UK player thoughts on how to improve your game; for the UK :)

[Kone]

This thread is for posting info or help in regards to improving at melee. Post away or read insights from UK players!

 

[Fuzzyness]

its kinda late tho ed, and the coach prices are high.. no one in london will travel =/ it needs more time in advance

5 people on megabus..£20 each

5 people on nationalexpress.. £30 each

this would officially be the worst price ever spent to any UK tournament

unless you want me to come on my own again and this tournament will have a **** turnout >_>

 

[Bullet Bill]

Money will be an issue for me as well Ed I'm afraid. Rest assured that If I do get some work in time I would def come.

 

[Kone]

Dont talk to me as if I dont know that tournaments need more time charles. My post clearly shows that ive taken that into account and that im aware money and time restriction means this would be unlikely. Read the thread title. Also, worse priced tournament for a londoner, i dont think you realise how much the rest of the country have to spend sometimes :/.

Also, i dont know where you have got your prices from??? London to sunderland with national express is £14 return on fri 21st and sun 23rd. There are also 3/4 bus choices on each day? what were you trying?

If the prices are more for a group then buy individually =s common sense?

Im aware that this is unlikely, which is why im jsut throwing out the concept. If people want it, ill give it, if not no loss

 

[Tamoo]

I'd be very interested in this if it kicks off, hopefully, enough people will become interested/find time to come to this.

 

[Kone]

cheers dude, as i say, only £14 return aint too bad. depends on money issues with the rest of community tho :/ =s

 

[Fuzzyness]

it sucks travelling alone though

£14 is still bad imo

 

[Kone]

are you kidding me man? how is 14 bad? ask around charles, non londoners dont get funfares. We have to deal with normally spending around 20 if not more.

You dont need to travel alone, just get people to book their tickets themselves :/ or just buy alot of tickets INDIVIDUALLY. Im sure it wont stop you book a ticket with your card and then going back on the site and booking a second ticket individually etc etc just repeat that five times :/.

Also dude i think national express fares have gone up recenetly. Im not finding as many dirt cheap tickets anymore when im looking at it ;_;

 

[Professor Pro]

There are already two London ranbats in August and I don't wanna go to smash events too regularly as I have other stuff to do and plus my dance schedule is becoming more frequent so it's looking like a no for me.

 

[Kone]

lold oesnt look like this is going to happen much ill let the thread run alittle longer tho. u londoners are spoilt for choice to be honest !

 

[Bullet Bill]

are you kidding me man? how is 14 bad? ask around charles, non londoners dont get funfares. We have to deal with normally spending around 20 if not more.

You dont need to travel alone, just get people to book their tickets themselves :/ or just buy alot of tickets INDIVIDUALLY. Im sure it wont stop you book a ticket with your card and then going back on the site and booking a second ticket individually etc etc just repeat that five times :/.

Also dude i think national express fares have gone up recenetly. Im not finding as many dirt cheap tickets anymore when im looking at it ;_;

I was happy with 30 pound return to Bolton lol. And that was cheap. It was train mind you

 

[Cpt.Zeppo]

You could just host anyway Ed? Say you get like 20 people and no Londoners.. wouldn't the results be more interesting etc?

 

[Professor Pro]

lol It might, it would give you people another chance to win as Londoners just come about and destroy everything, look at our newcomers. You're just lucky the rest of the newcomers weren't there lol.
PMS, King, DH, Daves Gays...woulda been **** to be honest.

Kone - It's not bad we are spoilt for choice lol, it's just really active down here, there is an event on 2moro lol, we have events VERY regularly which is one of the reasons why we are the best

 

[Cpt.Zeppo]

ROFL suppose there is a lot of pride to be taken in being really lucky in your location

 

[Kone]

Paul - Yeah im thinking about running this regardless, just be nice to see everyone before im busy for a year LOL. But I need more people to show an interest in this before I book venue =s PEOPLE POST IF INTERESTED!

Pro - The population of london is 13,945,000. The population of scotland is 5,168,500 and the population of the North East of england is 2,515,000. Hope you see my point? the urban density of london is immense. Simple maths dictates that you will have a larger community than the rest especially in regards to the urban density and sprawl i.e. proximity of players especially in regards to transport networks.

You post pretty much highlighted exactly why londoners do so well. You get frequent practice. Now think how gifted, chuckle, the rest of the UK must be (that go to tournaments) when we have NO other players or regular practice and yet can still maintain a competitive edge at tournaments.

edit - i am looking forward to moving to brighton tho ^_^ (jam/robby/closeness to london LOL)

 

[Bullet Bill]

hmmm tihs is true but then I think Pro sometimes goes over the top when talking about London . They have events but they're not that regular- they are when compared to the amount of events in the UK which is not many. London is a fairly large place as well so it's not as if every Londoner would have no problem with making a smashfest anywhere in London if you know what I mean. Plus lets not forget the NW has a reasonably good smash scene as well.

