(Part 2) Best products from r/SSBM

Ah yeah, you’re in a tough part of the melee journey. Serious enough to be invested in results, not good enough to get a ton of positive feedback. Good enough to identify weaknesses, but you don’t quite yet have a framework to solve these problems. Good enough to have others put expectations on you / talk about your play style but not quite good enough to refute haters or have your point of view heard. You’ve been playing long enough that you can see how far you’ve come but you also start to realize just how far you really are from the top.

It’s easy to get discouraged from here, especially with what seems like a decently large skillgap between you and the next guy up and what seems to be a fairly toxic community wherever you are. At your skill level it seems like you can grind out tech skill and still see a million errors in your play. You can improve a bunch and not really see progress in how far you place in bracket. Even if you do really want to put in the effort to improve it doesn’t seem clear where exactly you should focus these efforts.

My advice is to start to really appreciate the journey every step of the way. Yes, this is a tough part of it, but learning to overcome this spot you’re at both skill wise and what you have to admit has become a bit of a mental barrier will provide tremendous benefit to you. Learn to focus your effort to be more productive, to see benefit in your training in ways other than counting how many times you SD in a match. Hard work pays off. Not always in the most obvious ways, but trust me when I say that if it feels like you aren’t benefiting from practice you need to either re-evaluate how you practice or re-evaluate how you measure progress. Enjoy the process of practice, finding things to work on, improving those things and repeating the process. Enjoy the journey of self improvement that this provides you.

I can tell you that you have nothing to worry about in terms of “learning the game backwards,” I’ve personally always been a proponent of focusing on tech skill first before neutral game but at the end of the day there is no roadmap to getting good and there is no easy way to reach the next step. The only universal truth is that you get out of it what you put into it.

And don’t worry about people calling you lame. “Playstyle” is something people obsess a lot that isn’t a very useful thing to think about when gauging your improvement. When I was quite a bit worse than I am I was called campy, reliant on lasers, I used to be called the backwards facing Falco cause I “only use Bair / Utilt.” People like to assume that your playstyle in a certain way because that’s how you intend for it to be but in reality these are all just steps on your way to having a more robust style. There are a LOT of things to learn about this game and if you’re getting pretty good at a certain style that they like to call lame then feel free to take pride that you’ve got understanding in one part of the game but remain humble in that you know there are many other parts of the game to learn. Not because they’re “less lame” but because you need to expand your knowledge base to improve. Next time you get called lame just say "that's ok I'm just trying to get better." Honestly style is overrated at low levels cause realistically nothing is cool at low levels, just get good then you can shut em up later.

Lastly I can’t overstate how helpful these two books are relating to this type of stuff. If you’re dedicated to sticking to it and seeing how far you can go / what you can get out of melee then I highly suggest you read both of them!

Good luck dude.

Inner Game of Tennis by Timothy Gallwey

Online pdf:

http://www.tinapse.ro/home/coltul-indrumatorului-coach/resurse-materiale-instrumente/W.%20Timothy%20Gallwey%20-%20The%20Inner%20Game%20Of%20Tennis.pdf

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Inner-Game-Tennis-Performance-ebook/dp/B003T0G9E4

Art of Learning by Joshua Waitzkin

Online pdf:

http://www.nordiccentre.org/downloads/The_art_of_learning_waitzkin__josh.pdf

Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/The-Art-Learning-Journey-Performance/dp/0743277465

Been thinking about writing a guide on this for a while, so you'll get a lot of info as a rough draft!

The raw specs you listed are good enough for FM but the big thing here is that you're on a laptop. Some laptops have problems with sustained performance due to thermal and power throttling via BIOS settings or even manufacturer specifications at the hardware level. If that is the case, you'll have to learn a lot about how Intel Turbo Boost works to get to the bottom of things. But first, you have some simpler options.

