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Heya guys and girls of TL!
I've been to dozens and dozens of competitive LANS and seen a lot of people play far below their potential because they are oblivious about many of the most important settings you MUST check whenever you set up on a new PC. I've even been at international events such as IeSF in Korea where many of the players couldn't navigate the Korean windows and just played with sub-optimal settings. Letting yourself get handicapped like that is just silly, so I decided to write a simple checklist of the most vital things that must be changed every time you get on a new PC.
1. Windows Mouse settings:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/QsDXB7i.png)
Search "mouse" in windows and open the menu. Open the "Pointer Options" tab and de-select the box "enhance pointer precision". Also adjust the "select pointer precision bar" to 6/11. The number 1 reason people screw up at LAN is leaving mouse sensitivity on at LAN, this completely destroys their mouse accuracy if they aren't used to it.
Note from T.O.P: "Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same" - most events will use the most common 1920x1080 monitors, so if your one at home is different remember to toy with your mouse settings by going into game and pretending to split workers vs banelings for a minute on each sensitivity. You should be able to get it to be very similar to your home settings, though if you're a progamer just buy a standard monitor!
2. Windows Keyboard settings:
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/gLnBUil.png)
Search "Keyboard" in windows and open the menu. Adjust the "repeat delay" and "repeat rate" bars to the Shortest and Fastest options possible. This means when you're holding down 'Z' to que up 50 zerglings you don't need to wait 5 seconds for it to register!
3. Test your sound!
Depending on the setup this can be fixed 1/100 ways just fiddle around ingame and in windows sound settings and get an admin to help if you can't figure it out. Just make sure you get this sorted before you get fully settled in-case you need to change PCs.
4. INGAME Settings
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/2E02E5k.png) ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/oJPtnOm.png) ![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/zPNhcl3.png)
The most important part is to mirror your setup at home with these.
If you're a real badass like me (giant nerd), you will print out your settings for the Gameplay and Sound tabs as there are too many options to remember them all. Likewise in Graphics and controls, memorise or print-out your settings and ensure they reflect your home setup so that you are as comfortable as can be.
5. Tablecloths
Get rid of any annoying table-cloths that screw up your mousepad surface by peeling them back from the table to make a flat space for your mousepad.
6. Monitor height
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/4PgEa9X.gif)
The top of your monitor should be roughly in line with your eyes. If it's lower than ask around for a small box to raise your monitor up. If it's too tall, see if you can stack chairs to give yourself a higher seat or find and adjustable chair. Sometimes events will even have adjustable monitors which makes this problem easy 
Note from mnck: bring a pillow to adjust your chair height if it's too short, and this also works for monitor height.
7. Allied Colours - ON
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/qMwPYH8.jpg)
I usually take this setting being on for granted, but recently at a LAN it was left off and my opponent was coloured "white" on Polar Night. I ended up missing a probe that went right past my lings and took big damage from a zealot pressure! I realised that maybe trying to spot white dots on snow maps wasn't the smartest idea  .
So always leave your colour settings on "color units green, yellow or red based on hostility" using the button next to the minimap!
Hopefully this guide will make you more comfortable your next time competing at a LAN! Now you just need to worry about playing your best and not getting cheesed! Gl hf!
![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/UKa1fKn.png)
 
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Always bring a pillow for the chair and a book for the monitor, that way you can adjust two different things if the height of the monitor isnt working. Gotta bring that lan pillow.
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On February 20 2014 20:33 mnck wrote:
Always bring a pillow for the chair and a book for the monitor, that way you can adjust two different things if the height of the monitor isnt working. Gotta bring that lan pillow.
Have you been talking to HuK?
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On February 20 2014 20:33 mnck wrote:
Always bring a pillow for the chair and a book for the monitor, that way you can adjust two different things if the height of the monitor isnt working. Gotta bring that lan pillow.
