|
Part three: (released Mar 5th)
 qxc of coL speaks, in part three of an extensive three part interview for the SK Gaming 1on1 series, about claims of Terran imbalance, whether races carry their own inherent strengths and whether the top foreigners will ever be as good as the top South Koreans.
Some of the topics discussed:
-Will a foreigner ever make a GSL Code S final?
-Creating builds vs. copying them
-Does the marine counter everything?
-Why qxc says "nobody is even good at [SC2]"
-Whether races have their own inherent strengths or players impose their own onto the races.
-Why qxc says " IdrA's mindset is like the most horrendously corrupted piece of trash" he has ever encountered.
The 18m56s video interview can be watched at SK Gaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part two: (released Feb 29th)
qxc of coL speaks, in part two of an extensive three part interview for the SK Gaming 1on1 series, about his all-kill of Incredible Miracle in the GSTL, the significance of creativity in SC2 and his interests in Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu and Parkour.
Some of the topics discussed:
-How Koreans and foreigners compare in terms of amount of contacts for practice partners from other teams.
-How qxc has changed since his semi-final win over  HuK at the IEM V American Finals
-Why he says he got "lucky" vs. MVP during the all-kill of IM in the GSTL.
-Designing builds with similar early components for deceptive purposes.
-To what extent SC2 rewards creativity vs. playing by-the-book.
The 17m37s video interview can be watched at SK Gaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Part one: (released Feb 21st)
qxc of coL spoke, in part one of an extensive three part interview for the SK Gaming 1on1 series, about his guiding principle in life, the misconceptions he sees from Westerners about Korean prohouses and why he thinks "foreigners just aren't good at improving".
Some of the topics discussed:
-The need for a system to improve at SC2 in Korea.
-The "prevailing misconceptions" qxc sees about how Koreans practice and what foreigners do when they're in Korean prohouses.
-His belief that "you can't think while you're playing" in relation to the mindset of playing nonstop as practice.
-Why he thinks "foreigners are f***ing horrible!"
-His analysis of the outcome of the ThorZaIN vs. PuMa series from NASL S2 and how it relates to the concept of playing the same practice partners over and over.
The 22m17s video interview can be watched at SK Gaming.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Possible solutions for those having buffering issues:
* switch to "normal quality" via the "Watch in normal quality" link below the video.
* try with IE instead of FireFox and see if that helps at all.
* bookmark and try viewing later, in case it's an overload issue from everyone trying to watch at once
|
One part will be released each week.
|
|
|
qxc sick nerdballerminator.>9000 Love that guy!
Thanks a lot to SK for the interview.
qxc whaiting~~!
|
wow 1 hour interview in total? nice! Thx Sk
|
These interviews are really good, the guy who asks the questions is intelligent and the lenght of the interviews makes it possible to go more in-depth.
|
Interviews like this need a good write up on the important parts so I can save 22 minutes and you can spend 2 hours writing it.
Cmon, we got lots of writers in the community don't we?
|
qxc is telling 100% the truth..  my respect to him just got over 9000
|
qxc seems like a nice guy to know
|
On February 21 2012 21:33 DarKcS wrote:
Interviews like this need a good write up on the important parts so I can save 22 minutes and you can spend 2 hours writing it.
Cmon, we got lots of writers in the community don't we? Just for you lazy people a little nice overview but I won't let you get away not watching it so yea,
Little Summary:
+ Show Spoiler +
Intro 0:00 - 0:25
The beginning of QXC 0:25 - 1:20
BW beginning of qxc, rank, college tourny and his decision to become a pro
QXCs motivation/guiding principles 1:20 - 3:45
About his motivation to play starcraft, his guiding principles and general future plans in terms of competition
QXCs general life plans and interests 3:45 - 5:00
Outdoor acitivites to-do, talking about exercising
The art of learning 5:00 - 8:00
About the book and how it affected QXC, about his "System to improve"
Amount of practice/How to practice 8:00 - 10:15
Talking about how he thinks its efective to practice SC2 and how he structres it
Foreigners compared to Koreans 10:15 - 13:35
Little rant about foreigners losing to koreanes, general talk about the difference between KR und foreigners. Still focusing on the practice parts.
What QXC got from KR and about pro-houses 10:35 - 15:50
Again about how to practice in SC2 concerning MachtUps 15:50 - 17:30
Talking about how to improve in bad MUs
Discussing about the variation of practice partners 17:30 - 19:30
Analogy from CS and again difference between foreigners and koreans concering amount of training partners and the effects of it.
Difference between KR and foreigners from an analysis viewpoint 19:30 - 22:17
Cute little nice analysis of MLG Finals Thorzain vs. Puma. And again concering variation of practice.
