Rationing Technical Skill

[KishPrime]

Brought this up in my other thread, but thought I'd start up another discussion for funsies.

I think that rationing technical skill is an interesting thing to think about. We all only have so many brain and energy resources. More often than not, I think one of the best skills to have is to know how to allocate those resources - to tech skill, to reading, to large-game strategy, etc.

My theory is that it is not necessary to always have perfect tech skill, but you need to know when to turn it on. If you always have it on to maximum, you run the risk of burning yourself out, as I think it the most wearying thing you can try to keep up through a tournament. I personally suspect that's why Fox/Falco players have historically struggled to finish the job and win tournaments - they burn out trying to win matches through tech skill alone.

Sleep has a huge impact here as well. My personal best tournament performances technically have almost always occurred when I had a bed to sleep in for a solid 7-8 hours, whether at home or at a hotel. I doubt that it's a coincidence, and while that is highly anecdotal, sleep science seems to back that up. Less than 6 hours, and most of your creative capability goes out the window (for an average person), though you may be able to function normally at a base level and think nothing is wrong with yourself.

I think that most players that have been in the Top 25 of a major, 250-person tournament almost all do some of this brain/energy saving subconsciously. Some call it sandbagging, but we know that it's more important to conserve brain and muscle energy for later rounds when it will be necessary than to win every match in your first-round pool. That's not an excuse for losing, but it's true that sometimes one can be slow to react and turn it up if they start losing a match that they aren't expecting to lose. I distinctly remember several early-pool losses to players who ended up doing pretty badly overall. At the end of them, I remember literally thinking "Oh, shoot." after I lost my last stock, like I'd lost track of just how close I was to losing the match and waited too long to shake out of cruise-control. I lost to what ended up as the last place player at FC1 that way, yet still finished in the top 20% of the final placings once the tournament kicked in.

So a few things in play here to someone who is looking for application. First off, anyone wanting to be good should have the capacity to turn it up when needed to a top-caliber level. Second, players should build up endurance so they can apply that level for as long as is needed. The longer, the better. It's never a bad thing to have more tech skill in reserve. Third, players need to have ways of playing sound without burning up their technical resources to win against lower-level players.

Thoughts? I'll sit out of it for awhile.

 

[Sinji]

Brought this up in my other thread, but thought I'd start up another discussion for funsies.

I think that rationing technical skill is an interesting thing to think about. We all only have so many brain and energy resources. More often than not, I think one of the best skills to have is to know how to allocate those resources - to tech skill, to reading, to large-game strategy, etc.

My theory is that it is not necessary to always have perfect tech skill, but you need to know when to turn it on. If you always have it on to maximum, you run the risk of burning yourself out, as I think it the most wearying thing you can try to keep up through a tournament. I personally suspect that's why Fox/Falco players have historically struggled to finish the job and win tournaments - they burn out trying to win matches through tech skill alone.

Sleep has a huge impact here as well. My personal best tournament performances technically have almost always occurred when I had a bed to sleep in for a solid 7-8 hours, whether at home or at a hotel. I doubt that it's a coincidence, and while that is highly anecdotal, sleep science seems to back that up. Less than 6 hours, and most of your creative capability goes out the window (for an average person), though you may be able to function normally at a base level and think nothing is wrong with yourself.

I think that most players that have been in the Top 25 of a major, 250-person tournament almost all do some of this brain/energy saving subconsciously. Some call it sandbagging, but we know that it's more important to conserve brain and muscle energy for later rounds when it will be necessary than to win every match in your first-round pool. That's not an excuse for losing, but it's true that sometimes one can be slow to react and turn it up if they start losing a match that they aren't expecting to lose. I distinctly remember several early-pool losses to players who ended up doing pretty badly overall. At the end of them, I remember literally thinking "Oh, shoot." after I lost my last stock, like I'd lost track of just how close I was to losing the match and waited too long to shake out of cruise-control. I lost to what ended up as the last place player at FC1 that way, yet still finished in the top 20% of the final placings once the tournament kicked in.

So a few things in play here to someone who is looking for application. First off, anyone wanting to be good should have the capacity to turn it up when needed to a top-caliber level. Second, players should build up endurance so they can apply that level for as long as is needed. The longer, the better. It's never a bad thing to have more tech skill in reserve. Third, players need to have ways of playing sound without burning up their technical resources to win against lower-level players.