I usually just harass event organisers until I get a box of good size and that's worked out so far but it's a bit silly and you have to be a bit extroverted to bother with this, a book is probably better .
The pillow is great advice! I've been meaning to start bringing one to events!
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T.O.P.
Hong Kong4685 Posts
Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same.
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On February 20 2014 20:46 T.O.P. wrote:
Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same.
Excellent point! I used to play with a 1650x1080 at home despite every event being a 1920x1080. I always had to fiddle around with my sensitivity and I'm sure it hurt my performance a lot.
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On February 20 2014 20:33 mnck wrote:
Always bring a pillow for the chair and a book for the monitor, that way you can adjust two different things if the height of the monitor isnt working. Gotta bring that lan pillow.
Pillows are such a must, you never know what kind of shitty chair you end up with at a lan.
I would also surgest drinking water instead of sweet drinks, it helps a lot to stay awake for a whole day, same goes for food as well really
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I play at home with arm rests up, I find it easier to play long hours as a result. Would most LANS have seats with arm rests?
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On February 20 2014 21:11 LucoxP wrote:
I play at home with arm rests up, I find it easier to play long hours as a result. Would most LANS have seats with arm rests?
Nope!
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On February 20 2014 21:11 LucoxP wrote:
I play at home with arm rests up, I find it easier to play long hours as a result. Would most LANS have seats with arm rests?
I recently swapped to a chair with no arm-rests specifically because they almost never have them at LAN. Usually only stage-matches will have arm-rests. It took a day or two to adjust but after that I was fine using my crappy old chair whenever I practice, I swap to my nice chair when I'm doing other things .
On February 20 2014 20:59 ragnorr wrote:Show nested quote +On February 20 2014 20:33 mnck wrote:
Always bring a pillow for the chair and a book for the monitor, that way you can adjust two different things if the height of the monitor isnt working. Gotta bring that lan pillow. Pillows are such a must, you never know what kind of shitty chair you end up with at a lan. I would also surgest drinking water instead of sweet drinks, it helps a lot to stay awake for a whole day, same goes for food as well really
I can't support this enough! I always bring bananas and some muesli/nut bars and a big bottle of water to LANs so I don't need to eat fast-food.
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Would many pros listen to music while at LANS in the background? And just to add onto the arm rest topic, are there any wrist/arm injuries that you could get from not using arm rests? It's safe to practice long hours with no arm rests?
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LAN's are notorious for having the worst chairs around...
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On February 20 2014 22:08 LucoxP wrote:
Would many pros listen to music while at LANS in the background? And just to add onto the arm rest topic, are there any wrist/arm injuries that you could get from not using arm rests? It's safe to practice long hours with no arm rests?
I don't think you can listen to music at lans. Last i've been to a lan as a player was at late 90"s so it probably doesn't count, but we weren't alowed to have anything that the game in sounds because you could have something recorded to help you instead of music or something.
Pillow is a really nice thing to have. It's like "a must" because some oranizer just don't care (well... it may have changed too in 15years :p)
Did it change now ?
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1001 YEARS KESPAJAIL22272 Posts
No ruler? What a chobo :p
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On February 20 2014 22:50 lichter wrote:
No ruler? What a chobo :p
I'll never forget the first time seeing Flash with his ruler & tape...
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On February 20 2014 22:57 pNRG wrote:I'll never forget the first time seeing Flash with his ruler & tape...
Is that weird that i envy you like hell for seeing a korean guy tape his desk after measuring it with a ruler ? Imagine saying that to someone that don't know Starcraft.
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On February 20 2014 21:56 RPR_Tempest wrote:Show nested quote +On February 20 2014 21:11 LucoxP wrote:
I play at home with arm rests up, I find it easier to play long hours as a result. Would most LANS have seats with arm rests? Nope!
That's something really wierd, on the level of a football match played on concrete instead of grass. I can't really stand doing anything on computer without armrests for longer than a couple of minutes. I am sometimes forced to do so (while travelling) and usually have strong pain in my right afterwards.
