So I'm playing on Xbox 360 and I'm currently ranked around 26th. So that might be somewhere in the top 100 overall if we talk about all systems (not sure of the breakout between each platform). The problem is, I feel like I'm stuck. I feel like for my last 100-200 hours of gameplay (EVO & even HD), that I haven't actually improved at all. I just keep playing using the same skill level to squeeze out every millisecond that I'm capable of and then I can't do anymore. On nearly every single track in this game I'm anywhere from 13 to 50. But I just can't break the top 10, or even top 5 on a single course. I feel like I should be able to do that at least some of the time with where I'm currently at. I've played some courses for 2-4 hours straight and might still only end up with a top 30 time, and that's frustrating because I feel like I should be able to do better than that.
So, top players of the forums, how do you generally play? Do you have any tips for someone like me who is trying to get to the next level? I'm not really looking for tips like 'well if you lean this way on this ramp it'll do this....' but more like how do you normally play? How long will you spend on a certain course? If you aren't making progress after a certain amount of time will you just stop and try a different course? When playing a track do you normally only continue if you have nailed the first obstacle or two, and immediately restart when you mess up? Or will you often play through the entire course just so you can get more familiar with it, even though you know you won't beat your current time on that run?
Those are the kinds of questions that I'm curious about. But any sort of feedback for someone in my position would be appreciated! I'm not looking to become the top player in the world, but at least a contender for some world records on a few courses.
EDIT: Thought of more questions. How often do you watch top runs? Do you watch them repeatedly? Or maybe watch the entire top 5 so you can see different ways to attack obstacles? Do you watch them before you start playing the course? Or in the middle of playing?
EDIT 2: Of course I get 8th on Marina Mania right after posting this...but still looking for some info on the above questions. Maybe I should make threads like this more often...


