Not sure if I have the capacity to learn

[Renvalt]

Each time I play BlazBlue, I do okay. It's not enough though. Not for me. But I know that at my current level, I'm still in Scrub's Hell. I can't get out of it atm.

Earlier today, I was at Tyler(Homura's) house and we were playing GGX2:AC. I left around 5 PM PST, but during that I had shown some serious lack of skill progress. It was as if I was watching my skills shrink instead of grow.

I was going to give into a suggestion made much earlier in my FG community life to get SSF4AE, but I don't want to ditch BlazBlue. Yet at the moment, I feel I'm not ready for BlazBlue's ADVANCED mechanics. I feel I don't understand 2D Fighters enough to really get any better than I am. I feel like I've hit a limit, and that in order to break the seal on said limit, I'll need to play SSF4AE to get the knowledge necessary.

But... once I return to BlazBlue, I fear the "Hadouken spamming, Shoryuken trolling" of Ryu will follow me back. And I really don't want that. For me, BlazBlue was my first TRUE genuine FG, and I want to get better at it. But I feel as if not having certain pieces of knowledge are keeping me from evolving my gameplay.

Anyone have any idea if I can still keep at BlazBlue and manage to take the alternate route to Fighter's Haven? Or should I join the ranks of "The Shotokan Scrubs" to make it there?

[mAc Chaos]

SSF4AE is probably harder for a beginner anyway. It's much more execution intensive. But BlazBlue has a lot more positioning elements to balance.

But it's ridiculous to expect to see progress in just ONE sit down. That is never going to happen. What you'll get out of one session is a chance to see what kind of things you need to work on, figure out solutions, and then test and practice them. And then you have to do it over and over.

If you can't see any specific thing to work on but are just overwhelmed then that means you don't have enough general experience and haven't played enough; you need to play more.

Would you expect yourself to suddenly rank up from just a few hours of practicing with an instrument? The answer is to just play, play, and play some more.

[Renvalt]

SSF4AE is probably harder for a beginner anyway. It's much more execution intensive. But BlazBlue has a lot more positioning elements to balance.

And yet it was the first game recommended to me back when I did KOF98/02 back on GGPO/Supercade (when I was still a ROM child). I don't get why they'd recommend it if it was harder.

But it's ridiculous to expect to see progress in just ONE sit down. That is never going to happen. What you'll get out of one session is a chance to see what kind of things you need to work on, figure out solutions, and then test and practice them. And then you have to do it over and over.

It wasn't just one sitdown. This has been evident since I started a few months ago. My obvious inability to do DP inputs reliably (no matter how long I practice), my inability to pull off anything under pressure - my inability to pretty much do ANYTHING at all when fighting a pro. Not expecting a one day thing, but I AM expecting results (even if small) after a month or two. And I've not even got that (hell, I haven't even stuck WITH BlazBlue for one straight whole month).

If you can't see any specific thing to work on but are just overwhelmed then that means you don't have enough general experience and haven't played enough; you need to play more.

This. So many times this.

Would you expect yourself to suddenly rank up from just a few hours of practicing with an instrument? The answer is to just play, play, and play some more.

That analogy is useless here - I've never touched an instrument. I've only been able to listen to them.

Answers in bold.

[zeth07]

Each time I play BlazBlue, I do okay. It's not enough though. Not for me. But I know that at my current level, I'm still in Scrub's Hell. I can't get out of it atm.

Earlier today, I was at Tyler(Homura's) house and we were playing GGX2:AC. I left around 5 PM PST, but during that I had shown some serious lack of skill progress. It was as if I was watching my skills shrink instead of grow.

I was going to give into a suggestion made much earlier in my FG community life to get SSF4AE, but I don't want to ditch BlazBlue. Yet at the moment, I feel I'm not ready for BlazBlue's ADVANCED mechanics. I feel I don't understand 2D Fighters enough to really get any better than I am. I feel like I've hit a limit, and that in order to break the seal on said limit, I'll need to play SSF4AE to get the knowledge necessary.

But... once I return to BlazBlue, I fear the "Hadouken spamming, Shoryuken trolling" of Ryu will follow me back. And I really don't want that. For me, BlazBlue was my first TRUE genuine FG, and I want to get better at it. But I feel as if not having certain pieces of knowledge are keeping me from evolving my gameplay.

Anyone have any idea if I can still keep at BlazBlue and manage to take the alternate route to Fighter's Haven? Or should I join the ranks of "The Shotokan Scrubs" to make it there?

