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Mario Kart >> Mario Kart Double Dash >> Returning Adventures and Advice
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Message started by Jake Sopcak on 03/07/16 at 08:37:27

Title: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Jake Sopcak on 03/07/16 at 08:37:27

For all 2 of you that remember me, my name is Jake Sopcak, a top 2 USA karter from about 10 years ago. Now top 7 or something, damn youngins stealing my rankings. Anyway, about a year ago now, I put the game in for the first time in 9 years to see how I'd do, and here is a brief story along with some videos of my adventures.

To start, I'll share some prior background. I picked up this game way back when because of Bo Garman, he's a close friend of mine. I started at a time when many strats were already pretty good, and right around the time my driving got good enough to be a top USA karter, A-tech was invented and that helped slash my AF that much more. I climbed pretty quick. Eventually I got a 60 hz WR and had 16 of the 32 country records. Because of these achievements, the fact that PR'ing was becoming super annoying, and because my R-finger was falling apart, I finally retired.

9 years later I decided to play with no specific goals in mind. Realistically I was just going to play for like an hour the first time I put in the game again. Everything was hilariously hard. My first effort at most courses I was getting like... Advance-C times at best, as a former Myth D driver. However, it was oddly fun compared to the end of my career in 2006. What I decided to do was boot up the Player's Page, bring up the Standards, and try to actually get Advanced-C times on all courses/laps... thats how bad I was, it was a goal/challenge.

That concept gave birth to a series of fun similar challenges. From there I went Hero C on all courses, then after that I pulled up each course and found the "current" AF for each course and tried to rank to a certain number. First was 150, then 100, then finally 75 (meaning I would get a time that would be currently top 75 in world if I was a new player). This is a technique I strongly advise to do if anyone is an old karter like myself that feels like having some fun in the game again. I also kept track of my best splits, best lap, and best 3lap, as I went along. It was seriously a really great time, and that's something I would not have said in the last year or so of my actual career outside of the occasional national record or whatnot which was few and far between.

I stopped about a year ago going for Top 60 times (I got 6 or them or something). The sole reason I stopped was finger pain. The super annoying "resistance + click" of gamecube controllers just shreds my index fingers... both MKDD and Super Smash Bros Melee / PM have destroyed my fingers because of how often you have to press L or R. It's a shame because I was still having a lot of fun with it, and I even started learning to R with my middle and ring fingers, but then they hurt just the same. So after about 3 months, my new MKDD adventure was over. Nevertheless I thought I'd share my story and more importantly my advice to any potential returning karters... starting a brand new memory card and going course by course to achieve small goals one step at a time is a LOT of fun, no matter how good/bad you are.

Lastly, I actually got some streaming equipment and have videos of all 32 races. What's funny is regardless of how awful my driving skills were, I managed to PR a few times on the "weird" courses that in the past I hated (still kinda do) because they are less above driving and more about weird bumps or boosts or R teching. Some of my favorite videos I will post below, the rest are on my twitch account if someone gets REALLY bored.

Anyway, cheers to all, and if one single person reads this and tries what I did and enjoys it, or watches one of the vids and gets a laugh, this will have been worth it.

YC Flap: Great ghost race, shows just how much time can be made up and how bad I am.
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/44594181

BC 3Lap: I just can't believe how bad this race is yet was top 75.
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/44573693

PB Flap: This might have been a semi-respectable time had I not skipped the last MT. My surprised face at the end is pretty comical.
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/40703049

RR 3Lap: Long and boring but this was a PR (like, career PR) by .4
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/40640707

WS 3Lap: I got a new split on all 3 laps and beat my previous 2015 time by over a second (Bo in background)
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/40751215

DK Flap: Would have been a career PR without missed MT at end
http://www.twitch.tv/mistyicedrops/v/40680389

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by TonyD on 03/07/16 at 09:29:39

Really enjoyed to read this, thanks for sharing!

cheers

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Chris on 03/07/16 at 10:16:04

Great read :).

I started last year in December for a while with a new memory card, but other karts came across and I quickly... dropped it again :D

But may I ask if you have any problems with your finger? As this seems kinda unusual to me to get such a pain just from pressing the buttons.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Jake Sopcak on 03/07/16 at 10:34:20

1B302A312B580 wrote:

But may I ask if you have any problems with your finger? As this seems kinda unusual to me to get such a pain just from pressing the buttons.

Thanks for reading.

No definitive "problems." But it only really happens with Gamecube controllers and ever so slightly with Xbox triggers... just those kinds of "resistance" buttons. I don't have nearly as bad of an issue with like, the Z or R buttons on an N64 controller when I play Smash 64 for instance. Gamecube is just the worst because not only does it "resist" like a trigger, but then there's even a final "click" that's necessary for even more pressure. And with MKDD you are holding, releasing then holding, like 98% of every race.

