Game Reflex Training - The Bear and Badger

[Deleted User]

For a long time, I've simply accepted that although I love videogames, I generally suck at the ones requiring quick reactions.

It's a cruel twist of fate that I can love gaming so much and yet be so consistently poor at it.

Am I doomed to always be a n00b?

Maybe it's genetics, maybe it's just that my fingers and thumbs are seizing up now I'm an old bastard (for the gaming world, age 34).

Battlefield 3 is an excellent game, and despite pouring well over 100 hours into it, I still find my ass being handed to me regularly, presumably by teenagers with ninja skillz. I'm usually in the bottom third of scorers each round, my aiming is poor and my reactions are often like I'm stood in treacle.

I feel embarrassed even sharing this, but when an enemy pops out in front of me, I usually panic, my arms and hands seize up and I spray bullets everywhere except at my adversary. Yes, I really am that shit.

But this got me thinking - does it have to be this way?! In this big wide Internet, there MUST be ways for cack-handed fools like me to improve my skills.

Are there any websites that train you to improve your accuracy / reflexes for FPS games like BF3?

Should I play Duck Hunt on the NES for 500 hours?

Do I need to meditate daily on the essence of warfare?

Should I lie about my age and try to join the military for some real life training?

I dream of a day when I can consistently get in the top 50% of scorers per round in BF3.Â

I've watched countless YouTube videos of BF3 experts to try to help my game, but more often than not I end up feeling utterly inadequate and I have to Dragon punch my poor dog in the face 50 times to boost my self-esteem.

Stop this animal cruelty now!

Little Franklin

You've pretty much described why I don't play online military shooters.

g.man

It's not about being leet. It's about having fun regardless of your level of skill.

yus

g.man

Paul the sparky

Get on Battlefield 3 with us, that'll sort you out.

mistercrayon

I agree with g. When it comes to the point where you are training to win it seems less like a fun hobby and more of a labour.

[Deleted User]

Everyone likes to develop a sense of mastery in any game. So I expect that any training would be fun in itself, because it helps that sense of progression.

Plus, it's hard to have fun when you find yourself dying all the time.

[Deleted User]

Well, after a few trial runs, I can get a reaction score of 0.257 on this test.
http://www.mathsisfun.com/games/reaction-time.html

So my reaction times per se can't be that bad.

[Deleted User]

I'm just surprised someone hasn't come up with an FPS Trainer game... I bet there's a huge market for it! BF3 has virtually zero training. (Although, BF3's stripped down manual is a strength in one way because it's fun learning stuff for yourself & with your friends. It adds to the game's longevity when you suddenly realise how cool the SOFLAM / Javelin combo is, for example.)

An FPS trainng game could:
* Improve reaction times
* Teach real military team-based tactics (Full Spectrum Warrior was good for that)
* Improve virility
* Stop the bullies from stealing my lunch
* Prepare me to be President
* Have shit graphics and run on Ouya

Paul the sparky

There are loads of factors to consider before putting too much emphasis on your reaction time.

Roujin

Why don't you just train by playing more BF3?

Are you basically playing for less than an hour a day cos you're in your 30s with other life commitments, getting bodied by schoolkids who can play for 5+ hours a night?

Ain't no training going to overcome that hurdle. Take up a fighting game and develop yomi, then use that to beat the kids who have reactions, but not brains on their side.

[Deleted User]

Paul the sparky wrote:

Get on Battlefield 3 with us, that'll sort you out.

Sure, what's your soldier name? Mine's the same as here - SwiftBoyAdams.

Paul the sparky

Are you PCing it? I'm on Xbox.

[Deleted User]

Roujin wrote:

Take up a fighting game and develop yomi, then use that to beat the kids who have reactions, but not brains on their side.

I've learnt a new word today, thank you.

I've gotta admit, I'm usually too panicked to even think about WTF I'm doing, never mind my opponent. Developing Yomi would be cool...Â

Maybe the FPS Training game I proposed could include a minigame on developing yomi...

[Deleted User]

Paul the sparky wrote:

There are loads of factors to consider before putting too much emphasis on your reaction time.

Good point. But I'm not really aware of what they are... hence the need for an FPS Training game, maybe?!

Mod74

Have you tried adjusting the look sensitivity?

Almost every game I play I have to turn the speed down. In Battlefield 3 I have it about 1/8 of the maximum.