Easy stuff to try: go to Power Options by right-clicking on the AC/battery symbol at the bottom right of the screen, on the taskbar, and make sure that your CPU utilization and all that stuff is set to 100% in the advanced options. Usually the High Performance preset has all that stuff cranked up. Also make sure that you're using your GPU for FM, it probably won't make much of a difference since it's more CPU-intensive but it doesn't hurt to check. Download the Nvidia Control Panel if you don't already have it to manage that stuff. Try disabling your antivirus while you play to see if that makes a difference; it probably won't, but it doesn't hurt to try. Finally, you've probably already done this, but play with the graphics settings in FM, particularly the backends. With Nvidia GPUs I always get the best performance with D3D, but ymmv.

More involved stuff: it sounds like you need to reinstall Windows anyway, so you might do that before trying anything else. It will only save you a headache in the long run. You should also download a program like HWMonitor to monitor your CPU temperatures. If it seems like they're peaking pretty high but cutting off at a specific temperature, like 80C or something, you might just need to cool it down some -- open up your computer and dust the fans with compressed air, or buy an aftermarket cooling pad like this one.

Last thing, but a pretty big one in my experience: preventing throttling. This will take you into the world of overclocking. It's a pretty nuanced topic so I'm only going to give general advice but I encourage you to do your own research, because you do run the risk of damaging your computer if you are too aggressive in changing these settings. Look in your BIOS for an option to disable power management, disable Intel C1E state, etc. There are lots of possibilities here.

If your BIOS doesn't include those options, which is likely on a laptop, or they didn't help, your only option is to modify the BIOS (really tough) or use a program like Throttlestop or Intel Extreme Tuning Utility to prevent throttling. Here's a Throttlestop guide to help you out. Limit Reasons is your friend. If one of those is lighting up while FM is open, you've found at least one potential area of improvement. I've worked with a couple of computers that performed way better once TDP limits were increased, allowing the CPU to sustain a higher wattage and therefore a higher clock speed without being throttled down in the interest of saving power.

Sooo yeah I'll probably turn this into a real post at some point, but I was really bored and figured I'd get started on the whole laptop performance troubleshooting guide thing.

if you want to play on your computer, I'll recommend the most recent dolphin netplay build, that and complete instructions can be found here.

Of course, you will need a ROM of melee which you should definitely obtain legally and not through a download of it somewhere on the internet.

You will need a controller. I recommend looking at your nearest thrift store, or joining the facebook group for your local melee scene and asking if anyone would be willing to sell one to you. Or you can buy a new smash 4 controller.. Also you'll need an adapter to play on your computer, the mayflash 4 port is the best and cheapest option, but if you already have a wii u with gamecube adapter you can make that work too. Either way follow this guide to set it up. (make sure it's on wii u mode if you end up with the mayflash adapter)

All this being said, this is not the best way to play melee. The best way will always be to play on a wii or gamecube with a CRT TV (long story short, they have way less lag than HD TVs). If you really end up getting into melee you'll end up going this route eventually anyways, so for that I'd recomend agin your local scene for a gamecube/wii and a copy of melee, though copys of melee can be a bit expensive. For a CRT, check craigslist in your area, or just like streetcorners, you shouldn't have too much trouble finding one. Worst case, your local thrift store will probably only overcharge you a little for a decent CRT.

If you don't want to deal with buying a copy of melee. Then you can mod your wii to play a rom of melee. I recommend the 20xx hack pack that is made for melee training. It has a bunch of stuff you can learn to use, but you can also just play regular games on it, so it's good for everything outside of serious tournament use. Here's the official step by step guide for getting 20xx onto your wii.

Outside of that I think your best option is to see if there's any smash fests or tournaments going on around you and just go, hang out with people and play as much as you can.

Also, just some friendly advice, as great of a resource this reddit, or smashboards, or people in general can be, not everything everyone says is accurate, so do your research.

Have fun, and welcome!

PS, no hate for CS:GO from me. Plus I don't think you'll find too much hate for it here in general since mango plays it.

