28.

My hands aren't as fast as they used to be, I don't care as much anymore though. SC2 is not the end all be all in life now, it is just a fun hobby for me.

Life is good.

wishbones

Canada2600 Posts

August 18 2010 18:45 GMT

#82

about the micro gets worst with age, thing, i highly doubt that, i mean korea got swept off their feets by a video game called starcraft, so yes of course they will try to make it seem more complex by making up some BS shit about losing micro with age. lol duh its always been a fraud thing that koreans just like to say since they think they know it all when it comes to sc. Hence they made that shit up just to make sc more sportish, i mean only sports athletes have expiration dates, not video gamers.

digiwaffles

58 Posts

August 18 2010 18:51 GMT

#83

You'll definitely slow down if you get arthritis or carpal tunnel, though the former doesn't happen until you're in your 50s or 60s for most people and the latter is preventable. So I'm not sure your hands are gonna slow down with age. Your brain might!

SkullOne

United States52 Posts

August 18 2010 18:59 GMT

#84

31 here.

Not new to RTS but new to the online side of it. I just didn't have time and didn't really care all those years ago. Online with friends beating up on the computer is all I bothered to do.

Now I'm average APM of 50 and increasing but I spike up to 150+ when needed. I attribute my high spikes to all my years of competitive FPS gaming.

Hobbes.uhz

United States33 Posts

August 18 2010 19:00 GMT

#85

I'm only 27 but I already feel like it's impossible to compete at the same level I used to. Just having a wife and a job limits my play time to an hour or two a day, and often weekends with very little play time. Compare that to my SC1 days when I was in High School and could play non stop when not in school, and I'm a shadow of my formerly skilled self. If there were leagues in SC1 I'd have been high ranked Diamond easy, but now I'm middle of the pack Platinum and don't really see myself going any further than that. It's sad to know I'll never be that good again, but at least the game is still fun

Ah to be young again, sigh.

vesicular

United States1310 Posts

August 18 2010 19:21 GMT

#86

On August 19 2010 03:33 Terranist wrote:
i'm curious if the apm difference between the younger and older (30+) players has more to do with hand speed decline or inability to develop the same type of muscle memory.

It has nothing to do with that and everything to do with time spent practicing. My hands are just as fast as they were 20 years ago when I was in college (actually they're much faster now). The problem is I don't have an entire summer to dick around playing video games like I used to.

I suppose in that sense, yes, you don't get the same muscle memory but it's a time commitment issue and not an age one. If I had 80+ hours a week to dedicate to this game I'm sure I could be pretty damn good (I'm sure most people could).

ROOTslush

Canada170 Posts

August 18 2010 19:25 GMT

#87

im 27

viscral

United States45 Posts

August 18 2010 19:46 GMT

#88

I'm 28. Still dominate, holding steady climbing platinum. I have a much better game sense than the youngins, and much more strategical skill and gaming expereince.

Average apm is like 50-60, but definitely spikes up 150-200+. That's just game sense and tempered, & explicit action making.

Look at old rockstars that can rip out guitar solo's like nothin. Age doesn't impede you, it teaches you.

fathead

United States158 Posts

August 18 2010 19:54 GMT

#89

I'll be 25 next weak and I am MUCH faster now then I was when I was 15-20. Males don't start seeing a loss in testosterone, reflexes, hand eye coordination, ect until around the age of 30. And even then it's a slow decline(about 1% a year), plus if you take hormone replacement therapy (HGH or steroids which can be totally safe if taken properly and should not be illegal or banned) you can further slow the decline.

I think the biggest advantage young players have is they can learn the game properly without any bad habits. RTS in general are pretty mapped out now, even if the particular details in games like SC2 are not. So young players can learn how to properly use hotkeys and scout and the importance or APM early, and ingrain it into their mental wiring, where as a lot of the old school players learn that shit later and have to make a conscience effort to change. Also since the games them selves change, it's normal to see a changing over the guard pretty quickly. When Boxer was on top, micro was king, now it's macro.

