• Log InLog In
  • Register
Liquid`
Team Liquid Liquipedia
EDT 12:01
CEST 18:01
KST 01:01
  • Home
  • Forum
  • Calendar
  • Streams
  • Liquipedia
  • Features
  • Store
  • EPT
  • TL+
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Smash
  • Heroes
  • Counter-Strike
  • Overwatch
  • Liquibet
  • Fantasy StarCraft
  • TLPD
  • StarCraft 2
  • Brood War
  • Blogs
Forum Sidebar
Events/Features
News
Featured News
Team Liquid Map Contest #22: Results and Winners7Code S Season 2 (2026): RO4 and Finals Preview12TL.net Map Contest #22 - Voting & Ladder Map Selection7Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview8[ASL21] Finals Preview: Two Legacies21
Community News
ZeroSpace at Steam NextFest - Last free demo16Weekly Cups (June 8-14): Clem and Solar double, PTR tested0RSL: S6 Finals played at BlizzCon 202611Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28)10[BSL22] Non-Korean Championship from 13 to 28 June4
StarCraft 2
General
What kind of tool would you be interested in? StarCraft II 5.0.16 PTR Patch Notes may 26th Daily SC2 Player Grid - feedback wanted Code S Season 2 (2026) - RO8 Preview TL Poll: How do you feel about the 5.0.16 PTR balance changes?
Tourneys
GSL CK #4 20-21th June Sparkling Tuna Cup - Weekly Open Tournament Master Swan Open (Global Bronze-Master 2) Crank Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League Douyu Cup 2026: $20,000 Legends Event (June 26-28)
Strategy
[G] Having the right mentality to improve
Custom Maps
Work In Progress Melee Maps [D]RTS in all its shapes and glory <3
External Content
Mutation # 530 One For All The PondCast: SC2 News & Results Mutation # 529 Opportunities Unleashed Mutation # 528 Infection Detected
Brood War
General
STARCRAFT MOVIE - Last Night at the Command center BW General Discussion BGH Auto Balance -> http://bghmmr.eu/ Battle cruiser feet vs Carrier fleet Fact based Zerg Upgrade Tier List
Tourneys
[Megathread] Daily Proleagues CSLAN 4 is Coming! Small VOD Thread 2.0 The Casual Games of the Week Thread
Strategy
Why doesn't anyone use restoration? Simple Questions, Simple Answers Relatively freeroll strategies Creating a full chart of Zerg builds
Other Games
General Games
Stormgate/Frost Giant Megathread Nintendo Switch Thread Path of Exile ZeroSpace at Steam NextFest - Last free demo ZeroSpace Megathread
Dota 2
Looking for a Dota Mentor Official 'what is Dota anymore' discussion
League of Legends
Heroes of the Storm
Simple Questions, Simple Answers Heroes of the Storm 2.0
Hearthstone
Deck construction bug
TL Mafia
Vanilla Mini Mafia
Community
General
US Politics Mega-thread Russo-Ukrainian War Thread [H]Internet/Gaming Cafe Tips and Tricks The Games Industry And ATVI UK Politics Mega-thread
Fan Clubs
The HerO Fan Club! The herO Fan Club!
Media & Entertainment
Movie Discussion! [Req][Books] Good Fantasy/SciFi books [TV/BOOK] *SPOILERS* Game of Thrones Discussion
Sports
2024 - 2026 Football Thread McBoner: A hockey love story TeamLiquid Health and Fitness Initiative For 2023 Formula 1 Discussion Cricket [SPORT]
World Cup 2022
Tech Support
Computer Build, Upgrade & Buying Resource Thread Facing Challenges in Mobile App Development
TL Community
The Automated Ban List
Blogs
How To Predict Tilt in Espor…
TrAiDoS
An Exploration of th…
waywardstrategy
I'm an arrogant trash talke…
FlaShFTW
Gauntlet SC2: A Retrospectiv…
Ctone23
Why RTS gamers make better f…
gosubay
Customize Sidebar...