Nice interview, looking forward to the next episodes :D
|
Just leaving some feedback but I will not being watching this because of hows it being released ,1 part each week is a ridiculous way to release it. This truly does infuriate me more then it should. It just seems dumb how were having these announcement of announcements. Or having a tourny release its players 1 a day for 2 weeks. Stop treating the fans like were some simpleminded child.
|
On February 21 2012 21:52 jcroisdale wrote:
Just leaving some feedback but I will not being watching this because of hows it being released ,1 part each week is a ridiculous way to release it. This truly does infuriate me more then it should. It just seems dumb how were having these announcement of announcements. Or having a tourny release its players 1 a day for 2 weeks. Stop treating the fans like were some simpleminded child.
It is frickin 22 Minutes long? Whats is wrong with you people?
|
They should talk about a place for qxc to get a haircut.
blarbs
User was warned for this post
|
Really interesting interview, I love qxc's approach to the game/scene/practice, can't wait till part 2/3 are out :D
@Aunvilgod : Jinro never left korea, he droped out of the gsl, jinro has been living in korea all last year and he still is.
|
qxc sounds like a chill guy to talk to
Pretty good interview (or just part of the whole thing) and I agree with most of his points about Korea and training in general.
Most people got this common misconception about things and thats really hurting them in the long run
|
Love your interviews Thorin! I can't wait for qxc to go fulltime, I love that guy's personality and playstyle and thought he showed absolutely awesome potential when he played in Korea.
|
Hell yea he is graduating soon, we are expecting you to practice then under 200times the earth's gravity, qxc.
|
On February 21 2012 22:36 bubblegumbo wrote:
Hell yea he is graduating soon, we are expecting you to practice then under 200times the earth's gravity, qxc.
Lol you think so? You really think he is that much of a noob? He will practice in the hyberbolic chamber WITHIN the Room of Spirit and Time dude ... get your facts right!
|
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
|
On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
99% of players aren't pro players, and therefore have very bad mechanics. So in that case you're right.
I kind of think that qxc was more specifically talking about pro players though. Just a guess.
|
On February 21 2012 22:48 LaughingTulkas wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
99% of players aren't pro players, and therefore have very bad mechanics. So in that case you're right. I kind of think that qxc was more specifically talking about pro players though. Just a guess.
Well 99% of foreign players who want to get good (this excludes most bronze-diamond players, who mostly play for fun). But even pro gamers, why would they benefit more by playing "only 4-5 hours"? Whats the advantage compared to 8-10 hours? You still have a lot of time to think about the game, you can still watch like 20 reps/day, watch GSL vods and so on. You don't need to set time aside to think about the game. This is all you do when your a pro game, you think about sc2, because thats basically your life. Maybe if we look at pro gamers (only) the number isn't 99%, but I still think 80-90% of foreign "pro players" would benefit by playing more.
But where does that number come from? It seems absolutely random. From a logical perspective it makes little sense, and he used no real life exampels to back up his claim.
|
gotta love qxc, a proper nerd, knows his shit, foreigners are horrible
|
It's so interesting to listen to QXC - such an intelligent guy!
|
I love qxc's interviews, another great interview from Thorin, really well done.
|
On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls?
|
No, they think what to improve upon and then try to kick the ball better/harder/faster.
|
He speaks like Liquid'Nony! ;p
|
On February 21 2012 23:17 bluQ wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls?
Not comparable.
But if you could practice 100 freekicks a day instead of 50 you would most likely be better. Sure there is a optimal amount, but why is that 4-5 hours for sc2? Just seems like he is pulling a number of his ass, and this is gonna hurt a lot of players who now with good consicence can play less ladder games.
|
thorin interviews deserve way more love.
gj again thorin
|
On February 21 2012 23:38 Hider wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 23:17 bluQ wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls? Not comparable. But if you could practice 100 freekicks a day instead of 50 you would most likely be better. Sure there is a optimal amount, but why is that 4-5 hours for sc2? Just seems like he is pulling a number of his ass, and this is gonna hurt a lot of players who now with good consicence can play less ladder games.
For instance, in American Football, professional players devote only 3-4 hours of practice per day, but are expected to put in somewhere close to 5-6 hours per day on film study, breaking down what their opponents are going to do, their opponents' tendencies (down to very minute details such as body posture that might give away that split second break), what their team is going to do, how to execute it (again, down to minute details such as possibly shifting a foot right before a snap just to make someone make the wrong read), examination of their own plays, figuring out how to remove errors, et cetera.
Yes, the players that don't make much improvement are considered to have a bad work ethic, but they have a bad work ethic in both physical practice as well as mental learning. The idea is that obviously American Football is a physical sport, and so putting together a lot of physical practice induces significant unnecessary wear and tear over the season, plus so much of game is played mentally that you need all that film study. The latter, thus, makes the former (the physical practice) much more effective, as you know exactly what to work on, and so your practice is geared precisely toward figuring that out.
