This page is intended to explain the concept of frames as it pertains to Tekken.
All video games are a sequence of images, known as frames, output in rapid succession to your display device. Games with a high frame rate will naturally appear smoother, and more fluid, than games with a lower frame rate, although there is a performance cost in having to output twice the amount of frames in the same time. Frame rate is measured in fps, or frames per second, and is the number of frames output to the display device in one second. Tekken 7 runs at 60 fps, which means every second, there are 60 unique frames output to your screen. This implies that each frame is displayed for 1/60 = 16.67 ms.
Moves in Tekken have animations which last for a certain number of frames. Faster moves like a standing jab or magic 4 will use fewer frames, while slow moves like snake edges will take up a large number of frames. The animation of each move in Tekken has three phases. The animation in each phase lasts for a certain number of frames.
- Start-up
- Active
- Recovery
- Start-up
This phase of the animation is initiated when you input the button sequence for the move. It lasts until your move is actually able to hit the opponent. Faster moves will have a fast start-up (fewer frames), while slower moves will have a slow start-up (more frames). Generally, fast moves are weaker while slow moves are stronger.
- Active
During this phase of the animation, the move is able to actually connect with the opponent and have an effect. Concretely, this means that if the hit scan line of the move collides with the opponent's hurtbox during this part of the animation, it is registered as a hit, and the opponent will respond depending on their status (standing, guarding etc.) This phase is usually very short (1-2 frames) although there are some exceptions. Some moves may have subtly different effects depending on which active frame they connect.
- Recovery
This phase of the animation begins after the active frames and lasts until you regain control of your character.