Post #61 · Posted at 2017-04-22 04:58:30am 7 years ago
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Quote: lymera
Someone mentioned a while back in this thread that having Goods continue the combo somewhat helps with accessibility. While I initially did not like it, I ended up appreciating it because I'm sure that helped me beat Knight of Nights in Expert mode. Somehow I doubt I'll be able to full-combo it in the near future - but that's fine since DDR is more of a hobby than anything else.
Yes, that was me. It makes a huge difference if you're playing on LIFE4, such as an EXTRA STAGE. I've also noticed a visual difference in that the arrows disappear into the target zone as opposed to fading to black, and it's often much less distracting this way since you won't find yourself chasing after said arrow if the arrow didn't disappear like that.Quote: lymera
I've mentioned stuff that I like and/or appreciate, so now it's time to talk about one thing I really don't like that comes to mind: the paywall for certain songs. Even though I went through the trouble to unlock them and all that, I still find it annoying that I need to pay double credit to play Far East Nightbird or Sterling Silver, and I've taken to playing ONLY those unlocked songs when I bother with double credit play. I honestly don't see the point in forcing players to pay extra to play exclusive songs. I can understand the Extra Exclusive songs that you don't unlock until a certain time period has passed (I noticed Astrogazer was selectable as the final song in regular mode one day), but for songs that you managed to pass the first time around? Come on.
Unlike in North America, I realize that, in Asia, a pricing difference exists between Normal and Premium Play. I would prefer they do away with that too, but maybe it was more of an incentive to get people to buy the passes so they can play on that mode.Quote: lymera
In conclusion, I could make an analogy with relationships. The DDR mixes I played up to Extreme make up the first love you had - sometimes rough around the edges, but you had a great time together and you really liked/loved him or her. DDR A is your current SO - he/she's an absolute joy to be around, is smart and all those positive qualities you seek in a real SO, but just like you don't forget your first love, you don't really forget the fun and songs from the early mixes.
That's quite interesting...Quote: paperpeach
I feel like the early DDR series was heavily tied to two things: Naoki and Dancemania. Pretty much every song pre-Extreme that wasn't a IIDX crossover was a license, composed by Naoki, or a remix by 2MB of a Naoki song. So, I'd say the game's initial footing was based around Naoki and his composition style, which is a lot of rave, J-pop, and R&B type stuff (nothing really out of place for the late 90's into the early 2000s).
That four year hiatus between Extreme and SuperNova naturally allowed some room for change. There had been quite a few console titles since the release of Extreme (the first few Ultramix games, Extreme 2 in the west, Festival and Strike and Party Collection in Japan), and the new arcade game seemed to take a page from their book with a bunch of console crossovers. Artists like Noisycroak and Sho-T, who had previously only made songs for console games, started appearing in arcades for the first time. I feel like jun becoming sound director had something to do with this shift. SuperNova 2 continued the expansion, with Bemani artists like Tatsh and wac composing DDR music for the first time. By that point, I would argue that DDR had transformed in a way--with all this new music being made as well as crossovers from pop'n and GFDM, the direction of the series had shifted away from what the "classic" series was known for.
I wanted to briefly mention here that the shutdown of In The Groove may have contributed to the general difficulty trend growing steeper with the SuperNovas that eventually broke the rating scale; ITG was made by Westerners who felt like DDR wasn't giving them enough of a challenge, and perhaps Konami listened to them. That's probably where the idea for Shock Arrows came from, anyway.
X was directed by Stillwind Borenstein, who was heavily involved with the Ultramix games, and I'm pretty sure he's responsible to the "urban" flair that X was known for. After he unfortunately passed away, relative newcomer TAG took up the reigns as sound director, and the games from X2 to 2014 were shaped by his influence. I would describe his music style as "shiny techtrance," and the inclusion of artists like Ryu☆ and kors k could be a result of this due to their similarities in composition and tone. DDR A was the first game with U1 as head sound director, and he seems to be very big on modern EDM, as that's where the series is currently headed. (I'm not a huge fan of this design choice, as a lot of the songs sound way too similar and I appreciated the variety of games like X3, but I'd rather not complain too much here.)