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One point not mentioned is scaling. "Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same". However, having for example resolution 1680x1050 scaled up to the 1920x1080 monitor doesn't feel the same as home. Choose your resolution from SC2 and turn off scaling from the monitor if possible, or from the GPU (NVIDIA control panel or AMD Catalyst). Ask an admin if unsure.
Edit: To clarify, a smaller resolution than the monitors native resolution without scaling results in black edges in the monitor.
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Another thing not mentioned is input language. You probably will want to set up the input language same as you have it at home, or otherwise typing will cause you constant stress as you struggle for the right characters. To change your input language, navigate to Region and Language -> Keyboard and languages tab -> Change keyboards button. Add your desired language and move it to the top of the list. You may even remove all the other input languages if you wish, so you won't accidentally hit alt+shift and have your input language changed mid-battle.
Input languages selection: + Show Spoiler +
In case of a foreign language Windows, you can use these shortcuts.
- Mouse
- Start menu search: main.cpl + enter
- Pointer options is the 3rd tab
- Keyboard
- Start menu search: main.cpl keyboard + enter
- Speed is the 1st tab
- Input Language
- Start menu search: cmd + enter
- In command prompt: control input.dll + enter
More tips:
- Have a copy of your Documents\StarCraft II\Variables.txt file available so you can change the SC2 settings in a heartbeat. Just make sure to then add in all settings required by the tournament like Save All Replays.
- Plug your mouse and keyboard to USB2 slots (the black ones) if possible. Sometimes and oddly behaving mouse/keyboard is fixed by not using the USB3 slots (the blue ones).
- If you use a specific mouse/keyboard driver software, have it with you on a USB stick for easy install.
- Plug your headphones always to the same output, be it in the front panel or the back. Use the back panel if possible (use an extension cord), as it is less likely to be flawed.
- Bring an extension cord for your headphones just in case, since you cannot know the distance to the audio output.
- If possible, use noise cancelling headphones, closed headphones, or in-ear headphones with earmuffs to achieve a peaceful environment. LAN events can be really loud, which might cause a distraction. Additionally, if you play on the stage, you will have to use earmuffs anyway, so it's good getting used to them.
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That ergonomic picture is horribly incorrect. The feet position, the eye/head position is all wrong.
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I won't be competing at a LAN very soon, but thanks anyway
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United Kingdom20326 Posts
On February 20 2014 20:48 PiGStarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On February 20 2014 20:46 T.O.P. wrote:
Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same. Excellent point! I used to play with a 1650x1080 at home despite every event being a 1920x1080. I always had to fiddle around with my sensitivity and I'm sure it hurt my performance a lot.
Quick fix if mouse is responding 1:1 like it should be (not being screwed with by OS/driver settings)
Biggest screen axis divided by DPI
1680x1050 monitor:
1680/810 = 2.074 inches to cross screen
1920/2.074 = 925 - adjust dpi from 810 to 925. Same distance to cross screen
It's trickier with many mice having very limited native settings
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On February 21 2014 07:21 Cyro wrote:Show nested quote +On February 20 2014 20:48 PiGStarcraft wrote:On February 20 2014 20:46 T.O.P. wrote:
Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same. Excellent point! I used to play with a 1650x1080 at home despite every event being a 1920x1080. I always had to fiddle around with my sensitivity and I'm sure it hurt my performance a lot. Quick fix if mouse is responding 1:1 like it should be (not being screwed with by OS/driver settings) Biggest screen axis divided by DPI 1680x1050 monitor: 1680/810 = 2.074 inches to cross screen 1920/2.074 = 925 - adjust dpi from 810 to 925. Same distance to cross screen It's trickier with many mice having very limited native settings
Being the maths noob that I am, where does the 810 in 1680/810 come from?
