<!--quoteo(post=1782705:date=Jul 25 2010, 01:58 PM:name=derWalter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (derWalter @ Jul 25 2010, 01:58 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782705"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->fu** it man, in ns2 everyone will own... and all without skill!
they need the game EASIER, so the loosers, who dont care about settings, dont care about configuration, are ALSO owning. they get nice achievments, maybe nice items and of corse, there will be nothing like movementskills, because such things could probably seperate skilled players who invested tons of hours to sharpen up from absolute ###### and beginners.
u will never see 50-0 stats at public, because it will be like cs1.6 and css, less recoil, bigger models, more interp and a netcode that make everything smoooooth. dosent matter which ping, dosent matter which bandwith, its the same ###### for everyone... its like starcraft/broodwar and sc2 with automining :P - ofc, this pushes the players to use more micro, which give me intense games as viewer :P
and so on, dont practice, u will not need it for ns2, belive me, they want to make a game, which is for weekendplayers with some beer in their blood :P ofc this is fine (###### i quitted alcohol a week ago... damn) but hum, i like tho have a mountain like the everest to look up and i like being owned 50-0, because than i know, yes there is a god and if i want i could be this god :)
its like i said 'bout sc2, its much more intense to look at, when some one goes like a rocket :P (its like tf2 vs qL)
for all haters, i hope i talked only ######, no one can tell until 1.0 is out (or probably 3.0 ;)!!)
gooood night :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I agree, this is my greatest fear for ns2. But we will see what its like on the 26th. However from the numerous blog posts/twitter posts about making the game easier I believe that this will be inevitable.
fanaticThis post has been edited.Join Date: 2003-07-23Member: 18377Members, Constellation, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1782715:date=Jul 25 2010, 05:09 AM:name=Narcil)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Narcil @ Jul 25 2010, 05:09 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782715"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I agree, this is my greatest fear for ns2. But we will see what its like on the 26th. However from the numerous blog posts/twitter posts about making the game easier I believe that this will be inevitable.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> You realize this is an alpha right? It probably won't even be playable, in the sense that nothing will work properly. You can't tell what the finished product will play like from that.
From logging a lot of time playing FPSs, and spectating players when I'm dead, I can safely say the number one area of improvement for new to average players is concentrating on sound. In most games I'm able to track where my opponents are by their footsteps, gun-swapping sound, etc. Once you get really good at fully listening it's like a built in wall-hack in your brain.
I like to remind that, my guide is meant to competitive gaming and therefore my tips for positioning and gamesense won't work in public, because there are too many players.
Like it has been said, practice is the key but there is different kind of quality in practicing. When I still cared, I used to watch demos from other great players and after official match I watched the demo from myself and tried to learn what I did wrong and what did I do right. This is great way to improve your gamesense and you can also list all the good frags you made. There used to be also "set piece" practicing in some of the clans I played, in which we focused on special situations, for example in fade blocking, hive rushing and so on. Variations is key to quality practicing if you always play same way, against same faces and with same people you won’t learn nothing new.
<!--quoteo(post=1782561:date=Jul 24 2010, 11:03 PM:name=Renegade.)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Renegade. @ Jul 24 2010, 11:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782561"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->no. unless you are using focus, better advice is just learn to track your target while biting. Semi-auto bite is about as useful as suggesting burst-fire to marines.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Actually it depends on what you're trying to achieve while practicing. I used to have praxctice sessions on public where i tried to conserve ammo as much as possible, and bind a script to not allow me to semi-auto bite just to freshen up and practice my feel of where hitboxes are and how to predict. The goal then would be to kill opponents in the least amount of bullets or bites possible.
Then of course I'd have to use twice that time after to get used to actually playing properly! But it was worth it in the long run.
