So... I just signed up to go to The Big House 5, even though I probably shouldn't have.

[Shadow Light Master]

I really suck! I don't mean that to beat up on myself, you guys are probably aware that I'm pretty new to competitive playing.

That said... I just couldn't pass up the biggest tournament of all time. I feel like with instant replays coming up, Dreamhack, and other things, we're at the start of a new era for Melee, and this is the last time we'll get a tournament that feels like... well, this. It's the premier grassroots Smash tournament, right?

I kept thinking to myself, "wait until you're out of med school to get into Smash." But then I realized, I'll probably never truly be free. Life is just about managing the time you have. Besides, if I wait 5 years from now, many of the gods probably will have retired. So this is my last chance, besides Dreamhack Austin, to have a chance at meeting them.

I keep having these dreams where I'm friends with Leffen. I don't know why, because M2K is my favorite god. But maybe it's my mission to take a selfie with him.

If you guys have any advice for me, or want to criticize me for going to a big tournament even though I suck, I'm all ears. I've only gone to local tournaments before this. I don't know what to do or to expect. I just want to chant "Armada!" with the crowd and scream to Plup that I think he's sexy.

 

[20YY SS | Saiblade]

I really suck! I don't mean that to beat up on myself, you guys are probably aware that I'm pretty new to competitive playing.

That said... I just couldn't pass up the biggest tournament of all time. I feel like with instant replays coming up, Dreamhack, and other things, we're at the start of a new era for Melee, and this is the last time we'll get a tournament that feels like... well, this. It's the premier grassroots Smash tournament, right?

I kept thinking to myself, "wait until you're out of med school to get into Smash." But then I realized, I'll probably never truly be free. Life is just about managing the time you have. Besides, if I wait 5 years from now, many of the gods probably will have retired. So this is my last chance, besides Dreamhack Austin, to have a chance at meeting them.

I keep having these dreams where I'm friends with Leffen. I don't know why, because M2K is my favorite god. But maybe it's my mission to take a selfie with him.

If you guys have any advice for me, or want to criticize me for going to a big tournament even though I suck, I'm all ears. I've only gone to local tournaments before this. I don't know what to do or to expect. I just want to chant "Armada!" with the crowd and scream to Plup that I think he's sexy.

Don't feel bad, haha. You need to keep a positive mindset. Sucking and going to a tournament is something everyone should do.

 

[Spak]

Sucking and going to a tourney is how you get better.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

I guess I have around a month not to be a total scrub. Time to master short hopping, wavedashing instead of rolling, tech chasing (I'm Sheik), and not holding my controller with a death grip. I guess I should look forward to a lot of friendlies.

 

[-=Untamed-Beast=-]

Yes! Look forward to it! NEVER be turned off from attending a smash event because of your skill level. It's not about your skill, it's about the fun in the community. Go in ready to learn and enjoy yourself. And as for your skill in the game, yeah, just keep working at it cause if you're driven, you'll go far.
(Also, new players tend to feel that everyone will be top notch at the game in a tournament, when it reality there are tons of new players all around.)

But then I realized, I'll probably never truly be free. Life is just about managing the time you have.

This is perhaps the most profound piece of philosophy I've read in a while.

By the way, that's a nice join date you've got on your account!

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Yes! Look forward to it! NEVER be turned off from attending a smash event because of your skill level. It's not about your skill, it's about the fun in the community. Go in ready to learn and enjoy yourself. And as for your skill in the game, yeah, just keep working at it cause if you're driven, you'll go far.
(Also, new players tend to feel that everyone will be top notch at the game in a tournament, when it reality there are tons of new players all around.)



This is perhaps the most profound piece of philosophy I've read in a while.

By the way, that's a nice join date you've got on your account!

Thanks! You have quite the join date yourself.

 

[ECHOnce]

I guess I have around a month not to be a total scrub. Time to master short hopping, wavedashing instead of rolling, tech chasing (I'm Sheik), and not holding my controller with a death grip. I guess I should look forward to a lot of friendlies.

