up on the [[tier list]] often tend to have low ending lag across their moveset, it isn't held in equal regard to start-up lag. [[Marth]], for example, is considered a top or high tier character in most ''Smash'' games, despite most of his attacks having high ending lag, whereas there are few highly-ranked characters or particularly effective moves in any of the games that have comparatively high start-up lag. Jigglypuff's [[Rest]] (especially in ''SSB'' and ''Melee'') is the epitome of this, as despite having the highest ending lag of any attack in the series, its almost instantaneous start-up lag (coupled with its extreme power) makes it one of Jigglypuff's best moves. Conversely, Ganondorf's up tilt in ''Melee'' and ''Brawl'' has comparable power with much lower ending lag, but its start-up lag is so ridiculously high that the move is almost impossible to land without the opponent being stunned from a shield break, in a position where they have no choice but to position themselves within its reach (such as attempting to [[recover]] or evade a stage hazard), or having already committed to an action that will put them in the attack's reach (i.e. Ganondorf successfully [[Mindgame#Read|reading]] his opponent), and thus it is almost never used in competitive play. The few moves that are very effective in spite of high start-up lag often have a combination of significant attributes besides proportionally low ending lag. {{SSBB|Lucario}}'s forward smash in ''Brawl'', for instance, is considered to be one of the best forward smashes in the game despite being one of the slowest in start-up, as the move not only has very low ending lag, but also has potentially extreme power when at high [[Aura]] and disjointed reach, making it one of the few powerful KO moves that can often be used at ranges at which it is unpunishable.
| | A trivial piece of information is that you can '''Smash DI''' even when frozen with the [[Ice Climber]]'s [[freeze glitch]]. |
| <gallery widths="200px">
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| Jigglypuff Down Special Hitbox Melee.gif|Jigglypuff's Rest has extreme ending lag, leaving it wide open for a punish.
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| </gallery>
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| ==Landing lag== | | ==Wi-Fi Lag== |
| '''Landing lag''' is the lag incurred when an airborne character lands on the ground for any reason. The amount of lag depends on what action the character is performing upon landing.
| | Wifi lag, which is very often confused with [[frame delay]], the amount of time it takes for a move to be inputted, is a change in the FPS ([[frame]]s per second) of a game due to connection interference. Wifi lag is very common in brawl and semi-common in Project64k/Dolphin. Wifi lag can be caused on either game for multiple reasons. It is quite possible to have 0 wifi lag with someone online while having massive delay. Some of reasons when wifi lag occurs are listed here: |
| | *A dial up connection on brawl wifi virtually always results in lag on brawl wifi. |
| | *A wireless connection, such as by a laptop, automatically causes a small fps drop every so often on either Project64k or Dolphin, which is a form of wifi lag as well. |
| | *Torrenting/Downloading programs/stress on a person's connection (such as someone else in the house online) |
| | Wi-fi lag is a very trodden-upon part of Brawl, and is often cited as one of its worst aspects. However, most players do not realize the difference between Brawl and a game with minimal wi-fi lag such as Mario Kart Wii. In a game such as Mario Kart, a system can predict other player's positions while it waits for the next update - a half-second of lag is perfectly playable. But in Smash Bros, it must know the exact position and action of every element of gameplay before it can do anything - and as this must be done 60 times every second, tiny amounts of lag have a massive effect. |
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| ===Normal landing=== | | ==Screen Lag== |
| When landing under normal circumstances, characters undergo either a "light landing" (also known as a "no-impact land") or a "heavy landing". In ''Melee'', there was only one type of normal landing animation so most characters have a 4 frame landing animation, regardless of how fast they are falling (which a few exceptions). Light landings incur only 2 frames of lag (4 frames in ''Smash 64''), whereas heavy landings are character-specific (after ''Smash 64'' where all heavy landings had 8 frames of landing lag), ranging from 2 to 6. The type of landing that occurs is based on the character's downwards speed upon landing. In ''Smash 64'', the difference between a light and hard landing was as simple as whether the player was either falling normally or [[fast fall]]ing. Starting from ''Brawl'' however, a heavy landing occurs once a player has been falling at their maximum falling speed for a set amount of time (the amount of time is character dependent), so landing during the apex of a jump or on an upwards-moving platform tends to be faster than landing from a fastfall or on a downwards-moving platform.