Website Feedback

Closed Threads



Active: 7848 users

Out of game conditions that affect your play

Blogs > Reptaur
Post a Reply
1 2 Next All
SnowSC2
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States678 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-31 08:35:08
January 27 2011 21:32 GMT
#1
Next: Coaching >>

    Out of game conditions that affect your play

    Hello TL, I'm going to be doing various out-of-game tests (i.e playing while cold, hungry etc) To see how it affects my game-play. I'm not going to be referencing anything and I'm just going to post how such things affect my play, and also find things that can help my play.

    I'm a diamond Zerg player with around 2500 games played over 2 accounts.
    And with that lets begin:

  • Playing while hungry
    So i noticed that Ive heard a few times that playing while hungry can be distracting while playing, so what i did was i got off of work and came straight home. I then went to bed, woke up and didnt eat anything until going back to work again. All in all, i didn't eat anything for about 14 hours before playing about 15 games. This made it impossible to play, it was so difficult to concentrate that i simply could not win a single game.

    My macro completely went out the window. My normally good macro was replaced with mass amounts of supply blockage lazy queens and creep-less grounds.

    I then ate, and almost instantly i found myself able to concentrate again. While playing i want thinking abut food or anything, i was just not able to remember shit.

  • Playing while cold
    Normally my house is around 67-68 degrees and that works out fine, my hands are relatively warm and im able to play at my usual speed (roughly 150 apm).

    Know i knew already that playing while cold makes it difficult to play fast. Trying to move my fingers that fast while they were cold was difficult, not only because it feels so sluggish but also i mistyped like crazy.

    So having known this, i decided to make it even colder and see what would happen. Its winter now and instead of turning on the ac i just turned off the heat. The house was around 54 degrees at this point and oh man... I guess i didn't assume this would happen, but the colder it is the harder it is to play. I always assumed it was either your hands are warm and its easy to play fast, or they're not warm and i cant.

    I tried to play just 1 game, and what was happening was it was so cold, i mistyped keys alot, mainly hitting ones closer to my hands "home" position because of the huge reduction in movement. Also, like hunger but not quite to that extent, it was very difficult to concentrate.

  • Exercise
    Now i don't mean regular daily exercise, all i did was push-ups. that's it.
    Ive noticed 2 pretty substantial things linked to it.
    For one, if i did several sets of push-ups before sitting down for a session i noticed i just feel more comfortable. Sitting for long periods of time without much movement at all seems to just make it easier to feel less comfortable. I'm not really sure why this is, but my normally uncomfortable setup wasn't an issue at all, and combined with the other point which im about to go into, it just feels good.

    The other and IMO one of the more important and substantial things you can do is to do push ups or any quick workout after getting pissed at a game. I began to do 20 push-ups every-time i got pissed and after-wards i instantly feel much less angry and am good to play another game. This has been a great alternative to just stopping playing so i was able to actually train for decent amounts of time.

  • Music
    While playing il listen to various things from parov stelar, to emmure, to the persona 4 soundtrack.
    I mainly listen to metal and instrumental stuff, for instance Emmure..
    + Show Spoiler +

    And Toe..
    + Show Spoiler +


    Now i used to not really listen to music while playing at all, and since testing it out ive really notice that i need to listen to it or i simply cannot concentrate as well.

    Originally, i thought music would break my concentration and that why i avoided it while playing, however that's not the case at all. I was simply able to concentrate better no matter what kind of music is. It doesn't affect my emotions when im playing the game the way it might if i were just listening to it by itself, and because of this there's a slightly different appeal to what i listen while i'm playing.
    For instance, i love a lot of toes softer slower stuff but when im playing a game of starcraft i may want something more upbeat or repetitive. A lot of their music has me paying attention to it, so i tend to listen to more repetitive stuff while playing.

    As of now i prefer the p4 soundtrack, it has a nostalgic flavor to it and i just love the hell out of the way it all sounds. My current sc2 play-list currently consists of 2 Emmure songs, the only metal on there, the p4 soundtrack, some Parov Stelar and sleepyhead by passion pit :p.

