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Minimap training

Forum Index > Brood War Strategy
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1 2 3 Next All
Toyomaha
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States144 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-28 02:35:44
December 28 2009 02:30 GMT
#1
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?
www.starcraftutah.blogspot.com
EsX_Raptor
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States2801 Posts
December 28 2009 02:35 GMT
#2
well just look at it =/

or do what a bunch of people here do: put notes next to your monitor saying "LOOK AT THE MINIMAP."
Anduril
Profile Joined May 2009
United States248 Posts
December 28 2009 02:36 GMT
#3
You can add a part to your routine for micro and macro to actually physically turn your head, not just your eyes, down towards the minimap. Like count to 5 then check the map. As for the minimap itself, pressing the tab key to remove the terrain can make it easier to see enemy movement.
s[O]rry
Profile Blog Joined November 2009
Canada398 Posts
December 28 2009 02:40 GMT
#4
As zerg, I had a similar problem when playing versus terran. Like when I would be controlling my mutas, I would miss that group of MnM that was going for my third even though it walked right by my overlord. So, I took a page from DAy[9] and after every swipe with my mutalisks to kill an SCV or marine or whatever, I would glance at the minimap and the top left corner. I did this for loads of games on ICCup and eventually just settled into a timing where I look after every 2 swipes or so and still don't miss anything. Hope this helps.
Sunshine.
Toyomaha
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States144 Posts
December 28 2009 02:44 GMT
#5
On December 28 2009 11:35 EsX_Raptor wrote:
well just look at it =/

or do what a bunch of people here do: put notes next to your monitor saying "LOOK AT THE MINIMAP."


That's exactly what my problem is...I forget to look at it! As for putting a note on the monitor I'd get used to seeing it there that it would become part of the monitor! But hey, it won't hurt to try.
www.starcraftutah.blogspot.com
justiceknight
Profile Blog Joined May 2008
Singapore5741 Posts
December 28 2009 02:53 GMT
#6
I heard that playing the game w/o sounds helps alot but i havent tried yet
Silentness
Profile Blog Joined August 2009
United States2821 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-28 02:56:42
December 28 2009 02:55 GMT
#7
On December 28 2009 11:30 Toyomaha wrote:
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?


Do you use the shift tab to make your enemy red?

It helps me when I see bright ass red blips coming towards me at certain spots of the minimap. (shuttles/dropships/muta harass).

GL HF... YOLO..lololollol.
EsX_Raptor
Profile Blog Joined February 2008
United States2801 Posts
December 28 2009 02:57 GMT
#8
On December 28 2009 11:55 Silentness wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 28 2009 11:30 Toyomaha wrote:
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?


Do you use the shift tab to make your enemy red?

It helps me when I see bright ass red blips coming towards me at certain spots of the minimap. (shuttles/dropships/muta harass).


You're like the 10th person I hear that says this :'(

I'm red/green color blind so it doesn't help me very much T.T
SteelString
Profile Joined July 2006
446 Posts
December 28 2009 02:58 GMT
#9
You could move the post-it around to different sides of your monitor each time you become accustomed to it.
yarkO
Profile Blog Joined September 2009
Canada810 Posts
December 28 2009 02:59 GMT
#10
i found the best way for myself was to just focus on a cycle and stick to it

control army > check minimap > resupply army > check minimap > make probes > check minimap

just change out any of the non-checking minimap steps with what's applicable (build pylon/production facility/scout etc etc)

force yourself to follow these steps and eventually it should become second nature to constantly be checking.
When you are prepared, there's no such thing as pressure.
Toyomaha
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States144 Posts
December 28 2009 03:32 GMT
#11
On December 28 2009 11:55 Silentness wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 28 2009 11:30 Toyomaha wrote:
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?


Do you use the shift tab to make your enemy red?

It helps me when I see bright ass red blips coming towards me at certain spots of the minimap. (shuttles/dropships/muta harass).



Yes I use shift tab all the time. It helps me notice large blobs moving across the map but the minimap becomes just a piece of the "Starcraft" border and noticing a red dot sneaking up on my probe line is something I overlook all too often and I pay for it later!

And being red/green colorblind would suck when it comes to minimap usage and shift tab. I'll try to move the note around the monitor every game.
www.starcraftutah.blogspot.com
Infested Terran
Profile Blog Joined December 2009
80 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-28 03:39:29
December 28 2009 03:36 GMT
#12
Space bar is your friend - if there is a minimap ping ("our base is under attack" etc.) you can press it and you will be moved there; although in mid-late game so much stuff happens that everything is blinking rapidly (e.g. units finish so fast...).

