One of the longest-standing complaints in the Street Fighter 5 community is finally being addressed by the powers-that-be. Capcom's Yoshinori Ono announced on Twitter that they would finally be addressing the netcode issues and that the fix would be implemented after next week's server maintenance.
Thank you for the positive responses on our netcode announcement! Many players are asking about the timing for this, so I can share that the netcode update will happen next week after the server maintenance. For this week, please enjoy the release of #SFVCE and Seth on Friday! pic.twitter.com/vU0gkWEhXK
— Yoshinori Ono (@Yoshi_OnoChin) February 13, 2020
For years, players have complained about the extensive netcode issues that cause one-sided rollback. Basically, that means two players who are in a match aren't necessarily experiencing the same simulation, which makes for an obviously diminished gameplay experience. One player's game might artificially lag or pull too far ahead of the opponent, making matches seem like one player is trapped too far back in the past moves and the other too far in the "future." (Check out Adam "Keits" Hart detailed explanation on netcode for more on this.)
Ono's statement and Capcom's decision to fix the game's flaw comes on the heels of a fan, Altimor, creating a homemade patch for the PC. He released it on Reddit at the beginning of January, and many people agreed that it fixed the issue and made the gameplay better. Unfortunately, the fan-patch negatively affected PS4 users and players using the patch were advised to only match with other PC users.
Capcom also released Street Fighter 5: Champion Edition on February 14 for the PC and PS4. This new version will feature more DLC characters, new stages, and fits for your fighter. Seth, from Street Fighter 4, will debut in the Champion Edition, as well as Gill, the final boss from Street Fighter 3. In particular, the return of Seth is exciting as he has a unique ability to copy moves from opponents and a very slick character design.