I'm aware of the difference, and you better when you talk to one.

A fair point, but in the context of a game which has many fireball shooting characters, a man who can stretch his limbs 10 feet, a naked albino guy who should have kept the suit he wore in the intro, and let's not talk about Bison and his ambiguously gay plan to inhabit Ryu's body... I really don't think it's such a big stretch. Hell, the younger generation might see such a character as their Rosie the Riveter.

And I'd like to point out my official stance that any game outside a school setting shouldn't have more than one schoolgirl in the cast. Granted, I like catfights, but it can get a little too ridiculous (especially if a game goes DOA and starts to up the titilation with said schoolgirls).

A free (yes, FREE) update to SF4 is coming in just 4 days. There will be a tournament mode and replay options. Unfortunately, I haven't heard if they're going to change the BP system to discourage ragequitting or make some much-needed adjustments to certain characters (most noteably Sagat, Balrog, and Blanka)

At least Blanka and Balrog aren't used disproportionately, Sagat has always been a pain so I doubt he'll be declawed.

Anyone know how the disconnect % works? I got knocked off a few fights and seem unaffected. Does it start counting once updated, or factor all earlier fights?

I'm curious to hear what tweaks and adjustments you'd like to see made to the existing cast for the next SF4 game.

To Capcom's credit, SF4 is fairly well-balanced, and no fighting game can ever be TRULY evenly balanced, but there are some adjustments that I think need to be made. Here's what I'd like to see:

System: I'd like to see more ground recovery options like we had in the Alpha games. People could roll as soon as they hit the ground or even kick out of a knockdown in mid-air. Something like this really needs to be brought back because I'm pretty tired of people constantly taking advantage of predictable recovery times. I also think Dan should be the only character who can cancel his taunts at any time.

Ryu: Actually I think Ryu's pretty good the way he is. Even though he's top-tier, I can't really think of anything he uses that is overpowered and needs nerfing, because all of his best tricks require real skill to use.

Ken: I don't really know how Ken was played in SF3 TS but it does feel like a few tweeks to improve his game would be nice. Nothing too easy-to-use though, we don't need even MORE scrub Kens doing mindless flowchart tactics.

Chun-Li: There's not a lot I'd change about Chun-Li. Sure, I'd love it if she had more vitality but hey, if they make her game-breakingly awesome it just means she'll be nerfed bad the next time around, right?

The two biggest things I'd like to see are a more normal jumping speed (her current "floaty" one really hurts the air dominance she once had) and the ability to juggle with her ultra move when not in a corner. Her ultra is hard enough to land as it is and when the enemy jumps at the last second and only takes one or two hits before flying to the other side of the screen and safely away from the rest of the combo, it's really painful to watch. I'd also like to see her ultra's chip damage increase.

Guile: I know this is pointless wishful thinking but I wish the second attack of his c.HK was changed to become an optional command. His ultra needs to be fixed because the way it is now the only time it comes even close to doing full damage is if Guile performs it right next to the opponant. If he uses it as an anti-air, he's lucky if it does half the normal damage.

Honda: I hate to say this because as a Chun-Li player, Honda is an easy win for me, but man, Honda really has it rough in this game. A lot of his best normal attacks are either nerfed or gone completely. Even his EX Headbutt can't go through projectiles like Blanka's EX Balls can. He needs a major makeover, though at the same time I'd like to see something done that discourage butt splash spam because this shit is annoying as hell.

Blanka: He's not as overpowered as a lot of people think, though the chip damage done by a blocked ultra is insane and really needs nerfing. If they would add variations to recoveries like I previously mentioned, that would put a stop to a lot of the cheap cross-up ball crap he does on waking enemies. When a roll is blocked, Blanka bounces off hella far away, much too far for most characters to punish, and considering the ball also breaks armor, I think it needs to be adjusted so that either it can't break armor or doesn't bounce so far away. His hit box is also really weird and needs to be fixed.

Dhalsim: I'm trying to get better with Dhalsim but he's never been one of my better fighters. As far as I can tell, though, he seems fairly well-balanced. I do think hisstanding and jumping h.punches comes out too quickly though and/or don't spend enough time recovering from if blocked.