With your analogy, is it better to kick the ball 100 times, or spend several hours per day analyzing every kick, right down to the milliseconds, analyzing your trajectory toward the ball (and how it might shift the goalkeeper in a direction), and then only kick it 50 times but know exactly the type of kick you're practicing, so that you spend all 50 kicks trying to perfect a very specific kick?
Edit:
It's interesting because qxc may not know this but long-time followers of the BW scene generally do: we have seen countless clips of pro-gaming teams gathering around one player's monitor watching their player. They don't just sit there grinding games for hours. We know for a fact that they discuss builds. We know they try out very specific timings over and over again to try to trick people out. We know all this. Yet somehow there's this prevailing notion that Korean players just laddergrind all day and magically get better.
Remember when Nony went to the estro house? He mentioned they actually broke down his game and made him re-learn the game because he'd picked up such bad habits. He re-learned the game from the fundamentals (hotkeying, etc.) and basically learned how to practice. You don't do that by just playing. You do that by sitting back, analyzing play, and thinking.
|
On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
progamers are the 1% of players that benefit from studying 
|
On February 21 2012 23:38 Hider wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 23:17 bluQ wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls? Not comparable. But if you could practice 100 freekicks a day instead of 50 you would most likely be better. Sure there is a optimal amount, but why is that 4-5 hours for sc2? Just seems like he is pulling a number of his ass, and this is gonna hurt a lot of players who now with good consicence can play less ladder games.
I think the point he was trying to get across is that pro players should figure out themselves what system works for them, and that part of the practise should be thinking about the game rather than playing. The numbers he mentioned are just a benchmark to illustrate the idea behind them.
Of course if you're in bronze/silver league, playing the game more will be more efficient for your improvement than thinking about the game; but obviously this was specficially aimed at pro players who already are sufficient at the game's basics.
Think of it as an experience point curve in an MMO alongside gearing up your character; at first you're going to level up and get stronger faster by just getting experience points, but once you get closer to the level cap you are going to need to work more on gear than on level to get stronger; the experience points in this case would be the mechanics and basics of a player where the pro players have already reached or are close to reaching the "level cap" now it's more efficient to get better faster if they work on thinking about different aspects of the game; which would be the gearing up part in the MMO analogy.
|
I always love QXC. Favorite player by far. his mindset is just amazing. He is going to be a monster
|
On February 21 2012 23:38 Hider wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 23:17 bluQ wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls? Not comparable. But if you could practice 100 freekicks a day instead of 50 you would most likely be better. Sure there is a optimal amount, but why is that 4-5 hours for sc2? Just seems like he is pulling a number of his ass, and this is gonna hurt a lot of players who now with good consicence can play less ladder games.
but 50 freekicks that are better prepared/thought out are better than 100 freekicks where you don't think about what you're doing - that is what QXC is saying, fix and optimise your learning system don't just grind games
|
Yet another amazing interview from you, Thorin! I'm always happy when I see a new 1on1 on SK-gaming. They never disappoint.
|
Is anyone else facing major issues loading this file. Why can't they put it up on youtube for easy viewing :/
|
Video doesn't play - just sits loading at "00".
|
This is a nice series.
Thanks SK. <3
|
On February 22 2012 00:27 Kage wrote:
Is anyone else facing major issues loading this file. Why can't they put it up on youtube for easy viewing :/
Yeah my video loads really slowly or not at all. sadly its usually always like this on the sight and I do with they had an alternate link that was with youtube 
|
wish i could watch but as usual the video doesnt load. shame, Thorin is an amazing journalist.. I wish people could have better access to the content he produces
|
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it.
|
Thorin is an awesomer interviewer. ^.^
Very knowledgeable about what's going on in SC2, so he asks some great questions imo.
QXC always giving fulfilling answers as always in interview.
Tyvm for this.
|
On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it.
I don't know, he doesn't really say that hes any good himself - just that foreigners are inferior to koreans (including himself obviously), which I feel that he is entirely entitled to say. Wouldn't consider it "talking high and mighty" but more of a reality check for the community,
|
video buffer sooooooooooo slow
|
Love his attitude - he's going to do well full-time.
|
4713 Posts
A really insightful interview, and it goes to show just how little we actually know of the Korean scene and practice regimes, and how many misconceptions we might have.
|
There's nothing I can do about video buffering issues right now. Europeans never seem to have issues with it and from my experience of traveling to events I can always play the videos. Ultimately it's out of my hands right now. Uploading to youtube is not an option since the only reason this inteview exists is because SK flies me to the event so I upload the interview to their site and they get the hits/views/traffic.
For the last few we have tried degrading the quality of the video a little to handle the viewing load, but the guy who does that was not around in time for this video.
