The Four Aspects of Melee

[Wobbles]

Yes, there is a factor of luck in this game, but with enough knowledge of how the game works you can control it. Knowing that Luigi has an opportunity to misfire his forward+b should mean that you put yourself in places where the misfire can't hit you. You know that Peach can pull stitch-faces and bob-ombs, and even though you can't control the turnips, you should be controlling the match to limit the odds of her being able to change the match's outcome with a single down+b.

It's harsh, but there you go.

 

[shoe]

Great read, one question, where would you put DI? I'd say DI'ing out of combo's is a part of your spacing, but there is also timing involved, and occasionally you have to out-guess your oponent (G&W throws as the most obvious example).

 

[Wobbles]

DI is a combination of mindgames and tactics: to DI well you'd need to know move trajectories as well as an accurate guess of what move the opponent will do. Reflexes help, of course.

 

[KevinM]

... Why is wobbles so awesome?!?
This is a really well thought out guide props to you my friend.
Oh and Desynch videos would be sick... They make me happy lol

 

[Luck-NYC/NJ]

i agree this thread should definatly get stickied but also i think he could have gone far more in depth about mindgames. I feel that if mindgames is simply reading and punishing another player far more people would be pro. what i want to know about mindgames is just what makes kens mindgames better then PC.Chris or Azen. Also how do you improve mindgames, for tech skill u simply can practice same as spacing same as tactics but how do u practice mindgames.

 

[Overswarm]

i agree this thread should definatly get stickied but also i think he could have gone far more in depth about mindgames. I feel that if mindgames is simply reading and punishing another player far more people would be pro. what i want to know about mindgames is just what makes kens mindgames better then PC.Chris or Azen. Also how do you improve mindgames, for tech skill u simply can practice same as spacing same as tactics but how do u practice mindgames.

Experience.

GJ Wobbles.

 

[Wobbles]

In all honesty, I still have to think a lot about that.

It is actually as a simple as knowing the opponent's next move and making them guess your move incorrectly. But there is a lot involved in that sort of process.

Actually... I think I'm going to go edit my first post with some thoughts on this. I don't know how useful they will be, but I hope they will help a bit.

I'm going to keep revising it actually, because I didn't say all I wanted to say, but I'm not sure how to word it. So I'll come back and try to be more clear in areas I don't cover well enough.

 

[Omega_Star]

Very nice, very nice, I seem to have hit a rut and have been looking for ways to improve, and I do believe that your advice will prove helpful to me.

I'd give you the entire cookie factory, but that was Pablo's idea so it'd just be a wanna-be cookie factory

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Great theory of the aspects of the game... Though, I believe there should be a 5th factor known as the "Physical Environment"

Physical Environment
Sorry if I'm somewhat pulling away from you what you were kinda are going for, Wobbles the Pheonix

Physical environment is basically what happens outside the game itself. Surprisingly, the outside world can really effect the person's gameplay, from what's the weather outside to who the player is actually playing against. To most people, this concept is usually known as an "outside mindgame" and it usually effects both players, but if one person where to fix around the area of comfort to get him/herself the "home advantage", its basically known as cheating.

(Blah... This subject is quite broad, but I think someone could probably fill it in the rest... I'm too tired...)

 

[Wobbles]

Hmm... that's an interesting topic to explore, but I really was trying to focus more on the in-game occurrences rather than out of game ones. Perhaps that deserves its own big thread.

 

[Uck]

When You Don't Want To Think and Why.
This section is so great my brother plays Samus and he is preety good but he would always had trouble against the new players who has some experiance playing smash.As I would completely cripple them my brother would lose to simply a marth who C sticks alot.I printed this and gave him a copy to read and behold! Its like he was sprinkled with leet dust and now can punish the other guys as I do. Sticky!

 

[Tsukuyomi]

Well, that's nice to hear...

Just wondering, Wobbles... Are you making a new topic about the "Physical Environment" or am I to make it, since you did find interests and thought that it should have it's own thread... I kinda actually want to start something up about it, though if you think you can do it, I'll let you have it... Or we could somewhat put both opinions together and such...

 

[Dogysamich]

Eh, I like this thread.

It's pretty much how i've thought about the game, but actually put into words (im real bad with descriptions).

Pretty helpful little guide for people who are starting and dont know where to go from there.

I've always had problems trying to explain what goes through my head when I play to somebody who only plays the game for "fun" (fun being defined as turn the game on and play, not changing items, stages, etc)

 

[h1roshi]

i like the different look on tactics and spacing..its new and original...in depth looks on topics that are usually ignored in smash....peace

-hiroshi

 

[Uck]

Very imformative people can learn alot from this thread.