Zangief: Like Dhalsim, I don't use Gief very much but he seems pretty well-balanced. Yes, he does insane damage and takes hits like a tank, but his range and speed are horrible and his distance-closing options are precious and few. There IS one thing I would change, though: His spinning clotheslines can hit crouching opponents, and that's bullshit. I could MAYBE see it being possible during the startup animation when gief's hands are at his waistline, but when he's in full spin, his arms pretty clearly go over crouching opponent's models and yet the hit still registers. That's really gotta be fixed.

Abel: I don't really use Abel a whole lot but I've heard that he's powerless to the point of being broken against a smart Zangief so it sounds like he needs tweaking.

Viper: Viper is a lot like Ryu in the sense that she can do some pretty amazing stuff, but those tactics also require a large amount of skill so it's not really game-breaking. I do wish she had more options regarding the distance of her thunder knuckle attacks, though.

Rufus: He needs to be toned down a bit, and I say this as someone who uses Rufus a lot. His ability to bully enemies when he gets close are brutal, and he can also play a really good keep-away game thanks to his fast moves and VERY painful anti-air options. He's not majorly overpowered so not a whole not is needed, but amaybe a cut to hit vitality would be in order.

El Fuerte: I've heard ELF is a low-tier character but I don't really understand why. Maybe he needs more options for his game other than constant head-game gimmicks.

Balrog: Needs major nerfing. His dash punches are blocksafe, his headbutt range has ridiculous horizontal range and startup time, and the window in which he can juggle ultra after a headbutt is insane.

Vega: He has it rough. In the old days, he was uber tough and the ability to lose his claw seemed like a major balancing factor, but now it's like a big F-U to the Vega player. His anti-air options suck, and his range when he has the claw needs to be increased. Vega with claw and mask should be at a slight advantage in a 5-5 matchup so that the loss of his mask and claw will balance him out.

Sagat: Where to begin? His attacks are too strong. Period. I think fixing Sagat really just comes down to reducing the amount of damage his attacks do. It's not like he has broken priority or anything, he just does too damn much damage.

Bison: He seems pretty balanced, though I'm not a big fan of his scissor kicks being block-safe AND impossible to FA due to its double-hit. It should be one or the other. His anti-air options are kinda weak but he has plenty of ways to deal with them before they jump in on him.

Fei Long: I never, ever use Fei Long because I can't string 3 Rekkas with this stupid controller, so I can't really comment. I haven't seen many good Feis but I have seen a handful of them and he seems to be pretty effective in the hands of a smart player.

Cammy: I'd like to see her in-air Canon Spikes changed so she doesn't have to be jumping forward to use them. Other than that, she seems pretty balanced to me.

Sakura: She has some pretty nice combos. The only thing I'd change about is give her a slight, VERY slight, increase in attack strength.

Dan: He needs even MORE ways to taunt. Nothing more, nothing less.

Gen: I use Gen a LOT. Second only to Chun-Li, really. And yet I'm far from satisfied with how I play him because I keep falling back on the same wall dive mind games that get me creamed by smarter players. I shouldn't really comment on Gen's playability until I can use him to his fullest.

Rose: I've heard Rose is a bottom-tier character but I think that could be easily fixed if they increase the startup and recovery frames of her fireballs and "drill" attack. Giving her a way to juggle into her Shamwow ultra might level the playing field, as well.

Seth: The massive attack and vitality nerf Seth has still isn't enough to balance him out in certain matches, particularly Zangief. Not that I ever play Gief Vs. Seth matches, but you know what I'm saying. They need to poke holes into his actual moveset and not just nerf his stats.

Akuma, Gouken: Don't know, don't really care.

I thought about posting this on SRK as well but I've had my fill of "someone already posted that" replies for the time being...

More ways to deal with getting off the ground would be refreshing. Few things get more annoying than players who spam the crouching kicks once you hit the dirt. Is winning that important to someone's self esteem that they'd resort to such sissy tactics?

My only frustrations with Ken, Ryu, and the rest of the Hado gang is that people use their abilities as a substitute for actually learning anything. I don't know whether to laugh or cry when someone uses Ken's UC when I'm clearly on the otherside of the screen and there is no way I can close the distance in time to take the hit.

Honda: Good Lord, I understand that there are a handful of really clever people who manage to do well with him, but unless lag throws off your timing it is pretty easy to bludgeon him to Kingdom Come. He needs more umph.