 

[Kone]

NW doesnt have a melee scene at all anymore ben :/. Also, yes london is a large place BUT is supported by a vast transport network that means that it is still fairly accessible. Its density means that this is evident, while, somewhere like the NE that has three principal cities miles apart and with little in terms of urban density means that we aren't afforded the luxury of such a network. Getting from one to another is a proper chore and expensive. You cant even get a train from durham to newcastle which is a joke U_U.

This all allows london to have the ability to have a healthy scene if the efforts put in. Luckily, charles has been ace in that respect and they have a really good scene down there. Monthly tournaments is regular ben and very very good.

I cant wait to get down brighton in a year and get south east or w/e id call them monthlies going. You should be close enough to make some ben ^_^. Also, im aiming to host something huge next summer if i make it down there. Accessibility to london allows europeans easy access and means londoners can travelt o the tournament on mass!

Anyone interested in a aug tourney?

 

[Cpt.Zeppo]

Yeah agreed with everthing Eds said. All melee scenes outside of London are ****e LOL, and Londons melee scene is very healthy in comparison to ANY (40, 50 players something like that?). There are more factors not even being mentioned like how fortunate Charles was to be able to host smashfests when he still lived with his parents, how much easier it is to find a venue in London etc., that all relate to the population making it more likely such things will happen.

The opportunities you get as a London smasher means you don't have to come into UK smash extremely motivated to break top 3 (Ie. me, Jam, Ed and Robby all putting stupid hours into the game), because you can play other people every weekend, you can learn from top players much easier which increases motivation. Lazy people(ie Edwin) can still be lazy and good LOL. Nowhere else in the UK.

I think UK has been dealt a short straw geographically when it comes to smash and this has been cited by Ed and Jam many times before. Some good players just need to live near ONE other motivated player, and they are much better from it, never mind several .

 

[Kone]

Aye I completely agree with Paul. My improvements in melee came when I lived with stevie (and subsequently stevie breaking into top ten and coming very close to doing alot better). Both a result of us being able to play each other a ridiculous amount. Further strides came when phil (reacher) began staying at ours every fri (with neil) which improved both mine, his and stevies' games alot.

My best placings came when I had players near me that wanted to play regular. Since they moved my ability to play/improve/morale has dipped.

Id just need one person living nearby, as pual said, and things may change. Here is hoping yen gets into sunderland uni in sept

As pointed out by paul the majority of those outside london have to work so much harder, in our opinions, to remail competitive.

Ben - i bet you improved alot as u suddenely had more people to play coupled with freetime (no uni/no job helps )

^_^

 

[Professor Pro]

hmmm tihs is true but then I think Pro sometimes goes over the top when talking about London . They have events but they're not that regular- they are when compared to the amount of events in the UK which is not many. London is a fairly large place as well so it's not as if every Londoner would have no problem with making a smashfest anywhere in London if you know what I mean. Plus lets not forget the NW has a reasonably good smash scene as well.

Ben be quiet you know nothing about our scene. The majortiy of the events like smashfest aren't even posted on the boards and I get a lot of calls from people asking me to play smash with them. In fact I am going out to play smash today with Last Dragon and Gantz.

I can play smash with, HSAM, Dave Gays and Fuzzyness and Chrisboi very freuently if I wanted to and the scene is very active to the point where people can't make most of the events.
Right after SHS1 there was a London event with HSAM. It is very active, guarantee you can play atleast one group of people anyday you wanted to. I dont' expect you to know though as it is done on msn or phone to make things easier.

 

[Kone]

Pro just highlighted what me and z were saying ^_^

 

[Professor Pro]

lol Yeah but I just wanted for Ben to see it coming from me so he cant say anything lol.

 

[Fuzzyness]

imo its all excuses about the skill level, I was **** back then and I stepped up on my own. Just cause London has good players doesn't mean its because we got people. The people who are really good now actually played a lot back then

 

[Kone]

load of ****e charles, weve alls tepped up on our own to a degree. but you are able to actively improve and keep upto par with being able to play others regularly. Its ridiculous to say otherwise mate, as, its evident in most sports/gaming etc.

Whos really good in london that played back then? alot of the current gen in london werent involved involved in the "doug era" like myself, jam, yourself etc. It got to a poitn were you topped the game, hats off to u, but having the likes of frost and the rest that followed have helped you to improve.

Id lv you to move away from london and see how better you get. Id expect you would get rusty and lose the inspiration to play/get better......which is what happens to the likes of myself/z/jam as we dont have the community competition to regularly play the game at a tournament level.

Seriously man you have a ego problem and its really skewered your perception of smash over the last year or so. You used to be really rationale :/ guess thats what happens when you've been on the top too long.

