Line #75 Main/TrainingStage


1	[[quoteright:176:[[VideoGame/ProjectM https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/training-room_5413.png]]]]
2	[[caption-width-right:176:Say your prayers, Sandbag. [[TheChewToy I'm going to stop by a lot]].]]
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4	{{Fighting Game}}s are SeriousBusiness. Therefore, there needs to be a serious place of study. That's why these are always there. This arena, which is usually called [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin the Training Room]] or something similar, is almost always a plain-colored, distraction-free arena. The background or floor usually involves glowing or clearly defined grid lines or tiles for purposes of distance-measuring units to study attack range and {{Combos}}.
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6	These stages are ''always'' FixedFloorFighting arenas. If a game has environmental hazards to differentiate the stages from one another, this stage will always be without them, which, if they're available in versus play, will [[AbridgedArenaArray almost invariably]] make them popular in TournamentPlay.
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8	In many competitive fighting games, the Training Stage is one of the most important tools for an improving player to use. There is a lot to be aware of when learning one's way through a FightingGame title, and so this Training Stage features visual and kinetic tools that encourage experimentation and make it easier than ever for players to hone their craft.
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10	Usually a FightingGame trope, but can also show up in other games, particularly in survival or strategy-based settings, as well referenced in other media.
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12	See also NewbieImmunity for when the game lets the player test out controls and mechanics at the start of the game without fear of losing or penalty.
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14	[[JustForFun/IThoughtItMeant Not to be confused with]] any room that's used for training by a character within the work, unless it matches the aesthetic. See also VirtualTrainingSimulation, which is another kind of Training Room, but not precisely for fighting.
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16	----
17
18	!!Examples:
19
20	[[AC:Fighting Games]]
21	* ''VideoGame/{{ARMS}}'' has the Sparring Ring, a simple square boxing ring with no hazards or obstacles to speak of. Initially, it was only accessible while warming up before an online match; a later update added it as a proper stage that could be selected to play on.
22	* ''[[VideoGame/{{SORA}} Acceleration of Suguri 2]]'' has "Before the War", which could count as this, since it consists of a grid-based background with TronLines, although the fact that said grid is constantly moving does kind of render it somewhat moot. Bonus points for being based on the tutorial stage from ''VideoGame/{{SORA}}''.
23	* ''VideoGame/BladeStrangers''' training stage somewhat bucks the trend by having its background be HighTechHexagons as opposed to the usual square layout.
24	* The ''VideoGame/BlazBlue'' games, starting with ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueContinuumShift Continuum Shift]]'', have the "Lessons" stage, a place completely separated from the rest of the verse that serves as the stage for the Tutorial Mode. In ''CS'', Lessons had a very Virtual Reality-ish grid in the walls and floor, while the ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueChronophantasma Chronophantasma]]'', ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCentralFiction Central Fiction]]'' and ''[[VideoGame/BlazBlueCrossTagBattle Cross Tag Battle]]'' versions of the stage are more elaborate.
25	* ''VideoGame/CapcomVs'' series:
26	** The Danger Room, a white room with a grid that can change its appearance, is featured as a normal stage in ''VideoGame/XMenChildrenOfTheAtom''.
27	** In ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom2'' and ''VideoGame/MarvelVsCapcom3'', the Danger Room from ''ComicBook/XMen'' returns to serve this purpose, as it did in the original comics. In the ''Ultimate'' version of the latter, it even comes in two variants: Training Room (based on its ''[=MvC2=]'' appearance) and Danger Room (based on its ''[=CotA=]'' appearance).
28	** ''VideoGame/TatsunokoVsCapcom'' is similar to ''Street Fighter IV'' training stage but also features a height gauge due to the nature of aerial combat in the game.
29	* ''VideoGame/DeadOrAlive'' features "Tatami", an endless expanse of [[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin tatami mats]] with no stage obstacles or elevation changes. You can use this space to practice combos (though obviously not wall combos).
