Announcement

**Exotic** · 06-17-2004, 08:27 PM

skill does factor in this game. can i be ANY more sarcastic?

**Pan** · 06-17-2004, 08:45 PM

talk to bloodzombie about that exotic he is the king of sarcasim on the forums.

**PaulOakenfold** · 06-17-2004, 08:49 PM

I'm intruiged as to what area of intelligence being good at video games falls under. Is being highly kinesthetic what helps you (because of reflexes). Is being a strong spacial (sp?) person help you (visualizing everything around you, perhaps with javs). Perhaps it's something to do with math, that your brain just seems to connect to.

Or maybe it's just being strong in all these areas especially. It would be interesting to see a study with any video game (doesn't have to be Continuum), where a group of people with different natural talents in real life square off. They all have to have equal training in the video game, all given the same opportunities and time frame to practice and hone their skills. Would the mathematician win? Would the pro football (soccer) player win? Would the Artist win? Or would the regular Joe Schmo who happens to be have an above average math proficiency (but not greater than the mathematician), an above average kinesthetic ability (not greater than that of the pro soccer player) and a person who can draw some pictures (but not as well as the Artist).

I'd be very interested in seeing who would win this "competition." Of course there is always a small luck factor that you have to put in, and you have to make sure none of these people are big time video gamers (Because they tend to have the upper hand) OR all of them are big time video gamers.

**Lofty** · 06-17-2004, 09:03 PM

I think it really depends on what the game emphasizes. Some games emphasize strong coordination, some visual talent, others reflexes, and I think the player which has the particular aspect emphasized mostly developed will be victorious.

The way I see it, a zone like Trench Wars has multiple factors, all of which can be manipulated towards being a successful player. That would be where we get our radarers, our rushers, our midshooters, our backpeddlers, and others, from.

People who do longshots, particularly long shots which aren't radar, but the person is somewhere on the brink of the screen, have very good visual-to-mental + movement coordination/assessment; my buddy Raspi demonstrates this talent very well.

Others make use of spontaneous contextual variable assessment/perception in combination with good spatial & time sensitive coordination and visual talent to become solid rushers. Blood sets a good example of that.

There are many other branches of techniques in this zone which take advantage of other mental/physiological talents, and those competent in those fields stray towards them accordingly.

**Bob (SRB)** · 06-17-2004, 11:31 PM

Ha sir you made a relativley easy concept seem so complex with all your huge words

I dont think that confidence plays as big a factor in the "skill" part as you say it does. When I get overconfident, that usually leads to me getting angry then I start making mistakes. I think being calm and collected, almost laid back, plays a much bigger part in how well you play. If you are tense or agitated you are more likely to make mistakes. When you are calm and not so aggressive (which is what confidence tends to do to people), you can perform better overall I believe. Well that all just comes from my personal experience, I'm not so sure about others.

**Tyson** · 06-18-2004, 12:02 AM

Its a good thing someone brought this topic up, a question like this comes to my mind when I win 2 elims in a row and get ass raped the third time by some guy who has played elim maybe about 5 times so far. Its also hard to say whether skill owned luck this TWLB season. To make the long story short I think that more emphasis should be put on perfecting this game so that upsets are kept to a minimum. There is already a wide gap between skill and luck however that is changing through time and that gap needs to stay the same

.

-Tys

**Lofty** · 06-18-2004, 12:26 AM

True, one of the things I dislike about this zone the most is that no matter how godly of a player you can become, you can still die to a 1 day old newbie due to the one hit kill issue. Luckily the one shot kill aspect brings about a lot more positive than negative though.

When I get overconfident, that usually leads to me getting angry then I start making mistakes. I think being calm and collected, almost laid back, plays a much bigger part in how well you play. - Bob (SRB)

Ironically, people who achieve true states of confidence are those that are the most laid back and collected. It is those that are prematurely full of themselves that are hasty to become angry or blame their shortcomings on others.

Confidence is something many people misinterpret. There's a difference between being cocky, egotistical, a bragger, and confident. Confidence, the way I use it in my theories, is a general belief in what you are capable of, and a stable sense of security as far as your limits or what you can accomplish. That type of mindset 'authorizes' you to do things to your limits, and keeps ideas and obstacles of doubt away from hampering your success.

**Izor** · 06-18-2004, 03:26 AM

As far as intelligence goes, the only place you can outsmart people in is pub, and when you do it's considered lame (for example a warbird hunts you down while you're a jav so you switch to cloaker and kill him). Theres no real way to mentally beat your opponent in WBs cause it all boils down to reflexes (dodging) and knowing what angle you have to turn to to make a shot. If you're comfortable with radar you'll naturally stay away from people close range and use radar and if you're a rusher you'll naturally get closer to them. But since it is a team game a there is a teamwork factor for people which counts for more than most give it credit for. I don't know too much about javs cause I rarely ever jav but I'd assume they are pretty much the same.

Oh yeah, it's not confidence so much as composure. It boils down to things like when you get spawned 2 or 3 times in a row how you will react the next death. Some people sorta give up and use it as an excuse for a bad performance. That is not as important, depending on the person. I've seen some people that get spawned a couple times and whine till they get TKed the rest of the match (then whine about the TKs). But most people don't let it get to them THAT bad.

**Miku19** · 06-18-2004, 03:47 AM

Staying calm after dying is really difficult sometimes, at least for me. I've noticed that it helps to do esc+f5, not because you'd be reading what others say, but because you can't see what you're typing yourself, which makes it a lot harder to whine. When you can't type your whines properly, the agitation goes away a lot faster.

**Da1andonly** · 06-18-2004, 10:07 AM

Dodging doesn't have much to do with reflexes, izor/ezor whoever.

Much more about anticipation and guessing/knowing where the shot will go, and move into another direction.

**Eric is God** · 06-18-2004, 10:21 AM

Logically, the only advantage a very experienced player should have over a somewhat newer player is the knowledge they have gained. It doesn't really take that long to become comfortable with the controls and differences in reflexes don't matter a whole lot across the majority of players. It's just that after so many hours in here, knowing what do to and when becomes second nature. So much so, that applying the term veteran to some players seems like a perfect fit. A veteran in war is just someone who has seen a lot of action and survived long enough to gain a fair bit of knowledge and expertise. People often consider it an arrogant term to toss around, but when I think about it, a "vet" is just someone who knows what they are doing.

**Due** · 06-18-2004, 10:22 AM

Originally posted by Da1andonly

Dodging doesn't have much to do with reflexes, izor/ezor whoever.

Much more about anticipation and guessing/knowing where the shot will go, and move into another direction.

if u got slow reflexes it is harder to dodge coz u are slower.

**Ewan** · 06-18-2004, 12:06 PM

I definitely think being a decent javs player requires you to have some spacial awareness which is something you either have or don't, it's not something you learn. Having this allows you to spot potential shots, where the bomb will hit and bounce etc.

~Ewan

**geekbot** · 06-18-2004, 12:19 PM

You're using the word confidence but I think you have a different concept that what most people have. I agree with Bob- confidence (in the normal sense) usually only leads to blindness.

What you're talking about I understand more as "flow" (as in psychologist Mihaly Csikszentmihaly flow) or being "in the zone". Especially when you talk about being laid-back or collected. Flow or zone has a calming effect and allows you to perform better.

To have good flow, the challenge is near equal to your ability. Challenge too high => frustration, ability too high => boredom. High challenge with high ability => high flow.

Ability is your word 'talent'. Confidence, as you're talking about it, sounds like a measure of flow.

Announcement

Skill factors in this game

Skill factors in this game

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Channels