Best suggestions I can make for those who have issues:
-try with IE instead of FireFox and see if that helps at all
-bookmark and try viewing later, in case it's an overload issue from everyone trying to watch at once
-switch to "normal quality" via the link below the video box.
|
On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it.
he's still at college though, wait till he goes full time
|
On February 22 2012 01:05 mememolly wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it. he's still at college though, wait till he goes full time
I'm pretty sure he has gone full time. I think he finished college a few months ago.
|
Nope, still in college brah.
|
On February 22 2012 01:11 Exarl25 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2012 01:05 mememolly wrote:On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it. he's still at college though, wait till he goes full time I'm pretty sure he has gone full time. I think he finished college a few months ago.
he says in the interview that he finishes in May and plans to go full time there after, so you're wrong
|
so true about the comparison between koreans and foreigners. seems like a cool guy, gotta watch his all kill against iM.
could anyone link me to it?
|
|
|
Very insightful thoughts, I love Qxc´s mindset. Thanks for the interview.
|
On February 22 2012 01:11 Exarl25 wrote:Show nested quote +On February 22 2012 01:05 mememolly wrote:On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it. he's still at college though, wait till he goes full time I'm pretty sure he has gone full time. I think he finished college a few months ago.
He went full time for 2 months when he was with FXO at gom foreigner house, but had to get back to college.
|
These SK in-depth interviews are amazing, would love to see more! Also QXC is awesome and is really just fascinating to listen to .. even if he does kinda strike me as looking like a pissed off serial killer for the first 5 minutes XD
|
Thanks Thorin for your great interviews. Its a shame I like many others cannot watch it. I gave the site maybe 5 hits just now reloading. Tried IE and Chrome. Maybe it'll work at my home computer.
|
Interesting but I can't watch it, it takes about 20 seconds to buffer 5 seconds of video.
|
Well. i guess i can watch it after 1 hour when the buffering ends, great job not uploading it to youtube
Im really torn between the good quality of the idra interview ( and hopefully this ) and the horrible quality of the hosting, non asks you for a better site but upload the damn thing on youtube/blip.. w.e !
|
I love qxc interviews, he has such interesting points on everything.
|
On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it.
actually that's the wrong attitude. its perfectly valid to criticize and include yourself in the criticism. qxc knows hes bad.
|
He's an incredibly smart person and great personality. Decent player. but only because of his situation - not enough practice time in comparison to everyone else. Once he gets his College out of the way. he'll be able to practice full time like he said, and that should beget natural improvement.
I think qxc will make a splash in 2013.
|
I love QXC interviews so much, he seems like such a knowledgable guy who really likes to plan out what he does.
|
On February 22 2012 00:34 Otolia wrote:
Ahhhhh qxc, a living paradox. Certainly a nice guy with valid ideas but sometimes I wish he would continue his line of thought completely and apply what he thinks. Talking high and mighty is cool, winning is better. He says it himself. He is the first of the baddies and he shouldn't talk about being bad if he is aware of it.
While you can't deny QXC's lack of solid tournament results lately, you can't blame any of it on his integrity and skill as a player. He is one of the few progamers that is completing a college degree simultaneously, and in at a university that is no joke. I have no doubt that once finished with school and finally able to focus purely on SC2, QXC will become a front runner of the foreign scene. Watch him ladder, when he talked about practice in the video it was serious. He has so many builds documented and is constantly reworking and optimizing them. And I dont even think QXC implied that he wasn't "bad", as he referred to all the foreigners as a collective, including himself.
|
this is a really cool interview. some amazing perspective on being a pro-gamer. excited for the next parts.
|
very good interview! I understand what he means completely
|
Great interview. QXC is good at coming off honest and serious without looking like a dick like Idra can be.
|
Uhh looks so uncomfortable holding the camera like that..shaky. Place it next time?
Other than that, QXC thinks like exactly as I think about the game, I always enjoy listen to this guy. I totaly understand his point of view about not reading the comments he gets on what he wrote etc aswell cuz the gaming scene is full of trolls and ignorant people. This guy is so freaking smart..people might not get it, but he is saying what he thinks, the sorry ass truth that is but he says this in a very manner way. If he dropped the F word a couple of more times and had a more intense attitude people would jawdrop and think he is stupid. But that's more IdrA's style and this is why I tend to think IdrA is so missunderstood by some people.
What QXC says about training makes so much sense. Even professional footballplayers sometimes just lie down on the couch for 2 hrs before the game to think ahead what he is gonna do vs the opponent he is gonna meet up with. Just study every units role in the specific map in the game before a very important game could be so freaking useful. Ladder is simply not enough. Playing vs koreans without taking notes and think straight and clearly just seems pointless.
