Ph.D
Smash Rookie
- Joined
- Jul 28, 2014
- Messages
- 8
WARNING: THIS THREAD MAY BE TL;DR - If you don't want to invest your time then don't say I didn't warn you.
Please, no trolling/flaming in this thread. I want this to be constructive and supportive. We are all in the same community. Let's help others so we can expand.
Introduction:
Why am I making an activity log?
What I hope to achieve
Who do you plan to use/main?
What I know I must overcome
Want to contribute?
Etc?
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Activity Logs:
Activity Log (Prologue)
Previous experience:
==========================================================================================
Activity Log (Day 1) - Lets work on short hopping!
So, tonight as my first night I will be working on my short hopping. I worked on this a little in the past, and have reached a point where I can do it almost consistently outside of matches, but not so much in matches.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7wApfLvP0Mb (First couple seconds were all I really needed)!
Before practice:
After practice: Time spent: 1 hour 30 minutes
After practice: Time spent: 2 hours
Activity Log (Day 2) - Let's work on L-cancel
Due to last nights success of short hopping - at least moderately consistently. I'm going to try taking on l - canceling. I know this one will be a lot harder, but hopefully I can get it down because as of right now I have 0 clue how to do it correctly!
Before Practice:
After Practice : Time spent 1 hour:
After Practice : Time spent 3 hours:
Activity Log (Day 3) - Let's work on L-cancel cont..
Today, I will continue practicing L-Cancel. I made a decent amount of progress, but I am nowhere near good at it D:!
Stay tuned for more updates!
VERY SORRY FOR THE DELAY, BUT ON VACATION D:! Will be back in a few days to continue, but I have been playing it at night, and practicing maybe 15-30 minutes in my free time. I have enough notes/statistics compiled to add up to my Day 3. So when I get back I will post both day 3 and 4. Sorry for the wait!
Please, no trolling/flaming in this thread. I want this to be constructive and supportive. We are all in the same community. Let's help others so we can expand.
Introduction:
Why am I making an activity log?
Hi, I my name is Taylor, but my smash tag is Ph.D. I am 21 years old, but have played smash casually since SSB64 when I was young. I have always lurked behind the shadows of reddit and smashboards, but have never worked it up to post here due to my lack of skill at smash bros. I have had no trouble gathering information about techniques and guides, but the one thing I have lacked that I can't find in the guides is a similar experience - someone who spent day by day logging their experiences physically, mentally, and emotionally. It is hard for someone alone to try to progress themselves, but maybe if I can log my experience it will give the population a better idea what is like as someone trying to get better at the game
What I hope to achieve
I'm hoping this will motivate me to enhance my gameplay, and lead me down the road to competitive smash play. My experiences are my own and this is no means a guide, but hopefully I can use my experience as a "timeline" or mirror to reflect upon what many of us want to achieve. I will be cataloging my methods, progression, and true thoughts during my play time.
Who do you plan to use/main?
As a main, I plan to use Pit. He seems like a character that when played correctly is amazing! Plus I love Kid Icarus. His moves tend to need to be more accurate so if I really want to get good at him I need this! So, as a result I will be doing a lot of my training with him
As for training purposes I will use a mixture of characters depending on the level of difficulty for what I am doing.
An example of this would be I'd start off with Bowser for short hopping then move on character to character when I am consistent with different speeds/difficulties.
As for training purposes I will use a mixture of characters depending on the level of difficulty for what I am doing.
An example of this would be I'd start off with Bowser for short hopping then move on character to character when I am consistent with different speeds/difficulties.
What I know I must overcome
As a casual, I have wanted to get into the competitive scene for a long time, but as many of us have experienced it can be tough to endure the physical, mental, and emotional stress that it ensures. Now, that may sound silly as a person shouldn't stress over a game, but it's true. Us casuals who want to progress have to go through lots of it, and learn to control ourselves.
Some things I must remember to work on: (this list will expand as I discover new challenges)
Physical Stress
- Muscle Memory/Reflexes
- Consistency
- Timing
- Obviously, many basic and advanced techniques
- Bad habits
Mental Stress
- Boredom
- Anxiety/Patience - The patience required to learn these can make a person uneasy, frustrated, and worried they aren't getting any better.
Emotional Stress
- Anger/Frustration - One of the biggest reason's people tend to give up.
Some things I must remember to work on: (this list will expand as I discover new challenges)
Physical Stress
- Muscle Memory/Reflexes
- Consistency
- Timing
- Obviously, many basic and advanced techniques
- Bad habits
Mental Stress
- Boredom
- Anxiety/Patience - The patience required to learn these can make a person uneasy, frustrated, and worried they aren't getting any better.
Emotional Stress
- Anger/Frustration - One of the biggest reason's people tend to give up.
Want to contribute?
Got an amazing source to some basic/advanced techniques? Know any techniques of your own? Know of any other threads like this? Don't be greedy! If you have any links it would help out greatly!
1 on 1 help is appreciated, but right now I think I want to work on this alone as it would take away from the average experience.