tl;dr DDR has evolved as the sound staff has changed hands, and as artists with different styles have been in charge of selecting the music for each game, so too has the game itself changed its style
All of this, plus even the stepcharts have a different feel to them at times between mix to mix. A lot of the more modern charts increasingly used footswitches, whereas prior to X, they were rare if not mostly unintentional. Maybe this is part of what adds to variety in a sense.That four year hiatus between Extreme and SuperNova naturally allowed some room for change. There had been quite a few console titles since the release of Extreme (the first few Ultramix games, Extreme 2 in the west, Festival and Strike and Party Collection in Japan), and the new arcade game seemed to take a page from their book with a bunch of console crossovers. Artists like Noisycroak and Sho-T, who had previously only made songs for console games, started appearing in arcades for the first time. I feel like jun becoming sound director had something to do with this shift. SuperNova 2 continued the expansion, with Bemani artists like Tatsh and wac composing DDR music for the first time. By that point, I would argue that DDR had transformed in a way--with all this new music being made as well as crossovers from pop'n and GFDM, the direction of the series had shifted away from what the "classic" series was known for.
I wanted to briefly mention here that the shutdown of In The Groove may have contributed to the general difficulty trend growing steeper with the SuperNovas that eventually broke the rating scale; ITG was made by Westerners who felt like DDR wasn't giving them enough of a challenge, and perhaps Konami listened to them. That's probably where the idea for Shock Arrows came from, anyway.
X was directed by Stillwind Borenstein, who was heavily involved with the Ultramix games, and I'm pretty sure he's responsible to the "urban" flair that X was known for. After he unfortunately passed away, relative newcomer TAG took up the reigns as sound director, and the games from X2 to 2014 were shaped by his influence. I would describe his music style as "shiny techtrance," and the inclusion of artists like Ryu☆ and kors k could be a result of this due to their similarities in composition and tone. DDR A was the first game with U1 as head sound director, and he seems to be very big on modern EDM, as that's where the series is currently headed. (I'm not a huge fan of this design choice, as a lot of the songs sound way too similar and I appreciated the variety of games like X3, but I'd rather not complain too much here.)
tl;dr DDR has evolved as the sound staff has changed hands, and as artists with different styles have been in charge of selecting the music for each game, so too has the game itself changed its style
Post #62 · Posted at 2017-04-22 07:40:01am 7 years ago
Quote: paperpeach
I feel like the early DDR series was heavily tied to two things: Naoki and Dancemania. Pretty much every song pre-Extreme that wasn't a IIDX crossover was a license, composed by Naoki, or a remix by 2MB of a Naoki song. So, I'd say the game's initial footing was based around Naoki and his composition style, which is a lot of rave, J-pop, and R&B type stuff (nothing really out of place for the late 90's into the early 2000s).
That four year hiatus between Extreme and SuperNova naturally allowed some room for change. There had been quite a few console titles since the release of Extreme (the first few Ultramix games, Extreme 2 in the west, Festival and Strike and Party Collection in Japan), and the new arcade game seemed to take a page from their book with a bunch of console crossovers. Artists like Noisycroak and Sho-T, who had previously only made songs for console games, started appearing in arcades for the first time. I feel like jun becoming sound director had something to do with this shift. SuperNova 2 continued the expansion, with Bemani artists like Tatsh and wac composing DDR music for the first time. By that point, I would argue that DDR had transformed in a way--with all this new music being made as well as crossovers from pop'n and GFDM, the direction of the series had shifted away from what the "classic" series was known for.
I wanted to briefly mention here that the shutdown of In The Groove may have contributed to the general difficulty trend growing steeper with the SuperNovas that eventually broke the rating scale; ITG was made by Westerners who felt like DDR wasn't giving them enough of a challenge, and perhaps Konami listened to them. That's probably where the idea for Shock Arrows came from, anyway.
