In the heat of the battle, it can be difficult to notice all of the little mistakes that you make, or the ways that your opponent is conditioning you, or how you keep using the same ineffective tactics over and over again. Analyzing gameplay videos can be an important part of improving your game. Not only by looking for what you do wrong--but also by looking at what others are doing right.
I often received advice that I should be watching my replays. But I would try watching the in-game replays in Smash for Wii U, and I wouldn't really get much out of it. You are limited to watching the replays straight through at a full speed, so if you blink, you'll miss something! So I would like to share a few better ways of watching your replays.
Finding/Making a Video
First of all, if you want to analyze your own matches, you need to get them into video form. The simple replays available in some of the Smash games are not terribly useful because you don't have any playback controls. Fortunately, the upload to YouTube feature on Smash for Wii U makes it very easy to convert your replays to video, albeit at 30fps.
A step up from this would be to purchase a video capture device that can record your game at 60fps, and this could be done with just about any Smash game.
There do exist capture devices for the 3DS as well, but these are generally too expensive to be seriously considered for this purpose. So, if you are stuck on the 3DS, you might need to resort to using a cell phone or digital camera to record video. This works best if you can rig up a way to do it hands-free, so there is no camera shake.
If you happen to be playing on an emulator, most emulators have the ability to record video to a file on your PC.
Analyzing on YouTube
Now, let's assume that you want to analyze a video that is on YouTube. YouTube itself offers some pretty powerful playback controls, which might be all you need. The J, K, and L keys on your keyboard will move back 10 seconds, Pause, and move forward 10 seconds respectively. The left and right arrow keys will move back and forward by 5 seconds. And finally, the comma and period keys will move back and forward by a single frame.Youtube also lets you adjust the playback speed as well, from the settings menu.
If you want more control over playback, or need to review clips offline for some reason, you can download the videos from YouTube and then play them back in some other software.
Downloading from YouTube
If you want to have a smoother/faster/more customized experience than what YouTube offers, then downloading the videos onto your PC will allow you to have complete control over their playback. While there are a number of different sites that allow you to save YouTube videos, I have found that many of them do not seem to support 60fps videos. If 60fps support is important to you, then I recommend one of the following:
http://www.clipconverter.cc
This site is unique in that it not only lets you download the videos, but it can also convert the videos into different formats for you. I am a big proponent of always using originals though, so thankfully they also let you download the videos without conversion. Simply make sure the "conversion format" is set to "download", then press the "Start" button. The video is downloaded without any processing or modification.
http://savedeo.com
This is another site that makes downloading videos quite easy, and supports 60fps. It seems that this site gives you links to streams directly from YouTube, with no middleman. Please note that the 60fps versions available here do not seem to contain an audio track. Also, I had to right click on the links and press "save as" to get them to save to my PC.
Watching on your PC
Once you have a video file on your PC, you can view it with anything you want. Most popular video players support frame advance, though you might have to go into the player's settings to see or configure which keys do this. I know that both PotPlayer and MPC-HC both support frame-by-frame playback.
What to look for when watching your own matches
With the ability to freely navigate through the video, you can analyze a match as deeply as you want. Players who are new to the game are generally going to be looking for different things than pro players will be looking at, but for the most part, you just want to find out why you lost, or why you struggled in certain parts.
For instance, I used to always try to hit my opponents when I was trying to land. I was just too greedy to get a hit in on them, and I didn't really notice that I ended up losing that exchange the vast majority of the time. After watching a couple of replays, I began to notice that this was not an effective strategy with my character, and I began trying to land as safely as possible. This resulted in an improvement to my game.
Also look for patterns. For instance, did your opponent keep doing the same thing over and over? And did you keep responding to it (unsuccessfully) the same way each time? Now you can think about that situation, come up with a better plan, and don't get caught in the same trap next time.
You might also want to consider whether you are using optimal moves in certain situations. For instance, you shielded your enemy's attack, now what? Do you try the same thing each time? Maybe there is a better option? You have all the time in the world to think it through and figure out what you should have done.
Watching other's matches
Watching top players can be a great way to figure out some new strategies and how to deal with certain match ups better. It's particularly handy if you want to try learning a new character, and you want to see how the character should be played. Or maybe you just have a lot of trouble with a certain match up. Try to find several videos of that match up and break them down to see what's going on, and what the most effective strategies are.
Sometimes, it might help to put yourself in one of the player's shoes. What would you do next? And what did that player do? Why did he choose that option, and is it a better option than what you would have done?