I would love to see a NesTea interview (Artosis?) about how he practice and speaks with his teamm8s before an important game cuz NesTea's ways of thinking seem to be beyond everyone else that is Code S level. He might fail on other terms but his plans and strategy is like supersolid even tho it fails with a small missmicro or a missclick etc. People that knows the game can see what he tries to do but fails not due to the strat but due to other things as what I just said.
|
What is it with the video player SK uses? It buffers incredibly slowly and you can't change video quality. A 22 minute interview will probably take 5 minutes to buffer on top of the actual length, while I could read a transcript of the interview in less time than it takes to buffer.
|
On February 21 2012 22:53 Hider wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 22:48 LaughingTulkas wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
99% of players aren't pro players, and therefore have very bad mechanics. So in that case you're right. I kind of think that qxc was more specifically talking about pro players though. Just a guess. Well 99% of foreign players who want to get good (this excludes most bronze-diamond players, who mostly play for fun). But even pro gamers, why would they benefit more by playing "only 4-5 hours"? Whats the advantage compared to 8-10 hours? You still have a lot of time to think about the game, you can still watch like 20 reps/day, watch GSL vods and so on. You don't need to set time aside to think about the game. This is all you do when your a pro game, you think about sc2, because thats basically your life. Maybe if we look at pro gamers (only) the number isn't 99%, but I still think 80-90% of foreign "pro players" would benefit by playing more. But where does that number come from? It seems absolutely random. From a logical perspective it makes little sense, and he used no real life exampels to back up his claim.
Pay attention, he explains himself. The more you exert yourself on proper practice the more 'rest' time you need. More valleys. 4-5 hours isn't an arbitrary number, it seems to be his preference/what he is capable of.
|
On February 22 2012 05:57 ZessiM wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 22:53 Hider wrote:On February 21 2012 22:48 LaughingTulkas wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
99% of players aren't pro players, and therefore have very bad mechanics. So in that case you're right. I kind of think that qxc was more specifically talking about pro players though. Just a guess. Well 99% of foreign players who want to get good (this excludes most bronze-diamond players, who mostly play for fun). But even pro gamers, why would they benefit more by playing "only 4-5 hours"? Whats the advantage compared to 8-10 hours? You still have a lot of time to think about the game, you can still watch like 20 reps/day, watch GSL vods and so on. You don't need to set time aside to think about the game. This is all you do when your a pro game, you think about sc2, because thats basically your life. Maybe if we look at pro gamers (only) the number isn't 99%, but I still think 80-90% of foreign "pro players" would benefit by playing more. But where does that number come from? It seems absolutely random. From a logical perspective it makes little sense, and he used no real life exampels to back up his claim. Pay attention, he explains himself. The more you exert yourself on proper practice the more 'rest' time you need. More valleys. 4-5 hours isn't an arbitrary number, it seems to be his preference/what he is capable of.
Indeed...apparently this is also how Flash practices, with half his practice time ingame and the other half analyzing his play.
|
Pretty good interview. He seems to have the classic nerd "I'm right, no one else knows wtf they are talking about" mentality that these forums are awash in. Still, he had some good insights.
I like his view on Korean pro houses and that no one really knows what goes on there, even people that live in them. I've been getting the sense that even when foreigners live in a Korean pro house, they aren't practicing like the Koreans do, they are just massing Korean ladder games and maybe get a few games in with their house-mates. They really miss out on the in-depth discussion and grinding of certain matchups, probably because of the language barrier. Again, I don't KNOW this but it seems to be what is happening, and could explain why just "going to Korea" doesn't do much on its own.
|
On February 22 2012 07:21 HardlyNever wrote:
Pretty good interview. He seems to have the classic nerd "I'm right, no one else knows wtf they are talking about" mentality that these forums are awash in. Still, he had some good insights.
I like his view on Korean pro houses and that no one really knows what goes on there, even people that live in them. I've been getting the sense that even when foreigners live in a Korean pro house, they aren't practicing like the Koreans do, they are just massing Korean ladder games and maybe get a few games in with their house-mates. They really miss out on the in-depth discussion and grinding of certain matchups, probably because of the language barrier. Again, I don't KNOW this but it seems to be what is happening, and could explain why just "going to Korea" doesn't do much on its own.
But hopefully by emphasizing this, it can draw more attention to the fact that foreigners are falling behind fast, and foreigners need to get better to spur the growth of international SC2.
|
Very good interview. Looking forward to the rest.
QXC fighting.
|
Awesome interview. Hearing QXC is so refreshing. He's not bitching or whining and he's not pretending like he knows it all. He's clearly a deep thinker, introspective, and willing to entertain "what could be" without just jumping to a conclusion right along with it.
Can't wait to see the rest of the interview.
|
What QXC says echoes what I've heard from Spanishiwa on his stream. Laddering all day long is not efficient practice. Spanishiwa has stopped playing for a month and is only analyzing replays, then he's going to focus exclusively on improving mechanics for the next month -- pretty interesting technique and much more in line with the 'deliberate practice is better' theory.