EDIT: I forgt my biggest piece of advice for new players. Spacing is as important, if not more important than tech skill. Make sure you're movement has a purpose. Good luck Dude/Dudette

In 2019 you do not absolutely need a CRT. A low enough input lag monitor combined with the input lag reductions of Faster Melee (online build to play Melee on computer it is excellent) is more than enough to match and even surpass the input lag of a crt. You can play Melee online and it is impressive how good it is.

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- All you need to play on computer with a Gamecube controller is a Mayflash four port adapter which is 20 american dollars. The Wii U gamecube adapter will work as well. ultimate adapters should work I think too.

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Many years of good resources for this game exist. The 20XX hack pack and the Unclepunch training mod are superb. Here are links to these things.

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Get the launcher to play Melee online and find games with people - https://www.smashladder.com/guides/view/27dz/project-slippi-dolphin-launcher-2-0-guide-windows

Best monitor for playing melee on computer. Very good value for its performance - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01H5KKQTM/

The Unclepunch training mod - https://smashboards.com/threads/training-mode-v1-1-updated-1-11-19.456449/

20XX hack pack - https://smashboards.com/threads/the-20xx-melee-training-hack-pack-v4-07-7-04-17.351221/

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Project Slippi is also worth mentioning. It can be put on your Wii and does a great many things to assist with improvement and automatically will save all games you play as replay files. This video I saw explains the basic idea well enough - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IDJiMES-dn4&feature=youtu.be

Project slippi was used at many recent tournaments with some large ones being listed here - https://slippi.gg/

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These are some of the better resources and tools. These are only some things. If there are questions you have ask me. Good day :-)

Anyone got any interesting setups/tv's? Idk why i'm writing this but here are the things I bring to tourneys.


Album link


My Tv Is by far the most eye catching thing. I bought 350 Fortune cookies and have been just taping them on there whenever I finish one. I am pretty much out of them so I have quite a bit all over the TV. The air fresheners were to bring some nice smells to any tournament I went to.


Standard Gamecube: 1.02 melee with newest 20xx TE and vanilla melee memory cards. This is the video cable IOnebring. It has s video + regular composite so I don't have to bring a powered splitter. Explaining more below.



Recording/Streaming setup: This consists of a Webcam which also records player/crowd audio (also a 16 ft extension). An Elgato with 16ft extension. Then I have 2 non-powered composite splitters. I plug in the composite video from the game cube directly into my TV and the S video into the elgato. The result isn't actually too bad (if someone knows how to deinterlace for better video hmu).

The last thing is My Controller: Someone on etsy painted it for me right before big house and so far it's a great purchase. It is of a Palestinian flag and has my tag on it. it doesn't feel any different from any other game cube controller which is great.

Edit: forgot about my headphone setup. I have sennheiser Momentums I bring with my headphone amp and plug that into the tv's audio with one of These. This has a pass through meaning other people can listen through the TV and I can adjust the volume with my amp. I also bring another headphone splitter so people can listen with their headphones.

I tried out a LOT of chairs when I got into music production a decade ago. I've been using this since 2012 and never looked back. I'm 6'1" so I like a high back but there are normal back models too. I also took the armrests off to encourage better posture. There are a couple reviews talking about how the foam is too thin...they must be like 300 pounds or something because my brother's ~225 and he loves it too. Literally my only gripe is that after about 2 years of use it started getting a little rickety when I shift positions.

I also own this from the same company, and it's also great, but got even ricketier within a year and the fabric's not quite as nice. Surprisingly, the back cushion doesn't make nearly as much of a difference as I would've expected.