30	* ''VideoGame/LethalLeague'' and ''Lethal League Blaze'' have Room 21, [[BedlamHouse a cell in a mental asylum]] with floor and walls completely covered in square pads whose boundaries form a grid. Considering its setting, it may be a [[ParodiedTrope parody of this trope]]. Though it initially looks featureless, once the match progresses to certain points, the security alarms start going off and the bright white lighting is replaced by the red siren lights to give it a more intense, dramatic look.
31	* ''[[VideoGame/KillerInstinct2013 Killer Instinct (2013)]]'' has a training stage which is unavailable for versus play, but to make up for that, one can make it play the entire album from the first ''Killer Instinct'', ''Killer Kuts''.
32	* ''VideoGame/{{MUGEN}}'': This is one of the two stages that comes pre-packaged with the game[[note]]the other one being [[SeriesMascot Kung Fu Man]]'s home stage[[/note]], and is often used for character demonstrations due to both the ready availability and the lack of distracting, flashy scenery.
33	* ''VideoGame/{{Ninjala}}'' has a large perfectly cubic room resembling the interior of a Japanese temple, lined with a holographic grid. This is used only for the tutorial and for waiting in the lobby for more players to arrive, however. The gameplay, on the other hand, is designed with FreeFloorFighting in mind, so this stage cannot be played with human opponents.
34	* ''VideoGame/PlaystationAllStarsBattleRoyale'' provides several of these, each with different sizes and platform layouts but all with the same basic aesthetics and general idea.
35	* ''VideoGame/PhantomBreaker Omnia'' has the Training Zone which, unlike the others on this list, actually changes appearance every round (specifically, it goes from grey-and-green to black-and-blue and vice versa). It's also notable for being the HomeStage for the two newcomers, Artifactor and Maestra.
36	* ''VideoGame/ProjectM'' patches one of these over the Wi-Fi Waiting Room from ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' -- it's big, it has a huge boundary to practice the all-important Offstage Game, and because of the stage it's patched over, it even has Sandbag to smack around to your heart's content.
37	* ''VideoGame/RivalsOfAether'' has two variants of Training Stage to choose from: the "Practice Room", a grid-based stage consisting of three platforms not unlike that of [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Battlefield]] as well as having its ground extend to the blast zone on the right, and the "Tutorial Grid", another grid-based stage that's more in line with [[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Final Destination]] in terms of layout as well as featuring a pretty trippy background with Orby spectating the fight. The former can only be used in Training mode while the latter can be unlocked by clearing all of the tutorial challenges.
38	* ''VideoGame/{{Skullgirls}}'' has the "[[http://skullgirls.wikia.com/wiki/Class_Notes Class Notes]]", a special stage which is a blank training stage as a school classroom with tables, chairs and a blackboard. Used only as a training stage and as part of [[HotTeacher Mrs. Victoria]]'s tutorial, can be unlocked for multiplayer and versus by completing the tutorial or buying the {{DLC}} with all stages.
39	* VideoGame/SoulSeries:
40	** ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburV'' has the Character Creation Stage to test out how a custom character looks in motion. It's only available in Creation Mode, though, and the opponent is always a DeliberatelyMonochrome Edge Master.
41	** ''VideoGame/SoulCaliburVI'' has "Grand Labyrinth: Sealed Corridor", which is a stage that stretches infinitely in all directions, has no background, and has an infinitely repeating tiled floor. It's only selectable in Training Mode, however; the selection space is blank in other modes.
42	* ''Franchise/StreetFighter'':
43	** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' has the aptly-named "Training Stage", complete with an announcer voice clip. It's a featureless white room with black grid lines. Red lines flanked by gray boxes are seen running down the center of each wall, making it easy to find where the middle of the stage is. The stage is automatically selected for the combo trials mode, with the "sandbag" being none other than [[JokeCharacter Dan Hibiki]]. The stage was pretty notorious for being [[AbridgedArenaArray almost exclusively the only stage most high-level players played on]], since the grid lines helped with spacing and footsies.