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On February 21 2014 09:34 PiGStarcraft wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2014 07:21 Cyro wrote:On February 20 2014 20:48 PiGStarcraft wrote:On February 20 2014 20:46 T.O.P. wrote:
Monitor resolution needs to be consistent if you want the mouse speed to be the same. Excellent point! I used to play with a 1650x1080 at home despite every event being a 1920x1080. I always had to fiddle around with my sensitivity and I'm sure it hurt my performance a lot. Quick fix if mouse is responding 1:1 like it should be (not being screwed with by OS/driver settings) Biggest screen axis divided by DPI 1680x1050 monitor: 1680/810 = 2.074 inches to cross screen 1920/2.074 = 925 - adjust dpi from 810 to 925. Same distance to cross screenIt's trickier with many mice having very limited native settings Being the maths noob that I am, where does the 810 in 1680/810 come from?
DPI.
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On February 20 2014 22:07 PiGStarcraft wrote:
Pillows are such a must, you never know what kind of shitty chair you end up with at a lan.
I would also surgest drinking water instead of sweet drinks, it helps a lot to stay awake for a whole day, same goes for food as well really
I can't support this enough! I always bring bananas and some muesli/nut bars and a big bottle of water to LANs so I don't need to eat fast-food.
This is something I thought weird some years ago.
People were advocating for esport as something serious which requires a healthy brain/mind as much as a health body and yet all you see is crap energy drinks sponsoring and crappy food alike
TLO is a true example of how to make esport more respectable to the wider public: practicing, being healthy with exercices (swimming i believe).
to that extend, fatal1ty (former q3 pro, one of the first progamer ever innit) was regularly playing tennis to stay healthy.
If you ever go to a LAN as a pro or wannabe pro you better come with what you would find in others sports: banana/nuts/water (sometimes with mineral, not necessairely gato/powerade). Lots seems to under estimate the importance of "health" for such activity.
Great guide otherwise!
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On February 22 2014 19:34 anatase wrote:Show nested quote +On February 20 2014 22:07 PiGStarcraft wrote:
Pillows are such a must, you never know what kind of shitty chair you end up with at a lan.
I would also surgest drinking water instead of sweet drinks, it helps a lot to stay awake for a whole day, same goes for food as well really
I can't support this enough! I always bring bananas and some muesli/nut bars and a big bottle of water to LANs so I don't need to eat fast-food. This is something I thought weird some years ago. People were advocating for esport as something serious which requires a healthy brain/mind as much as a health body and yet all you see is crap energy drinks sponsoring and crappy food alike TLO is a true example of how to make esport more respectable to the wider public: practicing, being healthy with exercices (swimming i believe). to that extend, fatal1ty (former q3 pro, one of the first progamer ever innit) was regularly playing tennis to stay healthy. If you ever go to a LAN as a pro or wannabe pro you better come with what you would find in others sports: banana/nuts/water (sometimes with mineral, not necessairely gato/powerade). Lots seems to under estimate the importance of "health" for such activity. Great guide otherwise!
I think a more appropriate term would be stamina. While stamina is tied to good health there are separate. And if you're good enough you have to play lots of games and I remember many an interview of Korean pros stating that they were doing everything they could to keep their stamina up and their hands limber for tournaments that work within the confines of a couple days(MLG, Dreamhack, etc.)
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I clicked on this link expecting something completely different.
Like remembering to bring 30m ethernet cables and bags of chips and coke.
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^ I remember bringing my huge pc and equally big monitor, that I ran on 640x480 ofc;)
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On February 24 2014 13:09 sluggaslamoo wrote:
I clicked on this link expecting something completely different.
Like remembering to bring 30m ethernet cables and bags of chips and coke.
And a fricking switch...
"So we're all set up. Where's the switch ?"
"What you mean you didn't take yours ?"
"Who's the closest to his house ?"
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EPT![[image loading]](http://i.imgur.com/K7Ykdh7.png)