Switching to another game isn't going to specifically help you get better just because it is different. SF4 has it's own mechanics that you would need to learn and there are other techniques that are used that you might have to learn as well that you might not for BlazBlue.

Generally speaking I would say SF4 or just SF in general would be an easier game to start with because at it's core it is a basic fundamentals game. Individual hits tend to add up much more in SF than they would in BB for example. So understanding footsies and spacing is very important (in any game). In that regard SF is probably easier to learn. If you throw a hadouken and the spacing is right and someone tries to jump over you, you would learn to anti-air them. Already that is multiple fundamentals involved. Compared to say BB, in the same scenario, suddenly the opponent can air dash or barrier block or be able to do god knows what to avoid your anti-air. Then you have things like barrier block, counter assault, burst, rapid cancel, guard primers, and even individual character mechanics that effect the game. SF's difficulty imo only comes from it's links.

So going to SF MIGHT help you learn how to play fighting games a little easier, but doing this stuff ""Hadouken spamming, Shoryuken trolling" of Ryu" isn't going to get you anywhere because no matter what fighting game you play you need to understand WHY you are doing these moves or the opponent is doing them. So in that sense it doesn't really matter what game you learn because you're only gonna get as much learning out of it as you're willing to put into it.

[mAc Chaos]

If it's your first fighting game then it's all the more important to expect it to take a while. Experience in FGs carries over for the basics, so people who have already played them can jump into BB and not have to start from scratch. But if it's your first game you're going to have to build that foundation.

If they're SF fans they probably recommended it because they like SF and don't like anime games like BB. Also SF has a bigger community.

Anyway -- you mentioned fighting a pro. Well, that's why they're a pro. Of course you aren't going to be able to do anything, especially when you still are trying to do your inputs, like you said. If it was that easy for someone to beat a pro then it wouldn't make being a pro anything special.

One month is nothing. You should look at a time frame of six months instead. And that's of playing it a lot, not just once a week. I used to play BB when I first got it, four hours a day almost five days a week because I was addicted as hell. I would literally go to sleep and dream about combos, then go to school and daydream about going back and playing. Nowadays I can play it once a week or so because it's all ingrained into my reflexes, but it took a lot of playing to hammer it home.

But if you look at it like this, it's going to be overwhelming. You should just play the game and take it one step at a time. I never thought "I HAVE TO BE *THIS* GOOD OR ITS POINTLESS", I just loved playing the game and played it a lot and got better as a side effect along the way.

And that's not even six months to get "good" but just semi competent. Anyway, my point isn't that you should be playing 4 hours a day, just that one month is a tiny amount of time.

Edited July 23, 2012 by mAc Chaos

[Renvalt]

If it's your first fighting game then it's all the more important to expect it to take a while. Experience in FGs carries over for the basics, so people who have already played them can jump into BB and not have to start from scratch. But if it's your first game you're going to have to build that foundation.

I *consider* it my first fighting game only because it's the first time since entering the the competitive scene that I have played a hardcopy FG, and not a mere "ROM". I look at ROMs as illegit, especially when considering competitive play (I don't actually own the game/pirated copy, competitive scenes don't allow the use of a keyboard, etc.).

If they're SF fans they probably recommended it because they like SF and don't like anime games like BB. Also SF has a bigger community.

Incorrect. These were KOF98/02 players telling me this (the first time I'd had it told to me, anyways). If they were KOF fans, why then would they recommend a game that completely goes against what they enjoy?

Anyway -- you mentioned fighting a pro. Well, that's why they're a pro. Of course you aren't going to be able to do anything, especially when you still are trying to do your inputs, like you said. If it was that easy for someone to beat a pro then it wouldn't make being a pro anything special.

The problem is that EVERYONE that I fight seems like one. That's why it's so scary. Because their play is so much better than mine. It's not that they're good. It's just that I suck.

One month is nothing. You should look at a time frame of six months instead. And that's of playing it a lot, not just once a week. I used to play BB when I first got it, four hours a day almost five days a week because I was addicted as hell. I would literally go to sleep and dream about combos, then go to school and daydream about going back and playing. Nowadays I can play it once a week or so because it's all ingrained into my reflexes, but it took a lot of playing to hammer it home.

Ah, the age old question: How can you "have a life" and still be a competitive gamer? I was asked that question a long time ago, and because I couldn't answer last time, I had it told to me: "You can't! Gamers are no lifers! At least those that waste that much time on it!"