44	** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterXTekken'' patterns its training stage after the training stage found in ''VideoGame/StreetFighterIV'' but with designs on the wall that imply it's happening ''inside'' the Pandora's Box.
45	** ''VideoGame/StreetFighterV'' has "The Grid", which is fairly similar to its appearance in ''IV'', minus the gray boxes. There's even a second version of this stage, which inverts all the colors (dark gray background with teal center lines). In-universe, it's stated to take place in an undisclosed Shadaloo testing facility. Notably, the stage is explicitly excluded from the random select stage pool and banned from official Capcom tournaments to avert the AbridgedArenaArray problem described in ''IV''[='=]s entry.
46	* ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros'':
47	** ''[[VideoGame/SuperSmashBros Super Smash Bros. Brawl]]'' had the Wi-Fi Waiting Room, with a layout identical to the [[AbridgedArenaArray popularly simple]] Final Destination, the signature tiles laid out on the floor, and an infinitely-regenerating Sandbag to smack around until the match starts. It's not available for normal play without hacking, though.
48	** ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBrosUltimate'' has a fully functional training stage which takes place on a blank white background and allows players to measure launch distances with a grid and trajectory lines. The normal stages can still be selected for Training mode if desired, just as they were in previous games.
49	** ''VideoGame/SmashRemix'', a GameMod of ''VideoGame/SuperSmashBros64'', has [[VideoGame/SuperMarioBros1 Mushroom Kingdom]]'s "Dream Land" and "Omega" variants serve this purpose; not only does it have identical dimensions and collisions to [[AbridgedArenaArray the most commonly used stage]] in competitive play ([[VideoGame/KirbySuperStar Dream Land]]), but [[https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/577655757726810114/949094133794996244/IMG_0376.png the distance between the edges of bricks in the floor pattern is the same as the distance lines in the Home-Run Contest mini-game]], as well as two blocks in the stage builder grid in ''For Wii U'' and ''Ultimate'' (and, in the case of the platforms, one block).
50	* ''VideoGame/{{Tekken}}'' franchise:
51	** This is the only stage available in Training Mode in the PSP versions of ''Tekken: Dark Resurrection'' and ''Tekken 6'' as well as ''Tekken 3D: Prime Edition'' on the [=3DS=], and is unavailable in standard play. You can select these with or without walls (but no stage interactions for ''6'' or ''Prime Edition''). The online waiting room in ''Tag Tournament 2'' and ''7'' also matches the endless version of these training stages.
52	** "Strategic Space" in ''Tag Tournament 2'' could be seen as a training stage but it also has every kind of stage interaction possible (a wall, floor, and balcony break). It's also selectable for normal fights.
53	** ''7'' has Geometric Space, which is basically Strategic Space without the stage breaks.
54	* ''VideoGame/ThemsFightinHerds'' has [[{{Pun}} The Nitty Grid-y]], a black and empty room with neon grids making up the floor.
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56	[[AC:Action-Adventure - Platform Games]]
57	* ''Franchise/{{Kirby}}''
58	** ''VideoGame/KirbysReturnToDreamLand'' has specialized Copy Ability rooms where you can test every ability in the game with a dummy, provided that you've unlocked them.
59	** ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'' and ''VideoGame/KirbyPlanetRobobot'' also feature similar copy ability room and a dummy that you can test the abilities on. The latter also include the [[MiniMecha Robobot Armor]] so that you can test its capabilities, as the mech will appear a lot in gameplay.
60	* ''Videogame/MegaManX5'': The game has a dedicated "Training" stage not seen in any other game in the series. Through the MissionControl Alia, It teaches you the basics of the game's platforming for both X and Zero, and ends with a watered down version of Magma Dragoon from the previous game as the training boss.