That's just aiming though. I can't help with the freezing in terror bit.

Mod74

By the by, BF3 is incredibly picky with its bullet trajectories between weapons and where bullets actually land compared to where you think they should. Make sure you have heavy barrel and fore grip on. Maybe use a red dot.

[Deleted User]

Paul the sparky wrote:

Are you PCing it? I'm on Xbox.

Yeah, sadly.

[Deleted User]

Mod74 wrote:

Have you tried adjusting the look sensitivity?

That's a great idea, cheers. No idea why I didn't think of it. Facepalm!

Mod74

Also, killing people isn't the only way to score in BF3. There's objectives to be taken, flags to be held, revives to be made, ammo to be dished out. Hell, consistently spotting should raise you up to the middle of the score chart.

Roujin

Sorry, I meant just drop BF3 and take up a fighting game. Yomi won't help with an FPS, too many variables between player, map and current weapon loadout to make accurate predictions about what an opponent will do.

Mod74

SwiftBoyAdams wrote:

Have you tried adjusting the look sensitivity?

That's a great idea, cheers. No idea why I didn't think of it. Facepalm!

If you're PC you should be able to adjust both the look (un aimed) and aim (um, aimed) speed.

You'll probably want to keep look around the middle but take the aim down a bit. It's much easier to follow a leading target or make minor adjustments on a stationary one if every tiny movement doesn't fling your aim off.

[Deleted User]

Mod74 wrote:

Also, killing people isn't the only way to score in BF3. There's objectives to be taken, flags to be held, revives to be made, ammo to be dished out. Hell, consistently spotting should raise you up to the middle of the score chart.

Yeah I tend to get most of my points from doing those things. Perhaps BF3 needs a 'donkey' class, where you never actually fire a weapon.

And it's amazing how few players bother spotting regularly.

[Deleted User]

Mod74 wrote:

If you're PC you should be able to adjust both the look (un aimed) and aim (um, aimed) speed. You'll probably want to keep look around the middle but take the aim down a bit. It's much easier to follow a leading target or make minor adjustments on a stationary one is every tiny movement doesn't fling your aim off.

Cheers for the tip, Mod74. I'll try that.

Mod74

Welcome to the forum, btw.

Were you on old Edge? The name sort of rings a bell.

[Deleted User]

Mod74 wrote:

Welcome to the forum, btw. Were you on old Edge? The name sort of rings a bell.

Cheers. I was anÂ occasionalÂ lurker on the old forums, but under a different pseudonym. You must be thinking of another haggard old gamer that's shit at FPS games

[Deleted User]

Maybe I'll just dust off Bayonetta again. I managed to finish it on Normal, but Hard was, well... hard!

That game was pretty good for improving yomi and reaction times. As the Edge team said, with enough practice it was surprising how good you could get at that game. Though I must admit to resorting to button mashing on more than one occasion!

Brooks

Thread content/username

I also dislike being slow and physically old.

Little Franklin

Only physically old? Good that you're still young at heart.

It's a good point Swifty. What you need to do is buy a walking stick, a nice warm jumper, some digestive biscuits, and accept the grim realities of life.

igorgetmeabrain

Reaction time/reflexes are largely irrelevant unless you're unusually deficient in this respect, which clearly you aren't.Â It's been shown many times that even elite sportsmen, racing drivers etc don't generally exhibit any sharper reflexes than anybody else.Â What they do have is the ability to analyse situations very efficiently and to react efficiently also.Â

That's how you're most likely to make the greatest improvement - by removing inefficiency/interference.

Age is a factor but mid-30s really isn't old and shouldn't make a difference really.Â I know plenty of 50+ people who are still remarkably sharp.

[Deleted User]

Now that I think about it further, I think my biggest issue (and probably for lots of others too) is my (in)ability to process a large amount of information quickly. It takes me (what seems like) and eternity to start firing after spotting an enemy.

I'd be interested in any training that improved this ability to take in and process information rapidly.

mk64

Loads of people used to go to that mp level in halo 3 and practice shooting something bybthe beach.. Birds I think. It was the unofficial training.

I get the same thing in street fighter 3 with the parries. Is it reaction/timing or lack of skills.

My mates use to get me playing guardian snipes end to end and that improve my sniping skills no end. But it's suprising that there aren't more higher tier training tutorials I game you are right.

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