Also one must not overestimate the effect of getting burnt out. I don't think the human body was made to do anything 16 hours a day every day for more than a few a years before they crash. Eventually age will always take its toll but I always thought that it's effects on a game of like SC where highly over rated. I just doubt that a game like SC would have an insanely higher premium on age than a intense physical sport like boxing or football. Just look at Bernard Hopkins. I refuse to believe that RTS's are more demanding then boxing. And even if you do get ravished by age, no way should you being losing to bronze or silver players, even in the old folks home. The day I lose to a bronze player is the day I say goodbye to may family drift out to sea.

MamiyaOtaru

United States1687 Posts

August 18 2010 19:59 GMT

#90

32, zerg. I was better at Brood Wars, but that's not saying much. I'm not as good at scouting and countering in SC2. 120ish APM, but super casual infrequent player, and faster than the local kids I play with

eiswand

Germany44 Posts

August 18 2010 20:18 GMT

#91

I am 28 and in some games I really feel like an old fossil (for example in WoW or shooters). But in SC2 I have the feeling the average age is higher than in other games.

Pyre

United States1940 Posts

August 18 2010 20:22 GMT

#92

I'm 27 in diamond and I don't look at age being a barrier. Keep in mind video games haven't been around that long. So you wont be finding gamers in their sixties too often. The nes generation could still compete with the young guns of today.

Snuggles

United States1865 Posts

August 18 2010 20:23 GMT

#93

I think it really depends on the person more than the age. By the time you're 25 - 40 you have a lot more responsibilities and a lot more important thoughts on your mind so it's tough to put that effort and attention to Starcraft. I remember when i was in middle school, I thought of nothing but video games, not a care in the world, so I would literally be able to mass game from Sun up to Sun down when school wasn't in session.

But now its different, I play for a few hours, I look at the clock, start thinking about what I need to do for tomorrow, how early I'll have to get up for work...etc etc. And plus it's not easy to sit down to play such a mentally exhausting game after a rough day at work.

Skyze

Canada2324 Posts

August 18 2010 20:28 GMT

#94

Most likely you just feel you are doing better because there is no real ladder, just stupid divisions. Thats blizzards goal, make people feel better about themselves with lesser results.

On WC3 ladder or iccup style ladder, you would be #352462 or so, but on Bnet2 you are #100 in some random platinum division.. What looks better?

MrMotionPicture

United States4327 Posts

August 18 2010 20:34 GMT

#95

Yay being 18

TiBe

Mexico200 Posts

August 18 2010 20:37 GMT

#96

I'm 24 and I don't think the age is a real impediment to be a top player, for example 3 years ago I was at 40-50 APM (in BW), and now I'm at average of 125 (at least blizzard says that) ..
However as everyone stated before the real problem is all the responsibilities and gameplay time that you have..

awesomoecalypse

United States2235 Posts

August 18 2010 20:41 GMT

#97

Its not micro, and its not just RTS games.

Chess is dominated by the young these days. Top chess champions tend become rarer and rarer as they get older than 30, and older than 40 is getting to be very rare.

The mind slows down the older you get. In most areas, you can make up for this with experience. But for games of pure physical or mental ability, experience only takes you so far.

MacroNcheesE

United States508 Posts

August 18 2010 20:45 GMT

#98

I'm 25, ranked 7th in my diamond division. Protoss player like 92-70 700+ pts. I feel like I'm going faster than ever now, I played SC1 for like 9-10 years and got up to C+ with an apm of like 185-200. I guess my age hasn't really hit me yet... no arthritis (yet), no carpel tunnel (yet) and I've been feeling pretty good.

silver_fox

Canada243 Posts

August 18 2010 20:56 GMT

#99

26 and faster than ever ... struggling a bit in diamond 500ish atm. i find that i have more patience when i played sc1 a while ago though.

Loophole

United States867 Posts

August 18 2010 20:57 GMT

#100

I'm 31, 21st Diamond 500 pts or so and climbing. I've always felt slower than other gamers, so it's not an age thing for me. I've played BW since it came out and my APM has gradually increased with age. Went from around 60 apm when I could first measure it to around 110 towards the end of BW. I would say that SC2 is definitely firendlier to low APM players though with MBS.

I don't have a wife or kids, so I still find time to grind out a 5-6 hour session here and there. No Carpel tunnel, though when I was playing BW a couple years ago my wrist started hurting and I had to change my posture to prevent it. Feelin great now though.