I use this

http://www.amazon.com/Elgato-Capture-analog-iPhone-10020840/dp/B0029U2YSA/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1416893132&sr=8-3&keywords=el+gato

you can find some examples of it being used here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAhEVsccuuY

the splitter makes it a bit darker for some reason but that can be fixed easily. I'd recommend saving up and getting an HD cap card though so you can play lagless and in good quality. Only reason I use this one is because my dad had one laying around and had no more use for it

Yeah sure man, either get the Mayflash adapter (which I'd recommend because it has "native" mode, and PC mode, so you can freely use it with other games besides dolphin):

https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-GameCube-Controller-Adapter-Port/dp/B00RSXRLUE/

Or you can get the official Nintendo adapter, which looks better and also works (and you've got the official Nintendo quality):

https://www.amazon.com/Gamecube-Controller-Connection-Wii-U-Nintendo/dp/B00O9GPB00/

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00B2HH7G0/ref=psdcmw_1292115011_t1_B01F9UC20Q?th=1&psc=1

This monitor does 144Hz natively, and is usually touted as the best budget 144Hz monitor for the price point. There are other brands like BenQ with a reputation of being tournament standard monitors for games like CS:GO, but honestly I don't think anyone's been critical of what this monitor does.


I don't have personal experience with this model, but I do own a 60Hz monitor from ASUS that has served me very well for a good 4 or so years.

And check out the link Poison posted.

I'm using this: https://www.amazon.com/Upgraded-transferring-Camcorder-PVRC43-Pyle/dp/B01MFEPCUX/

All you need to go with it is a splitter for the game input and some sort of usb thing to plug it into (you could get one of those backup phone batteries or be more creative to save money).

At least 2 gig. If you are running the ISO off of an SD card, try to not use an off brand cheap one that may be really slow. Speed for an SD card is designated by its "Class". Class 10 being the fastest. I use this SD card, which a bit of overkill sizewise, but I can have multiple ISOs on it and it runs great.

http://www.amazon.com/Sony-Class-Memory-SF16UY-TQMN/dp/B00B7ID97A

Generally the dual s-video/composite cables are poorly shielded and the brightness will be decreased due to having an unpowered split.

Something such as this would solve that problem and allow you to use a better shielded s-video only cable:

https://www.amazon.com/RadioShack-4-Output-Component-Distribution-Amplifier/dp/B010EIK6K6/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1538597037&sr=8-3&keywords=s-video+distribution+amplifier

It also converts s-video to composite so you can play composite on your TV and still capture in s-video.

You can get an easy cap or something similar for like $8 and a couple splitters that came out to ~$15 in my case. Recorded these matches with this card.

Get yourself a capture card, RCA splitters, and a double-sided RCA cable. The capture card I linked is extremely cheap but does its job for the most part. The quality is by no means great but it's watchable at least. Use that to record your matches instead of VHS, it's much simpler to handle in the long run.

This is what we've been using. I think we could try some post processing (sounds like kadano did some of that with his videos) to get rid of the interlacing but if not there are some other options in that post that I will definitely explore.

Edit: link didn't work

No $200 laptop will be good. However, for $150 more you can find good deals like this laptop. It's got the latest i3 processor, a backlight keyboard, and can upgrade the RAM up to 32 GB. It's not even the best deal you can find, but if you want a cheap laptop that can be decent for mid-range gaming then this should be fine.

Yes, I do know what 60 fps means.

This video was captured with the shittiest capture card and, as you can see, it's 60 fps. If you advance frame by frame, you'll see the game timer advance every frame and, of course, it takes 60 frames for it to count a full second.

So, like I said, if the capture card mentioned by the OP is compliant with NTSC (which I'm guessing it is, even my shitty card is), then it will allow for 60fps to be captured. And, finally, what I'm trying to say is that you don't need Dolphin, HDMI shenanigans or expensive capture cards in order to get 60 fps, but you do need them for good quality.

20xx TE will make it so that you only need Dolphin tho, which is amazing!

EDIT: Here's another video (that wasn't upscaled so I can't upload to youtube, since 720p unlocks 60 fps), that was captured with an even shittier card -- this one, similar to the one Kadano linked down in the comments -- and I still got 60fps. Please do ignore my less-than-sober mumbling throughout the video.