 

[Professor Pro]

I KINDA do understand Charles point.
You can improve to become the best if you make a HARD effort to.

 

[Fuzzyness]

im not using ego at all, im just saying you can improve without the good players there. Its a mix of both, but knowing the skill level is important. Just after Doug left the UK I played and watched more, then started to build up the london scene which helped also. No one was good in London back then apart from Darvor :/ but I guess he counted as my sparring partner

 

[Kone]

We have all made a hard effort mate. Z said that! its just if you dont have a large community, like london, to play often then it becomes alot HARDER.

Look at it this was......you have you/charles/edwin/frost/chrisboi (and others) in london. You could potentially play smash daily against top tournament players. You also have the ability to play a diverse selection of characters and playstyles.

Look at me. I have NO ONE within 2.5 hours that plays smash. I can try my hardest to improve via watching matches and tech skill but im a peach lol.

You can pick up your mobile and ring last dragon and play him tonight. I cant. Surely you see why it is much harder for me to improve?

Now imagine me, jam, robby, joe and will lived all in brighton or manchester or within the same cosmopolitan borough. We could then play ALOT more often...like you can in london. Do you not think then having a group of top tourney players (like u, fuzz, chris, frost etc) will allow us to progress a lot further a lot quicker?

Course it does. Common sense. YES certain players will still outplay certain players. But it would lvel the playing field, which, is very hilly for us non londoners atm :/


charles - i said earlier that u have done ace with london but as me and paul pointed out the geography of it is very much in your favour. You cant argue against that. Id love to have the resources london affords.......imo ive done quite abit for uk smash, in london, i couldve done more :/

 

[Professor Pro]

Obviously it becomes harder when you don't have anyonelse to play with but like I emphasised before if you made a HARD effort like playing it more regularly with people despite them being far it is undeniable that you have the opprtortunity to be one of the best even the the opportunity not being a really good one.
You won't be the best obviously cos I am about and just **** on a whole, but that's a factor which has to be eliminated atm.

 

[grayfox]

I agree completely with Ed and Paul in this. I just finished reading a book called Outliers and it covers this very point. Oppertunity and circumstance are the founding quality of success. I bet that if any of the top Londoners were in the middle of nowhere in the NW or Scotland they'd get around 5th at best, that's not downplaying the effort and skill you guys have, but circumstance is everything guys!

I advice you to take a look at the book.

 

[Fuzzyness]

The deadline is Sunday, August 2 : past this day, if you aren’t confirmed on the TSL4 website, you won’t be able to attend the tournament. This rule applies to anyone, no matter who you are.

 

[Cpt.Zeppo]

Agree completely with Ed once more. Charles you are fighting against the tide. It has been researched and is almost un-debateable that location, resources, upbringing, population are paramount to your motivations. I think you have shown great motivation and you are just taking this as an attack on your skill level, which it isn't.

Pro I'd like to believe you but have changed my view on that recently(I read Outliers too) . If I take it and relate it completely to smash:

There is only a limited amount you can learn from playing 1 or 2 people continuously. The biggest improvements in smashers are always when they play people outside of their initial friend group, area or whatever, which is why most smashers will make huge rises in skill at their first few tournaments. Notice how much better Robby got after he went to Canada, how much better Charles has got after several trips to Europe. I know for a fact that my trips to Europe were what made me any good. If I didn't go to Europe 3 or 4 times, I would be okay, but probably not consistantly top 3/4.

There are several reasons for those improvements. Generally you are being exposed to more intense pressure, more players of your own skill level, far more of a higher skill level , some lower. You can gauge your progress much better. You will eventually play a player much better than you, and he will beat you very badly, often without much effort. You will then watch the good players at the tournament further, and try and get an idea of what they are doing that you are not.

That is the general process for a motivated smasher at a tournament. For years, UK skill level wasn't very deep, so it didn't take very long to get to competing level. And the players came in groups of 4 or 5, sometimes in couplets LOL, so they HAD to travel to get good. Those who went to Europe regularly then, had an edge over those playing in groups. They were adding to their experience by playing more styles and better players.

Look at the factors that are making the players improve. Being exposed to different styles and different skill levels, more pressure in their matches, more competition to gauge your progress. Those are the factors that you mr Pro have been lucky enough to inhibit as a member of the London community!

I could go back to the drawing board and practice my tech skill for 3 hours a day. I'd probably make a lot of improvements, but that practice is simply not comparable to playing (and practicing my tech against) 10 different people a week if I wanted to, one of which will inevitably be one of the top players in the UK. If I came to a UK tournament and won with my newly developed hyper falcon, Londoners could go back to their houses, play each other, figuring out what they've done wrong and improve those areas, while Im sitting in Scotland revising my JC shines. I would always be one step behind. Without consistant practice, you will get rusty. So without the same level of practice as London, I am very likely to fall behind, which, low and behold, I have.