Biggest secret of every competitive scene is that literally everyone is forever a scrub in their own eyes. It doesn't matter how much you progress; you'll always set a higher standard for yourself as you learn more. That self-doubt is what drives us, so don't beat yourself up about it. Stay hungry (:

 

[-ACE-]

Tournaments make you better.

Play as much as you can (hard when you're not well known, but I hear there are plenty of setups), but don't get too worried about winning/losing. Try your best not to get nervous. Always think about why you got hit, and analyze the situation that led to it. Find someone nice and ask questions. Have someone record a match with a phone, use the venues wifi to upload to YouTube, delete video from phone and go again. The more the better.

 

[Dolla Pills]

The biggest challenge of going to the tournament will probably be getting a selfie with Leffen, so you'll want to study your opponent so you can read his movement, learn how to approach, try to bait reactions out of him, and finally, how to take the ultimate picture. It won't be an easy task, and you only have a month, but if you practice hard you might be able to do it. Good luck

 

[ECHOnce]

The biggest challenge of going to the tournament will probably be getting a selfie with Leffen, so you'll want to study your opponent so you can read his movement, learn how to approach, try to bait reactions out of him, and finally, how to take the ultimate picture. It won't be an easy task, and you only have a month, but if you practice hard you might be able to do it. Good luck

But also don't get nervous or anything. Top players are real people, not celebrities. Even if they feel like it in person LOL. So the more casual/normal you are about meeting them, the less creepy you'll come off (and the less likely they'll be to NOPE away from you). Pretend it's the first day of school. Super easy to forget that and come of as a weirdo, and that could ruin the experience for you lol. good luck lol

 

[Shadow Light Master]

The biggest challenge of going to the tournament will probably be getting a selfie with Leffen, so you'll want to study your opponent so you can read his movement, learn how to approach, try to bait reactions out of him, and finally, how to take the ultimate picture. It won't be an easy task, and you only have a month, but if you practice hard you might be able to do it. Good luck

It's gonna be hard. This picture has to be frame perfect.

I started practicing. First thing I'm doing is polishing my wavedash. I often accidentally trigger my light shield at the end of it.
I also learned something interesting about my controller holding habits while practicing last night.

I had always assumed my hands hurt because I was gripping the controller too tight, but that was only half of it. When I was wave dashing across FD, I noticed I would progressively point my controller upward, as the camera zoomed in on me.

Not only was this making my wrists hurt, it was causing me to flub my wavedashes. It was pretty eye-opening to catch this subconscious habit. I never thought I moved my controller much as I played.

 

[20YY SS | Saiblade]

It's gonna be hard. This picture has to be frame perfect.

I started practicing. First thing I'm doing is polishing my wavedash. I often accidentally trigger my light shield at the end of it.
I also learned something interesting about my controller holding habits while practicing last night.

I had always assumed my hands hurt because I was gripping the controller too tight, but that was only half of it. When I was wave dashing across FD, I noticed I would progressively point my controller upward, as the camera zoomed in on me.

Not only was this making my wrists hurt, it was causing me to flub my wavedashes. It was pretty eye-opening to catch this subconscious habit. I never thought I moved my controller much as I played.

Nice realization, by the way, I merged your post to remove the double post.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Nice realization, by the way, I merged your post to remove the double post.

Oops, I'm sorry! I'll be more mindful in the future. I come from a forum where editing wasn't a feature for years and years (GameFAQs). So I sometimes doublepost out of habit. I won't do it again.

 

[20YY SS | Saiblade]

Oops, I'm sorry! I'll be more mindful in the future. I come from a forum where editing wasn't a feature for years and years (GameFAQs). So I sometimes doublepost out of habit. I won't do it again.

Yep, no problem, it's just a warning, haha, think of it as a reminder.

 

[pagedMov]

I really suck!

bruh
even if you suck, going to huge events where good players will be is an extremely good way to get better at this game. This is coming from my own personal experience, I attended SmashCon as the first major that I attended, and even though I didn't even make it out of pools R1, I still left ten times better than I arrived. There are many helpful players that attend these events that are more than willing to share their knowledge with newer players like you and I. Remember, at this level it's more rewarding to play to learn than to play to win.