X was directed by Stillwind Borenstein, who was heavily involved with the Ultramix games, and I'm pretty sure he's responsible to the "urban" flair that X was known for. After he unfortunately passed away, relative newcomer TAG took up the reigns as sound director, and the games from X2 to 2014 were shaped by his influence. I would describe his music style as "shiny techtrance," and the inclusion of artists like Ryu☆ and kors k could be a result of this due to their similarities in composition and tone. DDR A was the first game with U1 as head sound director, and he seems to be very big on modern EDM, as that's where the series is currently headed. (I'm not a huge fan of this design choice, as a lot of the songs sound way too similar and I appreciated the variety of games like X3, but I'd rather not complain too much here.)
tl;dr DDR has evolved as the sound staff has changed hands, and as artists with different styles have been in charge of selecting the music for each game, so too has the game itself changed its style
That four year hiatus between Extreme and SuperNova naturally allowed some room for change. There had been quite a few console titles since the release of Extreme (the first few Ultramix games, Extreme 2 in the west, Festival and Strike and Party Collection in Japan), and the new arcade game seemed to take a page from their book with a bunch of console crossovers. Artists like Noisycroak and Sho-T, who had previously only made songs for console games, started appearing in arcades for the first time. I feel like jun becoming sound director had something to do with this shift. SuperNova 2 continued the expansion, with Bemani artists like Tatsh and wac composing DDR music for the first time. By that point, I would argue that DDR had transformed in a way--with all this new music being made as well as crossovers from pop'n and GFDM, the direction of the series had shifted away from what the "classic" series was known for.
I wanted to briefly mention here that the shutdown of In The Groove may have contributed to the general difficulty trend growing steeper with the SuperNovas that eventually broke the rating scale; ITG was made by Westerners who felt like DDR wasn't giving them enough of a challenge, and perhaps Konami listened to them. That's probably where the idea for Shock Arrows came from, anyway.
X was directed by Stillwind Borenstein, who was heavily involved with the Ultramix games, and I'm pretty sure he's responsible to the "urban" flair that X was known for. After he unfortunately passed away, relative newcomer TAG took up the reigns as sound director, and the games from X2 to 2014 were shaped by his influence. I would describe his music style as "shiny techtrance," and the inclusion of artists like Ryu☆ and kors k could be a result of this due to their similarities in composition and tone. DDR A was the first game with U1 as head sound director, and he seems to be very big on modern EDM, as that's where the series is currently headed. (I'm not a huge fan of this design choice, as a lot of the songs sound way too similar and I appreciated the variety of games like X3, but I'd rather not complain too much here.)
tl;dr DDR has evolved as the sound staff has changed hands, and as artists with different styles have been in charge of selecting the music for each game, so too has the game itself changed its style
That's a very interesting write-up. DDR more or less went off the radar in Korea after Pump It Up made its debut, and also after most arcades started shutting down, so I never followed what happened between Extreme and A, hence the initial shock.
You also make a good point about the "shiny techtrance" comment and the shift from Naoki's preferred genres. I get the feeling that the music by the likes of Ryu and kors k is as prominently featured as Naoki's music from the Extreme and pre-Extreme days. Also, something else that I noticed that seemed to be a relatively recent phenomenon (recent as in I would guess since the beginning of this decade) is that Ryu, kors k, and some other artists tied to Bemani have more prominent solo projects - what with all the standalone albums out there filled with their works. It's as if DDR music is actually "treated" like music now, rather than a means to an end, and the artists are more willing to branch out.
Quote: NewbStepper
Yes, that was me. It makes a huge difference if you're playing on LIFE4, such as an EXTRA STAGE. I've also noticed a visual difference in that the arrows disappear into the target zone as opposed to fading to black, and it's often much less distracting this way since you won't find yourself chasing after said arrow if the arrow didn't disappear like that.
I never noticed that. The next time I go and play, I'll be sure to check that out.
Quote: NewbStepper
Unlike in North America, I realize that, in Asia, a pricing difference exists between Normal and Premium Play. I would prefer they do away with that too, but maybe it was more of an incentive to get people to buy the passes so they can play on that mode.
So NA players get to play any of the unlocked songs on a single credit? Man, I'm jealous.
Quote: NewbStepper
That's quite interesting...
Of course, this is assuming your first love was not a raging lunatic. I'm talking more ideally here. You might not talk a lot about your first love, but that person did play a role in your life.
Quote: NewbStepper
All of this, plus even the stepcharts have a different feel to them at times between mix to mix. A lot of the more modern charts increasingly used footswitches, whereas prior to X, they were rare if not mostly unintentional. Maybe this is part of what adds to variety in a sense.
What are these footswitches you mention?
Post #63 · Posted at 2017-04-23 10:31:04pm 7 years ago
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Quote: lymera
What are these footswitches you mention?