Hopefully this guide has been at least slightly helpful in helping you to analyze matches more effectively. If you have any additional tips or corrections, please let me know.
I often received advice that I should be watching my replays. But I would try watching the in-game replays in Smash for Wii U, and I wouldn't really get much out of it. You are limited to watching the replays straight through at a full speed, so if you blink, you'll miss something! So I would like to share a few better ways of watching your replays.
Finding/Making a Video
First of all, if you want to analyze your own matches, you need to get them into video form. The simple replays available in some of the Smash games are not terribly useful because you don't have any playback controls. Fortunately, the upload to YouTube feature on Smash for Wii U makes it very easy to convert your replays to video, albeit at 30fps.
A step up from this would be to purchase a video capture device that can record your game at 60fps, and this could be done with just about any Smash game.
There do exist capture devices for the 3DS as well, but these are generally too expensive to be seriously considered for this purpose. So, if you are stuck on the 3DS, you might need to resort to using a cell phone or digital camera to record video. This works best if you can rig up a way to do it hands-free, so there is no camera shake.
If you happen to be playing on an emulator, most emulators have the ability to record video to a file on your PC.
Analyzing on YouTube
Now, let's assume that you want to analyze a video that is on YouTube. YouTube itself offers some pretty powerful playback controls, which might be all you need. The J, K, and L keys on your keyboard will move back 10 seconds, Pause, and move forward 10 seconds respectively. The left and right arrow keys will move back and forward by 5 seconds. And finally, the comma and period keys will move back and forward by a single frame.Youtube also lets you adjust the playback speed as well, from the settings menu.
If you want more control over playback, or need to review clips offline for some reason, you can download the videos from YouTube and then play them back in some other software.
Downloading from YouTube
If you want to have a smoother/faster/more customized experience than what YouTube offers, then downloading the videos onto your PC will allow you to have complete control over their playback. While there are a number of different sites that allow you to save YouTube videos, I have found that many of them do not seem to support 60fps videos. If 60fps support is important to you, then I recommend one of the following:
http://www.clipconverter.cc
This site is unique in that it not only lets you download the videos, but it can also convert the videos into different formats for you. I am a big proponent of always using originals though, so thankfully they also let you download the videos without conversion. Simply make sure the "conversion format" is set to "download", then press the "Start" button. The video is downloaded without any processing or modification.
http://savedeo.com
This is another site that makes downloading videos quite easy, and supports 60fps. It seems that this site gives you links to streams directly from YouTube, with no middleman. Please note that the 60fps versions available here do not seem to contain an audio track. Also, I had to right click on the links and press "save as" to get them to save to my PC.
Watching on your PC
Once you have a video file on your PC, you can view it with anything you want. Most popular video players support frame advance, though you might have to go into the player's settings to see or configure which keys do this. I know that both PotPlayer and MPC-HC both support frame-by-frame playback.
What to look for when watching your own matches
With the ability to freely navigate through the video, you can analyze a match as deeply as you want. Players who are new to the game are generally going to be looking for different things than pro players will be looking at, but for the most part, you just want to find out why you lost, or why you struggled in certain parts.
For instance, I used to always try to hit my opponents when I was trying to land. I was just too greedy to get a hit in on them, and I didn't really notice that I ended up losing that exchange the vast majority of the time. After watching a couple of replays, I began to notice that this was not an effective strategy with my character, and I began trying to land as safely as possible. This resulted in an improvement to my game.
Also look for patterns. For instance, did your opponent keep doing the same thing over and over? And did you keep responding to it (unsuccessfully) the same way each time? Now you can think about that situation, come up with a better plan, and don't get caught in the same trap next time.
You might also want to consider whether you are using optimal moves in certain situations. For instance, you shielded your enemy's attack, now what? Do you try the same thing each time? Maybe there is a better option? You have all the time in the world to think it through and figure out what you should have done.
Watching other's matches
Watching top players can be a great way to figure out some new strategies and how to deal with certain match ups better. It's particularly handy if you want to try learning a new character, and you want to see how the character should be played. Or maybe you just have a lot of trouble with a certain match up. Try to find several videos of that match up and break them down to see what's going on, and what the most effective strategies are.
Sometimes, it might help to put yourself in one of the player's shoes. What would you do next? And what did that player do? Why did he choose that option, and is it a better option than what you would have done?
Hopefully this guide has been at least slightly helpful in helping you to analyze matches more effectively. If you have any additional tips or corrections, please let me know.
- Applicable Games
- Smash 64, Melee, Brawl, Project M, Smash 3DS, Smash Wii U