But things are different, so I ask again: How can you "have a life" and still be a competitive gamer? Perhaps now I can get a proper answer from a gamer, instead of a wannabe Jack Thompson advocate.

But if you look at it like this, it's going to be overwhelming. You should just play the game and take it one step at a time. I never thought "I HAVE TO BE *THIS* GOOD OR ITS POINTLESS", I just loved playing the game and played it a lot and got better as a side effect along the way.

That's not the vibe I seem to be getting sometimes. Or at least it wasn't. Now I'm not so sure anymore. I think I'm becoming exactly what I said I didn't want to.

And that's not even six months to get "good" but just semi competent. Anyway, my point isn't that you should be playing 4 hours a day, just that one month is a tiny amount of time.

Six months to be semi-competent. Some would argue: "That time is better used getting a job and being useful to society! That's time better spent on getting a degree, or going out into the world and making friends, getting married, having children!".

But then I hear people condone what I am doing, and I buckle under the huge contradictions: what is really right?

Getting back on topic though, semi-competent is where I want to aim.... for now. So six months is merely an estimate, is it? Well, at least there's some kind of landmark to aim for.

Replies in bold. I apologize in advance for any political, religious, or bigoted rhetoric I may have included, if there was any at all.

[Circuitous]

Is this a troll account? I can't figure you out, and I'm getting pretty tired of the threads you keep making.

Play games you enjoy often enough and eventually you'll get better at them. If you don't, who gives a shit? At the end of the day it's just a game.

I play GG maybe two hours a week max, unless I'm at a gathering or tourney. I'm not good, but I'm better than I was a year ago. I routinely play people that are better than me, as well, some of whom can beat me almost without effort. But they're playing a game they enjoy, same as I am, and if nothing else I can say I had fun with people I consider friends.

I dunno, I feel like a lot of your problems will go away if you just learn to lighten up.

[Renvalt]

Is this a troll account? I can't figure you out, and I'm getting pretty tired of the threads you keep making.

Play games you enjoy often enough and eventually you'll get better at them. If you don't, who gives a shit? At the end of the day it's just a game.

I play GG maybe two hours a week max, unless I'm at a gathering or tourney. I'm not good, but I'm better than I was a year ago. I routinely play people that are better than me, as well, some of whom can beat me almost without effort. But they're playing a game they enjoy, same as I am, and if nothing else I can say I had fun with people I consider friends.

I dunno, I feel like a lot of your problems will go away if you just learn to lighten up.

What reason would you have to think I'm a troll? I'm always called a troll, and all my forum accounts are called "troll accounts", but in reality I can't tell if I'm trolling or not - because I don't know how to troll. I don't know what "trolling" is. I have no reason to lie, but I'm just.... full of questions I wish I knew the answers to.

But if it makes you feel better, then just ban me. Rid this forum of my presence if you're that tired of me.

I would delete this post myself, but I don't know if that would just be running away from what I've done and said, or if it would be doing the community a favor. I don't know what to do anymore, goddammit. So just lock this thread. Delete it too, if you want. I've got something to figure out now.

Hopefully I can find out how to "lighten up" as you so want me to, because I can't seem to please you the way things are now.

I'm leaving. Goodbye.

[notKBF]

Oh, I think am sort of familiar with this topic, this is something I worried about myself. I started playing almost a year ago now, I think, and I sometimes feel like I'm not improving. I, if nothing else, haven't met the standards I set for myself. But to be honest I don't play a lot, my standards are a bit high, and maybe I do learn a bit slowly.

But it's okay, not only because it's a lot of fun to hang out with the scene anyway, but because after a few months I can see I was mistaken the times I was worried I wasn't improving at all. I can't see the progress I made most recently very well, but sometimes I couldn't then either. It's hard to gauge your progress sometimes, and sometimes I told myself "Maybe I just can't do this. Maybe I will just never improve." Sometimes I still find myself thinking this. But it's a lie, as long as I keep sitting myself down for some matches. Every time I sit down and play and think to myself 'What am I doing right, what am I doing wrong? What is my opponent doing, what is my opponent going to do, what can I do about those things?' Usually the answers come with time, persistence, and especially turning to someone else for advice. Every time I can do that, and every time I play the game, I can comprehend it a little better. As long as I keep slowly understanding my opponent's and my own options, I am improving. It takes some time and is sort of a harsh curve against so much better players, but the way I have come to understand it I just have to take every small victory I can earn. Enjoy earning those small improvements in your game, whether it's managing to get a hit, block some mixup, or even just learning what to watch for from your opponent. it was still fun when I started, but for at least few months I felt like I wasn't able to comprehend what was even going on. I did on some level, but I felt like I wasn't able to comprehend well enough to react to it. It felt like an impossible obstacle.

