Improvement Advice

[xomegaxweapon]

Hi all you lovely people, haven't been on for a couple of years, so i'd also like to say hello to all the newer guys and gals too!

Anyways straight to the point.
I would like to improve and start gradually playing harder songs..

My current skill level isn't that good, so please bear with me.

Currently i play both handed on this config:

D - Left arrow
F - Down arrow
J - Up arrow
K - Right arrow

Speed: recently change from 1.7 to 2.0, bit of quicker pace but i find increasing the speed easier to manage. 1.5 used to be my standard.

i have picked up a few tips from good/great players in the past but have A) forgot them or B) didn't work for me, a good technique for example was to fix my eyes to a certain point on the screen and focus on that fixed point, it works to a certain degree and i have then since stared around the arrow's play area.

Sorry if i sound vague, but really; am looking to "finally" move on from "tricky songs" lol

Thanks once again (ps - i'm too old for this game, but i'm glad its back online!)

[Bach96]

One of the things I have found very helpful from a mix of advice I have received from Portalbob and Deidara is to play songs slightly above your comfort zone for about 30 minutes (after warming up of course) then going back to the songs at your level that you found tricky and see if you can get a better score. With this strategy I moved from barely getting SDGs on 20s to being able to AAA pretty much any 20 (except Warren. f*** that file lol).

Something I tried that honestly helped my reading a ton was using the filter and playing every song I have not played yet in a set difficulty range. For example: I set the filter 22-25 and played all unplayed files. Then I moved to 26-29, etc etc.

I use QW[] as my spread setup and use a speed of 2.75. Not too long ago I was running at 2.5 and the higher speed while sight reading helped me a LOT with improving my level of reading and just general skill.

You and I are very similar in rank, but you are honestly way better than me seeing as you play a lot of upper 30s and low 40s and get some decent scores on them. You should be ranked a little higher than you are, so try filling out your top scores with some clean ones in the high 20-low 30 range. Your rank should spike a good amount.

I am in the process of just improving my knowledge of jumpglut patterns so I have been playing mid 30s a lot since that is where they can be found a lot lol.

Good luck! You'll be waaaaay ahead of me in rank if you play some slightly easier files and get clean scores on them. I hope the advice I received can help you as well!

[Shadowcliff]

Welcome back!

I also play spread, though I use two rows. W D K O
This greatly improved my one-handed trills, and generally felt better for me after getting past the new-setup awkwardness.
Also I have tried spacing out my fingers more--Q D K P--which surprisingly enough helped me read and respond to jumpstream a little bit better, but that was overshadowed by problems it gave me with other patterns.
Try various spreads!

[Walrusizer]

Play stuff that challenges your speed and stamina, that's about it apart from more optimized play styles however that doesn't really matter much until like low d7

[xomegaxweapon]

Cheers guys, there has been good advice, i do feel a bit of improvement coming along with 'warming up' first, also strangely i find chewing gum also helps my concentration level.

kudos so far, would be interesting to see how to progress onto 'tier' songs one day and get some 'legend.. wait for it... dary' points, oh and i also miss the good ole days of FFR tournaments.

:P

[Bach96]

Next Official Tournament should be this year actually lol

[icontrolyourworld]

There's no single tip that is going to make you good or improve dramatically instantly unfortunately. All you can do is play a lot and fun while doing it! Challenge yourself on days where you are playing better than usual.

Small tips would be
Curl your fingers while playing, this is more relaxed and natural kind of like playing a piano, also it's good to be relaxed in general as you won't burn as much energy and have more stamina to play
stare lower on the screen as much as possible (if you read upscroll, otherwise visa versa) this gives optimal time to react to the arrows
on more comfortable songs aim for the best judgement as much as possible, thus increasing your timing, listen to your keytaps more if that helps
and i can't stress this one enough, play for fun! if you don't take the time to enjoy the files that you can play right now, they might not be as fun when you get significantly better.

[KrazyKitsune]

Your key configuration and scrolling speed look fine to me. Shadowcliff suggests using a "concave" key config (e.g. SX.; or DCMK), and there are two big reasons you might want to use this setup: your wrists will be in a more neutral position which you may find more comfortable, or if, like me, your index fingers are noticeably shorter than your middle fingers, you may find that with a standard spread setup you have to curl your middle fingers to an unnatural degree. Either way, feel free to give it a try and see if you prefer it to what you're using currently! As far as scrolling speed is concerned, there are players at both ends of the spectrum, so just use whatever allows you to read most comfortably.