[Edit] I'd also want to add a point about practice quality. Basically there are two ways of playing. One where you just hop on and have fun and play around - this is ideal for mass gaming which you should be doing to some degree regardless of how good you are. Here you'll get the feel for the engine and flow of the game etc. - The other circumstance is when you have limited time, or set a time limit yourself of an hour or max two. The goal would of course still be to have fun, because it's a game and we're not in an official match, but on top of this we layer a purpose. We decide what we want to keep an eye on or try to accomplish before we get on the server, and while playing we try to evaluate how this goes.
And of course all the other stuff: try to play on servers with better players, limit mass gaming sessions (because quality falls as time goes on), take breaks and work out physically, have fun, play against better players, play against better players, don't give up, practice. And you know practice right? Oh and practice with better players.
<!--quoteo(post=1782655:date=Jul 24 2010, 06:35 PM:name=Rabhimself)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Rabhimself @ Jul 24 2010, 06:35 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782655"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I was just wondering if there were any secrets to movement or shooting that could assist.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> I haven't played ns in like 5 years, but iirc air control is heavily dependent on framerate. You'll want to make sure you have fps_max set to 100, fps_modem set to 0 or 100, and force vertical sync disabled in your display driver configuration.
Kouji_SanSr. Hινε UÏкεεÏεг - EUPT DeputyThe NetherlandsJoin Date: 2003-05-13Member: 16271Members, NS2 Playtester, Squad Five Blue
<!--quoteo(post=1782719:date=Jul 25 2010, 06:36 AM:name=SentrySteve)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (SentrySteve @ Jul 25 2010, 06:36 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782719"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->From logging a lot of time playing FPSs, and spectating players when I'm dead, I can safely say the number one area of improvement for new to average players is concentrating on sound. In most games I'm able to track where my opponents are by their footsteps, gun-swapping sound, etc. Once you get really good at fully listening it's like a built in wall-hack in your brain.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd--> This is the same reason why people accuse me of cheating, when I kill a cloaked TF2 spy walking around in lownoise areas (damn heavies!). T'is just that Sennheiser hears all dammit!
<!--quoteo(post=1782561:date=Jul 24 2010, 10:03 PM:name=Renegade.)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Renegade. @ Jul 24 2010, 10:03 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782561"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->no. unless you are using focus, better advice is just learn to track your target while biting. Semi-auto bite is about as useful as suggesting burst-fire to marines.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Always remember that you are playing humans who tend to react very emotionally 80% of the time. Yes, you can enrage people and use this as part of your meta gaming.
This holds especially true for aliens, considering they rely on marines performing badly.
If you need to get some more speed+dexterity for quick movement to dodge skulks, fades or just move quickly as an alien, play Stepmania. Its basically Dance Dance Revolution with your keyboard. Play with one hand (your keyboard hand) and within weeks you should be able to quickly move around much easier.
I bathe in tabasco sauce 5 times a day, eat the still beating heart of a newborn, and I put spinning rims on my pc case for more aerodynamicnezz so it makes the bullets fly straighter. You got a crooked sight, son. Thats why you can't hit anything.
<!--quoteo(post=1782705:date=Jul 25 2010, 03:58 AM:name=derWalter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (derWalter @ Jul 25 2010, 03:58 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782705"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->fu** it man, in ns2 everyone will own... and all without skill!
they need the game EASIER, so the loosers, who dont care about settings, dont care about configuration, are ALSO owning. they get nice achievments, maybe nice items and of corse, there will be nothing like movementskills, because such things could probably seperate skilled players who invested tons of hours to sharpen up from absolute ###### and beginners.
u will never see 50-0 stats at public, because it will be like cs1.6 and css, less recoil, bigger models, more interp and a netcode that make everything smoooooth. dosent matter which ping, dosent matter which bandwith, its the same ###### for everyone... its like starcraft/broodwar and sc2 with automining :P - ofc, this pushes the players to use more micro, which give me intense games as viewer :P
and so on, dont practice, u will not need it for ns2, belive me, they want to make a game, which is for weekendplayers with some beer in their blood :P ofc this is fine (###### i quitted alcohol a week ago... damn) but hum, i like tho have a mountain like the everest to look up and i like being owned 50-0, because than i know, yes there is a god and if i want i could be this god :)
its like i said 'bout sc2, its much more intense to look at, when some one goes like a rocket :P (its like tf2 vs qL)
for all haters, i hope i talked only ######, no one can tell until 1.0 is out (or probably 3.0 ;)!!)
gooood night :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's amazing how you've formulated your own language that noone else can understand.
