Topic: Touhou Mindset (Read 1227 times)

Arcengal · « **on:** January 15, 2012, 08:57:47 am »

Figured this would be an interesting topic since I'm having bother with it myself...

What mindset do you need to be in to do well at Touhou? Right now, I've started playing UFO again and I'm getting crushed on Hard, even though I was playing on Lunatic before. I've noticed that when I'm confident and doing well, I can get overconfident and make mistakes, which puts me on tilt so I die even more. When I'm not confident, I end up just bombing everything and make no progress either. So there needs to seemingly be a balance between confidence and making sure you're not TOO confident.

The other thing is... and this is quite embarassing... I'm actually scared of Byakuren's last card. Like, my heartbeat doubles and my brain screams THIS IS FUCKING IMPOSSIBLE to the point where, if I die once, it starts a domino effect of deaths and bombs. Especially if I die on the red phase. I think it's Pavlov: I've died at the red phase so many times that seeing the start of it makes me think I'm going to die again, so I panic and get proven right.

What works, or doesn't work, for you?

I have no name · « **Reply #1 on:** January 15, 2012, 09:02:38 am »

Several different mindsets work for me.
1: "I don't care about the outcome"
This works for a run I start out of nowhere, but if I switch to this partway through I keep derping.
2: "OH MY GOD I'M ACTUALLY DOING THIS"
Never works-except at the very end if I'm not thinking about it too much, where the adrenaline heightens my reaction time
3: "I'm going to lose"
Results in either epic fail or sudden victory from nowhere.

Either way don't think about how well you're doing, or how bad you're doing, just focus on the dodging.

Quote from: Anarchy Formless on January 15, 2012, 09:20:35 am

As absurd as it sounds, my best performance usually occur when I'm tired/bored to the point of unable to even talk to myself during a run. An empty mindset. "Just focus on the dodging".

This too-I had a bunch of good UFO hard runs while half asleep, although I got the clear on an 11:30 attempt (PM)

Anarchy Formless · « **Reply #2 on:** January 15, 2012, 09:20:35 am »

As absurd as it sounds, my best performance usually occur when I'm tired/bored to the point of unable to even talk to myself during a run. An empty mindset. "Just focus on the dodging".

Otherwise, I alternate between these two :
- "I don't give a fuck. Improvement occurs naturally over time"
- "A regression is sign of level up" (during any of 'those days')

Fast Fanatic · « **Reply #3 on:** January 15, 2012, 11:12:45 am »

Typical Run that I expect to 1cc:
"kay let's do this oh I died to the stage 1 boss ESC R"
Typical 90FPS grindan
"dammit missed a UFO ESC R"
Random Lunatic runs that I don't expect to 1cc
"Oh, I died to Demarcation. Let's see how this goes, anyways..."

8lue Wizard · « **Reply #4 on:** January 15, 2012, 01:38:09 pm »

Hijinx (Read: "adrenaline").

That is all.

Puffy · « **Reply #5 on:** January 15, 2012, 03:29:11 pm »

"Alright lets do this, lets do a new accomplishment!!!"

*fails, RAGEQUIT*

"Okay, take it easy, calm down, i'll go shower."

*Complets the accomplishment

*

And there's those days where you're like fuck it, i'm shit today, lets not go there.

Darth_Sirov · « **Reply #6 on:** January 15, 2012, 04:52:43 pm »

On my part, it's often when I am not too focused on the game that I tend to do well most of the time (still need some effort though). The more I try harder, the higher my death count (like if I die, I continuously keep repeating the same mistake).

Also, trying to take breaks works wonders... I have at times haven't played in a while (like a difference within a week or a month), and my performance is a lot better, but resting and then going back after an hour or 2 is good.

Zil · « **Reply #7 on:** January 15, 2012, 05:07:45 pm »

The best mindset for me is being motivated/confident I suppose. Certainly doesn't help to be angry. Though paying attention and remembering how to dodge things is a also important.
And when I'm close to acheiving something and my heartbeat doubles... that's why I play these games.

DelichiousApple · « **Reply #8 on:** January 15, 2012, 05:21:07 pm »

I always panic and bomb when I'm playing against Stage 4/5/6 bosses... I can't control my stress...
I seem to play much better when I'm sleepy/not confident... I MEAN I PERFECTED AYA BEFORE GOING TO BED

"I'll never do this, but I'll try anyway"
"OH LOOK I DID IT!"

MMX · « **Reply #9 on:** January 15, 2012, 06:05:02 pm »

Sometimes it's like "i must do first 4 stages as i've learned from practice, and then just bombrush to the end." And i constantly restaring if derp on earlier stages. But sometimes it's like "Ok, stupid death on stage 2 with full trance... Well, i dont give a fuck, lets go further" and it works!
As for mindset, it often happens that i cant do any progress by constant retrying the thing over and over again. And then i like just tackle the problem after some break and solve it on 1st or second try. It seems like i'm playing better while on clear mind, then when i'm too concentrated.

