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This is more on philosophical thoughts about getting faster than any specific tips. A lot of games depend on speed for depth of play and enjoyment. For example, once you learn how to solve a Rubik's cube or finish an expert game of Minesweeper, then you are done. If just being able to do it is the game, then there is nothing more to learn. But add in the the element of time and suddenly a vast array of techniques and skills arise in order to deal with this new game, one which the goal is to do it as fast as possible. The subconscious and muscle memory comes into play; if you have to think about it, then you've already lost a second. The time it takes for the pointer to move from one location to another becomes a factor. The time a single mouse click takes becomes a factor.
The speedcubing website shares tips on how to get faster. The most important tip in getting from 30 seconds to 20 second is "go slow, and look ahead!" This may be surprising to some people. The idea is that at solve times of around 30 seconds, people tend to turn the cube too fast. It's not difficult for an intermediate to turn the cube at 3 or 4 moves per second. The result is that as they're doing the current step quickly they can't see the faces of the cube, they can't see the next step, and they pause significantly in between steps. For a fast cuber a solve is one continuous, fluid motion, without pause. The same thing applies to Starcraft. Concentrating on doing your current action as fast as possible is pointless. Instead, you should always be looking ahead, thinking of your next move. Your game should be one continuous, fluid motion, without pause.
There are tips online for improving your times for Minesweeper as well. The tip I'll like to share is to "make the time it takes to click and to move the pointer from one location to another as short as possible". When people think of the word "fast" they tend to think of physical speed or agility. So they'll imagine someone running really fast or moving the mouse as fast as possible from one physical location on the desk to another. But how fast you can wave your arm with your mouse in your hand really has nothing to do with how fast you can play a game. Another thing is that we tend to think of a mouse click as an instant, no time at all. But in fact a mouse click does take some time, and the time can differ depending on whether we are aware of this fact or not. So a mental trick we can do is to make the mouse clicks, and the linear movement of the pointer from one click to the next click, take a short amount of time as possible.
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This was a good read. 5/5.
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United Kingdom2770 Posts
Yeah I've noticed progamers aren't actually THAT fast but they have a sick way of ticking over at a reasonably high speed that NEVER slows... it's like I can play faster in bursts but they just constantly play this really impressive speed.
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Interesting read. Similarly, the reason pros have significantly higher APM is that they always know what to do next, making the game flow without pauses for thinking.
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Interesting ideas. I always think 4 or 5 clicks ahead when I play minesweeper. The biggest problem I have is if I mess up a right click or something, it totally screws up my flow.
If you think about it, 300-350 apm isn't too fast in terms of sheer speed. Almost everyone can press 4v5v6v7v in a span of 1 second but noobs like myself spend so much time deciding what to do next. I guess the ability to see ahead is something that only comes with experience.
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Actually I've thought about this too! but you put it in much better wording ^^
this is one of the reasons why i try to come up with a game plan. it helps you play smoothly, knowing what to do and able to react appropriately.
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I just want to note that peoples speed at minesweeper is amazing, I have a friend who is the fastest I've ever seen. Good read 
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Some people are really fast at minesweeper, i think there even used to be a small competetive scene for it at some time... i've never been able to solve a rubik's cube in my life, lol. So what are your tips for starcraft?
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EPT