I found that playing with people who were good at the game to help a great deal. You get used to different tactics on both sides depending on how good the people you play against are.
Allways remember: The years you spent NOT playing NS somebody else spent JUST playing NS. So of course they will be on a whole other level than you are...
Playing other FPS games doesn't really help with that, sure you've got no recoil on the guns but your targets are just so much faster and smaller in NS compared to the majority of other FPS games.
Also people have different skill ceilings, some people will instantly be good at every FPS game they touch and other people can spend years playing on a daily basis and still suck. That's one of the most important factors, people are not equal, some people have an easier time beeing good at something than other people.
So don't get your hopes too high for "getting better trough practice", if you need allreadly lots of practice to get to an acceptable level chances are slim that you will ever catch up with somebody who's that good without any practice.
Age also plays a role i think... i have to say i have an quite harder time staying good at FPS games compared to 10 years ago when i used to own complete teams at CS by just facerolling my keyboard. Maybe that's also because gaming has gotten so much more popular so there is more competition, but i certainly feel more gimped with my 27 years compared to back than when i had been just 16 years old.
<!--quoteo(post=1782589:date=Jul 24 2010, 03:09 PM:name=Azkar)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Azkar @ Jul 24 2010, 03:09 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1782589"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Play like 6 hours a day. Sadly I won't be able to do that now that I'm out of high school<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
That genes thing is bull######. It's about the QUALITY of practice. Stop spreading lies.. and the quality of practice is determined by who you practice against and your mindset doing so.
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.
Play in a clan for 2 hours + every night, that is what got me to the top of a well known Uk league. Puts you in a competitive situation whereby you have to understand the game fully to win it.
<!--quoteo(post=1783538:date=Jul 26 2010, 11:15 AM:name=tjosan)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (tjosan @ Jul 26 2010, 11:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1783538"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That genes thing is bull######. It's about the QUALITY of practice. Stop spreading lies.. and the quality of practice is determined by who you practice against and your mindset doing so.
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Last time I checked people with only 1 finger at each hand are struggling super hard to compete with us awesome 10 finger dudes. So yeah, it's the genes.
<!--quoteo(post=1783545:date=Jul 26 2010, 10:43 AM:name=J!)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (J! @ Jul 26 2010, 10:43 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1783545"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Pick a player that you like and watch him. Mimic him. Copy everything he does.
There's your foundation.
Now, as much as you can, play with people as good as or better than you.
There's your development.
After not too long, you'll be the player everyone else is watching.
That is my experience, anyway.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You know when you were going to the shop this morning to buy some milk, was that Flayra I saw with you?
As some people have said, playing with better people is really the key to improving. Especially in a 6v6 environment in ns where everything is so much more stressfull and condensed. A few deaths in the wrong place will ruin your round with how tiny the timing windows are in this game. I've seen bad plays become at least decent in the decent at the competitive level sense very quickly by scrimming constantly for a month. I've seen people on pubs stay awful playing every day for years. The vast majority of people are like that really. That said I would imagine it's incredibly difficult to get really good at ns1 now with the competitive scene where it is. I've only ever seen a few players get really good pubbing. And by a few I mean like 3 or 4. This is since 1.03.