| | Screen lag (also known as button lag) is not a product of Super Smash Bros., but of the equipment that is being used to display it. Some HDTVs and computer monitors have a short delay in displaying the game actions. While in some cases (especially when digital recording is being used), this delay can reach levels that make the game unplayable, other times it is a minor amount that can be tolerated. In fact, some players intentionally practice on a screen with a delay to improve their reaction time and predicting skills. |
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| ===Aerial landing===
| | On several HDTVs, the lag appears to be caused by the [[wikipedia:deinterlacing|deinterlacer]], which converts [[wikipedia:Interlace|interlaced video]] to the [[wikipedia:Progressive scan|progressive video]] that LCD, plasma, and DLP displays expect. Most deinterlacers are designed for non-interactive video such as television and DVD movies; they buffer several [[frame]]s to determine how best to handle each part of the picture. Wii owners can use a component video cable and progressive display mode to skip the deinterlacer, which noticeably reduces this lag in Melee and Brawl on TVs such as a Vizio VX32L. |
| [[File:Punishment Snake F-air Lag KO Brawl.gif|thumb|250px|An example of landing lag, in which an improperly timed aerial attack with noticeable amount of landing lag (such as {{SSBB|Snake}}'s [[forward aerial]]) can lead to getting [[punishment|punished]].]]
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| [[File:Lcancelink.gif|thumb|Another example of landing lag, along with the effect of [[L-cancelling]] in ''Melee''. The red Link L-cancels, and can input his shield in half the time of the green Link.]] | |
| If a character lands while in the middle of an [[aerial attack]], they go through a unique animation that lasts for significantly longer than a normal landing. This animation is not automatically determined. The game has to call for a flag which starts on a pre determined frame in order for the aerial landing lag animation to occur. Any time a character lands while this flag is not activated, they will enter their normal landing animation (this is known as an [[auto-cancel]]). A clear example of an aerial landing animation can be seen with [[Link]]'s [[down aerial]]; hitting the ground during the attack results in Link's sword getting stuck, and he has to spend a significant amount of time pulling it out before he can do anything else (especially prior to ''Smash 4''). Each aerial attack has its own amount of landing lag. Naturally, the less landing lag, the better; for the same reasons as why less ending lag is beneficial. Most [[special move]]s tend to continue execution instead of being interrupted when the user lands while using them, though a few undergo their own unique landing animation if the character lands after initiating them in the air, such as [[Falcon Kick]] and [[Wizard's Foot]] and some such as Fox's lasers prior to ''Smash 4'' will even make the character enter their normal landing animation.
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| Certain aerial attacks produce a hitbox during their landing lag, such as Kirby's down aerial.
| | ==See Also== |
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| In Smash 64, not all aerial attacks have unique landing animations, though they still have unique lag durations.
| | *[[Directional Influence]] |
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| There are ways to circumvent landing lag. In ''Smash 64'' and ''Melee'', a technique called [[L-cancelling]] (more commonly known as Z-cancelling in ''Smash 64'') can be used to reduce landing lag. Pressing shield just before landing will reduce the amount of landing lag an aerial has. In ''Smash 64'', this will make the character enter their normal landing animation although in ''Melee'', it plays the same landing animation but only at double the speed (effectively halving the landing lag). Because of this, the technique is more effective in ''Smash 64'' although it is still a vital technique in both games, making aerials safer when landing and increasing their followup potential. In all games, an aerial's landing lag can avoided by landing during the time they can auto-cancel. Each aerial has a different auto-cancel window and the more time an aerial can auto-cancel, the easier and more beneficial/practical it is to auto-cancel. Aerials with higher landing lag especially benefit from these techniques .
| | {{UnofficialName}} |
| | | [[Category:Terms]] |
| ''Smash 4''{{'}}s air dodges have their own aerial landing lag, being universally 21 frames for all characters. When landing one frame before the end of an aerial or air dodge's animation, aerial landings can be completely cancelled into [[special move]]s, such as after {{SSB4|Ganondorf}}'s forward aerial from the start of a full hop (as Ganondorf is in the air for 44 frames during his full hop and his forward aerial's [[interruptibility|first actionable frame]] is on frame 45). ''Ultimate'''s air dodges have 10 frames of landing lag when a normal air dodge is performed and 19 frames when a directional air dodge is performed.
| | [[Category:Unofficial lingo]] |
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| ===Special landing===
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| Characters that land while in their [[helpless]] state undergo a specific amount of landing lag, dependent on the move that initiated it. While the state is known as "LandingFallSpecial" or similar in the games' code, it also applies to air dodges, and thus [[wavedash]]es, in ''Melee'' (with air dodges having 10 frames of landing lag in ''Melee'').
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| ===[[Bayonetta Recovery Frames]]===
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| [[Bayonetta]]'s landing lag gets higher depending on how many [[special move]]s she used before landing. This applies to both the normal landing lag and the landing lag from [[aerial attack]]s. These are known as [[Bayonetta_recovery_frames|her recovery frames]].
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| [[Category:Game physics]] | |
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