Thoughts? I'll sit out of it for awhile.

The second paragraph is absolutely true. I like what you said: fox/falco players historically struggle to finish the job. They tend to burn out themselves and they don't know how to slow down the pace.

 

[DoH]

Eh, I sandbag subconsciously. Then I get 3rd in every pool and make it to bracket somehow.

Though I do agree about rationing tech skill; sometimes I'll be able to powershield>downsmash every move random Falco throws out early on, but when I have to play in late rounds I can't even powershield a laser.

 

[KishPrime]

I forgot to ask the other part of the question which is - Does anyone actually do this consciously?

I'm curious if anyone is actually that self-aware and controls their play in that way.

 

[Metà]

This is why playing Jigglypuff is so amazing. I don't have any tech skill to worry about : D

 

[Massive]

This is a concept I have encountered before even within matches, although I'd call it more of a concentration intensity rationing than a technical skill rationing in my case.

I have a tendency to choke when a match draws on for too long, I apparently don't have much stamina in regards to my match intensity. I may be up 3 stock at the 3 minute mark but I tend to lose whatever concentration I had before and become much easier to deal with, sometimes leading to a very narrow victory or a complete turnaround loss.

Is anyone able to quantify their ability rationing strategies in an applicable way?

 

[Sinji]

I forgot to ask the other part of the question which is - Does anyone actually do this consciously?

I'm curious if anyone is actually that self-aware and controls their play in that way.

Yea. Im always aware when to slow down my tech skill or speed it up.

 

[The Star King]

Tech skill shouldn't be very conscious at all. If you have to put in conscious effort in order to effectively execute something successfully, you're doing it wrong.

Pros don't exactly have to put effort into wavedashing and L-canceling successfully. They do it effortlessly.

 

[ss118]

I agree with the star king: tech skill should become automatic after a period. You can choose to push it at times, but really you should know your comfortable level of tech skill available to you so you can focus on your opponent's character.

 

[Strong Badam]

Tech skill shouldn't be very conscious at all. If you have to put in conscious effort in order to effectively execute something successfully, you're doing it wrong.

Pros don't exactly have to put effort into wavedashing and L-canceling successfully. They do it effortlessly.

But doing so uses up mental and physical stamina, regardless of whether or not it's conscious. Did you read all of Kish's post? Lol

 

[KishPrime]

Yeah, that wasn't really my post.

I'm talking about the energy it takes for a person who has 90% l-cancelling effortlessly to push it to 95%, and from 95% effortlessly to 98%. I use l-cancelling because it's easy to measure, but it's the same with frame-level accuracy. It's infinitely easier and takes less mental stamina to nail something correct within 3 frames than it is to nail it within 1 frame.

Unless you're miles ahead of the field, you will eventually expend some effort in the process of trying to avoid a loss. If you're playing the game effortlessly, then you're either winning every tournament or your competing incorrectly.

 

[Dr Peepee]

It's a concept I apply more to Fox players, but I think to some Falcos it applies too.

It is certainly a general principle you're getting at but like you said it's more pronounced in the spacies.

Also I kind of do this in that I some names I "prime" myself for(preparing myself to have maximum technical output against). I didn't think about it in this exact way because I already play in a tech skill rationing sort of way I suppose.

Stop saying so many things I agree with. =(

 

[KishPrime]

lol...did it become bad to agree with KishPrime?

As a general rule, I think Fox players have to expend more technical skill than Falco during most of the match, but Falco's peak tech output has to rival or surpass Fox's peak, doesn't it? What's the hardest type of technical sequence to do with Falco?

EDIT: On a side note, wouldn't it be awesome if there was a way to log number of button inputs and stick movement and plot them over a match?

 

[Strong Badam]

It's mostly precision with Falco IMO. It's not exactly pressing buttons quickly, but rather, pressing buttons within a short time frame to get the precision you need. Shorthop Laser isn't necessarily difficult, but shooting them precisely exactly where you want and need while under the pressure of a tournament set is.