61	* ''VideoGame/ANobleCircle'' has one of these in the form of the free-to-download [[https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/a-noble-circle-prologue/id1033044184?mt=8 Prologue]], which acquaints you with the gameplay mechanics and the game's unique method of storytelling.
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63	[[AC:Beat 'em Up - Spectacle Fighter]]
64	* "The Vestibule", the prologue stage of ''VideoGame/{{Bayonetta}}'', often serves as one of these for players, though there's also a dedicated practice mode on loading screens.
65	* ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry'' franchise:
66	** ''VideoGame/DMCDevilMayCry'' has a featureless white void where players can practice their combos on a [[{{Mooks}} mook]] at their leisure.
67	** ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'' has a more fleshed out training room called "The Void". Taking place in an AmazingTechnicolorBattlefield surrounded by four large invisible walls, the player has access to a settings menu that's fairly similar to the ''Franchise/StreetFighter'' games - players can change the {{training dummy}} and/or how they act, toggle on damage and input displays, and toggle infinite use of the player character's various ManaMeter-based and ammo-based moves.
68	* Before the {{crossover}} {{fighting game}}s, Creator/{{Capcom}} previously did the Danger Room in ''VideoGame/XMenMutantApocalypse'', in which characters can fight against bosses like Omega Red and Juggernaut. A similar training stage can be seen in the SpiritualSequel ''VideoGame/MarvelSuperHeroesWarOfTheGems'', where you can fight a holographic version of one of the stage bosses, chosen randomly.
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70	[[AC:First Person Shooter]]
71	* ''VideoGame/HalfLife'' has the Hazard Course, and the HL sequel ''[[VideoGame/HalfLifeOpposingForce Opposing Force]]'', has Boot Camp.
72	* ''VideoGame/PerfectDark'' has the Carrington Institute Training shooting area, where Joanna can test and earn scores for all thirty two weapons as soon as the player finds them.
73	* ''VideoGame/SystemShock2'' has three near the beginning of the game that are designed to be {{Virtual Training Simulation}}s (looking very much like ''Franchise/StarTrek'' holodeck grids).
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75	[[AC:MMORPG]]
76	* ''VideoGame/DungeonFighterOnline'' has Pungjin's Dojo, where players can set up targets with differing stats, change their skill build, run DPS tests to see how much damage one can deal in a specific time frame, or just simply practice the game's fighting game-esque skill inputs at their leisure. There are also dropdown menus used to give the player various buffs, which is useful for those that aren't yet min-maxed.
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78	[[AC:Role-Playing Game]]
79	* In ''VideoGame/PokemonScarletAndViolet'', the Pokémon League interior battle court has this appearance, set in an enclosed room with perfectly flat and rectangular floor, walls, and ceiling lined with square transparent glass tiles and a light turquoise glow from behind them, giving the appearance of a grid. Notably, it is the battle court for [=PvP=] with the plainest appearance by far and is the least processor-intensive background for it. The grid isn't necessary with the Pokémon series's TurnBasedCombat though, nor is there any evidence of the battle court used for testing out Pokémon and their moves, but it does fit the look.
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81	[[AC:Stealth-based games]]
82	* ''VideoGame/MetalGear'' franchise:
83	** VR training missions in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid'' feature simplistic, holographic environments with a monochrome TronLines grid to get the hang of the controls before going on the missions. This even remained in the Metal Gear mission pack of ''VideoGame/LittleBigPlanet'', where the VR Materials could also prove useful for measuring the capabilities of the complicated gadgets one could build.
84	** The VR missions in ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid2SonsOfLiberty'' serve a similar purpose, but with a different design - every surface is one single flat color, Snake and Raiden are highlighted by a red box to signify their hitboxes, and bullets that hit surfaces are clearly marked by red circles instead of bullet holes. Even the enemies take on the VR aesthetic, appearing as cel-shaded humanoids in varying shades of orange, looking somewhat like armed and walking crash test dummies. The missions themselves also vary more in scope than ''[=MGS1=]'', even covering niche situations such as [[LeParkour catching ledges during a fall]] or learning how to avert DoNotRunWithAGun.