He also takes a lot of notes. I'm always surprised that so many Pro players just rely on having everything in their head.
|
On February 22 2012 05:57 ZessiM wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 22:53 Hider wrote:On February 21 2012 22:48 LaughingTulkas wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
99% of players aren't pro players, and therefore have very bad mechanics. So in that case you're right. I kind of think that qxc was more specifically talking about pro players though. Just a guess. Well 99% of foreign players who want to get good (this excludes most bronze-diamond players, who mostly play for fun). But even pro gamers, why would they benefit more by playing "only 4-5 hours"? Whats the advantage compared to 8-10 hours? You still have a lot of time to think about the game, you can still watch like 20 reps/day, watch GSL vods and so on. You don't need to set time aside to think about the game. This is all you do when your a pro game, you think about sc2, because thats basically your life. Maybe if we look at pro gamers (only) the number isn't 99%, but I still think 80-90% of foreign "pro players" would benefit by playing more. But where does that number come from? It seems absolutely random. From a logical perspective it makes little sense, and he used no real life exampels to back up his claim. Pay attention, he explains himself. The more you exert yourself on proper practice the more 'rest' time you need. More valleys. 4-5 hours isn't an arbitrary number, it seems to be his preference/what he is capable of.
He isn't referring to him self. He is saying thats the optimal amount. If he was only talking about him self, then he miscommunicated imo.
|
On February 22 2012 00:06 mememolly wrote:Show nested quote +On February 21 2012 23:38 Hider wrote:On February 21 2012 23:17 bluQ wrote:On February 21 2012 22:40 Hider wrote:
What is QXC argument for "thinking about the game" for 4-5 hours and only play 4-5 hours?
Does koreans really do that? And even if that is true, did they only play 4-5 hours when they got their mechanical skills up to a decent level through BW?
I think this is a bad mentality, most ppl like to watch games/discuss strategy rather than laddering. IMO 99% of all players would benefit more by playing and less by "studying".
Compare it to real sports. Do you really think Football or Soccer player only kick balls? Not comparable. But if you could practice 100 freekicks a day instead of 50 you would most likely be better. Sure there is a optimal amount, but why is that 4-5 hours for sc2? Just seems like he is pulling a number of his ass, and this is gonna hurt a lot of players who now with good consicence can play less ladder games. but 50 freekicks that are better prepared/thought out are better than 100 freekicks where you don't think about what you're doing - that is what QXC is saying, fix and optimise your learning system don't just grind games
If you have twice as many hours to do free kick, then your gonna be a better freekicker (most likely). Thinking about how to do freekicks is not gonna help you as much as actually practising.
4-5 hours playtime day is not even close IMO to optimal amount. And since people genereally enjoy watching rather than playing, one shouldn't advice people to play less/"study" more.
The thing is. Its only cus its QXC saying that. If this was your random master league player, everybody would laugh at this. If QXC actually was one of the best foreigner by only pracitisng 4-5 hours then that would give it some credibitliy, but he isn't. (Now i am expecting to be told that he is much better than me and that he allkilled team IM...)
|
qxc has a negative amount of fucks to give.
and yet everything he says is spot on.
|
I used to like QXC, but he seems more the guy who thinks: I tell truth, the others are stupid. Calling the foreigners terrible, well most of them are less terrible than him so maybe they could teach him a few things.
|
You should upload the whole interview, uploading bit after bit is just frustrating.
|
On February 22 2012 09:16 TanTzoR wrote:
I used to like QXC, but he seems more the guy who thinks: I tell truth, the others are stupid. Calling the foreigners terrible, well most of them are less terrible than him so maybe they could teach him a few things.
I feel that people who say things like this have no idea how hard it is to go to one of the hardest colleges in Cali while simultaneously being a progamer. Just doing 1 is hard enough, when you look at qxc you have to look at a progamer who has never gone full time for more than 2 months and has always had to split his focus.
|
Interview just starts to get interesting at the end when QXC goes in to high-level analysis.
|
Listening to QXC on SoTG and now this just raises my respect for the guy.
|
Stupendous interview. I very much look forward to the remaining two parts of the series. It was really nice to hear a logical take on the state of competition and training outside of the typical OG argument.
|
On February 22 2012 09:16 TanTzoR wrote:
I used to like QXC, but he seems more the guy who thinks: I tell truth, the others are stupid. Calling the foreigners terrible, well most of them are less terrible than him so maybe they could teach him a few things.
I think you are completely misunderstanding him. It was said in corelation with a point he made about korean practice vs foreign practice.
It has nothing to do with him being good or bad.
|
On February 22 2012 09:22 TheBamf wrote:
You should upload the whole interview, uploading bit after bit is just frustrating.