 

[KishPrime]

I agree with that, but I believe precision is a form of technical output, though a complicated one to analyze. Having to maintain near-frame-perfect precision has to be similarly taxing to having to input rapid button presses, doesn't it?

And really, I'm just talking about Falco's peak. Fox does have more most of the time.

 

[Dr Peepee]

lol...did it become bad to agree with KishPrime?

As a general rule, I think Fox players have to expend more technical skill than Falco during most of the match, but Falco's peak tech output has to rival or surpass Fox's peak, doesn't it? What's the hardest type of technical sequence to do with Falco?

EDIT: On a side note, wouldn't it be awesome if there was a way to log number of button inputs and stick movement and plot them over a match?

Nah I just like arguing stuff sometimes and you don't say much I can't be like "yeah makes sense" to lol.

Agreed at both of those, and generally anything involving platforms in conjunction with pressure cause Falcos to push lots of buttons. Axe does a lot of shine waveland bair stuff and anything coming from a platform tends to result in a lot of inputs(like if I were to fall through a platform and Dair or something then I'd have to be tight on my shine and following pressure/retreat and momentum afterward because people like trying to punish falling Falco).

And yes it would lol. Some people have had APM recorded in a thread to see how many inputs players have had but I believe that's not going on anymore.


Edit @ precision: Yeah that's related to spacing on shields and how you get your lasers just so when you approach while maintaining speed. That's a lot of work in itself at times but it's a different kind of technical or mental strain(whatever you decide to call it I guess haha).

 

[Wobbles]

For ICs I have a few basic traps and tricks that I use to obliterate a lot of players by landing lots of cheesy grabs, so for most big tournaments that I go to I will typically win my pools without losing any matches. The best part is I don't have to think about it very hard. Usually they are basic de-syncs that trap people into getting grabbed.

Last pools match that I've lost in the past couple of years was dropping 1 game in my second round of pools at APEX. Ganon punches hurt

 

[Strong Badam]

I agree, Kish, I was mentioning precision as a technical challenge.

 

[Sinji]

^ yea i agree with u. laser spacing requires precision and consistency. Getting the opportunity to out space your opponent without them punishing you.

 

[Lovage]

endurance is absolutely a factor when playing a spacie at a national-level tournament.

if you have the capacity to take top 20 at a national, you should really think twice about playing friendlies with people the entire day, especially if you're playing good people and have to try, because you can get exhausted really easily from playing fox and trying with him too much lol.

getting a good night's sleep, eating well and not being hungover always helps, but if you're a talented player that wants to win, it doesn't really mean **** for how you're gonna end up placing. some of my best performances in tournament have been on 2 hours sleep and zero food lmao. pretty much every good player i know can say they've done the same thing.




me and hugs used to prepare for big tournaments with "smash cardio," where we both play our absolute hearts out, with our mains, for like 2-3 hours straight. i have to play so god damned fast and precise for hours at a time it feels like running a ****ing marathon, my hands start shaking and my brain gets fuzzy from actually trying for hours on end LOL.

it might sound like it's something you can do anytime you want, but forcing yourself to actually try your hardest all the time and play to the best of your ability is almost an unreachable goal. trying to practice like this though has definitely improved my consistency when having to play three or more best of 5 sets in a row within an hour or two.

 

[Violence]

endurance is absolutely a factor when playing a spacie at a national-level tournament.

if you have the capacity to take top 20 at a national, you should really think twice about playing friendlies with people the entire day, especially if you're playing good people and have to try, because you can get exhausted really easily from playing fox and trying with him too much lol.

getting a good night's sleep, eating well and not being hungover always helps, but if you're a talented player that wants to win, it doesn't really mean **** for how you're gonna end up placing. some of my best performances in tournament have been on 2 hours sleep and zero food lmao. pretty much every good player i know can say they've done the same thing.




me and hugs used to prepare for big tournaments with "smash cardio," where we both play our absolute hearts out, with our mains, for like 2-3 hours straight. i have to play so god damned fast and precise for hours at a time it feels like running a ****ing marathon, my hands start shaking and my brain gets fuzzy from actually trying for hours on end LOL.

it might sound like it's something you can do anytime you want, but forcing yourself to actually try your hardest all the time and play to the best of your ability is almost an unreachable goal. trying to practice like this though has definitely improved my consistency when having to play three or more best of 5 sets in a row within an hour or two.