A footswitch is basically any pattern that has you hitting the same arrow by switching which foot hits the panel. (Hence the name "footswitch")And example would be if you had to hit say the up arrow with first your right foot, then your left to put your feet in a good position to hit the other arrows. (An example pattern I can think of is a < ^ gallop followed by a ^ > gallop. You'd hit the left arrow with your left foot, then the up with your right. And then to hit the next gallop you hit up with your left foot and the right arrow with your right foot)
There's probably a better example than what I came up with, but I feel that probably gives a good general idea of what I'm talking about.
Post #64 · Posted at 2017-04-23 11:37:14pm 7 years ago
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Last updated: 2017-04-23 11:38pm
Quote: lymera
Quote: NewbStepper
Unlike in North America, I realize that, in Asia, a pricing difference exists between Normal and Premium Play. I would prefer they do away with that too, but maybe it was more of an incentive to get people to buy the passes so they can play on that mode.
So NA players get to play any of the unlocked songs on a single credit? Man, I'm jealous.
I can see why the half pricing on Normal Play would incentivize you against Premium, though.
Quote: playe
Quote: lymera
What are these footswitches you mention?
A footswitch is basically any pattern that has you hitting the same arrow by switching which foot hits the panel. (Hence the name "footswitch")And example would be if you had to hit say the up arrow with first your right foot, then your left to put your feet in a good position to hit the other arrows. (An example pattern I can think of is a < ^ gallop followed by a ^ > gallop. You'd hit the left arrow with your left foot, then the up with your right. And then to hit the next gallop you hit up with your left foot and the right arrow with your right foot)
There's probably a better example than what I came up with, but I feel that probably gives a good general idea of what I'm talking about.
on either mode and switch one foot after another on two consecutive arrows, it makes it smoother.Post #65 · Posted at 2017-04-23 11:53:01pm 7 years ago
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I don't notice that many footswitches, sometimes I think they're actually supposed to be gallop crossovers. (Electric Dance System Music, I'm looking at you.) But even as a new player, I believe I've played enough to notice a bit of a gap between modern and classic (up to Extreme) DDR. The most drastic change I've noticed is the rise of what I call "crossover holds", where you put your foot on one of the middle pads, then switch between the sides (and other middle pad if needed) so that it acts like you're doing a planted crossover. Is there a technical term that everyone uses for this? Some of the other changes are kinda subtle, such as the prevalence of 3 8th note streams with an 8th note rest in between them (pre-MAX), and longish streams usually with a crossover or two in the middle (MAX to Extreme). Nowadays, charts seem to be a bit more complex, both in patterns and timing. For the most part, they've gotten better, but I miss the old gallop-heavy charts like IN THE NAVY '99 (XXL Disaster Remix) and Matsuri JAPAN. And I've only been playing for about a year...
I guess over the BEMANI series, the music choice has reflected the general taste of the listener population. Back in early DDR and Beatmania/IIDX, there were lots of house, R&B and hip-hop songs. During the time DDR was on hiatus, IIDX got a lot of trance techno, which I personally remember being big around the early-mid 2000s. Once SuperNOVA came out, we got a lot more pop songs in DDR and J-Pop songs in IIDX, and with DDR finally being localized, we got the most American song lists during this period, peaking at X2. The "shiny techtrance" was not limited to DDR- I remember the Tricoro soundtrack, the first BEMANI soundtrack I purchased and the soundtrack that got me into IIDX, had tons of upbeat, shiny songs. This would be about X2/2013 era, so it's stuck around for quite a while. Today, we're in a new generation of EDM, reflected by the sudden shift between 2014-A and SPADA-PENDUAL. Finding an old BEMANI cab is like discovering a time capsule to an older time period, both in songs and aesthetic. (I didn't mention Pop'n because I've never actually taken a close listen to the songs, and Jubeat, Reflec Beat and Sound Voltex are too new/haven't really changed their style much to reflect musical tastes as far as I can tell)
...I must be obsessed. I'm trying to analyze a series I haven't been into for a year. Personally, I'm mostly in this series for the music (since I can't play the games for "unfortunate reasons"), but I'm still an avid fan of the games (for someone who can't play them). Hopefully, with the success of DDR A and America's success at the KAC, we might finally get to experience the musical joy that Asia gets to have. I believe more people should play rhythm games.
