Muscle memory, training, and switching alts.

[Eric The Scruffy]

Hi all. I wanted to get some perspective on some issues I'm having as I try and level up my game in Injustice. I've played fighting games before and I've been watching tournaments for years, but this is probably the deepest I've gotten into one.

Does anyone have any suggestions for how best to train to switch between mains and alts? I know that might seem a silly question since the obvious answer is: "derr...practice?" but the reason I ask is because I find I have a really hard time....flipping the switch (for lack of a better term), when I go from my main to an alt (even one I'm extremely familiar with). It's very difficult for me to sit down, spend 15 minutes or so playing a character a specific kind of way and then suddenly reset my muscle memory and be able to land combos that require different timing.
Should I switch back and forth between the characters more often? Should I try to pick up additional alts to get used to switching between more playstyles?

Also, does anyone have any tips to avoid going on autopilot? I find that my best execution is about 5 minutes or so after I boot the game up and I've had time to warm up, but after an hour or so I can tend to zone out and I'll start making mistakes and keep repeating them without an extremely conscious effort to force myself to land a combo.
Again, I know there's probably no magical answer to these issues that doesn't start with "practice, practice, and more practice", but I was wondering if anyone had something more specific they found which helped them.

 

[Sasuga]

I really wish I could tell you something different than practice, practice, practice but that's basically the only way. At some point both characters will be in your muscle memory and you can switch more easily. Maybe drop the one you know best for a while and start training with your alt until you feel confident enough. Then switch it up again.

I like to stay with a single character most of the time but that's also because I don't have that much time to play.

 

[Alien Substance]

Eric Z19
Welcome to TYM.com!

Your issue has to do with practicing and your mental ability to switch and remember. I would recommend not going to more characters or to switch more often, it could further strain your mind. Take note that my words are only theory:

I say you should get comfortable with your fighters first, take things slow. Get comfortable with one for a session or two, then switch to the other and see how well you do. You should be able to be calm-minded in how you play your characters.

For your autopilot issue, best I can give you is to not play that long as it could be the result of a tired mind.

 

[JrK]

I'm bad at auto pilot too. The only thing that helps me (not much) is to be conscious of it and actively fight it.

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

You actually should be on auto pilot when you are comboing. Your combos should be so ingrained in your head that you shouldn't have to think, it just happens. Then you can use that time to think about the actual meat of the match. I never really play secondary characters so I can't help there.

 

[ThaShiveGeek]

Some characters are way different lol. What I choose to do is learn Batman until I felt comfortable with almost every match up, then I moved on to learning GL, Superman, Joker, DS, and what not. It is hard though. At least for me. Everyone has different timing, and on top of that you have to deal with timing online. It's not impossible.

 

[pogse]

Use your alt a little more often in actual matches and just do one combo per match depending on your starter. practice mode is great but you won't be able to focus on the match when most of the time your thinking of executing your combo and if you start dropping combos then its might probably your reactions getting faster.

 

[Barracuda Deathwish]

TC, I have the same problem as you. The way I did it was by learning one or two combos first and then making a point to implement them into my matches no matter whether I win or lose. I play a few matches with one character then go to other one doing the same thing. Eventually you'll understand what each combo does and how they should be utilized.

I've been taking my time and trying out a whole bunch of different characters since the day the game came out but my two main go to guys are Ares and Wonder Woman. I can now play them decently against my casual friends.

I'm trying to learn Harley now and I'm pretty much starting from the bottom. It's the same process again. I find a new basic combo once every day or two and make it a point to use it in every match regardless whether I win or lose. After a week of getting my ass beat online I'm starting to actually win with her and understanding how those combos are used and I can still switch to Ares or Wonder Woman any time I want.

 

[Eric The Scruffy]

You actually should be on auto pilot when you are comboing. Your combos should be so ingrained in your head that you shouldn't have to think, it just happens. Then you can use that time to think about the actual meat of the match. I never really play secondary characters so I can't help there.

Some characters are way different lol. What I choose to do is learn Batman until I felt comfortable with almost every match up, then I moved on to learning GL, Superman, Joker, DS, and what not. It is hard though. At least for me. Everyone has different timing, and on top of that you have to deal with timing online. It's not impossible.

I should definately have clarified this: probably the majority of my issues with going on autopilot is that I pretty much play exclusively online, usually against randoms. A god of execution with the reflexes of a jaguar I am certainly not, and while I can typically adjust; going from one connection to another can be pretty jarring at times and sometimes after three or four bad matches I'll be so thrown off that I need to go into practice mode for a few minutes to reset myself.
I just don't know anyone who gets into fighting games like I do, and while there's a local SFIV and MK9 arcade scene in austin, I don't think there's one for injustice yet.

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

I should definately have clarified this: probably the majority of my issues with going on autopilot is that I pretty much play exclusively online, usually against randoms. A god of execution with the reflexes of a jaguar I am certainly not, and while I can typically adjust; going from one connection to another can be pretty jarring at times and sometimes after three or four bad matches I'll be so thrown off that I need to go into practice mode for a few minutes to reset myself.
I just don't know anyone who gets into fighting games like I do, and while there's a local SFIV and MK9 arcade scene in austin, I don't think there's one for injustice yet.