QFT.

I think there's a lot of merit to smashing yourself out the night before a tournament, then getting a good night's sleep and playing casual warm ups until you're comfortable on the day of. I think I did that at DGDTJ, and I felt like I was playing decently well(by my standards at the time).

 

[Teczer0]

endurance is absolutely a factor when playing a spacie at a national-level tournament.

if you have the capacity to take top 20 at a national, you should really think twice about playing friendlies with people the entire day, especially if you're playing good people and have to try, because you can get exhausted really easily from playing fox and trying with him too much lol.

getting a good night's sleep, eating well and not being hungover always helps, but if you're a talented player that wants to win, it doesn't really mean **** for how you're gonna end up placing. some of my best performances in tournament have been on 2 hours sleep and zero food lmao. pretty much every good player i know can say they've done the same thing.




me and hugs used to prepare for big tournaments with "smash cardio," where we both play our absolute hearts out, with our mains, for like 2-3 hours straight. i have to play so god damned fast and precise for hours at a time it feels like running a ****ing marathon, my hands start shaking and my brain gets fuzzy from actually trying for hours on end LOL.

it might sound like it's something you can do anytime you want, but forcing yourself to actually try your hardest all the time and play to the best of your ability is almost an unreachable goal. trying to practice like this though has definitely improved my consistency when having to play three or more best of 5 sets in a row within an hour or two.

I've actually tried something very similar to the last 2 paragraphs, with Jman and Eggm. I'm trying to get in a lot more games with Hax lately too just to see how I stack and where my average skill level is. Its.. pretty rough lol, even for a technical player of Eggm's caliber, he's told me its hard to keep up playing so hard for more than 2 hrs. I usually have a hard time playing Fox at my peak for over 2 hrs.

Also at this thread, at tournament this is pretty useful. Like Lovage said, I usually avoid trying to play high/top caliber players during the tournament and usually play mid level players to stay warmed up. Endurance is the hardest thing to keep up for me during a tournament so I usually try to keep this one in mind.

And yea, I agree with lovage rofl

 

[The Star King]

But doing so uses up mental and physical stamina, regardless of whether or not it's conscious. Did you read all of Kish's post? Lol

See, I don't think so.

Yeah, that wasn't really my post.

I'm talking about the energy it takes for a person who has 90% l-cancelling effortlessly to push it to 95%, and from 95% effortlessly to 98%. I use l-cancelling because it's easy to measure, but it's the same with frame-level accuracy. It's infinitely easier and takes less mental stamina to nail something correct within 3 frames than it is to nail it within 1 frame.

Unless you're miles ahead of the field, you will eventually expend some effort in the process of trying to avoid a loss. If you're playing the game effortlessly, then you're either winning every tournament or your competing incorrectly.

You shouldn't be pushing it at all. That's my point. It should be at the level where it's effortless.

 

[KishPrime]

Even if I grant you that (which I won't) and pretend that every top player has achieved technical nirvana, Melee is a game that pushes human limits. Look at any of the tool assisted vids and then compare them to pro play. It's night and day different. Clearly pros are pushing the limits of what is possible in the game given their human limits, and anytime you push human limits, you're going to wear out eventually.

Still, I guarantee you that every single player, no matter how good they are, tries to step it up to another level and expends additional resources (energy, brainpower, etc.) whenever they are up against someone of the same or higher skill level. Basically in this thread, everyone is saying the same thing. However, they still have to strike a balance so that they don't lose the mental part of their game.

 

[Strong Badam]

Are you at that level yet? People make a lot of assumptions about high level play that aren't true. L-canceling, perhaps not, but the precision necessary to space properly at high level play definitely requires mental effort.

 

[The Star King]

Even if I grant you that (which I won't) and pretend that every top player has achieved technical nirvana, Melee is a game that pushes human limits. Look at any of the tool assisted vids and then compare them to pro play. It's night and day different. Clearly pros are pushing the limits of what is possible in the game given their human limits, and anytime you push human limits, you're going to wear out eventually.