charts seem to be a bit more complex, both in patterns and timing. For the most part, they've gotten better, but I miss the old gallop-heavy charts like IN THE NAVY '99 (XXL Disaster Remix) and Matsuri JAPAN. And I've only been playing for about a year...I guess over the BEMANI series, the music choice has reflected the general taste of the listener population. Back in early DDR and Beatmania/IIDX, there were lots of house, R&B and hip-hop songs. During the time DDR was on hiatus, IIDX got a lot of trance techno, which I personally remember being big around the early-mid 2000s. Once SuperNOVA came out, we got a lot more pop songs in DDR and J-Pop songs in IIDX, and with DDR finally being localized, we got the most American song lists during this period, peaking at X2. The "shiny techtrance" was not limited to DDR- I remember the Tricoro soundtrack, the first BEMANI soundtrack I purchased and the soundtrack that got me into IIDX, had tons of upbeat, shiny songs. This would be about X2/2013 era, so it's stuck around for quite a while. Today, we're in a new generation of EDM, reflected by the sudden shift between 2014-A and SPADA-PENDUAL. Finding an old BEMANI cab is like discovering a time capsule to an older time period, both in songs and aesthetic. (I didn't mention Pop'n because I've never actually taken a close listen to the songs, and Jubeat, Reflec Beat and Sound Voltex are too new/haven't really changed their style much to reflect musical tastes as far as I can tell)
...I must be obsessed. I'm trying to analyze a series I haven't been into for a year. Personally, I'm mostly in this series for the music (since I can't play the games for "unfortunate reasons"), but I'm still an avid fan of the games (for someone who can't play them). Hopefully, with the success of DDR A and America's success at the KAC, we might finally get to experience the musical joy that Asia gets to have. I believe more people should play rhythm games.
Post #66 · Posted at 2017-04-23 11:59:36pm 7 years ago
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Quote: rapidemboar
I don't notice that many footswitches, sometimes I think they're actually supposed to be gallop crossovers. (Electric Dance System Music, I'm looking at you.) But even as a new player, I believe I've played enough to notice a bit of a gap between modern and classic (up to Extreme) DDR. The most drastic change I've noticed is the rise of what I call "crossover holds", where you put your foot on one of the middle pads, then switch between the sides (and other middle pad if needed) so that it acts like you're doing a planted crossover. Is there a technical term that everyone uses for this?
They're also commonly called crossovers, although I can see why you'd call it that!Quote: rapidemboar
Some of the other changes are kinda subtle, such as the prevalence of 3 8th note streams with an 8th note rest in between them (pre-MAX), and longish streams usually with a crossover or two in the middle (MAX to Extreme). Nowadays, charts seem to be a bit more complex, both in patterns and timing. For the most part, they've gotten better, but I miss the old gallop-heavy charts like IN THE NAVY '99 (XXL Disaster Remix) and Matsuri JAPAN. And I've only been playing for about a year...
Long, fast, streams of 8th notes with crossovers in them were commonplace even as early as 3rdMIX. The nostalgia factor is there for a lot of songs, but they still use every pattern that existed back then today. There's lots of modern gallop-heavy charts, you just need to look for them. charts seem to be a bit more complex, both in patterns and timing. For the most part, they've gotten better, but I miss the old gallop-heavy charts like IN THE NAVY '99 (XXL Disaster Remix) and Matsuri JAPAN. And I've only been playing for about a year...Post #67 · Posted at 2017-04-24 12:20:39am 7 years ago
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Quote: NewbStepper
Long, fast, streams of 8th notes with crossovers in them were commonplace even as early as 3rdMIX. The nostalgia factor is there for a lot of songs, but they still use every pattern that existed back then today. There's lots of modern gallop-heavy charts, you just need to look for them.
I've seen the, they just don't seem to be as common. I guess the songs were just easier back in the day, and I haven't played many of the old Beatmania crossovers, where I imagine the difficulty would have been higher. As for most of Naoki's songs, they seemed to follow the three 8th note pattern. (Burnin' the Floor, B4U, PARANOiA...) Most of the songs I've seen lately either have weird 16th triplets, which I don't remember from the older DDR games, or quick bursts of 16th notes in the middle of 8th note streams, which I've only seen in Dynamite Rave and V. The differences in charts is probably more about what patterns the average song used, but there's ultimately not as much as a difference as it seems... (Again, it helps that I've probably only touched about ¼ of the entire DDR song list)
As for the modern gallop-heavy charts, could you name a few? I'd love to check them out. I don't know why I enjoy gallops so much, but I've been looking for those kinds of songs...