Well, one thing i would suggest is picking up one of those games, and then trying to start an injustice scene with some of those fighting game people. However, are you on xbl? I would be glad to play, even online its great to have somebody to play that knows what they are doing.

 

[Eric The Scruffy]

Well, one thing i would suggest is picking up one of those games, and then trying to start an injustice scene with some of those fighting game people. However, are you on xbl? I would be glad to play, even online its great to have somebody to play that knows what they are doing.

Yeah, site hasn't updated with my information but my tag is the same as my username. Mind you, I make no claim to be great. I'm ranked something like 477 on ranked with a 55% win ratio. I want to get better, but I'm still clueless when it comes to a lot of things.
Honestly...I've thought about getting into SFIV, but it's a little intimidating tbh. When SFIV first came out I was one of the random Ken Dragonpunch all day everyday scrubs who thought I was good until I saw my first tournament on twitch a little over a year ago and realized what being "good" really meant. At this point I feel like there's so much I'd have to unlearn that its a little daunting.....

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

Yeah, site hasn't updated with my information but my tag is the same as my username. Mind you, I make no claim to be great. I'm ranked something like 477 on ranked with a 55% win ratio. I want to get better, but I'm still clueless when it comes to a lot of things.
Honestly...I've thought about getting into SFIV, but it's a little intimidating tbh. When SFIV first came out I was one of the random Ken Dragonpunch all day everyday scrubs who thought I was good until I saw my first tournament on twitch a little over a year ago and realized what being "good" really meant. At this point I feel like there's so much I'd have to unlearn that its a little daunting.....

Send you a friend request next time I'm on then. And I'm actually possibly picking up ssf4 as well, so we could both work on it. I'm just as much of a scrub in that game as you are lol.

 

[Eric The Scruffy]

Send you a friend request next time I'm on then. And I'm actually possibly picking up ssf4 as well, so we could both work on it. I'm just as much of a scrub in that game as you are lol.

Would love too...I'd have to rebuy it though. My copy is on steam XD

 

[Skkra]

Yeah, site hasn't updated with my information but my tag is the same as my username. Mind you, I make no claim to be great. I'm ranked something like 477 on ranked with a 55% win ratio. I want to get better, but I'm still clueless when it comes to a lot of things.
Honestly...I've thought about getting into SFIV, but it's a little intimidating tbh. When SFIV first came out I was one of the random Ken Dragonpunch all day everyday scrubs who thought I was good until I saw my first tournament on twitch a little over a year ago and realized what being "good" really meant. At this point I feel like there's so much I'd have to unlearn that its a little daunting.....

SF4 is a great game. If you want to play and have PSN, I'm Skkra on there.

As far as switching characters, you could play some sets with friends and purposefully switch every game to get used to it. In SF4, I play a ton of chars, and if you're not used to it, it can feel strange switching between Ryu, Guile, Blanka, Yang, THawk... they all play SO differently. It just takes practice, and knowing your characters well.

To reiterate what others have said, when it comes to combos, you WANT to be on total autopilot. Your brainpower should all be going towards analyzing your opponent. When you lose a game, sit there for a moment and literally ask yourself: "What did my opponent do that beat me that game?" Think about the match for a moment. Did you throw too many wakeup dragon punches and were punished every time? Did you get hit by too many crossups? Was there a setup that kept hitting you every time you were knocked down by a sweep?

If after 2-3 games in a set, you ask yourself that question and have no answers - you're sitting there with no idea why you're losing - THAT would be a good time to come to the forums and discuss the matches. Ever since, many years ago, I started seriously forcing myself to answer the question "what just beat me?" I got much, much better. If you can answer that first question, then you can ask yourself the followup: "What is the solution to this situation?" =)

 

[chessmaster]

Yeah pretty much just practice. You will eventually learn each character and you can comfortably switch between them. this coming from someone who switches characters every session.

 

[DJ L Toro]

You actually should be on auto pilot when you are comboing. Your combos should be so ingrained in your head that you shouldn't have to think, it just happens. Then you can use that time to think about the actual meat of the match. I never really play secondary characters so I can't help there.

I havent delved too deeply into injustice's combo system, gravity system, air hitbox alteration, character "weight" system, etc, but in mk you had to constantly be aware because depending on plus or minus 5 pixels in any direction of any given hit (especially while juggling) would severely alter all of the above elements. sure, you could say that if your muscle memory is perfect then it doesnt matter (assuming you have matchup specific muscle memory), but that's generally pretty unlikely.

 

[HGTV Soapboxfan]

I havent delved too deeply into injustice's combo system, gravity system, air hitbox alteration, character "weight" system, etc, but in mk you had to constantly be aware because depending on plus or minus 5 pixels in any direction of any given hit (especially while juggling) would severely alter all of the above elements. sure, you could say that if your muscle memory is perfect then it doesnt matter (assuming you have matchup specific muscle memory), but that's generally pretty unlikely.

I mean for a lot of characters once you started a combo it went to a specific "go to" follow-up so once you get past the initial part you could then go into muscle memory.