Yep, where is the rest, please? x/
|
qxc is so good + has the best mindset
once he goes full time, expect him to be one of the best. His raw talent is off the charts.
|
Has part 2 been uploaded yet? If so where can I find it and if not will it be released soon? Part one was really great and im eagerly awaiting the rest of the video.
|
|
|
Part three will be up Sunday night/Monday morning to get it all completed before IEM.
|
Thanks for the 2nd part, I love qxc and his mindset. Really enjoying these
|
I think qxc really will be the best some day
|
QXC knows what is up, so weird how idra ignores him though
|
On March 02 2012 07:13 mememolly wrote:
QXC knows what is up, so weird how idra ignores him though
I'm interested in this... elaborate please :D.
|
On March 02 2012 07:30 sereniity wrote:Show nested quote +On March 02 2012 07:13 mememolly wrote:
QXC knows what is up, so weird how idra ignores him though I'm interested in this... elaborate please :D.
qxc asks IdrA for some games to practise, IdrA ignores him completely. He compares that to korean players who always plays with players from other teams along with their own
|
QXC always tells it up straight. gotta respect the guy.
|
for people asking where the 4-5 hours came from - I came to this number based on personal experience and experimentation over my winter break. For each week during the break I tried practicing a different number of hours 8/6/4 and I found 8 to be unsustainable for more than a few days, 6 to be pretty difficult, and 4 to be relatively manageable.
This is not to say that more than 6 is not possible - but I wasn't good enough at managing my rest time to make it work for an extended period of time.
As for the foreigners are bad comment and how I view myself - the results speak for themselves. I hope to break apart from the pack in the future, but I'm not there yet.
|
On March 04 2012 17:02 qxc wrote:
for people asking where the 4-5 hours came from - I came to this number based on personal experience and experimentation over my winter break. For each week during the break I tried practicing a different number of hours 8/6/4 and I found 8 to be unsustainable for more than a few days, 6 to be pretty difficult, and 4 to be relatively manageable.
This is not to say that more than 6 is not possible - but I wasn't good enough at managing my rest time to make it work for an extended period of time.
As for the foreigners are bad comment and how I view myself - the results speak for themselves. I hope to break apart from the pack in the future, but I'm not there yet.
Great interview, can't wait to see how you improve once you're full time.
|
Awesome interview. I can't wait to see more of qxc.
|
watched the second part. decent interview, qxc seems like a pretty intelligent guy.
BUT! around 10 mins into the interview (2nd part) he says that human brains are designed to do one thing at a time and that is it. he says this to justify that you can't really think while playing.
this is completely not true, the human brain is built to parallel process.
|
Very good interviews - qxc has good insight into the game
|
On March 04 2012 18:55 tronix wrote:
this is completely not true, the human brain is built to parallel process.
dont mean to be rude, but care to enlighten me as to why many human being utterly fail at this seemingly built in mechanic of the brain? Myself, included... I can't multitask to save my freakin life.
|
QXC is such a godliek nerd baller. I respect his intelligence and his playskills.
|
On March 02 2012 07:30 sereniity wrote:Show nested quote +On March 02 2012 07:13 mememolly wrote:
QXC knows what is up, so weird how idra ignores him though I'm interested in this... elaborate please :D.
idra always seems to have weird beef with any threat to his "best foreigner" tag, although for him that tag has totally diminished now, what with stephano/thorzain etc
|
No one had it to begin with. -_-
Finally got around to listening this. Highly recommend everyone watch it to get rid of some of your preconceived notions. -.-
There are a few things I would like to touch base on in reply to qxc's thoughts.
10m-13m of the 2nd video: creativity versus playing by the book.
This ties into how new BW pro's enter the fray. You have one safe build to master. You don't deviate from the build until you master it as it is your foundation; there is no going against the grain. You only improvise and start building your star sense once you've mastered that build.
Star sense can come with time and patience. Players learn to adapt/improvise from this model.
That's but one principle of the BW regime.
|
On March 04 2012 18:55 tronix wrote:
watched the second part. decent interview, qxc seems like a pretty intelligent guy.
BUT! around 10 mins into the interview (2nd part) he says that human brains are designed to do one thing at a time and that is it. he says this to justify that you can't really think while playing.
this is completely not true, the human brain is built to parallel process.
When you multitask one thing runs in the forward (conscious) brain, and others run in the background. In this way yes you can quickly switch between doing multiple things at once, and the unconscious does 'think' or at least process so you can run in parallel.
However, you are still only committing a part of your brain to task 1 as some of it is being used for task 2. Because of this the depth of thought / analysis that can be achieved while doing multiple tasks isn't as great as just focusing on one thing for hours.
For a pro trying to create new game knowledge, doing one thing at a time seems to be more efficient.
|
Part three, the final part, added.
|
Love qxc's timeline analogy. Hope he eventually has more time to practice. I really enjoy his playstyle.
|
Thanks for bringing that interview Thorin and thanks to QXC for giving it. It's nice to hear intelligent, deeper probing, non-pr laden interviews.
|
|
|
Really legit 3-part series. Can't wait til qxc can full time sc2!!! oh yeah!
|
On March 05 2012 13:18 RezChi wrote:
HerO's in code S o_O
He's getting better, but let's see if he stays there.