Ace · « **Reply #10 on:** January 15, 2012, 08:38:17 pm »

Here are my mindsets:

1. "I want to look good when I do these runs, just like Kefit and Naut!" *WRIGGLE KICK* "RESTART RESTART RESTART"/"NONONONONONONONONONO". I make YouTube videos, I don't like putting fail on there (Except for that one Izuna-Gongen video but you all know what that was).

2. "Fuck this I'm just gonna be stupid and see how far I go". Just for the hell of it when I don't fucking care.

3. "PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE LET ME WIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN". This is right after I've game over'd ten times on the same thing.

RegalStar · « **Reply #11 on:** January 16, 2012, 03:40:54 am »

My usual mind set is "wee I'm bored let's boot up Touhou and fly around for a while to spend a few minutes"

It's kind of the reason why I do stage practices a lot more than actual runs. I'm usually at my best when I'm 100% mentally concentrated (big surprise), but I can't keep it up for very long, and aside from that state most of my great results come from when I'm just going "wee let's see how far I can get". (Like when I was trying to time out Illusionary Dominance in DS, I failed several times beforehand in that day, and the run I succeeded at it was on the run when I spent a minute and a half absentmindly thinking about the sequence of weapons I want to use on my avenger in Diablo before realizing "hey, there's only 30 seconds left on the clock").

Tengukami · « **Reply #12 on:** January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am »

I have a pretty simple warm-up.

The night before I want to play, I walk down to a local river, strip completely naked, and lay down in the current, with my head facing north. I recite an ancient Sumarian chant as the water rushes over me, until I feel as though my soul has been properly cleansed. I then dry myself with a pure white linen cloth, which is subsequently burned immediately afterwards, while reciting a different chant.

Once I get home, I don myself in a ceremonial robe adorned with runes of the Fire Æsir. I put on a CD of Haitian voodoo chants, making sure the stereo is set to play it in continuous loop. Then I go to bed, again with my head facing north. As I drift off to sleep, I visualize a snake swallowing its own tail.

I awaken at dawn, and light sage at the compass points of the room in which I will play Touhou. I put on my Reimu costume (or the costume of whichever PC that I intend to use for whichever game) and hold up the jewel case for the appropriate game high above my head as I sit in the lotus position. I then recite the following:

"Amaterasu, hear my prayer! Let my hands be steady yet my eyes be quick. Cast away from me all thoughts of clipdeath, spellcard time-outs and unnecessary bombing. Surround me in a shimmering, protective light of pure eyes, hands and brain. By the Shift key, the X key, the Z key and the arrow keys, Amaterasu, I beseech thee, hear my prayer!"

I then practice tai chi for three hours before turning on the computer. I rub my hands down with rosin, sit at the computer, and recite another Sumerian chant as the game loads. I then commence to play.

DarkslimeZ · « **Reply #13 on:** January 16, 2012, 04:10:35 am »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am

omitted

Yeah, as for me, I, uh...

um...

yeah

Zil · « **Reply #14 on:** January 16, 2012, 04:13:42 am »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am

I have a pretty simple warm-up.

I'm going to try this and see where it takes me.

But if we're taking about warm-ups this is another matter entirely.

Ace · « **Reply #15 on:** January 16, 2012, 05:13:18 am »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am

I play Touhou like it's a religious ceremony.

...Well. I'd try your method, but I'm simply far too impatient to do so.

I have no name · « **Reply #16 on:** January 16, 2012, 05:22:53 am »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am

By the Shift key, the X key, the Z key and the arrow keys

What about GFW and the C key?
Also, what.

Zil · « **Reply #17 on:** January 16, 2012, 05:25:40 am »

Quote from: I have no name on January 16, 2012, 05:22:53 am

What about GFW and the C key?
Also, what.

Clearly the entire process would be completely different for GFW.

Tengukami · « **Reply #18 on:** January 16, 2012, 05:53:51 am »

Quote from: I have no name on January 16, 2012, 05:22:53 am

What about GFW and the C key?

I'm glad you asked this question.

A lot of people misunderstand what ZUN was trying to do with Great Fairy Wars. Here we have one of the most mocked and ridiculed characters in Gensokyo inevitably defeating one of Touhou's most enduring characters. "Underestimate no one," ZUN is telling us. And that's a message I take to heart.

To prepare for GFW, I wait until the night of the full moon. There's a mountain nearby, about 15 miles or so from town, called Slave's Peak. It was named after one of the slaves of Iceland's first permanent settler, Ingólfur Árnasson. I climb this peak some hours before midnight on the full moon, and draw a pentagram in the sand using a sack of small red pebbles. I then completely undress, and rub chalk all over my body, until I am totally covered. I lie down in the pentagram, with my arms, legs and head inside each of its points, as I stare up at the full moon.

When midnight comes, I begin to sing "Beloved Tomboyish Daughter". You might be wondering how I sing a song with no lyrics. It just so happens that the rhythm and chord changes fit perfectly with a passage from the Necronomicon. I sing the passage 77 times before I rise, marking the compass points around the pentagram with my own urine, and walking back down the mountain.