Post #68 · Posted at 2017-04-24 12:40:17am 7 years ago
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I won't speak of their quality but here's a few.
Sephirot
Qipchaq
snow prism
Habibe (Antuh muhleke)
True Blue
IMANOGUILTS, 
Diamond Night,
Back In Your Arms
Find The Way
Ah La La La
And lots more. The point is, they're there.
Sephirot
Qipchaq
snow prism
Habibe (Antuh muhleke)
True Blue
IMANOGUILTS
, Diamond Night
, Back In Your Arms
Find The Way
Ah La La La
And lots more. The point is, they're there.
Post #69 · Posted at 2017-05-24 12:07:25am 6.9 years ago
So, a briefer:
SuperNOVA added the higher definition. It also enabled MARVELOUS timing outside of courses. The extra stages (determined by song difficulty group) now have tempos going from 360-400 max.
SuperNOVA 2 revamped the score system - now all max scores are 1,000,000; and steps are weighed entirely based on their percentage, give or take your step rating, there's no more scoring focus on combos or bonus related to it. To some chagrin... it is now possible to AAA a song that you don't full-perfect, but the margin of error is still pretty tight. I think this was mostly due to hardware degradation, a lot of "pad misses" (where you hit the panel and it doesn't register) began occurring around here.
X (which actually had 5 long version stages called Xmixes that only it featured as well) introduced the Shock Arrows. They were a bit underwhelming in the first game, because X just copypasted other difficulties and replaced steps with shocks. X also changed the rating system to 1-19, which I will explain later. NGs also began breaking combo here. They attempted to reinvent the dance pad/stage at this point, and we had some hiccups with that here in the US which almost tanked the series.
X2 brought us the CD-cover interface as opposed to the older songlist/banners, which were getting tired. It's also where we got the first GOOD shock arrow charts, and an alternative Extra Stage set called "Replicant-D-Action;" resulting in some of the hardest/funnest charts in the game. The final PS2 version was a minimalist version of this on the older X engine for PS2, but most of the game's content was featured on a Wii version called "DanceDanceRevolution II."
X2, long story short, "is the new DDR EXTREME," and still highly regarded as one of the best, most definitive DDR experiences to date.
*X3 vs. 2nd Mix actually featured "2nd Mix Mode" with most of the old tracks from it, along with a new TRIP MACHINE and PARANOiA song. The X3 side of things also introduced "xxxEVOLVED" stages (which were first featured in Wii home versions), where there's 3-4 versions of a song, and on Extra Stage you can pick one of the versions at random. Generally, the second half of the song plays differently with their own stepcharts; but osakaEVOLVED does a different thing where the verses of the song are switched around - and one version features more holds and one version features more jumps. The final OMES from this game, Love Is The Power (reborn) has a simple enough chart, but it's PFC or die.
*In 2010-2013, they did a rebranding called "DanceDanceRevolution" (all one word now) - where they dropped courses entirely, and THIS is the version where GOODS don't break your combo (but I don't think they add to it, either). They also changed to the seasonal updates - usually an event and a set of songs get released every 2 months; and once or twice a year, there's another "boss song event," 2014's being "Replicant-D-Ignition" which featured the infamous-from-our-time hit, MAX. (period) - along with a new, FAR meaner chart! Oh, and I guess NAOKI and jun got fired. 
*X3 vs. 2nd Mix and "DanceDanceRevolution" were pretty much Japan-only, arcade-only versions. Stepmania literally IS the home version at this point.
*The US also got a "DanceDanceRevolution" title - for PS3, X360, and Wii - but terrible charts, no more edit mode, lukewarm-at-best DLC packs (NOTHING that PS2 didn't already have), and a lack of significant difficulty curve led it to flop HARD. They also tried to implement some Guitar Hero/Rock Band scoring trickery that, at best was stuck in for no other reason, and at worse was just an unnecessary gimmick. It also allowed up to 4 players, but no doubles mode either. Interface was very red and very... "plain." Flat, even.