85	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSolid4GunsOfThePatriots'' has a simplistic shooting range taking place in a monochrome sepia VR space, consisting of humanoid and flying targets, with concentric rings around Snake to help determine the distance to the target. This particular game's iteration of ''VideoGame/MetalGearOnline'' had a similar feature where players could explore the multiplayer maps at their leisure, featuring the same targets from the single player shooting range. There's additionally holographic human targets to test damage or practice CQC on. In both cases, a feed on the bottom right of the screen shows how far each damage event was and how much damage was inflicted.
86	** ''VideoGame/MetalGearSurvive'' also has a VR shooting range in the vein of ''[=MGS4=]'' where players can, once again, test their damage and/or gadgets on holographic targets.
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88	[[AC:Strategy RPG]]
89	* ''VideoGame/GirlsFrontline'': The Target Practice tab in the Combat Simulations list serves as one of these, allowing players to conduct a mock battle with any units and backup squads of their choosing versus a number of preset enemy formations (including a plain old target drone), or players can save a list of up to ten enemy formations encountered in non-event missions and practice against those instead - handy for bosses that [[SomeDexterityRequired require a lot of squad micromanagement]]. For the competitive folk, the preset enemies come with their own individual time attack leaderboards.
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91	[[AC:Shoot-'em-up]]
92	* The 2019 UpdatedRerelease of ''VideoGame/{{Hellsinker}}'' for Platform/{{Steam}} features a "Training Chamber" where you can get to grips with the game's unusually complex mechanics.
93	* The Platform/Atari2600 version of ''VideoGame/{{Spacewar}}'' had the UrExample in Game 14, which, while a MiniGame in its own right, the manual makes clear it exists so the player can practice maneuvering by braking the ship on the free-floating space module.
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95	[[AC:Third person shooters]]
96	* ''VideoGame/TheDivision'' has a shooting range in the Base of Operations that has several targets, some to test the player's aim and other stationary targets that take damage like enemy [=NPCs=] do, which are useful for testing builds.
97	* ''VideoGame/TheDivision2'' also has a shooting range. Unlike the first game, there are four different range lanes for different situations, such as testing AreaOfEffect attacks, moving targets, close range targets and long range targets. There are also various buttons to toggle the target's health, [[CooldownManipulation make the player's skill cooldowns tick faster]], or inflict self-damage for certain builds.
98	* ''Franchise/{{Splatoon}}'':
99	** The [[VideoGame/Splatoon1 first game]] and its [[VideoGame/Splatoon2 sequel]] both have a small Shooting Range located behind Ammo Knights, where players can test out different weapons -- even those they haven't yet purchased -- against inflatable {{training dumm\|y}}ies. The ranges both have dashed lines marking the ground which are visible even through ink, which is useful for gauging the range of specific weapons.
100	** ''VideoGame/Splatoon3'' expands on this by having, in addition to a new Ammo Knights shooting range, a larger Test Range that can be accessed while waiting to join an online match. Aside from the features of previous games, this range also contains a Copy Machine, a robotic TrainingDummy armed with a Splattershot and Splat Bomb that will copy the player's actions when turned on, useful for testing out defensive weapons and those that interact with enemy ink.
101	** Additionally, ''Salmon Run: Next Wave'' also has its own separate test ranges, both a smaller one used for testing out weapons and a larger one serving as the multiplayer lobby. These rooms include useful ''Salmon Run''-specific mechanics, such as training dummies with the same size and health as different types of Salmonids, and an Egg Basket and supply of Golden Eggs to let players practice their egg-throwing.
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103	[[AC:Non-Video-Game Examples]]
104	* ''Manga/WorldTrigger'' has a training room fitting this look at each of the BORDER agencies' branch locations, used for testing out new weapons and running simulations. It not only has grid markers lining every surface, but height markers on the walls too.

Context Main / TrainingStage