 

[Wobbles]

You can make that topic if you like. The physical environment you play in is important, and you need to find what helps you play best.

Edit: I'm also editing the mindgames section AGAIN for a bit of discussion on reflexes and reaction time and how it fits into your prediction of other people's actions.

 

[Zelgadîs ™]

I've actually been working on a rather large article on how to improve oneself out of the game, and what it takes to move on to the next level in your game. I should have the article posted up sometime today. Should be a fun read, and if I'm lucky, it'll be half as good as this thread here. Extremely nice work Rob, very extensive review of one's game. Kudos.

*Edit* lol guess I forgot to log out of his account. This is King. /*Edit*

King Out

 

[Wobbles]

Thanks for the kind words Dan I'll look forward to reading yours as well.

 

[Wobbles]

Double posting to bump, I added a new section on "hybrid aspects." Right now the only part of it is "punishment," but I'll be adding more to it in the future.

 

[Uck2]

Wow very nice thread I think I killed a few brain cells reading this over and over again.

 

[Retroking2000]

really useful

 

[Wobbles]

I can't tell if that's a compliment Uck ;P

I added another section to "hybrid aspects" about recovery.

Hybrid aspects is going to contain a LOT of info. Look in there frequently when I update the article.

 

[Uck2]

I can't tell if that's a compliment Uck ;P

I added another section to "hybrid aspects" about recovery.

Hybrid aspects is going to contain a LOT of info. Look in there frequently when I update the article.

Haha no really It was an interesting read so much that I read it over and over again.Trying to not forget anything.My head hurts from reading so much that I need an aspirin.Then you keep adding sections so it makes me want to reread the whole thing. /sigh

 

[Excel_Zero]

Excellent post. Now I finally understand a lot better the things I do with names.

 

[cradmazy_SKAG]

you forgot the fifth aspect.

infinite grab combos

haha jk. ur the man cuz ur words are relavant. well stated ideas.

"You are only as good as your worst skill."
money quote.

 

[Luck-NYC/NJ]

um good post cuz yadda yadda u've herd it from everyone else. im just another number in the statistics saying good read for reason a,b,c yadda yadda

 

[Taj278]

Wobbles!!! Why is he so amazing? Oh, because he stayed in AZ and flourished with fantasticness. Learn to infinite people with EZ mode, **** with bottom tier, and become enlightened with profound understanding of Smash only in AZ. =D

 

[Weber_2102]

The post is a good read but, there are a few more then four categories concerning melee theory one that sticks out is tempo control (Knowing when the pace is being set by yourself or your opponent) which can dramatically increase the effectiveness of the categories that you mentioned. I'm not bashing your post at all, in fact I commend it and recommend to anyone who does not understand these aspects of melee theory. It is just I have never seen a post talking about tempo control, center control, or move manipulation and I would really like to hear someone else's opinions on these rarely talked about theory aspects.

 

[Wobbles]

In a very broad sense, space control would fall under tactics... but you're right, I never even addressed it at all. I'll add it as a subsection under tactics, and then another section about match pacing under hybrid aspects. Thanks for the idea.

 

[conn]

pretty nice guide. helps quite a bit.

 

[Linkster47]

Good job! I always tell people "why WD or SHFLL against someone who is not good when it would be easier to just kill them?". I'm glad someone agrees that matching skill is important and you should not go pro on a n00b. BTW, thanks for the mindgame part, Link doesn't have much tech, so his mindgames are a must.

 

[squaminator]

+rep?
10 chars

 

[sampresident]

You really know your stuff Wobbs

 

[Wobbles]

Bump for a section under hybrid aspects about space control. I would have written it earlier, but I've been trying to understand it more concretely before I pretend I know what I'm talking about. In fact, I still doubt that I do but writing about it might help.

Probably the next section is controlling the pace of a match. I'd actually really like to write that along with King, if he'd be willing... so maybe it will have its own thread, or be part of his thread. Or maybe I'll just write it on my own in the end. We'll see.

 

[SmashMac]

This is an amazing thread. The information in this thread is great and I read it all word-for-word. Thank you Wobbles and good work.

 

[JesiahTEG]

Could wobbles possibly be the wisest man on earth????????

 

[ArticulacyFTW]

Wobbles, you are the personification of winning. If awesomeness ever decided to manifest itself on Earth in the form of a dude who plays video games, you would be it.

Best post I've read on the forum, period. Most informative, most awesome.

 

[freddy 22]

Wobbles I have to say that reading this has made me a better player. Thanks for the advice.

 

[Mailorder]

Bump, because I agree.

 

[TJK1997]

I agree so much.