Other than that, icontrolyourworld is arguably correct in saying that there isn't any clear-cut way to improve your playing, as generally improvement is something that occurs naturally (and often sporadically!). Constantly challenge yourself, and before you know it, songs you struggle with today will become effortless. It feels good B)

Originally Posted by icontrolyourworld

stare lower on the screen as much as possible (if you read upscroll, otherwise visa versa) this gives optimal time to react to the arrows

For the record, I personally disagree with this; while this may apply to some players, I believe it's better to focus closer to the receptors so as to optimize accuracy, and giving yourself enough time to react should be done by adjusting your scrolling speed.

That said, I virtually never think about where to focus while I'm playing, so it might be best to simply not worry about it and let your eyes do whatever they need to. Processing incoming arrows already demands a fair amount of concentration (especially if you're playing outside of your comfort zone), and probably the last thing you want to be doing is actively thinking about where to affix your gaze.

[Dynam0]

To maximize reading you'll want to train yourself to recognize clusters of notes, this only comes from practice. Your brain essentially picks a small chunk of notes, tells your hands to hit those, and then moves on to the next group. After enough practice you'll be able to increase the amount of notes you can process at one time which allows you to focus more on accuracy etc.

In other words, accuracy comes naturally. I would look to the middle of the screen to maximize the space that you have to process. Using only the top portion limits yourself to a slow speed mod (try playing on absurdly slow speeds and you'll notice you only use the very top part of the screen).

A good example of utilizing screen space and how it affects the speed you can read at is here:

[MinaciousGrace]

i didn't realize it was possible to get to d7 staring at the receptors

oh life and the things you learn in it

[rushyrulz]

Originally Posted by xomegaxweapon

a good technique for example was to fix my eyes to a certain point on the screen and focus on that fixed point, it works to a certain degree and i have then since stared around the arrow's play area.

It is important to focus on a slim range near the upper-middle of the play area. If you do not focus on one area, it will be harder to commit patterns to muscle memory and your accuracy will also suffer.

Some tips and suggestions are subjective and vary from player to player (such as concave vs linear spread), but this one is not. Using a focal point is what allows you to fine-tune your accuracy and improve reading.

As an exercise, try playing This flash game. If you play it long enough, you will realize that you are able to instinctively pick up a familiar patterns by just seeing a 1-dimensional sliver of them as they scroll by. We want the same effect with FFR and pattern recognition by using one focal point. Plus it's a fun and unique flash game

[KrazyKitsune]

Originally Posted by MinaciousGrace

i didn't realize it was possible to get to d7 staring at the receptors

In retrospect, I should've worded that better; I never suggested staring at the receptors, just closer than, well, the bottom of the screen

[Mahou]

I wrote a guide on overall improvement awhile back. There are a lot of things I tried to cover in it, but I feel like these factors stood out the most to me - meaning, they helped me improve over the time I've played SM/FFR

1) Trying out different play styles and figuring yourself out.
Don't copy what people do. Do what you feel is the most comfortable. Ask yourself questions and try to figure them out by doing it. Example - Are you a wide spread player? Are you a close spread player? Do you play better as concave? Do you play better as linear? Do you see what I'm doing right now?
2) Play stuff that is outside of your comfort zone.
You will not improve if you don't try to do harder things. The only limitation of a player is their mind.
3) Getting in better shape.
Probably doesn't really get heavily talked about around here, but your overall health effects your play dramatically. Believe it or not, this game burns calories just like a normal workout. I feel it's important to have good foods/good eating habits if wanting to play. Maybe try running? Maybe try lifting weights? It doesn't matter...getting into a routine of exercising once in awhile is good for you and can help your overall gameplay.
4) Set new goals all the time.
This is pretty much the vicious cycle of arrow smashing. You're always establishing new personal goals for yourself. Do not get upset if you don't meet those goals in a certain time frame. The importance is to just keep practicing and keep playing if you're really wanting to get better. The only people I know who are stuck at the same level of play are the types who aren't really open to push themselves outside of their comfort zone or have some mentality that "I will never get better."

Something else that I forgot to mention. When I actively started playing FFR for a little bit, I remember Dossar said something about "mindlessly playing." At first, I didn't really understand what he meant; however, when I started getting more experience with the game, it really started to kick in. You should be aware of how you are performing, and how you feel at all times. If you're just picking random songs all day without any reconciliation, you can sometimes easily hit a wall. This usually doesn't start to happen until you start to become an intermediate player (from what I've seen).

[xomegaxweapon]

great replies and again thank you for the extended tips, i will def give them a go.

As for that flash game Z rox, haha i played that ages ago.. damn that game! i agree it can help, but moreover patience is a virtue.

Speaking about general health as well, that is interesting, i am an active cyclist and i've recently start running, i hate it, but i've joined a club who are timing my 5k (slow) runs, hopefully i'll be running faster and tapping out those FFR songs and i think the most important part, is the fun part! improvement will probably come from fun mainly :P

Again, thank you all for the advice!