Dhalsim: Anybody who knows how to use him well has earned it, he should be left the hell alone.

Rufus: The AI controlled Rufus can be a pain, but people who play him usually suck. I think he's okay.

El Fuerte: He's not bad, it just takes effort to learn how to use him right.

Vega: In spite of my mediocrity, I find myself tearing through plenty of enemies with him. Tweak his abilities with his mask and claw, and I'd rain more hell on my enemies than a horseman of the Apocolypse.

Balrog: What can I say that hasn't already been said? He's a wrecking machine and a bitch and a half to put down.

Cammy: I'm lucky I haven't faced many online foes who use her, because she just smacks the hell out of me. But that's a flaw in my playstyle and not the system.

EDIT: A rather funny, and true story. I was squaring off with a friend and he whips out Akuma. Last time he did that he dealt a pretty harsh beating to me as Vega. However, I learned about the EX moves moving through projectiles and his style devolved into the popular style. He's spamming horizontal fireballs, diagonal fireballs, and I'm bobbing and weaving around the attacks to ultimately beat him down. I even won with a large chunk of my lifebar. Then he sends me a message I couldn't help laughing at, "vega is noob" Right, the character consistently near the bottom of tier charts is for noobs.

I haven't played SFIV yet, but yeah, her jump is stupid, and her wall jump is even lamer compared to the other wall jumps in the game. I know that Chun Li is a control character nowadays and not a rusher, but come on, she's also supposed to be agile. It is retarded that Zangief's jump is better overall than hers. She and other high jumpers should have a normal jump with good speed and then an exclusive high jump that might be floaty or whatever.

I hadn't thought about that before but that's an interesting prospect; giving Chun-Li a more "normal" jump and making the floatiness be an optional command. Maybe something like holding up during the jump would reduce the speed of her descent. I could see that as being very beneficial in mind games, which you end up doing a lot of as Chun-Li.

This article greatly amused me. Not because it describes Juri's play style, but because it shows that even Capcom's own Seth Killian laughs at people who only pick Ken and Ryu.

http://kotaku.com/5444501/hands+on-with-street-fighters-juri-or-how-i-stopped-playing-ken-and-learned-to-love-da-bomb

There are two new trailers:
http://www.capcom.co.jp/sf4/trailer.html

Ono should go see a doctor to check his fetish on featuring Chun Li getting her ass kicked in every single trailer, because it is getting out of hand.  >_>

New trailer featuring Ibuki, Dudley, and Makoto just came out.

And it looks like that Hakan may be Turkish and practices yağlı güreş.

I'm really excited about this game after seeing all these new characters. Now that I have a PS3 (I say I have one, it's my brother's actually) I wonder if I should get it for the PS3 or the 360. I guess it'll depend on if I get extras from having Street Fighter IV save data or not.

And here's Hakan. He's big, red, Turkish, has a boatload of kids, and is covered in olive oil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zXFOlJusRWs

I have mixed feelings about Hakan. It's nice that we finally have SOMEONE from the Middle East, and Turkish oil wrestling sounds like a good pick. I don't mind that he's goofy, but I think they overdid the goofiness. We already have Rufus and Dan as joke characters, and plenty of others have goofy moments of their own, like Honda, Blanka, Zangief, El Fuerte, and Sakura. A level of goofiness similar to that lot would have been fine, but this is overkill. His oil cannon ultra is almost as embarassing as Seth's stomach cannon, and he seems to be able to pull extra oil bottles from hammer space, something I've never cared for in fighting games outside of the Capcom Vs series.

I understand what Gil is saying but I still like the idea of an extra goofy character. Especially since Hakan is a very unique character, I honestly don't know any other fighting game with a character like him. Also I really like how he was the character with the most mystery surrounding him, with all the old favourites from other Street Fighter games being revealed there was a lot of interest in what the last character would be like and the fact that Hakan is the result of that hype is quite hilarious.

I'm just glad it was in this day and age that Hakan's slip and slide style was introduced. Twenty, heck maybe even fifteen years ago, the character would have been fighting with Jheri curl juice. As for his goofy nature altogether, I'll resist making any insensitive remarks, besides Street Fighter has enough overly serious dicks.