Quoted from Gentax:Hi ABE flips! Just FYI I've been playing daily for 4 months but actually I've been playing pinball semi regularly for 10 years. I've actually been watching a lot of your videos and they've helped me a lot with my accuracy. I guess for me the hardest part is "self reflection"
Like I lose control over a shot and my take away is "don't loose control" I shoot the ball, it misses, goes wild on the slings then drains then my take away is "don't loose control"
I'm doing a lot of the tips, drop catching to reduce ball speed, treating everything on the surface as a flipper, nudging objects INTO the ball to reduce its speed, proactively nudging to shave of speed, cradle when I can, shoot on the fly if the ball rolls to fast.
The major difference is that I have no idea if I'm doing things correctly (especially nudging).
Take for example shooting. It's easy for me to build the habits and timing as I know when I hit the shot or not, success is on a binary and there is a very specific outcome (make the shot or miss)
However with stuff like proactive nudging I have no idea if I'm doing it right. Correct nudging at the right time, incorrect nudging at the right time, correct nudging at the wrong time and incorrect nudging at the wrong time can yield the same outcome (the ball doesn't drain). I can do everything right but drain because the ball in unsavable or make every single nudge mistake in the world but because the ball was really safe I'm ok. You can see how it's really hard for me to gauge my progress/build habits like this.
I know I'm doing all the techniques in your stream but I'm doing them poorly but I have no idea if I'm doing them correctly or not to help correct myself
Even without "nudging" you should get past two modes. When it comes to nudging start with live savers like the "nudge pass" for SDTM drains- explained in the latest video or slap saves. Its important to get back in control after missing a shot, since you will always miss shots. Missed shots are getting punished, but at most times you will get the ball back.
Don`t overthink the nudging part. You should recognize similar drains over the years and thats when your nudging comes into play. For example you know if the ball is going to touch the top/outer part of the sling post there is a high chance of an outlane drain, so now you have the chance to alter the balls debounce... try and look what works. If you keep remembering yourself of those potential drain situations you can do something. Thats what makes nudging so difficult- it highly relates to your experience.
Again, if you watch live streams or other players, compare your playstyle and ask yourself if you would have made certain things different at any time watching. This way you will notice if something could be improved. I can tell in most situations when I watch others play if I would have used different skills and why. If i do not see any advantage in the others playstyle there is no reason for me to change mine.
Dont forget to hunt the extra balls!