You should buy either the 4 port mayflash or the official wii u gamecube to usb adapter. Both of these make dolphin feel just like the gamecube in terms of controller inputs.

4 port mayflash: https://www.amazon.com/Mayflash-GameCube-Controller-Adapter-Port/dp/B00RSXRLUE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487737578&sr=8-1&keywords=4+port+mayflash

Official Wii U: https://www.amazon.com/Gamecube-Controller-Connection-Tap-Wii-U/dp/B00O9GPB00/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1487737600&sr=8-5&keywords=wii+u+gamecube+adapter

I have the 4 port mayflash and it works flawlessly. A guide to setting them up in dolphin is found here: https://www.smashladder.com/guides/view/26oz/controller-guide-2-0

1. literally any cheap usb capture card
   
   
2. this boy
   
   
3. two sets of RCA cables
   
   
4. OBS
   
   Console goes into the boy, cable one goes to the CRT, cable two goes to the capture card.
   
   Stream with OBS. It's a shining beacon of free software that everybody from the nooberest of noobs to the biggest of names all use.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01K1IO3QW/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&linkCode=ll1&tag=bkadamos_test04-20&linkId=8440181d1290fef7d94e1a1645fc0bea

anything that can play league of legends will run smash fine. check out /r/suggestalaptop

Finally a question I can actually answer. For just normal Red/Yellow/White A/V cables I use this setup.

Option 1

1. Go from your console to a splitter such as this. Doesn't have to be exactly this splitter but it does have to have external power or you will have signal degradation.
   
   
2. You will need extra cables so pick up a couple of these. One cable goes directly to the CRT the other into an adapter.
   
   
3. Here is one I have used a lot it is a solid adapter for the price. They can range from cheap to really expensive so it's whatever you want to put into it.
   
   
4. From HDMI out go into your method of capture I use this. If you don't want stretch for the El Gato, AverMedia is also a reputable brand. Then just USB from the capture card into your PC.
   
   Is there any reason you want HDMI? You can keep steps 1 and 2 from above and use something like this instead.
   
   I can also answer any question you have.

This is the 144hz brand that I own, and constantly see recommended

https://www.amazon.com/VG248QE-1920x1080-144Hz-Gaming-Monitor/dp/B00B2HH7G0

It's this monitor
https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-XL2411-Professional-1920x1080-Response/dp/B01H5KKQTM
You should check around /r/buildapcsales to try to snipe one for a lower price. Asus is another good brand that you can go for if you don't want this particular one.

Generally I see these alongside a composite wire-splitter and two extra composite cables (one into the TV one into your computer). I use one of these with a powered splitter for my stream at home.

If you have enough money:

https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-24-Inch-Tournaments-Professional-XL2411/dp/B01H5KKQTM/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

If you don't wanna spend all your money:

https://www.amazon.com/BenQ-24-Inch-Console-eSports-Monitor/dp/B01H5KKRLO/ref=dp_ob_title_ce

What's not to believe? You can look up independent testing on various monitors. 1-3ms response time
monitors have been widely available for quite some time and used for just about every other competitive game that's not melee or smash 64, the melee community has been extremely slow to adopt because of price, misinformation, and the misconception that all non CRT monitors are terrible. Truth is there's plenty of laggy CRT monitors out there.

CRT are so prevalent because they're cheap as hell so getting together a few hundred is no problem, whereas 200 high end monitors would run you about $40,000, which is pretty impossible for a grass roots community. Not to mention there's zero risk of someone stealing your old heavy CRT, and a potentially high risk of your nice new ASUS monitor being stolen, or broken, if it is tipped over, dropped, etc .

There's quite a few monitors out there that are perfect for melee BenQ is just the name that's most common.

Here's one in a good price range

Higher quality than the previous, more expensive though

Independent testing of a BenQ monitor, 1ms response time