Anyway, other than that your option is playing 43698720 hours to get that good. So many things go into being a godly marine/skulk that talent isn't enough. Natural talent to aim and track is obviously very important but what you'll find is the really good players are that way because they have a wallhack in their head. After enough rounds on each map in each style you just get a feel for where everything is and can notice the slightest sound but that's not it so much. Frankly for the best 100 or so players to have played the game (yes I'm pulling that out of my ass) you can probably freeze the game on a pub like BAD at any given point and have them look at a map and they can just point to where most of the aliens are and tell you what they're probably doing. They know how many res nodes each team should have on a map, what rooms they should be in, and how much defense you can expect there, and how many lifeforms of each type the other team should have. The skulk that's celerity leaping your face stops being fast because you're not aiming at that skulk. You're aiming at the last 10,000 skulks. You predict how it's going to move to the point where you're not following it you're leading it. Honestly a lot of the time I die on a pub is because the alien does something really REALLY stupid and I whiff terribly aiming where he SHOULD be. Specific tips would be things like turning your sound up really loud until you can notice things when it's quieter. Muting people who get in the way of that. Always be moving away from the skulk while shooting and be jumping around like a bunny while reloading. Make sure you're using good rates. NS1 is very rate intensive with things like ex_interp, cmd_rate ect. A skulk should die in like 8 bullets. If you can get it under 20 you're doing OK. If you're taking more than 30 something is terribly wrong. I mean these numbers in the sense you feel like you're hitting him but he's not dying. Positioning is really important. Even if you can't aim if you can make the skulk come to you from far enough away you should be able to get him. Keep your spacing away from other marines in a room. Good skulks use you to block eachothers bullets and then you're closer together for him to bite you guys both quickly. dn` when in 1.03 actually had room diagrams in 1.03 of where people should be sitting. Lulz. That ended in like 3 days of scrimming because the game is so dynamic but still, the concept was sound. Keep your minimap open as much as possible. It'll feel like it's in the way a lot when you don't know the map well but it will give you a good idea of where all the other aliens or marines are on the map. This gives you an idea of how many and what type of aliens should be near you. If you can manage it you also want to know who on the other team is dead. Spend a couple days only practicing using your pistol and get a script for it or use your mousewheel to fire it unless you can fire it very fast. A good marine with full hp can kill at least 1 skulk with his pistol and usually a second with his last 3 shots+ knife if it's a bad pub skulk but most pubbers never use their pistol unless they run out of ammo. That's not nearly enough practice with the pistol. You can tell old clan vets or new people who have at least some minor idea what's going on by how fast they run on marine out of Marine start. If they're hopping off ###### and wiggle walking follow them. Copy where they stand and how they move/run. In game. Not by speccing. Try to do their jumps and such.
And frankly, skulking is the same thing except moreso. Skulking is by far the most difficult artform in NS. It's not about aiming your bites it's about timing everything perfectly really. Skulking in it's entirety is basically predicting what the marine is going to be doing because a Marine>skulk in most situations. You need to get him in the very small windows when that's not the case unless you're simply a lot better than the marine you're eating. The only way to get to them in these windows consistently is to guess when the windows will occur to some degree and attack slightly before that.
I guess what I'm saying is focus on NS2 for getting good lol. I'm terrible at broodwars and focusing on SC2 to be decent. Wow, I wrote an essay while procrastinating instead of writing the essay I need for class. And it's a pointless essay too. GG.
Being able to think and reason is a genetic property you might need. Also, analyzing good players' play style and the game mechanics is essential for success. You want to get proper net-settings, maybe new crosshairs and that stuff and you should probably remove the ambient sounds (even though it kills atmosphere :-( ). Then there is the practicing stuff: bunny hopping, strafe jumping, sneaking without silence, aiming etc. And to move perfectly around a map you need knowledge of it, so you can plan your jumping-routes as a skulk, you blink-routes as a fade etc.
There are a lot of other aspects to consider that you either learn by playing or reading guides.
<!--quoteo(post=1783538:date=Jul 26 2010, 09:15 AM:name=tjosan)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (tjosan @ Jul 26 2010, 09:15 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1783538"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->That genes thing is bull######. It's about the QUALITY of practice. Stop spreading lies.. and the quality of practice is determined by who you practice against and your mindset doing so.