Last year, DDR A got released, both in Japan and Stateside (via an agreement with Round1 and Dave and Busters arcades); and this is our first *real* taste of the eAmuse setup. I don't have to tell you what's up with this, it's happening right before you. And you've got a lot of good songs and charts to catch up on, and a good number you may have missed, if you happen upon other versions out there!
Meanwhile, old-to-current difficulty range:
1/2/3/4 = pretty much unchanged, but I think "2" is officially where they introduce freeze arrows now. So just add one to that, that's the new 1-5 setup.
5/6/7/8 = this is the old 4-6 range.
9/10 = these are the old 7-footers
11 = these are the easy 8-footers
12 = hard 8-footers, easy 9-footers
13 = standard 9 footers
14 = hard 9 footers (think HVAM)
15 = easy/standard 10s (MAX 300 is the measuring stick here)
16 = harder 10s (MAXX UNLIMITED/PSM)
17 = this is where a lot of the harder SuperNOVA charts fall, so expect higher BPMs here
18 = you missed this part completely... SuperNOVA boss songs had STUPID DIFFICULT charts; but there's also some songs that are well-charted and just THAT fast/intense now
19 = this is as hard as it gets for now. I think there's a total of 5 single/6 double charts here?
For EXTREME-relevant purposes, I'm going to mention that PARANOiA Survivor MAX is *officially* rated a 16, but a lot of us here feel it's on par with 17s. I think it's the measuring stick of 17s (if it's harder than PSMO, call it 17).
I know why you love galloping. RHYTHM AND POLICE (KOGG3 MIX) is why.
You should also look into VANESSA and Stella Sinestra, too.
SuperNOVA added the higher definition. It also enabled MARVELOUS timing outside of courses. The extra stages (determined by song difficulty group) now have tempos going from 360-400 max.
SuperNOVA 2 revamped the score system - now all max scores are 1,000,000; and steps are weighed entirely based on their percentage, give or take your step rating, there's no more scoring focus on combos or bonus related to it. To some chagrin... it is now possible to AAA a song that you don't full-perfect, but the margin of error is still pretty tight. I think this was mostly due to hardware degradation, a lot of "pad misses" (where you hit the panel and it doesn't register) began occurring around here.
X (which actually had 5 long version stages called Xmixes that only it featured as well) introduced the Shock Arrows. They were a bit underwhelming in the first game, because X just copypasted other difficulties and replaced steps with shocks. X also changed the rating system to 1-19, which I will explain later. NGs also began breaking combo here. They attempted to reinvent the dance pad/stage at this point, and we had some hiccups with that here in the US which almost tanked the series.
X2 brought us the CD-cover interface as opposed to the older songlist/banners, which were getting tired. It's also where we got the first GOOD shock arrow charts, and an alternative Extra Stage set called "Replicant-D-Action;" resulting in some of the hardest/funnest charts in the game. The final PS2 version was a minimalist version of this on the older X engine for PS2, but most of the game's content was featured on a Wii version called "DanceDanceRevolution II."
X2, long story short, "is the new DDR EXTREME," and still highly regarded as one of the best, most definitive DDR experiences to date.
*X3 vs. 2nd Mix actually featured "2nd Mix Mode" with most of the old tracks from it, along with a new TRIP MACHINE and PARANOiA song. The X3 side of things also introduced "xxxEVOLVED" stages (which were first featured in Wii home versions), where there's 3-4 versions of a song, and on Extra Stage you can pick one of the versions at random. Generally, the second half of the song plays differently with their own stepcharts; but osakaEVOLVED does a different thing where the verses of the song are switched around - and one version features more holds and one version features more jumps. The final OMES from this game, Love Is The Power (reborn) has a simple enough chart, but it's PFC or die.
*In 2010-2013, they did a rebranding called "DanceDanceRevolution" (all one word now) - where they dropped courses entirely, and THIS is the version where GOODS don't break your combo (but I don't think they add to it, either). They also changed to the seasonal updates - usually an event and a set of songs get released every 2 months; and once or twice a year, there's another "boss song event," 2014's being "Replicant-D-Ignition" which featured the infamous-from-our-time hit, MAX. (period) - along with a new, FAR meaner
chart! Oh, and I guess NAOKI and jun got fired. *X3 vs. 2nd Mix and "DanceDanceRevolution" were pretty much Japan-only, arcade-only versions. Stepmania literally IS the home version at this point.