 

[20YY SS | Saiblade]

bruh
even if you suck, going to huge events where good players will be is an extremely good way to get better at this game. This is coming from my own personal experience, I attended SmashCon as the first major that I attended, and even though I didn't even make it out of pools R1, I still left ten times better than I arrived. There are many helpful players that attend these events that are more than willing to share their knowledge with newer players like you and I. Remember, at this level it's more rewarding to play to learn than to play to win.

That's just bad mindset, you need to keep positive and listen to what PagedMov posted above me.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Thanks guys. Today at a local I wavedash edge-guarded a couple of people successfully, so my practice is paying off. I'm becoming less scared of doing it and flubbing less. I think I need to practice short hopping more though, I feel like without shffling my Sheik is basically neutered. I can't react fast enough to extend my combos to decent lengths.

On another note, I think Plup and Leffen are making me question my sexuality. I'm just joking, but I do have something serious to say about homophobia in the scene.

Maybe it's just where I live, but a lot of people are still saying "***" and "homo" and "****," and it's totally not okay. I even got made fun of by the TOs for saying I didn't like it. Guys, the community is going to repel LGBT and women players if we keep using this lingo, aside from it being dehumanizing. So if you hear someone say it, please do your part and say "not cool, dude."

 

[-ACE-]

I mind my own business unless I see someone cutting down someone else. Feel free to voice your many non-smash related opinions here:

http://smashboards.com/forums/debate-hall.23/

 

[Shadow Light Master]

I just bought a CRT TV and installed 20XX successfully!

I'm so excited. I'm gonna learn how to L-Cancel and stop rolling! Apparently there's a code to blow me up if I try to roll, that should be good. Also, I turned on the L-Canceling flashes, and I learned that I really had no idea what the window was until now. Lol. It's crazy how much lag is gone when you cancel it right. It was the most obvious to me with Sheik's bair. I might try it out with Ganondorf later.

Also, apparently Ganondorf is really good in the Ice Climbers match-up. I might not get to main him, but hey, I can at least train him for Sheik's worst fight!

I also bought an Ethernet cable. Hopefully tomorrow I can get Netplay up and running.

I'm so excited. I'm gonna try and train an hour a day until Big House. That reminds me, I need to buy my plane tickets and book a hotel. If anyone knows what hotel I should try, I would really appreciate it!

 

[Team Plasma N]

Honestly, go for it! Not everybody at a tournament is at monster level XD. Plus it's one of the best ways to improve. But even so, experiencing the event itself is rewarding enough.

I just bought a CRT TV and installed 20XX successfully!
I also bought an Ethernet cable. Hopefully tomorrow I can get Netplay up and running.

Yay, more netplayers ! If you need to find netplay matches, you can find them here once you get it running: www.smashladder.com

 

[Deleted member]

Be trash to beat trash.

 

[Shadow Light Master]

So, I successfully tech-chased some Foxes today as Sheik. Like me, they were low-level players, but it was the first time I got 3 re-grabs, and I did it a couple of times. So I'm pretty proud of myself. I've been looking at the tech animations.

I'm kind of having trouble though, because sometimes pressing Z will bring up my light shield, so I don't know what to do to prevent that, or why it happens.

Also, today we had a single elimination tournament. It was best of 3, but I was able to talk them into best of 5. So I feel like I did my good deed for the day.

I also got the numbers of two of my region's power ranked players. Actually, all the best in my region are willing to play with me! It's pretty sweet. I'm not gonna be competent by Big House, but I definitely will be after it.

 

[-ACE-]

Single elimination. Lol. Someone has confidence in their seeding lmao.

 

[Spak]

"Oh, you got put up against the TO 'cause it's your first tourney? Too bad, git gud kid."

 

[Shadow Light Master]

Ha ha ha! It's because we had to leave before his parents got home, and it was already midnight. X)