If I was to guess, it's a combination of having long fingers (I have big hands?), having poor circulation which makes my hands cold often, and just wear and tear from being a gamer and have a desk/computer job for a living. I'm only 29 so I wish it wasn't the case but I'm not sure if getting it checked out like at a doctor or something would do anything to help. I do know of some other heavier gamers with slightly similar issues.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by TheFrigz on 03/07/16 at 19:13:05

Very cool to read this! [smiley=beer.gif]

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by @ndrew on 03/07/16 at 22:11:01

nice. [smiley=thumbsup.gif]

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Chris on 03/08/16 at 03:12:25

I think you just have a bad circulation. What you can try before playing is to do circle your arms to pump some blood into your hands, and maybe do some warm up for your fingers. It's small things, but if it helps for playing, it's definitely not only the long fingers (I have huge hands myself, but never experienced something like this).

Would be pretty cool to see you trying it once again :)

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Gav on 03/08/16 at 05:37:55

I do have larger than average hands but I was wondering if it is an age thing. I'm probably older than most MKDD players (I was a fully grown adult when it was released) and I do struggle after playing for long periods of time on consecutive days. My index fingers proper ache afterwards.

Why couldn't have Nintendo made the drift button Y or Z or let you configure them yourself like in F-Zero GX? [smiley=chairshot.gif]

Thanks for the story and I'm glad you've come back though Jake I'll try and catch your streams! [smiley=lurk.gif]

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Jake Sopcak on 03/08/16 at 06:06:24

6D6B7C676F0A0 wrote:

Yeah I don't know, it certainly hurt a little back when I was in my prime like 17 - 19 y/o, but its far worse now at 29.

It's possible even if they allowed it to be the Z button that I'd be ok, but its hard to say.

I appreciate your support but just so you know it's pretty unlikely that I'll be streaming MKDD anytime soon. To some degree I think it's in my best interest to stay re-retired to somewhat limit my already doomed super arthritis future haha. And the problem is, it was so fun to do this way, I'm worried it will be hard to stop and then it's a game of fun vs. pain.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Gav on 03/08/16 at 06:13:52

I wonder if it possible to rewire the GC controller to allow the Z button to be used as drift?

I know a lot of the SMK and MKSC guys mod their controllers so I wouldn't have thought it would be against PP rules.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Chris on 03/08/16 at 07:03:51

^Well, the mod for SNES Pads and Game Boy Advance (SP) is just filing down a bit of the bump on the back of the d-pad. It's kind of a soft mod, but rewiring would be problematic. In MKWii they had cases were they used rapidfire controllers to get luck wheelies (as you have to press at an exact frame to not lose speed inbetween 2 wheelies) and also remodeled the Buttons, which caused a ban for those players...

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Gav on 03/08/16 at 07:14:27

614A504B51220 wrote:

remodeled the Buttons, which caused a ban for those players...

Fair enough, rewiring even if possible is probably taking it a bit far. I know what Jake means about having to get past the analogue trigger before the click though.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Aglar on 03/08/16 at 09:42:37

Learn to love RR. The course that's the easiest on your hands [smiley=thumbsup.gif] :D

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Bo Garman on 03/08/16 at 11:21:00

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1NJqU7KPCk2gCh8XMZ9g8OnG2q7PdRo3UU6g2ZavWvfw/edit?usp=sharing

It's our google spreadsheet. It's pretty interesting.

My best run in 2015 was this: http://www.twitch.tv/toadturtle3/v/40713860

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by IsThatAGoodTime on 06/20/16 at 11:56:32

6C474D437549561E1E260 wrote:

Gamecube is just the worst because not only does it "resist" like a trigger, but then there's even a final "click" that's necessary for even more pressure.

Back in 2006 I felt the same way, so I made a modified controller.

First post here: http://www.mariokart64.com/cgi-bin/yabb2/YaBB.pl?num=1167418084

tldr version -- Cut off a cm or so of a plastic pen or similar tube, put it inside the R button so it just clicks like a regular button, no more spring action. Your controller will not be useful in some other games anymore (any game that cares how far you are pushing the R button), but should help with your finger issue in MKDD.

I later broke that controller so I haven't been driving like that for some time.

Hope this helps.

Title: Re: Returning Adventures and Advice
Post by Jake Sopcak on 06/20/16 at 20:22:22

Yeah that's pretty cool if it helps. I definitely considered it, I think you can take it all the way down to not even having a click at all, just need to apply a bit of pressure, but I feel like if I did that and I got some new actual PRs it could be grounds for "illegal controller mod" so while I could probably use it to get back into PR range, I'd need a real one to not be cheating for actual new times.

I appreciate the advice and the real world experience though! In addition I have actually since gone to the chiropractor and he does some things with my wrists and elbow as well as my actual spine obviously and supposedly it could eventually help, we'll see how it goes. At the very least he seemed to suggest that the pain doesnt necessarily mean that something is breaking or getting worse, so its just an inconvenience of sorts. A bit hard to believe but I'm not the doctor.