  • Those various little things....
    Comfort is a big deal. Ive tried playing with the seat to high and too low, with my mouse-pad vertical or horizontal (i prefer vertical), with my keyboard crooked etc etc.. and all it really comes down to is how comfortable you are.

    Comfort seems to be a big deal, if something, anything at all is bugging me while I'm playing I'll constantly be aware of it. The seat too high or too low seems to big a big issue, since its so uncomfortable trying to play with my hands positioned differently and i actually play worse if everything isn't at least kinda comfy.

    Fatigue is all in the same. The more tired, the harder it is to play. Its very similar to hunger imo, i just cannot concentrate and bad decisions are abundant.

Enjoyed the read? please rate :D


***
Sayle
Profile Joined October 2010
United Kingdom3685 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-27 21:43:29
January 27 2011 21:42 GMT
#2
Try these too:

- seat too high
- seat too low
- socks/shoes on/off (whichever you don't do normally...)
- music on/off (could also try different types of music)

Shamelessly stole these from Day9 and other pros talking about practicing for LAN environments :p

Do you play in LANs? This is good training if you do, but if you only play at your home computer, I don't think there's much point :<
Nokarot
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
United States1410 Posts
January 27 2011 21:49 GMT
#3
I've always wondered what it would feel like to play while standing, with all of the hardware at a relative height level to that of sitting. However, I don't have any flat surface tall enough to test it, let alone the will to actually move it all over for the sake of playing a few games under duress. ^^
beep beep boop
Wolf
Profile Blog Joined April 2010
Korea (South)3290 Posts
January 27 2011 21:51 GMT
#4
When my hands are cold, I wait until they're warm to play. And I usually eat beforehand also. Both affect me.
Commentatorhttp://twitter.com/proxywolf
TL+ Member
Alexson
Profile Blog Joined January 2011
Belarus293 Posts
January 27 2011 21:56 GMT
#5
Having a 4 year old brother.
Liberal who supports gun use and supports an eye for an eye
Tex
Profile Blog Joined January 2010
United States126 Posts
January 27 2011 22:04 GMT
#6
I can't play unless I have my space/foot heater on. I get so cold..
Impossible is a word that people use so they don't feel bad when they quit.
Rkie
Profile Blog Joined October 2009
United States1278 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-27 22:32:25
January 27 2011 22:28 GMT
#7
Well, when i hear music i dont like, slower music, or my hands are cold, i play worse.
But, the most significant difference is when my parents come in and talk to me. I use skype with friends while playing, but for some reason, a person talking to me irl makes me lose all concentration.

Also, if i am the slightest bit angry, i cant concentrate, and thus lose.
SnowSC2
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States678 Posts
January 28 2011 07:33 GMT
#8
On January 28 2011 06:42 Sayle wrote:
Try these too:

- seat too high
- seat too low
- socks/shoes on/off (whichever you don't do normally...)
- music on/off (could also try different types of music)

Shamelessly stole these from Day9 and other pros talking about practicing for LAN environments :p

Do you play in LANs? This is good training if you do, but if you only play at your home computer, I don't think there's much point :<

i do play at a lan center, il be adding some of these in when i can
Marksman
Profile Blog Joined May 2009
Malaysia523 Posts
January 28 2011 08:57 GMT
#9
Do try also at different levels of fatigue. Say after a good amount of reading detailed information or work or etc.Thanks
I live by the LoL
SpiritoftheTunA
Profile Blog Joined August 2006
United States20903 Posts
January 28 2011 09:00 GMT
#10
try playing while trying to maintain a hard-on using only your imagination, it's fucking intense
posting on liquid sites in current year
SnowSC2
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States678 Posts
January 28 2011 09:08 GMT
#11
On January 28 2011 17:57 Marksman wrote:
Do try also at different levels of fatigue. Say after a good amount of reading detailed information or work or etc.Thanks

ok i can definanlty do that :D
Sayle
Profile Joined October 2010
United Kingdom3685 Posts
January 28 2011 11:04 GMT
#12
On January 28 2011 18:00 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
try playing while trying to maintain a hard-on using only your imagination, it's fucking intense