1 on 1 help is appreciated, but right now I think I want to work on this alone as it would take away from the average experience.
Etc?
Feel free to message me for support or suggestions on gameplay or this thread! Thanks all for your support!
Activity Logs:
Activity Log (Prologue)
Previous experience:
- I have little experience with basic and advanced techniques besides smacking the stick around with some precision, some good timing, and doing iffy combos. No techniques are incorporated/mastered as of yet besides inconsistent short hops.
- Some short hopping experience - very little consistency
- Awful at L-Cancel
- Awful at wavedashing of any form
- Inconsistent DACUS
- Inconsistent crouch canceling
- Can't moonwalk
- Some B-reversal experience
- Fast falling could use some work
- Dash dancing inconsistent
- SHFFLing
- Etc. You get the point! Typical casual trying to go pro - lots of problems! Need Practice!
- Some short hopping experience - very little consistency
- Awful at L-Cancel
- Awful at wavedashing of any form
- Inconsistent DACUS
- Inconsistent crouch canceling
- Can't moonwalk
- Some B-reversal experience
- Fast falling could use some work
- Dash dancing inconsistent
- SHFFLing
- Etc. You get the point! Typical casual trying to go pro - lots of problems! Need Practice!
Activity Log (Day 1) - Lets work on short hopping!
So, tonight as my first night I will be working on my short hopping. I worked on this a little in the past, and have reached a point where I can do it almost consistently outside of matches, but not so much in matches.
Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F7wApfLvP0Mb (First couple seconds were all I really needed)!
Before practice:
Character used: Pit
Button used to short hop: X
short hop % outside match - 60%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 25%
Button used to short hop: X
short hop % outside match - 60%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 25%
After practice: Time spent: 1 hour 30 minutes
Character used: Pit
Button used to Short hop: Y
Short hop % outside match - 90%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 60%
Notes so far:
- I had a little practice with this before so it was not so hard getting used to it. You get a hang of it very quickly once you realize how fast you must do it.
- I had a bad habit of smashing X to jump. Switching to Y felt new, and I was able to quickly pick up hitting Y without smashing it. It also improved my timing of hitting the c stick, b button, and a button.
- About 45 minutes in I was able to short hop outside a match 10/10 times, 9/10 times while moving, 8/10 while moving at a target, and 6/10 against a cpu.
Thoughts so far:
- Takes a little time to pick up, but it is easy. A matter of finger dexterity. Main thing keeping me down so far is doing it while under pressure.
- I find it easier to short hop when I let go quickly and press another button such as A as fast as I can because otherwise my finger wants to hold down the Y button longer than it should.
Button used to Short hop: Y
Short hop % outside match - 90%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 60%
Notes so far:
- I had a little practice with this before so it was not so hard getting used to it. You get a hang of it very quickly once you realize how fast you must do it.
- I had a bad habit of smashing X to jump. Switching to Y felt new, and I was able to quickly pick up hitting Y without smashing it. It also improved my timing of hitting the c stick, b button, and a button.
- About 45 minutes in I was able to short hop outside a match 10/10 times, 9/10 times while moving, 8/10 while moving at a target, and 6/10 against a cpu.
Thoughts so far:
- Takes a little time to pick up, but it is easy. A matter of finger dexterity. Main thing keeping me down so far is doing it while under pressure.
- I find it easier to short hop when I let go quickly and press another button such as A as fast as I can because otherwise my finger wants to hold down the Y button longer than it should.
After practice: Time spent: 2 hours
Character used: Pit
Button used to Short hop: Y
Short hop % outside match - 90-100%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 80%
Final Notes:
- For me, Y > X for short hopping. It broke my bad habit of smashing the button very quickly and dramatically increased my rate of success.
- Difficulty: Easy - Just be patient because it will take a few days to get your fingers conditioned to do it.
- Boredom decreases success rate! As _Odds suggested, I tried a bit of music and it definitely increased my success rate, and made me feel "refreshed".
- Frustration decreases success rate! I got frustrated at a certain point due to missing a couple in a row, and I started missing more. I took a few minute break to get a drink, came back, and went 20 or so in a row without missing any.
Final Thoughts:
- I remember short hopping at first was not easy, but within 2-3 days of trying to incorporate it I was able to do it inconsistently, but switching buttons and breaking the habit is what really did it for me. Just hang in there because it really does just get easier from here!
Button used to Short hop: Y
Short hop % outside match - 90-100%
Short hop % in match (moving target) - 80%
Final Notes:
- For me, Y > X for short hopping. It broke my bad habit of smashing the button very quickly and dramatically increased my rate of success.
- Difficulty: Easy - Just be patient because it will take a few days to get your fingers conditioned to do it.
- Boredom decreases success rate! As _Odds suggested, I tried a bit of music and it definitely increased my success rate, and made me feel "refreshed".
- Frustration decreases success rate! I got frustrated at a certain point due to missing a couple in a row, and I started missing more. I took a few minute break to get a drink, came back, and went 20 or so in a row without missing any.