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
LOL, I love how you take my post serious! *thumbs up*
<!--quoteo(post=1783587:date=Jul 26 2010, 01:00 PM:name=Thrillseeker)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Thrillseeker @ Jul 26 2010, 01:00 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1783587"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->LOL, I love how you take my post serious! *thumbs up*<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I take it serious because it's a very common retarded argument that needs to be rebuked. Repeatedly.
Of course when you're talking about the absolute top then sure that's to some extent decided by genes, but then again NS or NS2 wont ever be as big as football. There's also absolutely no way to know what the limit of your genetic predisposition is without working your ass off anyway.
Comments
they need the game EASIER, so the loosers, who dont care about settings, dont care about configuration, are ALSO owning.
they get nice achievments, maybe nice items and of corse, there will be nothing like movementskills, because such things
could probably seperate skilled players who invested tons of hours to sharpen up from absolute ###### and beginners.
u will never see 50-0 stats at public, because it will be like cs1.6 and css, less recoil, bigger models, more interp and a netcode that make
everything smoooooth. dosent matter which ping, dosent matter which bandwith, its the same ###### for everyone...
its like starcraft/broodwar and sc2 with automining :P - ofc, this pushes the players to use more micro, which give me intense games as viewer :P
and so on, dont practice, u will not need it for ns2, belive me, they want to make a game, which is for weekendplayers with some beer in their blood :P
ofc this is fine (###### i quitted alcohol a week ago... damn) but hum, i like tho have a mountain like the everest to look up and i like being owned
50-0, because than i know, yes there is a god and if i want i could be this god :)
its like i said 'bout sc2, its much more intense to look at, when some one goes like a rocket :P
(its like tf2 vs qL)
for all haters, i hope i talked only ######, no one can tell until 1.0 is out (or probably 3.0 ;)!!)
gooood night :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
I agree, this is my greatest fear for ns2. But we will see what its like on the 26th. However from the numerous blog posts/twitter posts about making the game easier I believe that this will be inevitable.
You realize this is an alpha right? It probably won't even be playable, in the sense that nothing will work properly. You can't tell what the finished product will play like from that.
Like it has been said, practice is the key but there is different kind of quality in practicing. When I still cared, I used to watch demos from other great players and after official match I watched the demo from myself and tried to learn what I did wrong and what did I do right. This is great way to improve your gamesense and you can also list all the good frags you made. There used to be also "set piece" practicing in some of the clans I played, in which we focused on special situations, for example in fade blocking, hive rushing and so on. Variations is key to quality practicing if you always play same way, against same faces and with same people you won’t learn nothing new.
Actually it depends on what you're trying to achieve while practicing. I used to have praxctice sessions on public where i tried to conserve ammo as much as possible, and bind a script to not allow me to semi-auto bite just to freshen up and practice my feel of where hitboxes are and how to predict. The goal then would be to kill opponents in the least amount of bullets or bites possible.
Then of course I'd have to use twice that time after to get used to actually playing properly! But it was worth it in the long run.
[Edit] I'd also want to add a point about practice quality. Basically there are two ways of playing. One where you just hop on and have fun and play around - this is ideal for mass gaming which you should be doing to some degree regardless of how good you are. Here you'll get the feel for the engine and flow of the game etc. - The other circumstance is when you have limited time, or set a time limit yourself of an hour or max two. The goal would of course still be to have fun, because it's a game and we're not in an official match, but on top of this we layer a purpose. We decide what we want to keep an eye on or try to accomplish before we get on the server, and while playing we try to evaluate how this goes.
And of course all the other stuff: try to play on servers with better players, limit mass gaming sessions (because quality falls as time goes on), take breaks and work out physically, have fun, play against better players, play against better players, don't give up, practice. And you know practice right? Oh and practice with better players.
I haven't played ns in like 5 years, but iirc air control is heavily dependent on framerate. You'll want to make sure you have fps_max set to 100, fps_modem set to 0 or 100, and force vertical sync disabled in your display driver configuration.
