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drag selecting from bottom left

Forum Index > BW General
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theramstoss
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada242 Posts
January 01 2011 19:46 GMT
#1
I don't know if there is already a topic on this, or if it's common knowledge, I'd be embarassed if it was. But recently I realized something. I used to think that pros drag selected from bottom left to top right because it's cool, or different. But I realized that maybe they do that because it's more efficient, because your mouse has probably just been at the bottom left to start with, that is, on the minimap. It's less movement to drag select after going on the minimap from bottom left to top right, as opposed to from the minimap to the top left then back down to bottom right. Less movement for the mouse means higher APM with less effort.. Could this be true?
quote? what quote?
whiteguycash
Profile Joined April 2010
United States476 Posts
January 01 2011 19:50 GMT
#2
its possible, though I don't know how Korean is read, I do know that English is read from left-to-right top-to-bottom. That *might* have something to do with it. Someone that has any knowledge on Korean reading/writing might be able to deny/confirm.
kineSiS-
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
Korea (South)1068 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-01 20:04:37
January 01 2011 20:03 GMT
#3
Korean is read from left to right.
Z3kk
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
4099 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-01 20:07:27
January 01 2011 20:05 GMT
#4
On January 02 2011 05:03 kineSiS- wrote:
Korean is read from left to right.


D'awww, the "-_-" face added personality

The effect is probably minimal at the speeds at which they play, but it's probably just the more natural thing to do, I think...as you mentioned, you move from the minimap. There's nothing ever in the other corners that they want to click, but the minimap in the bottom left probably influences them....?
Failure is not falling down over and over again. Failure is refusing to get back up.
Firien
Profile Joined April 2010
Poland115 Posts
January 01 2011 20:24 GMT
#5
well, i just do it from any side depending on what i select ;d
gongryong
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Korea (South)1430 Posts
January 01 2011 20:26 GMT
#6
whiteguycash United States. January 02 2011 04:50
its possible, though I don't know how Korean is read, I do know that English is read from left-to-right top-to-bottom. That *might* have something to do with it. Someone that has any knowledge on Korean reading/writing might be able to deny/confirm.


language/reading has little to do with it. as a matter of fact, to disabuse the OP, most progamers box from topleft to bottomright. while i am not sure about the minimap argument, im sure that the distance from area just above minimap (for bottomleft - topright movement) to the area where you start topleft is practically negligible (unless your mouse speed is set to 0.5 xD). most importantly, carpal and metacarpal tendons and muscles are easier to contract (closing the hand) than expand (opening the hand). topleft - bottomright is a close hand motion, and bottomleft to topright is an open hand one.

xD
JAEDONG ÜBERBONJWA!
theramstoss
Profile Joined February 2010
Canada242 Posts
January 01 2011 20:32 GMT
#7
Yeah, I just saw shine do it (bottom left to top right), I didn't check how the other pros do it. Closing the hand IS easier tho.
quote? what quote?
supernovamaniac
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
United States3047 Posts
January 01 2011 20:58 GMT
#8
I think its personal choice, rather than how they read or how efficient it is.
ppp
Navi
Profile Joined November 2009
5286 Posts
January 01 2011 21:25 GMT
#9
On January 02 2011 05:58 supernovamaniac wrote:
I think its personal choice, rather than how they read or how efficient it is.


Seconded, as people have noted there is significant differences among progamers (if you look at FPVODs of JD and many other pros there is variance). Of course bottom left to top right is more effective when the action in question is to the right, and vice versa from top right to bottom left or whatever. But in the end the difference is not that big. I personally like going from top right to bottom left and can manage 300+ apm with it, and my brother who can do the same goes top left to bottom right.
Hey! Listen!
SpeaKEaSY
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
United States1070 Posts
January 01 2011 21:39 GMT
#10
On January 02 2011 05:26 gongryong wrote: most importantly, carpal and metacarpal tendons and muscles are easier to contract (closing the hand) than expand (opening the hand). topleft - bottomright is a close hand motion, and bottomleft to topright is an open hand one.

xD


This just blew my mind when I did a few practice drag box clicks to check it out.
Aim for perfection, settle for mediocrity - KawaiiRice 2014
niteReloaded
Profile Blog Joined February 2007
Croatia5282 Posts
January 01 2011 21:47 GMT
#11
wtf from bottom left? shit's crazy

