How do you define a versatile player?

Not quite, the game scores who is accurate at hitting arrows most closely to the target when the game thinks you should, according to an algorithm that many players choose to wilfully ignore (in lieu of dance points, PA/MA, etc. - especially when it came to crazy broken shit like the 5thMIX scoring system).

Whether this is being "good" at the game or not is purely subjective, and whether it is "better" to be AAAing crazy 15-foot shit or AAAing Butterfly Beginner through a mattress dressed in academic robes equally subjective. I vote for the latter

Horses for courses. IMO of course.

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Well said. Personally my goals are to just keep getting better (higher grades, or passing new songs that I haven't yet passed, all while playing for an hour for exercise) but I only challenge myself.

If score was the end-all be-all then 2 players on one pad may be your best bet, or buy an arcade machine, remove the pads, connect a keyboard input device, and do the 2-hand spread style, you'll be able to rock the scoreboard and be the best DDR Player in the world!!

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Oi oi. Don't get me wrong, n00b_saib0t has a point: scores are the best/only way to determine the skill of a player for competition. But if you're not worried about competing with other players, or super-challenging yourself, then it's not so much a big deal.

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while i cant disagree when the guy running your tourneys decides to use machine score is the worst way to do it pre SN1, as long as i can remember (since 4th mix-ish) we were calculating our own scores based on step judgments, which since 1st mix have been displayed on the results screen.

but you have to go back to what i said in my second post, and what others have said, its a game and the most important thing is to have fun. i dont think versatile should matter because the machine doesnt have any kind of variable for "this guy got 3 more greats but can play 5 different ways", but in the end if you like double stepping or crossing over, just play the way that yields the best results and the most fun.

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Afronova walk vs. double stepping.

Spinning 8 times or hitting those notes with one foot.

Think about it.
The choice is yours.
Preference before anything.

Append: More like BK have it your way.

I recall "great attack" and "freestyle" events in local tournaments over here Back In The Day(tm) (although the extreme subjectivity of judging "freestyle" comps is probably why we don't see many of them any more).


But that's not the machine's score! You (plural, not you in particular) are inventing system of your own and calling it a score in these cases. Playing devil's advocate - what makes your algorithm any better than anyone else's (or even the machine's, come to that)?

{And taking it to the point of absurd: What's to stop me deciding that a player hopping on the pad should score double someone standing (and filming to check) in my book? }


I don't think anyone is suggesting otherwise, tbh!

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edit: nevermind

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fair question. the game scores your letter grade based on dance points, and your machine score based on combo. 500 greats is worth more on the machine score than 495 perfects and 5 goods. we used the machine's own dance point formula to gauge who won, in the case of a jacked up system like 4th mix we scored the same way 3rd mix scored letter grades. 2 points for a perfect, 1 point for a great, 0 for a good, -6 for boo and -8 for miss. with modern mixes, this isnt a problem, the game scores machine score based on dance points and a 995,0XX score will actually come out to 99.50% in dance points as well, but back then this wasnt the case. ever hear of the 30 greats vs 1 great so deep score? it was talked about on AIJ a while back. on a 7th mix tourney a guy screwed up the beginning and the other guy true black flagged it, the guy with 1 great lost because steps were worth more in machine score at the end, but he beat the other guy by about 29 greats. so we arent using an arbitrary formula, we were using the games own formula.

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Jesus Christ...I mean, you're free to your opinions and all, but is that really all that matters to you when you play this game!?

I'd give my praise to anyone freestyling any song (even if it's Butterfly on trick) over someone getting 98+ on Determinator or something.

On topic: Versatile to me means you could play any DDR, ITG, or PiU mix and own on it, regardless of mods, speed, timing windows, etc. You are a dance master who is capable of whatever the game throws at you.

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Uh oh, newcomer packin some heat!

Saying that score is the reason new people aren't interested is really a bold statement. How do you know that;s why people stop playing? Maybe they just lose interest. Maybe they don't want to play harder songs. Just because some people play for score doesn't mean it completely scares away people.

Score is all that matters to me when I play, but I fully encourage other people to play for fun or whatever.

EDIT: Oh you removed that part. Oh well.

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Yeah, I edited my original post. I had no reason to make that statement. I was shocked at how noob basically condensed all of DDR down to "Score is all that matters". I've read his follow-up posts, but that 1st statement still makes me cry inside. I didn't fall in love with DDR because I saw someone AAA Max 300. I fell in love watching people twist, jump, and fail their way through a song. So, hearing it distilled down to "score" is just a big WTF for me personally.

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thats because, ultimately, if you really get into the DDR scene it IS all about score. every player has their own style, mod preference, and song preference. no one i know hates on the guys who cant AAA or even AA, but we get pretty upset when someone tells a x3 bar double stepping player with 150+ AAAs he's "not playing right", and we see it all the time. the group i hang out with at the arcade, we're all friends, but we're VERY competitive. we all have fun playing provided the pads work, but what keeps us going is getting better scores. its like that with any game. i loves me some super street fighter 4, but i dont keep playing online because the game is fun, i play off line for that with my friends here. i play online because there is a score attached to it. we all got into DDR because it looks fun, but once you get to a certain point, you're going to want to improve scores. you're going to get that first SDG while "playing right" and you're going to want it to be a AAA. you'll find the mods and play style that work best for you and you'll get that AAA, and then you're hooked. the game is still loads of fun, but so much of that fun is telling your friend "i got you by 3 greats on on the jazz" when you got 2 and his best is 5, just like you play street fighter for fun but you ALWAYS talk trash when you win. if you arent competitive, you either arent good (which isnt to say you cant hold a combo, or cant pass hard songs, but you dont score well) or you dont have any friends to play against (i'm not in competition with anyone here, its all guys at the arcade i go to). the most important thing is to have fun while you're doing all this, it is a game after all.

TL;DR - score isnt everything, but the competitive spirit drives the game.

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This x100. The thing that made me take that big first step actually onto the DDR machine was the fact that people were doing sucky and looking like idiots...and LOVING IT.

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Thirded.

That's why I play it!//

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I did for the most part. Even when I was on beginner, I played not only for fun, but to improve. Yes, I try 10 times in a row to quad or AAA something, but who says I'm not having fun?

But I don't always play for score

I'm capable of passing 13s on ITG (18+ on DDR), and I can pass everything on DDR so far, but I still like playing a good light chart once in a while. Maybe it's the Nostalgia, I dunno, but I make and play 5 foot charts quite often. I think 5s are fun. I think some ITG 13s are fun.

With that being said, there's no right or wrong way to play arrowstomp. The modifiers and the bar are available as options for the player to make the experience what they want to make it. Everyone has their own play style, their own favorite charts, and their own goals, and it's stupid for anyone to say someone else's preferences are "wrong" It's YOUR dollar, so play how you want. That's the way I look at it, and as long as your set doesn't take 20 minutes, I'm happy

Also, what n00b_saib0t said

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Reminds me of going for a lowest score challenge.

I love people AAA'ing or Quad*ing songs.
Gives something to look forward to and improving towards.
More like an inspiration to keep on moving.

Fourthded

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I never liked watching people fail or fall or goof. TBH I liked the flashy lights, loud music, and the fact they were playing a game with their FEET in 2001. Also the huge combo's really drew me in, reminded me of all the maniac fighting games that were popular at that time, I thought the point of the game was to get BIG COMBOs. I fell in love with DDR when I bought it on PS1, DDR Konamix, it was like my NES Power Pad on crack!!! I never looked back, the incredible fun and challenge plus workout = best game ever!!

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