So, this is very similar to the first post I ever made on these forums (How many hours does it take to become “pro”)? I admitted in that first thread that it may have seemed like a silly question, and this one may be as well; although it’s certainly less so.
I have improved dramatically since I first got the game / joined these forums 2-3 weeks later. However, there are days where I simply have way too much to do.
But! I don’t want to take a step back in my skill level. It’s just a basic fact of life with any skill: You practice for a day and you gain a day’s worth of skill, you skip a day entirely and you lose two days worth of skill (of course it’s not exactly like that, but you get what I’m saying)
So, on these days that I’m super busy, what is the minimum amount of time I should practice in order to not take a step backwards? 15 minutes? 30 minutes? I don’t think it’s as long as an hour but…
I just want to know what you guys think.
Thanks =)
This question is all dependent on you. Some people can pick up a game and pretty much stay where they are. Some people need to play every day to not go backwards. I can tell you most of the top guys play for multiple hours every day to stay where they are or improve.
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As long as you’re not doing other things that are seriously janking with your muscle memory (a couple of weeks ago I nearly screwed up a Forzathon attempt by holding down the A button to nitro on the final stretch), if you manage to get any rust on this particular set of skills it should shake off pretty quickly.
As long as you understand the driving basics i.e. slow in fast out, apex, etc. It should never go away… just a few laps and you should be good. I’m not a leaderboard hunter even do I top leaderboards. But I usually can match my fastest laps times in past rivals… to check… just choose yourself as the ghost car.
You don’t learn much when you are tired. You are better off doing something else or playing any game casually to relax. If the goal is to learn, learn when you are mentally fresh. You’ll literally be a second or more faster.
Trust me, I’ve played too much Forza when fatigued and on track results can be quite terrible.
People always overestimate how much talent/skill you lose by not playing/racing/exercising.
Its not as much as you think.
Your experience will help you acquire a base level of skill that generally will stay there. All you lose is fine tuning and a little top end muscle memory. But this only matter when you are competing at the top level where those finer points matter.
If you are not competing with nothing at stake it is not worth worrying about.
Again, as was mentioned above some people barely need to practice as their natural hand eye coordination and reaction already put them at the top.
In other words if you dont play for 5 days you won’t lose 5 days of skill. Equally though, playing for 5 days doesn’t automatically gain you 5 days worth of skill. Fair enough if you are only just learning but as you are more skilled experienced it is the laws of diminishing returns.
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Yeah actually after reading the responses I thought about it.
I used to be a math tutor and I know that if I went and tried to do some harder integrals right now I wouldn’t know where to start; but I know it would come back to me quickly. Though, math isn’t a muscle memory thing.
Playing the guitar is though, and I played in the past when I was younger 10+ hours a day for over 5 years. I haven’t played in probably just as many years except for a few 10min sessions (though, I really should get back to playing, I enjoy it a lot), and I know that if I hadn’t played for another 10 years even, if I pick up that guitar 95% of the skill would be there not 5 minutes later. The other 5% would take me about a month, same as what someone is saying here with the whole “fine tuning thing”
Although, I would know 1% of the songs I used to know. Which is not “muscle memory”, just like mathematics. I would have to relearn them just as if I were to relearn Calculus. It would come back faster than if I had never done it or known it though.
That said, Forza is probably like playing the guitar in that aspect; as opposed to knowing some math.
I usually get better after taking a break i just got off a 2 month break and im 4-5 seconds quicker depending on the track im 2 seconds shy of getting under 4 mins on le mans in a gt car
If you’re asking so many questions instead of playing the game, you probably don’t fancy putting in the necessary hard work in order to reach your goal. Speaking from experience!
As for skill degradation, videogames are like riding a bicycle: the only thing that will degrade your skills will be age and/or some sort of disability. Let’s take Kimi Räikkönen for example - he spent two years as far away from an F1 car as he could and, when he came back, he finished 3rd in the final standings. He did drive WRC cars and NASCAR trucks but those are so far detached from an F1 car that you could say he wasn’t exactly practicing during his sabbatical, especially as he was unsure if he’d ever come back to F1.
I haven’t played games like Super Mario 64 in years, probably more than a decade, but, if I fire up my N64 today and play the game, I can easily do a 120-star run. Sure, this game is not difficult, but playing through it is a skill I’ve acquired for life.
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One question is not"so many questions",lighten up Francis!!!
I have been with the Forza series for 11 years now. I’m at the point where, even if I switch to arcade titles like NFS or The Crew for any period of time, I can immediately return to a Forza game and not lose much, if any, skill. My free time has also diminished in those 11 years, but even at 0-2 hours a day (sometimes I go a week without playing any racing games) my skill level stays intact.
As others have stated, it all depends on how well/quickly you can adapt to a game. Personally I believe experience plays a big role in holding onto skill levels.