i do it from top right to bottom left, it's the ONLY right way to do it.
Shikyo
Profile Blog Joined June 2008
Finland33997 Posts
January 01 2011 21:48 GMT
#12
Ehhh if you're planning on moving your units to top-right, its most efficient to drag from bottom left, and the same holds for every other direction. o.O If you were superpro, it'd probably be good to think like this. By the way, I always select by dragging from top-right and haven't had problems.
League of Legends EU West, Platinum III | Yousei Teikoku is the best thing that has ever happened to music.
lac29
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States1485 Posts
January 01 2011 21:50 GMT
#13
That's an interesting detail to note.
Saracen
Profile Blog Joined December 2007
United States5139 Posts
January 01 2011 22:08 GMT
#14
http://www.teamliquid.net/forum/viewmessage.php?topic_id=17511
floor exercise
Profile Blog Joined August 2008
Canada5847 Posts
January 01 2011 22:16 GMT
#15
Isn't there something about the direction that you draw a circle that says something about the way you think, like you are left or right brained or am I making that up completely? You kinda make a circle when you drag select and return to the same place
Chimpalimp
Profile Joined May 2010
United States1135 Posts
January 01 2011 22:19 GMT
#16
I honestly don't know which I do most. I just use the one that is more convenient for me, or which ever one I subconsciously choose to do.
I like money. You like money too? We should hang out.
Yoshi Kirishima
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States10380 Posts
January 01 2011 23:09 GMT
#17
language/reading has little to do with it. as a matter of fact, to disabuse the OP, most progamers box from topleft to bottomright. while i am not sure about the minimap argument, im sure that the distance from area just above minimap (for bottomleft - topright movement) to the area where you start topleft is practically negligible (unless your mouse speed is set to 0.5 xD). most importantly, carpal and metacarpal tendons and muscles are easier to contract (closing the hand) than expand (opening the hand). topleft - bottomright is a close hand motion, and bottomleft to topright is an open hand one.


Wow sweet, thanks :D

(lol is the xD in red a mod edit?)
Mid-master streaming MECH ONLY + commentary www.twitch.tv/yoshikirishima +++ "If all-in fails, all-in again."
gongryong
Profile Blog Joined October 2010
Korea (South)1430 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-01 23:28:56
January 01 2011 23:10 GMT
#18
supernovamaniac United States. January 02 2011 05:58
I think its personal choice, rather than how they read or how efficient it is.


Well, i'd like to think that personal choice is merely secondary to the mechanical logic at work here: any other cursor-based interface (like click-dragging icons), hand muscles (as i've explained earlier), reading direction (as others suggest), etc. the choice is personal only AFTER these elements are accounted for. consider, if it's all about personal choice, we should get a more or less even distribution among four possible directions (topleft-bottomright, bottomleft-topright, topright-bottomleft, bottomright-topleft). but, more than 80% of the progamers ive watched in live games and fpvods use topleft-bottomright. and this

(lol is the xD in red a mod edit?)

no just mine. hope mods dont mind :p

xD
JAEDONG ÜBERBONJWA!
Loser777
Profile Blog Joined January 2008
1931 Posts
Last Edited: 2011-01-02 08:51:09
January 02 2011 08:50 GMT
#19
Moving top left to bottom right is a movement preference thing if you're right handed. There's a discovery channel show called "Dogfights" or something where Aces from WWII//Vietnam are invited to talk about their experiences. I remember one pilot distinctly who said that when you're on someone's six, he/she is more likely going to turn left than turn right because it's easier to move the stick left if you're holding it with your right hand. I would say the same kind of thing applies for when you're moving your mouse.

I've seen some exceptions though--if you've ever watched KawaiiRice's stream, you'll notice that he spams some boxes bottom left to top right.
6581
oBlade
Profile Blog Joined December 2008
United States6382 Posts
January 02 2011 10:32 GMT
#20
I thought about this a few weeks ago when I realized my dexterity favored top left to bottom right just out of habit, but actually you should be able to drag select from any point to any point easily. It's better to be fluid, I mean. If you drag top left to bottom right, now your cursor is in the bottom right so you can cut time by starting your next drag from bottom right. It takes some practice to do it in a new direction.
"I read it. You know how to read, you ignorant fuck?" - Andy Dufresne
No_Roo
Profile Joined February 2010
United States905 Posts
January 02 2011 11:24 GMT
#21
I select from the corner that is least volatile. I think most people do this. (probably without thinking about it)

For example if I have my army moving west, I will drag from the east side so they are moving into my selection, rather than past my box starting point.
(US) NoRoo.fighting
lastreason
Profile Joined May 2010
Romania250 Posts
January 02 2011 11:25 GMT
#22
hm as far as i saw on fpvods, when they play korean pros drag selecta from any direction into any direction
b(town)
Profile Joined February 2009
United States20 Posts
January 02 2011 11:59 GMT
#23
one of the foreign pro-gamers (thinking it was Nony) posted that it was important to learn how to drag-select from any direction to speed up your play. can't be bothered to find it though. can Idra or anyone else confirm this (if he even reads SC1 posts now). speaking of nony how cool is that drawing on the TSL front page. loved it til i realized it involves a game i've never played. long live sc1
bITt.mAN
Profile Blog Joined March 2009
Switzerland3693 Posts
September 12 2011 16:06 GMT
#24
I bothered to investigate the problem, experiment a bit and write up a nice response to another thread that just popped up on this topic.... only to have it closed because, well, it was a shit thread. I don't want to waste the effort (hey I postponed doing important stuff to write this), and there are a bunch of threads on this topic....