You're missing my point completely. I am not claiming that top players are anywhere near technical perfection. I am not claiming they can come anywhere near the technical level of TAS videos. I'm saying they should stick to what they can do comfortably (in tournament matches), and focus on the mental aspect of the game, rather than the technical.

Still, I guarantee you that every single player, no matter how good they are, tries to step it up to another level and expends additional resources (energy, brainpower, etc.) whenever they are up against someone of the same or higher skill level. Basically in this thread, everyone is saying the same thing. However, they still have to strike a balance so that they don't lose the mental part of their game.

Of course. But they should be doing so focusing on thinking, not trying to be as technical as possible.

Are you at that level yet? People make a lot of assumptions about high level play that aren't true. L-canceling, perhaps not, but the precision necessary to space properly at high level play definitely requires mental effort.

I can L-cancel consistently without actually consciously thinking about it, and I'm pretty sure it's the same for high level players, just with more technically challenging things (depending on the player/character).

I wouldn't categorize spacing under "tech skill". I am saying that tech skill should be sub-conscious in a tournament setting. I am DEFINITELY NOT saying that Smash in general should be sub-conscious (on "auto-pilot").

Most of my thoughts about high level play come from Smash 64. I know people are probably going to attack me and say that Melee's completely different/at a higher level, but whatever.

 

[Strong Badam]

I could consider precise spacing to be technical. Spacing in and of itself, no, but precision. Like you have to think and mentally tell your fingers to space x move properly.
I use a very spacing-heavy character, DK, and I experience this in tournament. I really couldn't imagine that being automatic.

 

[KishPrime]

I think we actually are just misunderstanding each other (though I could be wrong). To me, it sounds like you are separating out strategy and positioning and such, and suggesting that top players should be expending most of their energy on that.

On that, I actually agree with you, and I'm sure that most of them do. This really isn't what I'm getting at. I'm not saying that players spend 70% of their brain power on technical skill. I'm saying that players who continually try to operate beyond their "comfortable" capacity of tech skill, whether this capacity is due to human factors or training factors, burn themselves out exponentially quicker.

I'm also suggesting that all players push their limits past what is comfortable at times. There are times where one has no choice but to allocate more resources to tech skill when you are losing the battle because of it, and it may require a player to stop thinking about the mental side of things (for lack of a better word) and switch to the physical skills (precision, speed, control). My suggestion is that players who constantly force themselves up against this wall of their own limits can wear out.

Sometimes this wall can be pushed further with practice, but eventually you are pushing human capacity (hence my tool-assisted example) and you're just constantly draining yourself. That's what I think Fox players especially have to do far too often. To keep up with the speed of the game, they have to play at a rate that is beyond "human-limit" comfort, which is a drain on their stamina. I'm wondering if some players find strategies or ways to mediate throughout a tournament. From this thread, it sounds like some players do.

 

[OverLord]

I forgot to ask the other part of the question which is - Does anyone actually do this consciously?

I'm curious if anyone is actually that self-aware and controls their play in that way.

I'm also suggesting that all players push their limits past what is comfortable at times. There are times where one has no choice but to allocate more resources to tech skill when you are losing the battle because of it, and it may require a player to stop thinking about the mental side of things (for lack of a better word) and switch to the physical skills (precision, speed, control). My suggestion is that players who constantly force themselves up against this wall of their own limits can wear out.

Sometimes this wall can be pushed further with practice, but eventually you are pushing human capacity (hence my tool-assisted example) and you're just constantly draining yourself. That's what I think Fox players especially have to do far too often. To keep up with the speed of the game, they have to play at a rate that is beyond "human-limit" comfort, which is a drain on their stamina. I'm wondering if some players find strategies or ways to mediate throughout a tournament. From this thread, it sounds like some players do.

I personally always try to get warmed up to the point I don't miss standard things and movements in my gameplay, and then I try to use the less effort possible to beat people in pools.

Playing more than a couple of Bo5 in one hour can be mentally tiring, so I try consciously to save stamina and keep my mind fresh for the best opponents.

 

[Silent Wolf]

kishprime - so are you playing melee again? you should consider hosting another FC tournament :o

 

[Rubyiris]

Kish, as a very technical reliant player, I find I operate best when I'm sleep deprives since my muscle memory becomes unhindered by second guessing, a lack etc confidence, etc. What is your argument for players who don't operate under the norm?