You can try the map WORMS.
http://www.sendspace.com/file/l6wibk
I am strong, I am zerg, I am the future!
Empyrean
Profile Blog Joined September 2004
16987 Posts
December 28 2009 03:38 GMT
#13
On December 28 2009 11:57 EsX_Raptor wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 28 2009 11:55 Silentness wrote:
On December 28 2009 11:30 Toyomaha wrote:
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?


Do you use the shift tab to make your enemy red?

It helps me when I see bright ass red blips coming towards me at certain spots of the minimap. (shuttles/dropships/muta harass).


You're like the 10th person I hear that says this :'(

I'm red/green color blind so it doesn't help me very much T.T


That's one of the most unfortunate things that could ever befall someone who plays :/

(Mental note: go reavers every game).
Moderator
Nal_rAwr
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States2611 Posts
December 28 2009 03:50 GMT
#14
uh yeah its a trying task forcing yourself to look at the minimap constantly, even for progamers

but its just like a chore that has to be done


it helps if you're really into the game and determined to win, then you would look at it on impulse
Nony is Bonjwa
Xiphos
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
Canada7507 Posts
December 28 2009 04:10 GMT
#15
On December 28 2009 12:38 Empyrean wrote:
Show nested quote +
On December 28 2009 11:57 EsX_Raptor wrote:
On December 28 2009 11:55 Silentness wrote:
On December 28 2009 11:30 Toyomaha wrote:
I have a hard time relying more on the minimap during gameplay and was wondering what some training techniques you've used to force yourself to look at the minimap are. Some have suggested turning off all music and turning up the unit acknowledgement. That kind of helped but what are some other suggestions?


Do you use the shift tab to make your enemy red?

It helps me when I see bright ass red blips coming towards me at certain spots of the minimap. (shuttles/dropships/muta harass).


You're like the 10th person I hear that says this :'(

I'm red/green color blind so it doesn't help me very much T.T


That's one of the most unfortunate things that could ever befall someone who plays :/

(Mental note: go reavers every game).



What about that blind guy that played against Boxer?
2014 - ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ Raise your bows brood warriors! ᕙ( •̀ل͜•́) ϡ
Sentient66
Profile Joined July 2009
United States651 Posts
December 28 2009 04:23 GMT
#16
Playing without sound really helped me rely more on the minimap. I think Ahzz mentioned it during one of his FPVODs.
seNsiX.421
yhnmk
Profile Joined August 2009
Canada630 Posts
December 28 2009 05:16 GMT
#17
Just get a timing. If im harrasing [or whatever it is im doing], I usually just micro my direct units for 3-4 seconds, then immediately start mashing my hotkeys to keep macro up, as I do that I look at the minimap, if its a harras or my attack is going badly I pull back, then actually directly look at my base in case I missed something on the mini map, to reorganize everything, etc. Then I repeat the process. Micro, macro [look], micro, retreat [look] macro, micro etc. Just gotta get into that groove where you eek out a quick flash to see whats up while your simultaneously tend to the matter at hand.
Methos
Profile Blog Joined January 2009
United States206 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-28 05:20:59
December 28 2009 05:20 GMT
#18
Like others have said before me, I heard Ahzz say that he plays without sound in order to force himself to look at the minimap more. You should try it.
djcube
Profile Blog Joined July 2009
United States985 Posts
Last Edited: 2009-12-28 05:36:57
December 28 2009 05:34 GMT
#19
You don't have to always be looking at the minimap (or at least I don't). There are just certain times when you should be watching the minimap more carefully than other times. For instance, if you're playing ZvT and you know vessel should be out but it's not in sight, you can expect dropship or something and start paying closer attention to the minimap. Or if you're playing TvZ and need to go back to your base to macro, but also need to make sure your army out in the map doesn't get lurkered, keep an eye on your minimap while you build.

Edit:

About the color blind thing, I'm not sure how this would help, but I remember GoRush said on one of those Battle.net Attack tv shows that his teammate Hyuk uses the "press tab once" feature because he's color blind.
micronesia
Profile Blog Joined July 2006
United States24680 Posts
December 28 2009 05:51 GMT
#20
When I first started playing seriously I would miss stuff on the minimap constantly. As I got to ~ C- I was noticing over 50% of the important things that happened on the minimap, such as a shuttle entering my main in pvp. Just as my apm had naturally increased from 40 to 130 without me paying any special attention to it, my likelihood of noticing things like that increased. Some people would argue that you should just let the ability naturally develop whereas others will suggest strategies you should use to forcefully improve your ability. This will become almost identical to many of our previous apm discussions which turn into flame wars so I don't think this thread will really solve anything.
ModeratorThere are animal crackers for people and there are people crackers for animals.
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