Top right to bottom left, I'm right handed, you made me think about it just now and I think I have a reason why:

(remember this is for using the mouse with the right hand) Top Right to Bottom left, which I'll refer to as ' / ' is better because I feel you get more control. Your thumb contracts to drag the mouse towards you, and your pinky is likely planted and remains fixed (I've got a small, Logitech Mini Optical so my pinky touches my mousepad). In fact it's much more similar to how your hand moves when you write, usually you don't write like this \\\\\\\\ your write like this ///////// at that type of slant, thus you're more used to it and have more precise control. Try sharpening a stick with a pocketknife on a campout, and you'll inadvertently go // away from you... imo it just works better.

To contrast, dragging like \ doesn't give you as much control because you have to move your entire wrist instead of your fingers, either that or you're relying on weaker and less accurate fingers to end your glide precisely (lets face it, your pinky is less developed for precession control than your thumb, and when you're going top left to bottom right [\] you need to displace your 'outside' knuckles, meaning a bigger movement, meaning in theory less accuracy).


Well that's just how I feel when dragging boxes, lol boxing units and re-rallying are much more critical things to get hung up on.
BW4LYF . . . . . . PM me, I LOVE PMs. . . . . . Long live "NaDa's Body" . . . . . . Fantasy | Bisu/Best | Jaedong . . . . .
Demonhunter04
Profile Joined July 2011
1530 Posts
September 12 2011 16:33 GMT
#25
On September 13 2011 01:06 bITt.mAN wrote:
I bothered to investigate the problem, experiment a bit and write up a nice response to another thread that just popped up on this topic.... only to have it closed because, well, it was a shit thread. I don't want to waste the effort (hey I postponed doing important stuff to write this), and there are a bunch of threads on this topic....

Top right to bottom left, I'm right handed, you made me think about it just now and I think I have a reason why:

(remember this is for using the mouse with the right hand) Top Right to Bottom left, which I'll refer to as ' / ' is better because I feel you get more control. Your thumb contracts to drag the mouse towards you, and your pinky is likely planted and remains fixed (I've got a small, Logitech Mini Optical so my pinky touches my mousepad). In fact it's much more similar to how your hand moves when you write, usually you don't write like this \\\\\\\\ your write like this ///////// at that type of slant, thus you're more used to it and have more precise control. Try sharpening a stick with a pocketknife on a campout, and you'll inadvertently go // away from you... imo it just works better.

To contrast, dragging like \ doesn't give you as much control because you have to move your entire wrist instead of your fingers, either that or you're relying on weaker and less accurate fingers to end your glide precisely (lets face it, your pinky is less developed for precession control than your thumb, and when you're going top left to bottom right [\] you need to displace your 'outside' knuckles, meaning a bigger movement, meaning in theory less accuracy).


Well that's just how I feel when dragging boxes, lol boxing units and re-rallying are much more critical things to get hung up on.


Your thumb contracts to bring the mouse towards you when you move top right to bottom left? I think you may have mixed those directions up a little
"If you don't drop sweat today, you will drop tears tomorrow" - SlayerSMMA
theqat
Profile Blog Joined March 2008
United States2856 Posts
September 12 2011 16:35 GMT
#26
You're actually right. I can do / back and forth in almost a straight line very easily, while for \ my mouse cursor naturally makes ovals (though I can force it not to). Quite remarkable
Demonhunter04
Profile Joined July 2011
1530 Posts
September 12 2011 16:41 GMT
#27
Yeah it does seem to be more accurate, I think I just move my mouse differently from you, though.
"If you don't drop sweat today, you will drop tears tomorrow" - SlayerSMMA
sabas123
Profile Blog Joined December 2010
Netherlands3122 Posts
September 12 2011 19:28 GMT
#28
top-bottum=acrruate
bottum-top=speed

hope this will help you
The harder it becomes, the more you should focus on the basics.
nShade
Profile Joined August 2010
Bulgaria296 Posts
September 12 2011 19:55 GMT
#29
Watch the Day9 Daily about the secrets of APM and mechanics. Everything is said there.
Skew
Profile Blog Joined October 2006
United States1020 Posts
September 13 2011 03:32 GMT
#30
TR > BL, TL > BR should be what almost everyone does. Adding bottom > up doesn't matter.
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