Fantastic series QXC, very insightful - self-assured yet humble, very rare combo.
|
Like QXC mentioned, I think one of the largest hurdles facing NA players is access to decent practice partners. If a guy like QXC is having trouble finding top NA pros to practice with, for whatever reasons, something isn't right. Where's the sense of community? Korean's help each other out all the time, from what I can tell.
If you sift through some of the post win interviews from Koreans, they ALWAYS mention and thank players on other teams for helping with practice. This rarely, if ever, happens with foreigners.
|
Thorin, this interview was really amazing. However, I do think you should really, really brush up on sc2 knowledge. I can see why QXC was a little baffled/confused at some of your more nebulous or even outright strange questions (and his reactions in the interview reflect this). You will probably only go so far asking metaphorical questions regarding players, the game, etc.
PS. As far as networking and finding practice partners is concerned: it should be obvious to the community by now that the best players always find the best practice partners to help them. In post match interviews for gsl games, gsl finals, etc. in every interview the players list and thank their practice partners, and rarely are they only players from their own team.
|
On March 05 2012 13:18 RezChi wrote:
HerO's in code S o_O
Hero just go into Code S. This interview was done awhile ago. Pretty sure it was done at IEM Kiev, which was in January.
|
He's definitely right about nobody being good at the game. I guarantee that (assuming SC2 lasts for several more years) when the game is a little more figured out, we'll look back on even the "best" of the Code S finals and cringe. It obviously won't take as long as Brood War given the wealth of information available to improve, but it'll be a while.
As for the the timeline analogy/associating a race's characteristics with a player, I agree 100% as well. I mean, think how at the beginning of the game, it was generally considered that 14/14 was the best opening for any ZvX matchup. Now if you early pool against a Terran, it's nearly suicide. Obviously some patches have changed the game very dramatically, but that's basically what it is. Looking back at Brood War again, think about the era of the 6 Dragons. There was a VERY long period where Bisu was nearly unbeatable, and then the other races adapted and then Protoss started slumping. QXC's description of the Terran Bio Ball being "you make Marines, Marauders, Medivacs, then hit T and everything dies" is the most straightforward way of saying that it's just innately easier to have that sort of unit composition at this current stage in the game's development.
|
|
|
Some what heartbreaking. The most intresting point to me was that he thought none of the current forigner pros would at all have a future in playing pro starcraft. And QXC at the end of the interview still said he was going to try to do it. Hardcore. That's some serious starcraft passion!
|
The last part is the best part
<3 qxc, good luck in the future dood !
|
What QXC said is pretty much spot on.
|
On February 22 2012 09:16 TanTzoR wrote:
I used to like QXC, but he seems more the guy who thinks: I tell truth, the others are stupid. Calling the foreigners terrible, well most of them are less terrible than him so maybe they could teach him a few things.
WOOOOOOOOOOSH
|
Those questions that the guy is asking are really weird.. All about connecting personalities to races but when QXC doesn't want to answer them, he keeps trying..
|
i liked the interview. i think qxc has a good mindset and should continue training in korea after finishing university!
|
I like the interview, but I really dislike that its released in parts. I would have liked to watch the later parts too, but now I probably don't remember to.
|
Thanks for the interview, the length is appropriate for qxc's essays (hence the 3 parts) so it's good you took the time to do it .
|
QXC is the harsh dose of reality that the foreigner scene needs but dreads
|
On March 05 2012 20:09 Darksteel wrote:
I like the interview, but I really dislike that its released in parts. I would have liked to watch the later parts too, but now I probably don't remember to.
you know all 3 parts are released right now?
|
4713 Posts
On March 04 2012 18:55 tronix wrote:
this is completely not true, the human brain is built to parallel process.
Actually it is true for what we're concerned. We know that in the background the brain is in charge of all our vital functions from respiration and heart beats to telling our bodies when to release certain hormones or produce certain chemicals and a whole sew of other processes.
But the point is that, humans can't multi-task very well. The multi-tasking that we do is actually switch from one process to another, very, very fast, but the more complex the tasks the harder it is to multi-task. And there have been lots of studies and documentaries that prove the point.
And so he is very right, you can't think, during the middle of the game, about what your next plan or counter is going to be, most of it you access from memory and past knowledge of a certain situation, it is very, very, very hard for players to think on the fly and devise a brand new plan, when they are already forced to allocate a lot of their attention in the background trough micro and macro and reacting to the opponent.
Anyway, I found all of the interviews to be very good, the questions asked where great, the responses where fantastic and it was intriguing to, in a way, get inside qxc's thought process.
|
Hey who else felt that QXC's statements about Idra were a little bit harsh?
I know I did. But then I saw this:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUGNVpzB2t0
|
|
|
|
|
|
EPT