 

[Myztek]

To assume that tech skill needs to be rationed is to assume that we have a limited capacity for performing technical feats while playing.

But what is the limiting factor? Either mental or physical, I say.

I don't see physical being an issue unless you unnecessarily tense up your muscles and grip your controller harder than needed - or you just do things that tire your hands out rapidly. But assuming that you can keep yourself relaxed enough that you don't use needless physical energy, then we can narrow it down to mental.

Personally, I think that this comes down to mental endurance, which can be improved through many means. And I also believe that mental energy is depleted more rapidly only when you try and exceed your normal threshold. I doubt many people make an effort to improve this aspect of their game or try to control the numerous external factors that play into cognitive ability.

Anyway, I don't have time to type any more, so I'll finish this post later. Good topic to get some thoughts churning.

 

[BigD!!!]

i think i do a short term version of this whenever i play fox

i opt out of most of the technical, optimal choices because i know i cant keep up a high level technical output for a whole match, but people will still refer to my tech skill as good because i save it so im perfectly ready to do things like drill shine grabs/upsmashes and the like

i played sveet a while ago and he commented on how he was waiting for me to do the normal shield pressure so he could do his normal counter, but instead i was just kind of standing near his shield or jumping over it behind him or something

i frequently feel like fox in general isnt a very technically demanding character when it comes to the actual tactics necessary to win matches, and i think its because i subconsciously make it easier for myself to do those tactics

 

[Superspright]

I think quantifying brain-power is the first thing you need to do when presenting an argument like this. Since you can't. I am just going to assume you mean concentration. That's measurable at least to some degree--even if it's just another abstraction. A person's concentration is a variable in a tournament setting--but the top echelon get nigh tunnel vision like concentration on what they need to do. Unless they are not in good physical condition [sick/hungover/insert issue here] technical feats are a minor nuisance--just avenues to get their result. Like Star King has been repeating ad naseum really good players don't have to think about execution. Spacing isn't really probably too much of an issue. Situations that become guessing games are an issue though. Where it becomes rock-paper-scissor in a particular match-up situation it may require more concentration to follow any patterns your opponent uses.

Essentially though I feel that all of a pro's energy is really expended on analyzing their opponent. Finding ANY habits their opponent may have [not that there really many at the top level of play]. Their character is just a tool to beat their opponent. They know how to use the tool set. They just have to figure out how. They l-cancel like you jump. They waveshine like you wavedash. I still have to have a conscious element to my own movement and play--which is wrong. I have to fix that, but I know that when something becomes automatic it becomes more effective; ex. I play off of powershields a lot; that became instinctive, but I need to learn how to respond better. But whatever.

 

[MTKO]

I forgot to ask the other part of the question which is - Does anyone actually do this consciously?

I'm curious if anyone is actually that self-aware and controls their play in that way.

Okay this may sound weird, but I do sometimes write down thoughts that I find helpful to my gameplay or seem to be an answer to a problem.

So recently I wrote down some thoughts I had that happen to be similar to this topic. I was thinking that it can be important to not play to your fullest - mostly in the tech skill area, but even allowing yourself to play on a lower level of skill - in order to not use up all of the material you're working with and possibly condition your opponent to play a certain way.

Now I'll explain this more since that was probably confusing. At a tournament I recently went to, some of the players that were better than me (BAsically everyone lol) took greater risked to get more damage/take a quick stock when they noticed that I was obviously not as good as them. However, then I'd go off a bit and turn up the tech skill and take a stock or get a nice combo and put them in a bad position. Then I'd play differently and keep it low for a while and then do the same thing again (Not really on purpose, even though I was recognizing it, I'm just not very good)

So what I'm trying to say is that using a lower level of tech skill (or even mental skill) to condition your opponent to play a certain way, reserve your own mental energy and keep fingers from cramping up, and to always keep yet another trick in your bag seems like it could be a valid strategy for people who want to play that style. I'm going to try to work on it myself, even if it ends up not working.