 

[grayfox]

YUP!

Also look at the success in the UK:

Doug, a top 10 player in America, the best by a mile in smash at the time and the game was released a year in advance, comes to the UK with no other players - massive advantage of his circumstance.

At the first few uk tourneys Deca, Pictish, Ed and then Scott and Jam placed at the top outside of doug and forigners (who again had years ahead at the time). Deca and pictish were at tourneys and playing together before anyone else, at the time they were infamous on gamefaqs due to playing and knowing a lot at the time. Ed hosted the first big uk tourney, had traveled to play doug, and Jam. Jam, as said had played Ed and had 100s of hours in btt, his tech skill was beyond anyone elses at the time. Scott, scott who at his first tourney, and last for years, got 3rd and top placing in the uk. He was the only person who practised regularly with Doug.

Now this is just the start of the UK scene. I could go on, discuss how Joe and Will came to a raise with ranbats, Ben and Ant joining the scene, Darko coming over to theres. I could discuss Robby improving greatly with being fairly close to London, practising in Canada for a long time, coming back and improving his friends, who improved him.

Or I could discuss London! As stated Londons locational advantage is rediculous compared to the rest of the UK, it had no scene at all for 2 years, then when Charles and his brother first started to become good and get recognised, placing well for the first time - what happened?! Doug left the country. And now you have Pro, Frostbyte, Edwin, Chrisboi, etc etc etc, to all play. And they all place at the top, unsurprisingly, it was of course innevitable. What happens to Edwin if hes in Cardiff? Is he still gonna go toe to toe with Charles, even though he only goes to events outside his front door, which conveniently is the best place to be in the UK? Is he gonna be amazing? I'll leave you to consider that.

 

[Fuzzyness]

rofl ^ it had to lead to dissing edwin

 

[Professor Pro]

I think you lot are thinking we are trying to say that wherever you are in the UK you have an equal possibility which is why you keep reinforcing the same point but me and Charles were simply stating that it is possible to become the bestt but it would require a massive effort in comparison to what the Londoners would have to do.
Yeah you might become demotivated but it is still possible.

 

[grayfox]

rofl aye its possible but its a huge disadvantage. Same way its possible to be the MVP in the NBA when your only 5'10.

ROFL the Edwin beat! Not actually saying any kind of beat against any of you, your all good players and skillful, just sayin wouldn't be nearly as good without the circumstantial advantage. Not saying Edwin sucks, but I think even he knows he'd suck if he lived anywhere outside of London.

 

[Professor Pro]

Alot of people might, the only person he wouldn't would be me

 

[Bullet Bill]

YUP!

Also look at the success in the UK:

Doug, a top 10 player in America, the best by a mile in smash at the time and the game was released a year in advance, comes to the UK with no other players - massive advantage of his circumstance.

At the first few uk tourneys Deca, Pictish, Ed and then Scott and Jam placed at the top outside of doug and forigners (who again had years ahead at the time). Deca and pictish were at tourneys and playing together before anyone else, at the time they were infamous on gamefaqs due to playing and knowing a lot at the time. Ed hosted the first big uk tourney, had traveled to play doug, and Jam. Jam, as said had played Ed and had 100s of hours in btt, his tech skill was beyond anyone elses at the time. Scott, scott who at his first tourney, and last for years, got 3rd and top placing in the uk. He was the only person who practised regularly with Doug.

Now this is just the start of the UK scene. I could go on, discuss how Joe and Will came to a raise with ranbats, Ben and Ant joining the scene, Darko coming over to theres. I could discuss Robby improving greatly with being fairly close to London, practising in Canada for a long time, coming back and improving his friends, who improved him.

Or I could discuss London! As stated Londons locational advantage is rediculous compared to the rest of the UK, it had no scene at all for 2 years, then when Charles and his brother first started to become good and get recognised, placing well for the first time - what happened?! Doug left the country. And now you have Pro, Frostbyte, Edwin, Chrisboi, etc etc etc, to all play. And they all place at the top, unsurprisingly, it was of course innevitable. What happens to Edwin if hes in Cardiff? Is he still gonna go toe to toe with Charles, even though he only goes to events outside his front door, which conveniently is the best place to be in the UK? Is he gonna be amazing? I'll leave you to consider that.

this post is quite a good read son. Maybe we should do a smash timeline or something?

 

[Professor Pro]

The smash timelne would be fun.
It would show how I have been playing the game for the shortest but I am on top the fastest out of anyonelse in the UK

 

[grayfox]

rofl Scott got to the top fastest, only took him 1 tourney

 

[Professor Pro]

He was never second best though in the UK. I am the fastest to ge to my position and sinc the UK has improved since he was around I had to get to a higher level fastest then he did.