Hitting a skill plateau

I've only ever been decent at shooters, if that, but with practice I've generally been able to inch my way forward in skill, a bit at a time. Lately though, in the game I play at during break (Strikers 45 II) I've hit a plateau and can't seem to advance any farther.

Die once during level 1 boss due to not paying attention? Check.

Die once at a random place dues to indecision? Check.

Die once/twice due to putting myself in a spot that wasn't quite as safe as I thought it was? Check.

Die once/twice due to overlooked bullet? Check.

Die due to tripping on a bullet? Check.

I don't do every death on every game, but often enough that the same old patterns are getting annoying. Worse, my score seems to stick at 435,000 no matter how I play. Knowing what the problems are isn't the same as solving them, and the practice practice practice method doesn't seem to be turning up much in the way of results. Any advice?

Though this gripe is specific to Strikers 45, I've had this happen to me on one shooter after another. Get to certain skill level, stagnate.

James

Psikyo shooters are somewhat more difficult to become consistent with thanks to the randomly selected levels. It'll take you awhile to adjust to all the variations, but there's really no getting around it.

In either case, you need to make your way over to the Ranking Thread.

Once you play enough to know what the bosses will do based on what level you visit them at you will have a better time at it. Things change dramatically based on how well you're doing and what level you're on.

And I think a good sign that you're about to jump is when you've been stuck with the same score for a while. (as long as you're still practicing.)

It all just boils down to practice; I certainly feel like I lag behind past progress at times in the games I'm playing but if I just keep the game in my mindset and keep playing daily, suddenly I do just that little bit better to make a difference.

Also I think this is a good place to ask something I've been thinking about for a while:

How are platform games considered such a mandatory staple by so many people today?

It seems to me that the majority of these games today have a certain level that you can progress to, and then progress hits a brick wall. How do you play Super Mario 64 "better" than having 120? Maximo better than 100% (or whatever the max is)? What happened to score-based platformers?

Is it OK if I move this thread over to the other board?

I'll leave a placeholder...

Um, which other board?

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Originally posted by dog$
How are platform games considered such a mandatory staple by so many people today?

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Because people enjoy them.

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It seems to me that the majority of these games today have a certain level that you can progress to, and then progress hits a brick wall. How do you play Super Mario 64 "better" than having 120?

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Same can be said of lots of games, like RPGs. They offer about 50-100 hours and that's it.

Some offer time attack modes, however, like Ape Escape or Crash Bandicoot 3, which is somewhat of a substitute for score.

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What happened to score-based platformers?

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Like Donkey Kong and Bubble Bobble? That was quite a long time ago.

Problem with lack of online time- any threads I start I don't get to tend to.

Sad thing is, I have played enough to know what the bosses do and when they'll do it, that's the frustrating thing. I know what type of fire is coming and roughly where it's coming from, and I've got the first 4 levels almost completely memorized in all their various formats. It's a skill plateau I've hit, not a lack of game experience.

The other problem is it always seems to happen with shooters that I get to a certain ability in them and then stop. I may earn extra continues, as in Radiant Silvergun, and be able to beat the game that way, but it's hardly the same thing as learning to play better.

Note on playing better- I'm not really a score junkie, I play for distance. My game the other day with a 425,000 score in which I finally hit level 5 in Strikers I consider a greater success than today's finally breaking the 445,000 point barrier. All I did was get a bit more attentive at gold bar collecting, I didn't actually dodge bullets better. (On a side note, my arcade has Strikers set to 5 lives. Most of you probably play it on 3 lives, so knock 2/5 off for comparison purposes)

Anyway, it's about the only game the arcade has that I really like right now, so I'll keep on practicing.

James

I cant beat my old high score because of the randomly picked levels=(