 

[Wobbles]

Superspright: Claming that you cannot quantify brain-power is a fallacy. It's based on a variety of chemical factors that alter how you think and perceive. Not that we can do so with extreme accuracy at the moment, but consider the following:

Stress and excitement alter cause changes within the body via things like epinephrine and cortisol. They drain certain resources, lower your immune system functioning in favor if increasing blood-sugar levels... this stuff affects the way you think and play. Serious concentration causes crashes later for the same reason that energy drinks do it; chemical releases . You are right in saying that most pros do not have to think about their execution, but understand there is a BASE level of execution where your muscle memory mostly takes over, and then there are difficult combos and techniques that even extremely good players have to concentrate to execute.

Ever play a game like IIDX or Pop'n'Music? I can do most beginner level songs in Pop'n barely looking at the screen while a beginner would be sweating just from the effort of trying to read it. Once I get into much harder difficulties, it takes a large amount of mental energy for me to keep up. And then there are people who can clear every song on the hardest difficulty, but there's still going to be a level at which they too require concentration, and you can't maintain that state forever. Your body does not let you.

 

[Deleted member]

if you're going to talk about such a nebulous term like tech skill, you should define them for a reference. let's go with the old classic:

technical ability- the ability to consistently perform whatever it is that you want to do.

under this definition, the inability to perform an action, ability to perform an action but with little consistency, or performing that action poorly can be taken as poor tech skill.

we should also address accuracy vs precision in a simpler context, since they are easy to confuse when applied to the game.

As you can see above, the left column is the "precise" column and the right is lacking. Similarly, the top row displays good accuracy, and the bottom shows poor accuracy.

What does this mean in terms of tech skill? since tech skill is just doing whatever it is that you want to do, it definitely includes both precision and accuracy. i would go so far as to say that those two areas are the most important aspects of tech skill, over raw speed or game/character specific knowledge.

edit:

i frequently feel like fox in general isnt a very technically demanding character when it comes to the actual tactics necessary to win matches, and i think its because i subconsciously make it easier for myself to do those tactics

YES. absolutely. i've been saying that fox is the easiest viable character for some years now.

 

[Rubyiris]

So does anyone have an answer for players like me that generally play better sleep deprived? To elaborate, atop of my technical skill becoming significantly more precise when I'm exhausted, I play generally better and more confident, since I'm less distracted by my negative nature and lack of confidence.

For those who aren't familiar with how I play: Most of my decisions are made unconsciously. Most of my thinking regarding smash is done before the tournament, before the set, after the set, and after the tournament. I'm the kind of player who memorizes obscene amounts of information, practices for obscene amounts of time to drill that knowledge into my head, and apply those concepts in a match subconsciously.

Another piece of relevant information: I have obscene amounts of endurance. People who complain about demanding games hurting their body in various ways have always confused me. The only game-related injuries I've ever gotten were from the dualshock 2 controller's DPad when I used to play Tekken Tag, Guilty Gear competitively, and DDR/ITG for obvious reasons, and I play SSBM (obviously), and used to play the following games at a very high level: Beatmania IIDX, Stepmania Online, In The Groove, Pump It Up, DDR, O2Jam, DJMax, FFR, and GunZ the Duel. Playing extremely technical for long periods of time has been a non-issue for me for a very long time.

Also, I'm not trying to brag or instigate crap. I just want to know Kish's opinion about players like me who operate outside the norm regarding his theory.

 

[Superspright]

Superspright: Claming that you cannot quantify brain-power is a fallacy. It's based on a variety of chemical factors that alter how you think and perceive. Not that we can do so with extreme accuracy at the moment, but consider the following:

It's not quantifiable. Are we going to measure neurochemical transmitters too? We barely understand how the ion channels work and you're going to tell me we can measure brain power? In any event. You CAN measure concentration. You can't slap someone in an MRI and extrapolate their 'brainpower' rofl.

 

[Wretched]

Wait, wait, wait...
Are we talking about individual matches?
If so, rationing tech skill isn't ****. Playing one person should be a full on effort for 100% of the game. Unless you're trying to confuse your opponent, there is no reason to stop playing technically well.
If you're thinking about the big picture, as in ensuring that you're ready for every round to come, it might make somewhat of a difference, but you should definitely get into a pattern of always playing to your technical capacity.