This is the same reason why people accuse me of cheating, when I kill a cloaked TF2 spy walking around in lownoise areas (damn heavies!). T'is just that Sennheiser hears all dammit!
No. Click for each bite.
Yes, you can enrage people and use this as part of your meta gaming.
This holds especially true for aliens, considering they rely on marines performing badly.
For the rest, what people have already said.
case for more aerodynamicnezz so it makes the bullets fly straighter. You got a crooked sight, son.
Thats why you can't hit anything.
they need the game EASIER, so the loosers, who dont care about settings, dont care about configuration, are ALSO owning.
they get nice achievments, maybe nice items and of corse, there will be nothing like movementskills, because such things
could probably seperate skilled players who invested tons of hours to sharpen up from absolute ###### and beginners.
u will never see 50-0 stats at public, because it will be like cs1.6 and css, less recoil, bigger models, more interp and a netcode that make
everything smoooooth. dosent matter which ping, dosent matter which bandwith, its the same ###### for everyone...
its like starcraft/broodwar and sc2 with automining :P - ofc, this pushes the players to use more micro, which give me intense games as viewer :P
and so on, dont practice, u will not need it for ns2, belive me, they want to make a game, which is for weekendplayers with some beer in their blood :P
ofc this is fine (###### i quitted alcohol a week ago... damn) but hum, i like tho have a mountain like the everest to look up and i like being owned
50-0, because than i know, yes there is a god and if i want i could be this god :)
its like i said 'bout sc2, its much more intense to look at, when some one goes like a rocket :P
(its like tf2 vs qL)
for all haters, i hope i talked only ######, no one can tell until 1.0 is out (or probably 3.0 ;)!!)
gooood night :)<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
It's amazing how you've formulated your own language that noone else can understand.
No. Learn to track your target.
Allways remember: The years you spent NOT playing NS somebody else spent JUST playing NS.
So of course they will be on a whole other level than you are...
Playing other FPS games doesn't really help with that, sure you've got no recoil on the guns but your targets are just so much faster and smaller in NS compared to the majority of other FPS games.
Also people have different skill ceilings, some people will instantly be good at every FPS game they touch and other people can spend years playing on a daily basis and still suck. That's one of the most important factors, people are not equal, some people have an easier time beeing good at something than other people.
So don't get your hopes too high for "getting better trough practice", if you need allreadly lots of practice to get to an acceptable level chances are slim that you will ever catch up with somebody who's that good without any practice.
Age also plays a role i think... i have to say i have an quite harder time staying good at FPS games compared to 10 years ago when i used to own complete teams at CS by just facerolling my keyboard. Maybe that's also because gaming has gotten so much more popular so there is more competition, but i certainly feel more gimped with my 27 years compared to back than when i had been just 16 years old.
Azkarrr.
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
Last time I checked people with only 1 finger at each hand are struggling super hard to compete with us awesome 10 finger dudes.
So yeah, it's the genes.
There's your foundation.
Now, as much as you can, play with people as good as or better than you.
There's your development.
After not too long, you'll be the player everyone else is watching.
That is my experience, anyway.
There's your foundation.
Now, as much as you can, play with people as good as or better than you.
There's your development.
After not too long, you'll be the player everyone else is watching.
That is my experience, anyway.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
You know when you were going to the shop this morning to buy some milk, was that Flayra I saw with you?
