The upgrade spending graph

I don't usually spend much attention to the Upgrade Spending graph on the Victory screen since it doesn't really tell me much. Sure it show if I was on par with my opponent or not and I'm sure there's a more specific information to be read from it.

What it basically is telling is when upgrades are finished. It doesn't tell when the were started. Here is an example from a game I recently played:

 The above shows how my opponent finished researching warp gate at ~5:00 and how I finished stim at ~6:08, +1 infantry weapons at ~6:40 and combat shield at ~8:00.

Now, imagine if the graph actually showed _what_ upgrade was finished _when_! Like if the above would look something like this:

 Now wouldn't that be something? :)

If I may keep on dreaming I would also want the graph to tell me when the upgrade was started since I don't know all the timings in my head and it would be useful to see if my starting timings was off.


How do you use the upgrading graph? What more can I learn from it? Please feel free to leave a comment!

Trying to improve - Motivation

I just watched the video "Too busy to learn Blender?" about how to find the time and get over the hurdles of learning Blender and I think the tips given in that video is applicable to learning in general.

So how might this be used when learning/improving in StarCraftII? Here are some quick notes.

1. Set a Pre-Determined Project Deadline

This could be as easy as a number of games to be played before a certain date: "This week I will play 10 ladder games."

The goal is to play those 10 games and nothing else. Not to win. Not to macro properly. Not to micro like a beast. It's simply to play 10 games.

2. Look for small time windows

You don't need to play a ladder game but when ever you have a small window of time just fire up the game and practice some macro in a custom game or do some micro training in a mod. Or play _one_ game on ladder.

3. Agree to do one small thing

Start the game and press "Play". Then you can quit. All you have to promise your self is to load the game and press that play button.

4. Recognize the net gain in Happiness

This one is easy. Just think about why you play the game in the first place. :-)


Related reading: Mindset, Work, and Results

Trying to improve - Rage/Tilt

As I slowly progress my game play I have noticed some things that makes it easier for me to remain in control when emotions run high.

1. Small breaks between games.

Just a minute or two. Maybe check twitter, read an article or just get a glass of water. Or stretch. Just anything to get that short break. Even when I win and I'm on a streak I take this break to clear my mind from the previous game and enter the new one with a clean state of mind.

2. Always wish GLFH and GG

If I'm too tilted to say GG I quit and walk away from the game cause then I'm in no condition to play. This rule is so hard to live up to but it's a great one.
I'm proud to say I almost never reaches that state any more and it's all thanks to the simple rule to always wish glhf/gg or walk away.

These two simple things has made me more in control and my game play have improved. I still get emotional of course and it's ok. I just try to not let it get the best of me.

Also check out this video from Jared 'PiG' Krensel:

• Channeling Your Rage - The PiG Daily #111

Twitch HTML5 player

Edit: Since HTML5 player is now the default for Twitch this post no longer of any interest and I've since moved on to use a combination of livestreamer and irc when watching Twitch streams.

Background

I got really fed up with how bad Twitch was working for me in Firefox. I love both Twitch and Firefox but I got very bad frame rate and theater mode and full screen is more or less unwatchable for me. The problem is present both with and without hardware acceleration enabled in browser. As per usual I blame this on Flash.
Chrome handles the Twitch flash player somewhat better but also behaves strangely from time to time, dropping frames and freezing. Not at all as bad as in Firefox

Solution

So I started to look around for a solution and discovered that Twitch do have a HTML5 player but the information around the web is fragmented, outdated and not very reliable. I did find this solution that works fine for me and satisfies my needs. I just use a URL like this, substituting channelname:
http://player.twitch.tv/?branding=false&html5&showInfo=false&channel=channelname
The official documentation can be found here but all parameters are not documented and HTML5 is not even mentioned. For example html5, branding and showInfo is not documented and their forum is not much help either.
Example:
Dethfanatics awesome StarCraft II stream
This show only the stream and nothing else, i.e no chat or other information.
Protip: You can use the Youtube HTML5 Video Player page to check if browser support HTML5 video player.

StarCraft II settings

Trying out some new settings after watching Jakatak's Settings Guide. So, to document my journey, I am archiving them here.

Graphics

Sound

Voice

Mouse and keyboard

Gameplay

Social

Observer and replay

Day 70, quick pickup/drop practice

Was checking out this new CSN Starcraft site after reading the introduction post on reddit starcraft and came across this Fast Pickup/ Drop Micro Tutorial.

So I spent some time practicing according to this simplified list:

Fast pick up

1. select the air unit
2. right-click the ground unit for pickup

Fast unload

1. Unload hotkey
2. left-click on the air unit to unload

Fast pick up and move away

1. move command to a location near unit to pick up
2. then shift-click the unit and move command away

Go ahead and watch the video to understand the details.

Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)

While watching a 24-hour stream by dethfanatic the problem with Repetitive Strain Injury came up on stream and in chat and the importance of  stretches was pointed out. This reddit post was linked with a lot of good stuff about this: A Public Service Announcement regarding Repetitive Strain Injury (RSI)


Take a couple of minutes to familiarize yourself with this, especially if this is an unknown issue for for you.