*The US also got a "DanceDanceRevolution" title - for PS3, X360, and Wii - but terrible charts, no more edit mode, lukewarm-at-best DLC packs (NOTHING that PS2 didn't already have), and a lack of significant difficulty curve led it to flop HARD. They also tried to implement some Guitar Hero/Rock Band scoring trickery that, at best was stuck in for no other reason, and at worse was just an unnecessary gimmick. It also allowed up to 4 players, but no doubles mode either. Interface was very red and very... "plain." Flat, even.
Last year, DDR A got released, both in Japan and Stateside (via an agreement with Round1 and Dave and Busters arcades); and this is our first *real* taste of the eAmuse setup. I don't have to tell you what's up with this, it's happening right before you. And you've got a lot of good songs and charts to catch up on, and a good number you may have missed, if you happen upon other versions out there!
Meanwhile, old-to-current difficulty range:
1/2/3/4 = pretty much unchanged, but I think "2" is officially where they introduce freeze arrows now. So just add one to that, that's the new 1-5 setup.
5/6/7/8 = this is the old 4-6 range.
9/10 = these are the old 7-footers
11 = these are the easy 8-footers
12 = hard 8-footers, easy 9-footers
13 = standard 9 footers
14 = hard 9 footers (think HVAM)
15 = easy/standard 10s (MAX 300 is the measuring stick here)
16 = harder 10s (MAXX UNLIMITED/PSM)
17 = this is where a lot of the harder SuperNOVA charts fall, so expect higher BPMs here
18 = you missed this part completely... SuperNOVA boss songs had STUPID DIFFICULT
charts; but there's also some songs that are well-charted and just THAT fast/intense now19 = this is as hard as it gets for now. I think there's a total of 5 single/6 double charts here?
For EXTREME-relevant purposes, I'm going to mention that PARANOiA Survivor MAX
is *officially* rated a 16, but a lot of us here feel it's on par with 17s. I think it's the measuring stick of 17s (if it's harder than PSMO, call it 17).I know why you love galloping. RHYTHM AND POLICE (KOGG3 MIX) is why.
You should also look into VANESSA and Stella Sinestra, too.
Post #70 · Posted at 2017-05-24 01:35:37pm 6.9 years ago
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I have a few problems with what you just posted there.
1,000,000/(Number of steps + Number of freeze arrows)
The result is how much a Marvelous judgment is worth. Perfects are Marvelous - 10. Greats are (Marvelous / 2) - 10 up until DDR A in which case Greats are 60% of a Marvelous - 10 and Goods are worth 20% of a Marvelous - 10.
Quote: Nightime
So, a briefer:
SuperNOVA added the higher definition. It also enabled MARVELOUS timing outside of courses..
This is incorrect. The highest judgment you could get in SuperNOVA was still Perfect. Marvelous wasn't enabled outside of courses until SuperNOVA 2.SuperNOVA added the higher definition. It also enabled MARVELOUS timing outside of courses..
Quote: Nightime
SuperNOVA 2 revamped the score system - now all max scores are 1,000,000; and steps are weighed entirely based on their percentage, give or take your step rating, there's no more scoring focus on combos or bonus related to it.
Scoring isn't based on step rating. The formula used is as follows.1,000,000/(Number of steps + Number of freeze arrows)
The result is how much a Marvelous judgment is worth. Perfects are Marvelous - 10. Greats are (Marvelous / 2) - 10 up until DDR A in which case Greats are 60% of a Marvelous - 10 and Goods are worth 20% of a Marvelous - 10.
Quote: Nightime
*In 2010-2013, they did a rebranding called "DanceDanceRevolution" (all one word now) - where they dropped courses entirely, and THIS is the version where GOODS don't break your combo (but I don't think they add to it, either).
Goods do add to combo.Quote: Nightime
Oh, and I guess NAOKI and jun got fired.
Incorrect. They simply left. They didn't get fired.Quote: Nightime
19 = this is as hard as it gets for now. I think there's a total of 5 single/6 double charts here?
4 single (Valkyrie Dimension, Paranoia Revolution, Egoism 440, Over the "Period") and 5 double. (Same as before, but also including Possession)Post #71 · Posted at 2017-05-24 07:01:01pm 6.9 years ago
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^ fair enough