Final Thoughts:
- I remember short hopping at first was not easy, but within 2-3 days of trying to incorporate it I was able to do it inconsistently, but switching buttons and breaking the habit is what really did it for me. Just hang in there because it really does just get easier from here!
Activity Log (Day 2) - Let's work on L-cancel
Due to last nights success of short hopping - at least moderately consistently. I'm going to try taking on l - canceling. I know this one will be a lot harder, but hopefully I can get it down because as of right now I have 0 clue how to do it correctly!
Before Practice:
Character used:
Button used to L-Cancel: R
L-Cancel % outside match: 0% ):
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: -100%
Button used to L-Cancel: R
L-Cancel % outside match: 0% ):
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: -100%
After Practice : Time spent 1 hour:
Character used: Pit/Link
Button used to L-Cancel: L
L-Cancel % outside match: 30%
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: 0%
Notes:
- I had an easier time pressing R, but I was not able to do anything outside of it (such as attack). That hand felt like it was just doing too much so I switched to L and had a bit easier of a time. I was able to attack much easier, but my timing is still off. At this point I am having to concentrate really hard to do it.
- When you L - Cancel correctly, you flash. This is a good tool at first, but it is starting to get me into a bad habit of "depending" on the flash.
- I had no idea what L-Canceling was, but I thought it would be a bit harder. I had no idea you only had to do it on aerial attacks that were not finished upon landing; rather, I thought you had to do it every jump/aerial attack. How stupid of me!
Thoughts:
- I have the feeling I am never going to be able to incorporate this in battle at the moment - yet I said that about short hops, and now I do it naturally. Guess I will have to wait and see if my fingers can learn it naturally.
- While it has been frustrating, I have made a lot of progress just sitting here understanding the visual queues. What really helped me understand it was go in training mode and set it to 1/4 and just watch the difference between a landing aerial and one l canceled. (Best character to help you understand the difference has to be Link's A-down. Once I saw the difference in slowmo I understood the need for it.
Button used to L-Cancel: L
L-Cancel % outside match: 30%
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: 0%
Notes:
- I had an easier time pressing R, but I was not able to do anything outside of it (such as attack). That hand felt like it was just doing too much so I switched to L and had a bit easier of a time. I was able to attack much easier, but my timing is still off. At this point I am having to concentrate really hard to do it.
- When you L - Cancel correctly, you flash. This is a good tool at first, but it is starting to get me into a bad habit of "depending" on the flash.
- I had no idea what L-Canceling was, but I thought it would be a bit harder. I had no idea you only had to do it on aerial attacks that were not finished upon landing; rather, I thought you had to do it every jump/aerial attack. How stupid of me!
Thoughts:
- I have the feeling I am never going to be able to incorporate this in battle at the moment - yet I said that about short hops, and now I do it naturally. Guess I will have to wait and see if my fingers can learn it naturally.
- While it has been frustrating, I have made a lot of progress just sitting here understanding the visual queues. What really helped me understand it was go in training mode and set it to 1/4 and just watch the difference between a landing aerial and one l canceled. (Best character to help you understand the difference has to be Link's A-down. Once I saw the difference in slowmo I understood the need for it.
After Practice : Time spent 3 hours:
Character used: Pit
Button used to L-Cancel: L
L-Cancel % outside match: % inconsistent, but about 50%
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: 10%
Final Notes:
- When concentrating, doing the same aerials over and over I get a success rate of about 75%. When I switch between aerials, 40%. While moving, 60%. When hitting a target standing still 20%, hitting a moving target 20%, hitting a target fighting back 10%.
- There is a slight difference in timing your L -cancel when you hit a target, hit a shielded target, and miss the target (or a standing l-cancel). I need to adjust my practice to fit and understand this!
Final Thoughts:
- It got a lot more complicated, and a lot more frustrating. I more than ever feel like I can't do it in a match, but I got to just calm down, take it slow, and remember to be patient.
Button used to L-Cancel: L
L-Cancel % outside match: % inconsistent, but about 50%
L-Cancel % with pressure of any sort: 10%
Final Notes:
- When concentrating, doing the same aerials over and over I get a success rate of about 75%. When I switch between aerials, 40%. While moving, 60%. When hitting a target standing still 20%, hitting a moving target 20%, hitting a target fighting back 10%.
- There is a slight difference in timing your L -cancel when you hit a target, hit a shielded target, and miss the target (or a standing l-cancel). I need to adjust my practice to fit and understand this!
Final Thoughts:
- It got a lot more complicated, and a lot more frustrating. I more than ever feel like I can't do it in a match, but I got to just calm down, take it slow, and remember to be patient.
Activity Log (Day 3) - Let's work on L-cancel cont..
Today, I will continue practicing L-Cancel. I made a decent amount of progress, but I am nowhere near good at it D:!
Stay tuned for more updates!
VERY SORRY FOR THE DELAY, BUT ON VACATION D:! Will be back in a few days to continue, but I have been playing it at night, and practicing maybe 15-30 minutes in my free time. I have enough notes/statistics compiled to add up to my Day 3. So when I get back I will post both day 3 and 4. Sorry for the wait!
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