Anyway, other than that your option is playing 43698720 hours to get that good. So many things go into being a godly marine/skulk that talent isn't enough. Natural talent to aim and track is obviously very important but what you'll find is the really good players are that way because they have a wallhack in their head. After enough rounds on each map in each style you just get a feel for where everything is and can notice the slightest sound but that's not it so much. Frankly for the best 100 or so players to have played the game (yes I'm pulling that out of my ass) you can probably freeze the game on a pub like BAD at any given point and have them look at a map and they can just point to where most of the aliens are and tell you what they're probably doing. They know how many res nodes each team should have on a map, what rooms they should be in, and how much defense you can expect there, and how many lifeforms of each type the other team should have. The skulk that's celerity leaping your face stops being fast because you're not aiming at that skulk. You're aiming at the last 10,000 skulks. You predict how it's going to move to the point where you're not following it you're leading it. Honestly a lot of the time I die on a pub is because the alien does something really REALLY stupid and I whiff terribly aiming where he SHOULD be.
Specific tips would be things like turning your sound up really loud until you can notice things when it's quieter. Muting people who get in the way of that. Always be moving away from the skulk while shooting and be jumping around like a bunny while reloading. Make sure you're using good rates. NS1 is very rate intensive with things like ex_interp, cmd_rate ect. A skulk should die in like 8 bullets. If you can get it under 20 you're doing OK. If you're taking more than 30 something is terribly wrong. I mean these numbers in the sense you feel like you're hitting him but he's not dying. Positioning is really important. Even if you can't aim if you can make the skulk come to you from far enough away you should be able to get him. Keep your spacing away from other marines in a room. Good skulks use you to block eachothers bullets and then you're closer together for him to bite you guys both quickly. dn` when in 1.03 actually had room diagrams in 1.03 of where people should be sitting. Lulz. That ended in like 3 days of scrimming because the game is so dynamic but still, the concept was sound. Keep your minimap open as much as possible. It'll feel like it's in the way a lot when you don't know the map well but it will give you a good idea of where all the other aliens or marines are on the map. This gives you an idea of how many and what type of aliens should be near you. If you can manage it you also want to know who on the other team is dead. Spend a couple days only practicing using your pistol and get a script for it or use your mousewheel to fire it unless you can fire it very fast. A good marine with full hp can kill at least 1 skulk with his pistol and usually a second with his last 3 shots+ knife if it's a bad pub skulk but most pubbers never use their pistol unless they run out of ammo. That's not nearly enough practice with the pistol. You can tell old clan vets or new people who have at least some minor idea what's going on by how fast they run on marine out of Marine start. If they're hopping off ###### and wiggle walking follow them. Copy where they stand and how they move/run. In game. Not by speccing. Try to do their jumps and such.
And frankly, skulking is the same thing except moreso. Skulking is by far the most difficult artform in NS. It's not about aiming your bites it's about timing everything perfectly really. Skulking in it's entirety is basically predicting what the marine is going to be doing because a Marine>skulk in most situations. You need to get him in the very small windows when that's not the case unless you're simply a lot better than the marine you're eating. The only way to get to them in these windows consistently is to guess when the windows will occur to some degree and attack slightly before that.
I guess what I'm saying is focus on NS2 for getting good lol. I'm terrible at broodwars and focusing on SC2 to be decent. Wow, I wrote an essay while procrastinating instead of writing the essay I need for class. And it's a pointless essay too. GG.
anyway, tldr glhf
Also, analyzing good players' play style and the game mechanics is essential for success.
You want to get proper net-settings, maybe new crosshairs and that stuff and you should probably remove the ambient sounds (even though it kills atmosphere :-( ).
Then there is the practicing stuff: bunny hopping, strafe jumping, sneaking without silence, aiming etc.
And to move perfectly around a map you need knowledge of it, so you can plan your jumping-routes as a skulk, you blink-routes as a fade etc.
There are a lot of other aspects to consider that you either learn by playing or reading guides.
And don't forget to have fun :S
damnit I thought social darwinism got out of fashion with the death of Mussolini.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
LOL, I love how you take my post serious! *thumbs up*
I take it serious because it's a very common retarded argument that needs to be rebuked. Repeatedly.
Of course when you're talking about the absolute top then sure that's to some extent decided by genes, but then again NS or NS2 wont ever be as big as football. There's also absolutely no way to know what the limit of your genetic predisposition is without working your ass off anyway.