I guess if someone inadvertantly types something dirty to me in a ladder game, I'll know who to thank...
Kinky
Profile Blog Joined September 2008
United States4126 Posts
January 28 2011 11:49 GMT
#13
Playing with lack of sleep is a major problem for me during school days. I know I play horribly when I'm sleepy so I usually avoid playing when I am.
SnowSC2
Profile Blog Joined September 2010
United States678 Posts
January 30 2011 03:48 GMT
#14
KK i think im done for this one, will do something similar for my next blog when i think of something
Psyonic_Reaver
Profile Blog Joined June 2007
United States4342 Posts
January 30 2011 04:43 GMT
#15
I used to never play SC:BW with any music, not even the ingame music because I thought it would hinder me from reacting to alert sounds. But one day I accidentally played a game with my MP3 player going and the trance/techo music I listened to helped me maintain a faster hand movement rate because of the beats. It also helped me to be more aware of the minimap because, yes, my alert sounds were softer but I could still hear them but it made me keep a more watchful eye.

That's just me though, it's different for everybody.
So wait? I'm bad? =(
Crankenstein
Profile Joined December 2010
Australia150 Posts
January 30 2011 04:49 GMT
#16
Playing when it's too FLOPPING hot. it's summer in Australia at the moment and I reckon my room is the hottest place in the country... has the same effect on me that hunger has on you by the sound of things.
jjun212
Profile Joined December 2004
Canada2208 Posts
January 30 2011 05:19 GMT
#17
Being in love (the first few weeks of a relationship are really fun..)

thats pretty distracting cuz i dont wanna play games, i wanna play with her ^^!!!!
Zapdos_Smithh
Profile Blog Joined October 2008
Canada2620 Posts
January 30 2011 05:28 GMT
#18
Actually being too full affects my gameplay a lot. It makes sense because a lot of your energy is being spent on digestion rather than going to your brain/arms/fingers etc.. I play better when I am hungry.
Impervious
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Canada4220 Posts
January 30 2011 05:38 GMT
#19
Cold is definitely a big one. My room is fucking freezing, and it's been bugging me the last while..... I feel sluggish while playing, for lack of a better term.

What I've been doing is spamming like crazy to keep my hands warm (I never spam btw). My average apm has been between 150 and 200, when it's normally closer to 100. It's not making me play better at all, relative to how I would be playing if it was warmer, however, it is keeping my hands warmer while playing, which definitely helping to reduce the effect of it being so freaking cold right now.



Another key one is your mouse/keyboard. Try playing with a different mouse, and you'll see how different it is. It'll really affect your precision and reaction timing. I'd know - I just had to purchase a new mouse because I forgot my old one at home over christmas break, and it wasn't really worth it to ship it. I decided to upgrade to a Razer Imperator (seemed like a logical choice for me), but the thing just felt uncomfortable initially. It's grown on me, but I'm still not nearly as precise as I used to be.....
~ \(ˌ)im-ˈpər-vē-əs\ : not capable of being damaged or harmed.
Kashll
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
United States1117 Posts
January 30 2011 05:50 GMT
#20
On January 28 2011 18:00 SpiritoftheTunA wrote:
try playing while trying to maintain a hard-on using only your imagination, it's fucking intense