But looking back on it I did understand a little better every time I played, and it passes with every small improvement I earn. I've had a lot of fun. Just stick with it, it seems to be getting better every time I play, even if I can't tell right away.

EDIT: Ehhh? It seems I spent too long thinking out a real response, and now it is too late, forever.

Edited July 23, 2012 by notKBF

[Airk]

I don't think he's a troll, I just think he's super maladjusted. -_-

[Renvalt]

Before anything else, I'd like to apologize for my words and actions (or what could pass for "actions" anyways). I was extremely frustrated from last night when, after losing constantly and realizing how much of a bloody button masher I was, I felt I wasn't improving.

I really lost myself in the delusion of the situation, and I should have known better. It was my fault for all the things that happened, including starting this topic to rant.

I hope you'll forgive me for this, but if you don't, at least I apologized, so I'm satisfied with that.

[YukiBlue]

Be a man and play how you want. Seriously, it's not a big deal. You're really dramatic about something like this, just lighten up and go at your own pace. Nobody cares if you don't learn quickly.

[Airk]

Be a man and play how you want. Seriously, it's not a big deal. You're really dramatic about something like this, just lighten up and go at your own pace. Nobody cares if you don't learn quickly.

This.

Play game.

Have fun.

Stop writing angsty posts about it.

Either you enjoy playing the game and getting better will happen organically (maybe not as fast you want, but oi, I've been at this since CS1 released and I'm only barely at a level that I'd consider 'solid'.) or you don't enjoy playing the game and you should quit, because trying to base your self worth on your performance or improvement in a game is a really bad idea.

Remember: It IS a game and it is not a "worthwhile" use of your time in the same way that, say, feeding starving puppies is. But everyone needs a hobby they enjoy, and it's a perfectly worthwhile hobby.

[shtkn]

-record a video of yourself playing (use a damn camera phone if necessary, as long as you can tell what's happening on screen)

-look at all the mistakes you made (trust me you'll notice at least somethingn)

-be cognizant of those mistakes, and try not to repeat them when you play again

-repeat

[blargster]

People aren't gonna just pick up their first fighting game and be amazing at it. Took me 3 months to get combos consistent during matches. Another 3 to win rounds. just keep working at it.

[Kuuhaku]

Keep playing for as long as you think it's fun. When it stops being fun, take a break and come back to it later. If you mash a lot, just play against someone who'll blow you up consistantly for mashing. That way, you'll learn to stop pressing buttons and just hold down back. Also, video recordings are important to not only look at your own mistakes, but also the mistakes of your opponent. No mix up or pressure game is completely flawless. Every character has holes or weaknesses and every player has habits and makes mistakes. So it's not only about improving yourself, but also learning about your opponent's strengths and weaknesses.

And finally, while realizing your mistakes is important, playing the self-blame game is destructive. This is ultimately a game and we're all ultimately here to have fun (in a competative fashion). Being bad at a game isn't a terrible crime as no matter how awful you are you'll get better the more you play and learn, but a bad attitude is much harder to fix. If you're not having fun, then don't force yourself or try to approach things with a different mindset so you don't feel so stressed. No one likes losing, but it happens to everyone. It's just part of the game bro.

Edited July 25, 2012 by Bohemian Polka

[Chrome Homura]

I don't know if this makes any difference or not, but I'd like to point out that these people are posting far better advice than I know how to deliver... but I might as well try my hand at it anyway.

I'm a shitty teacher, I know that... but if there's anything I'm certain of, it's that the most important thing I've ever learned about playing fighting games is this: A positive attitude is (while difficult to maintain at times) the singular, utterly crucial foundation upon which literally the entire experience of playing the game is built. How to cultivate and keep to this mindset is ultimately for you to decide, however... the most any of us can offer in that are suggestions that may or may not work to their intended effect. After all, none of us know (nor can we, for that matter) enough about your personal perspective to "solve" the equation completely.

If you can do that, then there shouldn't be any problems.

Btw, feel free to text me next time you get the chance... I have an idea I'd like to discuss.

[TD]

right on the money, you. it's all about how you view your wins and losses.

[sdfdogjedi]

Just have fun dude,you don't need to be that good to fully enjoy games just relax and have fun that's what i do