Near the foot of a mountain is a waterfall. I sit under it, in the lotus position, while playing a bamboo flute until dawn. Sufficiently purified, I dress again and go home.

Once at home, I turn off the heating in my home and open all the windows, until the entire apartment is freezing cold. If the weather is warm, I go to the store and buy giant bags of ice, which I then leave in open buckets in the corners of the room in which I play Touhou. I then dress as Cirno, sit in the lotus position, and recite "Shift, Z, X, C, Ma-ri-sa I shall defeat" 88 times.

Once this is done, I perform tai chi for three hours, rub my hands down with rosin, turn on the computer, and say Cirno's name 99 times. Then I boot the game, and commence to play.

Desu_Cake · « **Reply #19 on:** January 16, 2012, 11:54:15 am »

My hands are much better at playing Touhou than my brain. The trick is getting my eyes to communicate directly to them without my brain somehow garbling the message, while still using my brain to decide what parts of the screen to concentrate on and remember the patterns. It's a delicate balance. Generally I tend to concentrate on the music, though it doesn't work perfectly.

Ace · « **Reply #20 on:** January 16, 2012, 12:56:31 pm »

How do you prepare for Touhou 1, the Phantasmagoria games, the fighting games, and the Danmaku Photography games, Tengukami?

AJS · « **Reply #21 on:** January 16, 2012, 07:59:07 pm »

On any given day, I'll look at my library of Touhou games with one of the following mindsets:

1. "Let's do something fun and ego-boosting today!" - I'll select any one of the games and play the Extra/Phantasm Boss.

2. "I feel masochistic today..." - I'll select a game other than IN, PCB, or EoSD and play on a difficulty WAY beyond my capability (usually Lunatic mode); Or I'll try to tackle GFW Marisa again.

3. "Let's make history" - I'll select EoSD or PCB and make another attempt at a Lunatic 1CC, which I've come heartbreakingly close to in both games [This mindset comes around the rarest, though]

Hanzo K. · « **Reply #22 on:** January 21, 2012, 08:45:50 pm »

Back in the times where I actually played the official games, I'd usually start my day with a good dose of UFO/MoF Lunatic. (Read: Mere moments after waking up)
Better 'n Coffee it was, always woke me right up!

Mostly due to the near-constant pichuun sound.

Railakuren Hijiri · « **Reply #23 on:** January 21, 2012, 11:19:45 pm »

Quote from: Tengukami on January 16, 2012, 03:59:50 am

I have a pretty simple warm-up.

You, sir, are my hero.

I tend to do better at the games when I play an hour before I head to bed.

K.A · « **Reply #24 on:** January 23, 2012, 06:13:55 pm »

I try to not thinking on what I'm doing, I just take it easy.
Sometimes i need some vodka to not care to much (it often works)

Glimmer · « **Reply #25 on:** January 24, 2012, 09:33:28 pm »

I have to not be in a bad mood and I'm usually bored when I decide to play Touhou. I wonder if alcohol would work for me, although I'm too young to drink. I don't like it anyway.

Vyrien · « **Reply #26 on:** January 25, 2012, 02:56:19 am »

I do best after the tiniest bit to drink, to loosen me up and not get UTTERLY ENRAGED at Parsee. Then I go for it thinking, 'maybe I'll do it, maybe I won't, as long as I enjoy it'

Piranha · « **Reply #27 on:** January 25, 2012, 09:09:12 am »

There are two mindsets for me:

-"Let's see what I can do"(playing for fun)

-"Now let's get this damn 1cc"(playing for accomplishments)
->I generally restart the game if I die 2 times until the end of Stage 3, or 4 Deaths until Stage 4. (for Normal, mind you)

LuphosKyogia · « **Reply #28 on:** January 26, 2012, 04:23:52 am »

Quote

I do best after the tiniest bit to drink, to loosen me up and not get UTTERLY ENRAGED at Parsee.

Beer-Cancelling? I guess that could work...

What I SHOULD do: a trance-like meditation works well. Be surprised by nothing, be intimidated by nothing.
What I normally do: get entirely too into it. "I AM REIMU HAKUREI. GET OUTTA MY COUNTRY!"

Chirpy13 · « **Reply #29 on:** January 27, 2012, 09:35:58 pm »

I need to be sufficiently focused, determined, confident, and calm for a good run. If I'm unable to read the bullets, that's no good, and I need to do some warmups. I usually play second loop stages of Cave games or mess around with TLBs to adjust my eyes and get my reading and reactions up to the right level. My determination and confidence depend on the day, but I do my best when I have that "I know I can do this!" feeling, and the will to keep going through failures, credit after credit, until I win. Staying calm is the toughest part for me, and I always end up flopping on good runs because I make one big mistake that leads to a domino effect and wipes out my remaining resources. I've found that finishing credits, even terrible ones with early deaths, helps a bit there since it's like I'm accepting my deaths and moving on from them instead of being distracted by them. Restarts just lead to thoughts like "If I see this stage one more goddamn time..." and kill my skills more and more the longer I go. Taking a few minutes to sit back and reflect on my credit helps a bit too.