That made me laugh
"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music." - Aldous Huxley
1 2 Next All
Please log in or register to reply.
Live Events Refresh
IPSL
16:00
Ro8 M4
Hawk vs Julia
Liquipedia
[ Submit Event ]
Live Streams
Refresh
StarCraft 2
SHIN 426
Harstem 362
BRAT_OK 77
ByuN 59
StarCraft: Brood War
Britney 23707
Mini 1216
Hyuk 277
firebathero 277
Soulkey 149
actioN 123
Dewaltoss 110
Pusan 62
Sea.KH 58
Free 40
[ Show more ]
ToSsGirL 36
910 30
Rock 24
GoRush 18
Movie 18
HiyA 13
ajuk12(nOOB) 10
Sacsri 9
Dota 2
Gorgc6501
Counter-Strike
fl0m10057
summit1g9888
byalli619
Heroes of the Storm
Khaldor338
Liquid`Hasu291
MindelVK10
Other Games
gofns67002
tarik_tv17909
Grubby3564
singsing2131
B2W.Neo1207
Mlord785
PiGStarcraft382
FrodaN204
KnowMe62
Organizations
Dota 2
PGL Dota 2 - Main Stream7563
Other Games
EGCTV1047
WardiTV485
StarCraft: Brood War
UltimateBattle 82
StarCraft 2
Blizzard YouTube
StarCraft: Brood War
BSLTrovo
[ Show 14 non-featured ]
StarCraft 2
• poizon28 33
• AfreecaTV YouTube
• intothetv
• Kozan
• IndyKCrew
• LaughNgamezSOOP
• Migwel
• sooper7s
StarCraft: Brood War
• BSLYoutube
• STPLYoutube
• ZZZeroYoutube
Counter-Strike
• C_a_k_e 1987
• Shiphtur129
Other Games
• tFFMrPink 16
Upcoming Events
Patches Events
59m
BSL22 NKC (BSL vs China)
2h 59m
Dewalt vs Messiah
Bonyth vs Mihu
TerrOr vs XuanXuan
eOnzErG vs Messiah
Jaystar vs Mihu
Dewalt vs XuanXuan
Bonyth vs TerrOr
Replay Cast
7h 59m
WardiTV Weekly
18h 59m
Monday Night Weeklies
23h 59m
Sparkling Tuna Cup
1d 17h
The PondCast
2 days
Douyu Cup 2020
3 days
Oliveira vs Trap
Jieshi vs XY
soO vs FanTaSy
TY vs Coffee
Douyu Cup 2020
4 days
Neeb vs Impact
MacSed vs Cyan
Scarlett vs Kelazhur
INnoVation vs Dear
Douyu Cup 2020
5 days
[ Show More ]
Maestros of the Game
5 days
herO vs Classic
Maru vs Serral
BSL22 NKC (BSL vs China)
5 days
Douyu Cup 2020
6 days
BSL22 NKC (BSL vs China)
6 days
Liquipedia Results

Completed

Proleague 2026-06-19
uThermal 2v2 2026 Main Event
Heroes Pulsing #2

Ongoing

IPSL Spring 2026
Acropolis #4
CSCL: Masked Kings S4
YSL S3
BSL 22 Non-Korean Championship
CSL Season 21: Qualifier 1
SCTL 2026 Spring
Maestros of the Game 2
Murky Cup 2026
IEM Cologne Major 2026
Stake Ranked Episode 2
CS Asia Championships 2026
Asian Champions League 2026
IEM Atlanta 2026
PGL Astana 2026
BLAST Rivals Spring 2026
IEM Rio 2026
PGL Bucharest 2026

Upcoming

CSL Season 21: Qualifier 2
CSL 2026 Summer (S21)
CSLAN 4
Blizzard Classic Cup 2026
Kung Fu Cup 2026 Grand Finals
RSL Revival: Season 6
CranK Gathers Season 4: BW vs SC2 Team League
HSC XXIX
Douyu Cup 2026
BCC 2026
Light HT
Heroes Pulsing #3
BLAST Open Fall 2026
Esports World Cup 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer 2026
BLAST Bounty Summer Qual
Stake Ranked Episode 3
XSE Pro League 2026
TLPD

1. ByuN
2. TY
3. Dark
4. Solar
5. Stats
6. Nerchio
7. sOs
8. soO
9. INnoVation
10. Elazer
1. Rain
2. Flash
3. EffOrt
4. Last
5. Bisu
6. Soulkey
7. Mini
8. Sharp
Sidebar Settings...

Advertising | Privacy Policy | Terms Of Use | Contact Us

Original banner artwork: Jim Warren
The contents of this webpage are copyright © 2026 TLnet. All Rights Reserved.